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Identity Reminders, Attitude Reinforcements

by Damilola Oguntunde
written by Damilola Oguntunde

Good morning Friend,

What a privilege to come into your space this Monday morning as we share God’s Word. I trust you had an exciting weekend.

I will be sharing briefly on what I have titled “Identity Reminders, Attitude Reinforcements”.

Listen to this friends, people will live up or down to the expectation you have of them. Self-fulfilling prophecy is the explanation of a situation whereby a consistently projected perception of a person, however inaccurate it may seem, eventually produces actions in the other person that are consistent with such perceptions, thereby reinforcing its hold in the person who initiates such perceptions. In other words, when you believe something about someone and say ever so often that which you believe perhaps based on past behaviour, you will begin to see more evidences of that perceived behaviour in that person and that reinforces your belief about that person and the vicious cycle continues.

For example, once a parent (mother for example) decides to label or tag a child as “stubborn”, perhaps because the child exhibited a few times, attitudes consistent with stubbornness as she understands it, her mind is no longer interested in referencing or recognising attitudes that may prove her belief wrong, she will continue to hold the few examples she has of that child exhibiting stubbornness as basis for her continued belief. This sometimes causes children to think that they cannot break out of the mental mould their parent has put them in, no matter how hard they try to create newer mental pathways by generating opposing examples for the parent to pick from.

This is a just a reminder about how powerful our thoughts, words and actions are, and how grossly impactful they are on predicting behaviours and in fact reinforcing them.

It is imperative where and how you choose your identity reminders. Where do you seek affirmation for your identity? Is it from places where your opinions are subject to change? Or from somewhere, where your identity, never changes, your behaviour nonetheless.

In the world we live in, your perception is always in direct proportion to your continued behaviour. This is what is known as reputation. However, there is somewhere I know where your identity is not fleeting and dependent on vogue, trends and behavioural patterns, where it is solidly founded on the OPINION of the Only Person that matters; GOD. God’s Word provides a repertoire, filled with Reminders of Your Identity, these reminders will not change, no matter what you ever go through. These are the reminders you must anchor your heart on and the beautiful thing is this, just as the vicious cycles caused by negative rhetorics, this reminders begin to cause positive energy vibes to begin to flow in your direction, thereby causing attitudinal reinforcements and transformation.

This is why we listen to God’s Word, to remind us of who we are and then as we are reminded, our attitudes and behaviours begin to align to that projected perception of ourselves and eventually, transformation becomes inevitable.

Modecai constantly reminded Esther of her identity and her purpose in the palace until her attitude changed for the good of the Jewish nation. Jesus didn’t reinforce Simon on Peter, he reinforced Peter on Simon. There is a Simon in every Peter as well as a Peter in every Simon, what you eventually see is a function which one you are reinforcing. Simon is a reed, unstable and ungrounded, Peter is a rock whose conviction led the pioneering Jerusalem Church with Grace. Don’t ever undermine the power of reminders. Where do you get your identity reminders from? Friends, School, Parents or God’s Word?

There is something the Word of God does to you! Here are a few identity reminders you can begin to reinforce in your life;

I AM BLESSED Ephesians 1:3
I AM STRONG Psalms 27:1-3
I AM FEARLESS 2 Timothy 1:7
I AM BEAUTIFUL Psalms 139:14
I AM BOLD Proverbs 28:1
I AM SAVED Ephesians 2:8
I AM WISE I Corinthians 1:30
I WIN 2 Corinthians 2:14
I LOVE Romans 5:5
I BUILD Proverbs 24:3

Psalms 107:2a “Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so…”

Have a beautiful week ahead. God bless your heart.

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Turning Aliens To Flight

by Damilola Oguntunde
written by Damilola Oguntunde

Good morning Friend.

I’m so excited this morning as I put my fingers to the board to type this post. Nothing in the whole world is as exciting as the revelation of God’s Word in our spirit. As far as we are in the flesh (as humans) we would always have one thing or the other to deal with. There are battles to be fought and victories to be won. A believer who isn’t ready to fight and claim his/her victory in Christ Jesus can as well quit the race now and go be with the Lord. The fight is real! The good thing however is that it’s a good fight and it’s a fight of faith. 1 Tim 6:12. It’s a good fight because we already know who the Victory belongs to… Glory to God. Today we would be examining the topic: Turning Aliens To Flight. I know that sounds really “alien” to the language register of the scriptures. Sounds more like an action movie title. Beloved! As far as you’re in this world, you will have to deal with aliens and I’ll explain to you who these aliens are, how they operate and how to turn them to flight. Are you ready for the ride? Seat tight…

Hebrews 11:33 (KJV) Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 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.

