KEY SCRIPTURES: Hebrews 13:7 KJV” Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation”.

The word of God calls on the Christian to stand or walk in faith in all situations of life. Our key scripture instructs us to follow proven lives of men of faith, that gives us an assurance of a sure path to tread on. There has been men and woman who walked the path of faith who thought us the word of God. . They have left undeniable proofs of the exploits of faith. The scriptures say that we will also have the same proofs if we just follow their acts of faith. Now consider what God says of the certainty of His word in the lives of those who would dare to believe His word. Hebrews 13:8 KJV “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever”. The above scripture is one that have been used so much, revealing the faithfulness of God.

Hebrews 13:8 is a follow up to our key scripture. It says Jesus is forever the same. His faithfulness to Paul, Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa, Pastor Mckweon, and to D L Moody is the same for anyone who would trust him as these men did.  The story is told of D L Moody, about a time in his ministry of caring for orphans who had no food to give to them. There was no hope of anyone bringing them food. D L Moody assured these children that God would provide food that morning. They waited expectantly while they heard a knock on their door. At the door was the driver of a truck load of food. The truck had broken down close to the orphanage and the food would go bad since it was perishable foods. They had to look for someone to take it. God supplied and answered their prayer. Evangelist John G Lake could not be harmed by the deadly viruses of plubonic plaque.

The Lord says learn from such men, follow their faith and Jesus who did it for them would do the same for you, because He is the same and does not change. Heb 6:12 KJV” That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherited the promises”. The instruction is not to be slothful. This means do not be dull in responding to the word of God.

There are countless number of such men, who are living in our times and have conquered by their faith. You can have an example to follow. The Lord assures us to follow their faith and conquer in a similar way they did.

CONFESSION

By faith they subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness and through weakness they became strong. I do follow the examples of these great men and women of faith. I also conquer the enemy in every way.

FURTHER STUDIES

Hebrews 11:32 & 33KJV “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:2 KJV” For by it the elders obtained a good report”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Job 3:26 KJV” I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came”.

Job describes what he did to make trouble come to him, in our key scripture. He says he was not in safety. Was Job really not in safety? Just consider what Satan said about Job’s security and safety, which Job had no knowledge about. Job 1:10 KJV” Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house , and about all that he hath on every side ? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land” This was his real security state yet he felt he was not safe. He also said he had no rest. He nailed the nail on the head when he said, I was not quiet. This was the real source of all his trouble. The contrary words he said against what God has made for him released him into Satan’s trap.

According to Proverbs 6:2, one is snared or trapped with the words of his mouth. James 3:6 says the tongue is a fire and sets the course of nature on fire. Please consider a very serious aspect of what our tongue can bring us,

Numbers 14:28 KJV, say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Now what does God allow into our lives? What we say with our lips. Job went through all that hell because he said he was not secured, not protected and was not at rest. He lost his protection and indeed he was not at rest

 The hedge of security around the Christian is the presence of angels encamped around him or her.

Psalm 34:7 KJV “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them”. Say this always, the angels of the Lord are always around me because I fear the Lord. They would not allow my foot to be moved. Every evil condition has spiritual sources, they must break the spiritual defenses around you before they can touch you. Those spiritual defenses can only be broken by you. They are destroyed by

1.What you believe

2.What you say

3.What you do.

If you believe in line with the word, say in agreement with the word and act according to the word, nothing in this life whether spiritual or natural can temper with your defenses. Nothing threatens you, so don’t fear anything.

CONFESSION

The angels of God encamp around me, forming a wall of protection for me. I do not fear anything that the world calls fear. I am at rest by the power of God, and no evil shall or can befall me in Jesus name. .

FURTHER STUDIES

Proverbs 6:2 KJV “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth”.

James 3:6 KJV “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” .

KEY SCRIPTURE Gen 26:24 KJV” And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake”.

FEAR is a sign that one has believed in the word of the devil and it is manifested by a feeling of insecurity anxiety and an uncertainty of the future. Faith, is also a believe in the word of God. It is expressed by a feeling of security, confidence about the future and a peaceful disposition. The worst thing to offer yourself is to be afraid. Fear has torment 1st John 4:17. Please note, life is spiritual. It is not the bad or dangerous situation that harms or destroys, but the fears you entertain about the situation. Job said Job 3:25 KJV “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me”. Fear also means an anticipation of evil. You get what you expect.

