CONTINUE: PASTOR MENSA OTABIL – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE, 15TH AUGUST, 2021
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)
TOPIC: CONTINUE
DATE: 15TH AUGUST, 2021
TEXT: ACTS 1:4; ACTS 2:42 AND ACTS 2:46
Amen! Let’s rise up together, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:
Are you ready? Say with me:
The Eternal God is our Refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.
The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.
Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be Fresh and Flourishing.
Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, and move and have my Being.
It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing Fruits in its Season.
So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me Exceedingly Fruitful.
In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by Day, Step by Step.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
My Message is simply Titled: CONTINUE.
The Early Church was a very consistent Church. And so, when you look at the Book of Acts; where it describes the activities of the Early Christian Church; you will find description that shows that they were very committed to what they were doing. And they did what they did, continuously.
So I am going to read three (3) Passages from Acts of the Apostles (NKJV):
Acts 1:14 – These all continued with one accord in Prayer and Supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
… Note the word ‘Continued’ – They continued!
Then Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ Doctrine and Fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in Prayers.
… They continued steadfastly!
And then Acts 2:46 – So continuing daily with one accord in the Temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.
So you see, in all these three (3) Passages, the word ‘Continue’ is used – Whether it is ‘Continued’ or ‘Continuing’. But the root word is the same in the Greek language.
It is the same word used in all three (3) instances.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CONTINUE?
- It means, to hold on to something.
So, when we say we are continuing, it means we are holding on. We don’t leave it.
- Secondly, to Continue means, to give care and attention.
To Pay attention to something – Not forget it, not leave it alone. Focus on it.
- And thirdly, to Continue means to Persevere and not Faint.
… Don’t get tired, don’t get weary
So, when the Bible says that the Early Disciples continued – That is what it means: That they held on to something, they Paid attention to what they doing, and they Persevered and did not Faint.
You can tell from these Bible Readings, that the Early Church understood that, to obey Christ, to serve Him; they had to “CONTINUE”.
Between the Beginning and the End, we have to Continue.
When something starts, before it ends, you continue.
When we start a race – Whether the whistle is blown or the gun is shot: “On your marks, get set, Go!” – And you start going.
That is the start but before you end, you must continue.
You don’t start and stop; you don’t have an experience and stop it; you don’t allow God to touch you and then end it.
So, there is a Beginning and there is an End. And between the Beginning and the End, we must continue.
Somebody say: I WILL CONTINUE.
What must we hold on to when are Continuing? – We must hold on to what God has given to us.
… Hold on to what God has given to you!
Somebody says: “How so I know that God has given something to me?
You know God has given something to you when His Spirit makes a connection with you – God deposits something into you!
It could be in an atmosphere of worship or at the time of Preaching. It could be in your bed or in a vehicle.
… We cannot have days of consecrated and concentrated Spiritual Activities, and not have a Divine Moment.
During all our Programs and all the Prayers we are Praying, at some Point during this time; your Spirit makes a connection with God.
It might have happened in a Church: when we are worshipping, when Hymn was being sung or maybe when you were driving or in a transport. Or when you are at home. But somewhere, you make a Divine Connection.
And that Point of connection is when something drops inside of you and you just feel – God has done something for you.
Sometimes, it is a word you received.
Sometimes, it is an inspiration you received.
Sometimes, it is an idea that drops into your heart – You receive something from God!
And when you receive something from God, you have to hold on to it.
Somebody say: I WILL HOLD ON!
So many times, whilst Messages are going on, something just ignites in your Spirit – Hold on to it.
That is how we continue to hold on – Hold on and Pay attention.
What do we Pay Attention to? – You Pay attention to what you have received from God.
Because, Spiritual Moments can be easily lost – We can have deep Spiritual Moments, and then step out of it very easily.
Sometimes you know, after a very Powerful Service you do something that would take your mind totally off everything that you received.
Or maybe you went home, and something happened, and you forgot.
Or somebody annoyed you – You quarrel with them.
And before you realised it, everything you have received from God; is being lost.
That is why we have to Pay attention to what happens after Spiritual Moments because, the devil’s job is to make sure that the Seed that has been Planted could be eaten by birds.
And the way to do that is to distract your attention – Take you off course.
Your children annoys you, your spouse annoys you, your siblings annoy you, or someone raises an issue – Just something will come and aggravate your Spirit, and before you realised it, every thing, every hope, every expectation is gone because you allowed annoyance in the new sense of life to get to you.
Somebody say: PAY ATTENTION!
You have to Pay attention. And you don’t have to get tired waiting on the Lord.
