DIGGING DEEP - POSSESSING THE LAND

Surprised by God

This note is written as part of the weeklong 7 Nights of Possibilities Programme taking place at RCCG National Headquarters with the theme: Surpassing Surprises. Please join us.

The Music stopped and the preacher mounted the pulpit – a make shift wooden platform, and began to preach ferociously to the large crowd that had gathered. It was in the town of Gadara near the Sea of Galilee. The crowd was surging forward; it seems they were more interested in seeing the preacher than hearing what he had to say.

Someone asked, ‘is he not the demoniac that lives at the cemetery?’ another answered ‘it looks like him, but how can that be?’ He was madly mad! As I listened, he told the story of how he became mad and was fully possessed by thousands of demons. How he was tormented to cut himself with sharp stones, the sleepless nights, the nightmares etc.

So he is the popular demoniac after all, but how come he is fully cleaned, properly dressed and preaching? He said he met a man coming from the Sea of Galilee, he was a Rabbi, or so it seemed, with his disciples.

In his own words he said “for a moment I went forward to attack him as I would do to every man that crossed my kingdom, but I don’t know what came over me, in a flash I saw that He was the Son of the Living God. All the demons in me were terrified at His presence, they bowed - I bowed, and cried for mercy. All he said was “come out of him” and all the demons inside of me fled, I became sober in an instant. All of you listening to me, if you believe in Him, this Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah that is to come, you will have all your problems in this life solved and you will find eternal life”

Many believed that day and regretted that they had sent Jesus away from their land for sending the demons into their herd of swine which drowned in the Sea of Galilee. They longed for the day he would come again. Others went in search of Him. The preacher quickly finished his sermon and moved to the next town in the 10-city territory of Decapolis. He was eager to tell of his surprised encounter with the God of Surpassing Surprises. The popular mad man of Gadara became the popular preacher in the Decapolis. What a surpassing Surprise our God can give.

This same Jesus is about to surprise you even as you read this. Lift up your voice to Him and say “Father, surprise me with your deliverance right now in Jesus name”

I went on in my journey and came to the City of David. As I walked about I saw a crowd gathered and they seemed to be arguing among themselves and dragging a middle-aged young man along. As I came close I heard some say “he is the one” others said “no he is not”, a few said “it looks like him but we can’t be sure”.

Upon further enquiry I began to fix the pieces of the story together. There is a man known to have been born blind, he normally begs by the way side. He was however sighted close to the Pool of Siloam walking and seeing clearly or so it seems because some in the crowd argue upon their Father’s graves that it is not him. The man himself said to me “don’t mind them, I am the one, I used to be blind, but this morning a man I don’t even know met me where I sit to beg and then he put something like clay on my eyes and asked me to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. People around me said his name is Jesus from Nazareth, they urged me to do as he said. I just gave it a try and to my greatest surprise – as I washed the clay from my eyes, I could see for the first time in the 40 years of my life.”

Well then let’s accept his testimony, but the crowd will have none of it, so they dragged him to the Temple and handed him over to the priests, his parents were invited and all testified that he was their son that was born blind. They told him Jesus was a sinner and could not do such surpassing surprises, the man was adamant because no theology or threat could change the fact that Onise iyanu which is by interpretation - Miracle Worker; had met him and surprised him with a miracle.

I prophesy to every reader of this message that, a miracle that will surprise everyone around you is on your way right now in Jesus name. Lift your voice to God and say “Lord Jesus, please give me a surprise that will surpass everything anyone has seen before in Jesus name”

Time will fail me to tell you of my encounters with this God of surpassing surprises. I would have told you of when He opened the Red Sea for His people to walk on dry ground. And when their enemies pursued after them, the waters closed them in and drowned them all. If you don’t know why the civilisation of Egypt was lost, I tell you it was because most of their men of renown either died in the plagues or were drowned in the Red Sea! This God will surprise both you and your enemies. Lift your voice to God and say “father, please give my enemies the kind of surprise you gave Pharaoh in Egypt in Jesus name”.

The Surprise packages of the Almighty God come in different shapes and sizes. He surprised Israel and Goliath of the Philistines with teenage David and his sling. He surprised Israel in the wilderness with manna for 40 years. He pleasantly surprised Hannah with Samuel, Elizabeth with John the Baptist. Money in the mouth of a fish was a surprise for Peter.

