Indeed, oh Lord, we are not turning back, we are not giving up, we are pressing forward to the upward mark. Our Lord and our God, we just want to praise You; for Your goodness to us, for Your mercies, for Your compassion, for Your grace upon our lives, for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, we praise You; we praise You for Your love for us, oh Lord, for Your eternal salvation plan for us and our loved ones, we praise You for what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Thank You, Father, for Your breath in me and for making it possible for me to be here today, I give You all the glory, all the honor and the adoration in Jesus’ name.
I specially appreciate our father in the Lord, the APICR for this privilege, more grace, more anointing sir in Jesus mighty name. Father, this morning, please anoint our hearts to receive from You; have mercy upon me, Lord, speak through me Lord, let me not be seen, let only Jesus be seen this morning, in Jesus name we have prayed. Praise the Lord!
Greet the person to your right and the person to your left and say ‘Jesus loves you’; and just to remind us that we have something happening here by 4:00 p.m. today, Evening of Hymns, come, don’t come alone and invite others. It will be a glorious session in the presence of the Lord in Jesus name.
I have a question for you, I have a question for myself this morning, are you stickable? And my text this morning is 2 Kings 2: 1 – 5 & 15, “And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me onto Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.
3Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” (May the Lord keep silent your detractors in Jesus’ name). 4Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.
5Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” 15Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. My prayer is that we will persevere, we will endure and we will be victorious in Jesus mighty name.
Very quickly, indulge me with three or four short stories. A young man joins a church and serves faithfully in one department for years; he receives mentoring, develops leadership skills, and eventually pastors there over others. Another person changes churches every year whenever he’s upset with the pastor or the ushers or the choir and never grows deep spiritual roots.
Brethren, growth requires planting; constant movement often produces shallow maturity. A text for us to consider, Psalm 92: 13, those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God; and on that note, I want to remind you that we have prayer chain tomorrow, and the theme for the prayer chain tomorrow is an instruction and a commandment that will come to pass in your life, the theme is “You are Made to Flourish. So join us by 6:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Second story; a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary are asked for the secret of their successful marriage, the husband replies, “We grew in a generation where when something was broken, we repaired it rather than replacing it.” A point of reflection, modern culture today encourages people to leave relationships at the first sign of difficulty, but godly marriages thrive because husbands and wives choose commitment over convenience, especially during the difficult seasons of life.
Malachi 2:15 enjoins us not to deal treacherously with the wife of our youth. The APICR, our father in the Lord sent me a message yesterday, an analogy between football and marriage, we will try to share it with you later today; so I thought that I would not say anything about football but since he sent me a material on football, I thought I should spend a minute or so on football.
For those of you who stayed awake last night, you got the metaphorical results – Arsenal 2 – Man city 1, if you don’t get it, forget it. So, let me interpret, Saka 2, that tall guy 1, but please, in that story, that husband, and I wonder why it was the husband that had to answer though, ‘they repaired things rather than replacing it’. I was counseling a young cousin of mine, (I hope she doesn’t watch this YouTube, is family, so I’m not violating church protocols).
“I am tired, I’m carrying a heavy load, my husband is not doing this, he’s not doing that”, and my injunction to her was, do you know what tomorrow holds? I pray that we will stick to our marital vows in Jesus mighty name.
Third story, and I’m not here to tell you stories but I hope we’ll figure it out. Two colleagues start work on the same day; one spends every salary increase he gets immediately on the luxuries of life, the other saves and invests a modest amount every month. 25 years later, the disciplined saver and investor enjoyed financial freedom while the higher spender continued struggling and all the friends that he used to impress had deserted him.
A reflection point, financial security often is a result of many small wise decisions repeated over time. Proverbs 21:20, there is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up, we shall not be foolish in Jesus’ name. There are a lot of teachings in our morning dew sessions on this subject matter, please check our website.
And the last story, one person tries to embark on a fashionable diet and exercise program but never stays with it for more than 3 weeks; another simply walks daily, eats sensibly, sleeps adequately, and remains consistent for years. The second person definitely enjoys significantly better health. Reflection point, health is usually the result of consistent discipline rather than occasional intensity.
