KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Samuel 23:2 KJV “Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah”.

The life of David reveals a man who was powerfully used by the Lord. One of the secretes of his success was that he consistently enquired of the will of God concerning most of the issues he had to deal with.  Throughout the account of the story of David in the Bible, there were a number of different occasions that it was reported that he enquired of the Lord. It is not surprising that he achieved so much victories. David never lost any battle. 1 Samuel 23:4 KJV” Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand”. He enquired of the Lord a second time for a clearer instruction.

The Lord Jesus said to His disciples and the church as a whole that it was expedient that he left for the father. He said when He lives the Holy Spirit, who is of His kind would come and be with them. (John 16:17) He is our comforter or “parakletos” in Greek. This is a Greek word which means, one called alongside to help. The word help or helper is the Greek word ” sunantilambano”. It means ‘ to hold together against’ The Holy Spirit as our helper has come to hold together with us against any condition. We must seek His mind concerning whatever step we wish to take. He would only join together with us against any condition or situation, if we get His positive concern in any situation. When we are together with Him, nothing should be strong enough to overcome us. Unfortunately, many Christians do not involve Him in what they do.

God would use the man who would seek the counsel of the Spirit always. In most Christian services we have come to accept, the following verse as the grace we share before closing the meeting. 2Co 13:14 KJV “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” We are supposed to constantly enquire from the Spirit His leading concerning most issues. Remember, as many that are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. (Rom 8:14) We must be very conscious of His presence, and subsequently ready to engage His counsel in all, we do. You may just say, dear Holy Spirit what do I do concerning this matter? Who should I marry? Where do I go from here? Can I embark on this journey?  After you’ve asked Him, wait quietly for His answer. It will normally come as a still small voice, or even through a vision, a dream or a word of wisdom from another child of God. You would have great peace in doing what He says.

CONFESSION

The Holy Spirit is my senior partner. He is my guard and guide I trust Him to lead me aright always. I do so by asking for His mind concerning that particular step.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 14:26 KJV “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” .

2 Corinth 13:14 KJV” The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Luke 6:39 KJV” And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?”

Everyone God uses by His supernatural abilities becomes a leader of men in some capacity. It could be preaching, singing, ushering or even cleaning the house of God. So long as God’s supernatural hand comes upon that very task, it becomes a special means of serving the people of God. You become a leader of some kind to those people. God’s kind of leadership is serving those divine abilities to His people.

1 Corinth 4:1 KJV” Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers(servants) of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

Our key scripture says that, in whatever role we play as dispensers of the mysteries of God we should not be blind. Blindness in this context, is simply being ignorant about the dealings of the Spirit. The Lord speaks of the true kind of knowledge that He expects His people to have. 1Corinth 8:2 & 3 KJV. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him”. A man without love for God is blind no matter what he claims to know. The scripture says it is love for God that gives you access into God, and His ways. Love for God is the healing to spiritual blindness.

The Lord explained how love for Him gives one access to knowing Him, and His ways in John 14:21 KJV” He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. When the Lord manifests Himself to you then would you have that experiential knowledge of Him. Many have theoretical knowledge of God, without any experiential knowledge. It is the experiential knowledge about God, that makes you communicate the supernatural abilities of God to His people. God cannot use you if you are blind to His ways. Commit yourself to loving and obeying Him in all you do.

CONFESSION

My heart is filled with love for God and His people. I always do that which pleases Him. He likewise manifests His presence in my life. I also communicate His spiritual verities (truths) to men.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 8:29 KJV” And he that sent me is with me: The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him”.

Matthew 17:5 KJV “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:41 KJV “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain”.

When the Lord delivered his sermon on the mount, He introduced a higher kind of living than the normal Jewish life. He talked about the life of the sons of God. These are the type of people that God would use to reveal his works and glory. Among the many things He taught, He said such people would always have to go the second mile. They would do more than the ordinary man. Throughout the scriptures everyone who has been an instrument in the hands of God has done things that the ordinary man would not dream of doing. This act of doing more or going the second mile must always be a willing action. Mat 5:41 KJV “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

We read about people like Moses who fasted for forty days on two different occasions. The man Enoch walked with God so devotionally to the point that God did not allow him to die like any other man, but took him out of this life. (Gen 5:4, Hebrews 11:5). He literally went the second mile. The life of Elijah reveals one who did more than the ordinary man. He stood for God at a time Jezebel and Ahab prostituted the whole land with idolatry. He was so jealous for the glory of God to the point that He prayed that it would not rain on the Land, so men’s attention would come back to God. God found in him a man to send, to turn the hearts of the land back to Him. After purging the land of the prophets of Baal, he prayed through till the rains came back again (1st Kings 17 & 18). He went the second mile to release God’s glory over the land.