My surprise package will surpass everything you have ever seen or heard! This week it will show forth. If you also believe that for yourself then open your heart with faith and great expectation. Pray and don’t stop until you are pleasantly surprised beyond measure.

Welcome to your season of Surpassing Surprises!

I must not strive!

I must not strive!

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient”, (2Ti 2:24 KJV)

On my way from the Redemption Camp today a lorry driver was recklessly trying to push me off my lane for no just cause. I moved ahead of him and raised my hand to him to be more careful. Thereafter he deliberately broke my side mirror and tried to run away. Unfortunately for him the traffic on his side slowed and I moved ahead and blocked him. He suddenly stopped fearing the worse from me, but nudged by my inner voice I waved to him and moved on. Thereafter he stopped his reckless driving and even allowed other vehicles to come in between his truck and our vehicle.

As I mediated on the event the above scripture came to mind and I suddenly realised that strife led to my broken mirror. I should have let him have his way since and most likely I would have suffered no harm. This scripture verse is full of lessons.

Be willing to suffer wrong. Man cries for justice all the time. We expect life to be just. We expect others to treat us fairly and when there is an attempt to deprive us of our legitimate rights we stoutly defend ourselves. This shows up in traffic situations in our cities and in many other human interactions. When God say not to strive, He says to be willing to suffer wrong.  We must willing, at times, to let the evil go on with their evil even at our expense. This is especially in cases where nothing more than our ego will be bruised.

I know this will be queried by many believers especially in these days of ‘let all my enemies fall down and die’ prayers. However I invite you to study the Bible with an open mind and discover for yourself. Further reading: 1Cor. 6:7; Pro.20:22; Mat.5:39-41; Luke6:29; Rom. 12:17-19; 1Th 5:15; 1Pet 2:19-23; 1Pet 3:9

Be willing to let God defend you. Sometimes we strive so we can clear our names or claim our rights. Can you let God do it Himself and in His own way. I am learning to understand that

i.                     No man can really work against me except ME!

ii.                   No man can take what God has for me. If I don’t have it then God has not given it to me.

iii.                  I have only one person to contend with and He is my Father – Lord Jesus

Further Reading: Mathew 26:24; Rom. 8: 28, 31; Exo. 14:13-14; Num. 23:8,20, 23; John 3: 26-27; Psa. 118:6; Heb. 13:6

Be willing to let God deal with offenders Himself.  God is the best judge of mankind and when He deals with your enemies you may even beg Him to be merciful. See how God dealt with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Vengeance is the speciality of God, let Him do it. If you tried you wouldn’t do it like Him.

Further Reading: Deut 32:35; Deu_32:43; Psa_94:1; Nah_1:2, Nah_1:6; Rom_12:19, Rom_13:4; Heb_10:30

If necessary let the Law take its course. There are those who try to take undue advantage of the believer. We must note that there will be times when we will let the Law of the Land take its course against evil doers. In this case we are not the one seeking vengeance but those who break the law must face its consequences. If a man commits murder, my forgiving him does not preclude him from going to jail! Further reading: Rom 13:1-5; 1Kings 10:9

Make up your mind not to be quarrelsome (another word for ‘strive’). It takes gentleness and patience to keep this commandment. Men will take you for a ride, let them do it. God will let you outwit them. Men will cheat you, let them do it. God knows how to recompense you. The ultimate aim of God is that we be lights to the world. Read. Isa. 53:7; Mat. 27:12-14; 

No More Scarcity

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”(1Ki 17:10-16 KJV)

There was a great famine in the land of Israel because Elijah the Prophet had called a drought upon the land. Now the Prophet himself needed a miracle to survive the farming. And God sent him to a widow who was about to cook her last meal. This God has a great sense of humour! He has unusual answers to complex problems.

When God decides to deal with your issues, you don’t expect Him to do it the conventional way, that is, according to your problem solving template. He is about to bring all your issues to an end. If you believe that, roar an Amen!

The Situation.

The widow of Zarephat and her son were in a precarious situation when Elijah arrived on the scene.

