FAITH TO BECOME – PART 2: DR. MENSAH OTABIL, SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER, 2020

ONLINE SUNDAY SERVICE MESSAGE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)

TOPIC: FAITH TO BECOME – PART 2

DATE: 11TH OCTOBER, 2020

TEXT: PHILIPPIANS 3:12

Amen! – Let us rise together wherever you are (or reading on the Label of DMC) as we make our DECLARATIONS OF EXCELLENCE, in this Year of Excellence.

… Are you READY?

SAY WITH ME:
Out of Zion, the Perfection of Beauty, God shines forth. The Lord my God causes the righteous to shine forth as the Sun.

His Awesome Hands has formed me; His Creative Spirit inspires my mind. He skillfully guides my hands.

Therefore, I boldly declare: I am set apart for Excellence. The Ruler of the Universe has exalted my horn among the Nations. He sets my feet on high! In His Strength, I rise!

By Faith, I Press forward towards the Prize of my Highest Calling.

I believe in my heart, and confess with my mouth: that Jesus is Lord! He is the Vine, I am the Branch; in Him I abide, in Him I Blosom.

As it is written: God, who commanded Light out of darkness, has shone His Light in our hearts;

We have His Treasure in Earthen Vessels. That the Excellence of the Power may be of God, and not of us!

In this Year, I commit to EXCELLENCE, I commit to EXCEPTIONALISM, I commit to do the EXTRAORDINARY.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen and Amen and Amen!

And you may be seated in God’s Presence wherever you are joining us or reading on the Label of DMC.

I am doing Part Two (2) of my Message which I began last week: “FAITH TO BECOME (PART 2)”.

… The Concluding Part of my Two (2) Parts Message.

Last week, we looked at Abraham. We looked at his journey of Faith and we established that:

Abraham exercised Faith – NOT just to receive a son, but to BECOME a Father of many Nations.

That God is not just interested in giving us things, He wants us to BECOME something!

And I trust that each one (1) of us would become:

1. what God says WE ARE.
2. And we would become WHOM He says WE ARE.
3. And we would RISE to the place that He has APPOINTED for us!

DMC NOTES: You can get to read the Full Text of the Part 1 of the Series on this Link:

https://discoverymediacrew.com/Faith-To-Become-Part-1-Dr-Mensah-Otabil

Today, we would look at a verse we have looked at a few times – Especially this year under our Theme of Excellence;

And it’s in a Chapter of the New Testament – that sets out what I considered to be: ‘The Mindset of the Apostle Paul.

Philippians 3:12 (NKJV). And this is what it says:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already Perfected; but I PRESS ON, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also LAID HOLD of me”.

That one (1) verse captures very clearly, the Mindset of the Apostle Paul – It tells us how he views life, in relation to his Purpose here on Earth.

Also listen to the audio here: Faith To Become (Part 2) – Dr Mensa Otabil

And we can sum up the statement of Paul or his Mindset, in two (2) Statements:

1. The first (1st) Statement is: “Christ has made me WHOM I should be.

And how do we come to that conclusion?

Because he said; … That for which Christ Jesus has also LAID HOLD of me.

What Paul is saying is that there is something – “Christ has MADE ME (something!)”

And the Picture here, that I want you to have in your mind, is that: Christ has TAKEN HOLD of you

Then He says – This is what I have MADE YOU.

And that is what Paul is saying; Christ has LAID HOLD of me.

That Phrase’ LAID HOLD’ could also be interpreted as ‘ARRESTED me’. He has ‘CAUGHT me and MADE ME something.

… Christ has LAID HOLD of me!

So, what Paul is saying is: Christ has made me WHOM I should be!

2. The second (2nd) Statement is that: “I must BECOME whom Christ has MADE ME.”

… Christ has MADE ME something, I MUST BECOME that!

So, Paul said: I Press on, that I may LAY HOLD of it! He has LAID HOLD of me, and I must LAY HOLD of what He has laid hold of!

So, his determination in life, his push in life was not to GET something, but to BECOME the Person that God says, he is!

