Living on the Mountain Top I

READ: Matthew 5: 14-16
MORE LESSON: Proverbs 4:18

There is a higher life; it is the life on the mountain top. God's dream and desire for our lives is that we live on top of the mountain and not in the valley. God has no business looking for you down the valley. There is something wrong with the Church that must be corrected. We go to the world and copy what they do instead of the world taking direction from the Church. Prosperity must rule in the Church and the world should come to borrow from us not the other way round. When we talk about living a higher life, we are talking about living a life that is on top of the hill, and it is all encompassing; physically, spiritually, materially, financially, maritally etc.
Five things distinguish a man who is on top of the hill.
1. He is delivered from obscurity; he isn't hidden. No one lights a candle to look for what is on top of a hill. God strategically placed us on the hill so that the world won't keep looking for us. The world lies in gross darkness and to illuminate it, God has placed us as light on the hill. We are only relevant as light if we are placed on the mountain top. We have been delivered from obscurity, so don't go down the hill to seek relevance in the world (Matt. 5:14).
2. He is prominent. He always comes first in the list of honoured men. God's intention for His children is that the world will see His excellency through us. I Peter 2:9 says we are called to show forth His praise. He has placed us on the mountain top so that in the class of the honourable, we will be more honourable.
3. He lives above all situations and conditions. Nothing puts Him under. Any man sitting on the mountain top is there because he has been able to surmount all the challenges that would have stopped him. Living on the mountain top makes you live above every challenge.
4. We are lifted by grace. It is by His grace that we are lifted from being ordinary to become extra-ordinary people. Grace is a lifter.
5. Finally to be a man on the mountain top is to be a celebrity. May you be celebrated by the divine hands. May the glory of the Lord lift and engrace you to the mountain top, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that you are a city on the hill top; you will not live in obscurity.
* Ask that the gift and grace of God in your life will bring you to prominence.
* Give God thanks because you are now seated together with Christ in high places.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Oh Thou that answereth prayer, make me a proof of Your power and faithfulness this year, in the name of Jesus.

Vision

Thursday 5 April
READ: 1Samuel 3:1-3
MORE LESSON: Acts 2:17-18

Vision is a key ingredient of a great destiny. Becoming mighty in life starts with having a purpose and a vision. Visionary leadership is the secret of greatness. A visionary man sees better and beyond what obtains around him/her. Visionary people are people that bring in new ideas of how things can be done better wherever they are. Vision is knowing how things can work better, having a pictorial understanding of what the future should be like. It is good to ask God to give you a vision and also to expand your vision. A man's life is at the mercy of his ability to plan for the future. Where there is no vision, the people perish. According to Hos 4: 6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. If people were asked to write a vision of their life now, you will be surprised. Some people are living just like that. Vision births sacrificial living. Sacrifice is a pre-requisite for greatness. It is a visionary person that puts himself under restraint and delays gratification so that the cause can be furthered. A visionary person will not consume everything he has today because he is thinking about the future. Don't only dream, have goals and vision. When your dreams are supported by actions and targeted timeline, then they become a vision.
One of the disasters of the present day Church is that there are lots of visionless Christians. It is lack of vision for one's spiritual life that makes a man come to church on Sunday and you don't see him again till another Sunday. A person whose vision is to know God intimately will seek Him passionately and sieze every opportunity to appear before God. A person without a vision does anything, anyhow. He seeks any job, no plan of what type of job or the career path he wants to pursue. In those days brethren would not take a job that prevented them from having time to serve God; those were days of visionary Christianity. It is vision that should govern the decisions which you make in life. The course you read, the place you are located and even the spouse you will marry must all be borne out of an understanding of God's given vision for you. May we never have a repeat of the days of Prophet Eli, when the Word of the Lord was scarce and kings were not available, when the eye sight of the prophet had begun to go dim and the nation was consequently thrown intodisaster. May we live with a clear vision from the Lord, for all areas of our lives.

