27TH SEPTEMBER, 2015

PASTOR’S CORNER

UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF ADOPTION IN CHRIST:

DEALING WITH THE ENEMY OF ADOPTION

REFERENCES: I JOHN 2: 13- 14, LUKE 1: 17, PROVERBS 24:7

I Jn 2: 13- 14

I write unto you fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong. And the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

What makes a Christian a father is the depth of the revelation of the Word he has accessed. Being a father is not determined by your date of salvation- how many years you have been in the Lord- but rather by how much of the Word you have accessed.

We see from this scripture that there are three levels of maturity: the children, who know God as their Father; the young men who are strong and have overcome the wicked; and those who have accessed relevant knowledge about Jesus from the beginning - the fathers. They have been able to access Jesus from the beginning (Genesis). Knowing the Father, or overcoming the wicked, does not make you a father.

God will only speak to you based on your level of maturity- a child, young man or a father. This means that the message you receive from God is based on your level of knowledge. It also means that the level of revelation you receive will be determined, and limited by the level of your maturity.

No man can give what he lacks. It stands to reason therefore that your revelation, and the depth of it, determines your elevation, and the height thereof, in life. If you must fulfil destiny therefore, you must seek to become a father; you must seek to go deeper in the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ, from the beginning.

 Lk 1: 17

And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

A father is one who teaches and builds up the life of his children. He investigates their lives to discover where they are still struggling and builds them up to maturity.

It is however a sad reality that the devil has turned the heart of the fathers against the children. Many fathers fail to seek the wellbeing of their children and care more for their own prosperity. But even the faithful fathers have a challenge: the devil has also succeeded in turning the hearts of their children against them. Whenever a Christian fails to heed the divine instructions given by his father, or chooses to obey in part, he is disobedient.

Now his disobedience is because he lacks the wisdom of the just. This means that, although he is just, he lacks the wisdom that goes with it. This lack of wisdom is the cause of division between him and his father, because wisdom demands that his heart be in agreement with the heart of the father.

It is therefore necessary that the hearts of these fathers be turned back to their children. In the same vein, the hearts of disobedient children must be turned back to the wisdom of the just. But what is the purpose of this mandate?

...to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

This is the sum of the whole matter: to prepare men for God. Until your father prepares you, you are not ready for God.

No man can walk in the reality of God’s power, glory, prosperity... until He is prepared by his father. Consider this: God prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. Now, God had sent the prophet to Nineveh but he turned to Tarshish. Yet, when the fish swallowed Jonah, it swam and took him to Nineveh! It knew the right location.

Every man prepared by God to be your father knows your destination and has been prepared to prepare and lead you there.

That fish was not the only fish in the sea, but it was the one prepared by God. You also need the father, who has been prepared by God, to swallow and vomit you in the right direction of your destiny.

God is never in a hurry. Whatever vision of greatness He has revealed to you, He will wait until you have been prepared, by your father, before bringing them to reality. It is therefore in your best interest to humble yourself before your father and submit to be prepared.

Bottom line: you are not ready for God- for His power, fire, prosperity, blessings, promotion- until you are ready to be prepared.

Pro 24:7

Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.

Peter referred to some of Paul’s teachings as hard to be understood. Paul also enjoined Timothy to endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. This means that hardness cannot be avoided. When a man therefore declares that the standard of the Lord is too high, he is a fool.

Now folly has a price: when a man rejects preparation, he loses the opportunity to gain the relevant knowledge needed to sit and speak as a ruler in judgement.  

There are rulers in every household and environment, determining the circumstances of those under their rule. Only a Christian, who has submitted himself to be prepared, can sit in judgement over them and overrule. A fool therefore denies himself this great privilege and makes himself a victim in the journey of life.

The standard of God may be hard, but it is accessible.

Only the fish prepared by God could swallow Jonah and vomit him, whole.

Only a body prepared by God could stop sacrifices.

Are you ready to be prepared?

 PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus,

  • Fire of God, swallow me now.
  •  My soul, receive fire to go deeper in Christ.
  • My Father, help me to obey all your commandments.
  • Holy Ghost, I am ready to display Your power at the gate. Fill me with Your fire.
  • Fire of God, clothe me like a garment.
  • You display of wicked power over my life; I bury you by fire.

