Extraordinary Possibilities - Lessons from King David

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Transcript

Welcome And Morning Worship

SPEAKER_00 1:33

He has kept you since we were last together, and it's another great, great morning. Um, 15th uh of March, the year 2026, and we thank God for his grace upon our lives and for what he is doing every morning as we gather here. The word of God encourages us, that we should not give up the habit of meeting together to fellowship. And we are so glad that we have this platform that we can be able to gather every morning uh to just worship him and encourage one another. We also want to thank God for what he has done, what he's continued to do in the ministry. We know that our best days are ahead of us as we continue to love him and worship him. And so this morning I want us to just go and read the scripture. We're going to read, um, uh make reference to 2 Samuel uh uh chapter 7, and uh we'll read from verse 8 to 11, and it talks about David and Samuel, and I pray that we shall be encouraged as we continue on this year's theme of our year of extraordinary possibilities.

Staying Alert In Troubled Times

SPEAKER_00 2:50

We are living at difficult times. Um, there's so much that is happening around us. Most of what had been prophesied, we are seeing it happening in our eyes. Uh, we are fighting going on, raging all over now. Uh initially it was just in Eastern Europe, and now we are seeing the war in the Middle East. It's taking uh shape. More and more countries have been dragged in. And um, yeah, no one can tell you which way it is going to go. Um, because once war begins, it's very difficult to stop. And that's why it's we always pray. We ask that let's pray for peace. Let's pray um that the enemy, because the enemy likes war. War brings death, uh, war brings strife, and um the war benefits the enemy. And so it's it is the war has a lot of blood being shed, and uh it's very, very easy to start. But once a war starts, it's normally very difficult to end. And so we need to just continue to pray. Um, you know, the last time that we had, most of you remember the historians. You remember how the Second World War began in September. Uh, those of you are historians who remember as you know, September 1939 to September 1st, uh, when Germany invaded Poland and um it annexed, they took over almost a part of Poland. They said it was going to be part of German, German territory. And they had previously signed an agreement with the Russians um that they were going to take over Poland and they would divide the two country between the two of them in a secret agreement. And so they invaded Poland on September the 1st, 1939. And um within a very short time, the Russians also invaded Poland on the other side. And because the Germans and the British had signed a defense agreement with Poland and France, they also declared war. And within a very short time, the British were sucked into the war, the French got sucked into the war, and it just was one country after another getting added in. Even countries that had not prepared, that had not planned to be at home, but they ended up being dragged into that Second World War, that dragged in all the way into 1945. And by the time the guns were falling silent, it's estimated that between 40, uh, you know, I think 45 to 50 million people had been killed. And those were soldiers in combat, not to mention uh the people that were the in civilians that got that got um you know killed during that war. And it was agreed that people did not want to go to war again. But people forget very easily. And now we are seeing what is happening. The war begins very far. Very far, you would think it's in Iraq, it's in Iran, you think it's in somewhere, but before you realize countries just get sucked in one after the other, one after the other. And before you realize you have got an entire world at war. And so we need to pray. Uh, if you look at history, and our wars have begun, and nobody plans, there's nobody who says, oh, we're going to have a third world war. It's normally sparked up by something, what thing is going to end in two weeks' time. Before you realize an entire world has been sucked into war. And by the time the guns fall silent, the world will be very different. And so we need to continue to pray as Christians. We need to stay awake, we need to be alert to what is happening. Uh, um, you know, these are the last, indeed, the last days that has been prophesied. And um, we need to continue to pray and trust God for safety, trust God um that these things will de-escalate and that sanity will prevail and it shall be well. But for now, our responsibility is to pray, let's remain alert, let's remain sensitive and understand the seasons in which we are living in uh by the Spirit of

God’s Promise To David

SPEAKER_00 6:59

God. So we want to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 7, verses 8 to 11. We are looking at just this whole theme of extraordinary possibilities, and uh, we're looking at the character here of David as one man that was able to achieve extraordinary things. And so we have a lot of lessons we can learn uh from him or from the life of David, and I pray that you encourage us here this morning. Second Samuel is chapter 7, verses 8 to 11. The Bible says, Now then, tell my servant David this is what the Lord Almighty says. I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people, Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I'll make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth, and I will provide a place for my people, Israel, and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore as they did at the beginning, and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you. Say amen, amen. So this is the Lord um, you know, uh he's sending uh prophet uh uh to go and and and speak um you know to David. And um, you know, when we look at the Bible, it's clear that David is one of the greatest Bible characters, um, Israel from the Old Testament. And I think one of the most remarkable things about David that resonates very well with us, and also on the theme that we have this year, is that he rose from nothing to the highest position of leadership in Israel, um, while at the same time he managed to keep a great relationship with God. He was able to rise from a very humble beginning as a shepherd boy, um, and he he rose to the to become the king of Israel. But one great thing about him is that he's managed to keep a great relationship with God. How many know that that is something that is extraordinary? When you rise up from looking out of the ship until you become the king, uh, and you still manage to keep a great relationship with God, that's something that's extraordinary. And so there's a lot that we can learn from David this morning as we prepare for our Sunday service and also for prayer. Now, one thing also we notice is that he was not born into a wealthy family. That is who David was, he was not born into a wealthy family. That means there's hope for all of us. That you know, you can rise up, you can draw, you can partner with God, and you can achieve extraordinary things, irrespective of your background. Doesn't matter where you, you know, the position of your family, doesn't matter whether you are um, you know, coming from an oppressed family, whether you are known or not known. We see up here someone that came out from being a shepherd boy to rise up to become the king of Israel. He was not even the firstborn in the family. Um, you know, he was the lastborn. And at some point in his life, he was actually relegated to looking after the few sheep that his father owned. This is just how far he was. He was from an unknown family, he's even the last born in that family, and they have even relegated him to the duty of looking after the few sheep that his father owned. And that was just the state of David, um, the time when God is coming to his life. But then in verse 8, God speaks to prophet Nathan, and he gives Nathan a word to send to King David. I'm thinking I'm hungry for God's word. And I believe that when we are open, God speaks to us, even in a meeting like this. The Lord will send our word to you, use his word, he'll use his prophets, which use his servants uh to bring our word to you. And this is what he did through the prophet Nathan. He sent uh he sent Nathan the prophet to give a word to King David. And when when Nathan goes, we are able to see a glimpse of God's view of David's life. Uh, he he this was how God viewed David. And he it basically tells David, you know, you may have forgotten, but I haven't forgotten where I go to you. Remember, I found you looking after pasture, uh, after uh looking after sheep in the in the fields, tending flocks. But that did not deter me from appointing you to be ruler over my people. And I believe that um, you know, God was able to do this for David, uh, unknown as he was, um, far as he was, but God was able to find him. And so we can always ask, was it by chance, was it by luck, or was it by accident that God was able to identify David and do this for him? And we can all agree that it was not any of that, not just by chance, you know, God not just say, let me look at somebody here, you know, and just he he he lands on David. It was not by luck. There was something about David that God saw, and I believe that by looking at it, at David's life, we can be able to pick a few attributes and apply them in our lives as we desire to see extraordinary things happening in our lives in the year 2026. So if God was able to use David to accomplish such extraordinary things, surely we can be able to pick a few things from David's life that we can be able to apply. And I believe as we do the same, uh, we'll be able to, God will be able to help us accomplish extraordinary things for him this year 2026.