We said from the beginning of our discourse that fear means you have believed in the word of the devil. Believing means you have that word which is a seed in your heart. When seeds are planted, they grow and bear fruit. Mar 4:28 KJV “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear”. Whatever is planted shall grow. Plant the right seed. Plant or believe in the word of God. What happens to you or what fruits you bear in your life is as a result of what you planted in your soil, which is your heart.  No matter what is happening, your faith in God’s word would keep you from any evil.

In such times that the whole world is anxious about COVID-19, do not allow your heart to be filled with words that make you fearful. Remember, what Job said, what you fear would take a hold of you. Don’t be careless

anyway. Apply the simple rules of prevention, yet be very confident in God and His word about your security and protection. He says in Psalm 91:6 Thou shalt not be afraid …. for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. He said His angels shall keep watch over you. These are the things you must say about yourself. Believe in the divine life of God in you that destroys the power of disease in you. (Romans 8:2,2nd Timothy 1:10)

PRAYER

Lord I pray for all humanity, that men would turn to you in this moment. I pray that your word of security and safety would take a hold of all Christians. Father heal the sick who have been attacked by this pestilence. In Jesus name I pray.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 91:3 KJV “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler”.

Psalms 91:11 KJV” For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 13:15 KJV “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his NAME”.

The Oxford learner’s dictionary defines praise as an expression of respect and gratitude towards (a deity) often in a song. It is an expression of admiration, exaltation, honor and gratitude to one who deserves it. Indeed, the Lord deserves to be praised. Psalm 147 :1 says, “Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely” The word comely also means beautiful. Praise is pleasant unto the Lord. Praise is very precious unto our Father. It is called “sacrifice” if it is offered sincerely. Hosea 14:2, calls praise ‘the calves of our lips’. This means as you praise the lord with all your heart, you are offering calves unto God, like a burnt offering.

It is amazing the great deliverance that God wrought as a result of praise. In 2nd Chronicles 20:22,23 King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to lead the soldiers against the Ammonites and Moabites. As they sang and praised the Lord, God laid an ambushment among the people of Ammon and Moab who ended up killing themselves. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had been imprisoned. They were chained and their feet held in stocks. As they sang and praised the Lord heartily, the foundation of the prison was shaken by an earthquake, whiles their chains and stocks were broken.

Dear child of God, if you are surrounded by defeat, death or failure, please don’t worry complain or be afraid, but praise the Lord. You may lock yourself up in a room and give the Lord a real moment of praise. Sing, dance and celebrate the Lord. Do it with a very sincere heart, and not as a way to bribe the Lord. (Do the same when in the company of other believers) If you do it sincerely, as it happened to Paul and Silas or the people of Israel in King Jehoshaphat’s time, you would certainly encounter a supernatural visitation, turning everything around. Praise must be given to the Lord always

 CONFESSION

I offer unto the Lord sacrifices of praise, which is the fruit of my lips. I joyfully give it unto Him not as a means for deliverance, but a sincere honor and respect unto the Lord. He always comes through for me.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Chronicles 20:22 KJV “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushment against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten”

Acts 16:25 KJV “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: James 4:3 KJV “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”.

James 4:1-4, teaches us why many people do not get their prayers answered. There is strive among certain people and their desire to proof that they could also get certain things or can be productive influences their asking.

James 4:1 KJV “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” People’s desire to possess certain things proceed from a desire to score some points over their competitors or rivals and not necessarily to glorify God. This inner fightings make their request contaminated by the flesh so they pray amiss.

Hannah the wife of Elkanah and mother of Prophet Samuel, had been seeking for the fruit of the womb for a couple of years (1st Samuel 1). Her expressions in the story for a son meant her rival gave her great times of mockery. I believe she had desired to get a baby to show her rival that she could also have a baby. This attitude made her pray amiss for a couple of years. She had her prayer request right when she said Lord give me a son and I would give him back to you. Do not live your life and have aspirations in relation to what men say and do, but solely to bring glory to God.

The pain and agony of certain individuals concerning their prayer requests is because of what others do to them or talk about them. These people ask and do not get because it is coming from the inner struggles they have with peoples’ words or aspirations about them. O how miserable it is to live your life according to people’s expectation and pressure. If you are in this state, you can’t have your prayers answered because your heart is shifted from God to yourself. Dear child of God, from now, turn from people, yourself and see whatever you want in the light of how God would be glorified. With this attitude you would be in the right frame of mind for your answers.