 

20TH SEPTEMBER, 2015

PASTOR’S CORNER

UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF ADOPTION IN CHRIST:

WINNING STUBBORN POWERS THROUGH ADOPTION

REFERENCES: MARK 5: 2-7, II KINGS 13: 14-25

 

The scriptures declare: ‘Blessed be God who will always cause us to triumph’. This means that there will always be a battle to fight but God will always give us the victory. It is always written that whatever happens to man is common to all men, and there will always be a way of escape out of it. Yet, many Christians have heard this gospel, this good news, but still died in their problems. Why is it that for them, there did not seem to be a way of escape and a testimony of triumph?

Today, we will learn how, and receive the power to conquer and win in the battle over such stubborn powers through adoption.

 

Mk 5: 2- 7

And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him...but when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure Thee by God, that thou torment me not.

 

There are certain things to consider here:

When the devils saw Jesus, they ran and worshipped Him; but that was not all. They recognised Him as the Son of God. The Pharisees saw Him as the son of Joseph and Mary but the devils saw His true identity- they saw that He had been adopted to be the Son of God.

 

Brethren, the devil knows the real you. When a man is adopted by God, he does not need to announce himself; the devil already knows who he is. On the other hand, when a man is without a father, no form of pretentiousness or amount of appellations can fool the devil about his true identity. (So, if you want to know who a man really is, consult the devil). Remember the sons of Sceva? While the devil they confronted recognised Jesus and Paul to be carriers of the Father’s spirit, he declared the sons of Sceva to be fatherless vagabonds and treated them as such.

 

The devils did not only worship and acknowledge the Son-ship of Christ; they also declared that they did not have the power to challenge Him, and begged Him by His Father. They recognised that He was made by His Father and entreated by His Maker.

I pray that the power, that will cause evil personalities to submit to you, will possess you, in the name of Jesus!

 

They begged Him not to torment them; because they knew that every son of God is a tormentor. It is therefore sad to note that, today, Christians are the ones at the receiving end of torment. If you are such a Christian, it is a sign that you are still a babe and in serious need of the power of God.

 

II Kgs 13: 14- 25

Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof. And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them...

 

The king of Israel recognised that you need a father in order to conquer stubborn powers.

As Elisha lay sick and dying, this king, with tears in his eyes, came calling. He had a stubborn enemy and he knew that he needed his father’s backing if he was to conquer. He did not regard his status and position, his place or his prestigious company; he recognised what Elisha himself had seen in Elijah: the importance of discovering, seeking out and obeying ones father.

 

O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof

 

The king admitted that he needed the charge of his father to ensure certain victory over his stubborn enemy. He knew that, with his father’s backing, he could go to battle, confident of victory. The enemy will bow because of the divine pronouncement of the father.

Now, when the king came to Elisha, he came with a bow and arrows. He came prepared for battle, but his trust was not in his weapons. Rather, he sought the father’s blessings first.

 

 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

 

True to the words of Elisha, Joash beat Syria thrice. In doing so, he recovered all that his birth father had lost in war to Syria.

Joash understood that he needed a different approach to fighting this war. To conquer what conquered his birth father, he needed a spiritual father to touch his weapons of war and ensure victory. Although Ben-hadad stubbornly continued to return in battle against him, Joash continued to beat him until, by the third defeat, he had to concede the cities to Joash.

Yet, this would not have happened if the king had not sought out his father, with tears. Men might have mocked him for weeping, but the result justified his actions.

 

Today, many cry in the wrong places. Would it not be more sensible if you were willing to cry in the presence of your father and receive the divine charge to win and conquer that stubborn enemy once and for all?

 

Brethren, if you greatly desire to win that battle against the stubborn powers that have tormented you and dispossessed you of your portion, you need to be adopted. It is time to discover, seek out and obey your father. Only then can you overcome what overcame others and recover all that your household has lost.

 

PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus,

  • My life, receive the fire that cannot be tormented.
  • I receive the power to recover all that is missing in my household.
  • Fire to recover all; possess my life.
  • Ancestral power, forcing good things out of my life and destiny; I shoot you down by fire.
  • Any wicked power that has subdued my life; I destroy your power by fire.
  • Anything that conquered my parents, working tirelessly to conquer my life; I kill you by fire.

PASTOR’S CORNER
UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF ADOPTION IN CHRIST:
ADOPTION RELEASES THE FATHER’S SPIRIT
REFERENCES: JOHN 1: 31- 34; II KINGS 2: 2- 22

When a man is adopted into son-ship, it is because the Father desires that he operates in His [the Father’s] spirit.

Jn 1: 31- 34
And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptise with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptiseth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.