A personal story, I am well, I am okay, many of you are wondering what’s wrong with this man preaching today, just that I decided to copy a colleague at work who was on a weight loss regime, and while I was copying him, the man gave up, but I kept at it, and today I’m 20 kg lighter. I stuck with it but pray for me that I will not go back to my old ways.
Let’s start the sermon within the short period we have. One of the greatest tests of Christian maturity is not how passionately we begin but how faithfully we continue. And I have a personal story, I don’t know how many of you remember Lekki 1998, I think that was the very first conference; I walked the kind of walk I had not walked before in my life to get to the venue; alas, my mom also went different; alas, I got back home and I got a phone call, and what was the phone call? ‘Wale, come home’, my father had passed away the day after Lekki 1998.
This was me, struggling Christian, I’d gone to make that sacrifice, to pray and all of that, but the next morning, my father who had had a stroke for 5 years and who actually wanted to go for Lekki 1998 but his health wouldn’t permit him, had passed, that was an appropriate moment for me to say no to this born again journey and no to the Redeemed Christian Church of God. But I thank God that I persisted and I give God all the glory.
Why am I saying this? We have many excuses that we can give for not sticking with God. Elisha, in our story, could have said enough is enough, I’m going back, but we are like many people by the way who start businesses but abandon them. That shall not be our portion in Jesus name.
Some of us start marriages with excitement, but at a point in time stop investing. I was reflecting whether I should mention this; you know in the Redeemed Christian Church of God we don’t watch Netflix, I’m not looking at the pastor’s side, but you know what, there’s one very silly series that is very popular, and you know that if you don’t invest in your marriage, the outcome you get, you might not like it, but keep investing. God will help us, God will help you in Jesus name.
Some start praying fervently but they give up when the answers are delayed, and some, even when the answers come, they stop praying. Some start following Jesus indeed but retreat when the cost of disciplehip becomes too costly, but we should realize that God is not looking for just starters, He is looking for finishers. You will be a good finisher in Jesus name.
Stickability is a good virtue for every believer. And what is stickability? It is the God-given ability to remain faithful, committed, and steadfast despite delay, despite opposition, disappointment, and hardship. The kingdom indeed rewards those who stay. I pray that God will release upon us a staying power in Jesus’ name.
Elisha, who we read about, is a portrait of stickability. Three times Elijah said, “Stay here,” three times he answered, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you, I will stick with you.” Elisha refused convenience, he chose commitment. Are you committed? It’s a question for you, introspect. And because he stayed, he saw the chariot, he received the mantle, he crossed the Jordan and entered his destiny. I pray that none of us will miss out of the glorious destiny that God has for us in Jesus’ name.
But you know what? Many of us want the double portion, we want the double for our trouble, many people want Elisha’s anointing without Elisha’s endurance. I reckon we’re in a microwave era, we want instant noodles, instant wealth, instant ordination, instant all the likes, but I pray that God will help us to remain faithful even when it’s difficult, He will help us to continue when others quit, He will help us to stay planted until God says move.
In this journey, I have seen people who were deeply spiritual at the point in time someone like me was struggling, and today they’ve gone back into the world with such vengeance, it’s unbelievable. I pray that we will not go back to pardition in Jesus mighty name.
Why does stickability matter? It matters because God rewards those who endure. Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”. You will not faint, I will not faint in the mighty name of Jesus. Every one of us loves harvest, but very few love perseverance. I pray God will help us in Jesus’ name.
Why does stickability matter? Every great calling requires endurance, and there are examples, Moses endured for 40 years; Noah built the ark for decades, even before the rain came; Joseph endured betrayal, endured slavery, and endured prison; David was anointed long before he became king, and after he was anointed, he faced unimaginable attacks; Paul endured imprisonment, beatings, and rejection. But you know what? Great destiny always passes through difficult seasons, there’s a saying, no pain, no gain.
