It has been a glorious month of March and we had yet another extraordinary service on Sunday. The message began with Pastor showing us a principle Jesus used for his life;

“And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:3-4

We learnt that just like he did with Jesus, the devil will always come to question what the word of God has said concerning us, however, Jesus did not need any sign to convince him that he was the son of God; If God had said it, then it was so. Pastor admonished that our responses should be like Jesus’ response, not based on what we feel, see or hear but based on what God has said because every other thing can change, only the word of God does not change.

Reading from 1 John 4:4, Pastor made us understand that we have been named champions already, God looked at every possible challenge the world can bring and looked at us and he has concluded that we are greater and wants us to live our lives based on what he has said.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” 1 John 4:4

Pastor showed us a very important principle to live by from the prayer Jonah made when he was in the belly of the fish as a result of his disobedience to God.

“They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” Jonah 2:8‭-‬10

Jonah prayed the prayer of faith, he began to see himself outside the belly of the fish while he was still inside and said a prayer of Thanksgiving. He spoke as though God had heard him and by faith, he brought himself out of that situation. He called the challenge a lying vanity and refused to focus on it, instead he focused on the solution. He declared that those that observe lying vanities forsake, that is, they let go of and lose their own mercy. No matter how bad the problem is, there is always mercy in form a solution and that is where we should put our focus. Pastor taught that in a period as this, rather than give attention to the lying vanities of all that is happening around us and asking God for protection, we should acknowledge the mercy of God made available to us and give thanks knowing we are protected. In doing this, we move from being victims to being victors.

Pastor illustrated this lesson with the story of the two blind men in Matthew 9 who followed Jesus asking him to have mercy on them, they didn’t receive the solution they desired until they got to the house because they kept focusing on the problem, Pastor compared them with the woman with the issue of blood who realized that mercy is ever available, rather than plead and beg, she pushed herself to the solution, touched Jesus’ garment and was made whole instantly. Jesus was inspired by her faith and commended her.

Pastor went on to read from Colossians 1:16:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.

Pastor taught us that God created all things for himself and can use all things including the devil, she taught us how to use the devil to our advantage. The bible shows us in John 8:44 that the devil is a liar and “..there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it”. When the devil tells you something is wrong with you or throws some symptoms at you, you should realize that he only tells lies and that the opposite of what he has said or of what you feel is the truth. Pastor taught us that our response in such situations should be to rebuke the devil and to give thanks to God.

Pastor concluded the message by explaining that the divinity of Jesus was made obvious in challenging situations, we would not have know what he could do if challenges did not arise, instead, the challenges proved that he was truly supernatural. We have also received the supernatural life and this is a signal that challenges will definitely come as opportunities for us to express the life we have received.

In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said “these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”. If there are no sick persons or deadly things or devils, there will be no signs to mark those that believe and to prove their divinity, knowing this, Pastor challenged us to not respond like others do when they face challenges, crying or feeling hopeless, instead, we realize that it is our time to manifest and remain conscious that we have been well equipped for such a time as this.

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