… Don’t get tired, waiting on the Lord.
Over and over in the Scriptures, we are exalted not to faint and not to get weary.
The Scriptures tell us over and over – Don’t get faint, don’t get weary.
Because if you are continuing, one of the things you have to watch against is, getting faint, getting weary (getting tired).
Naturally, waiting is not Pleasant for anybody. Nobody likes waiting. We get tired waiting for the things we have toiled for. We get tired waiting for our bodies to lose weight when we start a Weight Loss Program.
Have you started a Weight Loss Program, where you are exercising? Probably, going to a Gym or walking or doing a diet.
Somebody says: “If you drink ginger, lemon and cucumber drink, you will lose weight at once.”
Has somebody told you this before? – “If you drink ginger, cucumber, coconut water, and all kinds of conditions; the fat will just melt.”
And then you start drinking water, cucumber, coconut water. And everytime you get on a scale, Nothing is happening. Or you start walking and walking and thinking Oh, the fat will go off!
Fats are very, very stubborn.
Have you noticed fats – Very stubborn.
They have a Mind of their own. They don’t care whether you are eating cucumber or you are walking! Sometimes you do that – you drink these things for about a week or four (4) days, or for two (2) weeks!
Do you know what happened? You didn’t continue! You got tired, you got faint.
Many of the things that will help us don’t happen instantly. They don’t happen after a short term effort.
You don’t go for a Program and say instantly: everything Changed! That’s not how it works. You have to continue.
… The Early Church; and we must continue. Don’t get tired of waiting!
Let me take you through a very familiar Story in the Bible about a Man who Continued; and the Results he got – It is the Story or Isaac in the land of the Philistines.
And we are going to see these Principles working for him: He began, and he continued.
Genesis 26:12-13 (NKJV) it says: Then Isaac sowed in that Land, and reaped in the same Year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The Man began to Prosper, and continued Prospering until he became very Prosperous.
He sowed in the Land, he received a hundredfold.
This would have seemed like the end of the Story – You sow in the Land, you receive a hundredfold. Pack your bags and go home, because you have received a hundredfold – What more is left?
It is like going to a Service and being soaked in the Anointing – The Power of God is heavy upon you, you sensed the Presence of God. I wish I could stay in this Meeting forever!
… And we are going to see how Isaac Processed these Principles;
- The first (1st) thing you would Notice is that: He BEGAN – “He began to Prosper!”
Isaac experienced God’s Blessings on his life. This was the Initial Blessing – He experienced it.
And how did he experienced it? – The Bible says he had a hundredfold.
… He experienced God’s blessing on his Life.
It is a big deal when you have a Spiritual Moment or some kind of a Result. But it is just the Beginning!
Have you heard of People who go about bragging – You know, they start a Weight Loss Program and they started with cucumber coconut and add carrots. And this time, they are chewing carrots like rabbit.
And after some time, they come and say: Oh, I started like this, now look at me – I have shrunken!
Especially the ladies: Now they are dressing very Stylishly and trying to look slim and all of that. And making a big fuss; taking Pictures and putting on Instagram.
… Look at it, I am there. I have arrived.
But it is just the Beginning. They think that’s it! It is your hundredfold. You have received it.
But it is the Beginning – It is not the end.
Isaac received a hundredfold; but he did not close the book because it is just the Beginning. It is a Breakthrough, but it is a Beginning!
Sometimes, the same People who were Instagraming everybody about their Weight Loss; you see them six (6) Months later, one (1) Year later – and the day has come back with a Vengeance (laugher)!
You ask yourself – Did I go or did I come? Because the later end is worse.
Why do we have a Great Beginning; a hundredfold return and later lose it?
How can we have a Great Spiritual Moment and lose it?
Is it Possible? – Yes!
Is it Possible for some things to go so well, and then you lost it? – Yes!
Isaac began!
Somebody say: I WILL BEGIN!
But he (Isaac) didn’t end there! Look at the Passage, it says:
- He CONTINUED.
He received a hundredfold, but he didn’t stop, close his file – This is the end of this Chapter; everything is working so they will wait for me.
… No! – He Continued.
… Isaac increased the Blessing of God on his life – He Continued!
If the first (1st) Blessing he received was a hundredfold, and the Bible says he continued; what does it mean?
After receiving a hundredfold, how do I Continue? Is there anything better than that?
Yes! – Receiving a hundredfold is one (1) Experience; Continuing is repeating the hundredfold several times over!
So, he had a hundredfold repeatedly; Not just one experience but the same experience repeated over and over and over!