The writer of Hebrews couldn’t do much justice with every person who ought to be in the faith hall of fame so he summarises their exploits from verses 32 to 40 of Hebrews 11. When I got to verse 34, I simply couldn’t move on. The Holy Spirit would have me pause and meditate on the last phrase of the verse. It says that by Faith these elders put the armies of aliens to flight.

Who are aliens? One of the best definitions I found was this; An Alien is anything different in nature and character typically to the point of incompatibility. The Bible records that by faith, these elders put the armies of aliens to flight. It tells me something… That aliens are always seeking territories in the life of a believer. Aliens do not seek to be accommodated, they seek to invade and conquer every territory they close in on. Aliens are in themselves different in nature and character from the nature and character of a believer, to the point of incompatibility. A believer has got the life of God flowing in his/her spirit and therefore becomes incompatible with anything with any nature that is contrary. Aliens cannot be accommodated within the life of a believer, else the aliens will take over the entire territory of the believer’s life. A believer must never even fondle with the thoughts of accommodating an alien. Aliens are not gentle, they don’t seek your good, they are not nice. Don’t give them an inch, else they will make a room for themselves. They come solely for one reason; to invade by infiltration, dominate and conquer. By now you should have an idea what these aliens are.

Cancer for example is an alien to the human body. It is different in nature and character from the human body to the point of incompatibility. If Cancer thrives in a body, it will dominate the body until it destroys it. Cancer cannot be allowed to co exist in a body that wants to live long. Notice again it says that these aliens don’t come alone, they come in armies. Their intention is to invade, infiltrate and totally obliterate their victims. But glory to God, we are not helpless! By Faith we can put these armies of aliens to flight. While meditating on these, I realised that just like in the case of domestic aliens like rats, cockroaches and mosquitoes, in order to get rid of them, we subject them to an atmosphere that is toxic to their nature and character. In such conditions, they either die or are put to flight. The same is true of spiritual aliens like sickness, failure, poverty and everything the kingdom of darkness represents. One must not allow them any space else they will invade, infiltrate and obliterate their victims. Aliens need a particular atmosphere to survive and cannot survive under some atmospheric conditions, because they will be toxic to their nature and character. Remember that an alien is anything different in nature and character typically to the point of incompatibility. The moment one begins to accommodate them, he or she gets into trouble. Words like “it’s just a headache, I will be fine…” will do more damage to your defence mechanism and your spiritual immune system than good. That headache can become migraine and then brain tumour. It didn’t start as a tumour, but a minor headache. Don’t even accommodate these aliens for a second. The moment you sight them, begin to deploy necessary machinery to put them to flight.

Spiritual aliens need envy, strife, jealousy and all the manifestations of the flesh to thrive.

James 3:16 (KJV) For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work
Gal 5:18-21 (KJV) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told youin time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

In the same vein, an atmosphere of The Word and The Love of God is highly toxic to their survival. I don’t care how a man’s life has been, if he will create an atmosphere of God’s Word and of Love in his life, he will become a success and a good one at that. If you want to manage that sickness, it’s a choice of yours, but trust me the sickness doesn’t want to be accommodated, it came for an invasion and you must withstand it by Faith.

1 Pet 5:8-9a (KKV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith…

The devil is an alien seeking territories to conquer by invasion and infiltration. See… he can’t invade every territory, that is why he seeks the ones that have created a perfect atmosphere for him to manifest. That’s why he walks about. If peradventure he takes a little part of your health, finance or family, what do you do? You resist steadfast in faith. By speaking forth the Words of God and activating your angels to destroy his hold on your life and all that concerns you.

Psalms 103:20 (KJV) Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Hebrews 1:14 (KJV) Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Don’t give the devil a foothold, don’t negotiate with terrorists, putt them to flight,
the devil and his armies.