Emptiness: The Widow’s storehouse was empty. Her bank accounts were in red. She was about to cook her last meal. I have been in such situations before with my family on Mission fields when you eat that meal and then look up for what God will do. He never fails. On one such occasion as my wife drove the children to school with the last drop of fuel in the car, there was nothing they were going to eat when they returned from school, there was no fuel for them to go to school the next day. Before noon however, God roared to action as we cried to Him in prayer and without talking to any mortal divine supplies had come.

Are you empty right now, I prophesy into your life, your emptiness is over, receive abundance right now in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Helplessness: When you are empty but you have people you can run to or you have some alternatives then your case is not too dire. For this family, there was no option, no alternative. She was helpless. Thank God, He is the helper of the helpless. So if you are in a state of helplessness, you are the right candidate for Divine Help. I therefore prophesy into your life, Help from Above is coming your way right now in Jesus name. Receive it with a roaring Amen!

Hopelessness: They say ‘as long as there is hope, there is life’. However, a combination of emptiness and helplessness yields hopelessness. That’s when one begins to say ‘I think I should just die and forget my sorrows’. Praise God, He gives hope to the hopeless. In the name that is above all other names, you will not get to that point. And if you are already in the state of hopelessness, the Almighty God will surprise you today in Jesus name.

The Solution.

When Elijah arrived the scene, God moved to bring to and end emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness, just as He is about to do today in your life!

The Word: Many times am just awed by God’s way of dealing with difficult situations. He just spoke a word! Whether it is in the valley of dry bones, or at the tomb of Lazarus (dead and buried for 4 days), He just speaks and it is done. That’s why you need to take every word of God written or in the mouth of His servants seriously. Read, study, meditate and believe the Word of God. It is the key to whatever God wants to do in your life. Just that word ‘this food will not finish’ solved this woman’s problems with immediate alacrity!

The Work: The Word had effect for the Widow because she worked the Word. She took action. Do you believe, show me your faith by your actions! The word works for those who work on it. Many folks pray and even fast but won’t do the Word! We want God to move mountains, send earthquakes or do some magical things to solve our problems. However, His method is the Word. Search for the Word in your situation today!

The Wow! As this woman worked the word, she and her son were just wowed by God’s miraculous power. The food just refused to finish. Three meals a day, 24/7 until the famine was over! God does not need a fat bank account to solve your problems. He needs you to take Him at His Word and you will only find yourself screaming WOW! I decree into the life of every Word addict, as you work the Word, amazing results will follow you and your family in Jesus name.

Conclusion.

There may be famine or scarcity in the land, but God is ready to ensure that His children are well fed and preserved till He sends rain upon the earth. Just take Him at His Word. No more scarcity for you and all yours in Jesus name. Love ya!

OVERSHDOWED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luk 1:35 KJV)

The Holy Spirit is God! When Jesus was to be born, the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, the power of God “overshadowed” her and she conceived miraculously.  To overshadow means to cast a shadow upon, to envelop, or to embrace. Mary was not the only one in the Bible to have the Holy Spirit overshadow her, many others share this wonderful experience and had great results to show for it. The greatest cry for my life today is that the Holy Ghost would envelop me and never let go till I become all I was born to be! When the Holy Spirit overshadows a man these follow:

Leaders are empowered for excellent prophetic service.  E.g. the 70 Elders (Num.11:25); Othniel (Judges 3:9-10); Saul (1Sam.10:10). Every leader in the home, church, market place, government etc. needs the Holy Spirit to succeed. The failure of leadership in all fronts is a direct result of reliance on human wisdom and abilities. When the Holy Spirit envelopes a man, He gives him supernatural help to influence others positively. He is able to easily mobilise people to achieve great goals. Are you a leader? Why don’t you ask the Holy Spirit to come upon you today?

Ordinary people become extra-ordinary. Gideon (Judges 6:34); Jephthah (Judges 11:29); Elisha (2Kings 2:9, 15); God always picks up ordinary folk (in fact all men are ordinary) and does extra-ordinary things with them. Any man you see doing extra ordinary things for God is a man overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. 1Sam.16:13 is the secret of everything we know about David. The Holy Spirit came upon a shepherd boy who could not even get the recommendation of his father, and history was altered forever. Goliath died. The city of David was born. A dynasty of kings was given. Even the Saviour is still called ‘son of David’. Only the Holy Spirit can make a fisher man to become a Fisher of Men! Only the Holy Spirit can make a persecutor of Christians to become a persecuted Christian! You too can become extra ordinary in your generation. Say it loud, OVERSHADOW ME THOU HOLY GHOST!

