The Mystery Of Lifting by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

What Lifting in the Kingdom Means

Lifting in the kingdom is a possibility, yet it is not arbitrary. These are realities orchestrated and occasioned by very definite mysteries of the kingdom. Anybody can be lifted and anybody can become mighty in God — if they understand the forces that govern the operation of lifting.

God wants every one of us lifted, because the extent to which you advance God's kingdom is a function of your lifting. If you are weak and down, the kingdom of God in you will be down. When you are lifted, you lift up the kingdom of God. Two people can love God genuinely and sincerely from their hearts, but the scope and impact of the glory they give to God is dependent not just on the quality of their heart — it is also a function of their lifting.

In the context of scripture, when we say a man is lifted, we mean that by grace he has been brought into a higher realm of operation, of influence, and of responsibility. It is a sovereign act of God that distinguishes a man from other men. That distinction confers higher grace, higher authority, greater glory, and greater resources.

The beauty of lifting is that God does not lift men who necessarily have natural advantages. God lifted fishermen and they became a wonder in their generation. He walked to the riverbank and said to ordinary men, "Follow me. I will make you fishers of men. You will start leading nations and you will represent me to your generation."

We saw God lift David — the last of eight sons, not even regarded by his own father. When Samuel came to anoint a king in the house of Jesse, Jesse brought seven sons and it didn't occur to him that it could be David. They didn't even remember David could be one of the possible candidates. Samuel had to ask, "Don't you have another son?" Jesse said, "Well, there is a lad in the bush taking care of sheep." That was the one God picked. That was the one God chose — because He has the power to lift the beggar from the dunghill and set him among princes, to eat and dine with kings.

Samuel was not even one of the sons of the priest. Eli was preparing Hophni and Phinehas to take over from him. Samuel was just a young man whose mother received him through desperate prayer and had promised God to give the child back. He was in the temple cleaning. He slept on the altar. But it was on that altar in 1 Samuel 3:5 that God called him. And God so lifted Samuel that not one word from his mouth fell to the ground, and the whole of Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet. Everything he said came to pass.

God Is in the Business of Lifting Men

Psalm 75:6–7 — Promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He puts one down and sets up another. Who does He put down? The proud one, because God resists the proud. But He gives more grace to the humble. Promotion does not come from the east. It does not come from the south. It does not come from the west. It is God that lifts men.

In Deuteronomy 28:13, Moses told God's children what God intended to do with them: "The Lord shall make you the head and not the tail. You shall be above and above only — not beneath."

In 1 Samuel 2:8, Hannah declared: "He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes, to make them inherit the throne of glory." In the world where she was speaking, if you were a beggar you were an outcast. To be a prince was a blood thing — you had to be born noble. Yet Hannah declared there is a power superior to bloodline. God can pick one considered an outcast, number him among nobles, and not just place him there — he will be the one who inherits glory. You enter and take over.

Six Factors Responsible for Lifting

Factor One: Heart Posture

When Samuel entered the house of Jesse, Eliab was brought first — a man of stature. Even the prophet was convinced: "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." And God said, "I have refused him. I don't see how men see. For man looks on the outward appearance, but I, the Lord, look on the heart."

What makes men rise in this kingdom is the quality of their heart. Psalm 24, read from verse three: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place?" He that has clean hands. He that has a pure heart. He that has not lifted up his soul in vanity. He that has not sworn deceitfully.

• Clean hands: There are people who are not sincere — they smile with you outwardly but inside want you destroyed. They drop subtle comments that discredit others. Their hands are not right.
• Pure heart: When a man's intention is always right, that is a man who will be lifted. Motive is everything. There are people who pray for you at midnight as a strategy to call you in two weeks and ask for money. The prayer was programming, not sincerity. The heart is not right.
• No vanity or pride: There is nothing wrong with being the head — but when you think your head is better than every other head, and you never see anything good in somebody else, that is pride. God resists the proud.
• No deceit: Treacherous people can never rise. It may look like their journey is going somewhere — but give it time. If you are in the wrong direction, speed is not an advantage.

