Identify Your Constituency 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Apostle Paul for instance had a clear sense of his vision and mission which was global and all encompassing – the Gentiles, Kings and the children of Israel. Please read Acts Chapters 9 verses 15 to 20, 22 to 30; 13 verse 47.  He commenced his mission at Damascus where he encountered Jesus, progressed to Jerusalem, Tarsus, Seleucia, Cyprus, Salamis, Perga in Pamphylia, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Ephesus, Lystra and Derbe as well as the numerous places he went for missionary work. The Apostle Paul harvested souls; he planted Churches wherever he went amidst persecutions; significantly from the Jews who always incited people in these communities and cities against him and his team. None of the challenges such as health, financial and sometimes emotional challenges; coupled with the backsliding of certain brethren, as well as insincerity amongst some brethren discouraged Paul. Rather, he focused on finding solutions to the challenges; grew a thick skin to persecutions and learnt to leave immediately his life was at great risk. He also encouraged backsliding brethren to remain steadfast to Christ, challenged insincere brethren to be sincere to the faith they professed, earned his upkeep as a tent maker, prayed for divine health for himself and members of his team. The Apostle Paul truly identified his constituency; significantly by the leading of the Holy Spirit. He also paid significant attention to the peculiar opportunities and challenges of his constituency and responded to them wisely by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Quite significant is the fact that the divine call is not even your decision. It is the decision of God that was made even before you were born. Please read Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 5. The divine call therefore confers on you God’s authority and power over the nations that God called you to so that you can root out and pull down, to destroy and throw down whatever is not of God, whatever opposes God and contaminates the people and the nations. Additionally, God also empowers you to build and to plant the righteousness of God, the love of God, the wisdom of God, the prosperity of God, the kindness, compassion, mercy, forgiveness of God and His grace in the nations of the world He called you to. But if you operate outside of your constituency, you may have to work in your own strength and sadly, with really nothing to show for it.

Identify Your Constituency

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

You can identify your constituency by the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is to say that the Holy Spirit helps you to identify the people God sends you to. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah was sent to the nations of the world in his generation and significantly, Jeremiah worked within that constituency. Please read Jeremiah Chapter 1 verses 5 to 7. This also implies that God is the One Who defines the constituency which you work in and not necessarily you, your background, your ethnic group, nationality, race, economic power or status, religious affiliation, position in the Church, acceptance in the Church, etc. it is the decision of God and not yours. Therefore, prayerfully identify your constituency by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Once that is done, you will also need to identify the specific needs of your constituency which God in His infinite wisdom has capacitated you to meet. Then explore ways and forms of meeting the needs; again by the Spirit of God because is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God and with God, nothing will be impossible. Please see Luke Chapter 1 verse 35 and Mark Chapter 10 verse 27.

Additionally, the content of the message you are sent to deliver to members of your constituency is very important. This is because your content must be specific and relevant to the needs of your constituency and because God is the only One Who truly knows and understands the needs of each constituency particularly the one He sends you to; the content of your message should be sourced from God so that you can actually impact members of your constituency. This also implies that your message should be what God commands and not what you desire, wish or love to say. Jeremiah was commanded to speak what God would have him say to his constituency. Even when Jeremiah tried to hold in the words of God because the words were not acceptable to the members of his constituency, he could not hold it in. he had to speak what God required him to speak. Please read Jeremiah Chapters 1 verses 7, 9 and 17; 20 verse 9. The prophet Jeremiah also knew and understood his constituency.

Determine to Succeed

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Aspire to succeed

Dare to succeed

Focus to succeed

Act to succeed

Be bold to succeed

Break barriers to succeed

Create time to succeed

Invest time to succeed

Avoid distractions to succeed

Avoid contentions to succeed

Collect assets to succeed

Succeed despite the odds

Be discreet to succeed

Be tactful to succeed

Excel to succeed

Study to succeed

Read to succeed

Analyze to succeed

Believe God to succeed

Trust God to succeed

Exercise faith in God to succeed

Exalt the name of God to succeed

Praise God to succeed

Worship God to succeed

Honor God to succeed

Acknowledge God to succeed

Pay your tithes to succeed

Receive Strength 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The very many and very dry bones in the valley speaks of despair and hopelessness experienced by the children of Israel. But when God instructed the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy and breathe His life, power and strength into the very many dry bones in the valley- valley representing the nadir of hopelessness and dry bones representing in the valley representing utter despair and hopelessness; yet these same bones became a mighty army that rose out of the valley.

You also can become a mighty army if only you take on the strength of the Lord offered freely to you today by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible records that Judas and Silas (prophets in the early Church who were sent to the Church in Antioch) exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. This implies that they spoke words which kindled hope and life and comfort and divine direction to the brethren. Like the prophet Isaiah, these New Testament also had the tongue of the learned (Isaiah Chapter 50 verses 4 to 5) and therefore spoke to the people in words and possibly tones taught by the Holy Spirit. Please read Malachi Chapter 2 verse 7. That probably explains why the brethren were strengthened.   Their words, definitely prophetic  brought edification, exhortation and comfort to the brethren as instructed by Scriptures in 1^st Corinthians Chapter 14 verses 3 to 5, 12, 19, 26; 2^nd Corinthians Chapter 13 verse 10, Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 11 to 16, 1^st Timothy 1 verse 3 and 1^st Thessalonians Chapter 5 verse 11. Words which inspire faith and also strengthen faith in keeping with the injunction of Scriptures to edify rather than condemn are words which bring strength to people. Please read Romans Chapter 10 verse 15, 14 verse 19, 15 verses 1 to 2,  Isaiah Chapters 52 verses 7 to 9, 61 verses 1 to 4, Luke Chapter 4 verses 17 to 19, Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 29 to 32, Colossians Chapter 4 verse 6.

Receive Strength 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

In Acts Chapter 3 verses 1 to 9, and 16,  note verse 7, the Bible records that the feet and ankle bones of the lame man received strength and the man who had never walked from birth leaped up, stood and walked and entered the temple with Peter and John, walking, leaping and praising God.

Beloved, God is awesome. This man was daily laid at the gate of the temple called Beautiful to ask for alms. So close to the temple yet he had never been inside of the temple. Daily, he saw people go into the temple to transact real business with God, worship God, ask God for forgiveness, cleansing, healing, deliverance, provision, promotion, wealth, favor, children, peace in their personal, family, community and national lives; academic excellence and prowess, military prowess and success, you name it; yet he had never seen the inside of the temple. He had never come close to transacting business with God yet God was so near, was with him, sitting by and with him all the time, waiting for him to transact quality business, real business with God but Mr. Lame from birth knew and understood only one business; unfortunately the business which did not move him from point A to B; but kept him stuck in a spot where he daily lived on and at the mercy of those whose hearts responded to his daily pleas for alms.

He lived for and on the mercy and compassion of people – without alms; he could probably never survive simply because there was no strength in his feet and ankle bones. His entire life was subject to the mercy and compassion of humans and knowing that humans are sometimes subject to fickle mindedness and vindictiveness, the man’s daily bread was not always guaranteed. So his mental processes were always fixated on alms; let someone bless me with, please forgive my choice of words – peanuts to go through today. That is just all that I need today. After all, I will be back here tomorrow and someone will give me what I need tomorrow.

Pathetic and tragic is the fact that his mental processes could not rise beyond asking for alms on a daily basis to survive each day. But all that came to an abrupt end when God through Jesus Christ working through the Holy Spirit in the Apostle Peter intervened in the situation.