A father is not chosen but discovered. John did not know that Cousin Jesus was the Messiah- the Son of God. Instead of revealing it to him, God gave him the key to making that discovery. This is the key: Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining... Any time you encounter your father, you will see the spirit of God upon him. He will consistently function in his role as a father, leader and mentor. Then you will testify that he is a man adopted by God, and a carrier of the Father’s Spirit.

II Kgs 2: 2- 22

When you do discover your father, you must be willing to pay the price to go wherever he goes, even when he tries to dissuade you. That is the price of adoption into son-ship. However, it takes revelation understanding to accept such responsibility; because until the mystery is revealed to you, it cannot be released. You cannot hold on to what you have not seen.

Now, the sons of the prophets at Bethel came to Elijah...

This means that they were prophets who ‘fathered’ sons in Bethel. However, these prophets were unknown; we never heard of them- they were nameless. It was their sons that approached Elisha, the son of another prophet, one who was known, to reveal what they had seen to him.

At Jericho as well, there were nameless prophets that fathered nameless sons. These also approached Elisha with the same revelation. These men were indeed prophets, for they could ‘see’; however, while they were content to remain at that level, Elisha was aiming for greater things.

As Elijah and Elisha continued on, fifty of these sons of prophets followed them, but only to watch the events that were about to unfold from afar.

When the father and son reached the River Jordan, Elijah smote the waters with his mantle and Jordan parted ways for them to walk over. It was then that he turned to Elisha and asked for his request.

Note that, until Elisha crossed the Jordan, he had not seen anything he had never seen before. No son can claim to have finished his training until he sees what he had never seen. Ministers of God who misbehave do so because they are ‘undone’. They did not wait to cross over Jordan with their fathers before moving on. Just as a meal that is undone will manifest its raw nature eventually, these ministers reflect their old nature under the slightest pressure.

In response to his father’s offer, Elisha asked for a double portion of his [Elijah’s] spirit. This shows that he was not after the father, but the spirit in the father, and a double portion of it!

Although his request was a hard thing, yet, according to the word of Elijah, Elisha received a double portion of his father’s spirit as he saw him ascending. This scene was witnessed by only Elisha; the 50 sons of the prophets could not access this.

It is possible for people to misinterpret your relationship with your father but adoption will reveal the true picture. When the sons of the prophets approached Elisha, they referred to Elijah as his ‘master’. However, as he ascended into heaven, Elisha called him ‘my father’. They saw a master and his servant, but Elisha was looking for a father to make him a father- in- the- making.

The sign that he had received a double portion of the spirit was not the mantle of Elijah that he picked up, but the fact that he removed and tore his own garment in two- two mantles, symbolising the double portion of the spirit upon him. It was only then that he took up the mantle of Elijah, because, at that moment, his own mantle became more valuable than that of Elijah.

As he crossed over Jordan, the sons of the prophets bare record that the spirit of Elijah was upon him, and approaching him, they bowed to him.

Brethren, there is no son-ship without suffering. Because he was willing to endure hardness, Elisha received his request- a double portion of his father’s spirit. That was why he tried to dissuade the sons of the prophets from looking for Elijah; he knew that his [Elijah’s] spirit was residing in him.
On their part, when they saw that the spirit of Elijah was indeed in him, they entreated him to do what their own fathers had been unable to do- remove the bitterness in the waters of their land. And so, Elisha, the prophet from Jerusalem, became the problem solver of Jericho.

Brethren, it does not matter how many Christians are already in your household; you must be dissatisfied with the status quo and desire the extraordinary. Like Elisha, you must be willing to go the extra mile, pay the ultimate price, to get the ultimate prize- a double portion of the Father’s spirit.

PRAYER POINTS
In the name of Jesus,
My soul, receive the fire to make impact.
Every attack of the enemy to make my assignment an ordinary thing; I destroy you by fire.

6TH SEPTEMBER, 2015

PASTOR’S CORNER

UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF ADOPTION IN CHRIST:

ADOPTION DEMANDS SACRIFICE (pt 2)

REFERENCES: ISAIAH 50: 1, LEVITICUS 25: 8-10, 47, ISAIAH 61: 1-2

In the first part of this teaching, we saw how Moses’ mother sold him out to Pharaoh’s daughter for a fee, and how it took an encounter with God, after 80 years, to reverse the consequences of that transaction.

