Mensa Otabil - The Lord Will Give it to You (10/02/2025)
Well, today is a very special day for many of us who are members of the International Central Gospel Church. Today is our 37th church anniversary. God has been good to us over the years, and there’s so much to be thankful and grateful to God for. So I wish all of you a very happy anniversary as you remember the goodness of the Lord and as you meditate on what He has done in the past and anticipate what He’s going to do in the future. The God of our past is still the God of our present, and He is the God of our future. He has guided us, and He will continue to guide us and lead us on this journey.
As we have been studying about Abraham and his journey of faith, we go to our text for today, which is Genesis chapter 12, verse 7. «Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants, I will give this land.' And there he built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him.» It seems appropriate on our anniversary day to think about God bringing Abraham to the land of Canaan. Abraham started a journey of faith that began from the Ur of the Chaldeans, went through Haran, and then he left Haran. He has been wandering, moving and moving, and eventually he gets to a place that he doesn’t know has any significance for him. He arrived in the land of Canaan, and there God said, «This is it. This is what I told you to leave your own country for.»
Many times, when we are obeying God and doing the will of God, we have no idea where He is taking us. We find ourselves in places and situations that don’t seem to hold any meaning for us. However, sometimes in the meaninglessness of life, God shows us meaning in a place where there seems to be no purpose. God gives purpose to things that don’t seem to have any impact. So, on our journey of faith, we must not underestimate the moments, the days, the places, and the seasons we go through. Things that don’t make sense to you today may actually be what God wants you to be doing, and you may currently be in your Canaan without realizing it.
So, when the Lord is leading us, all we must do is keep our eyes on Him until He opens our eyes to see how far He has brought us. That has been the story of our church for the last 37 years. The Lord brought us to a place similar to Abraham’s, which didn’t seem like a very auspicious moment. I don’t even know why we chose the date, February 26, 1984, to start the church; I think it was just a convenient date. There was no prayer about it; it was just a good time to start. We began in a small classroom, and for anyone who saw us in that classroom with only a few people and no electricity, using kerosene lamps, it would have seemed like a bunch of purposeless people who didn’t know what they were doing—clueless.
But you can arrive at a place that may seem like nothing, and in that place, God ordains His purposes, just as He did for Abraham. That is what He has done for us, and that is what He will do for you. You may be in your Canaan right now and not know it, and who knows? Maybe this year, you’ll find yourself in the place God wants you to be, and when you get there, He will tell you, «After all the wandering, you finally got to where I want you to be—your Canaan, your land of promise, the land of purpose, and the land of God’s habitation.»
Today, we are grateful that God brought us to where we are as a church, and we are expectant that, as He has done for us, He will do for you in your own enterprises, endeavors, activities, hopes, and aspirations as you journey on. May you find yourself in the place that God wants you to be, so your journey will make sense, your struggles will make sense, your difficulties will make sense, and everything will make sense to you. We are in that place, and we thank God—the one who leads us on the journey and the one who brings us to the appointed place.
Let’s share a word of prayer together. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank You for leading me along the journey. I receive Your promised inheritance to me in Jesus' name. Amen.» You will find your inheritance; you will arrive at that spot. Just keep journeying with the Lord, trust in Him, and He will bring you to that place.
Happy anniversary to all of us at ICGC and all our friends and loved ones. May the Lord, who has been good to us, continue to be good to us. Truly, our God reigns. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.