PRAISE

 

REWARDS FOR PATIENCE

Renowned man of God, David Ibiyeomie had this to share with his audience during his preaching on patience which I decided was worthwhile and worth sharing after  listening. he made a lot of  good points which every person needs to be focused on especially christians during their waiting period.

"Rewards for service has a time called waiting time. The waiting time is a time for learning, experience, and stability. I will share this testimony with you. We hear our father told me something; I became born again and the first preacher I ever met was him. I Just gave my life somewhere in a deliverance ministry. I won’t call the name of the ministry and I didn’t like the way they were doing their things. I said to myself; this is not the type of Christianity I want. I never knew him in my life. I’ve never heard his name in my life. I said; who do I go to and I never knew in Agbaja (I was living in Victoria island) so somehow, miraculously, first book I had, was, living in the supernatural was given to me. I said who is this man? This is the one I want to meet. A woman walked to me and said, men from your kind of life, you will meet. She mentioned his name the same day, I said okay, that’s great. So I find my way to this place here in Agbajah. When I came to bible school, I became born again in July, came to bible school in October, and when I went to bible school, everything I heard is what I know. Some of you had different backgrounds so you are so confused. I had only one background so I heard one man preaching and whatever I took, I take it. The first thing I heard was, “take it all and swallow it all.” I said that is all.

While in bible school, Bishop Adeboye taught us stewardship. He told all of us; “you have to serve your way to the top” and service was all I knew about. While in bible school, I was serving and they will tell us to go to the covenants (as full time bible school students were the first full time bible school students here), everybody will decline; they will say children church nobody will go; they will all say no and they will say they can’t come as a full time student and be going to children church, to do what? So our class prefect will ask us; who will go to full time? I'll look at everybody; okay, nobody.  I will say; Allow me. Let me go to the children church. They looked at me like i was some kind of a bush man. I went to children church and that time not now when children church is well organized. When I got there, they will say to me; “uncle, you will run till the church is over.” As you are saying sit down here, they are pursuing here, they are running there.  You won’t hear any message. That’s how they will play with you till service is over.” While I was doing that, I was doing it with joy. I was serving with all my heart.

 Doing it they will say when we have breakthrough seminar and ask us to stay by the covenants because the church was so populated sometimes you will see men trying to make the mistake to go to the female covenants so they made sure a full time student was there to alert them. One day, I was going to eat with my wife (we were courting then). They said, you, come. I said, what have I done? When we were in bible school, when they call you, you must look at your dressing to be sure there’s nothing wrong with you and he was there with some other pastors. They were talking while I was standing. After a while, he went up to the tower and they came and said to me; “you know what? We have chosen you to serve on the altar” I looked at myself. Now, before I was on the altar, nobody in bible school served the pastors who serve on the altar so when the communion is brought, that pastor will take it from there and drop it. Nobody is permitted to climb the altar, except the pastor. I became the most popular bible school student in winner’s chapel. God said to me,” I lifted you because you served where others refused to serve. I pray today, somebody who will serve God; your lifting will never be missing. In the name of Jesus Christ. 

Now hear this again, while in Bible School, mind you, where I was living, Victoria island to Agbajah is not close. I used to board four vehicles to get to church and Monday to Friday I will be in bible school. Saturday I’ll come for evangelism. So Monday to Sunday, I was leaving Victoria island to Agbajah. Boarding 4 vehicles, I wake up 4 am, will run 5 services before we came back to 4. Now, they will ask us to go for soul winning and I won 56 abiding souls. Not who I preached to. 56 souls. I wasn’t a pastor yet. I was still a brother in bible school. Those 56 started foundation class and were baptized in 1 month. Heavens were opened. Now listen, what you make for others, God will make happen for you. Everyone whose heart is pure and serve God genuinely, no devil shall stop your reward, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when I started my own, there was no struggle because I had already sown so much seed into winners chapel so where others were trying to reach in ten years, it was my own starting point. Now hear this, every time you are sewing a seed, never think it is a waste. We need to be students of patience. In James 5:7, it says,“ Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

Our possessions are secured in Christ but it will take patience to access them. In Luke 12:19 it says; “In your patience possess ye your souls. Many are too much in a hurry to sow and reap immediately. The question is this; the day you plant, is it the same day you harvest? You all know the story of the Chinese bamboo? The Chinese bamboo grows for 5 years but in the 5^th year, within 6 weeks, it grows to 90 feet. Everything of value including your service takes time to manifest. The time required to manifest a bicycle is not the same time required to manufacture an aircraft. That is why the worth, value and altitudes are not the same. if you want a casual service then take the bicycle life. If you want your services to be rewarded, then give it all it takes. The time required to manufacture an aircraft is not the same time required to manufacture a space craft. That’s why their worth and altitude are not the same. The time required for the growth of a corn is not the same time required for the growth of a palm tree. The bible refers to you and I as palm trees. You can harvest a corn just once and it can last only for a few months but the palm tree can be harvested several times and can last for several years. The gestation period of that of a pregnant rat and elephant are not the same. That of the rat take 21-24 days while that of an elephant is between 640 to 660 days. That’s why the elephant is of more worth than the rat."

Job had so many challenges but he never stopped serving God. No matter the challenge you are going through, don’t allow it to stop you from serving God.

This is what i learnt from David Ibiyeomie that day. To you all out there reading this, I pray you find joy in what you have been called to do and may you do so with joy in order to reap your fruits by being PATIENT! 

Though it tarries, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not tarry.