SUNSET 2014 SUNRISE 2015 - A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

The bible tells us that the unbelievers i.e. those who have not received Jesus Christ into their lives are wiser than believer in that they know and apply the principles of the world better than many believers apply the kingdom principles.(Luke 16:8b) But i make bold to say some even apply the kingdom principles better than many that are believers.  There is no successful business or motivational principle in the world today that cannot be traced back to the bible. As we know the devil is the ruler of this world and all the techniques and strategies he knows he copied from God. 

I have repeatedly mentioned the fact that while attending business seminars during my postgraduate studies in Malaysia there was a recurring philosophy with regards to wealth creation and that was giving. They claimed if you give the universe would reward you. This is just a variation of Luke 6:38 which say give and it would be given unto you in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Have you ever wondered why some of the richest people in the world and the biggest philanthropists support the most charities? Many might argue that it is because they have that is why they give but i beg to differ. It is because they give that is why they have and the more the more they give the more they would have.  It is that simple and this is not because of their wisdom but it is because systems have been put into place by the Lord and whosoever applies them would benefit from it. It is a shame though that it seems the people actually benefiting from it are not the people it is meant for.

Another good example is the mantra of almost all motivational speakers ranging from Jim Rohn to Zig Ziglar to the more recent Les Brown to Anthony Robbins  which is “you become what you think about most of the time or what you think, you are”. This again is not new as the bible had told us this Proverbs 23:7 – For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

An extremely successful business principle that has been seen as the sole determining factor as to whether that business or business man succeeds or not is goal setting which is not just the act of choosing or setting a goal but encompasses a lot more.  For us as believers we know this has having expectations. As with goal setting, determining the expectation is just the one step and not even the first.  As we go on we would look at a practical approach to making use of this tool to ensure all our expectations come to pass.

Each of us should have a personal mission and vision which should complement that of The Super Church. The reason why many believers do not function as optimally as they ought to is the fact that 90% of them are not even clear about where they are going, what their mission is and what their vision is.  We are told in Proverbs 29:18 that where there is no vision, the people perish another translation says without a vision the people run naked. Vision is extremely important in giving our lives direction and not just any vision but that according the Lord’s plan for us.  This can be likened to blind folding yourself and using a bow and arrow to shoot out arrows with expectation of meeting your target. First you have no idea where the target is or if there is a target,  if there is one you have no idea if you are hitting it or not or if you need to adjust or re-evaluate your strategy and aim and finally even if you finally hit the target you do not know. |In this case all your energy is useless. Without an expectation or your goal you may fast continuously, pray without ceasing etc. but all these would just be an effort in futility as you would be moved to and fro by every suggestion you hear.

We would therefore discuss the importance of expectations and how to make the best use of them in 5 simple steps.

 Determine your goals or expectations

2.      Write them down

3.      Create an action plan

4.      Implement the action plan

5.      Constantly monitor and evaluate your plan

DETERMINE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

The mission and vision many times being abstract to an extent (i.e. not being able to be measured directly) makes it important for goals to be set. Goals are described as observable and measurable end results having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed time frame. This is the only way to determine objectively if you are living up to your mission and moving towards your vision.

We have to note that God needs our expectations. We see in Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. So you must have an expectation for your life. You have got to expect something of God. You have got to have concrete expectations.

Our expectations have everything to do with the manifestation we see in our lives. Because the word says an expected end, an anticipated ends. Let’s also look at Proverbs 23:18 -For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. What this leads me to believe is that the fact that there is an end is not up for discussion.  You cannot expect forever there must be an end. And at that end the expectation shall not be cut off. In reality at the end people may not see what they want but that is because honestly they were not expecting to see it and since their expectation was not to see it. That is what manifested in their lives.

There is a difference between saying you are expecting with your mouth and not feeling it in your heart. The end would come but what you see is what you were actually expecting in your heart. This can also be seen in the case of Job where he was giving sacrifices and all. On the outside it may have seemed that his expectations were righteous and in line with what God wanted for him but at the end of the day the true expectations were revealed when he uttered the words what I greatly feared has come upon me.  Your ceiling in life is not dependent on God but your ability to collect which is determined by your expectation.

