Ichabod - Obtaining the grace to last
By Apostle Joshua Selman

Isa 32:15, 1 Sam 4: 1-22.

The ignorant believer will always remain a defeated Believer. Hosea 4:6. The blessings that we have received in this Zoe life is accessed by knowledge. Just because you have received the life does not mean you will experience that knowledge.

PRAYER POINT: Father what I need to know that will lead to my success, be delivered to me.

2Corinth 9:8 Grace is dimensional. It is difficult to abound unto good works until these dimensions of Graces find expression. Every believer in Christ has the destiny of ever- increasing Glory. Pro 4:18, Eze 36:11. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning. Beginning is characterized by many things. It starts with ignorance. Job 8:4. This message is to bring to light the mystery behind longevity of Greatness.

1. Pride Pro 18:12, 29:23 It is the UNASHAMEDNESS to ACKNOWLEDGE GOD as the REASON, PRINCIPAL and SOURCE of your greatness. James 4:6-8.

Before a man falls, you will think that he can never fall. There's nothing in this life that cannot fall. The ANOINTING of GOD is to FIGHT and RESIST anything that is AGAINST THE WILL of GOD. In THE PRESENCE of GREATNESS, it is DIFFICULT to TAME PRIDE. Something happens to men when they become GREAT. PRIDE has DESTROYED LIVES, it has DESTROYED MINISTRIES. Pride can come as an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. There is something called the PRIDE OF LIFE; It is the self EXORTATION on account of obvious results. If your results are LOUD and CLEAR, your pride becomes JUSTIFIABLE. If the Devil wants to fight you, he will fight you at the BEGINNING of the journey and if he doesn't win, he will rest for a while and wait for you at the CORRIDOR of GREATNESS.

The temptation of pride will always show forth at the face of Greatness. The moment the enemies make you feel like things can't go well without you, you're already in trouble. EVERY HOUSE is BUILT by SOMEONE, but GOD is the BUILDER of ALL. You know that you are SUFFERING from PRIDE when people no longer MATTER to you. And when you believe that everyone should BOW DOWN to you because you are in that EQUATION of SUCCESS, BEWARE! PRIDE has already gotten to you.

If there is anything to FIGHT as SURVIVAL STRATEGY, as you RISE, check yourself for PRIDE. There is a difference between SIMPLICITY and PRIDE. Some people are PROUD and LOUD at the same time. HUMILITY is DISCERNABLE, it's PERCEIVABLE. You can be CONFIDENT, yet HUMBLE. Be careful the things you copy from Great people, learn to edit as you copy them. There are people who miss GREATNESS at CHILDHOOD. So the moment they MAKE IT, there is this URGE to SLAP it on PEOPLE'S FACE. The PRESSURE to PROVE a POINT and the PRESSURE to LET MEN KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MADE IT is a sign that YOU HAVE NOT REALLY MADE IT, because SUCCESS is LOUD, it is VISIBLE, it is CLEAR. One of the ways to ENCOURAGE people and to INSPIRE them, is to combine HUMILITY with your RESULTS. It's a beautiful sight to behold. That you watch people who are gifted, who are skilled, who are great but then their lives becomes so inspiring because they wrap that excellence with humility.

There are some Prayers you never graduate from praying, one of it is "keep me HUMBLE Oh! Lord" As men sing my praise, keep me HUMBLE. It's the same people who will say, "shame on him, he has fallen"

When people are clapping for you, during your triumphant entry, beware! Most people are clapping for themselves through you. If you want to last, and you want to know why Great men go down? It's Pride. When you submit yourself to prayer and say "Lord when people look at me, may they see you". Yes they will acknowledge your hand upon my life but beyond me, may they see your power, may they see your Glory, may they see your Favour, may they see your works. Let it not be all about me. There are people who you dance around their crowns and after 2/3 years they are no more, and yet they are still alive. From the stand point of wisdom, the urge to prove a point is unnecessary. Your passion to remain must exceed your passion to be known. If your passion to be known exceeds your passion to remain, you will be known but not last. Let it be in your heart. A man can be known and not last but it is difficult to remain in a system and yet not known. Why GREATNESS is short-lived, why glories sometimes become shame, why longevity is not open to many people. It is PRIDE.

Solution: In all your ways, acknowledge God Pro 3:6. When self want to use your results to promote it, remember that you are there because of God. No matter how you RISE, remember He's the Lifter. Run away from PRIDE. It is better not to rise at all than to rise and be forgotten. If you go down, it will take the GRACE of God for men to remember your exploits and good works.

