KEY SCRIPTURE: Luke 18:1 KJV “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

The Lord taught that, men ought always to pray and not to faint. He exemplified it in His life time. The Lord showed the great importance of prayer in His life so much that, His disciples, did not ask Him to teach them how to preach or work miracles, rather they asked Him to teach them to pray. Luke 11:1 KJV” And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” In certain instances, the Lord did not go to sleep after a hectic day’s work, but went into prayer, and prayed throughout the night. (Luke 6:12)

Nobody can be very effective in God’s hands, if he does not spend time in prayer. I wish to address a growing error among some children of God, and even some ministers of God. They seek the face of God in prayer only because of what they wish to get, not as a way of expressing their love and devotion to Him. Please note this: love for God should be the motivation for whatever we do for God or in the name of God. We must be drawn into prayer as a demonstration of our love for the father. This is what the father desires. Prayer in its highest form is worship. It is a deep love for God that makes prayer worship. The father seeks for it (John 4:24). Prayer becomes a struggle for many because men, do it primarily as a means to get what they want not as love and devotion to God. Prayer is a fellowship between the father and His children. Love prayer, because it is a place of deep fellowship and intercourse, producing great results out of this union.

After understanding the real motivation for prayer every servant of God who wishes to be effective must know how to pray effectively. He must know the various forms of prayer. Eph 6:18 KJV “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Intercession for others is one of the most important prayer, that the servant of God, must employ. God always wants to be involved in the affairs of men. He wants to bless men with peace, right living and prosperity. He cannot do it until men invite Him through prayer. When we consistently make intercessions, He visits men with His power and lives are always blessed.

CONFESSION

I pray because it unites me to the Lord. In prayer I share in His strength. He instructs me by His Spirit as I pray. My life is lifted and I see miracles and various answers to my request.

FURTHER STUDIES

Mark 1:35 KJV “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed”.

Hebrews 5:7 KJV “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

KEY SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:10 KJV “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”.

Everyone who will be used mightily by the Lord must seek to save men who are lost.  This was the commitment of the master. He consummated His mission on the earth by offering His life on the old rugged cross to save all mankind. The Lord was totally given to saving the lost. Just consider His thoughts about the lost in the following verse. Luke 15:4 KJV “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” The Lord says not a single soul should be lost.

Every man who would be effective in God’s hands must contend for the souls of men. You must not lose any opportunity to save the lost. You should never preach to an audience without making an altar call. The man God uses must be so passionate about winning the lost such that, he is ready to make every sacrifice for them. The lost are also won through travailing and prevailing in prayer. Saving souls is a form of giving birth spiritually to children. Isa 66:8 KJV “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children”. No mother delivering a baby does so without travailing, except those who do so through a surgical operation.

There is no travailing without pain. The man who is ready to be used by the Lord would instinctively go into intercession and travailing for the lost. You must not be lazy about contending for the souls of men. The Bible speaks to us about Epaphras who travailed for the brethren. Col 4:12 KJV “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. The word used laboring in prayers also means to fight. It is from the Greek word ‘agonazomai’. You should be ready to fight to get men free from the god of this world, who has held them in bondage

CONFESSION

AS Jesus said, my meat is to do the will of God and to finish it. I contend aggressively for the souls of men. God works in their hearts saving them from the tricks of the devil.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 4:34 KJV Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

John 9:4 KJV “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Luke 14:26 KJV” If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

Every employer lays down his contract of employment to the successful applicant. The terms of reference are clearly spelt out in this contract. Any employee who fails to meet these terms is fired. The Lord Jesus stated his terms for engaging His disciples. He said, if any man would come after me, and does not hate, father, mother, brothers, sisters, children and even his own life he can’t be his disciple. The word ‘hate’ means ‘to love less.’ The Lord says anyone who would be qualified to be used by him must choose Him (the Lord) first. You must always consider the interest of Christ and the gospel first. Your money is first for the course of the gospel, before your personal considerations.

