Receiving from the Body of Christ

Friday 15 December
READ: Eph. 4: 16 
MORE LESSON:  1 Cor. 12: 25 - 31

One of the vital lessons for experiencing miracles is to be  able to receive from other  people in the Body of Christ, those that God has set over you as custodians of a particular blessing for your life. I went to minister in Owerri, Nigeria, many years ago and a woman told me she had a stomach issue that had defied medical help for years. She had gone to several teaching hospitals and paid large sums of money to no avail. Being a pastor’s wife, she had prayed and done all she knew how to do for years and she felt she was close to death. She had excruciating pain that would not go and the medical doctors couldn't diagnose what was wrong with her.

She told me all that she was going through so I prayed for her on phone and, to God’s glory, she was healed instantly. She had been married for four years and the pain had been a threat to her life and the joy of the marriage. The Lord healed her when she shared the issue and asked for prayer. After the healing, the husband, who knew me well, called and said he was happy that his wife summoned the courage to tell me about the issue that had plagued  them. He confessed that before then he was just ashamed of sharing it.

The reason this testimony is very important is that many believers and good Christians carry unnecessary problems because they are ashamed to come for help from people that God has ordained for them. Some feel that if they come out to share their problems they will be seen as weak or unspiritual. You don't have to miss out of God's provision of deliverance and help for you through His servants in the Body of Christ by trying to contain and solve all your problems yourself.

What then is the use of the spiritual gifts if you cannot obtain supply from others in the Body of Christ. The fact that you need to be helped by another doesn't mean that you are no longer spiritual. The fact that you are a pastor or minister of God doesn't mean that you may not need to receive healing through another pastor that God has graced in that area. It doesn't make you less anointed or less a servant of God when you are prayed for by another to be healed. God has graced every one differently and the only way some problems will ever be solved  is to receive through the person that God has committed that grace to.

So don't become so 'spiritual' that you cannot receive spiritual help through another person. You are not less spiritual if you admit your need and go to obtain help from God through another vessel.

Prayer/Action
* Decree that you are disconnected from every militating mentality.
* Resist the forces hindering you from accessing help.
* I bind the fear and shame that deny me of my divine heritage in Christ, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, though late, the glory of 2017 shall not elude me and my family, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Maranatha

Thursday 14 December
READ: 1 Cor. 16: 21- 22
MORE LESSON:  Rev. 22: 12 – 14

The word 'Maranatha' is no longer commonly used in our days. We hear so much about faith, power, healing and prosperity; and these are important, but we hear so little about Maranatha. This is the word that should be ringing in the conscience of every believer as we await the return of the Master. The main thing that should occupy our hearts is 'Our Lord comes – Maranatha!'  The early Church was so eager for the coming of the Lord that they turned it into a greeting. 'Maranatha' was the slogan with which they greeted one another. Therefore, even by salutation, everyone was reminded to be ready for the coming of the Lord. They identified one another by the greeting.

Unfortunately, today we are more concerned about this temporary earth than the eternal abode. Our priority shows in our greetings, sermons and programmes; these all ring with themes of well-being on the earth without attention to eternal matters. We must never forget that we are sojourners on earth and we are going home soon. It is good to be comfortable but a man should not be more comfortable in his shop in the market than the home where he lives and sleeps. The earth is like a market, Heaven is home. Maranatha is about keeping the home at heart and preparing for it while still in this place of sojourn. The issue of the coming of Jesus should bother our heart so much that it features in our talk, greetings and our preaching.

In Rev. 22:20, the Bible says, He whichtestifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The early disciples desired and prayed for the Lord to come. It is natural to anticipate meeting any one that you love. It is lack of love for the Master that makes the heart of a believer to beat faster in fear whenever he hears that the Lord is coming back. This is the reason the Bible says, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha: 1 Cor. 16:22. If any man loves not the Lord, let him be damned at the coming of the Lord. The consequence of not loving Jesus is eternal damnation at His coming. It is time for you to love the Lord more and love His coming. Maranatha! Say Maranatha to someone today and use this to remind yourself and the person that Jesus is coming. Maranatha!

Prayer/Action
* Ask the Lord to help you live ready for His coming, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Pray that your love for Christ will increase as you wait daily for His coming.
* Ask God to deliver you from anything that will hinder you from going first flight with Jesus, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I lay hold on the promises of God, and I declare the land of my sojourn shall not devour me, neither shall the land of my birth deny me my inheritance, in the name of Jesus.

