SCHOOL OF PRAYER-DAY 3. THE PLACE OF PRAYER AND FASTING

As long as your heart is right with God you cannot miss God. 

As we grow in God we will begin to have greater and sometimes even unexplainable encounters with Him, we will also begin to find scriptures to understand those encounters. 

The fact that you do not like something does not necessarily mean it is wrong. But it takes a lot of maturity to differentiate what you do not like from God's standard. For instance, someone does not like fasting and then speaks like fasting is an Old Testament practice and no longer necessary. 

Most of the controversies about FASTING is the issue of abstaining from FOOD.

Those that have gone beyond the conventional spiritually, taken nations for the Lord etc, were given to FASTING and PRAYERS. 

Frank Hall, in his book, Atomic Bomb, made these first three points below:

1. “Mans’ spiritual development has lagged far behind his scientific discoveries of the physical forces of nature. This means that science has developed far more than we have developed spiritually”

2. “Physical power sufficient to disintegrate the entire world is at the fingertips of a few, but there has been no spiritual power to control it”

3. “So important is fasting, that to the Islamic religion, fasting is one of the four pillars of their faith. This explains why they are fervent and zealous.
These are things our hearts should be yearning for now because if our hearts do not desire it, it will not contain it. I believe that Fervency and zealousness are products of fasting and prayers. There is a sharpness and alertness that comes with fasting.  

4. There are three personalities who fasted in scriptures and did not see death in the conventional way. And it cannot be a coincidence that these three men each fasted for forty days.

- The first of them is MOSES (Exodus 34:28-29). We cannot get the word in season in the flesh. Moses encountered God and his face literally shone. The church that will bring down the glory, will serve God with fasting. 

-  The second person is ELIJAH (1Kings 19:7-8). Those that will carry the glory cannot just go with everything that comes. Fasting and prayer is part of the ancient landmarks we MUST never tamper with. Technology cannot take its place. We cannot ignore fasting and walk in the supernatural, at best we will be intellectuals.

-The third person is Jesus (Matthew 3:17-18, 4:1-2)
This does not mean we should go about fasting forty days and nights. However, when we give ourselves to such spiritual exercises, we will walk beyond the ordinary. These are not ordinary days, and we cannot live ordinary in these times. 

In Matthew 17:14-21, the disciples didn’t have what it takes to confront the issue at hand, but the disciples were wise enough to ask Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the spirit from the boy. Verse 20 of Matthew 17 is a fundamental principle. (That of FAITH). Jesus was pointing out the standard for all, but there are dimensions beyond the fundamental that can be pressed into. Jesus said, ‘THIS KIND’ cannot go out except by prayer and fasting. So it is not just enough to be an ordinary Christian. 

There are dimensions we cannot press into without FASTING and PRAYING.

One of the major ways we discipline our body is by fasting because the body is satan’s point of contact to us. Matthew 9:14, 1st Corinthians 9:24-27

YOUR SPIRIT WILL TAKE US TO HEAVEN BUT FOLLOWING YOUR BODY CAN  TAKE  YOU TO HELL.

Fasting always goes along with Prayer. If you are fasting and not praying, reading God’s word, and meditating, satan can take advantage of it. We must make sure we are engaged in spiritual activities while fasting or else satan will take advantage of it.

Fasting opens you up to the spirit realm. Fasting does not change God, but it changes us. We become more open and sensitive to God. We readily receive:

i. INSTRUCTION
ii. DIRECTION
iii. ANOINTING

When we fast, there is less flesh and more of the Spirit. 

IF WE WANT TO CARRY THE ANOINTING WE MUST GIVE OURSELVES TO FASTING

The Church today is having controversies on core issues like Holy Ghost baptism, money matters and fasting. This has greatly affected the Church. 

Daniel went into fasting and prayer when he understood from the scriptures that the time for their captivity was meant to be over. Dan 9:3.

Anna the prophetess waited on the Lord in fasting and prayers till Jesus was born. Luke 2:37.  