God bless your heart. Have a remarkable week ahead.

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Know The Word

by Damilola Oguntunde
written by Damilola Oguntunde

Know The Word

Good morning DPF, I trust you had a great week? I want you to think with me for a moment and answer this question in your heart. Who in the world do you think knows you best? My best guess would be either one of your parents, or one of your siblings, or one of your close friends. You’re not likely to be best known by someone not in this three categories, and the reason is pretty simple… TIME! You can’t possibly know something or someone well enough without spending requisite amount of time with that thing or person. The person you believe knows you best definitely must be someone with whom you’ve spent a considerably large amount of time. And this time must both be quality and quantity, it must be both in value and in volume. Why am I bringing home my point through this perspective?

Jer 9:23(kjv) Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it when people who don’t know anything about me, sit at the judgement seat and begin to reel out verdicts on my case. Many of us are like that as well, but we don’t think God could be like that. Much of the wrong notions we have of God have been propagated by people who don’t know God enough to people who don’t know God at all. God wants to be known and discovered just like a partner wants to be known and discovered by his/her spouse. He says here in Jeremiah that He delights in people seeking to know and understand him. Here God puts everything we seek for in life on the scale of contrast with what He desires the most; to be known by man. We seek wisdom and notoriety from colleges and universities, seek might from political power, leadership positions, relationships, and in some cases at the gym, we seek wealth from jobs, investments and businesses, but do we seek to understand and know God?

Jer 29:13(EasyEnglish) You will look for me. And you will find me when you really want to find me.

God so much desires than anything that we seek Him. He’s a gentleman, and won’t force Himself on anyone, that is why He has given us a free will to choose what we want and desire, and He desires that we desire Him genuinely from our heart. Millions if not billions of angels worship Him every day and night with endless songs and odes, but God still seeks a man on earth who will choose to worship Him. There are so many things in life that are important, of course a college degree is, a state of the art apartment, office and cars are, a lofty position in a company or nation sure is, but compared to the simple love relationship between you and God? They are as unimportant as travelling to the UK with a hand fan during winter. The pursuit of the knowledge of God is the most noble pursuit you will ever embark on in your life.

Phil 3:10(kjv) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

At this point in Paul’s life, he had some revelation of God that no other apostle was privileged to have, he had known God to a large extent, but he sought to know God even more. I don’t know how much of God you know now, but this is a call to know God even more. This knowledge should not be motivated by a duty you have to preach to others, or an expectation of people on your life, it should be motivated purely by the desire to just know God more. He wants to be that personal with you. The same way a husband wants his wife to trust him to a point where if falsely accused, she can stand up for him and say “I know my husband, he would never do that”. God wants us to know Him that personally and deeply through His Word. When every believer knows God for himself/herself, it would be difficult if not practically impossible for anyone to mislead them with heretic teachings such as the fact that God teaches His children lessons with tragedies, sicknesses and poverty. It’s one thing to believe God, it’s another to know whom you have believed.

2Tim 1:12(kjv) … nevertheless I am not ashamed: 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.

Paul knew God to such an extent, he knew what God could do or not do. Abraham knew God to the extent that God consulted him on matters, Moses knew God to the extent that he literally made God change his mind. Do you know God for yourself? To do that, you need to spend copious amount of time in search of Him via His Word. God is not hidden from man, He’s hidden for man. This is a call to know God personally, deeply and intimately. Seek Him, love Him and know Him. Have a beautiful weekend.

Matt 6:33(kjv) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

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Rejoice In The Word

by Damilola Oguntunde
written by Damilola Oguntunde

Good morning DPF, I believe the weekend went well. I trust God to perfect everything He has begun in you in Jesus name. Today we will continue with our Word Series, I hope it’s been a blessing to you. The topic we will consider today is Rejoice In The Word. I know some folks would wonder the importance of such a topic and its relevance to our daily lives of victory in Christ. I personally think this teaching is a very vital link between where we are and where we ought to be in the scheme of things. To rejoice means to activate a divine emotion called JOY. That joy is such an important dimension of a believer’s walk with God, that the Word of God says without it, we’d simply be starved in our Faith life. What do I mean?