Rephidim

Wednesday 13 December
READ: Exo. 17:1-8  
MORE LESSON:  2 Tim. 2:1-7

Sometimes the confrontations of the enemy come in quick succession but as children of God we know that victory is ours in Christ Jesus. Quick succession of problems breeds quick succession of miracles and blessings. When Moses cried to God, ...What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me: Exo. 17:4, the solution God gave him was the command to strike the rock with a rod. This implies that sometimes you may have a part to play in the miracle you are expecting. Beloved, do not allow your needs or problems to block your spiritual ear and sight so that you are not able to hear and take the necessary steps to your miracle.

The fact that you are victorious over one battle of life does not mean another will not come. The Israelites were confronted again, Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim: Exo. 17:8. When you are confronted, and you do not know what you are to do, you should then know where to go. The way Moses handled the fight with the Amalekites shows he inquired from the Lord. One great lesson from this study today is to always clarify matters with God instead of running around seeking solution from wrong places. God always has whatever you need and the answer to all your questions. You will win in every battle of life and after every cloud will come mighty showers for you, in Jesus' name. Whether it is the problem of lack of water or of meat or of even the Amalekites, the solution is always to be in a state of preparedness as Christians. Like the song writer says, “Christian seek not yet repose, hear your guiding angel say! Thou art in the midst of wolves, watch and pray”.

Many heroes like Paul, Peter, David, and even our Master, Jesus, had to consistently confront opposition to become what today we know them to be. We too must refuse to be discouraged when battles run like they would not end. There is nothing wrong with crisis, it is how they end that matters. Be courageous to battle, fight, lay hold on eternal life and God will see you through. Don't give up, victory is sure and near.

Prayer/Action
*  Pray that you will never be caught unawares by the enemy, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to defend you from every unannounced battle, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Declare that by the Spirit of Jesus, you will always be victorious in any battle of life, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, I decree that as this year runs to an end, every arrow of the enemy shall exempt me, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Yoke Destroyer

Tuesday 12 December
READ: Isa. 10: 27  
MORE LESSON:  Jer. 30: 8 – 9

A yoke is a strong metallic or wooden object kept on the neck of an animal so as to keep it in servitude to its master. When a yoke is put on a bull, it cannot fight the man that controls it anymore, it only goes where it is pulled. Even a horse as powerful as it is, when the bridle, a form of a yoke, is put around its mouth, it is not free to run around anymore. It can only go where the man holding its bridle pulls it. There was a goat that was yoked and left to move around; as stubborn as the goat was, it became servile and could not do as it pleased anymore. A yoke limits and brings the yoked person under control. There are people with a lot of potential but the enemy has put a yoke around their lives.

Satan is wicked and he delights in bringing people under yoke. This is why many struggle, sweat and are frustrated in life. Sickness, ill-luck, unfruitfulness, stagnancy and other evils are yokes that the enemy puts on people's lives. Such people may be moving around normally in the physical but in the spirit realm, there is a yoke hanging around their neck. These yokes are perpetuated by demonic forces that want to oppress and limit them so that they do not rise in life. Can you imagine a person lying down with a gigantic man sitting on him? How does such a person rise up? The person rises only when the force sitting on him has been removed.

The Bible says, And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing: Isa. 10:27.  The anointing of God is a yoke destroyer. It destroys everything that keeps you limited and gives you the power to rise. When the anointing comes upon you, all human limitations disappear. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that destroys yokes and sets men free to rise in life. Grammar, beauty and education are helpless in the face of demonic yokes; only the power of God destroys yokes.

The anointing is present in the person of the Holy Spirit who is the yoke destroyer. Today you must engage the power of the Holy Spirit  against all yokes of limitation in your life. It is time to rise above all yokes by the power of the Spirit. There are a few steps you can take to destroy any satanic yoke you have noticed in your life or in someone else’s:

1. Examine yourself and ensure you are born again.
2. Confess any known sin and ask for cleansing by the blood of Jesus.
3. Take a fast.
4. Use the following scriptures in prayer: Isa. 58:6; Jer. 28:4, 30:8; Gal. 5:1.
5.  Give thanks for your liberty.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for the anointing of the Holy Ghost that breaks yokes, in Jesus’ name.
* Declare and command every yoke limiting you in life and destiny to break off you  now, in the name of Jesus.
* Celebrate, knowing that the yoke is broken .

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every lost opportunity in 2017, return in quick succession before this month runs out, in the name of Jesus.