 Someone said extraordinary people are ordinary people who do extra things. 1Corinth 15:10 KJV ” But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” .Apostle Paul said he is the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church, and was not with the twelve when the Lord was on earth. He says, in spite of this he worked harder than all of them, well, all this was by the grace of God. There is grace to make you go the extra mile. Don’t be settled with the ordinary life. Pray more, study more, fast more, sacrifice more, for there is grace for more strides in the Spirit, to bring more glory to God.

CONFESSION

AS a son of God, I do all things to bring glory to my father. I do more than the ordinary man, because I have the ability of the Spirit at work in me.

FURTHER STUDIES

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

John 1:12 KJV. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 27:4 KJV” Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy”

Envy is a longing or passion to have what another person has or to be what the other person is. Envy does not only long for what the other party has, it also desires the failure or destruction of that person. It is very absurd to be envious of anything of any kind. Envy isolates one from his source, that is God. Envy is an evidence of lack of trust in God. The message of envy is that God is not fair to you, to give good things to the other party: and so you must be the one who should have it. Proverbs 14:30 KJV “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones”. Envy poisons the bones, and makes the culprit physically sick. God would not function with an envious person. I said God would not work with such a person because, envy in action disowns God.

King Saul the anointed King became so envious of David such that he left his roles as a king and went searching caves and various lands to find David and kill him. Envy drove King Saul into his death. Job 5:2 KJV” For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. “He should have just asked David to go fight the Philistines for Israel. This would have preserved his soul from death. Envy is a big sign that one is deceived and always makes Satan use an individual to fulfill God’s plans for the second party

IF you wish to be used graciously by the Lord, then refuse to envy another person. Envy is also a sign that one’s love and relationship with the Lord is dwindling. To keep yourself free of it please maintain a strong fellowship with the Holy Ghost. Spend quality time adoring and loving the Lord. Recognize that He is more than enough for you. Colossians 2:10 KJV” And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” To be complete in this context means, you are filled with everything about God. In actual fact you lack nothing. David said, the Lord is my shepherd and so I have everything I need. If Jesus is your sufficiency, you would continually trust him and not care about what another man has

CONFESSION

The Lord is my sufficiency. In Him all things are mine. Through faith in Him I obtain whatever I require. I cannot envy whatever any man has. I praise God for whatever blessing He’s made available to others. I am very content in the Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Corinth 3:5 KJV “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”;

1 Corinth 3:21 KJV” Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2Timothy 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”.

‘ ALL those the Lord uses, don’t lead normal or ordinary lives. Living for God is warring and no warrior lives like a civilian. The people of this world are all under the power and influence of the prince of the power of the air, that is Satan (Eph 2:2 & 3). To live like them is to come under Satan’s dominion. The Lord said, we are in this world, but we are not of this world. (John 15:19) The forces of this world seek to model us after their nature and ways. The servant of God must aggressively resist this. The Bible says as we renew our minds with the word of God, which is the wisdom of God, we would prove that which is good, acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom 12:2). It is living the life of a renewed mind that makes us beneficial to the Lord

The man God uses resonates with God in the way he does his things. All things are possible with him. He talks in line with the word. His words are filled with love, grace and peace. There is no guile in his mouth. He is confident of a certain future, because his life is a seed planted in God. He knows He cannot fail. 2Timothy 1:12 KJV”……: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”. He is filled with peace and relates peaceably towards all men.

Joseph, the Son of Israel decided to be different because he knew God would use him one day. He always told the truth, would not accept an immoral request to defile himself, and was never bitter about the mistreatment of his brothers. He always acted as God would want him to. The result was that God was always with him.  Gen 39:2 KJV” And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian”. Focus on pleasing the Lord and God would focus on promoting you (Matt 6:33).

CONFESSION

I am sold out to the Lord. I live according to His word. The Spirit of the Lord working through me achieves so much for Himself. My life is a great blessing to many and myself as a well. Thank you, Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

2Corinth 6:16 KJV” And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people”.

2 Corinth 6:17 KJV” Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:23 KJV” But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”.