Isaiah 12:3(kjv) Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Here, the Bible is saying that it is with Joy that we can draw on every resource in salvation. Many people despise the power of Joy. Joy is actually more than an emotion, it’s a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare, it resides in the believer by the Holy Ghost according to Romans 14:17. Its expressions however could be captured by a shout, a dance, laughter, a jump, a run, a spin. It most often than not seems to an onlooker as a waste of energy, but in the spirit, it’s a divine strategy and weapon of mass destruction. The children of Israel wanted to conquer a city called Jericho, which had mighty walls, and in those days, the height and breadth of your walls was a representation of the security of your state. But God told the Israelites to just move around the walls like zombies… I’m sure the watchmen of the city must have seen them and alerted the king about their foolish display around the walls of the city, but the king must have despised them and laughed them to scorn because even the best artillery of war could not bring down that wall, talk less of an eccentric display of lunacy by a bunch of people.

Joshua 6:20(kjv) So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

But that display gave them their victory over an impossible enemy. It was said that 7 chariots could run side by side on the walls of Jericho, and a chariots consists of 2 horses and a cart, which means 14 horses could run side by side on the walls of Jericho. The entire house of Rehab was built on the wall, just to give you an idea of how massive that wall was. What produced that victory was an expression of Joy based on God’s Word. As believers we must learn to rejoice at the Word of God. When you rejoice, you’re simply saying you already believe and are going to act as though you have the victory you seek. No matter how impossible that victory seems, Joy can deliver it into your hands. Joy can overcome cancer, barrenness, depression, sickness, poverty and all sort of life issues. To rejoice is an active word, there’s nothing passive about rejoicing. The new testament is so full of instructions about rejoicing, because in the new creation, we simply thank God for what He has done, we don’t try to make Him do anything. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings already, we only believe by faith, thank Him and rejoice in the spirit, even if it doesn’t yet appear.

Psalms 119:162(kjv) I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

David said his response to the Word can be compared to his response after a major victory in battle, because only after winning a battle do you see spoils. He rejoices at the Word with such enthusiasm and excitement, because Victory is always tied to Joy. Balaam said to Balak that the shout of a king is amongst them (Israelites) and therefore they can’t be cursed, they just can’t lose. David’s response to the Word was that of rejoicing but how do we receive the Word today? Do we sleep when the Word is being preached, get bored, or simply can’t seem to concentrate? The way you received the Word is key and would ultimately influence the way the Word will work for you. When God gives you a Word, rejoice in that Word, dance, clap and stomp your feet. When you rejoice, like my pastor would say, you remind the devil who the loser is. When it comes to joy, it’s all about victory. You can’t beat a joyful believer, the joy of the Lord is His strength, Neh 8:10b. Don’t wait till you have that desired reality, rejoice into that reality. Joy is so powerful.

Romans 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

We knew that Abraham staggered not, simply because before he got his promise fulfilled, he already started giving glory to God and rejoicing. I don’t see how you can give glory to God without joy. While you’re believing God, can turn on the joy button and give the Lord some good praise. Don’t be too decent to shout, dance, and jump. Jesus jumped and leaped for joy in Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said,… Which meant that Jesus jumped, spinned and ran for joy. It’s time to stop whining, complaining and sulking, it’s time to get excited and rejoice because God has already done what you seek, you just need to rejoice to see it… And don’t wait until you are asking God for something before you rejoice, make rejoicing a daily lifestyle. It’s our perpetual spiritual countenance. Glory to God.

1 Thess 5:16 Rejoice evermore.

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See The Word

by Damilola Oguntunde
written by Damilola Oguntunde

Good morning Divine Perspective Followers, and thank God it’s Friday… I’m sure by now we’ve settled into the reality of the fact that the year is wounding off, may God grant us speed to accomplish all our year goals and beyond in Jesus name. I checked my note where I wrote my year goals and found out that I had achieved some of them already. That got me really excited, because I thought to myself, if He has done some or any, He would do the rest. So please do not be quick to judge God unfaithful, but rather be full of thanksgiving and praises to His name. He won’t fail you. I believe that’s a Word for someone.

Today I want us to examine a very powerful dimension in relating with the Word, which I believe if understood will revolutionize our experiences in God. I tag it “See The Word”. Many Christians read the Word, study the Word, think the Word, or perhaps even quote the Word, etc, but only a few see the Word. Sometimes, this is the missing link between a promise and the manifestation. There’s a law in the spirit, which I’d like to call The Law of Capacity. God can never do beyond what we’re capable of. Simply because if He does that, it would simply damage the recipient of such a manifestation. If your capacity is a cup of water, God can’t give you a bowl of water, even if He poured a gallon of water into your cup, your cup would only hold up the capacity of a cup, the rest will be wasted.

Eph 3:20(KJV) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, ACCORDING to the power that worketh IN us,

God is saying here that He can actually do so much more than we can ask or think, but our inner atmosphere regulates how much more He can do. God wants to do so much, but can we SEE what He wants to do? When God speaks to us through His Word, He ultimately wants the Word to paint a conceivable picture in our hearts so we can SEE it, it is SEEing it that expands our capacity for receiving the manifestations. When we can SEE it, the reality would not be far fetched. This is how God works EVERYTIME! When He wanted to take the children of Israel to Canaan Land, He painted a picture of a land flowing with milk and honey. That picture got them going until some warped minded leaders of 10 of the 12 tribes painted another picture of a land infested with insurmountable giants. That new negative picture countered the former picture of a land flowing with milk and honey, and their hearts fainted.

Num 13:33 And there we SAW the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own SIGHT as grasshoppers, and so we were in their SIGHT. Num 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

By simply painting a wrong picture to the children of Israel, the whole congregation became bewildered and began to cry. Bible records that they wept all night. Do we see how a wrong picture can totally change the outlook of our lives? When God wants you to enter into a reality, He first changes your perspective and wants you to SEE that reality, else you won’t be able to enter into it. It’s not shocking to know that of the stock of Israel that were alive at the time of spying into Canaan, only 2 (Joshua and Caleb) of them eventually made it to the promised land. The land didn’t belong to them (Joshua and Caleb) alone, it belonged to all Israelites, but in spite of the fact that it belonged to them, they disqualified themselves by focusing on the wrong picture. That promise God made to you is for you and no-one can change it, God maintains your lot… Psalms 16:5, but you must SEE that Word in order to enter into its reality.

Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine EYES, and LOOK from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou SEEST, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, WALK through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

God wanted to make Abraham a father of many nations, but if Abraham could not conceive it, then he could not become it, so God painted a picture to Abraham so as to give him an indelible imprint and impression of what the promise would be. Mary received the prophecy from Angel Gabriel, and not only so, she saw herself giving birth to a child without sexual intercourse, and then she believed it, and it became a reality, if she did not SEE it, she could not have birthed Jesus. She said “be it unto me, according to thy Word…”. What has God told you, that you’re yet to see in reality? Maybe it’s because you’re yet to see it in your heart. Life is lived inside out, not otherwise. If God can’t change your inner image, He can’t change your outer reality. What you see on the inside must be consistent with what God wants to work out in your life.

The next time you receive a Word from God, whether via personal study or Word ministerations, do your best to plant that Word in your heart with a picture. SEE it, CONCEIVE it, IMAGINE it, EXPERIENCE it, and then it will naturally show up on the outside. That you don’t see it outside is only proof that you haven’t seen it inside because if you get pregnant with that promise via the imagination of your heart, you’re bound to deliver at a set date. Zechariah never SAW himself as a father, even though he had been praying for a child, so he got blind for that, because you simply can’t believe what you haven’t “SEEN”. Do more than praying, confessing and meditating the Word, SEE it and you will surely SEE it.

 

P.S: You can still download my new book: BEAUTIFUL SCARS @ http://damioguntunde.com/download/beautiful-scars/ please do well to share with friends. God bless your heart 🙂

 

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Acting On The Word

by Damilola
written by Damilola

Good morning DPF, it’s another beautiful week ahead of us. We’re about entering into the second half of the year, I mean… I still remember the first day of the year,*sighs*. So if you’re like me, you’d have reflected on how far the year has gone so far. For me, it’s been eventful and fulfilling. One of the remarkable things that happened this year, was the fact that I met you. Yes YOU!!! Post after post, you didn’t stop following Divine Perspective and i don’t take that for granted. I do hope it’s being a blessing to you. I’ve been doing this for about two months now, and I trust God for Strength and Grace to continue.

Today we’d be continuing on our Word Series, but zoom in on Acting On The Word as the topic. Christians are generally referred to as believers, and so somehow in our subconscious, we just have this notion that whether we’re actively doing anything about our faith towards God or not, we’re still “believers”. That’s true, only if our faith towards God is just all about getting saved and remaining saved, but if you have a hunger for more manifestation of the supernatural in your life, if you thirst for an experience of God in your daily routine, if you want to live an extraordinary life here on earth, then you have no other way of doing that apart from believing God’s Word and acting on it. Believing is an active word, it’s not passive at all. When you believe God’s Word, your spirit, soul and body are all involved. As believers, we need to take God’s Word as the final authority on any matter and then go a step further by acting on the Word, that is to DOing the Word.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

When you say you believe God’s Word, check your actions, are they in sync with your belief? This is usually where Christians find a disconnect between their pronounced promise and the reality of their promise. That God said it, makes it true already, whether or not you believe it to the point of acting on it. However, for that Word to be true in your life, you would need to give God’s Word the authority over your own life, by acting and agreeing with the Word. I know I might have lost you there but let’s see it in the Word.

Romans 3:3-4a For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid…

We need to know that we have more authority over our lives than God does. I’ll repeat it again so it would sink. You have more authority over your life than God Almighty, the All Powerful God does. That might shock you, but it’s the truth, and one thing about God is that He respects authority. We need to understand this so we can understand how important acting on God’s Word is to our lives. Jesus as powerful as He is, would never badge into any man’s heart, He would knock, not just because He is a gentleman, but also because He doesn’t have the authority to just enter into any life uninvited.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

God needs your cooperation with Him before He can ever work in your life. God gave us the will to decide and make choices, that is an authority He has given us and will never violate. That is why in Romans 12, Paul was beseeching the Romans to submit themselves and present their bodies a living sacrifice unto God, God couldn’t take it over from them if they didn’t submit it to Him. We have a lot of authority on earth, because God gave man the earth to rule, dominate and subdue, and for God to work in any life on earth, that life must give God the authority to work in his/her life by acting on God’s Word. Our body is what gives us authority on earth, anyone without a body has no authority on earth. So demons have no authority except a human being yields his/her body to them to possess and take over. That’s why if a possessed person doesn’t want the demon to leave, no man of God can cast it out, however anointed. God gave man authority over demons, animals and things in the earth, but not over another human being.

All these is to establish to you the import of acting on God’s Word. If God’s Word says you’re healed, if you never act on it, by using your mouth to speak to decree the Word and your body to act upon it, then you’re not yielding your body as a living sacrifice to God, and hence you’re not giving God the authority to live out His Word through you. Whether you yield to Him (The Word) or not, God’s Word is settled in heaven, but you must cooperate with Him (The Word) to bring the promise to pass by acting on the Word. Let me show you something:

Matt 18:18(Amp) Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven.

Matt 6:10(kjv) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

You can’t make happen what God hasn’t made happen, but that God has made it happen in heaven doesn’t automatically give you entry into its reality on earth, you’ve got to act on the Word, else you run the risk of deceiving yourself. Don’t say you believe God’s Word until your body cooperates with you in doing that Word. Until Abraham believed God enough by praying to God to heal barren women in the house of Abimelech in Gen 20, he didn’t have a child, but when he acted indeed like the father of many nations by praying for a barren household, he got his own seed in the very next verse… Gen 21:1. If in Gen 20, Abraham had refused to act on the Word he claimed to believe, he would not have seen Isaac in Gen 21. Smith Wigglesworth was narrated to pace the floor of a meeting for several minutes, shouting one phrase; FAITH IS AN ACT!!!

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Praying The Word

by Damilola
written by Damilola

Good morning. I believe your week was productive? Please do well to have a restful weekend. We’ll continue along the lines of The Word this morning, but settle on the premise of Praying The Word. Like I wrote in The Pauline Prayers (my first book in print), Prayer is one of the most mystified concepts in Christendom. People are just not sure what best way it is to pray and get results. For example, it is not impossible, especially in this part of the world, to find more emphasis on Prayer Points and Prayer Mountains and Prayer Churches and Prayer Prophets, instead of the emphasis being on the Word. I know some of you are like, “well those prayer points, churches, prophets and mountains have their place o, because they work for some people who seek help from them”.