WRITE DOWN THE EXPECTATIONS

We have discussed the importance of expectations and the fact that they have to be observable and measurable end results having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed time frame. Having these expectations is not enough we have to make sure we write them down. It is extremely important we write these things down. Many of us might say we have it in our head. NO SIR. We must learn to write it. Writing has a way of clarifying our needs.

For instance in business it has been shown that businesses that have a clearly written business plan succeed up to ten times more than those that venture into business with no plan at all. Out of these those that actually continually look at the plan do much better than those than just write and never look at it again. This shows that just writing it down once and having a clearer picture, even if you never look at it again you are still far better than those that didn’t write it at all but still those that write it down and constantly look at it are even much more successful.

The bible also tells us this in Habakkuk to write the vision down and make it plain that he that readeth it might run with it.  So take out a sheet of paper and write down: my expectations for 2014 (or whatever the case may be) – Then you settle down and crystallize your thought.

Is it important? is it necessary ? YES.  Because God doesn’t work without them if there are no expectations there is nothing God can do. And even if something happens you won’t know if it’s God that did it or you. So where is God in the picture?  He wants us to expect not just things but big things. Our man of God Reverend Walter told us a saying: He says if it’s too good to be true and too big to be me it’s got to be God. And God has shown himself time and time again that he is able and willing to exceed our expectations but we first have to have expectations.

CREATE AN ACTION PLAN AND IMPLEMENT IT

Many of us are side-tracked by the word expectation which our man of God describes as looking out for with an outstretched neck and fail to understand that though we have these expectations and understand that the way it would happen should not concern, there are still things we have to do to ensure they come to pass. For instance we believe for finances, where the finances would come from and how it would come is not our business but our role is to apply the kingdom principles with regards to prosperity i.e. first fruit, tithing, offering and giving to ensure this expectation of finance comes to pass. The lord has put systems in place, laws that cannot be broken for us to use and he would not bypass these laws for anybody.  If our expectation are an improved spiritual life and increased intimacy with God then we owe it to him to do what the bible tells us to do. We are told in Jude 20 to build up our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. We have been told what to do and not just believe that because we have expectations it should come to pass.

As we put in place our goal/expectations for 2014 and decide on the corresponding action we need to take. We should go about creating an action plan according to the word of God corresponding with our various expectations. As we have read and have been taught there are various confessions and actions required at different times. As such we need to ensure we are doing the right things at the right time for the right reasons. Once this has been done we need to ensure we actually do these things.

Many times the years go by and people keep on wondering why their expectations have not been met. They took the first two steps i.e. they had expectations and wrote them down but they had no action plan and even those that had plans did not implement them. They were expecting wealth but they never tithe or tithe occasionally, they do not give and they sow no seeds and are still expecting their expectations of wealth to come to pass. The bible tells us God cannot be mocked, whatsoever a man soweth that and that only shall he reap.

As noted setting goals or having expectations are not enough but the actions must be tied to these goals and must be broken down and concrete activities.  These activities are to be broken down into daily, weekly, monthly and annual plans that can be evaluated and success monitored. 

CONSTANT MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Finally you need to constantly look back on your activities at designated periods and determine if your expectations have been met, if you have been keeping to your action plan and determine if in the course of time you have received new revelation or activities that could be added to your actions plan to make it more effective. For instance a few years ago Reverend introduced the Isaac offering in camp meeting. In such a case at the beginning of the year probably that was not in your plan but then you go back re-evaluate your plan and at that to it.

This is a very important activity at the end of the year to help you review the preceding year to look back at the activities your took where you succeeded your improve upon and where you fell short of the target you look out for possible reasons why it was so an rectify it to prevent a repeat of what happens. There is a saying that goings doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

CONCLUSION

Setting goals or having expectations are extremely extremely important and should not be over looked in any way because it would make all the difference between a successful spirit filled year and a year devoid of in this case NEW REALMS OF GLORY.

