ADAPTED FOR SUCCESS AND GREATNESS

One day, a young camel decided to ask his father some questions about growing up. “Daddy, why is it that we have humps on our backs?” “Well son, we have humps on our backs which contain fat to sustain us through many days when we are out in the desert.” “Oh thanks, Dad,” said the youngster. He then asked, “Daddy, why is it that we have long eyelashes over our eyes?” “Well son,” said the father, “in the desert, there are many sandstorms which whip up a lot of sand which can get into our eyes. The long eyelashes protect our eyes from being blinded.” “Oh thanks, Dad,” said the youngster. “Dad, why is it that we have great big padded feet?” “Well son, in the desert, the sand is very soft and we need big feet to be able to walk on the sand without our feet sinking into the soft sand.” “Well thanks, Dad, but what are we doing in London Zoo?” What are we doing in London zoo? It’s a big question this young camel has thrown to his father. If we have humps to sustain us through many days in the desert, long eye lashes to prevent sand from entering our eyes and blind us, great padded feet to walk without sinking in the soft sand, we are created and adapted to be kings in the desert. What then are we doing in London zoo? Why are we caged here and not allowed to fulfil our destiny? Issues for you to think about You are adapted for success Adaptation in biology has to do with the development of physical and behavioural characteristics that allow organisms to survive and reproduce in their habitats. Though biology thinks in terms of acclimatisation and evolutionary adaptation, my own concept of adaptation is a spiritual adaptation. By this I mean that God has created all you need to survive, reproduce and succeed here on earth which God had given you as an inheritance. The gills, scales and fins of a fish all had a purpose. The poisonous gland in a toad, the rolling 360o eye and the inverted tongue has a purpose. The elephant trunk, leg and ear have a purpose for its success and domineering role it plays in the jungle. So is the camel we mentioned above. And so are you as a human being. At creation, God made you in his likeness and image and he said, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Gen 1:28) Inside of you is an intricate wonderful network of divine asset that David assessed one day and exclaimed, I am fearfully and wonderfully made; (Psalm 139:14) Everything in you is wonderfully and graciously and purposefully made – your eyes, nose, head, mouth, hands, leg, heart and everything you posses. They are all designed so that you can use them to fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion while you are here. It has been discovered that, "Your brain can store 100 trillion facts. Your mind can handle 15,000 decisions a second, as is the case when your digestive system is working. Your nose can smell up to 10,000 different odors. Your touch can detect an item 1/25,000th of an inch thick, and your tongue can taste one part of quinine in 2 million – parts of water. You are a bundle of incredible abilities, an amazing creation of God. Part of the church’s responsibility is to identify and release your abilities for serving God. "- Rick Warren Inside of you are wonderful talents and gifts - both physical and spiritual. And you remember Prov 18:16? A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. At every time there is always something in your hand that God wants to use to prosper you. He deliberately puts it there; unless you are not using it. When Moses was to cross the Red Sea with the children of Israel, God asked him what is in your hand (a rod). When that prophet widow was in trouble and they were about to take her only son as a slave to pay her dead husband’s debt, the question Elisha asked her was what do you have in the house (a jar of oil). When Jesus was to feed five thousand, the disciple said this was impossible until Andrew saw a boy with five loaves and two fishes. Jesus said that was all I needed. Your placement is also a divine adaptation for your success and greatness in life. You are not here by accident. God placed you here so you can find him and thereby find your destiny and fulfil it. Paul said in Acts, And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him… (Acts 17:26-27) So you are adapted for success. You must question the status quo If the father of that camel was not thinking this way, then the son is ready to challenge the father. As long as you don’t want to challenge your existing status, you are not ready for any promotion in life. As long as you are satisfied with your present condition spiritually, physically, academically, financially and otherwise, you remain where you are. But the day you rise up and like the sons of the prophet you say, this place where we are dwelling is too small for us, then you are ready to move to the next level. The young camel looked at all the assets he possessed - big hump, long eye lashes and greatly padded feet and he thought this must not be for nothing. There must be a greater reason why God gave me all these assets. Think of yourself too. Look at al the assets God has blessed and endowed you with. Then rise up and become what you were born to be. You must get out of your confinement O many lives are caged in a zoo! They are confined. They are limited and their destiny is covered with a seal. (I break that seal over your head in he name of Jesus). That young camel asked the father, what are we doing in a London zoo? Why are we confined here? If we have humps on our backs which contain fat to sustain us through many days when we are out in the desert, if we have long eyelashes to protect our eyes from being blinded and we have big padded feet to walk on the sand without our feet sinking into the soft sand, then why are we here? Some of you might say is a London zoo not better than a Saharan desert? For these camels, I assure you it is not better. And can I tell you, zoo is zoo whether London or America or Nigeria. In a zoo you are limited. You are confined. In a zoo, you are commercialised. You are there just to entertain people and help the zoo keepers make money. You can’t grow to your capacity physically, mentally and otherwise. Go to America and Britain and see trained engineering graduate from Nigeria doing night guard. See graduates washing corpse and changing diapers for old men/women at aged home or earning peanuts at supermarkets. Some even have better jobs but they are not free. So the idea is not where the zoo is. The problem is being in the zoo, being limited. God has created us to be free, realize our potential and fulfil our destinies. So get out of every limitation and use all your divine adaptation to the best and the greatest you can be. The sons of the prophet said let us go to the Jordan and cut timbers and construct a bigger place for ourselves. Jabez cried to God and said O! that you would bless me and enlarge my territory. John Maxwell once observed that, "Certain species of fish will grow according to the size of their environment. Put them in a tiny aquarium, and they remain small even at adulthood. Release them into a huge natural body of water, and they grow to their intended size. People are similar. If they live in a harsh and limiting environment, they stay small. But put them someplace that encourages growth, and they will expand to reach their potential." So you are not meant for the zoo. You are meant for the field where you can test your potential and be what God intends you to be. You are meant for the skies where the eagles fly and there is no limitation to the height you can attain. You must answer the question, “What are you doing here?” So, what are you doing here? Here is not your place. There is your place. God said in Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. In I Cor 2:9, the scripture says, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. So what are you doing here? Elijah was asked that question and he couldn’t answer because he left his divine posting out of frustration. Are you frustrated by what people are doing to discourage you? Don’t be. Adam was asked a similar question and he only looked for excuses because he has eaten the forbidden fruit and discovered he was naked. Have you disobeyed God and now you are naked and helpless like Saul who had to go and consult a medium because he said God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. What are you doing here? Here is not your destiny or destination. It is time to get out of this zoo – out of this limitation and satanic barriers against your breakthrough. It is time to arise and shine. What will you do? The prodigal son said I will arise and go to my father. He got there; he met with forgiveness, divine love, restoration and prosperity. Esther said I will go and meet the king, If I perish, I perish. She didn’t perish. She met with favour and her enemies were destroyed. The two lepers in the days of Elisha said, "Why are we sitting here until we die? "If we say, `We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.'' (2 Kgs 7:16) But they did not die. When they got to the camp of the Syrians, all the enemies have disappeared. They ate, packed as much as they can and then declared the news in famine-ravished Israel. That day a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel. Your sitting down and folding your arms will do you no good. Nor will it do anyone any good. Many are waiting to be blessed because of your blessing. Your generation is waiting for your glorious manifestation. Let me close in the words of Nelson Mandela "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God Your playing small doesn’t serve the world There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And, as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. So you are adapted for success and greatness. What are you doing here? Nothing. Rise up and be the star that God has created you to be."