Apostle Paul had a clear word and direction from the Lord after fasting.  Acts 27:21-35. God is raising and recruiting men who will give themselves to this exercise 

The people of Nineveh turned to God in fasting and Prayers, and there was a turnaround. Jonah 3:5-10. (Together, they cried to the Lord) What bothers on our collective destiny requires our collective participation.

Jehoshaphat called a fast in response to a crisis. 2 Chronicles 20:1-3. 
In Joel 2:12-17, the Lord himself called for a solemn assembly with fasting. 

PRAYER
Spare your people O Lord in your mercy
O Lord have mercy over our day and give not thine heritage to the heathen. Joel 2: 17

CONFESSION
In the name of Jesus 
I will end 2020 in the spirit
I will end 2020 in obedience to God
I will end 2020 in love .
I will end 2020 in righteousness. 
I will end 2020 in faith, hope and gloriously. 
My heart is fixed trusting in the Lord.
No room for fear 
I am full of the spirit of Faith. 
I am kept in perfect peace. 
Nothing missing or lacking. 
Everything going in divine order around me. 
I am kept by the Lord, my mind is kept in perfect peace. 
I finish 2020 well. 
I will enter 2021 gloriously. 

DECLARATION
Philippians 1:6
Proverbs 4:18
Psalm 138:8
Psalm 102:13

Amen! Be it unto me according to the word of the Lord

 

SCHOOL OF PRAYER - DAY TWO

We've established that, in these times, there are two types of prayers that are very relevant, and readily available to us. When we allow these two to go to work, we are reinforced from heaven. However, we are the ones to pull out these weapons; no one can do it on our behalf.

Type of Weapons
1) Praying in tongues. If we are going to make progress in these times, we must pray in the Holy Ghost. God is our helper and one way to assess the help of God is by praying in the Holy Ghost. To eliminate constant surprises in your life, engage in constantly praying in the Holy Ghost. (Unpleasant surprises are actually products of the enemy taking you by surprise ).

2)THANKSGIVING. We live in a time where the goings-on will make you ungrateful and unthankful. To go against the tide, we must be thankful.

Two examples of men from the scriptures who lived and walked in thanksgiving.

a) DAVID- who was referred to as the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 Sam. 23: 1. He never lost any battle, he was a successful warrior, conquering the enemy around him. King David, never played down on thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was a way of life for David.

b) PAUL- He didn’t only live a life of thanksgiving, he taught it. Majority of the epistles he wrote began with thanksgiving.

If you don’t know what to do, pray in tongues and give thanks to God. 
1 Cor. 14:15-18. *The man who is thanking God will have more victories in his life than he that’s always binding satan*. Where God is constantly being praised and thanked, satan will never be present there. 1 Cor. 15:57. The root to the victory in Christ Jesus is thanksgiving. 

Praying constantly in the Holy Ghost and thanksgiving works wonders in your life much more than medicine

We must go against the tide if we want to see God move in our lives, and what we do at such times is to pull out any of these TRIGGERS. (Praying in tongues and Thanksgiving )

1 Thess. 5:17-the trigger you pull up, per time, will either reinforce heaven on your behalf or not.

We are to give thanks always and in all things, whether He answers us or not. Eph. 5:20

Thanking God is the route to victory. It creates an unconducive atmosphere for demonic activities.  

Our lips must be involved in thanksgiving. You cannot say you are thanking God with your mouth closed. Hebrews 13:15

1 Tim.2:1. Anybody you are thanking is a pointer to who is your SOURCE.

Your first response at all times must be thanksgiving. Fill up all the spaces in your life with praying in tongues and thanksgiving. It is one sure way of redeeming the time. 

In the realm of thanksgiving, there's no network failure. 

Thanksgiving is a sacrifice and it requires your obedience. Make it a lifestyle. We are to offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Heb 13:15, Col.4:2, Phil.4:6.

