A man of God was ministering at a convention and called people forward to “receive the mantle” and become generals. Many came out. The next minister asked, “Who among you has become a general since receiving the mantle?” No response. He then asked the first minister, “How many years did it take you to get here?” “Decades.” “Then how can people receive in one service what took you a lifetime of obedience?”
Friend, don’t lower the standard. Anyone who lowers God’s standard for you is an enemy of your future (2 Timothy 2:19). God never lowered His standard for us. He gave grace to help us meet it (1 John 5:3). Anyone who teaches otherwise is working against God’s purpose for your life and destiny.
The devil’s first assignment is to make God’s instructions look foolish, and His standards look unreasonable (Genesis 3:1-5). He wants to cheapen what is precious by making you pay a lower price. He pushes you to trade purpose for pleasure, depth for frivolity, and God’s best for what is immediate (Hebrews 12:16).
Like Jeroboam, many ministers today lower the standard to gather crowds (1 Kings 12:25-33). They promote comfort, compromise, and counterfeit power. The result is a generation of believers who lack weight and depth in destiny (1 Samuel 2:12).
A legalist makes the way to heaven narrower than God made it. A false teacher makes it wider than God made it (Matthew 7:13-16). But God’s standard never changes with nation or generation. His demands over your life remain the same regardless of what’s happening around you (Genesis 6:5-7).
Dear pastor, don’t raise people with methods God never used to raise you (Philippians 4:9). Dear believer, watch the road your leader walked, not just what he preaches. If he grew through prayer, fasting, and deep teachings, don’t accept anything less. Don’t expect in one service what took your pastor years to receive. Walk your road. Keep God’s standard for your life (Luke 12:49-50). Don’t lower the standard.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria