Without Satan, God would have a problem. Many people wonder why God has not destroyed Satan.

It is because God needs him to perform a certain duty for him. God needs someone to examine His children before they are promoted.

God does conduct the examination Himself, as seen in James 1:12-13 where the Bible says that God never tempts any man with evil.

All God does is to prepare his children for the examination, according to John 16:33.

It is Satan that God uses to conduct the examination. God wants us to be promoted, but this is not possible without an examination.

That is the reason why he allows Satan to examine you.

However, it is God who fixes the examination date, according to I Peter 3:13-18. It is he who prepares you for the examination, and it is he who promotes.

If the examiner comes knocking at your door, you should know that a promotion is around the corner.

Do not be surprised, especially if you are living a holy life. The bible tells us in I Peter 4:12-17 not to be surprised when the examiner brings the examination (I Peter 1:7; 2:20)

Whenever you face an examination, there is a divine purpose behind it.

It is also important to note that the higher you are in divine hierarchy and estimation by God, the tougher the examination will be.

For example, a primary grade student would not be given the same examination as a University graduate.

In other words, the higher you are, the higher your examination will be, as seen in Acts 5:40-41 and 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.

Note that you are free to do the examination; you are also free to defer or postpone it.

God will no object as seen in Hebrew 11:24-27. You need to know that whether you like it or not, you will write your examination.

You must also be aware that your Captain and Master passed through His examination and he passed (Hebrews 2:9-10), and he is an example you must follow (I Peter 2:21-22)

You are not going to be of much use to the Almighty until you have passed your examination.

You will not even be as of much use to other fellow disciples. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,

          “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of all mercies and the God of comfort; who comforteth us in all tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God.”

Why do we need to through examination? It is so that when we pass, we might be able to comfort those who are passing through the same thing.

You need to know that the power of His resurrection is interwoven with the examination you need to do.

The examination you need to go through is interwoven with the power of his resurrection.

When Paul was speaking in Philippians 3:10, saying, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection,”.

He immediately followed it by saying “… and the fellowship of his suffering.” Both his power and his sufferings are interwoven.

Whether or not you share in his glory when he manifests will be determined by whether or not you pass your examinations (Romans 8:16-17; 2 Timothy 2:11-12).

Unless you suffer with him, you cannot be glorified with him. If you do not pass your examinations, you are not likely to share in his glory

Another point to note is that the examination never lasts for long (I Peter 5:20). It is only for a short period.

When you read the account of Job, all his sufferings and woes seem as if they lasted for a whole lifetime, but it was only for nine months.

And after nine months, the result of the examination was out. God gave him 140 years to enjoy the result.

So, what is your choice? Will you do your examination now, or are you going to postpone it? Be informed that whether you like it or not, you will write your examination.

God said When you pass through the fire, He will be with you. He did not say “IF”. It is a question of “when” All you need is the grace to pass through the examination successfully.

Activating Miracles. RCCG SOD Year Five.

In science, there is something called potential energy or sleeping energy or energy at rest.

There is another one called kinetic energy, that is, energy at work.

For example, you may think that a block resting on the rooftop has no power, but if it falls off and lands on your head, you will discover that it has power, only that it was resting.

The bullet in a gun has its own energy but it is sleeping quietly in the gun. But the moment it is fired, the energy is no longer sleeping, but is in action.

And when it is in action, it has what is called kinetic energy. If a lorry is parked and is completely motionless, it has plenty of energy within.

A child can stand in front of it and play, but the moment it begins to move slightly, anyone standing in front of it may get himself killed.

The same thing is true of you, brother; it is also true of your sister.

There is a lot of power deposited in you that could perform miracles, the moment you are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

But you are allowing this power to sleep. You need to activate it so that miracles can begin to happen.

If you don’t go to the hospital to pray for the sick, how will you discover that there is power within you that can bring healing to people?

If you don’t go to a village to conduct a crusade, how will you discover that the ability to cast out demons has been deposited in you?

If the disciples in your own area don’t gather to have a disciples’ weekend and rally, how will you discover many miracles that will happen, that will lead to the salvation of souls.

Mark 16:16-20 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents;. and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So then after the Lord has spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following”.

The signs will only follow those who are already moving. It doesn’t say these signs shall follow those who stay.

It will follow those who go. In Luke 10:17, the Bible says, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name”.

The seventy returned with joy, they returned with testimonies because the Lord sent them and they went. Those who did not go had no testimony.

Luke 5:1-7 says, “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land.

And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now, when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

And Simon answered, saying unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had this done, they closed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.

And they beckoned unto their partners who were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, filling both the ships, so they began to sink”.

Jesus, after using Peter’s boat, told him to launch into the deep. God is calling unto you today, don’t stay at one spot, move forward and then cast your net.

Do something, stop giving excuses. Hold a meeting, even in your sitting room.

You can have a crusade in your garden. You can hold a prayer meeting in your room, miracles will happen. Do something, launch into the deep. Let down your net, it is then you can catch fish.

Matthew 12:9-13: “And when he was departed thence, he went to their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man who had his hand withered, and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

How much, then, is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; it was restored whole, like as the other”.

The Bible talks about a man with a withered hand. Jesus told him, Stretch forth your hand. Suddenly, the miracle followed:

In John 5:5-9, Jesus Christ said to the man who had been lying down there for 38 years, Rise, take your bed, go. Make a move, stand up, don’t sit down, stand up, not only physically but spiritually. Potential energy can only become kinetic energy if it moves.

It was while the man was trying to stand up that the miracle started. You pray for some people who are sick, and they are still lying on the bed.

What are you doing on the bed? Take a step of faith, stand up, and the miracle will begin. That is the way to activate miracles.

In Luke 8:43-48, the woman with the issue of blood said in her heart, I think I will go. If only I can touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.

If she said that and did not do anything about it, if she sat down at home and kept on saying:

“I think I should go, it will be a good idea if I can go, I think if I touch the helm of His garment, I will be healed”, and did not do anything about it, she would have missed her miracle. But after thinking about it, the potential energy in her became kinetic energy because she got up.

When she got up, there was a multitude there; she kept on pushing her way until she finally touched Jesus Christ. She activated her miracle.

PRAYER

Pray about everything you have heard. Pray in tongues, let the rivers of living water begin to flow out from within you. Decide that when you get home, you will start something. You will activate miracles. And you will have outstanding miracles to the glory of God.

His Purpose, My Availability And Obedience. RCCG SOD Year Five.

The purpose of God “Almighty for my life, making myself available to Him and my willingness to be obedient to Him.

In Isaiah 6:8, the Bible says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I; send me”.

God’s question always is: Who is available? Who shall I send? Who will go before me? He never said who is capable, because all ability belongs to God.

In Luke 10:1-2, the Bible says, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he would come.

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest”.

 The same problem God had in the time of Isaiah was there in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. The same problem is still in existence today.

Acts 13:21-22, “And afterwards they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

And when he had removed him, he raised them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfil all my will”.

God is always delighted when He finds someone who is available. Someone who will be obedient to carry out His programme.

God is always excited when He finds someone about whom He could say, ‘I have found someone.’ It means God is still seeking someone.

I Samuel 2:35, “And I will raise a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in

mine heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever”.

When God found Samuel, He said, “This is someone I can use.” He said with joy, “I will raise thee up a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and my mind.”

There are two principal things God is looking for:

(1) Someone available

(ii) Someone who will be obedient.

I am sure someone who is obedient is difficult to find among men now more than ever before. If I ask, who is available to be used by God, all of you will raise your hands.

But if I ask, who will be willing to obey God absolutely, some hands will go down, because many of the orders that God will give us at times seem very difficult to obey, unless you know Him very well.

Matthew 26:39, “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, 0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”.

Our Lord Jesus was able to submit totally to the will of His Father because He knows His Father so intimately.

He was able to say, ‘not my will but thy will be done. Because he had known his Father intimately. That is why He said, “My Father and I are one.”

The problem is, we cannot wait. God Himself cannot wait until we know Him completely.

We must begin to obey Him because He wants to use us now. God cannot wait till we fully understand Him before He begins to give His instructions.

For example: (1) Noah could not possibly understand what God meant when He asked him to begin to build an ark, and begin to bring in reptiles, and animals and all kinds of ugly things inside the ark, because the earth had never been flooded before. He did not even know what rain was, but he obeyed God instantly.

(ii)      Abraham could not understand the logic of God asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac, yet he obeyed.

(iii)     Philip could not understand why God asked him to leave a successful city-wide crusade for a desert. Why God? He could have asked. But he didn’t ask, he simply obeyed.

Acts 8:26-27, “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ehtiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship”.

(iv)     A classical example of those who are obedient and available to God is Elijah. He knew quite well that he was not an ordinary person. He knew Jehovah had something to do with his life. He had been very, very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts.

1 Kings 19:9-10, “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the Children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine alters, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away.”

He was always in love with God. He and God were true friends. He could not tolerate any insult to his God. How I wish we could say that about all disciples.

When God’s time came, he was available.

(a) I Kings 17:1, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word”.

The moment God said, ‘go’ to Ahab, he was there. Step by step, as God was leading him, he was willing and obedient all the time.

(b)     I Kings 17:2-5, “And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.” 

God told him to leave the palace, go to the brook sit down there. What did he say? Yes sir! Later on, the brook dried up.

(c)      I Kings 17:7-10, “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold the widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her, and said Fetch me, I pray, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink”.

God said “get up now, go to Zarephat, stay with a widow there.” What did he say? Yes sir. He didn’t ask a question, he didn’t even consider, ‘eh, what will people say when they see me living in the house of a widow?’

(d) Despite the danger to his life, God said, Go and show yourself to Ahab today.

He said, Yes, sir. He did not say, “But God, you know this man wants to kill me, is this going to be the day of my death?”.

He didn’t ask any questions; he just jumped up and went. Because he is not only available, he was ready to die in obedience, he moved on.

(e)      Later on, God said, Go to Horeb, he said, “Yes, sir,” that is in I Kings 19.

(i)      And then later on, he travelled for forty days, where he started to grumble. And God said, “Alright, go and appoint your successor” (I Kings 19:16-19).

Another fellow could have said, “I am still strong, I can move, and if I am unhappy today, it is because your people are not worshipping you. Why do you want to replace me?” He did not even say a word. Yes sir.

(g)      In II Kings 1:15, he was on the mountain top, and the soldiers came to arrest him. They could kill him on the way, but God said, Follow them. He said, “Yes, sir.” This man is great. He is the kind of person God will use. He obeyed God in all things.

(h) And then finally God said to him, Prepare for your home coming, yes sir.’ He did not say Let me live for some years more, please, Anything God says, he is willing.

All these people were totally obedient to the will of God: Noah, Abraham, Philip, and Elijah. How come they were obedient to God even though they were yet to know God fully? The answer is faith in God. They knew that God is good.

I don’t know about your own God, but my own God is good. Our God cannot do evil.

So, whether I understand it or not, I know that His plan for my life cannot be evil. His plan for my life shall ultimately be glorious.

In Hebrews 11:17-19, the Bible says that it is by faith that Abraham did what he did. In Hebrews 11:7, the Bible says that it is by faith that Noah did what he did.

In Acts 10:5-6, God spoke to Simon Peter. That means Simeon Peter was available.

But what remained was to make Simeon Peter willing to be obedient. God knows those who are available. He brings you here so that you can become obedient.

God gave a vision to Peter. God said, Kill and eat, but Peter. said, No Lord, three times. After the vision was removed, he began to wonder what kind of vision this.

In Acts 10:19-23, God gave direct orders to Peter, Get down, go with them, tarry not, other signs began to follow.

Thank God Peter obeyed all. He got up, he went down, he met with the strangers, he went with them. Peter did not carry out any more assignments. That was the end of his ministry.

In Acts 9 30-43, we discover that Peter already had enough faith to raise the dead. And yet he did not have enough faith to obey God completely, until God gave him that great vision.

What this means is that the faith that you need to obey God intrinsically is greater than the faith you need to raise the dead.

You need to pray for faith my brother, you need to pray for faith my sister, because in John 2:5, the mother of Jesus Christ said to those who were standing by, something that should become the main focus for every Christian, “Whatsoever he asks you to, do it”.

Whatsoever he says, do it. That is the only way to make it. That is the only way to reach your goal.

He has a purpose for your life. It is a good purpose, if you are available you must be willing to obey him completely. That is not going to be easy. For, it is not by power, not by might, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

PRAYER

Why don’t you talk to Him now? Father, increase my faith, that I will be able to obey you at all times. Whatever you say, no matter how stupid it might sound to me, give me the grace to obey.

My Part In The Plan Of God. RCCG SOD Year Five.

We learnt in lesson SB4 that you have a part to play in the plan of God.

HOW DO I KNOW MY PART IN THE PLAN OF GOD?

When a woman is pregnant, she begins to know by feeling different. Soon, something begins to beat within her. Then there will be slight movement. After sometime, the baby will begin to do some kicking.

By the age of 12, Jesus was already becoming aware of His purpose in life. In Luke 2:49, the Bible says,

“And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

When His parents found him in the temple they asked him, how come that you did not go with us? He said, why are you searching for me? That was at the age twelve. He did not begin the work until 18 years later.

Samson too before he started the real work God sent him to do, the Bible says, the spirit of God was moving him at times.

Judges 13:25, “And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol”.

All of a sudden he would feel different, something would come upon him and it was the Spirit of God.

In the same manner, there is no disciple in year five, that by now does not feel certain prompting of the Holy Spirit.

May be God is leading you in a direction slightly different from the ones you originally thought you are going.

Suddenly, you are beginning to discover that there are certain things people find difficult to do, but you find it easier to do.

Like Samson, in Judges 14:6, took a lion and tore it into pieces. He must have been surprised, because that was the first time he put that power that was moving him into action. He was so surprised that he didn’t tell any-body.

He didn’t tell his father or mother.” What is this that is happening to me?” What am I able to do now?

Some of us have had similar feelings. Some things are already prompting us, we are feeling somehow, that God is saying, this is the direction I’m going’ and you would not even be able to tell anyone.

When you begin to move out to witness or attend crusades, this feeling becomes stronger or may be, you start a house fellowship and certain things begin to happen and you begin to wonder: “Me! Can I do this?”

In Luke 10:17, the Bible says, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name”.

The Bible says the 70 disciples returned with joy. They were excited. They were saying to Jesus, ‘Ah, we did not know we can do it. Even devils were subject to us at your Name.’

They were watching Jesus casting out demons, and they thought he was the only one who could do it. Our own is just to follow Him. But when they were sent out, they discovered they could do the same things.

But as he began to step out in evangelistic programmes, as he began to move from one town to another, he soon discovered what he wrote for us in Philipians 4:13.

He said, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me”. It was not the day he was coverted that he discovered that.

It was gradual. God believes in you, not because of whom you are now but because of what you can become, and what He can do through you, by the Holy Spirit.

In II Corinthians 1:21-22, the Bible says, “Now he which established us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”.

It is God who is going to bring about the desire.

It is God who is going to do it. It is God who will do His good pleasure in us. A young man who is courting a lady knows that the lady alone cannot produce a baby but the union of both of them will produce the baby.

You alone cannot perform miracles, but when you combine with the Holy Spirit, there is nothing that can stop you.

When Mary asked the angel in Luke 1:34-35, “how can this thing be? How can I have a baby when I don’t know a man?”

The angel answered in Luke 1:37, after he had told her that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, he said, with God, nothing shall be impossible. You and the Holy Spirit, when the two of you combine, there is nothing you cannot do.

Interestingly, Mary did not tell anyone that an angel came to visit her. According to Luke

2:19, she did not tell even her husband.

When she became pregnant, the husband was thinking there must be a man who had come in with her, because Mary did not tell him.

Many of the things that God is planning for your future, He is already hinting at to you. I’m sure you have not told anyone, and it is a wise thing to keep your mouth shut.

Do not tell the enemy, so that the devil will not bring obstacles to block your way.

By the time the Lord Jesus Christ was 30 years old, He was ready, according to Luke 4: 18-22.

By now, He knew His purpose on earth. And as Paul grew older, he knew why he was arrested on the road to Damascus, according to Philipians 3:12. By the time he was growing older, he knew why God had to choose him.

Why are you in the world? Why are you saved? Why are you baptised in the Holy Spirit? Why has God anointed you? Why did He bring you to the School of Disciples?

God never does anything without a purpose. If you don’t know the answer to this yet, it is because you have not stepped out in evangelism.

As you step out, you will discover. Whatever you are going to be in this world is already predetermined by God.

In Ephesians 1:3-5, the Bible says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will”.

When were you chosen? Before the foundation of the world, God had already decided what you are going to be.

And you need to know, according to Romans 9:15-2,1 that God is the potter and you are the clay. Before the potter begins to make any clay at all, he would have decided what kind of vessel he wants to fashion.

According to Jeremiah 1:4-5, God said to Jeremiah, Even before you were conceived, I had already known you. While you were in the womb, I had already sanctified you.

I have set you apart to be a prophet to nations. Brothers and sisters, before you were born, God had already concluded a plan for your life. He is the potter, you are the clay.

According to Jeremiah 18:1-6, some vessels would need to be abandoned because they refuse to yield to the potter. But if you read Romans 9:1, even the vessels that are abandoned serve a purpose. They will be examples to others.

This is what will happen if you don’t yield to the potter. There are mighty men of God that God wants to use tremendously.

Halfway, they began to misbehave against the will of God. God will push them aside. But they become examples to others.

To you who are young, who are just beginning your ministry, God will say, “You see so and so? You know what happened to him? If you don’t want that to happen to you, this is what you must do.”

HOW TO FULFIL THE PURPOSE OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE

To fulfil the purpose of God for your life, you must note five things:

(i)      The clay does not argue with the potter. Don’t argue with God.

(ii)     The clay never has a say in his destiny; the clay must surrender himself so that the potter can design what he wants and fulfil it.          Don’t try and become what God did not plan for you to become. If the hands were to say, “What’s happening? Legs are wearing shoes,       

I, too, want to be legs, I want to wear shoes.” There will be trouble for the hands. Be what God wants you to be. Wherever He puts you, be there.

(iii)    Clay is most easily shaped when it is soft, flexible and malleable.     You want to be what God wants you to be, you want to do it, do it.  Obey Him in all things. (John 2:5). Whatever God want you to do it

(iv)     Clay has no identity or function unless the potter gives it one. The potter can decide; this particular vessel is going to be used for drinking water or for washing hands, or he may say, I just want this to be a flower pot to be placed on my table.’ Whatever function the potter has designed for you, that’s what you’d better do. Stop claiming for yourself titles and identities. I am a chief, High Chief,          

Senior Apostle, Reverend, e.t.c. Let the potter give you an identity.

(v)      Remember, clay is always clay (Ephesians 2:8-9). You are what you are, by the grace of God. Never forget that if you go beyond your boundaries, He will reduce you back to the dust you are.     Never forget your beginning. No matter how high you go, clay is clay.

It is when the Holy Spirit combines with the clay that it will become something. If the Holy Spirit says, bye-bye to the clay, the clay will return to the clay.

PRAYER

Talk to the Almighty God and say, Father, I will be whatever you want me to be, by your special grace. Never let me lift myself against you.

A Daily Miraculous Life. RCCG SOD Year Five

How to experience the miracles of God daily.

Acts 4:24 says, “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them”.

When you have the right concept of God, you know how great God is, what He can do, how mighty and how powerful He is.

When you know that He is not only the Creator of heaven and earth, but He is also the one controlling everything in all these places.

It will enable you to see that miracles are easy possibilities for Him.

Acts 4:29-30 says, “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; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus”.

The faith produced in you as a result of this perspective of God will lead you to pray aggressive prayers that will move the hands of God.

When you know, for example, that your God can do all things, including those things that you can not even imagine, your faith will increase.

According to Ephesians 3:20-21, which says: “Now unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end”.

All that God can do. It is God who can do exceedingly above all we can think about. You can ask for things, and He will do according to the power that works in us.

Your desire, the legitimate desire, is that God can use me and you.

Begin to see yourself as working miracles for God. Begin to imagin

e yourself as one extension of the hands of God, and you begin to desire that God will use you, and the desire will begin to manifest.

The Bible says that He will do these things according to the power that works in us. It is therefore certain that God can work through you and me.

Ephesians 4:15 says, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”.

Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God”.

You need to know that fear of failure is one of the trademarks of the world. But we are not to be conformed to the pattern of the world.

It is better to do something and do it perfectly than do something imperfectly. No child will ever walk if he doesn’t take the first step.

And in taking the first step, he is going to fall. He doesn’t cry, but tries again. He enjoys the fact that he is about to move, on his own.

And that child that is tumbling, falling and rising today, is going to be a big champion tomorrow. When God asks you to pray for someone, obey immediately.

Do not listen to the devil who will say, What will happen if you lay hands and nothing happens. Ask him what will happen if you lay a hand on the person and he is healed?

So don’t consider failure. Failure is a trademark of the world, and you are not of the world.

Hebrews 6:4-5 says, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come”.

Many of you have had a taste of miracle-working before. You may never consider it a miracle, but if you have ever prayed for somebody with a headache before and the fellow got healed.

God has worked a miracle through you. There is no small miracle. All miracles are miracles. All you need to do now is to take bigger steps of faith.

I Corinthians 2:9: “But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him”.

You will be amazed at what God has in store for you. God wants you to perform miracles for Him. Try it. Pray for the sick. God will work miracles through you. He is already in you. There is a well in you now. Let that well flow out. Let your life become a daily life in the supernatural.

Don’t forget that Jesus said in John 14:12-13; “Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my father. And whatsoever ye ask in my Name, that will I do.”

The one who made this promise is the one whose name is Truth. The one who can never lie. This can become a reality in your life.

John 16:7 says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”

All the crucial promises of God have been fulfilled in your life. Jesus said, “I am going away, I will send the Holy Ghost to you.” He promised He will send Him. And He has come.

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

The Holy Spirit that Jesus received in Acts 10:38 is the same Spirit you have now. Your life should no longer be ordinary. Only believe, because Mark 9:23 says that, “all things are possible to him that believeth”. Be ready now to live a supernatural life, daily.

PRAYER

Lord I am ready, I am willing, help my faith. From now on, I want to live in the supernatural.

The Purpose Of Disciple’s Life. RCCG SOD Five.

As a pregnant woman becomes aware of the life within her, certain questions begin to arise. Will the baby be a boy or girl? Am I carrying a set of twins? Whom will he resemble, the father or me? What name shall we call him?’

In the same manner, now that you are becoming more and more aware that God is dwelling in you, that the power of God is within you, that His anointing is upon your life, questions shall also begin to arise. Why am I in the world? What has God got for me to do?

How can I achieve the plan of God for my life? Every disciple who comes to the awareness that God is dwelling in him, will normally at one time or the other, begin to ask questions.

Often, you may not get an answer immediately, you may not even get an answer directly. But gradually, God will reveal all to you, step by step. He will reveal what is His purpose for your life.

Example of Joseph:

In the case of Joseph, it started with dreams. In Genesis 37: 5-11, he dreamt about his brothers and even his fa-ther.

In his first dream, his brothers were bowing down to him. The second dream showed that even the parents were bowing down to him.

In Genesis 37: 18-24, when they threw him into the dry pit, the dream he had before kept him going. He knew he would not die in the pit. “Ah, my brothers are yet to bow down to me. My father has not bowed down to me”.

In Genesis 39:1-9, when he began to prosper in Potiphar’s house, he knew that he might prosper now, but this was not according to the dream he had.

Something deep within him told him that he had not yet arrived and that it was God only who could fulfil His promise for his life, and take him to his destiny. He knew he must never offend that God.

I am sure some of you have had some prophecies. Something deep within you has told you that you are going to be great.

It does not matter what may be happening now; that original dream is there, and the only fellow who can bring it to pass is God Almighty. That is why you must never offend that God.

Because if you offend Him, that might be the end of the dream. If you do not offend him, it does not matter what anybody may say, you will still make it.

In Genesis 39:20-23, when Joseph ended up in jail because of his loyalty to God, he could not even understand why he had to be in prison. ‘Ah, I was trying to be holy and I landed in prison’, but somehow he knew that there was a goal ahead of him.

He remained close to God. Somehow, he became a prosperous prisoner. Even in prison, God was with him.

In Genesis 40:1-4, the fire of awareness in him was getting stronger, that he was going to be great, and that somehow he knew that his destiny was going to be linked up with that of Egypt.

That is why he told Pharaoh’s cup bearer, When you are restored, don’t forget me. I have a role to play in the life of Egypt?’

Brethren, many of you have a mighty role to play in the life of this nation. Many of you have a great role to play in the whole of the continent of Africa, and beyond. God has a purpose for your life.

Whatever may be happening now, God is taking you step by step to the ultimate goal.

Two years had passed, two years that must have seemed like eternity to Joseph. He was in prison, God was silent, no new dream, the cup bearer had forgotten him. Nothing seemed to be happening, but the clock of destiny was ticking on.

God has a timetable for your life, He has a timetable for my life. One day will be one day, the D-day, the day of your appointment with God, the great day will arrive. Today could be your day.

In Genesis 41:1-4, Pharaoh had a dream. Note that it was Pharaoh and not Joseph who dreamt. Joseph had no new dream as soon as he had the two original dreams.

But as soon as he had the original dreams, the journey of faith was irresistibly guided from heaven.

The one who was pushing him forward was the one who gave him the original dreams. Meanwhile, Joseph had grown as a result of his constant fellowship with God.

He had grown from a dreamer to an interpreter of dreams. He had grown from hearing to knowing God. He now knew the mind of God according to Genesis 41:25-28. As a result of his growth, he had reached the point of perfection.

It was now time for God to put him on the throne of Egypt. He became the Prime Minister of Egypt. Greatness had come, prosperity had come, not as a slave now, not as a prisoner, but as the Prime Minister of Egypt.

But then he must have thought, “Is this the end of the purpose for my life? Certain parts of the dream are yet to be fulfilled. Where are my brothers, falling before me? Where is Father, falling before me?” Seven years of plenty passed. Seven years of famine started.

In Genesis 41:38-44, the brothers came and they fell before him. Very soon after that, the father also came.

Now the dream has been completely fulfilled. They all came and bowed down before him. But then the real purpose of Joseph’s life was yet to be fully understood. Read Genesis 42, 43, 44 and 45.

Many years passed, and Daddy died. Then the real purpose for Joseph’s life came to pass, and you find that in Genesis 50: 15-20.

The brothers became afraid and said, “Our father is dead now, this man is going to take revenge on us for all the evil we have done to him.”

Joseph said, “No, God sent me here, not you. You were instruments in the hands of God. God sent me so that I can preserve life.

You meant it for evil, but God turned it for good. Don’t worry, I have nothing against you. God was just fulfilling His purpose for my life.”

Brethren, God has a purpose for your life. In 1997, December 24th, at about 2:00pm, God said certain things to me.

He said, “Son, I will build you an army”. That was the first thing He said and then several other things. In fact, that day, He said twenty eight things.

I believe that you are part of that army which the Almighty God will use for the last day revival. You may not see anything great happening yet, but one thing is certain:

God has a purpose for my life. And your life is somehow linked to my life.  Together, God wants to use us for something extremely great, something that the world has not seen before.

But it is up to you whether you will remain in that army of the Lord, because it is not all who starts will finish.

PRAYER

Will you talk to God now? Please, Father, I don’t want to drop out. Uphold me, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

The Disciple’s Anointing. RCCG SOD Year Five.

We have learnt about different kinds of anointing, including the anointing of the devil. Here we want to talk about the disciple’s anointing.

Why did God anoint you to be His Disciple?

In Ephesians 2:10, the Bible says,

” For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God never does anything without a purpose. God has a purpose for anointing us. He said, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

God has a purpose for saving your soul. He has a reason for anointing you. He has a reason for baptising you with the Holy Spirit.

WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR DISCIPLES?

According to Hebrews 10:7, the Bible says: “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

You as disciples, are anointed to do the will of God. For example, by the time you are in year two, you are expected to have at least five other disciples backing you up, that you won to Christ.

This means that you and your five disciples will form a team of six.

The following year each of you is supposed to bring five new disciples. Which means by the time you are in year three, you shall have a team of 30, which you are leading.

In year four you are supposed to lead a team of 150 disciples. And now, you are in year five, you are supposed to be leading a team of 750 disciples. Many of you don’t even have 50 out of the expected 750. And yet God anointed you for a purpose. How are you going to catch up?

Maybe as you leave this place now, you go and start a study centre or go to a village and start a church there, because if you win souls there, you will be able to tell them, ‘come along with me to the School of Disciples’ and they will follow you. According to Ephesians 5:16 and Colossians 4:5, the Bible says.

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil”.

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time?.

The Bible warns you; Redeem the time. You must redeem the time. You have wasted a lot of time. Redeem the time now.

Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”

In Acts 10:38, the Bible says, God anointed Jesus for a purpose, and He achieved that purpose. God anointed you for a purpose, you must achieve that purpose.

For example, you are anointed to be something. He anointed you to be everything He saith you are. According to Revelation 1: 5-6, you are anointed to be a priest and a King.

A priest and a King to the Almighty and Kings are anointed to reign. You are anointed to reign. Look at Romans 5:17, the Bible says.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ”.

We shall reign in life. In year five, you are old enough to believe every word of God. If the word of God says I shall reign, a King reigns, and I am a King,

Jesus made me a king to His Father. You are a king also. A king to the Almighty God, Kings don’t beg.

Have you ever seen a King by the roadside begging? No, kings reign. It is where kings are seated that blessings come to them.

And your blessing will come to you wherever you are in Jesus’ name. The moment you believe that you are a king, you begin to reign.

You reign over demons, you reign over evil forces. You command them and they obey you. Look at Il Peter 1:3, He has given us everything we need to reign.

God cannot give you more. He has already given you everything you need to reign.

Over whom are you going to reign? You can reign over your people. Which people? Your converts.

If you win somebody for Christ, if you ask that fellow to do something, he will not refuse. When you say go, and he is a true convert of yours, he will go. When you say come, he will come.

If you want to do something glorious, for example, a house dedication, and you need people to help you with cooking, they will gladly come. They wouldn’t come empty-handed. That’s what makes you a king. You are reigning over your people.

You are a priest. Priests are anointed to lead people in the worship of God. You are a priest of the Most High God. In I Peter 2:9, the Bible says,

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”.

Why were you chosen to be a royal priesthood? That you might lead people in the praise of the Almighty God. Royal priesthood?

In Britain, if there is somebody who knows how to make soap very well, the queen will appoint that man and call him soap maker to the Queen.

On every soap they make, they will inscribe, We are soap makers to the Queen’ and everybody will like to buy their soap. They are called the royal soap makers.

When you hear of royal priesthood, we are talking of priests who are so holy and good, that God chose them and said, you will be priests unto me.’ I am a royal priest you know.

That makes us special. We are to lead people in worship.

If you start a study centre and you begin to get people converted together to study the word of God, what is the first thing you do when you gather?

You begin to sing choruses and begin to praise God. And who is the one leading? You of course. God anointed you, so that you can lead people in praising Him.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “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”.

You are to point to Christ. That is the duty of a priest. The Bible says looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

If you are a leader and the people are following you, the moment you turn to a particular direction. The people will say, What is it that is attracting the attention of our leader’.

If you, the priest, are looking unto Jesus, your followers will also be looking unto Jesus. You are supposed to guide the people towards Christ correctly. You show them how to live for Christ correctly.

