The way to Overcome

Monday 30 November
READ: John. 2:14-15
MORE LESSON: Rev 2: 1 - 3: 22

Several times in the book of Revelation Jesus said to the churches, to him that overcometh: (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 21: 7). You have to know the way to overcome because there are several promises made to those who overcome. If you must overcome, you must not compromise the place of the Word of God in your life. Genuine vision comes from the Word of God. Even if given by the Spirit of God, it cannot be contrary to the Word of God. So to succeed in any vision we must go back to the source of the vision - the Word of God. That was how Jesus overcame (Luke 4; 1-13) and that is how we can overcome.

There are three enemies on our way to fulfill God's vision for our lives; they are the flesh, the world and Satan, the Word of God is the way to overcome them all. To overcome the flesh we need self denial. The flesh ordinarily wants you to do things that are indulgent. It wants the free and easy life and tells you not to take anything that is not convenient. To overcome the flesh you must always encourage anything that will vitalize your spirit and mortify the flesh. The flesh doesn't like reading the Word of God, prayer, fasting, house to house evangelism, sacrificing your time to come and hear the word of God. It is your duty to say 'no' to the flesh and hearken to the spirit. Do all that needs to be done to overcome the flesh so that you can fulfill your heavenly vision.

The world is all around us and the scriptures in I John 2:14-15 enjoins us not to love the world. Love of the world will make us run short of the glory of God and we cannot overcome the world if we love the things of the world. The world refers to the sinful things, the pleasures and even the good things that are not sins but have become the priority of the people around us. The moment you discover that the things that are the priority of the people of the world have become your priority in life too, you have to watch out. Money, cars, houses, fame, certificates are the priority of the people of the world while God is the only legitimate priority for you. Satan has been overcome by the blood of Jesus, just use the Word to appropriate your victory over him.

You must overcome the flesh, the world and progress steadily to heaven. God's vision in your hands is so great that you can't afford to fail nor allow hell fire to take you. Whatever you will give up to make sure God's vision in your hand is successful is worth it.

Prayer/Action
* Ask the power in the blood of Jesus to break every force of the flesh and sin in your life.
* Pray that sin will not have dominion over you.
* Plead the blood of Jesus over your spirit, soul and body. 
* Declare that you are an overcomer in the name of Jesus.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
There is hope for my destiny in 2015; even to the last moments of the year, help shall come, in the name of Jesus.

Take heed lest you Fall II

Sunday 29 November
READ: Matt 4: 2 - 11
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 10: 12

To succeed in life and ministry, we need to give constant attention to our weakness and make sure we receive grace from God to help us stand at points of weakness. 2 Cor. 12: 9 says; My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Don't cover your weakness as if it doesn't matter, take them to God and cry for him to give you victory and help you stand. Our areas of weakness need attention if we must get to where God has destined for us.

But friends, our areas of strength also need attention as Paul said, let him who stands take heed lest he fall: 1 Cor. 10: 12. The reason he falls is because he thinks he is standing. There is a popular assertion that he that is down needs fear no fall. A person that is down already will not fall but he that is up and knows he is up needs a lot of care lest he falls. It is the areas where you think you are strongest that are never to be overlooked if you must fulfill God's vision for your life.

Jesus fasted 40 days and nights to start His ministry. And the devil came to face Jesus after 40 days of fasting. One would have thought that the devil should have come when Jesus was not fasting or at the beginning of the fasting. The devil did not even come at the middle of the fasting to tempt Jesus to break the fast. He could have come three days to the end of the fast when it had become so difficult and tempt Jesus to command the remaining three days to turn to one day. But Jesus probably was expecting all those. So the devil patiently allowed Jesus to finish His fast and at that point of spiritual euphoria when He finished the fast, the devil showed up.

Do you know that it is when you finish a three day marathon, and you look at yourself and say, 'no demon can face me now', that you need to be most careful? It is at the time you just finished a momentous project, a crusade or convention for the Lord that you should be careful. It is at such points that the enemy can come and tempt you with pride, lust or greed and make you fall. Do not be overconfident, always stay on your kneels before He that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy; The Only Wise God our Saviour . . . . Jude 1: 24 -25.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for continuous flow of strength from the Holy Spirit.
* Pray that you will never be disconnected from the source of your strength.
* Pray that you will not be ignorant of the devices of the devil over your life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
When the roll is called up yonder, my family, friends, relations and I shall not be missing, in the name of Jesus.

