Your Destiny and Your Palace

Your Destiny

And Your Palace

Sidney Edi-Osagie

Copyright © 2012 by Sidney Edi-Osagie. All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4365-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4364-2 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4366-6 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905097

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WestBow Press rev. date: 05/22/12

Contents

Welcome Note

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

In Memory Of

Chapter One

In The Beginning

Chapter Two

What Really Matters-Life Priorities

Chapter Three

Coming Of Age

Chapter Four

What Do You See?

Chapter Five

The Road To The Palace

Chapter Six

Your Shot At The Palace

Chapter Seven

Agreeing With Destiny

Chapter Eight

Recognizing And Connecting With Destiny Helpers

Chapter Nine

Learning To Be Discrete

Chapter Ten

Wisdom To Reign

Chapter Eleven

Packaging-The Art Of Proper Presentation

Chapter Twelve

The End Of A Thing

Notes/Bibliography

About The Author

Welcome Note

I welcome you to an experience of a lifetime as you read YOUR DESTINY AND YOUR PALACE.

This is an exciting book, full of wisdom and powerful insights, regarding your quest and eventful journey to your land of promise. It is my hope and prayer that you find as much joy, illumination, and fulfillment in reading this book, as I found in working on the manuscript.

Be blessed as you read!

Pastor Sidney Edi-Osagie

Dedication

I dedicate this book to the sweet and inspirational Holy Spirit, who has been my source of revelation and strength, in writing and publishing this work. I love you Holy Spirit!

Acknowledgements

To my beloved family—Lami, David, Samuelle, and Emmanuel Edi-Osagie, who have been sources of strength, support, and inspiration. I say thank you for all you do.

To my editorial team made up of my editorial manager, Teke Monono, and the rest of the team comprising of Ivo Sanjoh, Edith Ede, Selina Amuebie and Florence Davis. May the Good Lord richly bless you for all your hard work and sacrifice in making this project a reality.

To my friend, brother, and partner in ministry, Pastor Dominic Dompreh, and the entire Word of God Alive Church Family, your love and support has truly been phenomenal.

Preface

The book, Your Destiny and Your Palace is a literary resource which details the various challenges and pitfalls people face in their quest for their land of promise, the palace of their dreams and desires. Aside from providing information about most common mistakes and issues people experience on their personal journey to the palace, it also contains helpful tips, inspirational truths, and wisdom on how to be effective and successful in your quest for the palace.

One may be curious as to the motivation for a work like this. The truth is, this book is the result of years of study and research into the reasons people fail or succeed in their quest for the palace. Most of the insights and examples used in this work are biblical, but insights and experience has also been drawn from other secular sources as well as the writer’s personal experiences.

It is my hope and belief that this book will be an inspiration and blessing to anyone who reads it.

In Memory Of

In loving memory of my mother

CHIEF CATHERINE NDIDI EDI-OSAGIE

(15 JAN 1934 – 16 FEB 2008)

who laid the foundation for my Christian walk

and willingness to answer

the call of God.

CHAPTER ONE

In The Beginning

One undisputable fact of life is that without a beginning, there cannot be an end, and as such, the beginning of a thing is as important, if not, more important than the end. Genesis 1:1-4 says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void; and the darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw the light and that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

The truth is that our beginnings are in Christ, and when totally committed to Him, He is able to bring light out of any dark foundation or situations we may encounter. John 1:4-5 states that, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. Christ is the word that became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He, our Lord God, is credited with creating all things (John 1:3). So it follows that if Christ is in control of a destiny, His divine creative abilities are unleashed and go to work in that destiny, and this is why the Bible declares in Proverbs 4:18 that, The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines brighter unto the perfect day. This is only possible when a destiny is inspired and led by the Spirit of the Light of the world (John 8:12), hence why it is written in Psalm 119:105, that Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

The journey of destiny is believed to commence from the womb, but in reality, there’s biblical evidence that states the contrary. The word of God says in Hebrews 7:9-10, Even Levi who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. This is positive proof of the fact that life exists, long before conception. The LORD told the prophet, Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 1:5, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Apart from reinforcing the notion that life begins before conception, this also reveals that if Levi paid tithes in (and through) Abraham, he, like Abraham, also reaped the blessings of the tither as enumerated in Malachi 3:8-12. It is no surprise then that the direct blood descendants of Abraham, including Levi, were mightily blessed and we, his covenant descendants, also partake of that blessing by our adoption into the family of God. This is and was through the sacrificial death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross for our sins, by which Christ redeemed us and made us acceptable in the beloved. Conversely and also, if descendants can reap blessings for the consciously righteous or sacrificial deeds of a forefather, grandfather, or father, it follows that the descendants can reap the opposite as a result of the consciously wicked or selfish acts of an ancestor, be it a grandfather or father. Thus, it is possible for a child to be born with a deficit, because the Bible says, A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22).

The journey of destiny from childhood to adulthood is a journey of discovery for which one cannot be too prepared. David revealed in Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. This scripture tells me the LORD is able to sustain and nurture a destiny even from the time of life in the womb till adulthood, for as the word of God says in Ecclesiastes 11:5, As you do not know how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. The LORD isn’t just a Creator, but is a Builder of Destiny, as of everything else. Hebrews 3:4 elaborates, For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. The truth is, nothing can be built, established and grown, unless the LORD signs off on it. As we read in Psalm 127:1A, Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

One of the ways in which God builds a destiny is by training, instruction, and teaching, as Proverbs 22:6 suggests, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

The issue of training or instructing children, young adults and the elderly to align their destinies to God’s will, and setting them on the paths to their palaces, is so important to God, that He places a premium on it. So when God talks of ‘Training up a child in the way of the Lord’, it is not referring to the training of children or the young adult alone, but refers generally to us training ‘Our Child of Destiny’ (meaning, the training of ourselves, other adults and our biological or spiritual children) in accordance with God’s word and will; for God is the Father of us all. Consider what the LORD said of Abraham in making up His mind whether to tell Abraham of His intentions regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18:17-19 reads, And the LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. The principle of training, teaching, and instruction is the institutional formula for informing and conforming to the will of God.

First, we know that God’s word is His will. Hebrews 9:16-17 reveals, For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. The death of Christ Jesus has invoked the power of His will, which is God’s word. Training, teaching, and instruction sum up a major way by which God instills knowledge and discipline, and this may involve the use of the rod of correction, as it states in Proverbs 23:13-14, Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. Also, in Hebrews 5:8-9 we read of our Redeemer that, Even though Jesus was God’s Son. He learned obedience from the things He suffered. In this way, God qualified Him as a Perfect High Priest, and He became the Source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him (NLT).

From the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we learn that the school of correction, through the use of the rod and suffering are involved in the school of the Holy Spirit, by which He instills the discipline and obedience necessary for a child, young adult or elder to make his or her way right with God. This is why David said in Psalm 119:67, Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word, and in verse 71 of the same Psalm it is written, It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. It is quite clear from the foregoing that David recognized the power of correction though affliction and suffering, in bringing him in line with the will of God. Maybe this is why the Apostle Paul, emphasized, That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11). The great apostle of the New Testament came to realize that the secret to the power of Christ’s resurrection was hidden somewhere in the sufferings of Christ, and he desired fellowship with such suffering, so he could be conformed to His death, and also share in Christ’s resurrection power. Hebrews 12:5-11 talks extensively about the discipline of God in this manner,

"And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons, ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what