According to Romans 13:13-14, it is your duty as a priest to lead them in worship, to point them to Christ and to show them by example how to live correctly for Christ.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?.

It is crucial to note that as you see yourself, so will the enemy see you. That is how God will see you, too.

In Numbers 13:33, twelve spies were sent to the Promised Land. When ten of them came back, they said,

‘The place is wonderful, but there are giants in the land. When we look at the giants, we see ourselves as grasshoppers, and they see us as grasshoppers.

As you see yourself, that’s how the enemy will see you. God said, ‘It’s alright, since you see yourself as grasshoppers, be grasshoppers.

Then go round in cycles until all grasshoppers are dead’. But two people said, “there are giants in the land but they are meat for us. We will get them. If God be for us, we will get them”. How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a grasshopper?

Or as a giant killer? I see myself as a Christian completely swallowed up by Christ. I see myself as a king. I see myself as a priest, I’m like my Father.

In I John 4:17, the Bible says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world”.

As Jesus Christ is, so I am in this world. Not when we get to heaven, as He is in heaven, powerful, glorious, reigning, so are we in this world, right now. In the infinite past, God had a plan; a great plan. Somehow you are included in that plan.

Ephesians 1:3-5; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will”.

Before God made the world, He had a plan. Before He laid the foundation of the world, He had chosen you and He included you in this great plan of His.

That is why you are in the School of Disciples. Several people have heard about the School, but they can’t come. Some people started, but they are out now.

They could not get to year five because somehow, they are not in the final plan. But you are in that final plan. One day, you are going to explain how you played your part in that plan.

Romans. 14:12, ” So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

PRAYER

How are you going to play your part in the plan of God? I have an advice. Bow your head now and pray.

Say, Father everything you want me to be I will be, everything you want me to do I will do. I am not going to allow doubt and unbelief to stop me. All I’m asking for is, just help me.

The Well That Never Runs Dry. RCCG SOD Year Five.

There is a well that can never dry.

In John 4:14, the Bible says, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”.

I will give you water to drink and you will never thirst, it will become a well of life. The first drink that you receive from the Lord comes from the outside, when it gets inside you, it becomes a well of water that will be springing up to eternal life.

There is a story about one king who went to another and said, “I want to settle here with you.” He was given a place.

He asked, Can you give me just one palm tree? The host king said yes, have that one.

And he went and cut one of the tender shoots, stuck it on the ground and said some incantations. The entire place was filled with thousands of palm trees.

Thinking that he can now get enough palm fronds to build the city he wanted to build.

When the host king saw the miracle that happened, he said, ‘You are too powerful for me. You can’t live near here, move a little further up.

As powerful as that second king was, he couldn’t produce palm trees until he was given one.

You can become a well that never runs dry, but first, you have to drink from the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 7:37-39, Jesus said If you come to me and drink and if you exercise your own faith, the well that is in you can become rivers.

I Thessalonians 5:23-24; Man is a trinity, Body, Soul and Spirit. The Spirit controls the soul and the body.

If something starts from the spirit, it affects the soul and the body. It will first be felt inside, in the spirit; soon, the brain, which controls the soul, will be affected. Not long after that, the body will also be affected.

In the same manner, when you drink the wine called the Holy Spirit, it will first of all, start within you in your spirit.

Then it will affect your brain and you begin to think like God, and very soon, your body will be affected.

HOW DOES THE RIVER FLOW?

Matthew 12:34 says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

The river is going to flow out of your mouth. It will flow in various forms. According to Ephesians 5:18-21, it will flow in the form of psalms, hymns, spiritual songs; that is, songs that you sing in tongues.

When you are born again and have come to Jesus to drink, early in the morning, you will find yourself singing, you are working in the kitchen, and you are singing. As you develop in the spirit, you will even be speaking in tongues.

Ephesians 5:18 says that you are constantly, to be constantly drunk with the divine wine. In other words, there is a well that can never run dry that you can drink from anytime. You are supposed to be constantly drinking the Holy Ghost.

In John 6:63, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life”. Because he was full of the Holy Spirit, each time he spoke, the rivers of life flowed out of his mouth.

When you are constantly drunk with the Holy Spirit, the words coming out of your mouth will be words of life.

Ephesians 6:10, 18: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”.

You will soon discover that your strength will be determined by how freely you allow this river flow out of you. I Thessalonians 5:16-19 says,

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit”.

The Bible says:

(i)       Rejoice forever more because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

(ii)      Pray without ceasing

How can anyone pray without ceasing? How can the river flow forevermore? How can I rejoice forever more?

By praying in tongues. If you pray with understanding, no matter what you want to ask God, by the time you pray for one hour, you must have exhausted all.

How can you be praying and eating, except you pray in tongues? How can you be preparing a sermon and be praying?

By praying in tongues. When you pray in tongues, your understanding is distinct. It is set apart because it is your spirit that is praying. Then your understanding can do something else.

And then the Bible says, You must not hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit keep on flowing as you rejoice evermore. As you pray without ceasing, let this river continue to flow.

Acts 2:13, “Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine”.

On the day of Pentecost, when the brethren were speaking in tongues, all the people who gathered from all nations, all tribes from all tongues, they all understood what the disciples were saying.

God wants everyday to be a day of Pentecost, so that everyone will understand what God wants them to hear, so that thousands will come to the kingdom.

Acts. 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptised: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls”.

On the day of Pentecost 3,000 souls were saved. Can you imagine if everyday 3,000 souls join our Church?

I am sure we will have a good problem in our hand; how-to follow them up, care for them, how to get accommodation large enough to put them. Yet that is the wish of God for us.

Mark 16:18 says, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.

If you do not hinder the flow of this river, the river will become so much that your mouth will not be big enough to allow them to gush out, so they will begin to find outlets through the pores in your body, through your sweat, so that when you begin to lay hands on the sick, power will flow through your sweat to the top of their heads, to give them healing.

That is why you find somebody like Paul who lays his hands on a handkerchief and sends it to people and they will be healed.

Acts 19:11-12 says, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchief or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them”.

How come his handkerchief became so charged with power? Paul said, “I thank God I speak in tongues more than you all.” In other words, he allowed the rivers to flow more than anyone else.

So they began to flow through the pores of his skin, and very soon anything he touched became anointed. The same can be true of you.

PRAYER

Father, let today be another Pentecost for me. I want to be drunk with your Spirit. So that through me, rivers of living waters can flow, out of a well that can never run dry.

Hearing And Knowing. RCCG SOD Year Five.

According to John 1:12, a disciple is a son of God. The Father-son relationship can be deepened in quality through constant fellowship with God. You are a son of God. A son can get closer to the Father. Some sons are closer to the Father than others.

In James 4:8, the Bible says, if you draw nearer to God, He will draw near you. It is up to you, how close you want God to draw to you.

In John 4:28, Jesus Christ said, “My Father is greater than I”. But by developing His relationship with the Father, He came to a measure of intimacy with His Father where He was able to say, “My Father and I are one,” one in interest, one in motivation and one in will (John 10:30).

In the same manner, the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd normally develops, first, from the sheep hearing the voice of the shepherd and then later on to knowing the shepherd.

And the shepherd also always begins by ‘calling the sheep’ and then moves on to ‘leading them?’ We have a kind of development in relationship.

In John 10:3, the Bible says, the sheep hears the voice of the shepherd. In verse four, the Bible says, the sheep follows the shepherd, after knowing the shepherd, he is able to identify, this is my shepherd, that is the voice of my shepherd’.

The Bible says in John 10:14, the sheep knows the shepherd and they begin to follow the shepherd. Jesus Christ said “I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep, my sheep knows me.

The sheep will not follow a stranger, If a stranger calls, the sheep will not follow”.

Many people assume that the sheep is stupid. They are very clever. They know the voice of the shepherd. They hear the voice and they recognise and follow correctly.

In John 17:3, there is something more important than knowing God’s voice. That is knowing God Himself. That is what eternal life is all about. Jesus said, “that they might know thee the only true God”, that is eternal life.

We are going to look at Samuel and David, as examples of people who started by hearing God’s voice and then moved on, to knowing Him.

Example of Samuel: In I Samuel 3:3-7, when Samuel first heard the voice of God, he did not even know that God was the one speaking.

Later on, from verse 8-10, he began to hear God’s voice clearly and began to recognise it through the assistance of Eli. By the time he got to I Samuel 8:6-9, he now knew the voice of God, without the assistance of Eli.

And then he moved on. In I Samuel 10:1-10, he could hear God clearly. Not only did he recognise the voice of God, he was also able to prophesy.

By the time he got to I-Samuel 16:7-12, he had moved on to revelation knowledge. God can now reveal things to him.

When Samuel first heard the voice of God, he did not recognise it and then Eli helped him. Then he graduated to recognising the voice of God without Eli’s assistance and he moved on to prophecy and then he moved on to revelation knowledge.

I pray, that like Samuel, you will progress in the knowledge of God, in Jesus’ name.

Example of David: David was a great prophet. He gave an accurate summary of the entire ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Everything that Jesus would do when He came to the world, when He went back to heaven and when He would return again, were recorded in detail for us by David one after the other.

(i)       In Psalm 22:1, David prophesied about Jesus as the Lamb of God    who was going to hang on the cross and cry out, My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me’?

(ii)     In Psalm 23:1, he gave us the picture of Christ, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, supplying all our needs according to his riches in glory, Philippians 4:19. In other words, in Psalm 23:1,      he gave us the ministry of our Lord Jesus for today; a good      shepherd, looking after the sheep and supplying all their need.

(iii)    And then in Psalm 24:7-10, he talked about Christ the soon    coming King of glory, to whom the everlasting doors must open,     as it is written in Revelation 19:14, 16.

In other words, he was talking about Jesus Christ of to-morrow.

Thus in Psalm 22:1, David told us of Jesus of yesterday. Psalm 23:1, he told us of Jesus of today and in Psalm 24: 7-10, Jesus of tomorrow.

Everything about the Lord Himself was given to Prophet David, so you can talk about Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.

HOW DID DAVID DEVELOP HIS PROPHETIC ABILITY?

It is through progressive intimacy with God.

1. There was a time when he said, morning, noon and evening, I will praise the Lord. That is to say three times daily, I will praise the     Lord.
2. In Psalm 119: 164, He had progressed. He said, seven times daily, I will praise Him.
3. He moved on to say seven times may not be enough in one day. He said, my praise shall continually be of thee, Psalm 71:6.
4. He moved on to say, more and more will I praise thee, Psalm 71:4. And then he moved on and said, at all times, I will praise thee        (Psalm 34:1). When I’m sleeping, waking up, sitting, hungry, on         the battle field, on my throne, at all times, I will praise thee.

David developed from three times daily, to seven times daily, to continually, to more and more, until all the times. He kept on moving closer and closer to God.

You too can also grow in spiritual activities from hearing God’s voice to knowing God’s voice, to knowing God Him-self, by closer walk with God, studying and not merely reading the word of God, to meditating on the word of God, to absolute obedience.

You will then be able to say, like Jesus Christ said, “My Father and I are One”.

You will notice that when you begin to spend time with God, you will find it enjoyable. The more time you spend with Him, the more time you will want to spend with Him. May God give us grace to move closer and closer to Him.

PRAYER

Why don’t you practice it now, praise Him for about five minutes. Tell Him, this is just the beginning. From now on, more and more will I become one with thee, O Lord.

The Disciple As A Creator. Part Five. RCCG SOD Year Five.

The supernatural Being

In lesson SA3, we were talking about supernatural beings and we were comparing Elijah and Elisha. In lesson SA4, we want to continue with the supernatural beings.

Jesus Christ is our own Elijah and we are His Elishas. We said that our captain, that is Jesus Christ, defeated the devil in the wilderness and brought in Joy, relief and abundance to people; changing water to wine, emptiness to fulfilment, shame to glory and defeat to victory; just as Elijah defeated the devil on Mount Carmel and he brought in showers of blessings.

II kings 2: 19-25, “And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, and as my Lord seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground barren.

And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein, and they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of waters, and cast the salt in there, and said Thus saith the Lord.

I have healed these waters: there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head: go up, thou bald head.

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

When Elisha took over from Elijah in 2 Kings 19-25, Elisha also began to do greater works than Elijah.

For example, he changed curses to blessings; he wiped out demon-infected creatures. He rescued a woman who was a debtor and destitute.

He changed the curse on Jericho to blessings; her poverty to abundance. We as the Elishas of Jesus Christ, the Lord told us in John 14:12: he said, when you take over from me, after I have gone to my Father, the works that I did, you will do. Even as Elisha excelled Elijah, you my disciples will excel me.

In 1kings 17;17 – 24, Elijah defeated death once; he told death, release this boy and death had to obey.

II Kings 4:32-37, “And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in, therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.

And he went up, and lay upon the Child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hand upon his hands; and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro; and went up and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, call this Shunamite woman.

So he called her. And when she came in unto him, he said Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out”

II Kings 11:20-21, “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha, and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet”.

From the above scriptures, Elisha, who took over from Elijah, defeated death twice.

1. When he was alive, he raised the son of the Shunamite woman.
2. When he was dead, his bones raised the dead.

Thus, Elisha did twice what Elijah did. And as far as our own Elijah is concerned, he didn’t defeat death just once, he defeated death permanently. Revelation 1:18 says, Jesus conquered death. Not only that, he took the keys of death.

He said, “I am alive forevermore, never to die again”. As a result of that, we, His disciples, can say, according to Ephesians 2:4-7 and I Corinthians 15:51-55, which says:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus”.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on immorality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

We also have won the battle over death permanently. We have defeated death permanently. We can say “death, where is your sting?” As disciples of Jesus Christ we have nothing to worry about. Disciples don’t die; they only sleep.

According to Matthew 11:11, the Lord said. “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: not-withstanding, he that is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Our own mantle, which is the Holy Spirit, is far superior to that of Elijah. Of all the Old Testament prophets the greatest is John the Baptist, that is, he was greater than Elijah, Elisha and all the prophets of the Old Testament.

The Lord went further to say that the smallest of the saints in the Kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist, i.e. even as you are looking at me, you are looking at somebody far superior to John the Baptist. In Matthew 11:25, the Bible says:

“At the time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes”.

Many people may not know that we disciples of Jesus Christ are greater than all the Old Testament prophets. Maybe you did not even know it until now? But now you know it. However, there is a difference between knowing and believing.

It is one thing to know Jesus Christ. The Muslims know Him. The Hindus know Him. At least if you have heard of Him, you have known Him. But few believe in Him.

As year five disciples, you are great. Whenever you see a disciple who is in year five or above, you better treat him with respect. You may not believe that you are a supernatural being, but that is what you are. In John 14:6, the Bible says,

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The Lord Jesus talks about you that you are a superhuman being. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life, and the truth can never lie.

The truth says concerning you, Sirs and Ma, you disciples in year five, Jesus the truth said in Mark 9:23, that all things are possible to you. How many things are possible to you? All things, provided you believe. If you don’t believe, it’s up to you. All things are possible for you.

The Living Spirit And Christ. RCCG SOD Year Four.

What do we mean by the living spirit? All demons bear the mark of their master, the devil. All demons are also called the devil. In Mark 16:17, the Bible says, “…these signs shall follow them that belief in my name, they shall cast out devils…” The same thing is true in Luke 10:17. Demons are called devils.

So the living spirits bear the mark of their Master, Jesus Christ, who is also the Word. In John 6: 63, Jesus Christ said; the word that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life’.

In other words, if you combine the two, i.e they are spirit they are life, they become the living spirits.

The word that I speak. And Jesus Christ Himself is the Word. In John 1:1, the Bible says, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So Jesus is the word, and the word that Jesus speaks, the living spirit.

According to Matthew 8:5-12, the word that Jesus Christ speaks goes to wherever He sends them, and they do the same work He will do or could do if He were there himself.

Remember the centurion who came to Jesus and said, “My servant is sick, I want him healed.” Jesus said Yes, I will come and heal him. But the centurion said, You don’t need to go. Send your word, send one of those living spirits, and my servant will be healed.

In Psalm 107:20, the Bible says, He sent out His words and healed them and delivered them from their destruction So these living spirits will go wherever they are being sent, and they will do whatever Jesus Himself could have done if He were physically present there.

And they have names. For example,e Peace is one of them. In Mark 4:39 and Matthew 8:23-27, we discovered that PEACE is the name of the living spirit that stills the storms.

As soon as Jesus said “Peace”, the living spirit jumped out and took control of the storm.

And we discover that these living spirits can never they cannot be destroyed by the enemies, Matthew 24: 35.

Even the unbelievers have a saying that the word that you speak is like an egg. Once it hits the ground, it cannot be recovered.

When you speak out, you may even say I am sorry, I apologise, I withdraw what I have said, but it cannot be withdrawn. Once you have spoken it, it is said. Once it is gone out, it is gone out and it cannot die.

In John 1:1-2, we discovered that Jesus was the begotten of the Father; He is part and parcel of the Father. In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God; part and parcel of the Father.

According to John 12:49, the words that Jesus spoke out, are the begotten of Jesus and therefore you could call them the grandchildren of God the Father.

In other words, God spoke and Jesus came out. Jesus spoke, and the living spirit came out. You could call this living spirit the begotten of Jesus, and you could call them the grandchildren of God the Father.

This is why the word that is spoken by Jesus Christ is extremely powerful when you quote them.

When you quote them you are actually summoning the living spirits into action and saying, “come around”, the same way that Jesus used them years ago.

That is why God expects only words of grace to come out of your mouth, because you are now one of His children. You will now speak the words that are only worthy of God because once you have spoken them they are out there.

They are ultimately going to relate to us. Whenever you don’t even know what to say or you are faced with a problem, you are given an assignment that you think is too difficult for you.

Please never say ‘I can never do it’. If you think that, you are creating problems for yourself. Instead, say like Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ,” I can do all things through the word.

Romans 10:8 made it clear that the ability to do anything is based on the word of God that is within you, coming out of your mouth. When you speak the word of God, you summon the living spirits to come to your assistance.

In II Corinthians 3:5-6, the Bible says that our sufficiency is from God. Our ability to do everything, to be sufficient to every task, is based on the word of God that is dwelling in us. They are from time to time believed in and spoken out.

Many times the enemy has come against us to say You have failed this time, you have overstepped your boundary. And you will quote the word and say, “With God, nothing shall be impossible.”

You will quote again and say, ‘My Father is the God of all flesh and there is nothing too hard for Him’. Speak it out. Even when doubt comes, swallow your doubt. Let the word come out. Speak out, living spirits.

According to James 1:22-25, you are not just to believe what you are hearing, but also be a doer of it. Each time you are acting on the word of God, you are allowing Christ to act through you.

All those who have spoken the word of God out in faith have summoned the Almighty God to their assistance, and they have never been disappointed.

In Genesis 22:7-13, Isaac said, “Daddy, I can see the wood, the fire and the knife; where is the lamb for the offering?”

What did the father say? ‘God will provide!’ And by the time he got to the mountain top, God had provided. Because he spoke it, the living spirit went ahead and provided the lamb for the offering?

In 1 Samuel 17:46-51, David said to Goliath, “I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of the army of Israel that you have defiled.” He said, ‘This day, I am going to cut off your head’.

When he was saying that, he had no cutlass, he had no sword, but before that day ended, he had cut off the head of Goliath.

He said it, and he acted it. When Goliath landed on the floor, he was already dead by the time he hit the floor. But David said, “That is not where I said it would end.

I said I’m going to lift off your head,” so he took the sword of Goliath, he had to carry it with two hands, because it was too heavy, and cut off the head of Goliath. He said I,t and the living word of God brought it to pass.

In Daniel 3:16-26, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, “King, the God that we serve can deliver us. And He will deliver us. He will”. They did not know how He was going to do it, but they spoke it out. The living word saw to it that they were delivered out of the predicament.

There are enough living words that are written in Deuteronomy 28:1-13 and I know many of you do quote some of them:

‘I will be head only, I will never be tail

I will be above only, I will never be below

I will lend to nations, I will never borrow. The enemy that comes against me one way shall flee before me seven ways.

I will be blessed in the city

I will be blessed in the field

I will be blessed when I am travelling

I will be blessed when I come home, etc.

But there is one little secret many people have been quoting these words of God, and nothing happened. There is a key, there is a password that you must first of all use before you begin to summon the living spirits. When the babalawo chants incantations, what do you think he is? He is summoning demons.

“Demons, come and help, demons come and assist”. But before he begins to call the incantations, there is something he has to do. He will chew an alligator pepper and mix it with some charms before the incantation will have any effect.

What must we do before we summon the living spirits, and they will come immediately to help? It is found in Deuteronomy 28:1. God said, “If you will hearken diligently to the words I’m speaking to you, to observe and to do them”.

In other words, the one who can summon the living spirits and they will come into action immediately must be obedient to God.

That is another word for holiness. If you live a holy life, you will receive anything you ask of God. The Bible says if you are willing and you are obedient, you will eat the good of the land.

So my brothers, my sisters, even as we are concluding this section, you know as year four students of the School of Disciples, that the most important thing in your life is holiness.

If you can be holy, anything you want, just quote the Bible, say it is written, and this is what will happen.

It is written I will prosper and be in good health as my soul prospereth. Believe me, honestly, as soon as you quote it, the living spirits concerned will come and make sure it happens. But if you are not holy, then you don’t have the divine key.

PRAYER

Talk to God now. Ask Him to make you pure so that the divine key can be yours.

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According to 1 John 5:10-12, certain things are settled.

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

This passage tells us three things. These are:

(1)     You will know that you are born again.

(2)     You have eternal life dwelling in you.

(3)     Your very life is that kind of God’s life.

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Because God is dwelling in you, you will know these seven things:

(1)     You will know when your prayers are flesh-induced

(2)     You will know when your prayers are according to the will of God.

(3)     You will know which prayers God will hear.

(4)     You will know which prayers God will answer.

(5)     You will stop the prayers which God will not answer.

(6)     You will now begin to pray the right kind of prayers which God will hear and answer.

(7)     You will develop confidence in your prayers because you know they will be answered.

How do you know God will answer your prayers? If you pray according to God’s will, your prayer will always be answered. We ought to pray according to what His word has said, since we know that His words are forever settled.

SOME OF HIS WORDS

1 Corinthians 3: 21-23,

“Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.”

This scripture makes it abundantly clear that as long as you remain Christ’s, as surely as Christ will ever remain God’s, all things are yours, including victory now and in the future, even control of the world, by faith.

The Bible says you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s, therefore all things are yours now and in future as long as you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.

Also, according to Psalm 23, as long as the Lord remains your shepherd, no wants will be allowed in your life, now or in the future. It says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want:’

Hebrews 13:8 makes it clear that your shepherd is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Based on all this, if you remain the sheep of this Shepherd, you will never lack anything. If you remain the sheep of this shepherd, all things are yours.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR FAITH

You now have faith that you can build upon so that your faith can even begin to grow.

According to Colossians 2: 6-7, which says that as you keep on walking in Christ, your root will grow deeper and your faith will be higher and higher.

How Will Your Root Grow Deeper And Your Faith Grow Higher?.

1 Peter 2:2 says:

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

This means that you should keep on getting more of the word of God into yourself, remembering that the word of God is life and spirit. They are lively spirits. You will soon become word-possessed.

The occult people are demon-possessed and constantly seek more demons to possess them by memorising incantations and new demonic words to increase the demons in them.

As for us in the world of light, the way to grow is to become word-possessed, memorising His word, knowing much of it.

Any time you want to speak, the first thing that comes out of your mouth is “it is written” Your root will grow deeper and your faith will grow higher.

Secondly, you must keep praying in tongues all the time, according to Jude 20. When you pray in the Holy Ghost, you will build up your holy faith.

The occult man wakes up early, uttering his incantations in order to arouse the demons in him. You as a child of God, need to be praying in tongues always, to increase the Holy Ghost power within you.

Take in the word of God, pray by the word of God by saying. “It is written”. Pray in the spirit, and as such your faith will grow.

The Faith Of A Disciple. RCCG SOD Year Four

According to John 6:47, the Bible says that he who believes in Jesus has eternal life.

If you believe as a disciple that you have eternal life, it means you have faith. Ephesians 1:3 makes it clear to us that we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing, and faith is a spiritual blessing, so we have it because we are already blessed.

In 2 Corinthians 9:8, 11, 15 the Bible makes it clear that faith is a grace and we have it abundantly because God gave it to us. The question now is; why are some people still praying for faith when it has already been given to us?

          Romans 12:3 says that God has dealt to every man a measure of faith. Every disciple has at least a measure.

This is good news. It then follows that all things are possible to the disciple (Mark 9:23) because the Bible says here that all things are possible unto him that believeth.

Considering Matthew 17:14-20, according to our Lord

Jesus Christ, faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. In that case, it is sure that your measure of faith no matter how small, as long as it is as big or bigger than a mustard seed, can move mountains and move in a miraculous ministry. You have enough faith to be creative.

Why Then Do We Not Operate In Faith?

There are three major reasons:

1. Ignorance

          Some disciples don’t even know that they have faith. According to    Hosea 4:6, the Bible says:

        “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

1. Many don’t know that they are endowed with the faith of the Almighty God.
2. Some people say faith can’t be touched or seen. They say it is intangible, so they can’t know whether or not they have faith. They forget that the most crucial things in their life are unseen, for example, the air we breathe.
3. Many don’t believe that God has enough integrity to do what He says He will do. Yet God says in Jeremiah 1:12 that He watches over His word to perform it. Isaiah 55:10-11 says that His word will not return to Him void. It will not come back to Him until it has achieved what He sent it to achieve.. In Luke 1:37, the Bible says:

          “With God nothing shall be impossible.”

In the original scripts it says there is no word of God that lacks the power to do what God sends it to do.” In other words, as soon as God speaks, His words are loaded with power to fulfil the word.

          In Luke 1: 38, when Mary said, ‘be it unto me according to your word, what she was saying is ‘I believe that your word can do what you say it will do, I believe that the word you have spoken has enough power to do what you have said, so don’t withdraw your word from me’.

The Nature of the Word of God

Jesus gave us a great insight into the nature of the word of God.

(1)     He said the words of God are like angels; you can summon them, and they will function.

(2)     The words are life and spirit. They are living spirits. They have power and energy.

(3)     They are highly intelligent.

(4)     They are quick and powerful and can enter anywhere, even where angels cannot enter.

          For example, no angel can enter somebody without permission, but the word of God can enter. Somebody can be made glad or sorrowful by sending correct or incorrect words to them. So you can rely on the word of God.

In Hebrews 4:11-12, the Bible says,

“Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The word of God is full of life and power. It is a spirit being. It pierces and enters by force. It is there to back you up. Rest on the integrity of the word. Give no room for unbelief because the word of God is:

(a)      Quick- full of life and very fast

(b)     Powerful- full of power

(c)      Sharper than any two-edged sword – highly intelligent.

(d)     It pierces to enter by force. This word enters anywhere, whether we allow it or not.

(e)      It divides asunder – it creates a path for itself, it cannot be stopped from entering where it wants.

According to Luke 1:39-45, the word can enter the most secret part of your life, it can even touch a baby in the womb.

The words of God are not dead, they are living. We can trust in them, we can put our faith in them. If we call them to attention, they will work.

According to Psalm 107:20, some words of God act as doctors and medicine to heal. Some go out as warriors to deliver the captives.

Fighting Death With Love. RCCG SOD Year Four.

There are two principal actors on the stage of history. These are Jesus Christ and the devil.

According to 1 John 3:8, the Bible says for this cause the son of man was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.

In other words the contest in this world is between Christ the champion, the true King of kings and Satan that usurped the world.

According to 1 John 3:9-10, just as we have two captains, Jesus Christ the real champion and the devil who is the pretender, there are also supporting actors they are also in two distinct groups.

These are: the people on the side of our Lord Jesus Christ and those on the side of the devil.

You must know the group to which you belong. As a disciple, you should belong to the side of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:15-19, you discover that these two groups of supporters can also be grouped into two distinct categories, viz, lovers of God versus lovers of the devil, or winners versus losers.

If you are a lover of God, you are a winner, but if you are a lover of the devil, you are a loser.

In Romans 8:2, we also discover that there are two principal laws governing the contest on the stage of life.

Whenever there is a contest, there are rules governing the contest. The two laws governing the contest on the stage of life are:-

1. The law of life that is in Christ Jesus
2. The law of sin and death that is in Satan.

These two laws are also called by other names. In Galatians 5:1, they are the law of liberty versus the law of bondage.

In 1 John 3:4, these two laws that control the contest in the world are called the laws of life and death. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

I John 3:4 says,

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

In Romans 5:5, we discover that there is a love within. In John 15:9,10 there is an external love, it is a kind of enveloping love. It is the kind of love you can swim in.

When the love within is linked with the love without, we become surrounded and swallowed up in love; then, like God, we can say we are true partakers of divine love.

A similar illustration is that of a fish surrounded by and swimming in water.

From time to time, the fish swallows this water. There is water both within and around the fish.

When the love within us is linked up with the love surrounding us, so that when people look at us, the only thing they see is love, then we become partakers of the divine nature because God is love, within and outside.

According to 2 Peter 1:4, we are expected to be true partakers of this divine nature. The only way you can be totally surrounded by something and at the same time be full of that thing without dying is if that thing is the very essence of your life.

A good physical example is the air we breathe. We are surrounded by it, and we take it in because if we don’t breathe, we will die.

The most important thing for the God kind of life is love. You must be full of love within and be swallowed up by love.

In 1 John 4: 16, the Bible says if you abide in God and God abides in you, that is, you are surrounded by God and also filled with God, then God becomes the very essence of your life and God is love.

In John 14: 9, Jesus said, Any man who has seen Him has seen God. This means that within and without, Jesus Christ is also love.

When we talk about external love, it is a settled matter with many of us. We find it easy to love on the exterior. It can be said with the mouth.

The kind of love that is difficult to have is internal love. It is the genuine love that comes right from the inside of you.

It is when you have this kind of love, and it now combines with the external love, that real love can be expressed from the bottom of your heart.

In 1 Corinthians 10:24,32, it becomes abundantly clear that if all disciples are swallowed up in love, sin will decrease. If you love your brother, you won’t want to hurt him or offend or sin against him.

Children who are brought up in the atmosphere of love never become criminals. You will be able to discern from their attitudes and way of life, that they were brought up in love.

In Ephesians 1:3-4, we discover that every creature is a loving creation. It is the love of God that brings you out of sin and makes you a saint. When you step out of love, you step into the devil’s territory.

Love produces light, drives away darkness, produces holiness, and overcomes sin. So when you step out of love, you step out of light and out of holiness into sin. That is, you step into the devil’s territory.

Like the example of Samson, the moment the enemy captured him, the first thing they did was to pluck out his eyes. This is because the eyes are the light of the body.

They took away his light, and he never regained this light. Don’t stray out of love. No matter what anybody does to you, don’t let them lure you into hatred.

What else will love do? In Isaiah 53:4, the Bible says, Jesus (who is love) carried our burden for us. That is what love does; love helps people to carry their burdens.

In Galatians 6:2, the Bible says we are to carry the burdens of others out of love. What the Bible is saying here is that you are to carry the overload of others.

Some people are carrying more loads than they can bear, and you can help them. You are to carry them in love.

How did Jesus do it? According to Hebrews 2:15, Jesus died to conquer death and satan, the controller of death.

