Barrier Breaker of The Month of November 2020

The Barrier Breaker of the month of November Is….

Ebenezer Brown also known as Ben Brown, a Nigerian residing in The Gambia. He is a Gospel Artist and a third year Law student in The University of The Gambia who aspires to stand and be a voice for people who do not have one for themselves.

Welcome to the Barrier Breakers Corner Podcast, where we step out on faith and defy the odds.

Barrier Breakers Corner started with a group of young people in The Gambia called the Youth For Promise (Y4P) in our local Church in 2015 at a youth camp called the Barrier Breakers Camp. The idea was to get young people to think outside the box, have a vision, plan and work towards it. We gave out questionnaires which they filled out and helped them with their plans and who they wanted to become. We definitely prayed, worshipped, played some games etc. At some point in the event we had a few people come up to share what they’d written and Ebenezer was part of them.

A cross section of the Y4P

I remember Ebenezer saying he wanted to become a Gospel artist and a rapper and to see what he and some of the other Youths are doing now is amazing and I am proud of them. This shows you that once you have a plan and a focus, you can be whoever you want to be and you can go places. When I thought about Barrier Breakers there was nothing like a podcast on my mind 5 years ago but here we are now. Seeing who Ebenezer is right now I have so much hope for not just you but the other youths too.

Ebenezer recently released his first official Song titled XO. This has been on replay on my phone. It is Amazing.

Here is the YouTube link to his song https://youtu.be/loJddVAw3gE

HIS CHALLENGES

Ebenezer: My main Challenge was myself. I lacked confidence, I wondered whether people would listen to me, would I be good enough, I like music but what will people’s reaction be to what I release? I was my own Barrier in accomplishing things that I set out. It also took me a while to find God because when I initially started I wanted to do secular music. Actually I started doing secular music but then I couldn’t go on with it because I realized that was not who I was, I felt empty. The moment I wanted to do Gospel, then I got a lot of agents coming towards me to do secular for them because they’d seen how good I was but at that point I had made up my mind. Also I was thinking “where were you guys when I was doing secular”. (laughs)

My Thoughts

This just goes to show you that the moment you are on the right track to doing what God wants you to do, for some it may be producing secular, for others it may be singing Gospel, the enemy will want to try and stop you. We are meant to be a light wherever we are or go. Where is God moving you to? Is it unconventional? Think and pray about it and let the Lord guide you.

ABOUT STUDYING LAW

Ebenezer: People try to scare you when you say you want to be a Lawyer. Do you know how much studying you have to do? How much reading you have to do, Lawyers are liars etc. This got me scared before I got to Law school because I do not like to memorize my notes. I prefer to read and understand.

Jois: We need to normalize encouraging people towards the path they want to take. Direction and Guidance is good but do not scare them. Parents need to also be able to communicate to people that are telling their kids what they cannot do. They should not say such to their kids. The Bible says in Philippians 4:13 we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. So who are you to tell someone what they can or cannot do. Again Direction and Guidance is good but don’t scare them.

LESSONS

Ebenezer: The lesson I learnt comes from 1Corinthians 13:10 – “but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away”. What was perfect to me was knowing Jesus Christ and accepting Him. Once I got to know Him everything that was partial in me faded, my lack of confidence faded. I am much more confident now. I took it upon me to complete any task given me and people have been saying to me “you’ve got this leadership quality”. When I was not confident, I was never able to do anything.

ADVICE

Ebenezer: First we all have to accept that in life some things will become hard. Even some people that become rich at some point become confused because they are thinking of ways to sustain their riches. Oh I’m becoming bankrupt, how do I get back up again etc. Everyone has phases they go through. One person’s circumstance may be different from another’s but what I can advise is to trust in God. Adversity and Trials are bound to happen. Persevere, keep trusting God, seek His face and don’t give up on your Faith. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer too. Don’t give up on any goal you’re finding hard to meet and don’t give up on life because of any situation because God has your back. You will never be a diamond if pressure is not applied.

Jois: I wrote a blog on becoming a Pearl-My truth https://joiss.org/2020/02/22/becoming-a-pearl-my-truth/. Becoming a pearl is irritating and uncomfortable. God will take you out of your comfort zone to an uncomfortable place that is good for you to cause you to grow and become a better person. The question I ask you today; are you willing to get out of your comfort zone. Because sometimes we sing ‘For your Glory I will do anything’ but we do not actually want to do anything. Other times we pray “God I need you to turn this situation around” but are we willing to do what it takes for the situation to turn around? Getting out of your comfort zone is going to take a lot but I assure you that God will be with you even if it seems like He’s silent, He is ever so close. He has got you. 

Thank You Ebenezer for the opportunity to Interview.

You can listen to the whole conversation on these various platforms – ITunes, Spotify, Audiomack, TuneIn, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Amazon, Podbean, Castbox and Podbay.fm.

ITunes Podcast Link – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-barrier-breakers-corner-podcast/id1533084510?i=1000497882180

Audiomack Podcast Link – https://audiomack.com/barrier-breakers-corner/song/barrier-breaker-of-the-month-of-november-2020