Confession
I will end 2020 in righteousness
I will end 2020 with Faith in God
I will end 2020 with Hope in God
I will end 2020 Gloriously in Jesus name
My heart is fixed trusting in the Lord (Ps112:7, )

Scripture declaration
Joshua 21:45, Job 42:12
 

SCHOOL OF PRAYER 2020- DAY ONE

 “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers”. 1 Peter 4:7.

This verse of scripture let us know that without an iota of doubt, the end is near. With this truth, comes a serious admonition! “We must be serious and watch unto prayer”.

“…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4. We may slack in anything but not in prayers. Prayer does not have an alternative and we must never undermine prayer. Any man who is genuinely praying will be having encounters and living in obedience to God’s word.

Many times, we may think that because we did not see the expected results, prayer does not work. That is far from the truth! We may be doing something and not doing it right.

Jesus told us that if we will not fall into temptation we should watch and pray. No man ever outgrows praying because the higher we go in life, the greater the temptation we will face. We must stay wide awake in prayers, and be open to instructions and direction. It is the heartfelt prayer of a righteous man that avails much. 1 Thess. 5:17 says we should pray without ceasing. You cannot outgrow praying or think you’ve prayed too much. Men ought always to pray and not faint. Luke 18:1. Thus, if we will not faint, we must pray. Prayer has no alternative or substitute! As we see the day approaching and events springing up to make us doubt or question the authenticity and principles of scriptures, we should be praying more in spite of satan’s ploy to wear us out. We MUST pray.

One key secret about praying that makes it effective is CONSISTENCY. You can never be a master at anything without consistency. Jesus prayed daily and about everything. For many of us, we only tend to pray when we are pushed to the wall.

"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:36.

 

There are things we cannot pray against like the unfolding events, but we can pray not to be victims of it. We cannot pray against the darkness, but we can pray to stand strong, shinning the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness. Prayer should be first in our life. These are not the days to be unserious, to be casual in prayers.

Whatever makes you set out every day that will not cause you to pray first is killing you.

If you can watch a film for three hours until interrupted and cannot pray consistently for one hour, then you are dying. 

Never marry a man or a woman who is not prayerful. 

There are two kinds of prayers that will help to keep us in shape, keep us awake, alert, and well-positioned These kinds of prayer are readily available and are most relevant in these times. Spiritual weapons are the most effective weapons for any war.

When we can switch into any of these two readily available weapons, there is always a way out. 

1. PRAYING IN TONGUES.

 DELIBERATELY, CONSCIOUSLY and CONSISTENTLY PRAY IN TONGUES. You are a product of what you do daily and consistently, not occasionally.

- Praying in tongues, will help you to be built up. One of the ways you take advantage of the help of God is by praying in the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 14:4, Rom. 8:26. As you pray in tongues, reinforcements, light and direction come. Make praying in tongues a lifestyle.

- Effective engagement in warfare is by the Holy Ghost. When we engage in praying in the Holy Ghost, the enemy is disarmed.

Scriptural Confession

Is. 26:3, Ps.112:7, Is. 40:31

STAY FOCUSED -Pastor (Mrs.) Bibi-Courage Ode

To build a stronghold of faith in God, we must keep our eyes on Him. 

Life is a race! There are rules for every race. No matter how well you run the race, if you do not run according to the rules, you will not be crowned. In this race, we must run according to the rules. Though we are all in the race, it's also very personal. No one will be judged, based on the performance of another.

As you run, you must stay focused. Refuse to be Deceived, Discouraged or Distracted. These three D's will come to you from all sides, from within and outside, but you must keep faith alive and remain strong.

 Psalm 34: 5 says, “They looked unto him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed”. 

We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” Hebrews 12:1-3-KJV

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work]. Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”. Heb. 12:1-3- AMP

“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Heb. 12:1-3-MSG

Looking at these verses, we can infer the following;

1. We are encompassed with a great cloud of witnesses.

2. There are weights and sins we need to lay aside. 

3. We must run the race with patience

4. We must look unto Jesus

If you want to keep faith and finish well and strong, keep your eyes on Jesus.

