Isaac Boluwatise

OUT OF ZION 007 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 4

January 20th, 2016

December 6, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 007

OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 4

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

– Phil 1:21

We are not to just lose our lives …, we are to lose it for the sake of Christ.

To be poured out as a drink offering to God’s glory and to the blessing of others is what life is about. We see the importance of the principle taught by Christ that those who lose their lives are those who would gain it. life is not for comfort, but for sacrifice and every blessing upon it is to advance God’s kingdom; increase in good works and be of blessing to people.

Even terrestrially noble men have practised this life principle and benefited from it. Look, from the scripture, at the widow of Zarephat; the boy with five loaves and two fishes; the Shunamite woman as examples. In the spiritual and eternally relevant sense, those who were called to follow Christ did, without the promise of gain. Overtime, however, they realised that there is gain of full reward in it for them. See Mark 10:28-30.

We are not to just lose our lives to find it, we are to lose it for the sake of Christ. We have reasons for this: for example, when He saved us, we lost our lives willingly to Him, for we came under His ownership; lordship; and covering. Since then we became dead and the life we now live is Christ himself living in us; Gal 2:20. We live no longer to self, but to the master and our existence is 1). for His glory only – Phil 1:20; 2). for the will of God, 1 Pet 4:1-3; and 3). for Him who died for us – 2 Cor 5:14-15. All these suggest that our lives should be sold out to serving God’s interest and representing Him in all of life.

If you would want to find your life, you would have to lose it as you cannot eat you cake and have it – Luk 9:57-62; you cannot hold unto one to gain another. In Luk 14:16-20, we see those who lost their life’s essence simply because of their investments, career and relationships or because of their wealth, work and wife. Whereas those who lose it to follow him got their lives advanced.

Do you know that true advancement comes in the pursuit of the purpose? Luk 5:1-6; If Paul did not die to self, he would have had his ministry buried; but look at him: from Antioch to Jerusalem; from Jerusalem to Tarsus; from Tarsus to Antioch; and from Antioch to the uttermost.

To be fulfilled in this life, we must die to self. It is the death of the seed that leads to the possibility of a harvest. The pouring out of all that you are and have is the only appropriate way to leave an indelible mark in the sands of time. There is no ‘if only’; whatever you desire to be tomorrow, assume it today. Give even when you have but little; pour out even with all the inhibitions around you. Procrastination is the key to regret. Do whatever your heart/hand finds to do. Get spent to die empty – 2 Cor 12:15; It is while we are here that we can bear fruit, Phil 1:22 and affect other people’s lives, Phil 1:25. The process of doing this is the gradual emptying of self, being poured out as libation, Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6-8; so that the final death might be total emptiness.
OUT OF ZION 006 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 3

January 13th, 2016

November 29, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 006

OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 3

Your endowment can only be fully utilized when you lay aside the culture of playing safe

Paul was a notable apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ with a noble Jewish background. He was involved heavily in the persecution of the church until his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. During the encounter, he asked to know what the Lord would have him do. In the city of Damascus, he received his salvation, healing and direction. From that point, he lived his life to God’s glory and not to self.

Paul understood life as being poured out as a libation so as to die empty. He was caught in between the choice to die or to live. He chose to live so that more lives can be blessed. Being alive has the implication of being needed by God for something significant. That is why the necessity on everyone is to maximize existence by living to God’s glory beyond self and pleasure. In 2 Tim 4:6, he would know that his end was near because he had poured out the essence of his life to the glory of Christ and to the blessing of others. Your endowment can only be fully utilized when you lay aside the culture of playing safe.

Even while going through the challenge that accompanied his life’s purpose, he believed that it will turn out for his deliverance; that was the same as saying it will work out for good. His life was so dedicated that his being alive was entirely for Christ. For him, beyond the average human inclination, ‘to live is Christ’. By that he was saying that his existence will be to the glory of Christ and to more fruitfulness. This fruitfulness is the blessing that will come on those he was ministering to.

Most people don’t pursue the true reason for their lives. According to Jesus, living for self is common across the nations. Living for self (Matt 6:19-21) is to gratify and indulge self with stuffs; it is being enchanted by earthly things for gratification and indulgence. Basic idolatry manifests, when pleasure is pursued at the expense God. Matt 6:24; Do you think you don’t live for self? Check what you long for most times. Matt 6:25-33.

Lose your life to gain it is a general call to all, a call to live for purpose or for others. When purpose and others are given the second place, self comes into the picture and life becomes compromised. I do not in any way deny the weakness of the flesh and the temptation to gratify it. The truth, however, is that behind that is the devil and not God. Jam 1:13. God, nonetheless, gives grace by helping, Jam 4:8, 10, when a man humbles himself under His mighty arm.

Those who play safe do not amount to anything on earth. Playing safe is tantamount to becoming nothing. The necessity placed upon Paul to preach, compelled him to do so even under fetters. Life will surely present everyone with ugliness, but if dedicated to God, it will end up for good and much more to the blessing of others.

Significance in life is always born out of selfless sacrifice. An average person seeks comfort and pleasure but we are alive, not for self, but for God’s purpose in service to others. For your life to glorify God, it must be broken like an alabaster box, so that the treasure within can be poured out to God’s glory.
OUT OF ZION 005 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 2

January 6th, 2016
November 22, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 005

OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 2

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it

– Matt 16:25

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might …. Ecc 9:10

It is profitable to consider a principle advanced by the Lord in Matt 16:25. The reason for this is to show that the path to a man’s truest purpose may not be the attractive, the popular, or the highly esteemed among men.