Our character is formed by staying; James 1:4 tells us, let perseverance finish its work, if we do not go through the crucible of tough times and challenges, we will not come out in the way and manner we ought to come. For those of you who did biology and remember metamorphosis, if you try to help a caterpillar break out of whatever they call it to become a butterfly, it will not survive, it must go through the process. We must go through the process and the path that God has ordained for us so that we will be strong and finish well.
Let us note, God develops us before He deploys us. We thank God for the rescue of the children, but do you think those soldiers that went in there just went there for the first time? They had gone through intense training, and you know what? Even our God delays promotions because He’s preparing us for the journey ahead, in fact, He truncates some of our journeys because He has great plans ahead for us, and let us note that the anointing often comes after the testing.
In that story, Elisha’s miracle did not happen at Gilgal, it did not happen at Bethl, it did not happen at Jericho, it happened after he stayed all the way to Jordan. Many of us quit just before God wants to do what He wants to do in our lives, and I pray that we will not quit prematurely in Jesus name.
There are number of areas where stickability is essential, I don’t have time but I’ll just quickly run through a few; in our walk with God, our daily prayer, Bible study, worship, and obedience requires consistency. John 15:4 & 5 says, “Abide in me,” we must be consistent, it must not be a function of how things are, how things are going, you just must be consistent in our walk with God.
Our marriages, I had mention, experience different seasons of joy and difficulty. I wrote a note here, our mommies in the house, forgive me, I said obinrin, you know what obinrin means? Women, I’m a man now, so I must speak on behalf of men, in this journey of marriage, there are days where you are a champion, they will hail you,( if you don’t understand this Yoruba hailing, go and get interpretation) olowo ori mi, ale nobody, your wife is hailing you, hailing you, two days after you wonder if you are the same human being.
But let us know, covenant love requires perseverance, forgiveness, and commitment, and many of us do not understand that that popular song by Ebenezer Obey that we hear in marriages first appeared in the Bible before he waxed it into an album.
Matthew 19:6 says, “What therefore God had joined together, let no man put asunder;” we must stick to our marital vows no matter the situation, no matter the condition. I’m not an expert because there are people who have been married longer than me, but you must stick at it. In this generation, small trouble, ‘I’m not taking this, my mental health is being assailed’, what is the meaning of that? For the young ones in the house, forgive me.
Parenting, raising godly children is a marathon, it is not a sprint. Some children will disappoint you so badly that you will begin to wonder did this child come from me? Did I invest this much? But you know as a parent you must stick at it, and where do you stick at it? In the place of prayer, in the place of intercession.
In our careers and in our calling, I don’t know, a young professional comes to meet you, ‘oh thank God I got this job, I’ve been waiting for this job, God had been great, God had been wonderful’, nine months after he has given testimony, he’s coming to meet you to say I think I want to change that job. If you do not stay the course, the outcome might not be good.
Ministry, many people start enthusiastically but fewer finish faithfully; we see Elisha’s refusal to leave Elijah as an example of ministerial stickability. We also need stickability in business, education, relationships and all of that.
But there are hazards for not being stickable, what are the hazards for not being stickable? You will miss God’s best plans. That shall not be your portion in Jesus name. Like I mentioned earlier on, people miss their breakthrough because they quit, look at the case of the Israelites in Numbers 13-14, God had taken them through, but because they refused to persevere in faith, they missed entering the Promised Land through grumbling and complaining. A God that had done wonderful things for you, just persevere, no, but they did not get there.
What’s another hazard? You may not reach your full potential. And let us note, your talents might open doors for you, but perseverance determines how far you go. There’s somebody honestly who maybe today we would have been reading about in the Bible, but he lost the opportunity, and we read about him in a different context.
2 Timothy 4:10, for Demas (I’m not sure anybody names their child Damas) hath forsaken me, having loved this present world; he started well but abandoned the faith because he was carried away by the luxuries of the comfort of this time. That shall not be our portion in Jesus name.
What are the other hazards? You become a serious starter but never a finisher. I don’t know if you’ve seen people who come with a new idea every month, ‘oh, I’m going into pure water, no, it’s recharge card the next month’, after a while, because you want to be a good Christian, when they are talking your mind has switched off, you just want them to end the conversation because you know next month another idea will come. Stay grounded in one and execute.