2. AN ARRIVAL MENTALITY.1 COR 8:2.

The inability to continue learning.It is said that many graduates, after graduating from school, their mental capacity starts declining. Because the pressure to learn is no longer there.You know real champions by their Unassuming personality. They are ever open to learn. They are students for life. The Bible says that if anyman think he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing, compared to what he ought to know. The school of Wisdom is a school you never graduate from, the moment you graduate, you graduate into failure. The level of light that you need to Excel in life and destiny, by reason of scripture, there are very few people who have accessed that level light.

Yesterday's/ today's excellence will always be tomorrow's mediocrity. That you got an award yesterday, does not mean you will get an award tomorrow. Our world is to full of people who live in their yesterday. Their arrival mentality has kept them while the world was developing. Celebrating yesterday at the expense of the impact and the exploits of today is a disaster. Your yesterday should never be greater than your today. Champions never arrive. They know there's always more. Always have a learner's mentality. Anybody that refuses to sit down and learn, has bent his chance for growth. Whenever you see an opportunity of wisdom being dispersed, humble yourself and learn. Reject an arrival mentality so that the word ICHABOD will never be part of your life and destiny. Everywhere you see GREATNESS, respect it. Use the opportunity and ask questions.1 Tim 4:15-16. The Victor's mentality is that of learning. No man is a monopoly of Wisdom, so humble yourself to learn from whomever you see dispersing wisdom.

3. DISTRACTIONS AND COMPROMISE GAL 5:7-9, Phil 3:13-15

There are two dimensions to distractions.

*. Getting into areas beyond the scope of your grace Eph 4:7 Many Ministers has fallen because they Verde off to a dimension where Grace was not given. The deception of GREATNESS is that once you start succeeding in what you're doing, it becomes easy for you, and you think that every other dimensions will be easy for you too. The ability to discern your area of Grace and to stay there with all humility, it profits you and the body of Christ. Most times, that calamity starts from PRIDE. Claiming authorities in areas and come up with misleading informations. The grace given to you insist that you remain in that area. Be comfortable whee God has kept you and Serve with excellence. Don't feel intimidated. You are only a King within your kingdom, don't enter another persons Kingdom and fight the Throne. In your own Kingdom, there's a throne for you, there's a Sceptre for you, remain there. Don't go to another kingdom that you do not have access to.

* Not protecting your focus and pursuits. Act. 6:1-4.

Create structures that will help your ministry. Many people are busy doing many things that are not necessary. Become comfortable with greatness and create a system to balance it. When God has lifted you to a certain level, there are things you shouldn't be found doing. Employ people to do it for you. Great people uncluster their lives from things that are unnecessary. And if you are a nice person, God will always bring people who will help you. Their work is just to maintain your focus on things that are necessary and important.

4. VIOLATING YOUR WINNING STRATEGY.

Either Divinely made strategy or strategies built on years of sacrifices. Exploits and victory is always strategy dependent. In business, it is called quality control system. It is the will of God plus the strategy for achievement that leads to success and victory. Teach your children your strategy of winning. Don't just let them enjoy the victory. If you don't, they will loose it. The first thing a parent should pass to their children is not money but your conviction. If you've lost your Glory, you need to go back because there was something God gave you, that you lost along the way. If people are coming around you, teach them the secret that makes you win, don't just let them enjoy the benefits alone. And if they are not willing to learn they should enjoy it from afar lest they come and destroy what you have built. The moment you forget what keeps power on your head, you will loose it. It is not enough to know how to win but know what keeps the victory. If you see men go from GRACE to Grass, they have VOILATED a STRATEGY. 2Chron 15:12-14.

Anytime you see GREATNESS, someone is doing something EXTRAORDINARY. Behind every SUSTAINABLE results, there is a WINNING STRATEGIES. Don't think people SUCCEED just like that. There is foolishness in Obedience, and God will respect you when you reject His instructions even at the expense of your rising. Don't love people too much that you let them die. There are sometimes where the devil uses your emotions to destroy people. Behind every results you see there's a secret. It was a voilation of strategy that led to the death of the Sons of Eli. If the people around you are voilating the law of God, love them, but correct them in love. That was the mistake of Eli, and it led to a great loss in Israel.

There are consecrations that protect victories and Glory.