THE PRINCIPLE is that whoever is inclined to preserve or keep safe his life will have it destroyed or lost, but whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it. Matt 16:25. This shows that the tendency to prefer safety in life can be very antithetical. No venture, no gain, they say. This tendency is natural to humanity. Even the Lord had to combat it to save humanity.

THE PURPOSE was for His followers or disciples to realise that their resolve to follow Him is more than a religious activity, it is following or pursuing life and truest purpose. These are found in the Lord alone. To be successful at this pursuit, the Lord advanced two attributes:
- Self-denial: this is the attribute of forgetting or losing sight of oneself or of one’s own interests so that nothing compares or competes with Christ or your truest purpose. This is the best test of reality and earnestness in a Christian life as Self is the greatest problem of a man and the greatest hindrance to life’s true meaning. Self-denial uses the example of Him who gave himself for us; it looks beyond the immediate to the ultimate benefit.
- Cross-carrying: while cross-carrying is a common parlance in daily usage, the true cross is not what you bring on yourself; It is not necessarily every trouble that you are grappling with; it is the burden/necessity laid on you (1 Cor 9:16); It is what you have to undergo to reach your finishing line.
These are essentials for Christ’s disciples. While most people don’t want to hear stuffs like these nowadays, it is important for everyone to understand this if indeed the truest purpose will be realised for your part to be made in history.

There is always a price to be paid to realise the true purpose on your life. Most people are dumping sacrifice for immediate gain and saving their lives to lose it. Gaining the whole world is not the same as profiting the soul because the Lord will reward each person according to what is done and according to what is to be done (the true plan). Indeed, what is to be done may not fit into the frame of man’s desire (Matt 16:21).

Some biblical heroes become very significant example to us at this point. If they had avoided their cross, they would not have fulfilled the purpose for their lives. JOSEPH, the prime minister to be, went through betrayal, slavery, and prison to get there. MOSES, the national leader, descended from palace to being a reject and the one for the dirty job for forty years to lead the nation. DAVID, possibly the son of a concubine, had the dirty job dumped on him; he could have refused it or even declined to take provision to those possibly preferred by his society; the experiences were the path to his greatness. ELISHA poured water on Elijah’s hand; THE APOSTLES were Jesus’ ministers.

The path to a great purpose is not necessarily desirable. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; doing the works while it is day (Jn 9:4; 2); laying aside every superfluous weight (Heb 12:1-2; 3); recognising the opportunities that God brings your way; carrying your cross to follow Him all the way.
Happy New Year

January 1st, 2016

Happy new year to you.
Congrats for making it into 2016.
The Lord shall fulfil your desire this year; He shall enlarge your coast and perfect all that concern you in Jesus name.
Cheers.Sincerely,

Tolu Boluwatise
OUT OF ZION 004 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY

December 30th, 2015
November 15, 2015 Volume 1, Issue 004

OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

Ecc 9:10

… But time and chance happen to them all. Ecc 9:11

For those in relationship with God, the pursuit of the future is the pursuit of the plan of God. The bible discusses the plan in terms of the future. Jer 29:11. The plan is God’s thought towards you, not your initiative or choice (Jn 15:16); it is for your welfare, not for calamity; to give you a future and an expectation. When God reveals the future to you, he gives you an expectation of (cord for) it, to conjoin you with the future, so that you can look reliably forward to it (Pro 23:18)

To realise that future and hope you need to do more than reading history to making history. To make history, there are a few things you need to know:
1. Treat your situation as a tunnel and not as a terminus, for life is a journey. You have to be on the move to avoid doing a grave injustice to the plan for your life. The victories recorded, which are just partial fulfillment of expectation, are the reason why some choose to rest. This shouldn’t be, as resting (unnecessarily) while there is a journey ahead leads to idleness, distraction and deflection from purpose (Num 25:1).
2. Be the solution by living your vision now. It has to be real to you now for it to be realised. Solutions look beyond the problems by refusing to be a part of the trending problem. This is the notion behind the call for Christians to live a separated and not a segregated life. 1 Cor 5:9-10; 2 Cor 6:11-18. Without leaving the situation you can come out of the problem. Refuse to be part of the unrighteousness; mediocrity; self-seeking attitude; local-mindedness and acceptance of the status quo. Participating in the problem jeopardises a man’s potential to be a solution and history maker.
3. Identify opportunities for in every problem is an opportunity and a key to success– Ecc 9:11.. Most people miss out on opportunity because they look for it a) as benefit – to receive and not to give; b) in a big form – despising the little offers of life; and c) in a very cheap way – someone to give it to them. The youth will blame the older generation for not giving them opportunities, whereas they have it all around them. Opportunities come in ways you least expected. You have to discern what many look for but only a few see to make history.
4. Utillise opportunities for there is no better time for a recognised opportunity than now. Time and space will always respond with opportunities, especially to those who are solution conscious. The gifts of those who don’t wait for offers, but know to take right action and offer solutions, will cause others to stand aside for them. While some think more in terms of position, title, and office; trailblazers think in terms of action. Whatever their hands find to do, they do it (well). Their right actions recommend them later.
5. Be God-centred and not self-centred. Self-centred people do not utilise opportunities simply because they often don’t hold direct or immediate benefits. With such opportunities, however are the connecting dots towards the future.
The awaited future of a nation and individuals become realistic when we take every opportunity seriously and within these opportunities lie the potentials for us to be history makers.

OUT OF ZION 007 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 4

OUT OF ZION 006 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 3

OUT OF ZION 005 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY 2

Happy New Year

OUT OF ZION 004 | OPPORTUNITY AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY