Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Seed of Greatness
Seed of Greatness
Seed of Greatness
OF
GREATNESS
Created By
John Emmanuel
Edited By
John Ayomide
A GoodnewsBroadcast publication
Enquiries: johnemmanuel870@gmail.com
(+234)08103071931
Ikorodu, Lagos.
Nigeria.
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Dedication
Dedicated to all living ministers of the gospel who have
chosen to spend their lives serving Jesus. You are indeed
the seed of greatness.
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Chapter One
That morning when FOLORUNSHO GILBERT stepped into
the elevator, he held his phone in his right hand and wasn't
sure if to click the send icon on his Gmail or to wait. Himself
and his wife had spent the whole night trusting the Holy
Spirit to help them. They knew they were making the right
decision but they needed the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the
type they read of in the Book of Acts, of how boldness came
to the disciples.
Gilbert obeyed the Holy Spirit. As he sent the mail, he said "I
choose Your will, Lord" under his breath. Then, he clicked on
the button for the fifteen floor. During the elevator ride,
several pictures flashed through his mind. He remembered
how he had entered this same building for the first time
about sixteen years ago. At twenty-nine, he was employed
as part of the Strategic Planning Team.
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Smavic Global House. Smavic, though an indegenous firm,
had become one of the trusted brand across the globe. The
Strategic Planning arm of the organization had helped in
building a brand which is multiverse in nature. With a
presence in five continents and twenty-eight countries,
Smavic has positioned itself as a strong stakeholder in the
emerging economy of the world.
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Everyone present at the meeting knew that it wasn't
favoritism that opened this door for Gilbert, it was his
devotion to work complemented with his dedication to God
who had brought him this far. Those seating closest to him
shook his hands while others waved at him.
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"Lord, I thought this would be easy. Give me wisdom to
respond with grace." Gilbert prayed silently. "Sir, please let it
be known that I am not accepting any offer from other
companies but the Lord has asked me to resign. I am glad
you also serve as the Continental Pastor of a denomination
in Africa, please, understand with me and accept my
resignation." Gilbert said and took his seat.
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Chapter Two
SHADE had no other serious activity to carry out today.
Having resigned from her position as the Senior Medical
Consultant in the biggest hospital in the State two months
ago, she knew a day like today would come. She
remembered when Gilbert proposed to her at the "Rock
Experience" evening for passing out NCCF/NYSC members
serving in Dutse, the Lord had given her a word from Acts
13:1-3;
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continued. Gilbert then went ahead to tell his wife what
transpired during the board meeting.
"And what did you tell him?" Shade asked. "I told him 'God's
work must be done in God's way'. We do not even know
where in Ghana we are going and we aren't going there to
start a church first of all. I recommended three people who
can help Smavic do well without me. He asked if I was not
aware that one of the African political leader was a church
Pastor. I wasn't going to have an argument with him, so I
declined to comment. Presently, we have two weeks to leave
this place. I won't be getting any gratuity from them
according to Mr Vic".
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"Tomorrow, we will withdraw Andrew and Silas from school.
When we get to Ghana, they will get settled in another
school." Shade announced. "Did you get through to our
investment officer concerning our funds?" Shade asked.
Gilbert stood up, held his wife arms, "One of those whom Mr
Vic asked to speak with me even suggested that I should
consider working at Smavic for a few more years, then
retired and that I can spend my retirement doing whatever I
like. I immediately sensed head knowledge in his words.
What guarantees do I have of seeing tomorrow? Why delay
when God has spoken? What will happen to the harvest of
souls that is currently ripe? Should it get rotten because of
my pleasure? Look at something, before I got home I had
received six phone calls from across the globe saying that
they have learnt of my resignation. Two of them wanted to
know if I could recommend them. When I asked how they
got to know, I was told that an in house replacement memo
has been sent. Should I also wait for God to start searching
for my replacement before responding to Him?...
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Chapter Three
Shade's father couldn't believe his ears. He gave the couple
a bit of his mind. "How can the two of you decide to ruin your
promising future for what? Youthful exuberance?" he
queried. "I haven't seen anything as reckless as this in all my
years of living. How can you just wake up and say the Lord
is calling you to go to Ghana and you have to abandon all
your economic security to venture into a risk? Gilbert, please
wake up from this dream."
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Shade would have doubted their decision but her resolution
wasn't just from her husband's conviction, she was sure God
spoke to her too concerning the move. She remembered the
scriptures the Lord brought to her during her days of
personal praying and studying to seek His face regarding
this matter. Genesis 12:1-3 flooded her heart.
"Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and
your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will
show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who
dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.""
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are currently celebrating our 10th year anniversary as a
Transport organization and your reservation was our One
hundred thousandth reservation. We have therefore decided
to gift you the four tickets you intially booked for. Please, if
you would still be interested in the trip to Ghana, kindly
respond to the mail we just sent you. Or do you still want to
decline the offer sir?"
Dear Saint and Servant of God, do you know God still does
miracles for His people? Do not let your hands get tired due
to discouragement as you serve Him. God will definitely
come through for those who do His will.
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Chapter Four
"You are welcome to Ghana" said Ato Yaw, the Ghanaian
officer at the border who collected their passports for
inspection. "It's been a while since I last heard of Nigerians
moving to Ghana solely for mission work. Well, I wish you a
successful stay in our country. If you don't mind, I can
recommend one or two villages where you can do your
missionary work with peace of mind. You can try out Kissi
village or Shama. If indeed God has called you to Ghana, He
will help you. I am a Christian as well. I will be praying for
you Mr and Mrs Folorunsho Gilbert."
