Counsel in the Word

Saturday 19 August
READ: Isa. 9: 6
MORE LESSON: John 5 : 33 – 39

One of the titles of Jesus Christ in the text is Counsellor. This means that each time you need counsel, you get it from Jesus. One of the ways to get counsel from Jesus is through His Word. Jesus is the Word and the subject of the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Every time you need counsel from Him, go to His Word. As long as you have access to the Bible you have access to good counsel.
Some people travel out of base in Zaria, Nigeria, to other places and they lose the fire of God in their lives and backslide. When asked, they say the reason they backslide is because they do not have the kind of church that they were attending in Zaria. I ask them, “If you can't find the kind of church you were attending in Zaria, can't you find the kind of Bible you were reading in Zaria?” Christianity includes a vital relationship with a vibrant church but your faith has to go beyond corporate Christianity in a vibrant church. You must carry individual fire and be able to personally access counsel from the Word of God, whether your pastor is there or not. Every good church is built on the Bible, so even if you travel to a nation where there is no church at all; you still have access to the source as long as you have access to the Bible. You should be so full of the Word of God that you become a mobile church, wherever
you go. As vital as church attendance is, you should build your spiritual life on the Word of God and not merely on the church that you attend.
John 14:26 says, But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you (AMP). As you read the Word and the Holy Spirit breathes on it, you get all the counsel that you need. Jesus is our Counsellor through the Holy Spirit.
This counsel is available through the Word. From today, you will not be confused anymore, in Jesus’ name. Closeness to the Bible is closeness to Jesus because the Bible is Jesus in written form. One cannot love Jesus and dislike the Bible. People wish they can see Jesus face to face and take direct counsel from Him like when He was on the earth physically, but this is ignorance because Jesus is still here by His Word, saying the same thing He used to say when He was here physically. Jesus by His Word, the Bible, is the same Counsellor, yesterday, today and forever more. The Counsellor is alive.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that the Word of Christ will dwell in you richly, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray for fresh desire to study God’s Word daily, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that your faith be rooted in God's Word and not in wisdom of men, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
In Christ Jesus I have chosen the best path of life; sin, Satan and the world cannot take me out, in the name of Jesus.

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.