Eternal Nature Of Temporal Needs by Pastor Poju Oyemade: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Kingdom Is Not in Meat and Drink

Romans 14:17 — "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."

Luke 12:28-31 — "If then God so clothe the grass of the field, how much more shall He clothe you? Seek not what you shall eat and what you shall drink; neither be of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after. Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."

That scripture is placed in divine order: righteousness first, then peace, then joy. Before you get to peace, there must first be righteousness. Isaiah 32:17 — "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever more."

Where there is righteousness, that person walks with a quiet and confident assurance. A person diagnosed with terminal stage four cancer, if they have entered into this righteousness, will have a peace that passes all understanding. Not a definition — something worked in the heart. That peace is the effect of righteousness.

What Righteousness Actually Means

The word righteousness has several meanings in scripture — it is wrong to take one single definition and apply it to every usage.

Romans 4:3 — "Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness." The Message Translation renders it: "Abraham entered into what God was doing and that was his turning point."

Righteousness therefore is being in harmony with God.

When God said to Abraham, "A father of many nations have I made thee," Abraham changed his name and started calling himself father of many nations. He came into alignment with God's declaration. He was in righteousness.

Consider this: peace is the absence of conflict. However, it may not be harmony. Two people can be at peace with each other without being in harmony. Harmony is active alignment, agreement, and unity. Two Liverpool fans who do not know each other are in greater harmony than a Liverpool fan and an Arsenal fan who have been friends for 30 years — on the matter of the team.

This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 12:50 — "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother." It is alignment that makes the bond, not history.

Every Temporal Need Has an Eternal Purpose Behind It

Abraham had a temporal need: a child. God revealed His objective — a father of many nations. When Abraham aligned with that objective, he entered righteousness.

Peter fished all night and caught nothing. That was a temporal need — and it was a point of contact for God to reveal His plan. Luke 5:10 — "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." After the abundance of fish was brought, Peter had to leave the fish. He had discovered God's will for his life.

Many people go to God and simply tell Him what they think is best. Real faith projects do not start by me telling God what I want. They start by me understanding that this point of need is God calling me to alignment.

Noah received a word — build an ark. Moses forsook the palace to go with God's plan. Abraham left his father's house not even knowing where he was going. They all started from a revelation, not a request.

Philippians 4:6 — "In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." The starting posture is not demand but inquiry.

The Answer Is When God Speaks Back

Psalm 28:1 — "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my God. Be not silent unto me, lest if thou be silent unto me, I be like them that go down into the pit."

If God is silent unto me, there is no difference between a person praying and a person not praying. The purpose of praying to God is to hear what God has to say. Once God tells you what He wants to do, that prayer is answered.

The answer to prayer is not that God did something. The answer to prayer is that God speaks back.

When Paul was in the shipwreck, God spoke back: "You are not going to die. The ship will be lost, but you will enter a certain island." When Paul heard that, he had peace. He told the people: "Be of good cheer. It shall be unto me as it was told me." He followed the plan. A viper struck him. It dropped dead. The whole island came to faith.

There is nowhere better to be than following the plan of God — even when the plan takes you somewhere unfamiliar. An anointed minister in disobedience will still preach fire, but will not see God moving. The anointing does not override obedience.

Thanksgiving Opens the Gate to Righteousness

Romans 1:18-21 — "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness... Because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were they thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Romans 1:17 — "Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith."

What begins to bring revelation of God's righteousness for your situation is thanksgiving. Take inventory of what God has done effortlessly in your life — the things you did not pray about that He gave you anyway. The growth you never once asked for. The preservation in the wilderness when you did not have what you were supposed to have.

Psalm 50:5, 14 — "Gather unto me my saints, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice... Offer unto me thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the most high."

When those who gathered offered thanksgiving, the heavens declared His righteousness. He said: I do not need your bulls or your goats. Every beast of the forest is mine. Offer thanksgiving.

• It is not the 40-day fast. It is the heart attitude toward God.
• To him that has, more will be given. When you go to that place where God has already been working and start thanking Him — revelation begins to pour.
• Find where God has been faithful in your life already and start digging that oil well. From there, explosive thought after explosive thought begins to come.

Do not abandon the stream that is already flowing to go and ask for something else. Go back to where God started that work in you. Realign. And from there, righteousness pours.

Lord, I repent of all murmuring, all complaining, every sense of ingratitude, any dissatisfaction that came from my own agenda. I went to pursue my own desires and left the river of life that was flowing with Your grace. I bring myself back into alignment with that grace. Lord, I thank You. Show me what You have already started. Reveal the next step. I surrender with a heart of gratitude. In the name of Jesus, Amen.