Hope Beyond Your Background

SPEAKER_00 14:04

In Jeremiah chapter 18, verses 5 to 6. Jeremiah chapter 18, verses 5 to 6, the Bible says, Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, Can I not do with you Israel as this potter does, declares the Lord, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. You know, this is you know, again, God just reminding the children of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, and he says, you know, the way a potter does, when he picks up clay and the way he's able to mold and and mold a pot, and uh depending on different shape, size, and the Lord says, like clay in the hand of a potter, so are you in our hand. And I believe that, brethren, um, that is how God views us. We are um, you know, we are like that, he's we are like clay, he can mold us into anything if he desires, he's the porter. And I believe, brethren, that our entire life um is in front of us. We can shape it into doing extraordinary things by applying God's principles, by learning his word, by listening to his voice, listening to his word. Uh, he can mold us into anything that he desires of us. We are actually like clay in his hands and partnering with him, uh, we can we can be able to do the extraordinary uh in this in this life. And remember what we have always said the person of Jesus in our lives guarantees us salvation. The person of Jesus guarantees us salvation and prepares us for eternity. But the principles of Jesus, as written in God's word, prepares us to live here on earth successfully. The principles of God in God's word, when we apply them, they help us to live here on earth successfully, powerfully. Uh, the person of Jesus in our lives guarantees us eternity, he guarantees us heaven, he guarantees us salvation. And we need both. We need the person of Jesus so that we know Him. We have assurance of our uh eternity, where we're going to spend eternity, we have assurance of where we shall be beyond this life. But we also need the principles of Jesus as captured in God's word to enable us to live here on earth successfully. To live here in, I would say, in an extraordinary way. Um, the principles of God's word applied, enable us to live here on earth powerfully, um, you know, successfully. The person of Jesus guarantees us salvation. And we need both. We don't want just, oh, I know that I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to heaven, uh, and I just want to close my eyes and just find myself in heaven. And I'm not interested in anything. If that was the case, we'll be getting born again, and then we are just raptured immediately, and we go to heaven. But we get born again, and we have to live in this world. And as we live in this world, it's the principles of God's word that we need to apply so that we can be successful, we can be impactful in this world, we can perform, we can be do his will here on earth, and therefore it's important. We need both, we need the person of Jesus Christ so that we can be guaranteed of our salvation in heaven. But we also need to apply God's principles so that we can be able to live powerfully in this world, you know, do what he has called us to do, and the glory goes back to him. So it's important for us to analyze um, you know, characters in the Bible who have lived, who have been successful, who have accomplished great things, and then we can be able to learn, uh, we you know, we can be able to learn from them.

Clay In The Potter’s Hands

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Um, as I was as I introduced, I talked about this this the second world war and how it started up. But one of the greatest characters um who shaped the second world war was the prime minister of the United Kingdom, um the United Kingdom at that time, and named Winston Churchill. Um Winston Churchill is considered he was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, or he took over as the Prime Minister at a time, at a very pivotal moment, uh in this in the Second World War. Um, and he was, I mean, upon his death, he was granted a state funeral, um, which saw one of the largest assemblies of world statesmen in history. Um, when his funeral was being attended, uh, it attracted some of the largest gathering of world leaders. He was named Great Britain's um the greatest Britain Britain of all time in 2002, and um is regarded as being the more among the most influential people in British history, uh consistently ranking well in opinion polls of prime ministers ever since. Um, but the reason why is he was so much respected. Uh the reason why uh he continued to continue to be respected today is because when Germany invaded most of Europe, you know, as I said, they started with Poland, they moved on to Belgium, they moved on to France, um, you know, and at that time they're having refugees, you know, arriving in Britain in thousands. It was only one man that stood uh between Hitler and um a single control of Europe. And that man was Winston Churchill. And he's known um for his famous speech which he made at that time because um all the countries had surrendered, and it was only one country that was left standing in that time, it was Great Britain. And he stood up and he made the famous speech that he said we shall fight. He said, We are not going to surrender as a country to German, the Germans, we are not going to surrender to Hitler. He said, We as a nation are going to fight. He said, We shall fight in France, we shall fight in the seas, we shall fight in the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island at whatever cost it may be. He said, if necessary, we shall fight in the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields, we shall fight in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, and he said, we shall we shall never surrender. And it was that that rallying of the British and the free world at that time. Uh, he said, actually, if uh he told the Britons and the Commonwealth in general, let's brace ourselves, let's be ready to fight. That if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last a thousand years, men will say this was their finest hour. And it was that speech that rallied all the free world to rise up against Nazi Germany. Americans got involved, um, you know, they got into the war and they rally, you know, they formed a strong, strong coalition that was able to bring the Second World War to a close in 1945.