Another hazard is, our character remains underdeveloped. Without perseverance, we’re not strong enough for the journey, and we know, pressure is often God’s classroom, it’s like the furnace in which we are groomed and we’re developed.
Another hazard is, our relationships become very fragile. You know there are people who walk away whenever a small conflict arises; small conflict you run away, you struggle to build deep relationships and you know all this silent treatment, I’m not speaking to anybody, something happens, you ignore the person, you don’t speak, you walk away from the relationship. That’s not it.
An offense, I know many of us get offended, you get offended and you abort relationship that God has put in place; God has linked you up with a destiny helper, but because of offense, you lose the opportunity. I pray that God will help us in Jesus name.
And the very last point under that is, a hazard of non-stickability, is that we lose our eternal rewards. I pray that we will not lose our eternal rewards in Jesus name.
We should know, God honors faithfulness more than fame. Matthew 25:21, his lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the lord. Let us note, that master didn’t say well done gifted servant or successful servant, he said faithful servant. Faithfulness is important, we must be faithful in our service to God so that we can finish well.
Brethren, there’s a lot to talk about on this topic, but let us introspect in our minds, where do we really belong to? Are we have we stopped to God? Are we in service to God?
[Displays schematic]
There are four categories of people here; the ones who stick to God and the ones who are serving God. That is where we all should be, and I pray that God will keep us there if we’re there already, or God will move us there in Jesus’ name.
That’s a place where you find the likes of Elisha, and there are other quadrants where we shouldn’t be. Are you the onlooker? You are not stuck to God, you’re not serving God, you are just an observer. We will not be observers in Jesus name. You are in church because they said on Sundays is not nice to be at home, just come to church and you come to church, you’re really not connected to God and you’re really not serving Him. That’s not a good place to be.
Or are you the seasonal servant? You work in the house of God, you embark on activity but you really are not connected to God. At the end of the day, Jesus must recognize you as one of His own, and that is where you ought not to be.
Or are you a clinger? You supposedly are stuck to God but you are not serving Him. Clingers are people like Gehazi, can you imagine what Gehazi would have been? He would have been two times more powerful than Elisha.
So this morning, God is asking us, will you stay with Me? Will you stay with Jesus? Will you stay with His word? Will you stay in the place of prayer? Will you stay in your marriage no matter the temperature in that marriage? Will you stay in your calling? Will you stay when no one is clapping for you or recognizing you? Will you remain faithful even when no one notices you?
It’s a question to you, is a question to me, but if today you know that you have been an unlooker, you’re not stuck to God, you’re not serving Him, or you’ve been a seasonal servant, you’re not stuck to Him but you are forming activity, or you’ve been a clinger like Gehazi, God wants you to become faithful, He wants you to become dependable, He wants you to be available and committed to Him, and I hope you’ve had a moment to reflect on where you belong to.
So if this morning you want to say enough, I want to surrender to Jesus, I want to be connected to Him, I want to stay with Him…
[Altar call]
If you want to surrender to Jesus, you are tired of being an unlooker, you are tired of being a seasonal servant, you are tired of being a clinger, you want to finish well, don’t look at anyone here. You know what? Elisha didn’t look at the sons of the prophets who were teasing him, he decided this journey I will finish well.
I want the rest of us to pray and say Father, we confess that too often we have sought convenience instead of commitment, we have sought applause instead of obedience, we have sought recognition instead of faithfulness, oh Lord, have mercy and forgive us, oh Lord, help me, help me to surrender to You afresh.
Oh Lord, help me to remain faithful when no one is watching; oh Lord, give me the grace to stay with You, to remain with You, to stay in service; oh Lord, let me finish well, oh Lord, help me to finish well, let me not lose out of the glorious destiny You have for me.
Father, may I never abandon my divine assignment prematurely; Lord God Almighty, every mantle that You have ordained for my life, let me receive it in the name of Jesus. Oh Lord, let no offense rob me of my destiny, in Jesus name we prayed.