Let's look closely at these key points 

1. Who are these witnesses? In context, these witnesses are the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. These witnesses are not just spectators; they have passed through the paths and have proofs. They proved this by their lives and absolute faith in God. They followed even in the face of death, distress, distractions. There is always an example for us to follow, clear cut examples in scriptures and around us today. There’s nothing you are going through, no trial, temptation, or whatever you are experiencing that is new. So we are inexcusable.  

2. Lay aside the weights and sins that beset.

What are weights? Things that slow you down, hinder you and sometimes may even disqualify you, they are extra fat, burdens, impediments. Sin is anything contrary to God's law, the word of God. It will obstruct and hinder you. To keep on with the race, you have to let go of these. Put them off, let go of them. 

Weights come in different forms: The cares of this world, the basic things of life can become weights if we don’t stay focused on the kingdom and things that count for eternity. Food, drink, crave for money, influence and affluence, the company you keep, social media, malice, jealous, envy, unforgiveness, works of the flesh..., all of these and more, can slow you down, hinder you and be impediments on the race. Rom. 13:11-14, Col.1:1-10.

3. Run the race with patience. Patience means steadfastness, constancy, consistency. Patience also means, you have something in view that hasn't yet come, still, you are holding on; Patience is the characteristics of a man who is not moved from his deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith even in the face of trials and great sufferings. You stick to your loyalty to Jesus and to the word in spite of your circumstance. Your spiritual strength will deflate if you are not patient and you can’t be patient if you do not have a focus. What gives you staying power is what your heart is focused on. Patience is required for you to finish the race. It is through faith and patience the promises are obtained. Heb. 6:12, 10:36, Rev. 3:10-11. 

4. Look unto Jesus. If your faith will not fail, set your eyes on Him. We have enough reasons to look to Him. 

- He is the author and finisher of our faith. 

- He completes what he starts. Phil 1:6, Ps. 138:8.

- In Him we live, and move and have our being. Acts 17:28.

- Jesus is our perfect example. 1st Peter 2: 21 

You only lose focus when your gaze shifts from Jesus. At the word of the Lord, Peter walked on water, but the minute his attention shifted, he began to sink. Matthew 14: 28-31.

Jesus Himself had a focus. His eyes were fixed on the mission before Him. His eyes were set on the finishing line...”who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame...” Jesus paid the price. What we need to endure is nothing compared to the glory we will enjoy. There's no suffering that lasts forever. 2 Cor.4:16-18, 1 Cor. 9:24-27. 

We keep our eyes on Him by giving heed to His instructions; you must give attention to the things He is saying. The true proof of our followership is that we give heed to His instructions and we fellowship with Him in prayers. 

Do what he says. There are many things you will escape in life if you just do the word of God. When you are focused on Jesus, you are oblivious of the prevailing situations around you. They will not move you. Matt. 7:24 -26. 

Beloved, look up, keep your eyes on Jesus. Do the word. 

 

REVIVAL OR REFILLING

Understanding of any matter is what ensures an establishment in that area. 

There are certain things we are permitted to be children in, but in the matter of understanding we must be men.

“Brethren be not children in understanding; howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” 1 Corinthians 14:20.

Understanding is the ability to grasp the meaning of something and know how it works. It is the link between wisdom and knowledge. Without proper understanding, wisdom and knowledge cannot be maximized.

It was the understanding of times and seasons that set the sons of Issachar apart. (1 Chronicles 12:22)

Understanding the will of God is what will enable us truly redeem the time in these evil days. (Eph.5:14-17)

We have gotten to a point where we must walk in full understanding of God’s agenda and desire for the church.

Present happenings in the nations has to an extent woken the church from her lukewarm state. Local assemblies and people are now waking up to fast and pray to the Lord to intervene in the chaos and insecurity in our nation. The truth is that, presently the church needs a revival, but we must also understand another great truth – REVIVAL WAS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF GOD FOR HIS CHURCH.