Creative Miracles take place. Mary (Luke 1:35); Earth (Gen. 1:1-2) Mary without the agency of a man conceived a child! Many can’t believe this. I do because I have seen the Holy Spirit create new wombs, new eyes, intestines etc. Many still don’t believe that too, well there is nothing I can do for you. Do you however, need something new to be created for you? The same Spirit that overshadowed the waters and created the earth will overshadow you and create it for you.  Lift up your voice and pray: HOLY GHOST, overshadow me now in Jesus name!

There is deliverance for the captives. The Philistines thought it was all over, they had arrested their troubler. He was in chains! Then the Holy Ghost cast His shadow upon him, the ropes melted like wax, Samson simply snapped them off his hands and feet and got up in the power of the Holy Ghost, the captors lay all around dead as he killed a thousand with an ordinary donkey’s bone!  (Judges 15:14)

You can only be held down if you are bereft of the embrace of the Holy Spirit. I’ve never seen flies sitting on top of hot objects. If you are overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, He will set you free from any form of captivity. Much more He will empower ordinary weapons to deadly effect upon your enemies. Shout it loud and clear “Holy Ghost, please embrace me now!”

Conclusion.

The above is not an exhaustive listing of what the Holy Spirit will do when He overshadows you, but it’s an appetizer to stir you up to pray this prayer with all that is within you. I suggest to you that more than anything you need, you need the Holy Spirit to envelope you totally. For the rest of this week, make this your one prayer: Holy Ghost, please overshadow me with your power. Shalom!

Escape from Defeat

The size of the enemy (Challenge) is not the reason why you are defeated. Every problem has a solution! Every enemy can be defeated. Every mountain can be dealt with (moved, tunnelled through or climbed). Every river or ocean can be crossed.  The reason you are where you are is not because your enemies are too strong. You are not down because of the size or strength of your ‘Pharaoh’ or ‘Goliath’. It is not because of the height of the ‘walls of Jericho’.

On the day Israel faced Goliath in battle there was no one to confront the giant! It was not because of the size of Goliath, it was because of the size of their faith! Every man is defeated by size of their faith in God. David was the youngest of the men on that battle field that day, inexperienced in battle, without any weapons or armour of war, yet he defeated Goliath.

David asked the men who were standing by him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1Sa 17:26 ISV)

David did not see the size of Goliath he saw the size of his God. He called his God ‘the Living God’. He knew that Jehovah was the only living God; all others are dead, dumb, powerless idols including Satan! This is where many believers are defeated, they see so much of the Devil and his demons that they lose sight of the Great and living God. Satan is fallen and powerless! He was defeated on the cross and remains defeated before every true child of God. Next time Satan tries to intimidate you, call his bluff, and ask him to get lost!

David did not see the size of Goliath, David saw his covenant rights. David knew that Israel has a covenant with God that makes every Israelite God’s special favourite. David knew that Israel was by Divine connection stronger than Philistine! Israel was circumcised as a sign of the covenant (Gen.17:10). The Philistines were not circumcised showing they were not part of the covenant. David knew His God was not only Most Powerful but will fight for and with him against any enemy no matter their size.
Whatever is born of God overcomes the World (1John 5:4). Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world 1John 4:4). My victory lies in this faith I have. The size of the enemy is immaterial, the nature of the challenge is inconsequential, in Christ I am victorious – always!

David saw a dead Philistine even before he went into battle. The result of every battle between a lion and a goat is known even before it starts. The result of any confrontation between God and Satan is known in advance. The result of every duel between me and any Goliath is already known. I am undefeatable, irrepressible, unconquerable, unstoppable … Bring it on Satan, my God defeated you and gave me the victory.

That’s the way every Christian should approach every battle in life. God is waiting to hear your boast about what He is going to do to your enemies. And He will do more than what you ask or think. My enemies are in trouble, God is going to cut off their remembrance from the land of the living.

David was willing to take Goliath headlong! If you don’t dare the enemy God will not show up! He is waiting for us to dare every Goliath. When Elijah dared the Prophets of Baal, God showed up. When Moses dared Pharaoh, God showed up! When Jonathan dared the Philistines, God showed up. God waits for us to rise up so He can back us up.