Prayer/Action
* Give thanks to Jesus knowing that your tomorrow will be better.
* Ask God to help you focus on a greater future.
* My destiny will shine, my glory will sing, no matter what it looks like today.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Every enemy masquerading as a friend, I confirm you exposed and terminated, in the name of Jesus.z

Beginning of Strength

Wednesday 4 April
READ: Judges 6: 11 - 14
M O R E L E S S O N: Proverbs 9: 10

Every journey has a beginning. As it is usually said, 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step'. When you know the beginning of what you are seeking for, you can have a good start in getting there. For instance, the Bible says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding: Prov. 9:10. Wisdom has a beginning; that is to say, when a man seeks unusual wisdom, he has to start from fearing and reverencing God. In a similar manner, strength has a beginning. In the quest to be a strong and mighty man, you must know where to start your journey from.
When the angel of the Lord encountered Gideon and commissioned him as the deliverer of his nation, Gideon saw himself as a weakling. However, by the time the Lord was done with him, he had become a mighty man. When you look at the Scripture, you will realise that God never gave Gideon a staff or a mantle. The Lord simply gave him knowledge of who he was and what was inside him. When Gideon knew that the Lord was with him and that he was sent by God to defeat the Midianites, he became strong. It is what a man knows that makes him strong. Strength always begins from the place of knowledge.
Prov. 24: 5 says, a wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. Wisdom makes a man strong. Wisdom is the application of exact knowledge. Therefore knowledge is the basis for wisdom. The more correct knowledge you have, the stronger you become. So if you want to be stronger, work harder on what you know. If you want to be a mighty man, get to know more. The knowledge we are talking about is not merely the knowledge of arts and science. Foremost, you need to know more of God to be a mighty man of valour. According to Daniel 11: 32, ...but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. To become mightier, you have to know more of God. There is no way to do mighty things, especially in the spirit, except you are full of the Word of God. Seek mastery in the things of God; it is your passport to becoming mighty.
You also need to know more in your field. So read more, acquire the necessary knowledge through study, go for training and learn more. Ask questions and consult experts. Just keep going for knowledge because it is the beginning of might. If you want to become a mighty man, start learning and keep learning.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to empower you to do exploits through the Word.
* Lord, fill me with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit day by day.
? Make up your mind to study the Word each day from now on.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Whatever is the serpent that bruises in 2018, I declare your head bruised;you will no longer be able to perform, in the name of Jesus.

Beginning of Strength

Wednesday 4 April
READ: Judges 6: 11 - 14
M O R E L E S S O N: Proverbs 9: 10

Every journey has a beginning. As it is usually said, 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step'. When you know the beginning of what you are seeking for, you can have a good start in getting there. For instance, the Bible says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding: Prov. 9:10. Wisdom has a beginning; that is to say, when a man seeks unusual wisdom, he has to start from fearing and reverencing God. In a similar manner, strength has a beginning. In the quest to be a strong and mighty man, you must know where to start your journey from.
When the angel of the Lord encountered Gideon and commissioned him as the deliverer of his nation, Gideon saw himself as a weakling. However, by the time the Lord was done with him, he had become a mighty man. When you look at the Scripture, you will realise that God never gave Gideon a staff or a mantle. The Lord simply gave him knowledge of who he was and what was inside him. When Gideon knew that the Lord was with him and that he was sent by God to defeat the Midianites, he became strong. It is what a man knows that makes him strong. Strength always begins from the place of knowledge.
Prov. 24: 5 says, a wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. Wisdom makes a man strong. Wisdom is the application of exact knowledge. Therefore knowledge is the basis for wisdom. The more correct knowledge you have, the stronger you become. So if you want to be stronger, work harder on what you know. If you want to be a mighty man, get to know more. The knowledge we are talking about is not merely the knowledge of arts and science. Foremost, you need to know more of God to be a mighty man of valour. According to Daniel 11: 32, ...but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. To become mightier, you have to know more of God. There is no way to do mighty things, especially in the spirit, except you are full of the Word of God. Seek mastery in the things of God; it is your passport to becoming mighty.
You also need to know more in your field. So read more, acquire the necessary knowledge through study, go for training and learn more. Ask questions and consult experts. Just keep going for knowledge because it is the beginning of might. If you want to become a mighty man, start learning and keep learning.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to empower you to do exploits through the Word.
* Lord, fill me with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit day by day.
? Make up your mind to study the Word each day from now on.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: Whatever is the serpent that bruises in 2018, I declare your head bruised;you will no longer be able to perform, in the name of Jesus.