One of the prayers every believer must learn to pray is: God, help my heart. Check your heart. If you find pride there, bring it to the altar. If you find deceit, bring it to the altar. Because God will not risk lifting you with a wrong heart. A man can do the right thing with a wrong heart, and the wrong heart will override the right action.

Factor Two: Virtues

While heart posture is in God's realm, virtue is in your realm. Paul told Timothy: "Exhort not a novice, lest when he is lifted up he will fall into the condemnation of the devil." That means a novice lacks the character to manage realities at the top.

Anything can take you up — but it takes character to remain up. It is harder to stay up than to go up. So God carries men through a process. The goal of process is to install virtues, so that when you rise, you don't go down in shame.

1. Humility

   1 Peter 5:6 — "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." James 4:7 — "God resists the proud, but gives more grace to the humble." Satan actually tries to lift proud men so they will make a mess with their manifestation. Look at the difference between David and Saul. When Samuel wanted to leave after Saul disobeyed, Saul's concern was not God's anger — it was what the people were thinking. "Respect me before them." David, when he knew God was angry, tore his garment, fell down, poured ashes on his head, and didn't care what people thought. And God called David the apple of His eyes. Pride has killed many people. There are those who cannot say thank you because they don't want someone to know they received help. Don't let pride be your undoing.

2. Faithfulness and Diligence

   Lifting involves responsibility. God cannot commit His estate to your trust if He has not vetted your faithfulness and diligence. Luke 16:10–12 — "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in much. He that is unjust in that which is least is unjust in that which is much. If you are not faithful in another man's business, who will give you your own?" Proverbs 22:29 — "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? That man shall stand before kings and not before mean men." The day you become diligent and faithful to the little you have, you have already approved yourself for the next level.

3. Obedience

   Isaiah 1:19 — "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land." There are people for whom the moment something becomes an instruction, it becomes difficult. That same thing they would have done voluntarily ten times becomes a problem when someone says, "Do it." And when compelled, they do it poorly as a statement of defiance. Your future will answer you. God is the one who places authority over your life. The question to ask yourself is: did they put themselves there? Obedience is critical. You can fast-track your rising — or delay it.

4. Righteous Living

   Everybody that is lifted is God's representative. God will not raise someone who will misrepresent Him. Proverbs 14:34 — Righteousness exalts not only individuals but nations. Hebrews 1:9 — "Because thou loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, even thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Why was Joseph lifted? He said, "I cannot do this evil and sin against God" (Genesis 39:9). Why was Daniel lifted? Daniel and his friends purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves (Daniel 1:8). This is not only for ministry — it is for those who want to excel as senators, lecturers, businesspeople.

5. Love

   In John 21:15–17, before making Peter the leader of the church, Jesus asked him three times: "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" Three times He said, "Keep my sheep." There are people who treat serving God as a career. The moment they are offended, they walk away. But love holds you when offenses come, when reputation is on the line, when the cost is high. God will vet whether you love Him above offense, above reputation, above every other thing. Because He doesn't want to lift you to a point of great responsibility only for you to say, "I'm not coming again."

Factor Three: Encounters

Nobody rises in this kingdom without encounters. Some encounters are spectacular; others are not — but there must be a spiritual encounter. Either with the word, with one who represents God, with the Lord Himself, or with an angelic entity — something spiritual must happen for a man to be lifted.

1 Samuel 3:21 — "The Lord appeared to Samuel again in Shiloh by the word of the Lord." You can encounter a verse of scripture and your life will change. Moses saw the burning bush (Exodus 3:1–5). Paul had an encounter — light shone from heaven, struck him down, and he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4–5). Their lives never remained the same.

What provokes encounters? Two laws:

• The law of hunger. Genesis 27:40 — "When you become restless, you will break his yoke off your shoulder." If you seek Him with the whole of your heart, you will find Him. Those who rise build their lives on the altar. They press. They do not remain comfortable.
• The law of brokenness. God resists the proud but is close to the humble. You must be broken before you can be open to encounter.