 CONFESSION

My prayer request, is never influenced by what somebody says or does. I live solely to please God and to glorify Him. I always have my answers and never have any ill feelings towards anyone.

FURTHER STUDIES

James 4:2 KJV “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not”.

James 4:3 KJV” Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 16:17 KJV” And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues”;

In Mark 11:23 & 24, The Lord made two statements about getting things done. It seems He was talking about prayer in both cases but He was not. In verse 23 of Mark 11, He said, whosoever shall say unto this mountain, remove and enter into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things he saith, shall come to pass. He shall have whatsoever he saith. In the proceeding verse he said whatsoever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, (or you have whatsoever you asked for), and you shall have them (the 24th verse is referring to prayer). The verse 23 is talking about commanding power.

On many occasions I receive phone calls about people in desperate situations who need a divine intervention. It may be a medical or demonic affliction. In such instances, a prayer commanding the person to be free in Jesus name, spells freedom, for him or her. At such times we do not ask God to set the individual free, knowing that, we have received the authority to command the devil to depart for the individual to be free. The Lord says in John 14:13 that, ” And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. The word ask could also mean, demand.

When you demand for any change in His name, He the master would do it. Dear child of God let no situation threaten you. The Lord says, if you would command the situation to change in His name, He would effect that change, and the father would be glorified in Him. The process of getting results is to give that command in the name of the Lord, and then be assured in your heart that Jesus Himself would effect that change. You would surely see victory. This is exactly what happens when we pray for the sick.

 CONFESSION

I have received the right to act in Jesus place by using His name to effect changes. The Lord always honors His word by effecting that change, no matter how grievous the situation might be. Glory be to His name.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 14:12 KJV “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Acts 3:16 KJV” And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Hosea 14:2 KJV Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips”.

Our Father is a God of principles. He acts on the bases of His word. You must know the right words to present to Him. When dealing with family idols or ancestral spirits: These are spirits or devils who claim they have the right to afflict you. Their bases is that your fathers have entered into agreement with them implicating everyone in that bloodline. Your prayers must establish before God and to these spirits that your place in Christ has delivered you from that agreement.

You may say these following scriptures to present your case. The right scriptures gives God, the judge to uphold your claim and stop the aggression of these evil devils.1Peter 1:18 KJV ” Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers”; Declare before God and these devils that Jesus paid with His precious blood to set you free from every tradition of your fathers. Call on God the father to restrain every devil from pursuing your life because they have no grounds to attack you. You likewise refute their attacks on every ground. Stand on 2nd Corinth 5:17, which says, ” Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. Declare before God and the devil that, your place in Christ has recreated you. Once again ask the Lord to restrain every aggression of these devils. You also refuse and condemn their attacks.

 Declare your absolute authority over these spirits and resist them. Stand on the following scriptures. Luke 10:19, Col 2:15, Eph 2:6. Isaiah 54:17, Matt 10:1. Read them, and declare them to these spirits whiles you resist them steadfastly in faith. Keep at it, till you experience total victory.

 PRAYER

I have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, from every traditions of the fathers. Father restrain every devil from pursuing my life. I also condemn every attack of the devil in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDIES

Colossians 2:15 KJV “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it”.

Ephesians 2:6 KJV “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Kings 13:19 KJV “And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice”.

 Joash the king of Israel, wanted a divine intervention to conquer the Syrians, so he consulted prophet Elisha (2nd Kings 13:13-16). The prophet asked him to shoot some arrows. He shot three times and then stayed. Elisha became angry with him and said, you should have shot, five or six times and you would have defeated the Syrians forever. This story reveals how some Christian stop praying half way when they have made some successes, only

for the enemy to come back and make further damages.  Pray till the Spirit gives you the green light that it is over.

In 1st Kings 18, after Elijah had killed the prophets of Baal, He called King Ahab and told him there was the sound of an abundance of rain so. (1st Kings 18:41). He asked his servant to go to the seaside and look into the skies if the rains were coming. He went up till the seventh time. All this while Elijah was praying till the rains finally came down. (1st kings 18:42-46) What would have happened if he had given up at the sixth time the servant went? To pray up till the seventh time means to pray with an attitude of winning at all cost.