Churchill And Taking Responsibility

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Now, I think one of the key things that is Displayed, um, I mean, that was displayed at that time by the prime minister, and also that is comes out very clearly in the life of David that we are looking at is just that whole idea of um taking responsibility for your own life and destiny. Taking responsibility for your own life and destiny, deciding to take responsibility. And I believe it with all my heart, brethren. If we're going to accomplish extraordinary things, one of the key things that we must continuously remind ourselves to do is to know that we are absolutely responsible for our lives. We are absolutely responsible for our lives. Um, there's only one person responsible for the outcome and the quality of your life. And that person is you. That person is me. There is no one else who is responsible or you can blame for the quality of life that you are leading. Uh, we are, of course, living at a time when it is easier to blame external circumstances for the quality of our lives. It's easy to blame people, and especially for us in Kenya at the moment, when you look at what is happening around us, um, it's very easy to want to blame people when it, you know, people are being carried away on, you know, by floods. Um, you know, we lose so many people in one day. Um, and and it's it's you know, we look at it as business as usual. It doesn't concern anyone. I mean, the Americans have been fighting um in for the last two weeks, real fight and real combat. And when they lost six people, um, you know, it's been a big news in America. You know, they are so concerned that they've lost servicemen and they are fighting. As we lost so many people, we are not fighting, and we have moved on. We are we've forgotten about those ones. We don't, we don't it's not even a bother for us. It's not even being discussed anymore. Oh, yeah, they died in the floods and they moved on, and you know, the families are grieving, and it doesn't concern us anymore. There's nothing we have done. And you see, when things like this happen, it's very easy for us to want to blame other people. It's very easy, oh yeah, we can blame the leaders, we can blame the president, we can blame the party, we can blame. It's very easy to shift the blame to other to other

