May You Be A Highly Sought After Person in Life, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye
The message of tonight is to probe the thoughts of our viewers and to propel your prayers. To Change a society, change their thinking pattern. To change a man change his thought process.
Bible: As a man thinks, so he is.
When we say something is sought after, it means it is in great demand, usually because it is rare or of very good quality.
It is when something is always wanted, desired, longed-for but not easy to get, e.g. BHS went into administration this past week, because they were not sought after any more…. May people not take over your life.
In the world there are many stones, many of them, their usefulness is to be walked upon; some of them are used in construction to be lived inside while few are kept as ornaments or precious stones to be worn and adored. The few precious stones have very high quality so that they are highly sought after by mankind.
It is not all stones that are special. There are certain stones, the builders may reject to use even in construction. God said such stones can be changed to become a cornerstone.
– May you become a cornerstone in Jesus name. May God upgrade someone here from the pebbles of life that men step on into precious stones they carefully hold in their hands in Jesus name.
A cornerstone is by far more important than any other stone in the building. It is always at the foundation; it is strategically placed at an angle; and it has to be laid first to get the stones going out at the two sides correctly.
– May God make you a formidable pillar in His hands.
May you be the strongest link of any selection: simple or stratified random.
May you be the first of a kind in Jesus name.
A lot of people love Gold, it is traded on stock market, but the most expensive gemstone is not gold. The most expensive stones are Red diamonds, Jadeite and Musgravite. They are very expensive because they are rare to find.
– May God make you one of His rare creatures in Jesus.
God is the Creator of all things. He made all human beings. While many live on as ordinary beings, some live as extraordinary and a few live as super ordinary. It is my prayer that your life shall be super ordinary in Jesus name.
– Job interviews, they ask for any extra you are bringing. May you be carrier of super ordinary stuffs.
In Mal. 3:17, God said a day is coming when He will gather together His precious Jewels unto Himself, sadly not everyone will be among these Jewels. Those who will be among these Jewels are the faithful and obedient children of God.
Malachi 3:17 – And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
– May you be among those precious jewels of God.
But even as we yet live, God still has rare gems whom are His ambassadors on earth. These are people whom God uses to demonstrate His glory and power. They were born as ordinary beings, but God transformed them to super ordinary beings.
– May you and I enter into that category in Jesus name.
Men as social beings, we like to gather together in societies. To be among the highly sought after within and outside any gathering, one must strive to be unique and distinct. One must also pray for the grace to stand out from the crowd.
In the Old Testament, one of the highly sought after person was Elisha. At best Elisha was to be a lucrative farmer, which would have earned him recognition in his home town alone. However, God turned him into an international figure.
In 2 kings 2:1-22, God began to demonstrate His grace of recognition upon Prophet Elisha. Elijah repeated persuade Elisha to stay behind when God was about to take him to heaven. Elisha however persistently said no until he received the double grace of anointing upon the life of Elijah.
Upon receiving this grace, all the sons of prophets who were mocking Elisha before became subordinate to him, not only that, Elisha became the prophet and father to kings.
As soon as Elisha crossed over Jordan River miraculously, the people of Jericho cried out to him to heal their land and water.
A curse that was placed on Jericho for many generations was reversed by Elisha easily.
Something they never had the gut to ask the powerful Elijah was put to him and he didn’t fail.
Elisha declared the word of God, the rest was history.
– Thus says the Lord, I have healed you from today.
– May God demonstrate His grace of recognition on you.
– May that grace make you to stand before kings.
– May those that had mocked you before come again to bow to the grace of God upon you.
– May God’s grace upon your life sweeten lands and lives around you in Jesus name.
– May God make people to recognise and celebrate His grace upon you.
In 2 kings 3: 5-27, Under Jehoram, the children of Israel had to go to war with the children of Moab.
Jehoram asked Jehoshaphat the King of Judah and also the King of Edom to assist him and they agreed.
Their troop travelled for 7 days and their water got finished. Without a water course in view, it appeared that the end had come for their soldiers even before fighting. So Jehoshaphat suggested that they inquire from the Lord.
The name that came up straight away was Elisha. How did Jehoshaphat know that the word of God was with Elisha? It’s simple, because people from far and wide were coming to seek direction from him.
– You will be a consultant to nations.
Elisha was just a servant of Elijah. He was not even a son of prophet. Yet he became a super ordinary man in life.
– You are an errand boy now; God says where He is taking you to is to become a superordinary being. May you get there in Jesus name.
– These three kings entered into problem, but their problem was to raise the profile of Elisha higher.
– There is someone here, that problem where you are, God says it is to announce your recognition the more.
In I Kings 22:1-39, the Israelites joined by Judah went to war with Ramoth-Gilead and Syria. Before proceeding to war, Jehoshaphat King of Judah asked Ahab King of Israel to inquire from God. Ahab gathered his 400 false prophets and they all told the two kings to proceed to war as victory was assured.
But after listening to the 400 prophets, Jehoshaphat was convinced that something was wrong. He again asked if there is yet another prophet of God they could still inquire from. The grace of recognition on the life of Micaiah the son of Imla then stood out.
Micaiah was able to proclaim the right prophecy with sharp precision; this shut the mouth of the most senior prophet and placed Micaiah on a higher pedestal of prophet hood in the region.
In life there are always the fakes and the originals. People may not quickly denote the difference, but sooner than later; the difference(s) will be glaring. The 400 were fake, only one was original.
The fact that lots and lots of people are doing something does not mean it’s right, neither does it mean that it will give you good recognition. God will always distinguish His own by confirming His words in their mouth.
The words of Micaiah came to pass, while that of the High Priest and his 399 colleagues fell to the ground. Ahab did not prosper in the war, he actually died.
The grace of recognition on Micaiah would have further increased after the fulfilment of this prophecy.
– May the grace of God upon your life increase the more in Jesus name.
Without any doubt, one of the apostles that were highly sought after during his life was Peter. He was the spokesperson for the twelve. It was him that got up on Pentecost Day to preach to the onlookers and 3,000 people believed. His name was very popular among believers and unbelievers in Israel.
At a point, just the ordinary shadow of Peter healed the sick and delivered the oppressed. Herod tried to kill him after James, but God spared him, this went further to increase his recognition in the region.
– May you not be stagnant in life. May God increase your recognition.
How to enter the group of the highly sought after
– Dare to be different in a good way. Just because there are many people in a group does not mean they are doing the right thing or that you must belong to them. (Elisha did not follow the sons of prophets; Micaiah did not follow the 400; The 12 apostle were different – Acts 5:12-13).
– Focus on your assignment rather than chasing material benefits. That is what will get you noticed. Be it study, work, talent, skill, etc. The benefits will follow the mastery of your assignment. A good name is better than riches. – Elisha, Micaiah, Peter (money) as against Gehazi.
– Be patient in service/serving. Don’t be in hurry to get noticed. Stardom does not happen overnight. It requires consistent diligence to your calling or your assignment. Elisha served; Peter served; Micaiah served calmly.
– Be bold to declare your conviction regarding your assignment no matter the circumstance. This will earn your recognition. Elisha – kings, Micaiah – kings, Peter – Kings/rulers.
Prayer
1. Father turn me into a superordinary fellow.
2. Father, let your grace of recognition be seen in me.
3. Father, even if I’m in a desert or a hidden place, let me still be sought after by nations. (John de Baptist)
4. In my kind of trade, vocation, discipline, let me be at the forefront in Jesus name.
The sermon, May You Be A Highly Sought After Person in Life, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye was delivered on May 1, 2016 at the Thanksgiving Service