… And that should be our endeavour – We must know what we have been MADE; and we must BECOME what we have been made!

God is not just interested in GIVING us things;

… Yes, He GIVES us things!

But He wants us to BECOME something!

For Abraham, he had to BECOME the father of many Nations.

And for Paul, he says: I must BECOME what Christ has LAID HOLD of me.

So we see that Paul’s Faith was like that of Abraham – BOTH of them, wanted to BECOME!

… THE FAITH TO BECOME.

When we have the Faith to BECOME, we can say that:

1. If Christ has LAID HOLD, I must become held
2. If Christ has made me Triumphant, I must become Triumphant.
3. If Christ has made me a Sweet Aroma, I must become A Sweet Aroma.
4. If Christ has made me More Than a Conqueror, I must become More Than a Conqueror.

That is what Paul is saying – Whatever He has LAID HOLD of me, is what I WANT TO BE.

… It is the FAITH to BECOME!

And in God’s Mind, there is something He has made YOU; and you MUST become that!

You must PUSH, you must PRESS ON, you must FOCUS, you must WORK HARD to BECOME whom you have been MADE to become!

Because what we BECOME, determines what we do.

• What I BECOME, determines what I DO;
• WHOM I am, determines how I ACT;
• Who I AM, determines what I HAVE.

Now with that in mind – Having established that foundation; I want to take us to a Statement in the Psalms that Jesus Christ referred to, and the Apostle referred to a couple of times – And it is Psalms 118 (It is Part of what is know as the HALEY PSALMS).

The Haley Psalms were Psalms of Praise, and it starts from Psalms 113 to 118 – And Psalms 118 is the end of the Haley Psalms.

And when you read the Psalms, normally, you will get to know whom God used to write – whether it is David or somebody else.

But this Psalms 118 does not declare who wrote it – Some believed that it was written by David;

And i tend to believed that it was written by David; because the language is very ‘Davidic.’

And some believed David wrote this Psalms when he was ascending the throne as King!

And others think this Psalms was written when Judah had returned from exile.

But whether it was David, or it was written later; the truth is: The Holy Spirit INSPIRED it and it has relevance to us!

And the whole of Psalms 118 is important. But I am just going to focus on Verses 21 to 23;

But before I read these verses (21 to 23); I am just going to pick selected Verses of Psalms 118 to give us a Picture, so that Verses 21-23 can make sense to us.

So I will be reading randomly, certain Verses of Psalms 118 – Just listen to it.

Psalms 118;

5 I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

8 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.

10 All Nations surrounded me,
But in the Name of the Lord I will destroy them.

13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me.

14 The Lord is my Strength and song, And He has become my salvation.

Now with that in mind, I read to you where I am focusing – Psalms 118: 21-23

21. I will Praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my Salvation.
22. The stone which the builders rejected Has BECOME the Chief cornerstone.
23. This was the Lord’s doing; it is Marvelous in our eyes.

… I will read the verse 22 again:

“The STONE which the BUILDERS REJECTED Has BECOME the CHIEF Cornerstone.”

Now, if you read Psalms 118 a bit closely (from verse 10-12) he speaks about being surrounded on every side.

And then in verse 13, he says: “You PUSHED me violently.

So, I want you to get the impression very clearly – the Psalmist say; “I have been surrounded on every side.”

And then the next verse he says “You PUSHED me violently.

So it is obvious, the People who had surrounded him, are the ones who PUSHED him violently;

… That he might fall.

And then in verse 22 he says: “The STONE which the BUILDERS REJECTED Has BECOME the CHIEF Cornerstone.”

So, when he talks about the REJECTION (in the context of this Psalms) is not the CASUAL rejection; it is a rejection based on verse 13, – “You PUSHED me violently.

So the rejection is a VIOLENT rejection. It gives the impression of someone who has been VIOLENTLY rejected.

Now, What is a VIOLENT REJECTION?

A VIOLENT REJECTION is like when somebody puts something very nasty, slimy in your hand.

You know what to do? You just THROW it away

… That is the impression that he wants us to have!