The Blame Game That Stalls Growth

SPEAKER_00 24:36

people. But you know, um change only comes when we focus on ourselves. I've been traveling in in the eastern part of East Africa, been in the GRC, and then I moved into Rwanda right now. Um I'm speaking from the eastern side of Rwanda, somewhere on near the Lake Kivu, near Goma. Uh here. And you know, driving in uh on this kind in this country, you cannot not look, see what the country has done. When you look at the order, I I mean Rwanda fought they destroyed the entire country, they have been able to build it afresh. Um, you know, and you know, driving in from the road almost for 300 kilometers or so from Kigali down where I am. You cannot have thought, not even notice how a country can rebuild itself. Um I was as I drove, I was looking for signs of poverty, and you could not see. For 300 kilometers, I was driving around and you could not see poverty. Um, you know, the one you see on the roads. Um, an organized society, you know, disciplined. Um, people are growing. You can see they are moving in the right direction. I know you can sit there and say, wow, how can we get it so wrong? As a nation, this country has got an eighth, maybe an eighth of the resources that Kenya has got. They have overtaken us in leaps and bows. They have completely overtaken us. I'm talking about the quality of life of people. It's not the buildings that we talk about, you know, or we boast about expressways and all these things. At the end of the day, it's not the tallest building that you have, it's the quality of life that ordinary people live. Um, it's the quality of life that just ordinary people are living that measures the development of a nation. And I think sometimes we get caught up in this boasting. Oh, we have an expressway, we have a tall building, and all those things mean nothing for an ordinary Kenyan. It's the quality of life of an ordinary Kenyan across the road and how their lives are changing that should matter, really. And so, you know, it's been amazing. So we can easily forget and begin to blame other people. Um, but I was being constantly being reminded it's not the leaders, it's us. It's our nation, it's us as a nation. We we cause it, we, we, we, we, we've created it ourselves. And so it comes back to me and my contribution to the challenges that we have as a nation. So it's very easy to blame other people. Um, but you can never grow, you can never develop until you begin to take responsibility for your life. You know, it's easy to blame your parents, it's easy to blame your spouses, it's easy to blame your relatives, all your friends, or all your genetics, or I was created like this. Um we can blame, you know, lack of education, um, you know, lack of money, you can blame the economy. Um, yeah, but but and and I think the enemy likes that when we focus on blame game, and we are focusing on other people if only somebody else could do something, if only the government could do something, if only you know somebody else or my parent or my, you know, you can blame everybody. But you can never ever progress in life when you live blaming other people. And I believe as on my journey to achieving extraordinary possibilities, you need to wake up every morning and say, you know what, I am responsible for where I am today. I'm responsible for the quality of my life, I'm responsible for everything, positive or negative, that is happening in me. And I want to focus on that because that one I can control. You may not control somebody else, but I can control myself. I sometimes we like to blame God or even the devil. Um, you know, if we because we're looking for someone to be involved, it's you know, why did God allow these type of leaders to be here? You know, is it the enemy? Is it the devil? Is it God? We can blame um all those people. But I every time I see when it comes to our elections and voting, the devil does not go to vote. I've not seen him in the polling stations, I've not seen him in the, you know, in the campaigns. It's people and very educated people and very spiritual people that when the elections come, they forget about the flash, they forget about all the challenges. And now we want to vote our man. It's our turn. Um, and we must rally together as a tribe to make sure we vote our man and we forget about every problem we've had for five years, and we make that choice again. Then we mourn again for the next five years, complaining about why the very people we voted for did not do any, did not do much. So may the Lord help us because it's easy to just blame the blame cam. Um, we blame the environment, we blame our bosses, we even blame the events that have happened unto us because sometimes we go through pain, we go through loss as we grow up, we get abused, um, we get neglected, and all these events can make us not want to take responsibility for our lives. But I want to encourage us this morning as a ministry, as a team, as individuals, families, we can never be successful until we rise up and take responsibility for every area of our lives. Our achievements, um, your achievements, you need to take responsibility for it. And say, hey, I'm responsible for this achievement, for this, your productivity. How productive are you as an individual? Are you making a difference in the place where you've been, where you are in your workplace, at home, uh in the nation? Are you being productive? Are you doing the best that you can? Your income level, uh, the amount of in income that you are getting, you are responsible for that. Um, it's not anyone else. Even if even debt, if you find yourself in debt, it's not the enemy or the devil that brings debt to you. It is us who go in, we are the ones who borrow the money, we are the ones who dial star, that star, whatever, to click. Uh, when MPESA send you that message and tell you, by the way, you can click here to get um a free loan. It's you, it's not the devil. It's dang star, you know, 254 ash, whatever, to get that loan. It's not the devil, it's me. It's it's me applying for that loan. It's it's it's me. Um, we even take you know um uh take responsibility even for time for our health. We are responsible for the way we what we eat. Um, we the ones who have the knife and the spoon. Um, and then you know, it's us who are cooking, it's you us who are putting the oil, it's us who are buying those chips. So we we we have to take responsibility for our health as well, and even our feelings. Uh, sometimes we know the way we feel today is a function of us. And so one of the greatest secrets to us living an extraordinary life is really coming to that point of saying, I am responsible for this thing. I'm responsible for being in the hall that I am in, I'm responsible for being here, and therefore I need to agree it's me, it's not my husband, it's not my wife, it's not my children, it's not my country. And I if I'm going to move from this position to the next position, it's going to take me and not one else. You can never be successful as long as you believe that you have no role to play in creating your future and that it is controlled by external forces. And that's why sometimes people make a mistake. Um, you see people chasing uh, you know, in a way, um misunderstanding God's word. Where people feel that, oh, it is God who will do something. So you you rush to people to pray for you, to anoint you with oil, and then you think that by anointing or whatever it is that you're buying, you know, something supernatural will just come into your life and you're gonna be different. Um, and by doing that, you're actually surrendering, you know, what you're supposed to be doing to God. And God stands there and he waits on you, and you are sitting there and saying, I'm waiting on you, God, and therefore you never make progress. Um, and so it's always a combination. Uh, we need to do our part. God, as God does his part, we have our part, do. And we cannot be successful as long as you believe that you have no role to play in creating your future. And that's why also which doctors are um uh disturb people a lot because it's easy to say, oh, I'm the way I am, because you know, somebody bewitched me, you know. Um, this somebody bewitched me, and so I'm completely helpless, um, just who I am because of this person of God did, and or even sometimes we talk about um, you know, things, curses that happen in your family, and so you're completely helpless because there's a power that is controlling you. And the enemy likes that when you believe when you if he can put you in a place where you're not in control of your life, and that the external forces determining what is happening in your life, then the enemy has won because he knows he's controlling control. And so this morning, may the Lord help us, irrespective of where we are, irrespective of how far we are in the bush, uh looking after you know, small uh little clock, um, completely unknown, the last born of the family, completely neglected. It does not matter how far you are, but if we decide to take responsibility for our lives, our you know, we can change our destiny and we can rise up to do great and amazing things.