Now let’s consider the use of our time. Your time is first unto the Lord. If you are to choose between doing something for yourself and the Lord, then you must without hesitating take the Lord’s call. Love the Lord above yourself. It was said of Paul in Acts 15:26, as ” Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. These men hazarded or endangered their lives for the sake of the gospel.  This word hazard means to deal dangerously or to betray yourself. They gave up their lives in a very dangerous or careless way, in the interest of the gospel. We are living in times that Satan seeks to stop the advancement of the gospel. We must selflessly sacrifice our lives to resist his onslaught against the church.

In the early days of the church, the gospel would have been clamped down, if it had not been the selflessness of the apostles. They said it is rather glorious to suffer for the Lord. These men and women obeyed the Lord’s terms for discipleship to the letter. They hated their lives for the sake of Christ. Many in our day reproach the course of Christ with their self-centered ways. (Philip. 3:18)

The Lord also stated we must love Him and place His interest above our loved ones. To be qualified to be used by the Lord, no man must come between you and the Lord. Please note this, all relations have temporal existence. Our Father God will live forever. Why place temporal beings before the eternal one, who would one day judge, approving or disapproving our works.

CONFESSION

Christ is my Lord He is first in my life. First in my personal interests. First before my parents, siblings, children, marriage and even first before my very life. His interest gives me life. I am very wise to make Him first in all things.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 12:24 KJV” Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal”.

Luke 9:23 KJV “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”.

Philippians 3:18 KJV. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 17:17 KJV “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

To be sanctified means to be SEPERATED from profane things, and to be devoted to God. It also means to live a life of holiness. Our father is a holy God and we can’t fellowship or function with Him without being holy. 1Peter 1:16 KJV” Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”. The Lord shows us the way of the sanctified life from our key scripture. He sanctifies His life by living by the truth.

 Now note this, hearing or listening to the word does not sanctify us. It is when the word is believed and applied that it sanctifies. Having soap in your hands does not make you clean. It is applying it to the sponge and washing your body that makes your body clean. The Lord led a sanctified life. John 17:19 KJV “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth”. He kept applying and acting on the word always.

God cannot use vessels that are not sanctified. God’s word should be the only source of influence of the child of God.

 The Lord Jesus taught that ” For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:” These are that which defile the man Mark 7:21-23. The child of God must not allow these things to function in us.

Proverbs 4:23, teaches us to keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it proceed the issues of life. The heart can also be kept by what one allows into the mind. The mind must continually be kept renewed as well as to focus on the word of God. It must be the desire of the child of God to continually seek to please the Lord at all times. If one’s mind does not admit wrong thoughts and sinful ways, there is no way the things spoken of by the Lord will be in the heart. To lead a sanctified life your mind must be constantly sanctified.

CONFESSION

My mind is the center of influence of my being. I feed my mind with the word and I act on it always. I do not allow any defiling thought into my mind. In this way my heart is constantly kept clean and whole. Thank you, Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 15:3 KJV” Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you”.

Romans 12:2 KJV” And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

KEY SCRIPTURE Rom 6:14 KJV” For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

 Every successful servant of God must know the dynamics of his victory over sin. Every child of God must be free from every unrighteous way. A life that falls short of righteousness will bring a great reproach to course of Christ, and will limit the impact of that individual Christian worker Our key scripture states that, sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What does it mean to be under grace? How does one employ the principles of grace for a victorious life? By such an understanding every season of struggle would cease.