Dare that sickness with the stripes of Jesus, dare those demons with the name of Jesus. Dare those curses with the blood of Jesus. Knock that door boldly in the name of Jesus; ask for all you need with the confidence of a true child.

Deep inside, many believers (are they not unbelievers) are afraid of the Devil. They are so enemy focused, limitation minded, and demon fixated that they can’t move forward. Listen, the problem is not any enemy outside, the problem is YOU! If only you can have faith: that God is greater than all your enemies, that you are His covenant child, and that your enemies are already defeated.

Then dare!

 

 

Prelude to Defeat.

No child of God should ever suffer any form of defeat because whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. “Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.” (1Jn 5:4-5 CEV) So when you find a child of God, a believer in Christ suffering defeat, you know something is wrong somewhere. What can make a child of God to be defeated in battle?

Forsaken by his Ally.

No child of God can defeat his enemies by his personal strength. The source of the believer’s victory is his Strong and Mighty Ally. When Joshua faced Jericho, it was the Mighty Ally that pulled the walls down and gave Israel victory. When they faced Ai, the Mighty Ally forsook them and they were defeated. (Joshua 6, 7, 8). God forsook them because of sin. Any one that sins cannot be defended by God in the battles of life.

In 1Samuel 4:17 the very ark of God was captured in battle by the Philistines! I’ve always wondered why God would allow the enemy to gain such a victory. God would not associate with sinning folks even if they are called by His name. God was and is willing to be defeated if His children cannot represent Him in Holiness. He said the gates of Hell cannot prevail against His Church. But if His Church goes into sin, He will withdraw and let the gates of Hell take over! Go to Turkey and see former Church buildings now being used as Mosques or Museums! The Holy One forsook a sinning Church.

Will God not defend a sinning Child for His name’s sake? His eyes are too holy to behold iniquity. He even turned His back of Jesus Christ when He hung on the Cross carrying our sins prompting the ‘Boy’ to cry, ‘my God my God why has thou forsaken me?’ If you want to defeat all contending enemies, you must walk away from every appearance of sin.

Mind games.

When football teams are preparing for matches, you see their coaches playing all kinds of mind games. They do that because they know that a win or a defeat starts in the mind. Every battle of life is won or lost in the mind. Even when your Mighty Ally is beside you, if you are defeated in your mind, you will lose the battle.

When the 12 spies returned from Canaan, 10 were already defeated in their minds, only Joshua and Caleb had a winning mentality. The same God that brought them out of Egypt was with them. The one who made away though the Red Sea, who brought water out of the Rock and fed them with manna and quails was with them yet He could only stamp what was on their minds – defeat for the 10 and victory for the 2!

On the day David faced Goliath, King Saul and the entire army had lost the mind game (1 Samuel 17). Goliath won the battle without a fight by intimidating the Israelites, until David came with a Champions mind. From the moment David heard Goliath speak, he said ‘I am going to cut this man’s head off’ and he did not even have a sword.

It is in your mind that fear or faith rules. It is in your heart that discouragement or determination rules. Choose what you want to rule your mind now!

Lifted Hands, Bended Knees!

The Mighty Ally is always waiting to be called into action and He remains waiting until He is called. If you don’t call Him it means you don’t need Him. He remains on standby but many children of God don’t call Him until they are defeated. Your responsibility is to call Him. Peter was sinking right in front of Jesus and the Master was just looking at him until he cried out. Then Jesus held his hand and they both walked into the boat (Mathew 14:28-32). If you don’t want to be defeated in life you must learn to pray to God always.

In Exodus17:10-13 we see this principle at work. Joshua defeated the Amalekites as Moses interceded in prayer before God. When hands were lifted in Prayer, Israel prevailed, when hands went down, Amalek prevailed! When we intensify prayer, the enemy is defeated, when we slack in prayer, we are defeated.

Bring it home.

If you don’t want to be defeated in life, don’t do anything that will make your Mighty Ally (God Almighty) to forsake you. And if you have already been forsaken, repent from the depth of your heart and He will return to you. Never yield ground to the enemy in your mind (be full of faith) and learn to pray intensely at all times.