Driver Or Passenger Mindset

SPEAKER_00 34:27

And so we can decide to be the driver of our lives, or you can become a passenger. Now, if you are the driver of your life, you take responsibility. When you're driving your car, you decide where to turn, you decide when to stop, you decide um which direction you want the vehicle to take. You decide the speed at which you want the car to go because you are the driver of your life. And I think we need to take responsibility for that. We need to be the drivers of our lives, not passengers. A passenger in your car is completely dependent on you, uh, or is you a passenger is dependent on the driver. You cannot stop that car, even if you see something happening, you can only you are completely dependent on the driver. Um, and so when they make the wrong turn, if you are the driver and you make the wrong turn, you you take responsibility and get back on track. Um, and that's exactly what happens in our lives. If we are drivers of our own lives, we are responsible for our lives. If we make the wrong turn, then we wake up and say, I think I took the wrong turn, I take responsibility and I get back on track. That's what it means by being on the driver's seat. I don't blame anybody. I'm the one who made the turn. I take responsibility and I get back on track. If I drive, you know, uh fast and I get a fine, I get stopped by the policeman. I don't blame anybody because I'm the one who's putting the accelerator on. I pay the fine and I don't complain. That is what it means by being the driver of your life. You take full responsibility for what is happening uh in your life. And um, I think when you live like that, it becomes powerful.

Fighting Without Surrendering

SPEAKER_00 36:16

Life is full of battles, um, and we must be willing to confront the obstacles. Um, you know, the same way that Winston Churchill was saying we are going to fight in the beaches, we're going to fight in the streets, we're going to fight in the landing grounds, we're going to fight in Germany, we're going to fight in France. I mean, that has to be the attitude that we have that whatever life throws you, you are willing to fight. Um, you're willing to put the effort as required, you're not giving up, we are not surrendering, you're not bringing that flag down, we are not going to surrender to the enemy, we're not going to surrender to any circumstance, whatever life throws unto us, whatever battles that life throws unto us, because we have got no control over what comes. But whatever life throws us, we are willing to confront the obstacles. Maybe you are here this morning, you have really got huge obstacles. Um, yes, we want to encourage us. You can confront them. Um, brethren, I've confronted them. The others confronting them, you're not alone, but we can stand up and confront those obstacles. We can confront the circumstances that have come around us and say we are not giving up, we are not taking going back, we are fighting, uh, we are taking responsibility for our lives, and we want to make sure that we don't retreat. Uh, sometimes we must be willing to confront people and personal challenges because some of the things that we'll be dealing with will be coming from people. Um, people will betray you, people will bring, um, will do things that will cause, you know, um will cause pain. Of us in the work, in the in the corporate world, you know what it means when people in the office are against you and they don't see, you know, they don't see anything good that you are doing. And you have to deal with that. You have to confront um, you know, those things. I call them bosses from hell. You know, find them along the path of your corporate world, and and you find them there, and and they are in a position of authority, and and they they dis they determine things and and and and and for some reason, time you can feel like, wow, how am I going to survive on this thing? But you have to be saying, whatever the battle that is thrown onto you, you need to fight. You need to fight like Winston Churchill, fight in the beach, fight in the morning, fight in the evening, fight in the every place. That must be your attitude that you're not going to surrender, because the enemy wants you to surrender. That's what the Germans wanted the British to do. They were telling them, surrender. You know, like you know, other countries surrendered without a fight. You know, they just invaded Poland, they moved in Norway, they moved into um into Belgium, and they just continued overrunning the countries. And that's what the enemy wants. The enemy wants you us to surrender. Oh, yeah, it can't be done. This is this is life. You know, everybody's doing it. So, you know, surrender. That's what the enemy wants us to do. But we must take full responsibility. Whatever life throws unto us, brethren, we must say we are not surrendering. We are going to keep fighting, we're going to keep advancing God's agenda, we continue preaching, we continue um doing the missions, we continue being where we need to be, irrespective of what is happening around us. We are not surrendering at all. Um, whatever pastor challenges that continuously appear between us and the goals that we set, we need to confront them. And if we live like that, we're going to, I believe, accomplish extraordinary things. And so each one of us will face unique challenges and circumstances. And we look deeply into the life of David and see what challenges he faced. But each one of us will face unique challenges and circumstances. Um, there's no, you know, each one of us has got a life that's mapped to us. And the challenges that I face may not be the challenges that you're going to face. But what we are sure of is there'll be challenges. And there'll be unique challenges and unique circumstances. But we must each determine to push until we get a breakthrough. We must not allow circumstances to take us off. We must push through, apply God's word, God's principles to see us through and not give up. Wherever you are this morning, in whichever field you have chosen, in whichever area of your career, whether it's in the church, in the ministry, in our workplace, as a business person, um, in whichever profession that God has kept you, brethren, it takes fighting. It takes um a determination for us to push through until we get a breakthrough. And I pray that the Lord is going to help us, brethren, to be not those that give up, those that um um you know run away from circumstances, those surrender, you bring the flag down. We are not going to be those that are flagging, we're going to hang in there, we're going to push, we're going to fight. I like what we're still in church. He said, We are going to fight with increasing confidence, brethren. We need to we're going to fight with increasing confidence in the air, increasing confidence in the land, and increasing confidence in the sea. Whatever side the enemy is coming from, whichever direction he is coming from, we need to be determined to push through in the workplace, in you know, whether it's through our bosses or colleagues or whatever it is, we need to fight with increasing confidence, knowing that the God we serve is faithful and he's on our side and he's going to give us victory, brethren, uh, in Jesus' mighty name. So,