 To be under grace simply means to have the resurrected Christ express his life through you. The Lord Jesus is the grace of God personified. Living under grace also means living by the power of the Spirit of God. This is done by you being conscious that the Spirit or life that powers your body is not your natural life, but the Spirit of Christ. Galatians 2:20 KJV” I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. Grace means a higher power giving you super human capabilities takes over your body. Your personal acknowledgement makes it possible

When a thought or condition suggest a wrong act to you, your response is, it is no more Somuah Asante or Mr. A or Madam B. It is the resurrected Christ who is presently alive in this body.  Christ does not and cannot do that wrong thing. This is the consciousness of the servant of God. This is what we call understanding the dynamics of victory over sin. You would be defeated by the devil if you attempt to overcome sin and the devil with your natural human strength or abilities. By grace your hands are no longer your own but the hands of Christ. Your mind is the mind of Christ. 1 Corinth 1:30. If a man has this understanding, he would be a candidate for God to use in various assignments, and would not fail to deliver, because he or she knows how to release the ability of the Spirit.

CONFESSION

IT is no longer I that lives, but Christ who personally lives in me. He rules, talks and acts through me. I do all things by His Spirit and not by my natural life. All things are therefore possible with me through Christ who works in me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 4:13 KJV “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”.

Philippians 2:13 KJV” For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”.

KEY SCRIPTURES: Matthew 4:19 KJV” And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”.

The above key scripture is very revealing, yet it has not been seen in its true light, and therefore many have not responded to it rightly. In this scripture the Lord states our role in the whole equation of becoming real fishers of men. Many go about seeking to be fishers of men without observing what the Lord instructed. He said follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Becoming fishers of men is the ultimate, yet we don’t become it by ourselves. We are made fishers of men by the Lord as we follow Him.

Now please, understand this point, if you wish to be effective in God ‘s service: The first call of the ministry, or serving Christ, is to give attention to the Lord, and to learn about how he went about doing the work. Mark 3:14 KJV “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,” Most of the lack of effectiveness with most people proceed from not obeying this instruction of first being with Him. There are some basic lessons that being with the Lord will infuse into you as well as expose to you. The first thing you would learn about Jesus is His love to please the father. This was the basic core commitment of the Lord. Heb 10:7 KJV” Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God”.

Doing the will of God should become the central concern of every servant of God. After this virtue you would begin to see His devotion to prayer and meditation. You would see in Him a man who is spiritual to the core, yet extremely sensitive to the needs of men. Jesus was a man who loved all men, even those who hated Him, to the point of killing Him. He loved them dearly. You can’t become a great soul winner, without a great love for men. You would learn about a man who did not shrink from pain and shame for the purpose of bringing men tranquility and glory. Knowing these things would enable you to receive the ability from Him to become an effective fisher of men.

CONFESSION

I am a follower of the Lord. I give Him my maximum attention, and always ready to do what He teaches me. His nature is seen in me and He makes me a soul winner.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 15:5 KJV ” I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”.

John 15:16 KJV Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5:8 KJV” Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest example of one God worked through to bring His purposes to pass. Although He is God, He put down His reputation as God and lived like a man (Phil 2:6&7) Our key scripture says he learnt obedience by the things he suffered. The word ‘suffered’ also means ‘allowed’ . It takes humility to go through some of the things he allowed. In Mark 1:9–13 the baptism of our Lord and some of the experiences he went through has a lot to teach us about some of the things God expects people He uses to go through.

The Lord humbled himself to be baptized by John. John’s baptism was a baptism unto repentance. It was also a form of cleansing from sin. The Lord did not need any such cleansing yet had to go through, to fulfill all righteousness. (Matt 3:15). In Mark 1:10, right after the Lord had submitted Himself to be baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Him. Submission to God’s instruction would also bring God’s approval and provision. He was driven by the Spirit to be tempted in the wilderness. The following series of events were some of the things He had to go through because of His humility. Mar 1:13 KJV” And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”

Every bit of all that he went through are preparatory stages that God requires everyone, that He may use effectively, must have. They are as follows:

1.Tempted for forty days by satan

2. Was with the wild beasts

3. Angels ministered to him.

Lessons

1.Everyone who must be used by the Lord, must learn to discipline his flesh from wrong appetites and control his ego

2.To be with the wild beasts, teaches that everyone who must be used mightily by the Lord must learn to trust God for protection. He must be fearless. No fearful man can be effective in God’s hands

3.The angels visited Him afterwards. The supernatural presence of the Lord would surely be manifested to you after   you have proven the first two conditions.

