Follow Jesus to Become What He Promised You

Introduction

You can pray every day, fast, memorize verses, and stay exactly the same person. That is what Apostle Yvan Castanou came to say this Sunday, January 25, 2026, at the ICC Montreal congregation. The message is simple, but it turns the logic of many Christian lives upside down: you do not become the one you pray to, you become the one you follow. Prayer strengthens you. Following transforms you. And it is by following that you will become what Jesus has promised you would become.

Yvan Castanou places this message in a particular moment: the five year period from 2026 to 2030. According to him, these five years are preparing a generation that will need to stand firm against a level of darkness and corruption the earth has not yet seen. And the protocol for this preparation is not prayer alone. It is the art of following.

Outline of the Message

1. The 2026-2030 Period: God Is Preparing Witnesses, Not Just Christians

• After 2030, a level of darkness will rise over the earth. Those who did not take these five years seriously will not stand.
• God is not preparing little mice, he is preparing lions, royal eagles, an invincible generation.
• The figures of the Old Testament (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Esther, Deborah, Mordecai, Joseph) were the shadow of the kind of people God wants to bring out today.
• Like Paul bitten by the viper on Malta, you will see the life of God in you overcome the venoms announced over your body or your life.

2. The Spiritual Law of "Following": You Become Who You Follow

• No one becomes without following. It is a universal law, true in the world as much as in the Kingdom.
• Each of us is already following someone or some spirit. There is no truly independent person.
• Praying to Jesus is not enough: you can pray to Jesus for years and never resemble him, because you are not following him.
• To follow, in Greek, means to imitate. We follow Jesus by imitating men and women who themselves imitate Jesus, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1.

3. Following Is an Act of Humility and Lowering Yourself

• Refusing to follow is already following something: the spirit of independence, arrogance, and pride.
• Not following means believing you are smarter than others. But God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
• The sheep follows; the goat stays off in its corner. Those who follow bear fruit; the loners become easy prey.
• Following is not the same as being inferior. It is submitting to the protocol God uses to build in you the humility that comes before elevation.

4. Elevation Does Not Come Through Prayer, It Comes Through Lowering Yourself

• Neither God nor Satan raises up someone who has not first lowered themselves. It is a law.
• Joseph had to serve Potiphar and the chief of the prison before becoming second in command of Egypt. Prophecy announces the destiny, service gives birth to it.
• David was anointed king by Samuel, but he had to serve Saul, a wicked man who wanted to kill him, until Saul himself blessed him.
• Everyone who rises was brought up by someone already positioned above them, and that happens through faithfulness, loyalty, humility, and perseverance in service.

5. Walking on the Word, Even When Circumstances Say Otherwise

• Peter did not walk on the water: he walked on what Jesus told him. You too, walk on the Word, not on what you feel.
• Even if the medical results announce the opposite of your healing, do not lose heart. What matters is not what they announce, it is the life you are living out.
• People who walk on the Word become sources of wonder, of marvels, of miracles.
• Depression, kidney failure, cancer, diabetes: the life of God in you can overcome every form of death.

6. Following Jesus Practically, Every Week

• God's protection and provision are guaranteed at the place we call obedience, the place where God has put you.
• Following Jesus means obeying his commandments, practicing his Word, keeping the law of forgiveness and the law of responsibility (you are the keeper of your own soul).
• Following also means honoring, respecting, and serving the spiritual authorities God has established (Hebrews 13:17, Jeremiah 3:15).
• Following means going to church even when it is uncomfortable, even when there is traffic, even when you are tired. Jesus' disciples love to suffer for Jesus.

Key Takeaways

• You do not become the one you pray to, you become the one you follow.
• Prayer strengthens you, but it is following that transforms you.
• No one becomes anything without first having followed someone. It is a spiritual law: whoever follows will become.
• Elevation does not come through prayer, it comes through lowering yourself. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
• Destiny is announced through prophecy, but it is born through faithful service. Like Joseph, like David, you will have to serve before you reign.

Personal Application

1. Who are you becoming like today? Who have you been following these past years, and does the fruit in your life match what Jesus promised to make of you?
2. Where is your pride still keeping you from following: a spiritual authority, biblical counsel, an instruction God gave you that you find too humbling?
3. Is there an authority in your life (pastor, shepherd, mentor) whom you are called to serve faithfully, even though they are not perfect?
4. What are you walking on right now: what you feel, medical results, circumstances, or the Word God has spoken over your life?
5. What past wound or disappointment are you using as an excuse not to follow, not to submit, to stay in your corner? Are you ready to hand it over to Jesus this week?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 6:24, No one can serve two masters
• Luke 6:46, Why do you call me Lord, Lord
• Luke 16:12, Faithful in what belongs to another
• Ephesians 5:1-3, Be imitators of God
• Philippians 3:17, Join in imitating me, brothers
• Hebrews 13:17, Obey your leaders
• Jeremiah 3:15, I will give you shepherds after my own heart
• Proverbs 28:9, Even his prayer is an abomination
• 2 Peter 2:19, A slave to whatever has overcome him
• Acts 28:1-6, Paul and the viper on Malta
• 1 Corinthians 11:1, Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't following a pastor or a shepherd a form of idolizing a man?

No, as long as you keep Jesus as your absolute reference point. Yvan Castanou reminds us that following Jesus always happens through people Jesus has established in his church, just as loving God passes through loving the people you can see. If the shepherd you follow strays from the Word, you no longer imitate him on that point, but you do not criticize him either: you remain submitted to that authority as long as you are not asked to disobey God.

Why isn't my prayer enough to change my life?

Because prayer strengthens, but on its own it does not transform. Proverbs 28:9 says that if someone turns away their ear from listening to the law, even their prayer becomes an abomination. Jesus himself asks this in Luke 6:46: "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?" It is by following, by obeying, by putting the Word into practice, that you become what God has declared.

How do I know if I am truly following Jesus?

Look at what you are becoming. You become the one you follow. If you are growing more humble, more patient, more faithful, able to serve authorities without criticizing them, able to stay in church even when it is uncomfortable, then you are following. If you are still bitter, jealous, isolated, independent, and arrogant even after years of prayer, that is a sign that you are praying to Jesus but not yet following him.