In Exodus 17:10-13, the Amalekites fought with the people of Israel. Moses asked Joshua to select some able men to go fight the Amalekites, but he, Aaron and Hur would go up the. Mountain. On the mountain, Moses would lift the rod of God to the heavens. Whiles his hands were up Israel was winning, but when the hands were down Amalek won. The two men found a stone for Moses to sit on, and they held his hands up till Israel totally defeated the Amalekites. The lifted hands were an act of prayer. Israel would have lost woefully if Moses had decided to give up. You can only defeat your enemies if you don’t give up your prayers.

CONFESSION

I am called to win over every opposition of darkness. I do not give up until I have won over my enemies. Every supposed setback does not cause me to throw in the towel. I know I am a winner and would never settle for defeat.

FURTHER STUDIES

James 5:17 KJV Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months”

Luke 22:44 KJV “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Luke 10:19 ” Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.

Every one of us have enemies to contend with. Who are these enemies? The following verse shows us who these enemies are. Eph 6:12 KJV “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. They are not necessarily human beings, but spirits in various capacities. As much as we have them as heavenly beings our culture and tradition as Africans opens us up to certain categories of wicked spiritual enemies that seek to assault the children of God. Their main agenda is to frustrate the will of God in your life.

Some of these enemies include

1.Family idols, stools or ancestral worship. These are demons which have been institutionalized. The fathers in the family have acknowledged them as the protectors of the family. This is a very big error, for every demon is an enemy of men

2.Witches and wizards: These are human beings with evil powers that work to do harm to people and Christians as well.

3.Mallams, fetishes who work evil or enchantment and divinations against other people. They cast spells of curses that inflict all kinds of evil against men and Christians who allow them.

4.Occultic agents that cast spells against fellow humans.

5.There are marine spirits who send human agents to deceive and then control people.

With all these, the Lord says He has given us power to trample upon them under our foot and nothing shall by any means hurt us. If you do not trample upon them, they would harm you. How do we trample upon them? Through aggressive prevailing prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus. Many Christians are lazy to pray, and so they suffer all kinds of assaults, calamities and destructions. Remember Isa 54:17, which says no weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise up against you in judgement, you shall condemn it. If you do not condemn these weapons, they would prevail against you. Understand that every weapon from the spirit is not cast by hand, but by the mouth of these evil entities. You must use your tongue to stop them. Don’t complain about their onslaught, lift your voice in prayer against them and it would not prosper.

CONFESSION

In the name of Jesus, no weapon fashioned against me shall prosper. I condemn everyone of them. No matter what it seems to be doing according to divine rule they cannot prosper or hurt me, so I would not allow them to prevail against me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Isaiah 54:17 KJV” No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD”.

Numbers 23:23 KJV” Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, what hath God wrought!”

KEY Scripture 7:25 KJV” Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them”.

 In the concept of God every act or deed that places others first is prized very high and dear unto God. This is the reason prophecy which is an inspired word for the church is placed higher than tongues, which edifices the one speaking or praying in tongues. (1st Corinth 14:1–4) Intercession is the act of making request, pleas, and supplications on behalf of others. It is standing in the gap to plead on behalf of others, so that God would intervene.

 The Lord would always want evil and mischief, or calamities to be averted, but cannot do anything about it, until He finds a man who would make up the hedge or stand in the gap. Ezekiel 22:30 KJV “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” In the preceding verse, the Lord says, He sought for a man who would intercede for the land yet He found none. Ezekiel 22:31, says His wrath came upon them because there was no one to plead on their behalf.

Why would God our Father need a man to plead for others? In the dealings of God, man has been given the right to dominate the earth. God can only have access to the earth if man should invite Him. He cannot on His own will take actions on the earth. That would amount to breaking His own word. (Gen 1:26). Every Christian is a priest of God on the earth.  (1st Peter 2:9) One of our priestly functions is to make intercession on behalf of men. Presently the whole world is being humiliated by COVID-19 or Corona virus. We as Christians must plead on behalf of all mankind by confessing the sins of men and asking the Lord for an intervention. This is a small thing for Him, 2Ch 7:14 KJV” If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

PRAYER

Father, we pray for all humanity. We ask for your forgiveness first of all for us as Christians in any form or ways that we have sinned against you. . We also ask forgiveness for the sin and abominations of the people of the world. Heal our nations of this grievous pestilence and save humanity. Thank you, father, for hearing and answering our prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDIES

 Isaiah 59:16 KJV “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.”

Romans 8:34 KJV” Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us”.