The early church never had a need for revival, there is no record of a time where the church gathered to pray for revival. They never had a “WE NEED REVIVAL MENTALITY”, and till we come to this depth of understanding, we cannot hold forth till the end.

Interestingly, the word revival is not used in the whole of the New Testament. Revival is from the word revive and it means;

·         Make to live again or have a new life

·         Be brought back to life consciousness or strength

• Restore from a depressed, inactive or unused state.

Looking at these definitions, the early church and the church founded by Jesus was never in a dead, inactive or depressed state, nor was it ever meant to come to such a state, where it loses interest in God.

Now, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament or we can say the church in the Old Testament, constantly had to pray for a revival, because they were always falling away and serving other gods. They kept on going in circles, sin (turn away from God - then repent (rise up again) – after a while go back to their dead state (sin and disobey God). But this is not the New Testament order.

“Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn and he will heal us, he hath smitten and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will revive us up and we shall live in his sight.” Hosea 6:1-2

Yes, they needed a revival because they had turned from God. But after the revival, what happened? They still turned away again.

We need a revival right now, but we must not walk with that mentality. This mentality cannot raise a strong church that will usher in the second coming of our Lord.

In our churches, after a period of fasting and prayers, maybe for even 30 days, what happens next? Most people go back to their normal lifestyle and after a while, are waiting for another “revival meeting”. No! A period of intense prayers and fasting should bring us into a new order and level and the fire and lifestyle should be maintained.

God expects us to follow through with every dealing. Jesus came to give us life more abundantly. If we are walking in this abundant life, there will be no need for revival. If our focus is to increase and grow in that life there will be no death.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says “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.”

If we focus on Him, it will be from glory to glory. Not from glory to shame, or from life to death then life again, no, not a circle of rising and falling. But from glory to glory. From glory to glory is a product of what we are beholding, what we are focused on. Revival only comes in, when death comes in, where there is a shift of focus.

Even in the old testament our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were on an ever increasing path after they entered into covenant. They never diminished.

Let’s see the early church more closely;

“And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

In Acts 2, this word was fulfilled. After the outpouring of the Spirit, and they were filled with power, there was a progression and increase. Peter preached a sermon that got three thousand people saved, after this, about five thousand got saved and daily men were added to the church. In the midst of persecution in Acts 4 and onward, they did not relent but kept advancing. It was a progression. Until we arise with this progression and advancement mentality, we cannot do much. They kept asking for more of God.

“And now Lord, behold their threatening and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word By stretching forth thine hand to heal that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:29-31

They had a refilling mentality. Instead of scattering, they came together to cry for more of God. From Jerusalem, the Apostles became men who made world impact. They progressed in the knowledge of God and the manifestation of the Spirit. There was never a time they said Lord, revive us again.

But the present church is behaving like the Israelites of old, up today, down tomorrow, go our own way today, return to God and then still fall away. We must change our mentality and pattern. We should walk with a REFILLING MENTALITY not a REVIVAL MENTALITY. This is applicable at all levels and in every sphere of life.

It is children that keep falling, that is why they are not given much responsibility. The church Jesus is coming for is not a baby church. It is a church that is matured and full-grown. Our pursuit and interest for God must be on the increase. We must completely embrace a refilling mentality.

As a child, inconsistencies are permitted, but one must not stay on the ground. There is even a tag that a growing responsible child will resist. God’s desire is that they will grow up and sin not. He does not talk of young men sinning and falling but of strength and knowledge of God. See 1 John 2:1, 12-14. Anything not steadily growing will ultimately fall. We must brace up and move up.