Please ensure you listen to the C.D by Reverend Walter on how to end your year and make sure you sit back and review the year 2013 and pen down your expectations for 2014. The Lord is with you as you do so as i join my faith to yours to ensure every single thing on your list becomes a reality in the year 2014.

Glory be to God.

PUTTING YOU IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GLORY OF DEATH

As I was listening to our Man of God Reverend Walter this morning a scripture he quoted jumped out to me. 2 Peter 3:1-2 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostle of the Lord and Saviour.

The sole reason of this epistle by peter was to stir up, arouse, awaken, enkindle, fan the flame and feed the fire of their pure minds. We have to note that at every point in time our minds have both a clean (spirit) and unclean part (flesh), a pure (spirit) and impure part (flesh). When we give our lives to Christ our soul or mind is as impure as before we gave our lives to Christ but by listening to the word of God and by reading the word of God we begin to make it pure. It was likened by our man of God to a jug of dirty water. The more you pure clean water into it the more the dirty water comes out. So at each point in time there is both clean and dirty water in the jug but in varying proportions. Initially the dirty water is more than the clean and the more clean water you pour into the jug the cleaner the water becomes until the entire jug is filled with clean water. We have also been made to understand that we are forever purifying our minds as it is a continuous journey. Meaning to an extent at each point we have both a pure and impure mind but for some the pure mind is much much more than the impure mind because they have poured a lot more of the word into it. Therefore with this in mind Peter specifically points out the mind that he is trying to stir up i.e. the pure mind which is knowledge of the word and the ways of God. He intends to do this by bringing them to remembrance or reminding them of the words which were spoken by the Holy Prophets. This means they have heard these words before and he is only reminding them about it because as the bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing and not by having heard in the past.

 I would like to thus paraphrase the quoted scripture in relation with my intentions for this article. This article, my beloved Super Church brethren, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up, arouse, awaken, enkindle, fan the flame and feed the fire of your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may keep in mind the words which were spoken before by Reverend Walter about the Glory of Death. 

We are all aware that at the end of last year (2012) for those in TSC PHC 1 Reverend spent time teaching on the glory of death, there is even a book on it and in leaders conference we still made mention of it. It is my belief that this is one of the major keys to living the life we were made to live and this would become clearer as we read further.

It seems to me the universal principle in every single thing the bible tells us and all laws provided to us by the bible is one thing – seed, time and harvest. By this I mean God wanted to get us his children back and to do so he gave his son knowing that when he gives Him He would be given back to him in good measure, pressed down shaken together and running over. He gave his son and He received millions of people back in return. With regards to finances it is the same thing. You sow and you get back much more in return.Our man of God has said numerous times that God can actually go on a holiday and everything would just work fine because systems and laws have been put in place. This is also the same principle applied to death to self.
Our man of God has made us to understand that through death your true glory would manifest itself.

 John 12:24 (KJV) 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

 John 12:24 (AMP) 24 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.

 John 12:24 (NIV) 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

We all have huge potential in us but until we die (not physical death but until we subdue our flesh, emotions, ego, wants) all this potential would remain locked up in us forever and never see the light of day. We can work from now till eternity, try whichever means to achieve our goals but what we would get is only a tip of the ice-berg of what is due to us. As the corn of wheat no matter what it does would not produce more fruits or a bountiful harvest until it is planted (buried in the ground and dies first). We need to understand that our flesh is a huge inhibition, our plans for ourselves, our feelings, our emotions would only hinder us in our service to God. The bible clearly tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and all else would be added. This means we should forget about everything and focus on God. In our work with God death is very important because God cannot trust a man that is alive. He can only trust a man that is dead. God cannot trust a man who would put his needs above His. Because when a man dies criticism means nothing to him, submission to authority does not bother him. The beauty of the man comes out. Without death you are useless. The glory inside of you can never come out. Even Paul said I die daily. You cannot offend a dead man, you cannot hurt someone that is dead. If you are dead situations like I won’t do so and so again because so and so offended me would not arise. You should totally kill the flesh.