Now, what are we to do as disciples who have received the mantle? According to Galatians 6:1, we are to rally round the wounded soldiers to bring them back on

their feet, and the battle against the enemy continues. For many of us Christians, rather than rallying around the backslidden Christian, we begin to gossip and spread the bad news.

That is not love, if somebody you love falls, you will want to look for ways to cover him up; for the Bible says love covers a multitude of sin. This kind of love comes from within.

We are to rally round wounded soldiers, especially disciples that have drawn back from the school of disciples.

Romans 12:1 says, sacrifice every and all things to bring everybody to Christ. Anyone who is not born again is over loaded. He has burdens that he can’t carry alone.

Every soul that is not born again is defeated. But if you will preach Jesus Christ to them and bring them to Christ, the burden bearer, He will carry their burdens.

A sinner has burdens that he cannot ever express in words. Sinners are walking corpses. We are to bring life to them if we love them sufficiently.

You need to ask God to fill you with His love so that you can be enveloped in His kind of love, and thus be a conqueror of death.

-An Essential Ingredient To a Miraculous Ministry.

In Matthew 4:18-25, we discover that the Lord did no miracles until he had settled with Satan.

You must have victory over Satan before you can move on to a miraculous ministry. You have to conquer Satan. In Matthew 4:11, Jesus Christ dealt with Satan in the wilderness and gained victory over him.

          In other words, before he began his miraculous ministry, Jesus had won a victory over Satan. The following are the steps that Jesus took in his miraculous ministry

1. Baptism in water

This represents our conversion and baptism in water. Jesus did not have to repent because he never sinned.

2. Holy Spirit Baptism

As He was coming out of the water after being baptised in water, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came upon hin and he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

This represents our baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is the same spirit that baptised Jesus Christ that baptised us.

3. He fasted and had over Satan

The Holy Spirit directed Him to the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights to be tempted by Satan. This implies that the disciple must have his flesh crucified.

Also, if there is a need for deliverance, the disciple must undergo deliverance. The disciple also must be sanctified in order to live a life of holiness. After these 3 steps, miracles can then begin to follow your ministry.

All the miracles Jesus performed were related to the temptations He overcame in the wilderness. There are three major temptations the devil brought before Him.

For example;

1.) In Matthew 4:3-4, the devil had told the Lord to satisfy his fleshly desire by turning stones to become bread, and the Lord declined. In Matthew 14:13-21, the same Jesus who refused to turn stones to bread was able to multiply 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed multitudes.

2.) In Matthew 4:5-7, the devil asked the Lord to defy the laws of nature by jumping down from the pinnacle of the temple. This particular law of nature was the law of gravity. Our Lord Jesus refused; he passed the exam.

But in Matthew 14:22-23, the same law of gravity was set aside when Jesus had to walk on water to meet his disciples on the other side of the shore.

There is a link between the temptation to defy the law of gravity and Jesus’ walking on water.

3) In Matthew 4:8-10, the devil asked Jesus Christ to worship him. The Bible tells us that the devil was the one who had power over death. The one who had power over death said to Jesus Bow down and worship me’ Jesus said ‘No way.

          But in John 11:41-44, when the time came for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead. Because he had not bowed down to the power of death, he was able to defeat death.

 When Jesus Christ called Lazarus to come out of the tomb, he simply said ‘Lazarus, come forth. He did not say ‘Death leave my friend alone’ He ignored death.

          Later on, Satan, through Peter, tried to dissuade Jesus from dying for us. In Matthew 26, 39,42, Jesus yielded to His Father’s will. Jesus Christ gained complete and perfect victory and control over Satan because he did His Father’s will in dying for us and was raised from the dead.

          According to Hebrews 2:14-15, because Jesus tasted death for every man, He can deliver those who are in the bondage of fear and death. Revelation 1:18 tells us that Jesus not only defeated Satan by submission to His Father’s perfect will, which cost Him his life, but also took all authority from Satan.

For he said that He now has the keys of death and Hell. He is the one who was dead but is now alive forevermore, Amen. He has the keys of death and hell. A key is a symbol of authority.

Matthew 28:18 says that all power in heaven and on earth has been given unto Him. This means all authority, all ‘ecclesia’ (Greek) has been given unto him. This is why Philippians 2:8-11 is forever settled.

This speaks of how God highly exalted Jesus, giving Him a name that is above every other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, both things in heaven, under the heaven and beneath the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

          In Luke 13:11-16, we see that because the Lord refused to submit to Satan, Jesus was able all the time to command Satan to release all his victims.

If he had submitted to Satan, he would have become the slave of Satan, and a slave cannot command his master. That is why in John 8:36 the Bible says that whosoever the Son shall set free shall be free indeed. Jesus gives physical and spiritual freedom.

          Before Jesus was able to perform all these miracles, He had to conquer Satan first, which he did. He conquered him for the masses. He conquered him over the question of gravity and so could push aside the law of gravity by walking on water.

He refused to bow down to the one who had the power of death and was able to raise the dead anytime he wanted to. And because he is not a slave to Satan, he could command the devil to loose all his captives.

The question now is, ‘What about we disciples? The Bible says that our victory has been handed over to us by Christ.

According to Romans 4:7-8; 5:1-2; 4:24-25, the Bible makes it clear that we can claim all the victory that Jesus won by faith, because He is our champion. And if your champion wins, you have won; if he loses, you have lost.

          The Bible also tells us in Colossians 2:10-15 that we are complete in Christ.

Through him and His blood, we are complete. We have a direct link with the Almighty God. In other words, I can tell satan that I am a victor because my Captain has defeated him, likewise, I have defeated him.

In 1 Peter 3:18, the Bible says:

“For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit.

He has already suffered for our sins. As many of us who have received him and are washed in his blood, we have already been brought into direct contact with God.

          Anytime you want to perform a miracle and the devil questions your authority and ability, tell him that by the special grace of God, you have won the same victory that Jesus Christ won.

The three steps he took before he performed these miracles have also been taken by you. You are born again and baptised in the same spirit that baptised Jesus, and you have overcome the devil because your captain overcame him.

His victory is your victory, so you can begin to perform miracles in Jesus’ name.

Supernatural Being. RCCG SOD Year Four

2 Kings 2:14,

“And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of E-li-jah? And when he also had smitten the water, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.”

This is the story of where Elisha stood by the River Jordan, and with the mantle of Elijah, he smote the river and asked, “Where is the God of Elijah?” God answered him and said, “Here I am, my son, by your side.”

In John 14:16-18, we see a comparison between us and our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Elijah had a mantle which he handed over to Elisha, and it was a visible mantle.

The Lord Jesus Christ told us that our mantle, which we are going to collect from him, is an invisible one but is more powerful and more enduring because it is the Holy Spirit. He said that we will get the Holy Spirit after he has gone, just as Elisha got the mantle after Elijah left.

In 2 Kings 2:15, when the mantle of Elijah fell on Elisha, it transferred the spirit of Elijah unto Elisha.

In Acts 1:8, when the Holy Ghost falls on us, it is the Spirit of Christ that falls on us, which means we now have our mantle in the form of the Holy Spirit. You will discover that Jordan parted for Elisha because the mantle of Elijah was with him.

“As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

In 1 Kings 17: 1, you discover that Elijah had the fantastic power that he had because God was with him. He said:

“As the Lord God liveth before whom I stand, there shall be no rain, nor dew until I call for it:”

The basis of the power of Elijah was that God was with him. Now the power of Elisha was directly proportional to that of Elijah.

As a matter of fact, in 2 Kings 2:9, Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah. In other words, the power of Elisha doubled that of Elijah.

The power of Elijah was because God was with Elijah. In Acts 10:38, we discover that our Lord Jesus Christ was with power because God was with Him.

This verse says: “How God anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.”

The source of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ was because God was with Him. Jesus is our own Elijah, it follows then that our power is also directly proportional to that of Christ Jesus, who is our leader and brother because Jesus is the firstborn of our Father. He is the Head of a supernatural generation.

This is clearly stated in Colossians 1:15-18. The same Spirit that indwelled him also indwells us.

He said himself that the works that he did, we will also do. He even went further to say, ‘greater works than those He did shall we do’, just as Elisha did greater works than those of Elijah.

You will notice in 1 Kings 18:40-46, Elijah defeated the devil on Mount Carmel, and after that, he called for the showers of blessing, which was a period of drought to flood.

Our own Elijah, Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:1-11 defeated the devil in the wilderness. Almost immediately after that, he was invited to a wedding in Galilee in John 2:1-11.

There, he brought joy, relief, and abundance by changing water to wine. He changed the emptiness of the people to fulfilment. He changed the shame of the people to glory; their defeat to victory.

What Elijah did was what Elisha continued. Likewise, we are also to continue what the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Our Elijah’, did on earth.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to change sorrow to joy, defeat to victory by bringing people to Jesus Christ.

We are to turn their emptiness to fulfilment, we are to bring them into a period of abundance and relief, but this can be done not by power, nor by might but only by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our mantle. We must ask God to drop His mantle afresh upon us.

The Disciple As A Creator Part 2. RCCG SOD Manual. Year Four

According to Colossians 2:3, all the wisdom, knowledge and ability needed to be creative are embedded in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is residing in you, so all you need to become a creator resides in you. For example, the knowledge of all that Jesus Christ did is in you.

According to Acts 10:38, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and power and he went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed by the devil because God was with Him.

You also know what He is doing now. Right now, He is interceding for you at the right hand of God. He is highly committed to your welfare.

You also know what He can do through you in particular. Because according to Philippians 4:13, you cart do all things through Christ that strengthens you. You know that through you Christ can do anything.

You also know what He plans to do this year by the revelation of His word to you or your leaders.

You also know who you are, according to 1 John 3:1, you are a child of God. The Bible says:

“Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

You also know what you can be. 1 John 3:2 says:

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:

In addition to all this, you have the wisdom to utilise this knowledge. Because all wisdom, all knowledge, all power are embedded in Christ, and Christ is dwelling in you.

According to Romans 1:20-22, it is clear that darkness is ignorance. It is ignorance, both physically and spiritually. Darkness and ignorance go together.

1 John 1:5 says that our God is total light; there is no darkness in Him. In other words, God’s knowledge and wisdom are total. There is no trace of darkness or ignorance in him.

Therefore, all the knowledge you need to be creative is inside of you. All the wisdom you need to create is likewise in you.

HOW CAN I BECOME A CREATOR?    

Anyone who is not doing something for God, who is not productive or fruitful, might be cut down like a fruitless tree. Start something for Jesus Christ. You are a creator, you ought to create.

According to Colossians 1:19; 2:6-10, it is a sin to rely on sense knowledge when you have the entire power of God lying in you.

