CONQUERING THE SPIRIT OF ERROR & DECEPTION (PART 2b)

15. CONQUERING THE SPIRIT OF ERROR & DECEPTION (PART 2b) 
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 11:10-15 (KJV)
¹⁰ As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
¹¹ Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
¹² But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

It is unfortunate that many believers are very gullible, once some people hear someone say, “I had a vision from God” or that the Lord appeared to them, they suddenly lose their sense of reasoning and become jittery as they swallow the message and instruction hook, line and sinker. Satan knows very well that this is the basic problem of many Christians and that is why time after time, he would renew the application of this approach. The scripture goes on to say in verse 15.
“Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
Take note of the fact that the scripture says, “his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...” 
Why do they transform themselves as ministers of righteousness? Has it occurred to you that most of those who lead people astray often come with a message that seems to be emphasizing on holiness? But the truth is this, they are not truly emphasizing holiness; what they actually focus on is sectional doctrine that has a form of godliness but it is meant to call attention to and promote some individuals or organizations.
Instead of building the faith of people in God they make them become devoted to a form of religious practice. Instead of growing peoples’ faith in God through a strong emphasis on the study of the whole truth in the Bible, they pull out a few scriptures out of context to emphasize  more on the work of man and outward form of religion. 
And it is so unfortunate that such requirements for someone to become acceptable to God are often attack against women and their way of dressing. I do not by any way support indecent dressing but I have found out that the requirement for righteousness outlined by these people is far too cheap and deficient. Holiness transforms a life from the inside out. God is too great to be reduced to dress code. Those who truly know Him cannot remain but help to be clean. 

.ANGELIC MINISTRY (PART 11)

.ANGELIC MINISTRY (PART 11)

TEXT: Acts 12:6-11 (KJV)
⁶  And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
⁷  And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
⁸  And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
⁹  And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
¹⁰  When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
¹¹  And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

In the life of the Apostle Paul, there were different occasions where he was delivered from the wicked plans of the enemy by the timely intervention of angels. From the reading of our text for today it became so clear that sometimes some of the encounters some people have had may be perceived as a dream. When someone is in the kind of situation that Peter found himself in and there seem to be no way out many people will become discouraged like Peter that the thought of a divine intervention looks too good to be possible. But when the Lord has an assignment for somebody there is no way they can be cut off before they are done with the assignment.

On several occasions the Lord delivered the children of Israel from their enemies by sending angelic beings to their rescue. Are you living for God? Do you have a divine assignment to carry out? Then no one can terminate your life before your time. Those who live for themselves will have to protect themselves but those who are passionate about the work of God have the greatest insurance policy ever. What about you?

ASK GOD FOR HELP (PART 4)

ASK GOD FOR HELP (PART 4) 

TEXT: Psalms 127:1-2 (TLB)
¹ Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good.
² It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.

Our lives are full of expectations and dreams. We want to be able to accomplish so much within our short life therefore we are either doing this or that and that’s where a number of us miss it. Psalm 127 says, ^“Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good”. Without God taking the lead in your lives all of your efforts are in vain. It has to be the Lord building the house before the house will become a reality. The sincere question we must ask ourselves is; whose idea is this?  We often start things lead by our own selfish ambitions and then want God to bless it. Sometimes in His mercies he allows us to have some victory but if we have asked for his help before we started it would have been far more glorious. If we are always careful to hear from God before you step out things will be different. It is possible that what we spent some time, energy and resource to accomplish God intend to give to us by favour. Somebody once said a day of favour is better than a life time of labour. From verse 2 of psalm 127 we learnt that it is useless to rise up early and then sleep late only to eat the bread of sorrow. Be more diligent to get God’s leading than to do anything. Ask God for help.

YOU ARE A DIVINE AGENDA (Philippians 2:12-15)

YOU ARE A DIVINE AGENDA (Philippians 2:12-15)

Sometimes we become oblivious of the reality of a divine agenda even with our lives thinking we or certain actions are inconsequential and that is a serious illusion. Make up your mind to make the most of today.

CONTEMPLATION

“ Every one of us has been carefully thought of before we

were assembled together and delivered to our generation. God

our Creator took time to put in place the things we need to succeed

in carrying out our divine assignments (2 Peter 1:2-3).” FFPW p104

By our decisions and actions we choose to occupy a realm of life that is either attractive or ignoble.  A man can choose to rise to a certain height and accomplish it if he has spent quality time in the presence of God to know what to do. Three to five years is enough time to pursue a dream and accomplish it to make a lasting impart in your generation. If you conceived it in the presence of God you will certainly deliver it by the grace of God (See Zachariah 4:5-7). Not every pursuit attract the grace of God. There is a great difference between your fleshy ambitions and a divine agenda.

