Wonders Of Faith: 2013

POSSESSING BY VIOLENCE: SATAN DOES NOT WANT YOU TO GO FREE

No good thing comes easy. In fact if something comes too cheap and easy, you may have cause to suspect it and make sure it’s really from God.

Every believer in Christ has to define his or her relationship with fear. There is a positive aspect of fear. For instance when you fear God to the extent that you check yourself from doing anything evil, it is very healthy. But we are looking at the negative aspect of fear. Jesus tells us not to fear our persecutors. They may be our neighbours, relatives, parents, or even those in authority. As long as they stand in our way to stop us from following Jesus, we should not yield to them. The reason is stated:

There is hardly anything in creation that has permanent strength. Be it man, animal, plant or inanimate object designed by men, after expending energy, to remain functional it must refill from a source. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our perfect example, was no different. He used a spiritual thermometer to gauge His level of anointing. He knew when each virtue was being released to heal, save or deliver. He was very careful to prevent complete burn out, and sometimes in the midst of a very busy ministration, he sneaked out to rest and recoup.

In the days of the children of Israel, people were specifically chosen an anointed to be either prophets, priests or kings. Of all the Old Testament saints, David is one person who compares with today’s believers, for he successfully combined several portfolios. David was a king. Beyond this, he was a very skilled instrumentalist and worship leader. After God rejected King Saul, the Holy Spirit left him and an evil spirit started tormenting him. His servants, who knew the power of inspired instrumental worship in deliverance asked Saul’s permission and sought someone very skilled to do the job. Who did they find? David.

‘Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear’ (Heb 11:3). Words are powerful! Life’s events are controlled, shaped or determined by words. Destinies can change for good or bad through words. One’ way can be blocked or opened by words. Even enemies fight and destroy themselves through words. Whether you will succeed or fail in your earthly existence depends to a large extent on words – what God says about you, what you say about yourself and what others say about you.

RCCG AKWA IBOM PROVINCE II 7HRS OF PRAISE PICTURES

Few of the pictures from 7 hours of praise service. People were so blessed.

1. MY FATHER, I THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME TO SEE THE LAST MONTH OF THE YEAR 2013

2. MY FATHER AND MY GOD, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TOILED FROM JANUARY TILL NOW
AND CAUGHT NOTHING, TODAY I LAY DOWN MY NET AT THY WORD, PLEASE SINGLE ME OUT FOR UNCOMMON FAVOUR BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR IN JESUS NAME.

Isaiah came into God’s presence one day and saw something different. He had always viewed himself as a righteous man of God who was envied by many. But that day he looked filthy to himself as he stood in God’s presence. His lips were unclean, and had to be cleansed by God’s fire. That fire is powerful! It purifies everything and everyone it touches.

Many people have their lives in order except for one area. If you are in good health, progressing academically, financially and spiritually, but you have been trusting God for a child, or you have only girls, so you are trusting God for a boy, all you need is a breakthrough in that area. The God of breakthrough will visit you and give you a song. But there are some people who are hedged in on all sides. Virtually every area of their lives is under siege: no money, no job, frequent sicknesses and reproach by neighbours. Such people need a breakthrough in ever area.

The Holy Spirit is God and a member of the Trinity. He was not created. He has no beginning or ending, just like the Father and the Son. He was involved in the creation (Gen 1:1-2). Considering the terrible state of the earth, when the Holy Spirit moved, darkness turned to light. Even today, when he moves in your life, every lingering problem will suddenly vanish. The Holy Spirit acted as conscience before the flood (Gen 6: 1-3). That means he led people to know the difference between right and wrong. Today, when you are about to do something wrong, it is the Holy Spirit who instructs you not to. When he warns you and you keep shunning him, he becomes grieved. He is gentle and will not force or struggle with you. He will just leave you to your ways (Gen 6: 1-3).

King Saul appeared to have let David go free. He swore never to kill David. So David resumed his work in the palace. On day, while he was playing his instrument before the king, Saul cast his javelin at him again. Thank God David knew Saul better than to take him at his word. The enemy never tires of seeking the lives of God’s children. This is why you, too, must not grow weary. You have to be alert and on your guard. Also, once you have established who the enemy is, never rely on any promise he makes. The only one you can rely on is God.