God is dwelling in you in all wisdom, in all power, in all ability and in all knowledge. Why do you want to rely on your senses?

Starting something, however, does not mean breaking out of your church in rebellion.

You could start a house fellowship in your house, under your church. It can even grow and become a branch of your church. Don’t become a rebel. You can work for God within your church.

WHAT CAN I CREATE?

Can I create new eyes for the blind? Or bones for the lame? Or a new womb for the barren? According to John 16:14, the Holy Spirit will guide you. John 14:26, he will also teach you all that you need to know.

In Ephesians 3:14-20, the Bible says,

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

This is the prayer that Paul prayed for believers. I am also praying for you, that the purpose of God for your life shall be fulfilled in Jesus’ Name.

SUPERNATURAL BEING

What do we mean by a supernatural being? Every disciple is supposed to be a supernatural being because they are filled with the Holy Ghost and power. They also have the support and backing of God the Father, God the Son. And God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, from now o,n you are to live as a supernatural being.

In John 11:41-42, when Jesus wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead, we find that the faith of Jesus was based on the fact that God was constantly with him. He said,

Father, I know that you always hear me. He didn’t say that God may hear him.

That is why Jesus said, with God all things are possible God is in you, so with God in you all things are also possible for you. You too can say as Jesus said ‘Father I know you always hear me. God is right inside of you.

Before you even begin to pray, He has already heard you. God was always with Jesus. That is why he prayed in Matthew 26:39, 4,2 saying:

“… O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

He was referring here to the cup of separation between himself and God on the cross as he carried the sin of the World. This was to be so because the eyes of God are too holy to behold iniquity.

That single separation on the cross made him cry My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me.’ Matthew 27:46. This was the cup that Jesus feared.

But the Almighty God has promised to never leave nor forsake you; that there will never be a brief separation between yourself and him. That is why God said in Isaiah 65:24 that before you call, He will answer.

That is a promise from someone who can never lie. The Bible says in Isaiah 65:24,

“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

There is no reason then for us to be uncreative because all we need to do is to tell him that we want to create something, and be productive.

Tell him to let you know what to create and how to create it. He will answer you.

The Disciple As A Creator. RCCG SOD Year Four

The offspring of a dog is a dog. Also, the offspring of a goat is a goat. There is no way the son of a snake will be a bird. It therefore follows that the son of a Creator is a Creator. The Lord Jesus Christ said to Paul on the road to Damascus that He and His disciples are one. In Acts 9:1-5. He said:

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and there shined round about him a light from Heaven; And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

“And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

‘ME’ here is referring to His Disciples. This means that the disciples and the Master are one.

DISCIPLES HAVE DIVINE NATURE

The disciples have the same nature with the Divine One. 2 Peter 1: 3-4 says that we are partakers of the divine nature. In John 1:4 talking about Jesus, the Bible says:

‘In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ The divine nature is life, and we as disciples being one with Him have the divine nature because we have the same life as Jesus Christ.

In John 8:12, Jesus said: “…, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

In other words, the divine nature is light.

In Matthew 5: 14 Jesus told the disciples that;

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”

That is to say that Jesus and his disciples are one, and both possess the divine nature. The disciples of Christ have the nature of light. As soon as you have the nature of God, then creative ability follows.

In Genesis 1: 3, 6, 11, you discover that the first thing God said was ‘Let there be light’ God first created light before creating any other thing.

The divine nature, which is light, must first be in you before you can stand as the son of the creator of all things in creation.

The power to create is already in everyone that is born again because once you are born again and a disciple, the nature of Christ is in you, and according to Ephesians 3: 20, the Bible says God can do exceedingly above that which we can ask or think according to the power that works in us.

The Power that God will use to do great and mighty things is already embedded in us. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have the power to create.

HOW DO WE CREATE?

Hebrews 11:3 makes it clear that everything that was created was created by the spoken word. God spoke and it was so! If your words begin to move the same way the word of God moves, then you are on the way to creation.

As a disciple, as soon as you were born again, you discovered that your language changed. Negative exclamations like ‘Oh my oh my’ have now changed to ‘Glory to God’.

Immediately you become born again, one of the first things that will be affected is your language – the words of your mouth. Everything now becomes new as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

WHY MUST A DISCIPLE BE A CREATOR?

The Almighty is a wise leader. Corinthians 3:7-9 says that our Father works by delegation of duties. For example in the Garden of Eden, after God had created all things, he called on Adam it is time for you too to do some work. All the animals will be named by you.

God could have named the animals by Himself, but He chose to delegate duties to His people.

          In John 15:1-5, Jesus said that He is the Vine and His Father is the husbandman and we the disciples are the branches.

This implies that we, the branches, also must be creators, because the vine carries the branches and the Husbandman keeps the vine, but it is the branches that bear the fruit. In other words, God distributes work. Jesus Christ will carry us, we are to bear fruit, and God the Father backs up His Son.

          In 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, we discover that we already have the things needed for creation (power and wisdom). We have because Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God.

He is the power of God to bring to pass what God wants done, and the wisdom of God to make sure that what is created is the right thing.

          Wisdom plays a very important role in creation. The fact that God is in power does not mean we can do just about anything, we need wisdom to know what exactly to create.

Creating a four-headed cow will be senseless when you could get four cows each with a separate head.

          When you create, it must be with wisdom and backed with power. Both wisdom and power have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

          Philippians 2:13 says;

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

When you are creating something, for example, in building a house, the first thing is that there must be a desire for something pleasant within you. Also, there must be a plan.

This also comes from within. Strong determination to carry out the plan is also needed and it comes from within. The power to back the will up also comes from within. The Bible now says that it is God who works within us to do all these things.

          Ephesians 3:16 says, The spirit of the Almighty God in us strengthens us. This is where the ability to do a thing comes from. All the things needed to create are given to us in Colossians 1: 9-11,

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

That ye might walk worthy of the unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”

Knowledge:

Whenever you want to do something, you need knowledge. For example, you need to know the type of foundation to construct for a storey building or a bungalow, depending on the choice of house you want to build. You must also know the strength of the materials to be used.

Wisdom:

You also have need of wisdom to wisely use the materials you have appropriately. For example, you need to know the correct measure and ratio of sand and cement to make concrete for the building.

Understanding:

You also need to understand how the materials work together to give the desired result

Strength:

You must have the strength to carry out the plan.

Patience:

Patience is needed until the final result is achieved. The foundation cannot be rushed. It must be solidified before anything can be built on it.

Long suffering:

Whatever it will take, you must keep on and not quit until the final result is achieved.

Joyfulness:

You should rejoice in the Lord always. His joy must be your strength.

All these things and more have been given unto us. In Colossians 1:9-11, the bible says,

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God”

In addition to knowledge, wisdom and understanding, you must also increase in good works.

Verse 11 says that: “…You will be strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”

These are the things you need to create: knowledge, wisdom, understanding, strength, patience, longsuffering, joyfulness.

These are all available to the disciples.

Whatever it is that you are going to create, it must be done with joy so that you can do it to the end.

Psalms 100:2 says;

“Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing.”

That is what you need to do as a disciple.

Noted In Hell. RCCG SOD Year Three

As soon as a disciple is branded for Christ, he will immediately be noted in hell, and almost immediately, enemy action will begin.

The devil will say, “This is an enemy, let us go and get him”. For example, Saul of Tarsus was born again on his way to Damascus. Three days later, he got baptised in the Holy Spirit and began to preach.

Immediately he got converted, he made it known to everybody that he was for Christ. The devil knew, this person, who used to be a disciple of the devil, is now a disciple of Jesus. He moved to kill him.

“And straightway, he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the Chief Priests? But Saul increased the more in Strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. After many days had passed, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their lying wait was known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket”.

I mean this fellow has already changed sides. There are many of us disciples, who have been born again now for many years, and the devil has not made a single attack on us. There must be something wrong somewhere. Because the moment you become completely identified with Christ, the devil must try. 

But what if you say you are for Christ, and the devil cannot say ” that’s true”, rather He says, “he is for Christ and he is committing sins? Look at the way he dresses.

Look at what he is eating, what he is drinking, listen to his language, don’t mind him”. He will say Don’t worry about this one, he is still one of us”. But when you say you belong to Christ, everything changes. The Bible says in 2/Corin 5:17,

” Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. 

As soon as everything becomes new, the enemy will move. You will remember the story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 1:8-16.

Why is it about people who got into trouble? Very simple. As soon as they got to Babylon, the King said, “These young men were looking handsome.

Let us begin to feed them. Let us train them specially. Let us begin to feed them with our kind of food”. –

Delicious meal from the king’s table, meat that the king eats, the wine that the king drinks. There is some news that was included in the group. 

Daniel, Shedrack, Meshach, and Abednego said, No way. We will not eat the king’s meat, we will not drink the wine.

Others said, we are in a strange land, when in Rome, we must do like Romans; Daniel said no way.

Shedrach said no way, Meshach said no way, and Abednego said no way. So, they sent to the head usher, please give us beans and water.

Those who want to eat the animal that has been slaughtered for idols can eat them. Those who want to drink the one that has been poured in liberation to the idol can drink it..

After 10 days he came back and looked at the three. They were looking more robust than all the others.

Which is another way of saying beans and water must be very good food. I think every disciple must be eating plenty of beans and plenty of water.

Now, seriously speaking, as soon as the devil was among these four boys, he said, it means you are ready to be branded for Jehovah.

I will deal with it. I will finish the three if you quickly. It was the devil who brought the dream to the king. 

In Daniel 2, verses 1-49, the king had a dream and forgot it. And said he would kill all the wise men unless they could remember the dream and give him it’s interpretations.

The devil was only after the four people – Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Shedrach, and Abednego

. And he was willing to kill as many other people so that these four would die. But glory be to God, He rescued these four, and they got promoted.

Then the devil said, alright, I failed that test number one, I will try to attempt number two!

Do he spoke to the king, and said a king like Nebuchadnezzar should be a god, and everybody mist now down to that idol. He knew that these four people who had been branded for Christ would not bow (Daniel 3).

I don’t know where Daniel was when they arrested Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego who were not vowing to the udol. But you know the rest of the story. ;the three boys said ”

We will not bow. We are for Jehovah, not for any other ifol”. They were thrown into fire but they came out alive and they git promoted.

In the meantime, the devil said, What about Daniel? Where was he when these three boys were thrown into the fire? Let us give him his attack.

That is what landed him in the lion’s den in Daniel 6. But glory be to God again. Daniel came out alive, and he got printed, and his enemies were silenced.

When you are branded for Christ, you will be noted in hell, hell will be angry, they will attack you, but will not win, you will be more than victorious.