To the Law and Testimony

Friday 18 August
READ: Isa. 8: 18-20
MORE LESSON: Gal. 1: 6 – 9

Jesus is light and every counsel, testimony or word must conform to Him or else they are invalid. This means that any word or counsel that any one gives you and it cannot be confirmed by the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus is not a right counsel. You must reject that counsel even if the one who gives it is a man of God. Apostle Paul went to the extent of saying that if any man or even an angel comes to give a gospel that is not consistent with the Word of God, the counsel should be rejected and the giver be accursed.
A lady goes to a prophet to pray for the fruit of the womb and the 'man of God' says that as part of the prayer, he would have to sleep with her. Is that according to the law and testimony of Jesus? It is wrong to go to such a son of the devil in the first place, so the right thing to do is never to go near such an environment again. A man is given counsel to abandon his spiritual source and God's cover over his life and to start visiting strange spiritual sources. That counsel is not according to the law and testimony of Jesus. Have you also noticed that gossips never have anything scriptural to talk about? It is only stories they give. Even when they quote the Bible they quote out of context because they won’t study the Bible and what they say is unscriptural. Do not listen to gossips and slanderers because they do not talk according to the law and the testimony of Jesus. When I wanted to silence all the gossips around me, I announced that anyone who gives me information about anybody must be ready to confirm what he is saying in the presence of the victim.
You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Make sure everything you say carries light and salt. Your words should bring illumination to someone's path and seasoning cum preservation to someone's life. Make sure the words you say conform to the law of God and the testimony of Jesus, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers: Eph 4:29. You must also check every counsel and word spoken to you to see whether it is according to the law and testimony of Jesus, But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned: Matt. 12:36-37.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that every handwriting of evil against you be blotted out, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that every word that you speak from today shall be words seasoned with grace, in Jesus’ name.
* Destroy by fire any ill-spoken words projected against you, your household or your local church, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jehovah God, today is the day of my replenishing, I shall no longer be famished or dry, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Write it Down

Thursday 17 August
READ: Hab. 2:2
MORE LESSON:  2 Tim. 4:11-13

Every word that you receive is not just information for today but counsel for tomorrow. You may become stuck later and it is the words that God has spoken to you in the past that will pull you out. In fact, God can send you a word which He knows you will need only in the future. It is important you write down the words that you receive from the Lord at your personal altar, in the congregation of God's children etc. Note the scriptures that minister to you, record God's counsel and prophecy to you.  We have emphasised the importance of reading in success, but we need to emphasise that of writing.

Hab. 2: 2 says, ...Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. You find it easy to run with a vision that you have written down. When God gave Joseph an explanation and prophecy about his future, what helped him was that he noted it. The vision was not just about his brothers and parents bowing to him. It was about Egypt and other nations bowing to him. He didn't have the full understanding when he received the word but because he noted it, it became clearer with time. Keep a diary of God's dealings in your life. Write down your plans and visions, thereby you will make maximum impact in life.

After I finished my A’ levels, I studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation times and again. I was blessed but I wrote nothing down. However, one of those times I just decided to write down the things I learnt. So I bought a notebook, carried my Thomas Nelson Bible and made notes as I read. I was not in ministry that time; I merely was digging into the Word because of my love for it.

Years later, after God had called me into ministry and I was in Zaria, they were searching the cupboard in my parents' house and found a notebook where I wrote a lot of things. My mum sent the book to me in Zaria and I went over the notes again. I was simply amazed. The revelations in that book were so deep and profound that I could preach from that book for a whole year. In fact, some of the revelations were things I didn't remember anymore and it was like my notes were teaching me afresh. I was shocked I had written such depth of insight years earlier. I didn't know I would be a full time preacher of the Gospel when I was reading the Bible at that time but what made the difference is that I wrote as I read. What you write today will teach, counsel, guide and encourage you tomorrow. So write the vision. 

Prayer/Action
*  Prophesy the fulfilment of God’s promises to you, today and always, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask for a fresh revelation of God’s Word each time you read it.
*  Pray that you will be intentional about recording and cherishing your history with God from  today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Jesus, I am kept in the hollow of your hand, I cannot be plucked out, I'm secured! Thank you Jesus, in Jesus' name.

