Beloved,
Where were you
From first to third
Of February
During Discovering Treasures?
If you were not there
I lie not when I say
You missed an awesome time
Of hearing from God;
But if you were there
I hope you discovered the treasures
Prepared for you
For the secret was revealed those days;
Whether you were there or not
Beloved, come with me
As I recount the experience
Of Discovering Treasures
2008.
Where were you
From first to third
Of February
During Discovering Treasures?
If you were not there
I lie not when I say
You missed an awesome time
Of hearing from God;
But if you were there
I hope you discovered the treasures
Prepared for you
For the secret was revealed those days;
Whether you were there or not
Beloved, come with me
As I recount the experience
Of Discovering Treasures
2008.
The Inspiration
The mining of my treasures is still on going. As I listened to the message of Discovering treasures 2008 over and over again, and I pored over my scanty notes which get fatter as I listen to the message, I realized that discovering treasures from the Word of God is a never-ending process.
Discovering Treasures is the Annual Word Conference of The Carpenter’s Church (TCC), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It is no ordinary conference. During this conference, the word of God is shared and expounded on in relation to our word for the year. This year, the conference took place from the 1st to the 3rd of February. The theme was “Infallible Proofs” in line with the word for TCC for 2008. Reverend Sola Kolade of The Vine Branch Charismatic Church (http://www.vinebranchurch.org/) was the guest minister.
Listening to the message made me relive the experience of two awesome days I spent in the conference. Though I wish I was there during every moment of the three days, I know my two days were better than one day or not being there at all. I had walked into church full of myself on Saturday evening, the second day of the conference. I had just been promoted and for a month I had been living in the associated euphoria. I became a bit defensive when Pastor Sola announced that the message for the day was “Who are you?” I held my peace.
The message went on and he said, “An understanding of who you are makes you know what you are supposed to do!” My mind went straight to my immediate achievement. It was only logical that if I am truly what I regarded myself as based on the achievement then I should be working towards another achievement. While I was still trying to analyze his statement, he said “You are a person with a great destiny facing temporary challenges”. This brought me out of my reverie and made me focus on the statement. It reassured me that whatever I am passing through will surely pass away. Even good things pass away.
Before arriving at the answer to the question “Who You are?” Pastor Sola said several things about whom / what I was not. First he said, “You are not your past”. Hallelujah! Then he said, “You are not your present (circumstances, needs, achievements).” It was as though my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw much more than I had ever imagined myself to be. It made alive the words by apostle Paul “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” [2 Corinthians 4:16-17]. More importantly, it made me realize that living in my present was limiting God. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think [Ephesians 3:20].
Pastor Sola continued with “You are not other people’s opinion about you; You are not your background; You are not your exposure; and You are not your location.” With all these things he had said, I was expecting a seven-point statement of who I am. He simply said “You are a child of God!” Hallelujah! What great truth, weight, nay power lay in those simple words. Had I not heard the words before? Of course. Yet again, it was like a revelation. Understanding that I am a child of God made me know I should not be living below God’s best for my life. It made me know that I should be reflecting the image of God. It made me realize that I am of God [1 John 4:4].
If you think that destiny means “What must be must be”, then you should be excited as I was to learn that destiny does not mean “what must be must be”. Pastor Sola made me understand that prayers and intercession can change destiny. Repentance can change your destiny. There is hope and a future for every one of us [Jeremiah 29:11].
There were so many profound words and truths Pastor Sola shared on that day which if I start to recount could become a novella. It then reminded me of the statement “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” [John 21:25]. My faith in God and His words grew that day. I came into church that day full of myself, but I left knowing that without God, I am nothing.
Let me take you to Day three. God is awesome! During the week, a friend of mine was talking about a passage in the bible that had something to do with “Ask for the old paths”. We could not trace that verse of scripture. I had never heard of it before. You can imagine my excitement when Pastor Sola’s opening verse was “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” [Jeremiah 6:16]. Several times we approach crossroads in our lives. Decisions need to be made. This verse of scripture my friend and I concluded as “light unto our path” [Psalm 119:105].
What was Pastor Sola using the verse of scripture for? The topic for Day three’s message was “Old Time Religion”. I wanted to experience infallible proofs in my life but I needed to know what principles to adopt. God is never changing [James 1:17]. Pastor Sola explained that the principles that were true of old time religion still remain true for Christianity today. Then he went on with the four principles. First was Commitment. “This is the master key that opens all doors”, he said. I paused to reflect on various areas of my life. I compared the things that were fruitful and the things that were not. The underlying word causing the difference was “commitment”. I quickly agreed with Pastor Sola’s first point for that day.
The second principle he mentioned was “Contentment”. I thought of the words “greed, envy, strife, dissatisfaction, competition, impatience and unhappiness”. Being content, being happy and satisfied yet knowing that better things lie ahead could erase those negative words that easily creep into my life. If I can be content then rather than spending time on what I do not have or how bad my situation is, I can have time to thank God for His goodness. I can have time to be sensitive to others, to show love and care as Jesus did while on earth. What then would stop the manifestation of my infallible proofs?
Pastor Sola went on to mention the third and fourth principles to be “Consistency” and “Carefreeness”. I thought that was the end of the message until he mentioned that there are three seasons in a man’s life: the season of prosperity, the season of adversity and the season of restoration. It does not matter which season I am at the moment. What gives me joy is knowing that there is restoration no matter what I go through. All I have to do is trust in God and take His Word simply, the way a child will [Luke 18:17].