Acts 17:30 Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, he now commands everyone everywhere to repent.

God is telling you to repent! Put in another word, God is telling you to change your mind and turn around. The focus of your prayer should not be a point and the drama that accompanies it. I think we try so hard to mystify God, and then we say He’s too hard to understand. God is very simple, and all His ways that you need to know are very predictable and contained in His Word. Proverbs 25:2. The first series I did on Divine Perspective was tagged “Simplicity”, I taught extensively on how simple our God and the gospel are, and how simple our relationship with Him should be, (you can check out that thread of blogs in your free time). I believe that’s the platform of understanding upon which every believer must start his or her fellowship with God, else he/she will cover up a God who was bare and open to him/her, and tag Him “Mysterious”.

So how exactly do we pray? I still feel like killing some sacred cows though, but I’ll just go straight into our discussion today before I end up only debunking prior erroneous doctrinal strongholds. I have realised in my relationship with God, that the most potent and effective Prayer is the one offered in a consistent tenor with the Word of God. Now there are different kinds of Prayer, which I’m not about to go into, as it’s not the subject of our discussion today, but in order to effectively pray for situations and circumstances and get results, we have to have our prayers, punctuated and laced with God’s Word.

Is 45:11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

I know many people are not very familiar with that passage of scripture. Your like “uh, how can we command God?” Well, God said you should. Some other versions actually found this truth too hard to translate, so they kinda covered it up by making it look like God was asking a rhetoric question. Listen, God is bound by His Word, whether you command Him or not, He is self commanded by His Word. God will never go beyond the provisions of His Word, for anyone or to do anything. The most honoured personality in all eternity is The Word of God.

Psalms 138:2b …for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

If God exalts His Word above His reputation, what has He not exalted Him above? Yeah, you got It right, NOTHING!!! The man who knows The Word is the one certain of victory in prayer. You must get this, the core of what your prayer life will be about is this:

2Cor 10:4-5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Our most lethal weapon in prayer is not gymnastics (head shaking, belly holding, pillar grabbing, neck twisting, rapid eye opening and closing , etc) our most lethal weapon is God’s Word. The bulk of what you will deal with in prayer are imaginations and wrong thoughts, that exalt themselves above the knowledge of Christ, and you deal with that using God’s Word. Can you pray according to the Word? God is obliged to respond in accordance to His Word. Like He said in Isaiah 45, concerning your life if you’re a son or daughter, concerning any situation and circumstance, you can wield the authority of heaven and make declarations by Faith in God’s Word, and see answers in no time.

I remember the ebola saga, where churches were filled with medical personnel, speaking about ebola, its symptoms, what to do when observed, and all the preventive measures. It was necessary to be enlightened, but we already heard all these from the news on tv and radio, we didn’t need that in the Church! I was in a Church where it happened, and the fear in the atmosphere was very palpable. The Church is a place where the Word of God is given maximum honour and preference above medical reports. Members needed to hear about the blood, about the Word, about psalms 91, how no plague will come near our dwelling, and how the name of Jesus is a strong tower, members needed faith founded upon The Word and then pray with it to release power, not consultants coming to expound on the lifecycle of the dreaded disease.

…But I know a man and others, who went into their closet, prayed, rebuked and cursed ebola from its roots, because it’s included in the categories of ALL things Jesus Christ rules over, Eph 1:21, Col 1:17 and should not torment a whole nation. Ebola left Nigeria not primarily due to our medical advancement and approach (there were too many loopholes, with people escaping quarantine everywhere). Then it (ebola) went into a more developed country which was better equipped for it. This was because some people took the Word of God, prayed with it and rebuked that foul spirit spreading fear and torment and told it to go in Jesus’ name. God doesn’t answer prayers emotionally, so quit trying to twist God’s hands by crying, know the provision of His Word concerning a matter, and then “command” Him.

P.S: If you’re yet to download your copy of my new book: Beautiful Scars, please do well to download and share the link with friends. God bless your heart.

http://damioguntunde.com/download/beautiful-scars/

 

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