“That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive”. Eph.4:14

Having done all things to stand, we must stand therefore. For the world is waiting for us. “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Rom.8:19

STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD

Right now if one goes anywhere, it is a common thing for your temperature to be checked, either through the hands or the forehead. Gradually by the day, the whole system is being configured to accommodate the reign of the antichrist. If we are not in the spirit we will be taken unaware. This is not to make us scared but to prepare us. There will always be an explanation for these things but all of this is to prepare the ground. We cannot pray against them, but we must do what God says we should do. Let nobody fool us, the coming of Jesus is sooner than we expect.

“…For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled" 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6,

If we are not warring against the flesh, then the weapons of our warfare cannot be carnal. The arguments, the high things are all THOUGHTS. Our OBEDIENCE is fulfilled at the point when ALL our THOUGHTS align with the THOUGHTS of God. 

We have said that a stronghold is a fortified area, an establish THOUGHT pattern, what holds you strong in the mind. 

There are different kinds of stronghold. Some people always see possibilities no matter the situation, while some others see impossibilities. A stronghold can be poverty, it can be cultural, it can be tribalism, it can be inferiority complex etc.

Spirits take hold of men through THOUGHTS. The thoughts we entertain per time determine what spirit influence we are under. We are the ones who will determine what influences us by what we THINK, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7) NKJV

THE OUTCOME OF YOUR LIFE IS DETERMINED BY THE STATE OF YOUR MIND. You cannot become what you are not thinking. 

 If we want life and peace we must be spiritually minded. Some people are carnally minded but they want life and peace. And the carnal mind is enmity against God. Romans 8:6-7

If we pull down the strongholds in our minds and are not replaced with something else, then we cannot win the battle.

IF THERE IS WHAT TO PULL DOWN THEN THERE IS WHAT TO BUILD.

As we deliberately build, all others will give way.

We are to BUILD A STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD. This does not happen by magic or accident. There must be a deliberate and consistent attitude to BUILD.

WHY MUST WE BUILD A STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD?

1) There's no hope outside of Jesus. Building a stronghold of faith in God is so important because satan is doing everything possible by the day to rubbish our faith in God. For us to be able to build a stronghold of faith in God, we must have an unreserved functional walk with the Holy Ghost. The sons of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God: and those who are sons of God are those who depend solely on God and walk in the consciousness of His leading through the Holy Ghost. (Romans 8:14).

The Holy Ghost is the God-head on earth right now, and if we don’t know Him, we don’t know God. The sons of God are those who are dead to self and will defy all odds to obey the leading of the Holy Ghost. 

Those that know their God will be strong and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). There's no plan or calculation now that can guarantee a future except you are led by the Spirit of God. His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. But we must labour to ensure our thoughts and ways align with God's thoughts and ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The most effective defence mechanism is to follow the way of the Spirit. When we allow the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us, whatever is not of Him will not have a place in us. If the Holy Ghost is the one that is in control, then He will be able to tell us what to do and what not to do per time. (Proverbs 3:5-7) But often, we divorce the Holy Ghost from the INSTRUCTION. 

MANY OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE ARE ALL FRUITS OF OUR IGNORING AND ABANDONING THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE HOLY GHOST

2.) “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. (1Corintians 13:13) We need to build strong faith in God because in these times and with greater intensity, satan is coming to attack our Faith, Hope, and love. All of which are crucial to our walk with the Lord. Many things are calling for our attention, thereby making us more self-centred and tampering with our commitment to God. Jesus asked when I come shall I find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8) But we must ensure our faith in God is strong. 

3.) Hebrews 4:1-11. We must also know that the reason most of the Israelites who left Egypt did not enter the promise was because of unbelief. We must watch against unbelief because it limits God. They did not enter, because of unbelief, which is equivalent to disobedience. If you do not believe, you will not obey. But how can you believe what you are not fellowshipping with?

Every day we are confronted with options. Whatever you give attention to, is what you will experience. We need to labour to enter into rest, and there's no rest outside of God. The labour is in the word, in building a stronghold of faith in God. They didn’t believe because they didn’t give attention to the word, they did not fellowship with the word they heard enough to make them believe in it and act accordingly.