Galatians 5:16 - ”This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”.

Immediately a sinner becomes saved, God plants the seed of victory in him. This seed of victory soon grows and becomes a tree of righteousness. A Christian is an overcomer. He is given power to overcome sin, Satan and the flesh.

The devil is stubborn and unrepentant enemy. An understanding of this fact will guide you as you fight the battles of life. We often expect the devil to give up after we have put up a little resistance. But we are wrong. The devil is a dogged fighter. The text of today’s devotional study reveals the devil as a stubborn enemy who would never give up easily.

In times past, some Christians equated poverty with holiness. They believed that to make it to heaven, you must be poor. Lazarus was their example. Today many have realized the foolishness of such a belief.

Are you a child of God? Have you been begotten of the father? Then show it. We live in a time where there are more professors of the faith than possessors of it. Many profess to have been saved. They shout the loudest hallelujahs, but when they must demonstrate the power, their emptiness is exposed. 2 Timothy 3: 5 warns us to flee from those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.

‘But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Cor 3:18)

It is wonderful to be in God’s presence. Anyone who enters God’s presence and stays long enough will reflect God’s glory. Exdous 34: 29-30 says that Moses’ face was radiant even after he had left God’s immediate presence. God is looking to shine his glory upon us. We will never be the same from that moment on: we will cease to be ordinary.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said a traveler had left Jerusalem for Jericho. On his way he met trouble. Let us consider what Jericho is all about. When you think of Jericho, the first thing that strikes you is curses. Joshua placed a curse on Jericho after its defeat” ‘And Josh adhered them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it’ (Josh 6: 26).

An issue that disturbs many Christians is how can they know God’s will for marriage. How does God speak to his people? There are several ways. He can speak directly – you hear his voice distinctly. In Acts 9:9-20, the Lord asked Ananias to go to a particular street called ‘straight’ and ask at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus, who was praying. This shows that God knows your name, address, your birthplace and other details about you. So God can tell you all the details about your spouse long before you meet her, such as her address, height, size of shoe, name and complexion.

Queen Esther was in a crisis. She and the whole Jewish nation were faced with extermination by their enemies. It was at that time that she decided to offer her husband what he enjoyed most. A time of crisis is a time to praise God. In Acts 16:16-26, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. They praised God and were set free. It is important to note however that the size of the problem should determine the size of praise. That is, the greater the problem or crisis, the greater should be the praise. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-37, when King Jehoshaphat was faced with the allied forces of three kings, he knew praising God on his own might not be sufficient. So he appointed singers and as they sang, God gave them victory.

Man is a trinity, comprising spirit, soul and body. The soul is the intermediary between the spirit and the body. Of the two, whichever the soul teams up with determines the overcomer. 'Whereithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments? Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee' (Ps 119:9-11).

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isa 55:8-9)

When a new government has come into the life of a sinner, his body will fight it to the finish. The body will call for its allies - Satan and his demonic host to join battle and fight the new government. Any step of the spirit will be greeted with opposition from the body. It gets to the point that if care is not taken, the ex-sinner becomes a victim of an ongoing war. To have effective control of the situation, the battle lines must be drawn. You must decide to establish the new government or let the old order return.

Prayer points

1. Praise Him

2. Father, please speak light into my life

In his letter to the church in Philadelphia, otherwise known as the Loyal Church, Jesus introduces himself as the One with the authority of David. He is the One who opens and none can shut; he shuts and none can open. As a result of their faithfulness and Loyalty he decided to give them an open door that none could shut. It is on record that of all the seven Churches he wrote to, only the Church in Philadelphia survived until this present time. Satan could not shut that open door.

Eagles enjoy their full life span. No enemy can easily shoot them down. They are difficult to catch. They don't fall sick easily because they eat only living things. The rain does not trap them so they don't get pneumonia. Almost all of tem grow old. Job 5:26 say: 'Thou shall come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season.'

'Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.' (Jer 20:9)

'Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, thou art old and stricken in years, and there remained yet very much land to be possessed' (Josh 13:1). Joshua was Moses' successor. He was a valiant warrior. Moses was asked by God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage lasting over 400 years, and lead the to the Promised Land. Moses' temperament stood in the way of accomplishing the assignment; hence Joshua was appointed to continue where he stopped. By the time Joshua was old and ready to leave this world, the Scriptures listed several portions of land the Israelites were yet to possess.

There are some ways of knowing if the fire of the Holy Spirit in your life is going out. The first thing is Luke warmness. When the first is out, the hot will become lukewarm and the lukewarm will gradually become cold. In those days, we took out Bibles to the toilet with the aim of learning more about Jesus while we are there. Today, many of us feel having read from Genesis to Revelation, we have no need of the word again. Ministers do not prepare sermons anymore: all they do after picking up their Bibles now is to refer to the markings at the margins. Are you lukewarm? If you remain so, God may spud you out of his mouth.

Several earth-shattering events have come and gone in quick succession. Now the stage is set. It is the Great White Throne Judgement Day, presided over by Almighty God himself. All who have ever lived must now face the eternal consequences of their lives on earth. One after another, names are called. As the person proceeds to the podium, the video recording of his or her life is relayed (played) right from birth till death on a large screen. Every secret deed is revealed, with their hidden motives before all. After the past is relayed, judgement falls from the Almighty and the culprit is led into the lake of fire-his or her final eternal abode.

‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.’ (1 John 3:2)

Manipulation is Satan’s stock-in-trade. He would try to turn you into an enemy of God by instigating you to accuse God wrongfully. It is wrong to ever open your mouth and accuse Him of being the cause of your troubles in life. When things are not going well, if only you can think of God you will escape the dangerous mistake of accusing God as the cause of your trouble. James 1:13 says: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” When problems come, if you do not thank Him, you will accuse Him. There is nothing more painful than false accusation.

I want you to be aware of the fact that God has given you weapons for both offensive and defensive warfare. It is unwise to go into battle without being well fortified internally. The more we know about Satan the more furious he is likely to get and the more ready for action he is likely to be. We know that we are winners already. But when one is going for a battle, one has to be alert in order not to be surprised by the enemy. Anybody going to war must think of the weapons for the defensive and the offensive. It would be foolish of a man, for instance, to start driving a car without knowing where the brakes are.

The subject of divine guidance is very intricate.

It calls for broad spiritual sensitivity and analysis.

Among others things, you have to discern between what God is saying that span through your entire life time and what he is saying for particular seasons of your life.

In 1 Samuel 18: 17-27, we read how, having failed to kill David, King Saul suddenly arose one morning and told David he wanted him as a son-in-law. What he was saying was that if he could not kill David, the Philistines would do so and therefore exonerate him. He agreed to give David Michal, his daughter, at the cost of 100 Philistines. The amazing thing was that he told David he was not going to pay and dowry. Yet what he was asking for what was greater than any dowry! What a liar! Never trust a backslider, because he cannot tell the truth. This is why heaven’s gate remains closed to all liars, because they are like Satan their father.

An attribute needed by the person God wants to use is temperance. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galathians 5: 22-23. temperance derives from the Greek word of enkrateia meaning ‘self-control’. This is moderation in one’s appetites and passions.

‘Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go away, the Comforter will not come unto you: but if I depart, I will send him unto you.’ (John 16:7)

A window serves three main functions: It enables the one inside to see outside; it allow air to flow through an light to shine through. As in the physical, this applies in the spiritual also. When the windows of heaven are shut, there will be no rain and this will cause the rivers to begin to dry up (1 Kgs 17: 1-7). The aftermath of the latter is hunger and starvation. But when they are open, rains of all kinds of blessings will begin to fall. When the heavenly windows are open, God will be able to look through them and see us and what is happening around us. If enemies are encamping around us and setting traps for us, Psalm 2:4 says: ‘He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.’

‘And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways: and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul was that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.’ (Sam 14: 15)

In Science we are taught to respect what those who are trained in particular areas have to say about their fields. These are the specialists and they assess things based on their training and experience and thereafter draw conclusions.

This is a great country, Praying these prayers means you are praying for yourself. Be a good citizen.