The Stone which the Builders rejected, was not just put aside quietly; it was PUSHED aside VIOLENTLY.

So the Psalmist is saying that; I have been REJECTED; and I have been rejected VIOLENTLY.

I don’t know about you: There are People who have been rejected; they have been rejected VIOLENTLY – But you are about to BECOME something!

And if we look closely at the Psalms, in the Verse 22 (Psalms 118:21).

I want you to take note of two (2) things:

1. The STONE.

… Somebody say – ‘The Stone!’

The Stone represents an individual seeking to find his Place.

Because a stone cannot be a building; it must be JOINED to others to BECOME a Building.

But the Psalmist says: ‘I am a Stone.’ I am looking for my Place; I need to play a role, I need to become significant.

And there are many of us who feel like a Stone: We need to connect to something, we need to achieve something, we need to become something.

But then, the STONE is dealing with the BUILDERS.

The BUILDERS there refer to those who determine which STONE is SUITABLE – The BUILDERS are the ones who selects the STONE.

They have the idea of what is right for a Purpose, and what is not right for a Purpose.

Their Opinion will either give you VALUE or DEVALUE you.

And the BUILDER determines where to Place a STONE.

I want you to get this: The Psalmist sees himself as the STONE.

And he says: ‘That which I am is subject to a BUILDER.

And the BUILDER determines whether I have value or NOT; whether I FIT, or not!

The BUILDER can represent anything.

The BUILDER could be the Family System, could be the School System, could be the Workplace, could be a Political System.

The STONE is looking for RELEVANCE;

… But the Builder REJECTED him!

The STONE wants to be Part of a building; but the BUILDER rejected him!

In other words:

1. The Person who has Power to determine your usefulness, threw you away!
2. The Person who has Power to determine whether you FIT or not; looked at you and said you don’t fit.

… And violently throws you away.

Now, there are all kinds of Builders in life.

They are what I call

• The EXTERNAL Builders, and
• The INTERNAL Builders.

The EXTERNAL are those who are threatened by your Gifts.

Those who measure you wrongly, and those who are already determining that their Favourites should win.

And so they reject you because, they already FIX the Winner!

But sometimes, it is not just the External who is rejecting us; but we OURSELVES (The INTERNAL) can do things to reject ourselves.

• We don’t give out BEST;
• We don’t VALUE why we have;
• And some times we are NOT READY yet.

So if you look at the Passage, there are two kinds of Stones:

1. The first (1ST) one is what I am talking about – The REJECTED STONE.

… And that REJECTION comes from the BUILDER.

The STONE is REJECTED in a Building Process;

Not considered FIT to be used!

You know, life has a way of discarding People.

Some times you go to School, and the School System DISCARD you – You have no value.

… The School System Spews you out.

In your Family, you can be DISCARDED – You have no view; among your friends, you can be DISCARDED – VIOLENTLY thrown away!

It is the STONE that has been REJECTED!

And many of you are STONES that have been REJECTED.

… But that is not the only stone here;

There is also the ELEVATED STONE.

The ELEVATED STONE is the DOING of the Lord

Now, when you look at the Psalms; something very interesting is there. It says: “The stone which the Builders rejected
Has become the Chief CORNERSTONE.”

The BUILDER who rejected the STONE cannot be the same Builder who makes the STONE a CORNERSTONE.

… Because the Rejector is not the Acceptor!

So the Rejector tells the STONE: You are not FIT and throws it away! – ‘You cannot be Part of what I am building.’

Then you look back, and you see that this same STONE (that has been REJECTED) is now the CHIEF CORNERSTONE in the same BUILDING, where he was REJECTED.

So, somebody took what was rejected, brought it back; and without the Builder’s Permission;

Position the Stone in a Place of advantage.

The STONE rejected by men, is now set as a CORNERSTONE.

The word ‘CORNERSTONE’ is in Hebrew. It can be interpreted in two (2) ways:

1. First (1st) it can be interpreted as a Foundation Stone (A Cornerstone).

… But that is not the only interpretation;

2. Sometimes it is translated as the ‘CAPSTONE’.

That means afterall the Building has been put together;

It is the stone to be Put on the Building to showcase the Building.