That is what Continuing does – it takes one (1) Victory and multiplies it over and over and over!
You don’t arrive at the first (1st) Breakthrough; you Continue and repeat what you experienced.
If you were trying to lose weight (for example), and you started that wonderful Program of only eating at 3:33pm in the afternoon – You know People have all kinds of weird weight loss.
You have to eat at 3:33pm – That is when your body is at the optimum of loosing weight. Not 3:34pm but 3:33pm.
Let’s say you eat at 3:33pm and you do it for so long and then you lose weight;
And if you want to continue then you have to keep eating by 3:33pm as your Life time way of life forever!
That is what is called Continuing!
You don’t start eating by 3:33pm – It works for you and after some time you lose weight. And then you go to 2:33pm; the weight will come back!
… Whatever you did to give you the hundredfold, you have to keep redoing it over and over.
When Isaac got his first (1st) hundredfold, he Planted in the Land again and got another hundredfold. And he Planted in the Land again; and got another hundredfold.
What was he doing? – CONTINUING!
You sense the Power of God at a Meeting; that is not the end! You have to sense that Power over and over again.
You sowed a Seed and God blesses you. You don’t just stop, you keep sowing and sowing.
You believed that you have experienced something Supernaturally; you keep believing and believing.
You Prayed and God answered; you keep Praying and Praying.
What is that? – CONTINUING!
We don’t live our Christian lives in one-off experience – We continue with what God has done for us.
.. So Isaac Continued!
- The Third (3rd) thing the Passage talks about Isaac is that he BECAME.
… He BEGAN, he CONTINUED, he BECAME.
What does it mean by: ‘He Became?’
It means he grew into the Fullness of God’s Blessings for him.
… He started it, he continued and he became it.
He didn’t just experience Prosperity, he BECAME Prosperous.
There is a difference between experiencing something and becoming the thing. There is a difference between experiencing Healing and becoming Healed.
Because, sometimes, People get Healed and lose the Healing because they don’t Continue in Faith.
Yes, you have experienced it; you Continue in Faith and you become it.
You start Prospering, you Continue Prospering and you become Prosperous.
What does God want us to do?
He doesn’t just want us to to begin; He wants us to become!
And that is what Isaac did – He sowed in the Land, he Continued sowing until he Became.
When you Become, no one can take away from you what you have received.
It is not one day up, one day down! One day Prosperous one day broke.
Because, sometimes you know, we get excited and Testify Prematurely – “Oh, look what God has done. He has broken through, He has given me this!”
… That’s Good! It is the beginning – Continue.
Because God wants to take you to the Point where your Testimony is Permanent.
… I don’t know about you – I need a Permanent Testimony!
If you Testify of God’s Prosperity, you must become Prosperous – That means, get to the Point where broke and you have no Meeting Point!
You can’t say God has Blessed me, I am Prosperous and then next three (3) Months broke! – You haven’t Become.
But we Start, we Continue and we Become!
How did Isaac become? – He Continued!
You can imagine if Isaac for his Breakthrough – A hundredfold. And said: Oh, God is Good! And did not continue sowing. He would be back to square one
But he continued till it got to the Point, the Philistines hated him, they envied him but they could not do anything about it because he has gone beyond experiencing Prosperity, to Becoming Prosperous.
And when you Become, they cannot fight you. They will struggle against you but it will never leave your hand because, you are not in a Permanent State of Blessing.
… The Early Church Continued; Isaac Continued.
Final statement I will make: Between Beginning and Becoming – we must Continue.
Somebody say: I will Continue until I become all that God wants me to be.
After ALL that God has done for us, we can only say: THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
In your own Prayer Life, you have to continue – Don’t lose it, don’t go and be quarrelling with People. Don’t go and be fighting all kinds of unnecessary battles. Don’t get angry by heart because there are certain things that don’t deserve your anger.
Let them be for they don’t deserve your anger. It is too important for them.
Because, there is something Precious God has given you; don’t lose it.
… We Continue until we Become!
And so, if you want everything that God has given to you to remain in your life, what do we do? – We Continue (Amen)!
Let us Pray!
CLOSING PRAYER
Father, we Thank You this Morning that Your Word comes to direct us, to Lead us, to Strengthen us, to equip us Lord.
And so, we Thank You Lord,that You want us not only to receive, but to keep on receiving, until we Become.
So, I Pray Father, for everyone who has heard me or is reading now on the label of DMC, that Your Word would bring them Life, and Light and Strength.
And the Wisdom of Your Word would be our Light and our direction.
In Jesus’ Name we Pray – AMEN.
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
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