On arriving the bus park, Gilbert and his family had a word of
prayer before alighting. Shade led the prayers, thanking God
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for journey mercies and asking the Lord to order their steps
in their new assignment. The Folorunshos entered Ghana
with three luggages and four Bibles, one for each members
of the family.
While Gilbert and his household stood in the park, Silas, the
youngest spoke. "Mummy, I am hungry." The family had
decided they were going to fast through out the journey, so
they ate nothing before leaving Nigeria. Shade noticed a
food restaurant in the park, and the family decided to go and
get something to eat there.
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Gilbert suggested that his wife wait in the restaurant with the
children while he went to enquire about how to get to
Esikado. Gilbert offered another prayer silently "Holy Spirit
order our steps, confirm that you have sent us to Esikado".
The first man Gilbert approached stood by a Tro-tro vehicle.
He was having a phone call. "This isn't what we agreed
upon. I drove all the way from Esikado to the park here in
Accra. You told me you will be coming today. If I knew you
won't show up, I wouldn't have come. I know you have paid
for the to and fro movement but it is painful you didn't show
up. Listen, if I must come from Esikado another time, you will
pay me again" he ended the call.
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Chapter Five
"We are now in Esikado" Kwaku announced. The
Folorunshos were glad to finally arrive at their destination.
They were grateful for the miracle of divine provision and
guidance. The couple couldn't imagine how they would have
afforded the transport fare from Nigeria to Ghana and then
from Accra to Esikado. The long distance journey from
Nigeria was telling on them, so Silas and Andrew slept for
most of the journey. It was Kwaku's next statement that woke
the kids. "Please, pay me my money" Kwaku demanded.
Kwaku came down from the Tro-tro and was almost going to
create a scene when his phone rang. It was his young
brother, Essien, who was calling. Kwaku picked the call.
"Charly, what happened?... What?... My God! I am coming
home now!" Kwaku ended the call and entered into his
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vehicle. "I have to drive to my house first. There is an
emergency" he announced.
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The Herbalist asked them to let her be as he tried to give her
a concoction. Dela pounced on the herbalist, bite him and
punched him all over his body. Once the herbalist was able
to get his freedom from her, the elderly man ran out of the
compound...
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Chapter Six
Dela chased after the herbalist who had taken to his heel
without carrying his walking stick. She carried the walking
stick and was running toward the direction of Gilbert who
had come out of the Tro-tro to observe what was happening.
Gilbert, on sighting Dela, stopped moving and began to pray
in the spirit. Kwaku, Essien and the others in the compound
had come out to chase after Dela.
There came a large shout of joy from the people when they
realized that Dela had just been healed and is now in her
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right mind. Essien and Kwaku hugged Gilbert. "Thank you
very much my friend." Kwaku said as he embraced Gilbert.
"All Glory to God. All glory to Jesus." Gilbert replied. Gilbert
was also amazed at what had just happened. The highest
healing prayer he had ever offered was when Silas had a
boil and had brought it to him. Gilbert remembered laying his
hands on Silas and after some time, the boil vanished.
Shade requested that the family would like to have their bath
first of all. Essien and Kwaku went out to arranged for the
Folorunshos bath. When the two brothers had left the room,
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Gilbert went on his knees, bowing to God who had
miraculously come through for them yet again. From having
limited resources for their transport fare and
accommodation, the Lord himself had miraculously settled
all things and provided a place for them to rest and be
refreshed.
Later that night, with Dela sound asleep and all the
neighbors who had come to rejoice with the family all gone,
Essien and Kwaku while sitting outside the house, began to
hear the voices of the Folorunshos praying. Essien said to
his brother, "I thought you told me this pastor and his family
are Nigerians? How come they are speaking our language?
Or can't you hear them?" Kwaku was also shocked. He
could hear both Gilbert and Shade speaking his language.
"Wait, how is this possible?"...
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Chapter Seven
It was the incessant knocking on the door that made the
Folorunshos stop praying. Gilbert went to open the door and
he welcomed Essien and Kwaku into the room. "I thought
you said you were Nigerians?" Kwaku asked. "Of course, we
are. We just arrived Ghana when we met you at the park."
Shade responded. "Or is there any problem?"
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and about to speak. "God is this really true? I have only read
it in books of how people heard others speaking in tongues
and it was their indigenous language that was spoken. God,
You are faithful! God, You are powerful!"
His discipler had shared with him from the scriptures that
'Unless a seed of grain dies, it can never multiply. There is a
great potential in a seed, yet the way to true greatness in
God's sight is when the seed yields to God's own demand.'
He remembered his discipler saying, 'there are many
Christians who are living below the divine manifestation of
God's plan for them because they have refused to leave
their so called 'comfort zone' to move into God's divine
territory of greatness for their lives. There is a limit to how
God can make a man great when such a man has failed to
obey God's call for his life. While God will not force anyone
into becoming great in His hands, God's work will be done
even if it requires substituting the vessel.'
Gilbert spent the next thirty minutes sharing the gospel with
Essien and Kwaku in details. After which he explained to
them that it was the Holy Ghost who gave him and his wife
the words that they heard in their language and caused them
to listen. "We also want this Holy Ghost." Essien and Kwaku
chorused.
"You can get filled with the Holy Ghost right away. It is God's
will that anyone who gets saved receive the Holy Spirit. But
you must first call on the Lord Jesus to save you right away."
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Gilbert explained. "After calling on Jesus to save you, I can
then lay hands on you as God has instructed. Your salvation
is more important than miracles." He concluded.
That night, Kwaku and Essien called on the Lord Jesus for
the salvation of their souls, after which Gilbert and Shade
prayed with them. During the prayers, Kwaku felt something
leave his body and deep within him, he knew he was healed.
The End
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