In our key scripture, Apostle Peter took the Lord aside and started rebuking Him that He should never to talk about dying on the cross. The Lord saw it was not just Peter speaking but Satan speaking through him. The Lord rebuked satan to get behind him. He added you do not promote the things of God but the things of men. Any man of God who just follow what men may like to promote may be honoring Satan unknowingly. Men love their flesh and would do everything to secure it. Job 2:4 KJV “And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life”.

What are some of the things, that, men like which the servant of God, must be very careful, not to allow to control him or her

1. Men shy away from suffering and therefore would not sacrifice even towards the advancement for God’s glory. The following are some of the sacrifice men may shy away from. You, the man of God must insist on practicing and the members also doing same;

a. Praying for hours

b. Evangelizing remote areas

c. Fasting

d. Giving money for the work of God

e. Going on missions

f. Suffering persecutions

g. Forsaking worldly pleasures for the course of Christ

h. Loving those who despitefully treat you.

2. Men would not easily believe in the supernatural dealings of God. 1Co 1:23 KJV ” But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;” The man of God must be careful not to think like an ordinary man in matters relating to the supernatural power of God.

3. Men may provoke you to anger and make you act accordingly, but be careful you do not allow yourself to go that way. Moses was provoked by the actions of the Jews to anger, so he acted against the instruction of God. He hit the rock twice, instead of speaking to the rock to give out water. Numbers 20:10–12

God would use the man who would carefully consider God’s way and follow it.

CONFESSION

I am God’s man and live to please Him alone. I do not follow the ways of men that appeals to the flesh and its comfort that oppose the ways of God.

FURTHER STUDIES

Number 20:10 KJV” And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them”.

1 Corinth 1:21 KJV” For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Matthew 27:42 KJV” He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him”.

When the Lord Jesus hanged on the cross, the people mocked Him to prove that He is the king of the Jews. They also said, He claimed to save others, so he must come down, so that they would believe Him. Dear child of God, or servant of God, we don’t need any proving to any man that we are called of God. We are only to do what the Lord instructs us to do. A man’s ego could easily have been prompted to prove to the people that He is someone special. God had called on Jesus to die for humanity. Satisfying the demand or request of the people would have meant God’s agenda for Him and men had

 been jeopardized.

IT is sad to find certain ministers who always want to say what the people love to hear. 2Timothy 4:3 KJV” For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears”. Some preachers don’t want to hurt some rich and influential people in their midst.

There are two main motivations why people pray for the sick. They do so either to bring glory to God, or to prove a point to the people. Unfortunately, many falls into the later one. This is a way to prove how anointed they are, and so they miss the real influence of the Holy Spirit in such a time. Miracles are the works of the Spirit and must only be done with the Spirit’s instructions and to the honour of the Spirit and not anyone’s expectation. You are God’s man, so act for Him and not any person

Some Pastors have fallen from favor with God because, they followed the pressure of the people. King Saul is one such an example. The Lord asked him to go kill the king of Amalek as well as every other person. 1 Samuel 15:3. He conquered them all right, but failed to kill everyone and everything. When the prophet Samuel asked why he disobeyed the voice of God, he said the people made him do so. 1 Samuel 15:7–23

God rejected him because he failed to obey Him and rather obeyed the people. One’s ego always come to play when the people want things to be done in a way which does not necessarily come from the Lord. You must always hear from God and do just what He says, period!

CONFESSION

I am called by God and sent to serve His people, so I take His instructions for the children of God. I always please God by doing what He says, irrespective of whether the people are pleased with it or not.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 16:22 & 23 ” Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men”.

Galatians 1:10 KJV” For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ”.

Matthew 7:6 KJV” Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you”.

Many wonders why God seem to have forgotten about them. Certain divine abilities do not manifest at all in their lives. I think besides the fact that God may be having His special timing to relate with some of His children, some simply don’t match up. He said clearly in our open scripture that don’t give holy things to the dog or the swine. The anointing and all divine abilities are holy pearls of great price that cannot be wasted on people who are not serious with the things of God. There are a number of people supposed to be men of God, yet spend not up to two hours in the whole day to pray. They have no time to study the word. These people have all the time to follow CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. They know all the names of the players of Chelsea FC. Their time is always on their mobile phones, watching videos and forwarding them. Dogs go back for their own vomit and pigs feed on filth. What is the spiritual value of most of these social media videos?