When God Does Not Reveal Plans

SPEAKER_00 41:45

some few truths here that we need to just mention is that God does not always reveal what he has in store for you. And remember, when David is is tending his father's sheep, and he had no idea. When David is there with his harp and is playing his music, looks after the sheep, he had no idea that one day he would become king of Israel. At that stage, at that snapshot of his life, he had no idea, and this is how God works. God does not always reveal what he has in store for you. And I want to declare this morning you don't underestimate the plans that God has for you. Wherever you are today, you may be in a in a bush situation, maybe in a place where you're looking after sheep and goats, and you are known, nobody knows you, nobody even remembers you, like the way David had done. But don't underestimate the plans that God has for you. And that's why when he sent Samuel, he's sorry, Nathan, prophet Nathan. I like what God tells him here. He says, Go and tell, go tell my servant David. He calls him his servant. Go tell my servant David. This is what the Lord Almighty says, I took you from the pasture. I it's not David, I God Himself, he saw. He says, I took David from, I took you from the pasture, and I brought you all the way. When you are tending the flock, I appointed you ruler of my people. Brethren, don't underestimate the plan that God has for you. You may be obssecure, you may be far away, you may look like um, you know, that unlikely candidate, but don't underestimate what God can do when he gets all of you. David was sending his father ship, he had no idea that one day he would become the king of Israel. And there's a reason why God does that, because many times God does not reveal what he has in store, because many of us could run away. If today God was to show you the plan. Years for you, we would you it's very easy to run away, and you know, even here in the ministry, when we started off you know 30 years ago, if if God had come and told us what crime was going to be, I can guarantee you many of us would have run away. Many of us would have run away. I would have been number one. Um if if if we knew what this would what it would take and where would be today, um, we may not have had the courage to withstand. Um, you know, to stand, you know, to stand. I think that's what God does. He does he hide things, he reveals to you just enough. Just enough. So and then what he then does is uh he will he will allow situations to come to your life. Situations, and it's those situations is the response, your response to those situations that determine where you end up in life. So God has a plan for David, he wants him to become king, and so he, of course, yeah, you know, he sends Samuel and Samuel anoints him and he goes away. But it took a Goliath to show up for David to start getting on his way to become the king of Israel. So circumstances that come along your way, how you respond to them will determine whether you start matching into the destiny that God has in store for you. And that's why it's it's the Goliaths are not good. Sometimes we don't like the Goliath moments where we have to go and fight, we do where we have to go and confront somebody, where we have to deal with situations, where we, you know, those in in in in between moments where it's uncertain, where you are you are at risk, your life is at risk itself. David could have been killed. Goliath would have had him. Actually, when they came marching in for that fight, Goliath was saying, I'm gonna kill you. Who do you think you are? You know, you know, he he he put his entire life at risk, and maybe you are at that point in time, that in-between transitions where circumstances you're dealing with Goliath circumstances, Goliath moments. But I want to encourage us this morning, it is these situations is our response to these situations that determines where we'll end up in life. If David had chickened out, he would have maybe continued being a nice boy looking after the sheep. But when those moments came, he stood on God's word. He stood on God's word, he said, you know, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? I am willing to put my my life at risk here. I'm willing to fight, I'm willing to step, you know, step forward. I'm not shrinking, I'm moving forward. And so when situations come like this, you know, many times we want to we can we can be faced to just keep the peace and not do any confrontation, not do anything. But is when these situations come, that's the time to stand on God's word. What does God's word say? David knew he said, The God that I serve, he fought for me sometimes, and I was dealing with some lions and some bears. That God is able to help me even overcome this situation. So it is our response to this situation that determines whether we'll move forward on our journey to doing the extraordinary. So circum difficult circumstances are not bad, they are uncomfortable, they are not good, they are not great. But we need to confront them with all our energy, and most important, we need to apply God's word. That's why we need to have God's word hidden in us. We need to walk by faith. When those circumstances come, we need to move by faith, not by emotions, not by what the majority. No, no, no. We need to stick what does God say? What is God's word? And then you move forward. Even when the economic situations are not in good, you listen to God, not what economics is saying. Um, and and I think that's critical for us. So, whatever it is that you may be going through, brethren, even as a country, we are going through difficult situations, you know, disappointing moments, but we need to confront these challenges um and and and still believe God's word, still believe that God has a great future for our country, that it's possible, that we can we can chat a different path, that tomorrow is going to be a better day for us. We need to continuously declare God's word of our nation, God's word of our leaders. There's nobody that cannot change, the only the devil is the only one that's condemned to die. But people can be transformed. God can change, uh, can you know can change, can change people. So we need to know that um that those are true that God doesn't always reveal what he has in store for you. And I believe, brethren, God has great things in store for you, for me, for this ministry, for your family. Um, he has got a great things in store for us. Let us not be intimidated. And then, of course, your past does not affect your future.

Your Past Does Not Limit You

SPEAKER_00 49:05

Your past does not affect your future. If you look at that again, David is God is referring here, he's saying, Hey, I appointed you. I took you from the ship. Don't forget where I got you from. I took you all the way to the palace. And if there's ever been any understanding, is that the God we serve is not a God who keeps making reference to your past. Oh, where did you start? Oh, where were you? What mistakes did you make last time? You know, how bad were you, which family you came from, what a level of education. Our God does not consult our past to determine our future. Our God is a God that has got great plans for us. We need to start thinking differently. We need to surrender to God for his guidance and believe God for the extraordinary in 2026. So I'm going to pause there for now because I want us to spend some time and respond that in prayer. We'll continue building on that. Looking at the life of David, it's one person.