ACCESS TO GREATNESS (part 1): MAKING SACRIFICES
Certain Heavenly visions, mission and purposeful journeys will only be achieved by making sacrifices. However, there will be certain visions and missions that will require a proportional investment or gifts that will not cause severe inconvenience.
Proportional gifts or proportional investments are investments or gifts we make out of what we own. Those proportional gifts or investments represent a reasonable proportion of what we own and they usually do not cause any inconvenience.
On the other hand, a sacrifice is a gift or an investment with the following two characteristics:
Certain heavenly visions, divine missions and greater purposes can only be realized through either a sacrifice or multiple sacrifices.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
(Hebrews 12:1-3)
Notice that in the above passage, Jesus decided to endure the cross when He saw the Joy set before Him. The Joy was set by God before Him. That Joy was His vision and His reward. In that Joy, was the possibility of seating at the right hand of God (among other things).
For that Joy, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice which comprised a death at the cross with shame. The price He paid was not a proportional gift but a great sacrifice.
Many Christians struggle to see their Godly visions come to pass because they are not willing to pay the sacrifice required to see those visions come to pass.
Sacrifices can include hard work, study, financial gifts and investments, separations, and many other actions.
In Philippians 2:5-11, the Apostle Paul wrote:
have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Notice that as a result of making Himself lowly and of dying at the cross, God elevated the Name of Jesus above all Names.
Since Jesus paid the greatest price through His sacrifice, we can also conclude that levels of sacrifices should match the greatness of the vision.
For example, if God entrusts sister ‘A’ with the vision of obtaining a PhD, sister ‘A’ will have to study hard. Sister ‘A’ will have to invest longer study hours than a pupil would for a primary school exam.
Too many Christians like the great visions and promises that God makes to them. However, since they only invest relatively low input at realizing those great visions, they fail to see their realizations.
All the Christians who have left strong marks of greatness in their calling (whether it was fpr a secular or a five-fold ministry calling) had one thing in common: ‘they were willing to pay the sacrifices required for their great calling.’
I have never seen a great minister achieving levels of great revival without making sacrifices.
I have never heard of a mega Christian business person who reached high commercial levels without making sacrifices.
I have never seen a God called Christian athlete reach world levels of competitiveness without sacrifices.
We all remember the 12 apostles of Jesus and the Bible also states that their names will be written on the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (ref. Revelation 21:14). Such rewards only come as a result of the sacrifice they paid.
In the Kingdom of God, Salvation and the Holy Spirit are free of charge along with a few other things.
However, in the Kingdom of God, the accomplishment of a God given calling to a human is not a free thing.
Certain visions and calling will require a light amount of energy and investment.
But great and mega visions will require sacrifices.
‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.’
(Luke 12:48)
Proportional gifts or proportional investments are investments or gifts we make out of what we own. Those proportional gifts or investments represent a reasonable proportion of what we own and they usually do not cause any inconvenience.
On the other hand, a sacrifice is a gift or an investment with the following two characteristics:
- Sacrifices are costly and very often inconvenient
- Their value exceeds the value of a proportional gift.
Certain heavenly visions, divine missions and greater purposes can only be realized through either a sacrifice or multiple sacrifices.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
(Hebrews 12:1-3)
Notice that in the above passage, Jesus decided to endure the cross when He saw the Joy set before Him. The Joy was set by God before Him. That Joy was His vision and His reward. In that Joy, was the possibility of seating at the right hand of God (among other things).
For that Joy, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice which comprised a death at the cross with shame. The price He paid was not a proportional gift but a great sacrifice.
Many Christians struggle to see their Godly visions come to pass because they are not willing to pay the sacrifice required to see those visions come to pass.
Sacrifices can include hard work, study, financial gifts and investments, separations, and many other actions.
In Philippians 2:5-11, the Apostle Paul wrote:
have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Notice that as a result of making Himself lowly and of dying at the cross, God elevated the Name of Jesus above all Names.
Since Jesus paid the greatest price through His sacrifice, we can also conclude that levels of sacrifices should match the greatness of the vision.
For example, if God entrusts sister ‘A’ with the vision of obtaining a PhD, sister ‘A’ will have to study hard. Sister ‘A’ will have to invest longer study hours than a pupil would for a primary school exam.
Too many Christians like the great visions and promises that God makes to them. However, since they only invest relatively low input at realizing those great visions, they fail to see their realizations.
All the Christians who have left strong marks of greatness in their calling (whether it was fpr a secular or a five-fold ministry calling) had one thing in common: ‘they were willing to pay the sacrifices required for their great calling.’
I have never seen a great minister achieving levels of great revival without making sacrifices.
I have never heard of a mega Christian business person who reached high commercial levels without making sacrifices.
I have never seen a God called Christian athlete reach world levels of competitiveness without sacrifices.
We all remember the 12 apostles of Jesus and the Bible also states that their names will be written on the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (ref. Revelation 21:14). Such rewards only come as a result of the sacrifice they paid.
In the Kingdom of God, Salvation and the Holy Spirit are free of charge along with a few other things.
However, in the Kingdom of God, the accomplishment of a God given calling to a human is not a free thing.
Certain visions and calling will require a light amount of energy and investment.
But great and mega visions will require sacrifices.
‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.’
(Luke 12:48)