God’s Generals

(0:00) This morning I want to speak to you about God’s confident. (0:05) You know, God is in the business of making people whom he chose as his confidants (0:15) and then convert them into God’s generals. How many of you believe we belong to the army of God? (0:24) Hallelujah.

One guy was not coming to church for many weeks and the pastor visited his home (0:30) and he happened to be there. He said, brother, pastor said, brother, you are not seen in God’s (0:37) house. He said, pastor, I’m in the secret army.

That’s why you’re not seeing me. So God doesn’t (0:45) want you to be in the secret army who hide from the church. God wants you to be in the house of (0:51) God.

Amen. So God is looking for people whose heart is loyal to him. To them, he revealed his (1:03) glory.

As you’re sitting here this morning, how many of you believe God is here with us? (1:11) Bible says, eyes of the Lord is scanning through and for to see a man whose heart is loyal to God (1:21) to him, God revealed a secret, his covenant. God has made a covenant with you. You know, (1:32) what is the covenant? That we bless you.

He will make you great. Pastor Paul understood (1:40) and he looked at the church. He said, guys, I have betrothed you to one husband, (1:46) Christ.

I am working hard to present you as a pure chaste virgin before God. (1:55) Pastor Paul said, day and night, I pray. I never stop thanking God for you because Paul believed (2:04) and he knew that God has planned great things for them.

So you as a man, a woman of God, (2:15) you got to come to God’s house believing that God has great things for you. (2:20) How many of you believe God has great things for you? Bible says, God has great things which no (2:26) eyes had seen, no ears heard, no mind comprehended. The thought that God think about you is far higher (2:35) than the thoughts you think about yourself.

God said, I alone know the plans and the thoughts I (2:42) think towards you, not the plans to harm you. There may be people thinking to harm you. There (2:49) may be people wishing something go wrong with your life so they could talk about it.

(2:54) There may be people say that he’s an ordinary. I don’t think he can make anything. (2:59) I look at all of that, but God is looking at you and saying that you’re my masterpiece.

Amen. (3:06) I designed you in your mother’s stomach. I designed you with a purpose.

(3:13) I designed you so that you will go out and do great things. You are designed for great purpose. (3:22) God has great plans for you.

Great, great, great plans. It’s not revealed what you will become. (3:31) That’s what the Bible says.

We see in part, we prophesy in part. It’s not revealed what God has (3:39) in store for us. But as we walk in the light, as he is in the light, stage by stage, like onion (3:47) peeling, you see something new every stage.

Sometimes walking with God is like climbing (3:54) staircase, different levels. You don’t know what’s in the next level. You climb one level, (4:00) you find something amazing.

Don’t get stuck with it. Keep climbing. Some people get a disease (4:07) called we have arrived syndrome.

They get to a certain level of blessing. They get so overwhelmed (4:13) with the blessings. They got so obsessed with the present and they forget about the presence.

(4:25) You know, even after you become 50 or 60 or 70, the word of God still says, I have plans for you. (4:33) The book of Isaiah says, as the heaven is higher from the earth, the plans that I have for you is (4:41) higher than the plans you have for yourself. So in order to inherit the plans that God has for you, (4:53) you have to become a confidant of God.

You have to become a person in whom God can (5:03) confide, in whom God can trust. I want to tell you this morning very prophetically, (5:13) God wants to bless you to make your blessing to others. (5:19) Your hands and your life is going to overflow with the grace and the resources where you become (5:27) a blessing.

You become the provider for many things. You know, Joseph’s brothers got very (5:34) jealous of him because he was a man of dream. His brothers were not men of dreams.

(5:40) Joseph was a man of dream from a very young age. His dreams are so visible and so loud. (5:47) His father made him a multicolored dream coat.

A coat with a lot of different colors (5:55) because he’s a man of dreams. His father made a colorful coat for him and because of that coat, (6:02) his brothers hated him all the more. So Joseph couldn’t resist speaking about his dreams.

(6:11) A man of dreams is a man who speaks about dreams. You know, in the secular world, they say, (6:18) don’t tell your dreams to anybody. Don’t tell your future plan to everybody.

But the Bible says, (6:23) write down, make it plain on the tablets. Amen. There are books you get said that don’t share (6:31) your vision with others.

They may rob, but if your vision can be robbed so easily, that’s not (6:37) a vision. That’s a division. Vision that’s born from God in your heart, no matter how many time (6:46) people try to copy, it becomes fresh and bigger.

It can never be copied. Abraham was a man of (6:54) vision. He walked out.

God said, I will give you a great city. I’ll bless all those who bless you. (7:01) I’ll curse all those who curse you.

Go and you’ll expand. You’ll become a great guy. I’ll bless you.

(7:08) And Abraham heard God and walked out. But looking at Abraham, somebody else also walked out. His name (7:16) was Lot.

Abraham’s eyes were on God. Lot’s eyes were on Abraham. Now I see lots in every ministry, (7:26) in every business.

Now God always achieved things through one man. God raised up a man through him. (7:33) Then there are people comes around him like parasites, trying to take advantage.

They cut (7:38) commissions. They cut corners. They say they are serving you, but they are more of serving (7:45) themselves.

So Lot was a man so that God is with Abraham, I better go with him. So he went with (7:52) Abraham and Abraham had blessings and victory and cattle and herds and everywhere Abraham went, (7:59) things just expanded. But Abraham was not busy looking at the wealth.

He was busy looking at God (8:07) because he’s on a journey of setting up a nation which will last even after 4,000 years. (8:13) Big vision. But Lot was thinking about what Abraham is getting, what can I cut for myself.

(8:20) So later the servants of Abraham and servants of Lot had a quarrel. You read the Bible, correct? (8:29) So he managed to make his own servants under his boss. So Abraham’s eyes were where? On God.

Where (8:37) is Lot’s eyes? On Abraham. So Abraham came to a stage and said, man, I can’t put up with it anymore. (8:44) He called Lot and said, look, you take whatever you want and you go wherever you want (8:50) and wherever you take, I’ll take the opposite direction.

So Lot looked around (8:55) and he saw the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. And he saw that’s a prosperous city, very stylish, (9:03) fashionable, everything is in good condition. He said, I’ll go there.

Abraham said, I’ll go (9:10) opposite. But city of Sodom and Gomorrah was so ungodly. (9:18) It was so bad, you know.

So when you look at the wealth, when you took the material things and go, (9:24) you end up in the places where you never wanted to be. (9:30) Lot was saved from that place. He was walking towards Abraham into the promised land, (9:37) but he even lost his wife.

She became a salt pillar. So God has a great plan for you. Don’t (9:48) copy somebody else’s idea.

Be original. Be authentic. Don’t be a duplicate.

But that doesn’t (9:57) stop you from having troubles in your life. You know, I want to present you a God who gives you (10:03) troubles. A God who brings troubles in your life.

But remember, every trouble God brings (10:11) for a purpose, to make you a better person. He has a loving hand, but also he has a disciplined (10:20) role in his hand. Don’t tell God, give me your loving hand, but don’t come with the discipline.

(10:28) I don’t like if I’ll stop. If you discipline too much, I’ll stop coming to church or I may go to (10:32) another church, which is convenient. Everyone whom God loves is disciplined.

If you’re not disciplined, (10:43) Bible says you’re an illegitimate child. You’re not really a child of God. (10:50) In a true mother or true father, never count on your mistakes.

Yes or no? (10:57) Huh? No matter how far they go, your heart goes with them. Yes or no? (11:04) They never stop loving you. How much more your father in heaven.

Bible says more than a mother (11:11) care for the child, my Jesus will care for me. Your father and mother may forsake you. (11:20) A nursing mother may forsake the baby on her breast, but your God will never forsake you.

(11:27) He’ll never forget. He knows you when you get down. He knows you when you sit down.

He knows your pain. (11:35) He knows your joy. He knows your hope and he knows your expectation.

(11:42) There’s God who watches, but that doesn’t stop God disciplining you. Turn your Bible to go to (11:51) Deuteronomy chapter 8. You know, this is about God speaking about the blessings of children of Israel. (12:01) He said, when the Lord, your God brings you into the land are entering to possess and drive out (12:08) before you many nations of the Hittites, Gershides, Amorites, Canaanites, Perisides, Hivites, Jebusites, (12:16) seven nations larger and stronger than you.

There are some devils are sitting on your blessings. (12:22) Okay. God promised children of Israel, I’ll give you a nation.

God promised Abraham, I will make (12:28) you great. I’ll make a nation out of you. But they had come to the border, but there are some other (12:35) devils are sitting on your blessing.

Then when the Lord has delivered them over to you (12:41) and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them. (12:49) Show them no mercy.

Three, do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to them (12:55) in their marriage. Turn your children away from them.

When you come to chapter 8, God said, (13:01) be careful to follow every command I’m giving you today so that you may leave and increase and may (13:07) enter in and possess the land with the Lord promised your ancestors. Who is that? Abraham. (13:14) And remember how the Lord led you all the way in the wilderness for 40 years to humble you and test (13:21) you in order to know what was in your heart, whether you would obey and keep his commandments (13:27) or not.