The mining of my treasures is still on going. As I listened to the message of Discovering treasures 2008 over and over again, and I pored over my scanty notes which get fatter as I listen to the message, I realized that discovering treasures from the Word of God is a never-ending process.
Discovering Treasures is the Annual Word Conference of The Carpenter’s Church (TCC), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It is no ordinary conference. During this conference, the word of God is shared and expounded on in relation to our word for the year. This year, the conference took place from the 1st to the 3rd of February. The theme was “Infallible Proofs” in line with the word for TCC for 2008. Reverend Sola Kolade of The Vine Branch Charismatic Church (http://www.vinebranchurch.org/) was the guest minister.
Listening to the message made me relive the experience of two awesome days I spent in the conference. Though I wish I was there during every moment of the three days, I know my two days were better than one day or not being there at all. I had walked into church full of myself on Saturday evening, the second day of the conference. I had just been promoted and for a month I had been living in the associated euphoria. I became a bit defensive when Pastor Sola announced that the message for the day was “Who are you?” I held my peace.
The message went on and he said, “An understanding of who you are makes you know what you are supposed to do!” My mind went straight to my immediate achievement. It was only logical that if I am truly what I regarded myself as based on the achievement then I should be working towards another achievement. While I was still trying to analyze his statement, he said “You are a person with a great destiny facing temporary challenges”. This brought me out of my reverie and made me focus on the statement. It reassured me that whatever I am passing through will surely pass away. Even good things pass away.
Before arriving at the answer to the question “Who You are?” Pastor Sola said several things about whom / what I was not. First he said, “You are not your past”. Hallelujah! Then he said, “You are not your present (circumstances, needs, achievements).” It was as though my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw much more than I had ever imagined myself to be. It made alive the words by apostle Paul “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” [2 Corinthians 4:16-17]. More importantly, it made me realize that living in my present was limiting God. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think [Ephesians 3:20].
Pastor Sola continued with “You are not other people’s opinion about you; You are not your background; You are not your exposure; and You are not your location.” With all these things he had said, I was expecting a seven-point statement of who I am. He simply said “You are a child of God!” Hallelujah! What great truth, weight, nay power lay in those simple words. Had I not heard the words before? Of course. Yet again, it was like a revelation. Understanding that I am a child of God made me know I should not be living below God’s best for my life. It made me know that I should be reflecting the image of God. It made me realize that I am of God [1 John 4:4].
If you think that destiny means “What must be must be”, then you should be excited as I was to learn that destiny does not mean “what must be must be”. Pastor Sola made me understand that prayers and intercession can change destiny. Repentance can change your destiny. There is hope and a future for every one of us [Jeremiah 29:11].
There were so many profound words and truths Pastor Sola shared on that day which if I start to recount could become a novella. It then reminded me of the statement “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” [John 21:25]. My faith in God and His words grew that day. I came into church that day full of myself, but I left knowing that without God, I am nothing.
Let me take you to Day three. God is awesome! During the week, a friend of mine was talking about a passage in the bible that had something to do with “Ask for the old paths”. We could not trace that verse of scripture. I had never heard of it before. You can imagine my excitement when Pastor Sola’s opening verse was “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” [Jeremiah 6:16]. Several times we approach crossroads in our lives. Decisions need to be made. This verse of scripture my friend and I concluded as “light unto our path” [Psalm 119:105].
What was Pastor Sola using the verse of scripture for? The topic for Day three’s message was “Old Time Religion”. I wanted to experience infallible proofs in my life but I needed to know what principles to adopt. God is never changing [James 1:17]. Pastor Sola explained that the principles that were true of old time religion still remain true for Christianity today. Then he went on with the four principles. First was Commitment. “This is the master key that opens all doors”, he said. I paused to reflect on various areas of my life. I compared the things that were fruitful and the things that were not. The underlying word causing the difference was “commitment”. I quickly agreed with Pastor Sola’s first point for that day.
The second principle he mentioned was “Contentment”. I thought of the words “greed, envy, strife, dissatisfaction, competition, impatience and unhappiness”. Being content, being happy and satisfied yet knowing that better things lie ahead could erase those negative words that easily creep into my life. If I can be content then rather than spending time on what I do not have or how bad my situation is, I can have time to thank God for His goodness. I can have time to be sensitive to others, to show love and care as Jesus did while on earth. What then would stop the manifestation of my infallible proofs?
Pastor Sola went on to mention the third and fourth principles to be “Consistency” and “Carefreeness”. I thought that was the end of the message until he mentioned that there are three seasons in a man’s life: the season of prosperity, the season of adversity and the season of restoration. It does not matter which season I am at the moment. What gives me joy is knowing that there is restoration no matter what I go through. All I have to do is trust in God and take His Word simply, the way a child will [Luke 18:17].
Where did I start from? Listening to the messages that made me relive the awesome experience of discovering treasures. The message of day one was on Witnesses that Jesus Christ is alive and well. Pastor Sola spoke about Nature, Science, World events and the Church as witnesses that Jesus Christ is alive and well, and still performing the infallible proofs that took place after His resurrection. After listening to the message for that day I told myself that if ever I doubted God, if ever I doubted the Word of God and if ever I doubted the power of God, all doubts have been replaced by faith and love for my awesome God. I continue my mining of treasures on earth and in heaven, of tangible and intangible things, of treasures God had long prepared for me.
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