Before we proceed today, I would like you to consider this: imagine that your car was stolen and resold to someone else. Would the fact that the new buyer paid someone for the car nullify the fact that you, as the rightful owner, were not paid? Or would it deter you from claiming what is rightfully yours?

Consider this as well: to whom did Christ pay the great price for our salvation? Well, when mothers shed water and blood in the delivery room, do they shed it to anyone in particular? So, just as water and blood are the price mothers pay to bring forth new life, Christ also shed His water and blood to redeem us. And just as the water and blood women shed at delivery are not given to anyone, Christ did not pay anyone; He simply fulfilled His divine responsibility necessary to bringing us back to God.

Isa 50: 1

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Whenever you experience strange relations, with a strange man or woman in your dreams and are powerless to reject the advances of the latter, it is a sign that you have been sold to that strange personality; it does not matter whether you are aware of the transaction or not.

Now, like the stolen car that was re-sold, this stranger did not conduct the transaction of sales with the original owner of your life; because God is the producer/owner of your life. Therefore neither the seller nor the buyer of your life had the legal right to sell or acquire your life.

So, God is asking here: is there any personality- idol, power, or kingdom- can claim that he paid Him for your life? Can any demand that God return the money he paid for you? If none can make such a claim, then God’s claim of ownership over your life is still undisputed.

Lev 25:  8-10, 47

And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

The year of jubilee confers liberty on everyone, and on that day, two things must happen: every man must return to his possession and his family. This implies that the man had been taken away from his household and sold to another family.

So, if you had been sold to any strange power or kingdom, as you hear the sound of the trumpet heralding the day of jubilee, get ready: it is time for you to return to your destiny.

And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: after that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

Powerlessness is at the root of this matter. Parents and ancestors sell their children and household respectively to strange powers because they lack power. It is powerlessness that makes a man or woman sell out his or her children to the devil, a decision borne out of the need to protect their loved ones...unfortunately, by that same act, they subvert the destiny they were trying to protect.

But in the day of jubilee, everyone must return to his possession and his home. This is the decree made by God, the owner of the buyer, the seller and the sold, to all parties involved: It doesn’t matter how long you have been in the ownership of the stranger or what the agreement of purchase was; once the sound of the trumpet heralding jubilee is heard, you must be let go.

That idol you were sold to is the stranger that has waxed rich and taken over territories in your environment. That is why your fathers sold the entire household to him. But the good news is: you may be redeemed. Even if you have no one to help you, once you are able, you can redeem yourself.

And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him. For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom i brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Now, what happens when the person in captivity has no one to redeem him, and he is unable to redeem himself as well? Well, there is hope even for such. For in the year of jubilee, liberty is sure for him and his children...

Why? Because all the parties involved- the seller, the buyer and the sold- are servants of God, and His decree overrules all outstanding agreements.

 

Isa 61: 1-2

The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to... preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn

Remember that Christ has paid the great price of water and blood to bring us back to God, just as He was likewise born by water and blood.

The above scripture testifies to the divine assignment of Christ; to proclaim the acceptable year (of liberty) of the LORD, and execute God’s vengeance on the thieving parties claiming ownership of His possession.

In Luke 4: 18-20, Christ confirmed His assignment. However, He did not mention the day of vengeance of our God, before He closed the book. He did not read that portion because the dispensation of the Holy Spirit had not begun, and no one can execute vengeance when the Holy Spirit has not been given.

In order to fulfil the whole part of that scripture, Christ paid the price to declare the acceptable year of the LORD and in doing so paved the way for us to have access to the Father. He has also charged us to execute vengeance on every power that fails to yield to the divine judgment of God concerning our liberty.

It is therefore our responsibility, since we are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, to declare the day of vengeance of our God.

Now, consider this: the year of jubilee for Israel, according to God’s revelation to Abraham, was after 400 years. Yet 430 years after, the devil was still claiming ownership of Moses’ life. It is therefore possible that one remain in captivity long after your year of jubilee has come!

Do you hear the trump of jubilee? Make haste therefore and execute the vengeance of God upon every power to whom your life was sold.

PRAYER POINTS

  • My soul, receive the fire to execute the vengeance of the LORD

  • My Father, anything in me that has been wasting my time and my life, I surrender them to You. Have mercy, wash me with the Blood of Jesus and receive me again

  • Any wicked power that my life was sold to; this is God’s judgment: you are a thief. I bring the vengeance of God upon you today. I damage and destroy your power by fire.

  • Any wicked hand, dragging my life backward; I cut off by fire.