So he humbled you, caused you to hunger, then feeding you with the manna, which neither you (13:34) or your ancestors are known. To teach you that man does not live by the bread alone, but by every (13:40) word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Now when you read that portion, he said, I (13:46) cause you to go through wilderness to test you to know what’s in your heart.

He said that God (13:53) doesn’t know what’s in our heart. God knows, but God want you to know. God allow troubles to come (13:58) in your life.

He put a pose in your life, just press. For you to look back, where do I stand (14:07) with God? See, if God gives trouble, don’t become bitter, learn to be better. Do you know that (14:16) nothing comes to you without God’s knowledge? How many of you believe that you are like the apple (14:22) of God’s eyes? Wow, what is this? He who tried to touch you, tried to touch the apple of God’s eyes.

(14:31) How many of you know Bible says, God has engraven you in his hands. So when God looks at, he sees you. (14:42) When God looks, he sees you because you’re already in his eyes.

(14:46) You can’t avoid, God can’t avoid. He loves you so much, but that doesn’t stop you from getting into (14:52) problem. You still fall into problem.

You will still come across obstacles. You will still see some (14:59) grishais and nebutais and jebusais. All these kind of guys are sitting on the way and blocking you (15:06) and say that you will not get it.

We are bigger than you. We are stronger than you. You can never (15:10) win over us, but you must say like God’s people say, in the name of God, I leap over the walls.

(15:20) In the name of Jesus, I cut my enemies down. So God has great plan for you. (15:28) He is thinking wonderful things about your life.

Don’t sing too many songs about what you achieved. (15:35) Sing songs of hope, songs of faith, singing about what you are going to achieve. (15:41) Bible says the glory that’s going to appear in you is nothing compared to the glory that’s behind.

(15:48) Greater is the glory of the latter than the former. How many of you are ready to believe (15:56) with me that God has great things for you? Don’t say God has something. Some plans God has.

(16:02) Something will happen. No, no, not something. I don’t want something.

No, just say like you call somebody (16:08) to your house whom you love a lot. You give them something or you give them special. (16:15) You know, Jesus goes where he celebrates, not tolerated.

Amen. You look at your worship. Some of you are (16:21) tolerating this one and a half hour church.

Some are celebrating. If you are tolerating, God has, (16:29) you have God’s back. But if you are celebrating, he looks at you and says, wow, this guy is interested.

(16:37) I must do something for him. How many of you know the eyes of the Lord is scanning to and fro (16:48) to see a man whose heart is loyal to God. God is looking at you this morning (16:56) to see a man’s heart which is loyal to him.

To him, God revealed his glory, his plans. You know, (17:05) the secret of the Lord belongs to those who fear him. To them, God revealed his plans.

(17:14) You know, God wanted to do great things in the world. (17:21) God wanted to do. Jesus died for the whole world, not for you alone.

Bible never said God so loved (17:28) the Christians and he sent his son. Bible said God so loved the world and he gave his only son, (17:34) whoever believed in him will not perish, but will have. Verse 17, you must read what the 17th says.

(17:41) God did not send his son to judge the world, to condemn the world. He sent his son to redeem (17:47) the world. So God is looking for faithful people.

You know, he who is faithful with the little things (17:59) will be entrusted with the great things. You know, God wanted you to be his general. (18:07) You know, general is a very high position in the army.

I mean, we all are God’s soldiers, correct? (18:15) Some are foot soldiers, some are horse soldiers. But we are all soldiers. But the one who is faithful (18:23) with the work that God assigned, God promotes him.

Now you have a company, say 20 people working for you. (18:30) Whom do you promote? Somebody who gossip about you? Somebody is waiting to see a downfall? (18:35) Or somebody is wishing that you won’t grow? Or somebody who turn up before the time? (18:40) Or somebody who come late and want to go early? Whom do you promote? You promote the one who is loyal, (18:46) correct or not? He may not be very smart. He may not be very capable.

But your harness is more (18:54) bigger capability than any other capability. God is not looking for big people. God is looking for (19:01) ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

So God is looking for people whose hearts are loyal because (19:09) they are the ones God want to make them as soldiers than the generals. (19:17) Who is a general? General is a person who control the army, make decision for the army, (19:24) lead the army, take care of the army, make sure they’re protected, make sure the strategy is made (19:31) so that when they go for war, there’s a minimum death. A general see things beyond.

(19:42) A soldier see only what is ahead. So are you a general or are you a soldier? (19:49) But God want to make you a general. You know if you want to become a general of God, (19:55) where God give all the power and resources, even the angels, ministry, you have to be the one who (20:03) is faithful.

You have to be the one who care properly for the people below you. (20:11) You have the people who think of the best for the people around you, always want to give. (20:19) You don’t think about them how to make use of them and make few bucks.

(20:23) You will think of how to make some more money to give them. (20:28) Honestly speaking, I want to give the best salary for the people who works with me. (20:35) Because they are the ones who going to build my dream.

(20:40) Teamwork is the way dream works. No team, no dream. The less you build the team, (20:48) more your dream get distance from you.

Finally, your dream may sound like a fairy tale. (20:56) So, Apostle Paul said like this, you must endure hardship like a good soldier. (21:04) No one engage in the warfare, entangle himself the affairs of this life, (21:09) that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Psalm number 25 verse 14 says, (21:17) secret of the Lord belongs to those who fear him, and he will show them his covenant. (21:25) So, Lord confide in those who fear him. The Lord confide in his prophets, (21:31) he speak to people who walk close with him.

The Lord confide in his friends. (21:37) The Lord confide in the humble, not the proud. So, how to become a God friend? (21:45) Do you want God to confide in you? When heaven looks at you, when heaven looks at (21:50) Goa, how many of you know that God want to do great things in Goa? Hallelujah.

Amen. (21:56) God want to do great things in Goa. So, God is looking down and say, whom can I assign this work? (22:01) Or God want to help some poor, or God want to release people to salvation, or God want to (22:09) outrun the power of darkness.

So, God want to do something God size. You know, can God count on you? (22:19) See, if God can count on you, then you are going to be God’s general. You know, among the (22:27) stewards, you know, there’s a word I sometime back, I spoke in the church about stewards of God, (22:31) God’s managers.

Who is the manager? Manager is someone who handling the property of someone else. (22:38) His job is to please his master and take care of everything around him. How many of you want to be (22:44) God’s manager? God is looking for a man and woman whose heart is loyal to God.

To him, (22:53) God reveal his mysteries, God reveal his plans. God is looking for some people whom he can confide, (23:01) people who can be said God’s confidence. You know, when God want to do something, (23:08) he turned his confidence.

Can you be counted as one of God’s faithful person? (23:14) Now, I want to tell you something, you know, when the Tyson offering going on, (23:18) you know, God was looking at your offering. Once Jesus sat in God’s house and watched people putting (23:29) offering and he showed his disciples, guys, look, that lady, you know, that poor lady, she done the (23:36) best. Everybody gave a little out of their burden, but she gave all that she has.

Do you know your (23:45) tithes reveal your true character? This is what the Bible says in book of Malachi chapter 3 verse 8, (23:53) will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. What do you say? In what way we have robbed you? (24:02) In Tyson offering. (24:07) Your curse with a curse.

I don’t like to say that over you. (24:12) For you have robbed me, even this whole nation. (24:16) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in the house.

(24:24) And try me in this, says the Lord of hosts. I will open the windows of heaven and pour out (24:31) such a blessing, there will be no room enough to hold it. When you become faithful, (24:39) prosperity is your lifestyle.

But when you are not faithful, poverty is your lifestyle. (24:48) Then you read the next verse, verse 11. God said, I will rebuke the devourer for your sake (24:55) so that they will not destroy the fruit of your ground.

Nor shall the wine fail to bear the fruit (25:03) of your field, says the Lord of the nation. Now, when you are unfaithful in your tithes, (25:11) you are inviting curse upon yourself. Not I said, the Bible says.

(25:20) So when you say, when I preach to you about, you know, God is looking for confidence. (25:26) How many of you know that God is going to give us the ability to make the wealth? Amen. Do you (25:32) know your wealth can disappear within no time? So God is looking for faithful people.

What is the (25:39) sign of the faithful people? Number one, faithful people have intimacy with God. Number two, they (25:45) show obedience and loyalty. Number three, they can carry secrets.

Number four, they remain fruitful (25:52) even in the midst of trial and misunderstood. They will embody others. They embody the love of God (25:59) in the world.

They reflect on the character of Jesus. These are the nature of a confident person. (26:07) And, and that’s, that’s the kind of people God will make them as his generals.

(26:15) You know, Bible says, he who is faithful, the little things will be interested with a little more (26:22) greater things. How many of you trust God for great things to happen? Hallelujah. Your finance (26:30) should be multiplied, not growing 10%, 5% and all.

Don’t ask your boss for salary, give him 2000, 3000. (26:36) Forget about all these things. You talk, ask God.

People count numbers, God count on you. (26:44) He said, you open the windows of heaven, bang. (26:49) And shower the blessings in such a way, it’s overflowing all over the place.

(26:54) Money just overflow. Come on, let’s lift our hands to God.