The Inward Voice

Wednesday 16 August
READ: Psa. 16: 7-11; Prov. 20:26-27
MORE LESSON: Psa. 32: 7-9

One of the secrets of obtaining instructions from the Lord is to listen to your inward man. God communicates certain things to our spirit, which the mind is not yet aware of. It is the ability to discern the voice of the Spirit that gives us an advantage in the walk of life. Psa. 4:4 says, Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. There are lots of instruction and counsel that the Lord wants to communicate to us but they will come as we learn to listen to His voice on the inside.
Believers more often than not listen to all the voices outside but they do not listen for the still small voice on the inside. Prophecies, and advice from external sources are not wrong in themselves but beyond all these, we must learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our inward man. Before you go to hear what someone else has to say on an issue, why not check what God is saying to your spirit? Listening to the inward voice of the Spirit will make the difference between making the right or wrong choice. God's voice is gentle and still; it can come anywhere, anytime. The key is to keep your spirit connected to Him irrespective of the physical location.

Oftentimes believers do something disastrous and afterwards remark, “Something inside me was telling me not to do this”. It is not 'something'; it is the voice of the Spirit in your inward man.
You must train yourself to hear the inward Voice.
The Bible says, The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly: Prov. 20: 27. You will easily obtain direction from the Lord when you learn to listen to His voice in your recreated spirit. It is noteworthy that we must keep the right spiritual and mental environment that makes it easy for the Holy Spirit to minister His voice to us. There are places that are conducive to the Holy Spirit and there are some that are not. Secular songs, films and magazines will fill your spirit with so many voices of men and of the flesh and smother the voice of the Spirit. It is also necessary that you don't just run up and down 24 hours a day because you are 'trying to make it'. A single instruction from God through silent meditation will give you more than years of hustling around will. Hardwork is important for success but it is more important to listen diligently to God.
Jesus the Counsellor dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is tune in to the frequency of the Spirit and hear the voice of the Counsellor inside of you. As a child of God, how much of your Father’s voice can you boldly say you hear each day? Do you even know His voice? When last did you hear your Father speak to you? Give an answer now.

Prayer/Action
* Rebuke every voice of distraction around you that will not allow you hear the voice of God, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to help you to be sensitive to the voice of His Spirit within you always, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, thank You for the fall of all ancient gates and the lifting of everlasting doors for my life, in Jesus' mighty name.

The Land that the Lord Cares for

Tuesday 15 August
READ: Deut. 11: 11 -15
MORE LESSON: Psa. 92: 12 – 15

There are lands that the government specially cares for and invests more resources there than in other places. This might be because they get more resources from such places. Beyond the care of the government, there is a land that the Lord cares for. The text of today describes a particular land which drinks water from Heaven. This means that it is not the waters of the earth that irrigate that land but the water from Heaven. So if there is drought on the earth and all the water dries up; this land still receives water because its source of water is from Heaven, not earth.
The Bible also says that the eyes of the Lord are upon this land from the beginning to the end of the year. Security men and military personnel can be watching other lands but this land is watched by the eyes of the Lord to ensure security and prosperity. When the eyes of the Lord are upon a land, there is favour upon that land. So in that land there is plenty and abundance throughout the year. As you sow your seed, plenty will follow you. Isa. 35:8 says that a highway shall be there, which shall be called the highway of holiness, The eyes of the Lord cannot be on the land where a sinner stands and He does not care for it. May be that is the reason you have been
struggling and sweating without results. You will witness a change if you give your life to Jesus and walk into the land of plenty. Mercy is the key to the land of plenty.
This land is your life and destiny, it is not merely a country somewhere on the earth. The Bible is talking about you and your family when it describes the land that the Lord cares for. So declare confidently that 'I am the land that the Lord cares for.' You do not need to be afraid of the problems in the land because you are cared for by the Lord Himself. The destiny of the righteous is a life that the Lord God cares for. In Psa. 1:1-5, David said such righteous life shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water; obviously it shall not see drought. Also, Moses wrote in Deut. 8:7-9 referring to the promised land (Canaan), For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land...wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it.... Beloved, you are that promised land, you are God’s canaan, rise up now and claim those promises for the land (your destiny) that the Lord cares for.

Prayer/Action
* Proclaim that your life /home is the land that the Lord has blessed, in Jesus’ name.
* Declare that you will walk in abundance all the days of your life, in Jesus’ name.
* Tell the devil your life is a land that God cares for, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
From this time on, thou grace of God, answer all my enemies at the gate, in the name of Jesus.