Take heed lest you Fall I

Saturday 28 November 
READ: Num. 20:8-13
MORE LESSON: 1 Cor. 10: 12

In moving from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses did not make it to his destination. This is because the Israelites made him angry and he reacted. The children of Israel murmured and complained when they didn't have water to drink, and God told Moses to go speak to the rock so that water would flow out for the Israelites. The devil got Moses into anger and so Moses, faced the people and said, You rebels, now will water be provided for you from this rock. (Verse 10). He then smote the rock. God told Moses to speak to the Rock but the devil got him angry and made him strike the rock. God then passed judgment on Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land (verse 12). However, we have to remember that the Bible had earlier said in Num. 12: 3 that Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth. So the meekest man was finished by anger; his area of strength was the weak-point that defeated him.

Do you know that a person's most powerful area is also his/her weakest point? The Bible says Moses was the meekest of all men on the face of the earth but the devil still got him on the point of meekness. A meek man never gets angry but the devil tempted Moses with anger. This is the reason the Bible says, Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall: 1 Cor 10:12. You might be confident that you can never fall in an area of strength and be negligent but I want you to know that you have to be careful even in that area so that the devil will not get you where you think you are strongest. For example, a brother who thinks that lust is not a problem for him as he is strong in that area and carelessly stays around ladies at odd times and places, should take heed. Moses might have been careful in other areas of life; praying that he would not fall into adultery or that he would not steal God's money. But as the meekest man on the face of the earth, he might have felt that if the devil would get him, it will not be in the area of meekness.

So he may not have prayed against anger in his life because as the meekest man he should ordinary not get angry. But friends, the very area of his strength was where the devil chose to launch an attack. Pray and ask God for grace not to fall. Don't even leave your areas of strength uncovered in your prayers.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for help to be vigilant and sensitive in all areas of your life.
* Ask God to uproot today every unseen root of weakness in your spirit man.
* Pray that you will not become a victim of any hidden weakness.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
The door of eternity with God shall not be shut against me, I shall make heaven at all cost, in the name of Jesus.

Created and Re-Created for Glory

Friday 27 November
READ: 1 Col. 1: 27
MORE LESSON: Eph. 2: 10

God wants to glorify you and He has many reasons why He wants to do that. The first reason is that He created for you for glory. When God created man, the Bible says, …God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28. By the mere fact of being God's creation, there are five glories that He expects you to exhibit. He wants you to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish, to subdue and to dominate. To be fruitful means to produce, bring forth and have good results to show for everything you do. To multiply means to increase. To replenish is to fill again or to renew used things. To subdue means to bring all the enemies and their works under your feet. To dominate means to be in charge and in control of everything. I pray for you today that all these glories will begin to manifest in your life.

When Adam, the first man, sinned and fell from the Garden of Eden, he was robbed of the glory of God by the devil. Thereafter, every man was born a sinner. This is the reason the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God: Rom 3: 23. But we thank God for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who came, shed His blood, died and rose again so that by His accomplishment, the glory of the Father might be restored to man. Any man that accepts Jesus as Lord and dedicates himself to Him is entitled to this glory.

This is the summary of the matter: by the reason of being created by God, you are entitled to five different levels of glory. Sin came and robbed you of this glory. But then Jesus came and re-created you so that you can be doubly sure of glory. A man that accepts Jesus is a new creation; he has been recreated for glory. 2 Cor 3;17-18 says, but we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Every child of God who genuinely accepts Jesus will experience the glory of God. The above Bible verse says but we all… it means all who accept Jesus Christ. If you have not accepted Him, you have to do so today. If you have not fully dedicated yourself to Him, you have to do so. Jesus is the glory that you seek. Christ in you is the hope of glory: Col 1: 27.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to forgive you all the sins that robbed you of your glory and let all your glory be restored today.
* Pray that all the glory ordained for you from creation begin to find expression in your life.
* Ask God to move you from glory to glory.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
My cutting edge shall not go blunt or be broken and I shall wax stronger by the day, in the name of Jesus.