We are facing the same problem today as they also did because many do not have deliberate communion with the word. We come to Church but divorce our daily lives from the word. We do not go back and fellowship with the word. The word is our life. We must stop playing Church and wake up to the word. Have a strategy to go back and meditate on the word you have heard, pray about it, confess it and fellowship with the word.

WE HAVE AN ASSURANCE

“...The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble: and he knows those who trust in him”. Nahum 1:7. We have an assurance in God. When God is your stronghold there is no devil that can get to you. God is a man of war and has never lost any battle. Exodus 15:3. We cannot please God if we do not seek Him. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11; 6) When we have faith in God, we will not compromise His word for anything. Our daily steps and actions show who/what our faith is in.

THE Lord is a stronghold in time of trouble. Whoever believes in God will not be put to shame. (Romans 10:11)

We have examples of men who loved not their lives unto death, and they overcame by their stronghold of faith in God, men and women who went headlong with God no matter the circumstance in which they found themselves-Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Joseph Esther, David, etc. (Rev 12;11)

OUR ACTION PLAN

Romans 12:1-2 We must be deliberate in consistently and actively renewing our minds. We cannot come into all that God has for us if we do not renew our minds. Many of us have been in Church for long but we still THINK and ACT like unbelievers, like people from the village and from the street. We have to begin to replace those ugly THOUGHTS in our minds. We must be deliberate in constantly hearing God’s word, and constantly meditating on and confessing what the word says.

WE HAVE TO BECOME MORE DELIBERATE IN BUILDING OUR FAITH IN GOD IN THESE TIMES.

Let’s remember that the spirit influence we are under per time is as a result of the THOUGHTS that run through our minds and we accommodate. We must Think the Word, confess the word and act on the word to build a stronghold of FAITH in God. 

OUR RESOLVE

Romans 8: 19-35. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. 

If you fear God, you will fear nothing else.

Let’s CHANT

Psalm 46:1-11

PRAYER

Pray in the Holy Ghost

THE BATTLEGROUND (The change process 3)

Hebrews 5:7-8 NKJV

“who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered”. 

 “Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather', and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time”? Luke 12:54-56.

“Of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command” 1 Chron. 12:32. Taking a look at the boldened scriptures, we are presented with three questions;

Hebrews 5 says Jesus learnt OBEDIENCE by the things He suffered. Is it possible that we are learning to be complacent about God or passionate towards God? Nothing and no one can be imposed on you, whatever you learn is what you’ve decided to learn. Every day offers us two options- to learn or not to learn. The first question is, what are we learning? What are we learning from the things we are going through in this season? Are we learning to be more humble before God or rebel against God; are we learning to love more or hate? 

The second question is, hope we are not hypocrites able to discern the face of the sky and not discern the times? We are hypocrites when we want to continue to live as usual and do things in the way we are used to doing them. The wise ones go back and think about this type of question. It is no longer business as usual, so do not continue to behave and live as if it’s business as usual.

The third question is: Do we have an understanding of the times? Are we doing what we are supposed to be doing? Do we understand the times? What are we doing? What time is it? If you are wise, you will take heed to these questions, and make the needed adjustments. You will not make an effort to change if you do not see the need to change. We must have answers to these questions if we are going to be true participants in God’s program. 

“…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. 2 Chron. 7:14. If there’s going to be change in the land, God’s people will have to change. Heaven is waiting to take orders from its representatives on the earth. It is what we permit on earth that will be permitted in heaven. We have to turn from our ways to God’s ways.

In order for this change to come through, there has to be a change on our inside that will spill over to the outside. This change affects everything about us; our body language, posture, and mindset. Our mind is where the real battlefield is. The disposition or state of the mind is a controlling factor when it comes to making changes. The benefit of salvation you will enjoy is tied to the extent to which your mind is renewed.

