I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR (PART 3)

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR (PART 3)

Life is a battlefield and everyone that is living is called to fight; a fight which is not against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits. Eph.6:12. The ones we have to fight are spirits, and one of the requirements to fight is “confidence.” Outside of confidence, you can’t fight and win. This is not confidence in man, self or Satan but in God.

Joseph was a man that feared God and confident in Him. God gave him the interpretation of the kings’ dream. Gen.41:14-16, 38-44. David had to fight against Goliath. He boasted in the Lord because he was confident and God brought Goliath down through him.

There is one major enemy of confidence and that is fear. You can’t be confident and at the same time fearful. It’s either you are confident or fearful. Fear robs you of what belongs to you. Some people have fear of death, fear of accident, fear of failure, fear of barrenness and fear of the unknown. Fear is a strong weapon in the hand of the devil, our enemy and you need to handle it.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FEAR

1.Fear is a spirit. When you are given to fear, know there is a negative spirit at work. 2Tim.1:7.

2.Fear is not from God, it is from the devil.

3.Fear robs you of your blessings. It takes from you what God has given you or what belongs to you. Job was mightily blessed but lost everything because of fear. Job3:25. Whatever you fear has a potential of coming into effect or being in your life. Everyone fearful always have a feeling that there is no safety or security.

4.Fear brings torment. Torment connotes punishment. 1Jn.4:18.

5.Fear brings failure or defeat. Deut.20:1, 8. You must have confidence against your enemy because confidence has reward.

THANKSGIVING

 Thanksgiving is the acknowledgement of God as the one behind of every good thing in and around us.

^“John answered and said, a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” Jn.3:27.

Whatever a man claims he has is what he has received.

“………………And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 1Cor.4:7

Everything good and perfect comes from the Lord. A man can receive nothing except it is given him from above. For example, Shiloh 2013 was a success because God made it so.

WHAT GOD DID FOR US AT SHILOH 2013

1. God answered our prayers concerning Shiloh 2013. We had perfect weather, the video and audio coverage was perfect. Jer.33:3.

2. God disappointed the devices of the enemy. Jn.5:12

3. God sent His word and confirmed it with signs following. Mrk.16:20

4. God turned captivities in the lives of His people. There were miracles of all kinds. Ps.126:1-2.

WHY MUST WE GIVE THANKS?

1. Thanksgiving is the will of God. 1Thess.5:18. Everytime we give thanks, we are doing His will. Ps.92:1, Luk.17:17. Each time God is good to you, He expects you to come back and give thanks.

2. Thanksgiving perfects our blessings. To perfect means to make whole or complete. The only leper that returned to give thanks to God among the ten, after healing received the perfection of his healing. Luk.17:15. Giving thanks brings perfection of our miracles.

3. Thanksgiving multiplies our blessings. Nothing depreciates when you give thanks to God. Jn.6:9, Jer.30:19.

I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR (PART 2)

According to the English dictionary, a “conqueror” is someone who is victorious by force of arms. To be a conqueror, you must be a fighter. 1Tim.6:12. As children of God, we are meant to fight, and until we fight, we cannot lay hold. Eph.6:12. Every believer is meant to be a fighter because our adversary is the devil and until we fight and conquer him, we cannot take delivery. Deut.2:24. You will have to contend for you to possess! Until you contend, you don’t prevail.

Behind your afflictions and calamities, there are forces, and until you prevail against these spirits, you cannot have victory. For example, there is a spirit behind barrenness and you have to fight against it in order to be fruitful. If you will not fight, you will not conquer; what belongs to you will not be delivered to you. Therefore, to be more than a conqueror, you must be a fighter.

One primary requirement for conquest is confidence. Ps.78:9. Even though some people carry weapon, they are still defeated because they lack confidence. Confidence is the conqueror’s backbone! David was a man of confidence. He boasted in the Lord because he had confidence in Him. 1Sam.17:32. As long as you fail on your inside, you have already failed.

TYPES OF CONFIDENCE

1.               Confidence in Self: No man can help himself but God empowers us to victory. If you want God to help you, then you need to destroy your self confidence but not your self esteem. Every man needs God’s help.

2.               Confidence in Satan: Many operate with charms from the devil for protection and confidence but this does not take them far.

3.               Confidence in God: This is the real confidence because with this, you are rest assured. Ps.121:1. God can use anyone or anything to bring help to you, so you must have confidence only in God. You need to bury your confidence that cannot help you. Always admit your helplessness before God and He will help you. Caleb was among the twelve spies that was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, but despite the general evil report of the other spies, he gave a good report because of his confidence in God’s ability. Num.13:30, Num.14:6-10. Even, the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had confidence in God and defied the kings’ order to serve idols. They were careless in reposing their confidence in God. Dan.3:17-28. To have confidence in God means “to be fully persuaded of the faithfulness of God and the integrity of His word, the prevailing circumstances, not with-standing.” To be fully persuaded of the fact that He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do.

HOW TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD

1.               Go for knowledge: Knowledge is what births confidence. When you know it, you are not afraid. A man of knowledge is a man of confidence. Dan.11:32

2.               Righteousness: Righteousness enhances your confidence. Prov.28:1. When you play with sin, your righteousness is eroded and you lose confidence.