“It is true that by the fall of Adam we inherited a fallen

nature, but by the redemption of Christ Jesus we can now have

divine access to the throne of grace and become partakers

of His divine nature and power (2 Peter 1:3 and Hebrews

4:14-16).” FFPW p  105.

PRACTICAL ISSUES

If you think your life does not really count take a look at the lives of those you think are making a difference and you will come to see that they also have their challenge.

Sometimes people are hardened to God because we have failed to manifest the glory of God to them. Choose to bring glory to God by doing something impactful with your life today.

-          REV. IGHO Y.

ANGELIC MINISTRY (PART 10)

ANGELIC MINISTRY (PART 10)

TEXT: Revelation 1:9-11 (KJV)
⁹  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
¹⁰  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
¹¹  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Revelation 2:1 (KJV)
¹  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

In one of our previous devotion messages on this series on the ministry of angels, we read of how the prince of Persia contended with the angel sent to deliver the answer to the Daniels' prayer 21 days. It only when the angel Michael came to rescue the situation that he got his breakthrough. Just like as an evil spirit was assigned over Persia, there are angels assigned to cities or kingdoms. In like manner, there are angels assigned to churches, cities and nations.

This is where the worship of the community or nation plays a vital role. Whenever a people reject God they enthrone an evil spirit over their lives, city and nation. Whatever a group of people choose to worship becomes empowered to reign over their lives.

Our text in Revelation 2 speaks of the angel to the church of Ephesus as well as others. Such angels assigned to these churches, cities and nations are often very fierce looking and combat ready. Their primary duty is to help that work succeed. They fight against the enemy of that work and strengthen the members and allies of such. Among the angels assigned to churches, cities and nations we know of the angel Michael who is believed to be the angel assign over the nation of Israel and has helped the nation in their crucial moments. In the history of the Jewish nation dating back to the Bible as well as recent battles, there has been very strange and incomprehensible protection of Israel and her people. There were different times when enemies from different nations surrounded them and by some strange occurrence they were able to get help to escape the onslaught of their enemies. It has to be some supernatural presence to make this happen. The scripture says those who put their trust in the Lord shall not be confounded.

When a people enthrone God over their lives, they begin to record the kind of victory only a few can ever experience.

Where do you belong? Are you on the Lords' side? Trust in God.

ANGELIC MINISTRY (PART 10)

AUGUST 11^TH

TEXT: Revelation 1:9-11 (KJV)
⁹  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
¹⁰  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
¹¹  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Revelation 2:1 (KJV)
¹  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

In one of our previous devotion message on this series of the ministry of angels we read of who the evil spirit known as the prince of Persia withstood an angel that was sent to give an answer to the prayer of Daniel for 21 days till the angel Michael came to rescue the situation. In the same way you have evil spirit over a city or kingdom in like manner there are angels over, churches, cities and nations. 

Whenever a people reject God they enthrone an evil spirit over their lives, city or nation and whatever they choose to worship becomes empowered to reign over them.  Our text in Revelation 2 speaks of the angel to the church of Ephesus and it went on to name others. Such angels assigned to these churches, cities and nations are very……………………………………………………………………………..

There are angels assigned to churches, cities and nations. The angel Michael is believed to be the angel assign over the nation of Israel and has helped the nation in their crucial moments. In the history of the Jewish nation from the Bible days up until recent battles, there had been very strange and incomprehensible protection of Israel and her people. There were different times when enemies from different nations surrounded them and by some strange occurrence they are able to get help to escape the onslaught of their enemies. There have to be some supernatural presence to make this happen. The scripture says those who put their trust in the Lord shall not be confounded. When a people enthrone God over their lives they will record the victory only a few can ever experience. Trust in God.

Glory Realm Devotional
By Rev. Igho L.Y

ASK GOD FOR HELP (PART 2)

ASK GOD FOR HELP (PART 2) 

TEXT: Psalm 121:1-8 (KJV)
¹

 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
²  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
³  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
⁴  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
⁶  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
⁸  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Too often we want to be in the driver seat of our lives, we want to be able to say I did this and that by me but all of that is foolishness. There is no way we will be able to accomplish anything tangible without God. Without God at the center everything will fall apart. Only God can give lasting and peaceful victory. If you are going through any challenge today don’t be too proud that you cannot ask God for help. Some of us would rather continue to struggle than humble ourselves and ask for help. Destroy every trace of pride and even go as far as calling someone to trust God with you for solution. Too many people are suffering and dying in their pride. What most of us do not know is that God want to get the glory as touching that challenge you are battling with. Swallow your pride and let God glorify his name. You would have made greater progress if you have taken time to acknowledge openly that you need God to help you. The word of the Lord in Psalm 124:8 says, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” As you go into this day don’t be ashamed to trust in the Lord. Give him his rightful place and you will be amazed what will follow.