So when you look at the Building, the first (1st) thing you see is the CAPSTONE.

… And I believed that is what the Text has in mind!

It is not a Foundation (that is hidden); but a CAPSTONE – that is OBVIOUS.

One moment, VIOLENTLY thrown away! The next moment PLACED in a Place of PROMINENCE.

And then the Psalmist says: “This is the DOING of the Lord, and it is MARVELLOUS in our sight.”

Somebody who was rejected is about to BECOME.

You will BECOME the Capstone, the Advertisement, the Sign Board, the Measure of Success; because God TOOK you and PLACED you – Amen!

The STONE that the Builders REJECTED, will BECOME!

… Somebody say: I WILL BECOME!

When God takes you – Where man had REJECTED you, or man THREW you away; God will PLACE you – Amen!

*When you BECOME whom God says you ARE; He will PLACE you where He says you will be – Amen!

It is the FAITH to BECOME a CORNERSTONE.

And today, I just brought you a very simple word:

That God has APPOINTED you to be a CORNERSTONE.

… Somebody say: ‘I WILL BECOME A CORNERSTONE!’

A CORNERSTONE is a stone that is set in PROMINENCE – On TOP of the Building.

For you to become that, we have to be like ABRAHAM: Considered not the words and the actions against you:

1. You will hear words of Rejection; People will dismiss you; but don’t dismiss yourself.
2. Your School may dismiss you, you may Fail your examinations. You may find other People who get all the right Passes and you get all the right Failures;

But you must not consider that; because Abraham did not consider his dead body, or the deadness of Sarah’s womb; he considered the Faithfulness of God.

Faith to BECOME – starts when you don’t allow what People REJECT of you to get inside you.

Because there are People from Rejected Families; there are People from Rejected Backgrounds.

There are people whom everybody takes a look at, and say: ‘You are Good for Nothing!’

If anybody ever told you that: ‘You are Good for Nothing’; I am here to announce to you; you will BECOME the CORNERSTONE.

If somebody said you were a Failure; you will BECOME a CORNERSTONE.

If life rejected you; you are about to BECOME a CORNERSTONE.

*The STONE which the Builder Rejected; the STONE That the School Rejected; the tlTeacher Rejected, the Parents Rejected, the Brothers Rejected, the Friends Rejected;

Everybody looked at you and said: You are not it!

But you are about to BECOME – God’s Signboard, God’s Advertisement, God’s Display!

And when People will look at you, they would say: ‘How was the man who was REJECTED, able to STAND in this Place?

And you can only answer in one way: ‘This is the DOING of the Lord, and it is MARVELOUS in our sight.

… May God do a Marvelous work in your life – Amen!

They cannot Praise a Builder, they cannot Praise your School, they cannot Praise your Teacher; they cannot Praise the Government, they cannot Praise the Political System, they cannot Praise somebody who is Powerful.

The only thing they can say is: ‘This one, was REJECTED; and This one is God’s Signboard.

The only way this could ever happen, is the DOING of the Lord, and IT IS MARVELOUS in our sight.

Somebody is about to come from Rejection, to BECOME the CORNERSTONE – Amen.

Somebody is going to be Pulled out of Rejection, and set in Place – Amen.

1. Consider NOT the words of REJECTION; they are the words of man.
2. Consider NOT those who threw you away; they are Human Beings and they are not God.
3. Consider NOT those who said you can amount to NOTHING because they are just People.

The BUILDERS may reject you; the BUILDERS may think you have no Value;

For some of you: Even your own Father said you have no VALUE; your own Mother said you had no VALUE, your own Husband said you had no VALUE; your own Wife said you are USELESS but God is going to take the STONE that was REJECTED by the BUILDER, and put it in Place of Prominence as CORNERSTONE.

He will bypass the BUILDERS and SET YOU UP – Amen. (Repeatedly).

Somebody say: I WILL BECOME A CORNERSTONE!

… You will BECOME it!