CONFESSION

I subject myself to the demands of the word of God. My flesh does not control me. I have learnt to trust God in all situations. I am bold and depend on the presence of the Holy Spirit in me to face and overcome all contrary situations.

FURTHER STUDIES

Galatians 5:24 KJV” And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”.

2 Timothy 1:7. KJV” For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2:1 KJV” And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins”;

Anyone who must be used by the Lord to save souls must know for certain that men are dead in sins. He is therefore lost if he has not found Jesus as his or her Lord and saviour. If the gospel worker thinks there is some spark of life in men, that need to be fanned into flames, then he would not move with passion and compassion for the lost sinner. Education without Jesus leaves the individual dead in sin. Religion may feed the person with morals yet he or she is still dead, and needs eternal life to be alive. It is true that ” Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. “Acts 4:12.

Apostle Paul realizing the utter depravity of the human soul said, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel (1 Corinth 9:16). It was not surprising that after he had been stoned almost to death in Acts 14:19, he stood up and went to the next town to preach again. He knew these men were lost, and they had to be told the good news irrespective of the fact that, they were hostile or receptive. He said I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). A man without Christ is a child of the devil. Someone said, we are all children of God: no, this is not true. The scripture said, only those who accepted Jesus, were given the ability to become sons of God (John 1:12).

We must preach the gospel at all cost. We must be instant in season and out of season. In these days when one can’t easily predict the life expectancy of a people, the gospel must go. Anyone who dies without salvation in Jesus is lost, and lost eternally. Hell has enlarged its mouth, ready to swallow the millions who are falling in without Christ. Please come to terms with this utter depravity of the souls of men. Without this you are going to walk past them day and night and would not do anything about their salvation.

PRAYER

Lord, open the eyes of understanding of every Christian worker to see the deplorable condition of men without Jesus. May you stir in us a longing to reach out to all men, irrespective of color, social status or religion.

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 7:18 KJV “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not”.

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Timothy 2:4. KJV “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier”

Worldliness is not just the physical appearance of an individual but when the heart is ruled by the flesh. Carnality is the underlying condition for worldliness. It is that which makes the heart of a man cold towards God. Remember Lot’s wife. She left Sodom and Gomorrah but her heart never left the place. (Luke 17:32) Our key scripture says the man who has been called to serve the Lord is a warrior. He is God’s battle axe against Satan’s activity in the lives of men. His commitment must therefore be total towards the Lord. Spirituality is separating from the world. It is fundamentally being scriptural oriented. It is to have a scriptural outlook about life.

To love the world makes one an enemy of God. The flesh has become his god. James 4:4 KJV” Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God”. The kind of associations we have would either make us worldly or spiritual people.  2nd Corinth 6:14 reminds us that, we cannot be equally yoked together with unbelievers. To be yoked means to be engaged in all affairs with that individual. The Christian worker must influence all that he relates with to love and serve God. If the Christian would act like the unbeliever then he has seriously lost his spiritual bearings.

Dear child of God you cannot be visiting the club with your friends neither can you do the things they do. The word church means, the called-out ones. You have been called out of the world and must remain out of it. Are your worldly friends comfortable in your presence to say and do certain ungodly acts? If your presence does not send any message to reverence the presence of God, then you have become worldly like them. Repent and turn to the LORD.

CONFESSION

I am in the world, but I am not of the world. I live by the spirit of God and do not give place to the flesh to control my life. I am light to many in darkness.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Corinth 6:17 ISV” Therefore, “Get away from them   and separate yourselves from them,”   declares the Lord,   “and don’t touch anything unclean.   Then I will welcome you”.

James 4:4″. You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God”.