Factor Four: Divine Timing and Alignment

There are certain liftings tied to divine timing. There was no reason for Mary to rise if God was not bringing Jesus at that time. All times are not the same. There are days worth ten years — and if you miss that day, you have missed a ten-year cycle.

The laws of the kairos season:

1. Alignment: You must discern God's will for seasons and align with it. The man at the pool of Bethesda had seasons of healing when the water was stirred — but because he couldn't jump in, he missed them. Mary was chosen by favor, but virginity was an alignment requirement. Favor cannot work for you if you have not met the alignment criteria.
2. Discernment: Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the city didn't know the times of its visitation (Luke 19:43–44). Some days are worth years. The five foolish virgins were fools because they didn't discern — they didn't prepare for that one critical hour. The sons of Issachar were men who understood times and seasons (1 Chronicles 12:32).
3. Sovereignty: When God sees those who are aligned and discerning, He picks out of them. You cannot control this one — but you can control discernment and alignment, and trust God for favor.

Factor Five: Warfare

If you cannot fight, you cannot rise. In this kingdom, only fighters stand. Only fighters rise. Proverbs 24:10 — "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small." God told Joshua three times in one chapter: Be strong and of good courage — because I can only help you if you are standing (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9).

The moment you start rising, battles begin. The only people who don't fight are dead men. Satan reserves his resources for those who are going somewhere. Rising is going up — and just as an aircraft must beat the gravity of the earth to fly, you must overcome spiritual resistance to rise.

There are four things you will fight:

1. Temptation

   You are your own first enemy. Those appetites and lusts you have not restrained — in the day of your lifting, they will fight you. Look at Jesus at His baptism (Matthew 3:15–17). The Holy Ghost descended like a dove. The very next thing was temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4). Your convictions must be tested. Your appetite must be subdued. When Satan saw that Jesus was hungry and weak after forty days and nights, he came. But when the flesh is weak, the spirit is strong. Jesus overcame every temptation, and in Luke 4:14, He returned in the power of the Spirit — and His fame went abroad. Every temptation overcome is a platform. The more you overcome, the more authority is given to you.

2. Gates

   Gates are authorities. Every realm has gatekeepers. When you want to rise, legitimate voices will say, "Who do you think you are to come here?" Psalm 24:7 — "Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory might come in." When gates fight you, call on the sovereignty of God. There is a higher gate. When Pharaoh didn't want Israel to go, God said, "Tonight I will pass through Egypt. I will judge the gods of Egypt, and Pharaoh will let you go" (Exodus 12:12). A higher authority disarms lower authority.

3. Adversaries

   Adversaries stop doors. Doors are opportunities. Paul said, "A great and effectual door is open to me, but there are many adversaries" (1 Corinthians 16:9). You have fought your way into a position but every opportunity is being channeled away. Deal with adversaries by raising intercession — for yourself, and by mobilizing others to pray for you. When Peter was in prison, the church prayed for him (Acts 12:5). When Paul and Silas praised at midnight, the doors flew open (Acts 16:25–26).

4. Windows

   Windows are blessings. After you have defeated gates and adversaries and doors open — there must still be the opening of windows of blessing. Malachi 3:10 — God promises to open the windows of heaven. But windows of blessing are opened through revelation and obedience. Ephesians 1:17–19 — Paul prays that God gives the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that the eyes of understanding are enlightened — that you may know the riches of the blessings of God available to you. James 1:22–25 — the man who continues in the word and does it shall be blessed.

The Anointing: The Final Lifter

Psalm 92:10 — "My head has thou anointed with fresh oil. Because of that, thou hast exalted my horn like the horn of the unicorn." When the anointing comes on a man, it can lift him. Every opposition will be broken.

Isaiah 10:27 — "The burden shall be lifted off your shoulders. The yoke shall be removed from your neck and the yoke shall be broken because of the anointing."

Any power that has held you down — by the breaker's anointing, they are uprooted now. Every force that has kept you from rising, I command them to give way. By the faith of the Son of God, every mountain before you is uprooted. Arise and shine — your light is come. The reproach against your life is lifted. This is your time of lifting.