3.               Faith: Abraham believed God even though there was no hope. Rom.4:18.

4.               Love: walk in love towards God and men. Rom.8: 28, 35, 37-38.

5.               Don’t give up: the enemy will always want you to give up, but if you must see the fulfilment of prophecy in your life, then refuse giving up. Heb.10:35-37

Note: The number one enemy of confidence is fear

MORE THAN A CONQUEROR

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CONQUEROR? (Rev.6:1-2)

Christ Jesus is our conqueror and if you are in Him, then you also have become a more than conqueror. Even though you didn’t fight, because you are a winner which God makes you, then you are a conqueror. Rom.8:37. Faith and confidence is required to be a conqueror. In Joshua 1:6-9; God repeatedly told Joshua to be strong and courageous. This is not the confidence in your ability or strength, but your confidence in God. Just as every parent wants to see confidence in their children, God wants to see in you your confidence in Him. Heb.6:12. David was highly confident in the Lord. 1Sam.17:32, 37. The three Hebrew boys; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had confidence in God. Dan.3;.

To be God confident is to be fully persuaded of the faithfulness of God and the integrity of His word the prevailing circumstances notwithstanding.

When your confidence is not in place, you draw God back and He will not be pleased with you. Heb.10:35-38; 1Sam.17: 45, 50. Your confidence is required and you will see the Lord finish up the job. Heb.6:12-17. When you have God to your side, you are confident of Him.

THINGS TO KNOW

1.    Recognise that you are redeemed to reign. Rev.5:9-10. You must demonstrate your reign over the devil. That is why you didn’t die to go to heaven after you are in Christ. The earth must experience your rule and reign.

2.    Confidence is all about inner strength in the days of battle. Eph.3:16, Prov.24:10.

3.    God’s confident believers are empowered to be more than conquerors. Ps.125:1-3, Prov.30:30.

4.    The secret of their God confidence is in the genuineness of their love for God. Rom 8:35-38, I Sam 13:14.

5.    The hotter ones love for God, the stronger is the confidence in God. I Sam 17:32-37/45-50.

THE TRIUMPH OF CONFIDENCE (Num.13:30)

·       Caleb displayed utmost confidence with Joshua.

·       Joseph also was absolutely confident in God all his life.

God will not declare you a more than conqueror if He hasn’t programmed and prepared you for it. Num.14:6. To be God-confident is to see prophecies fulfilled. Abraham was confident in the Lord and His prophecies were fulfilled in his life. Eccl.3:14. In Gen.41: 38-41, God made His promise to be fulfilled in the life of Joseph. Habk.2:3.

Whatever the Lord doeth, it shall be forever, though it tarry, it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

TOPIC:  UNVEILING THE WONDERS OF SANCTIFICATION (PART 2)

KEYS TO SANCTIFICATION: THE FEAR OF GOD

Understand that to fear God does not mean to be afraid of God or to run away from Him. To fear God means to honour Him, to reverence or respect Him, to acknowledge or recognise Him. “A son honoureth his father and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear?...” Malachi 1:6. Just as we naturally fear our superiors and accord them due respect and regard especially at work, God also demands that we as His children should honour, respect and fear Him.

When you truly fear God, you will be far away from iniquities and not be given to immoralities such as fornication, adultery or covetousness. When you fear God, you would be satisfied with whatsoever He gives to you at every point in time, while aspiring for more blessings from Him. A man that fears God is humble and not proud and does not tells lies; He that fears God is clean. (Ps19:9). He hates evil, detests it and can’t be caught in evil. (Prov.8:13). Also, by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. (Prov16:6). Therefore, when a man or woman is committed to doing evil, then that man or woman does not fear God. If you sincerely fear God, you will be clear from sin or evil.

This fear of God is demonstrated in Gen 20:1-12, where Abraham, during his sojourn in the land of Gerar , instructed Sarah to pretend that they were siblings and to also tell the king so. He did this out of the fear of being killed by king Abimelech in order to covet Sarah, his wife. In the night, God intervened; preventing the consummation of Abimelech’s evil act by creating His fear in his heart, thereby restoring Sarah back to Abraham, her husband. Abraham later confessed his wrong to Abimelech when he said in verse 11 that “… I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place....”

Similarly, when Joseph came into Potiphar’s house, in Gen 39:7-9, his master’s wife wanted him to sleep with her, but Joseph refused because he feared God and even ran away from the woman. Despite the fact that nobody was there to query Joseph, he refused to sin against God saying “…how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (vs 9b). In Gen 42:18, Joseph further professed this Godly fear to his brother. Nehemiah was also a man that feared God, choosing to be different from the past governors.(Neh 5:14-15).

There are things you should never do or say in your life if you actually fear God. A husband only needs the fear of God in order to always be faithful to his wife and same applies to the wife. Even our High Priest, Jesus Christ feared God as He was tempted at all points, and was yet without sin. (Heb 4:15). God demands His fear from us. Isa 11:1-3. God is always demanding His fear from us in all spheres of life; our lifestyles, relationships, offices, schools, businesses and in other areas too.

THE BLESSINGS OF THE FEAR OF GOD

1)      Riches and Honour. Prov22:4

2)      Long life. Prov10:27

3)      Divine wisdom. Prov11:10, 15:33, Job28:28

4)      Right living. Phill2:12

5)      Total well being. Deut5:29

HOW TO WORK IN THE FEAR OF GOD

1.       Be conscious of His abiding presence. Pslm139:

2.       Tremble at His word. Ecc l12:13