The apostles said in Acts 6 :4, that, they will give themselves continually to the ministry of the word and prayer.  The man who is committed to holy things would attract holy things. The Lord Jesus never revealed himself to the Pharisees when he resurrected from the dead, because they had no value for holy things. God rewards diligent seekers (Heb 11:6). Time is destiny, yet people waste it with ease

God is ready to work through men, but would only work with those who have decided to treat serving Him with all the seriousness it takes. The Christian is faced with an unseen enemy who would steal every word of God that is not diligently kept (Mark 4:15). Being casual means, you would constantly lose every word that you receive. The casual man would also lose the impact and blessing of the word, because of the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches ,and lust for other things would choke the word making it ineffective.(Mark 4:18&19) God wants to use you, so be very diligent with your time in the word, prayer and His work as a whole.

CONFESSION

I am about my father’s business, and as long as it is day, I will work the works of Him who sent me whiles it is day, night comes when no man can work. God always honors those who honor Him.

FURTHER STUDIES

Hebrews 11:6 KJV “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Romans 12:11 KJV” Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord”;

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 9:3 KJV “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him”.

When Jesus’ disciples asked about who sinned that, the man was born blind, they were expressing an attitude of people who don’t easily fit into God’s concept of those He would want to work with. They were seeing problems, the cause and effect of the cause. They focused on man and the failure in him. The Lord showed them how they must see issues of life in God’s perspective. In every situation, no matter how bad it may physically appear God seeks to receive glory out of it.   The man God will use in such moments is able to see how God would be glorified rather than looking at the weaknesses of men, and their failures. This virtue of looking beyond human shortcomings and weakness to see the power of God coming into the situation is called FAITH.

When David got to the arena of battle, between Israel and the Philistines, he did not see danger and failure in sight. He rather saw a big opportunity to bring glory to God. 1 Samuel 17. Every other soldier was paralyzed with fear. 1Samuel 17:11 KJV” When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid”. In the midst of apparent danger David said, he would go and fight him, and take away the reproach against God and His people.

When Daniel was threatened to be thrown into the lion’s den, he was not moved or worried, rather his concern was to bring glory to God. God is ever ready for any man who will take such a stance for Him.

Do you want to be a candidate for God’s glory, then stop seeing difficulties and dreadful situations? Start celebrating about the glory of God, which is about to be seen.

Are you in a situation that is causing you to sing the praises of the devil? Complaining, worrying and confessing any defeatist talk, is a way of praising the devil. Satan should never be given any grounds to rejoice over our lack of faith in our Father. Use most of your time to build your confidence in God, by receiving His word. (Rom 10:17). Take steps to trust in him by putting His word into action. David put his faith into action by killing the lion and the bear, and when a bigger opportunity came, he was never taken aback

CONFESSION

To every dark situation there is a brighter side, ready to be revealed. By faith I always see that brighter side. This glorifies God and He stretches forth His hand to reveal His glory and power. The darkness is always rendered only as a mirage.

FURTHER STUDIES

Isaiah 8:12 & 13 KJV” Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Numbers 13:30 KJV “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it”.

KEY SCRIPTURE – Rom 5:5 KJV “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”.

GOD USES men to serve their fellow men. One cannot serve in truth if it is not motivated by love. If it was not on the bases of love, how could the Lord Jesus, allow his roof to be broken through and not complain about it. He went ahead and healed the impotent man. (Mark 2:1-9) He was in his house, yet the multitudes would not allow him to rest. He did not ask them to leave him to rest, but out of love he ministered to them. Whatever gift God blesses a man with, it is meant to be used to serve the rest of humanity. For you to be very effective, you must love everyone God send you to, in all sincerity.

 LOVE for men is the conduit that carries the power of God. Our Lord Jesus out of compassion healed many that were oppressed. Matthew 9:36. KJV” But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd”. Love for humanity kept His mouth shut throughout His passion. He could have called on legions of angels to fight for Him.

Matthew 26:53 KJV ” Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? “A legion is about three thousand to seven thousand. A standard number of legion in the Roman army was six thousand.

 What made Him shut up His mouth? It was love that kept Him silent. (John 15:13)

 Without love people become bosses and Lords over those they lead or are supposed to serve. As Christians the Holy Spirit is love and has imparted that love nature to us. Accept that you have a love nature. Stop looking for occasions to exploit those you are serving, but opportunities to bless them immensely. Whatever you have is by grace and must be given out freely. Matthew 10:8 KJV Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

PRAYER

Father, open the eyes of understanding of every Christian leader to know that, our position as leaders is for service, that must be done in absolute love for the people, and never to exploit them.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 15:13 KJV” Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.

Galatians 5:6 KJV” For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love”.