Let’s take a look at Matthew 10:39

Matthew 10:39 (KJV) 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 10:39 (AMP) 39 Whoever finds his [[a]lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Matthew 10:39 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 39 Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.

All the plans you have, things you want to achieve, all your ego are nothing compared to what God plans to give you if you can just die. The bible categorises all these as the lower life and tells us the life God wants for us is the higher life. To get a glimpse of this higher life in Mark 10:29-30 where we are told that he who gives up family, land, riches etc (i.e. he who dies to all these things) would receive an hundred fold of all he gave up in this life and in the life to come. This is a glimpse but not a total picture of our expectations once we do this. When something means so much to you that you can break God’s word to get it then you are in very big trouble. And satan is watching if you are that way and very soon he would make you an offer for your soul that you would not be able to refuse.

Our man of God tells us the story of a minister who was close to Billy graham who packed out stadiums in Michigan and when he preached people would fall under the anointing. He was a mighty man of God more anointed than Billy graham but this wasn’t enough for him he wanted more fame and did whatever it took to get it. On the other hand Billy graham was a stark contrast to this not even wanting people to know what he looked like. He preached on the radio for years and was offered TV slots but refused. For over 50 years people would walk by him and not know it was him. He was totally dead to self, all he did was for the lord there was no ego in it. Today the other minister as you can see is known as the other minister while Billy graham till today is known as the pastor to American presidents.

Jesus said when you lose your life you would gain it but when you hold on to it you would lose it – the higher life. Sometimes you are so hungry to preach, you are so hungry to lead, you are so hungry to be noticed – Kill it. Just die to it. Throw it away. Just follow and follow as if nothing has changed and you would be marvelled by the way your life would turn out. Sometimes we have ideas and opinion contrary to what our leaders tells us to do. Kill it and jump on the leaders band wagon and do it like it’s your idea. Sometimes we have to come for meetings but we “don’t feel like” kill it, die to it and make sure you are here because I am aware many times during cell meeting and prayer meeting many are just at home doing nothing.

David had to die to the throne before God gave it to him. He had ample opportunity to kill Saul and take the thrown but he didn’t and was blessed for it. And God said yes I think you are ready to reign as king. Until you die to something it won’t come to you and when you die to it and it returns to you it would come in much more splendour than you could imagine. This is where people fail they are ready to do whatever it takes even disobey God’s word to get what they want but this would eventually be to their detriment and they would put a glass ceiling over their lives in every way. You are ready to speak ill of people, backbite, and avoid the house of the lord. For what?????

You make your choice. Mathew 16:25 – whosoever would save his life shall loose it and whosoever shall loose his life for my sake shall save it. Amp – For whosoever is bent on saving his temporal life, his comfort and security here shall loose it whosoever loses his life, his comfort and security for my sake shall find it. I don’t know how much more plain it can be. It is seen in clear English without any ambiguity.

Some in situations may be thinking - I need to make my point clearly, I must talk, I must have my view, they are not considering my feeling, I am too big for this etc. The bible tells us if we always feel we must make our point we would eventually loose the opportunity to be relevant, if you feel you are too big you would eventually be too small etc.

I am sure by now it is clear without a shadow of the doubt that dying to self, killing your flesh and emotions is the only logical thing to do, but funny enough some would still hear this be sure it is the truth and still do nothing about it. What is holding you back? For some of us it is a relationship, for some of us it is our job, for some of us it is one habit, one boy or one girl that just confuses you. Give it up and let it go because as long as you keep on holding on to it what God has in store for you would never come to pass. Many of us have almost succeeded by this one thing is like us being on life support we need to cut it off to die totally so that we can achieve the higher life. Have this in mind death is your closest ally, it is your closest companion in your journey to success.

There is glory in death. For a much clearer understanding of this subject matter please read THE GLORY OF DEATH by Rev. Walter and you would understand fully that your body belongs to the lord.