The key cry now is A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE. The attitude to life, authority, rebuke, correction and teachings are areas where we need to make changes. A change of attitude is the way to break off from the old order, to break off generational curses and limitations and enforce generational blessings. Also, you must see all of these changes in the light of the big picture-we need to make choices in the light of who we are in Christ. What it means to be a Christian is to be sure that our lives are completely subject to Christ, that the choices we make are in the light of the big picture- that is, about the purpose of God, visions of God, the heavenly vision, the coming of Jesus, the kingdom of God.

Attitude to Life

From the life of Adam, we learnt that;

1) We should never run from God but run to God. We should make God our stronghold. Run to God and stay with Him. There are many reasons people run from God, such as guilt, when one is living in sin and compromise etc but run to Him no matter what. To run to God is to stick to the principles of scriptures and the demands of the covenant

2) Take responsibility for your life, nation, day etc, stop looking for whom to blame.

3) You must die to self; say no to selfishness, say yes to Christ centred living. The gospel cannot advance through a people who are not dead to self. Those who will take the gospel to the ends of the earth are those who are Christ centred, not self-centred- Men and women who have died to self. Matthew 24:12-14 said because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Iniquity means lawlessness, illegality, violation of laws, violating scriptural laws- it is only those whose love will not wax cold that will preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

2 Tim.3:1-4 says “…men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”. The gospel will not advance when men love pleasure more than God. If self is not curtailed, it will ruin you. Adam fell because of self. The hindrance to the advancement of the gospel is not satan but self.

Attitude to Authority

Judges 17:6, records a time in Israel when there was no King and everyone did what they liked, this brought chaos in the land.  Right now, this seems to be the present state in our nation. Everyone wants to do what they like. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death”. Prov.14:12. You must be in the right way, otherwise, you will fail. We need to have the right attitude to authority. Authority is responsibility. It is not about giving commands and then doing what you like. God does not take the glory for any result that goes contrary to scriptures.

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets…” Matthew 7:12-14. Whatever you are demanding from others, (especially those in authority,) the President, your Pastor, spouse, children, etc be sure that you are doing the same at your own level. If you expect others to be accountable, you have to be living a life of accountability. 

The way to life is narrow and difficult only a few find it.

To be a benefactor of the authority that is there per time, you must find out what’s in the mind of God concerning that authority figure. Romans 13:1. See Daniel 2:20, 4:17, “There is no king that will be enthroned if God does not approve”. Every time God raises a king or a leader, we ought to ask Him, “God, what are you saying”? We are not getting answers because we are not asking Him the right questions. Whatever we are seeing and experiencing in our land, the church is responsible for it, we are the culprits. Jesus subjected Himself to His parents’ authority. Luke 2:51. You cannot command authority if you are not under authority. Life cannot exist without authority.

You can never have a problem with men if you have no problem with God. You can’t be led effectively by a man if you are not under the authority of God’s word. The gospel didn’t just call us to BELIEVE, it calls us to OBEY also. A man that cannot tremble at the voice of the Spirit cannot tremble at the voice of a human. If you cannot listen to the right voice, the wrong voices will control you. Authority structure is set up to help and guide us. We have to come to terms with whatever God has ordained. 

If our boast will be on knowing anything, let it be in the scriptures. 

We must put the scriptures above everything else. Without all the dimensions of the scriptures in our lives, we cannot be thoroughly equipped. To be thoroughly furnished, we have to embrace all the dimensions mentioned; instruction, reproof, correction, doctrine etc. 2 Tim. 3:14-17.

Prayer

LORD let these words be mixed with faith in my heart. I am a believer, I am not a doubter.

What you believe and experience is a choice. 1 Cor. 4:1-11.

We are His disciples indeed if we continue in the word. (John 8:30-32) As disciples, we are students and students are instructed, corrected and reproved. We are called disciples indeed if we live by the principles of the word and not just by attending church only. It is only the truth that can set men free and the process of knowing the truth is by following the Lord totally. He is the way, the truth and the life.