1.Every power that spilled animal blood and sat on animal skin or any evil mat in order to cast Nigeria under the dark dictatorship of a cabal, your time is up: EXPIRE BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS!!!

2.Fetish powers! Magic powers and occultism, invested by Nigerian leaders to enslave the nation, your time is up! FAIL! FAIL!! FAIL!!! in the name of Jesus.

We need a new paradigm shift. Gone at the days when we must to equate poverty with holiness.The general believe is that the poorer you are the more humble you are likely to be. Many, hitherto, look down on anyone who is well dressed and when they see somebody riding a limousine, they will look at the fellow and conclude that the fellow is not going to heaven. Who told you? When I bought my Toyota Crown car, all my friends were buying Volkswagen Beetle cars.Many of them said, ‘Oh! What a pity. We thought God was going to use this brother, see he has not started and he has backslide. I asked why they thought I had backslide. They said, “Look at how long your car is. You cannot be riding in this big and very beautiful car and get to heaven”. I told them that I will get there before them. “I wish above all things”, that is what God says. I am not the one who wrote the Bible.

Blasphemy does not only entail speaking against the Lord or the Holy Spirit. It is also possible to blaspheme a man of God. This is rampant today. Blaspheming against an anointed man of God is evil. When Angel Michael came for the corpse of Moses, Satan tried to stop him. Satan claimed that the corpse belonged to him. Angel Michael could not resist Satan. He actually said something surprising. Jude verse 9: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Angel Michael could not speak against Satan. The reason for this is found in Ezekiel 28:14: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stone of fire.” Satan is called an anointed cherub.

Your life is a sacred trust bestowed on you by God. Your intellect, assets, money, gifts, talents and opportunities emanate from God - the giver of all good things. Ensure what you are endowed with are not abused and wasted; they constitute a loan, which you must retire at the end of your life. If God were to withdraw all His benefits and gifts from you, you would be empty. Malachi 3:6 tells us: “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” The position of God does not change.

There are many categories of blessings. There are general blessings while there are special blessings. Today, we shall focus our attention on what is called selective blessings. For example, I know I have been selected specially for blessings. Verse 7 and 8 of our text says, “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” You must have heard of motor accidents where everyone died with only one survivor.

God has made provision for every weapon we will ever need in spiritual warfare. He knows how tough the battle will get in these end-times. He has, therefore, created such powerful weapons that will enable us to emerge victorious after every spiritual duel. God is ready to give you the ability to confront and conquer the devil. All you need to do is to be willing to receive the ability. You must be willing to draw upon the divine ability and resist the devil.

The word ‘deliverance’ has been largely misunderstood by the Church. Somehow, some people have over=blown the issue and made the issue of deliverance sound more important than other issues like Christian living, faith, commitment to the word of God, the power of the gospel etc. Deliverance is good but things must be placed in proper perspective. God has the ability, if you will allow Him, to make sure that your feet will not be moved either by your enemies or even by yourself.

You cannot win the battles of life except you understand the strategy of the enemy. You have to locate your enemy’s position, assess his strength and methods before you can know how to come against him. If you understand the devil’s methods you will always triumph over him. When does Satan come against us with battles? Is it in the morning, afternoon or night? Is it when you are sick or otherwise? Satan prefers to come after you have just won a victory; when you are rejoicing. Satan will not come

The world is a battle field. We are constantly engaged in warfare against the powers of darkness whenever we pull in one direction, opposing forces try to pull in another direction. They have vowed to give us a tough fight because we are the only ones giving them sleepless nights. However, the Bible has made us to know that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against supernatural powers.

Queen Esther was welcomed into the presence of the king and thereafter she invited him and Haman, the number one enemy of the Jews, to a banquet she had prepared. We want to learn a few lessons from this action. The first and biggest lesson here is that you are never as wise as the one who sets a trap or lays an ambush for you. Haman thought he was going to a banquet. Little did he know he was being fattened for the slaughter? He happily walked right into the trap.

"when he gives quietness, which then can make trouble? And when he hides his face, which then can behold him? Whether it be done against a nation, Or against a man only.' (Job 34:29)

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