5. UNADRESSED WEAKNESSES AND VULNERABILITIES

The reason for short-lived glories is as a result of UNADRESSED WEAKNESSES. The humanity of men is the cause of the death of revival.

It is not WEAKNESSES AND VULNERABILITIES that destroy men but UNADDRESSED.

VULNERABILITIES means that there are things that you are easily given to, it does not mean sin. But it can be used against you. There are are many people that their vulnerability is LUST, others are MONEY, some is ANGER. Some people, their weakness is OBSESSION for RECOGNITION, and also the SPIRIT OF SEDUCTION, the thing with the power of SEDUCTION is that it does not have power over you, until it has an affiliation with something already inside you. If Jesus was not hungry, it would be a waste of time to tell Him to turn stones to bread. Before the devil attacks a family, he looks for the weakness that becomes a gateway to the family. WEAKNESSES AND VULNERABILITIES don't care who or what you are. If you become honest and deal with them, you will remain. Heb 12:1.

WEAKNESSES AND VULNERABILITIES don't have to bring any profits for you, before you pursue them. There are people today, that the cancer that can kill them is OFFENSE. One of the biggest tool of Satan is the false idea of Holiness. They think that because they have not entered any trouble, they think they are safe. In the face of VULNERABILITIES and WEAKNESSES, nobody is a saint and nobody should point fingers at anybody. Just because people have not acted out their LUST, does not mean they don't have it. Anytime you think you are standing, you're already on your way to falling. The only reason why we stand, is because of the Mercy of God. It is your assignment to be honest with yourself and admit your weakness. You will only know your weakness in the face of trouble.

OFFENSE comes with growth and Increase. As you grow in life, the more offenses come. Act 24:16, James 1:19-20

Ego is so in fashion in this world that it has become an industry. An industry has literally been built around the world of Great men. The pain from offense can be so deep that you'll see it physically. It will be like you were practically hit with a knife. Your destiny is too expensive to peg yourself with the revenge mentality. You need to know your WEAKNESSES early and deal with them. If you know God, you won't keep men in your heart. There are people who have been wounded, but when the Holy Spirit comes in, with the Balm of Gilead, healing takes place. There are certain levels that if God brings you to, you have to pray a prayer of repentance should in case anything happens. There are things honour can do, there are things lifting do. Discern your VULNERABILITIES and WEAKNESSES. Most times, offense comes when lusts and expectations are not satisfied.

Some peoples weaknesses is FOOD ( GLUTTONY), some is LYING, for others it is PRIDE.

The thing with Weakness is that even if it's just one year you have left on Earth to leave, you can rubbish every good you've done, if you don't address it.

6. LOSS OF PASSION AND FIRE FOR GOD.

It is the last and greatest reason why Glories are lost 2 Chronicles 26:5. Sometimes it's not always about what you say but whom you're loving. There may be a disconnect between you and your source of power. What you are saying may be right but the impact is no longer right. Rev 2:4-5. Behind every works that every great man does, is their genuine love for God. There are things that only Love can make you do, it's not about money. If you want to know the reason behind the jealousy of God towards any great man, check his love for God. Love is not talk. The proof that you love God is what you can lay down for him. We are only His stewards everything belongs to Him. Every great person who desires to remain Great in this present world must have these ;

1. Prophetic intercessors who hold you up in prayer.

Especially in light of the evil in our world 2 Thesselonia 3:1-2. 1 Peter 5:8. There is a project in the kingdom of darkness for Great men. There are certain levels of GREATNESS that you will attain and immediately arrows and weapons will be fashioned against you, and it is not enough to know how to pray, you will need to have an armypeople that will pray for you.

2. You must have a system of accountability. For correction, advise, counsel and prophetic declaration. Never submit yourself to people you can not take counsel from.

3. The gift of GODLY and FAITHFUL friends Pro 18:24.

Your assignment is to ask God to bring them. Eccl 4:9-12. It is very lonely at the top. If you don't have good people in your life, you're in trouble. They are there to help you. If you find faithful and godly friends, swallow your pride and keep them. Because you can never find them again. The top is full of interest. You will have to keep those who are ready to share your pain. They are ready to give up their all to put a smile on your face. Great people can be very lonely. Amongst the blessings you get in life, it is the blessings of good People. If you can not contribute value, contribute gratitude. Never be the reason for anybody's pain. It a very wicked way to live. We created to be binders and not destroyers. God is a God of Justice.