And you must have FAITH to BECOME a CORNERSTONE.

You must have FAITH that: “God will MAKE ME that which Christ has already established me to be!”

He says: “I am the HEAD and not the tail.” And I am going to be the HEAD, and not the Tail.

The Bible is full of CORNERSTONES, who started as Rejection:

1. JOSEPH – was because of his DREAMS.

But he became a CORNERSTONE of his family!

The STONE his brothers rejected, became the Chief CORNERSTONE.

Maybe you have become the STONE that your brothers and your sisters and your classmates rejected;

Joseph was REJECTED because he dreamt too much! He was a Day Dreamer; thinking BIG. He was ambitious!

And sometimes People REJECTED you because your ‘mouth’ is too BIG; your Vision is too BIG – You think you are better than other People so they throw you away.

But Joseph became the CORNERSTONE for his family.

2. MOSES was REJECTED because he didn’t belong.

He didn’t belong to Pharaoh’s house, and the Hebrews also, didn’t accept him.

You know, the man who didn’t have a location.

He was REJECTED as a Ruler and as a Judge; but he became the CORNERSTONE of his Nation.

The BUILDERS rejected him; but the Lord took him, and made him the CORNERSTONE.

And when he returned, they had to accepted him – He had been made God’s CORNERSTONE.

Maybe your Nation has rejected you, but God will make you the CORNERSTONE – Amen

3. JESUS CHRIST was REJECTED by the world.

But He became the CORNERSTONE of the world!

Can you imagine that the Bible says: ‘He came to His own, and His own did not RECEIVE Him.’

.,. JESUS, rejected!

The Pharisees, great Religious Leaders said He had no place;

Sadducees, great Intellectuals – nlNo place!

The Scribes, great Writers – No Place!

The Ordinary People – No Place!

But God has given Him the Name that is above every other names.

Rejected by the Builders; but PLACED by God.

So I came here just to encourage someone:

1. The Builders have rejected you; but God would Place you – Amen!
2. The People who think they control destinies, they have rejected you. But God would Establish you – Amen!
3. Consider not their Rejection; consider not the VIOLENCE with which they treated you.
4. Consider not the words of ABUSE and INSULTS that they mentioned when your name comes you.

Because God is about to Make you the CORNERSTONE;

Not hidden in the Foundation, but DISPLAYED at the Top of the Building – The CAPSTONE.

The STONE which they didn’t want anybody to see, is now God’s Advertisement.

Somebody say: I WILL BECOME GOD’S CORNERSTONE:

1. In my Family, in my Workplace, among my Schoolmates, among my Friends;
2. In my Nation, in my world, I will BECOME a CAPSTONE, CORNERSTONE to the Glory of God

My life, will be a TESTIMONY to the Nations of the world – Amen!

They would see me, and say: “This is the DOING of the Lord, and it is MARVELOUS in our sight.”

May God DECORATE you, and SHOWCASE you to the world – Amen.

May God AMPLIFY you and make you a TESTIMONY – Amen.

May He PICK you from REJECTION; and PLACE you in HONOUR in Jesus’ Name – Amen!

If you believe that say Amen – AMEN!!!!

Say: I AM A CORNERSTONE TO MY GENERATION!

CLOSING PRAYER

Father we Thank You for every life that feels REJECTED; and we Pray that they would find their Place in Christ JESUS, the Chief CORNERSTONE, the Saviour, the Redeemer.

And if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I just want to lead you briefly to Him.

Say with me: LORD JESUS, I ACCEPT YOU! YOU WERE REJECTED BY MEN. BUT I ACCEPT YOU AS MY LORD AND MY SAVIOUR.

I BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD; THAT GOD RAISED YOU FROM THE DEAD.

AND I DECLARE YOU AS MY LORD AND MY SAVIOUR. THANK YOU.

In Jesus’ Name I Pray – Amen and Amen!

God Bless you for Listening and reading on the Label of DMC. And I trust God for all of you:

That the Lord will Place you as a CORNERSTONE, wherever you are – Amen!!!

Thank you so much for staying all through to read.

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