UNLOCKING YOUR POTENTIAL
/ UNLOCKING YOUR POTENTIAL 19 KEY 18: Be a Christian of the Word of God
You don't need to have a vision or know a witch or wizard to survive. If God gives you a vision, that's fine but no one has a vision throughout a day. How can you eat the food of a witch and still live, that's what am getting to here - the place of the word of God in our lives. Incidentally, in our culture, we don't seem to value the place of the word. We think that every time, fire must come down but the word has a place. God even exalted His word above His name.
I will worship towards thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and thy truth: for thou has magnified thy word above thy name.
Psalm 138:2
If your word has no meaning, then you have no meaning. A man is as good as his word. God is good because His word is good. How do I know God, have I seen God before? No, but I have seen and heard His words.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Luke 4:18
The ministry of Jesus is based on the word. Some are attracted to churches where everything revolves around fighting the devil. We think that we must fight storms in other to conquer but we can walk over storms. You can use the name of Jesus to fight the devil but you can use God's word to walk on the devil. Not every time you fight. If your life is about fighting and looking around for the enemy to conquer, you will be suspecting everybody and not enjoy your Christian life.
There are times in your life that silence is power. You get to a place and you don't talk and everybody who has been crying before shuts up. Do you see what happens in families when the children are making noise and the father comes in, they all fall into silence. This is because a leader has come. They stop because they know the father does not like noise. He doesn't have to talk but his presence is making a difference. That you are there, the thing stopped; that is authority! You can only command it when you know the word.
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor... to preach deliverance to the captives…
Luke 4:18
The Bible didn't say to pray for deliverance. What does it mean? It means the more of the word that is coming to you, the more delivered you become. If you want more deliverance in every area of your life, in your finance, health, future then take the word. This is the secret they knew in the days of Jesus. They were so used to it that they put pressure on the word of God. The more the word of God they heard, the better they became.
And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.
Luke 5:1
The pressure today is on miracles but it is the word of God that births miracles. The pressure today is who can give me money but when you have the word you get the wisdom of God and money comes.
Can you see the pressure they mounted on the ministry of Jesus to hear the word? 'Pressed' indicates that they were so much eager to hear the word; asking themselves, what did he say last? No microphone and you wonder how he preached to five thousand. Sometimes he had to go into a ship so that the waves would carry his voice to everybody around.
Today what people are saying is 'that man of God, has he touched me?' One day somebody gave me a lift. After I had left, somebody told him that I am a man of God and asked him if I touched his car before I left. He believed I
carry the anointing. Yes, I carry the anointing but the priority will not be me touching the car. The issue is to know the scriptures that can deliver you anytime when the man of God is not around or cannot be reached.
'The people pressed upon him to hear the word of God' i.e. they put a demand on the word. Some spend time on things that are not necessary. Three hours to watch a football match or a drama. Spend quality time to read and study the Bible. Not one day but a continuous life soaked in the word.
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 9:35
I want you to see the order in which it comes. The order is teaching, preaching and healing every disease among the people.
But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
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Luke 5:15
Miracles will come automatically in your life if you have time for the word. Jesus appeared to Kenneth Hagin many years ago and told him that the way an average Christian thinks that he did miracles is not the way he did it. He said that as a matter of importance, he didn't heal anybody until they heard him first. There are occasions like when He came to the man at the pool and asked him if he would be made whole. That was exceptional. It was God initiating it and sending Jesus there by revelation. But the usual sequence is getting the word of God first then the miracle.
Jesus could not do much miracle in His home town because they were not ready to hear Him.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
Mark 6:4-5
'Could there do' means that if he had attempted to do it, he would have failed. If I say I could not help him, it is different from I will not help him. I could not help means I am incapable. Jesus became incapable to do mighty works; why, because the people refused to accept his words they despised him.
And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went about the villages, teaching.
Mark 6:6
See the rendition in Message Bible:
Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there. He laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all. He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of other villages, teaching.'
Mark 6:5-6 (MSG)
Stubborn people are robbed of miracles. Stubborn people insist on their own way. They don't want to hear God. They already judged him. They said we know him. He was talking, they were talking too. He was preaching and they were preaching too. See the response of a people and see how miracles became difficult for a God that came in human flesh. All things are possible for him, his anointing was without measure; he could do everything but he looked like a failure in his hometown.
See what they said when he entered his home town:
'He made a real hit, impressing everyone.' 'We had no idea he was this good!' they said. 'How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?'
But in the next breath they were cutting him down: 'He's just a carpenter - Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?' They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.
Mark 6:2-3 (MSG)
While he was preaching, they were talking among themselves saying 'He's Mary's boy', 'He's a carpenter', 'We know his brothers' etc.
Miracles are meant to help you and once you are helped, you settle down and value the word. It takes time to get drunk. Anyone who tells you that you can get a 24-hour miracle is telling a lie. If you get it, you will lose it except you retain them by believing the word of God.
Get addicted to the word. In fact, you have no prayer life until you have a word life. People pray a lot but they don't know the bible. They are just prayerful, zealous, passionate people who don't get results. They pray but they don't know the word. The basis of prayer is the word of God.
God is not a Father Christmas that is emotional. God, can't you see my cry? God doesn't respond to emotion but His words. He said bring me your strong reasons. Strong reasons are based on what the word is saying. If the word is not saying it, it is not covered. This is a covenant term. Nobody can give you something that he doesn't have; His word tells us what he has.
And he came down with them and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases.
Luke 6:17
People travelled to come and hear because they believed that when they hear, their problem will be solved. The same word of God quickens your life. Without your knowing, changing your scope, changing your life, making problem look smaller, giving you increase and blessing. That is how it works on earth. Incidentally, often we seem to want to fight the storm than to go ahead and walk over the storm. There is a difference between power over storm and walking above storms. Not every time you stop storms, sometimes you need to walk above them. Let me give biblical examples of stopping the storm and walking over storms.
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
Luke 8:22
Jesus didn't tell them: 'let us go and die'. He was raised a carpenter. Some other disciples were fishermen so they were used to water, they should be bolder on the sea than a carpenter. But he spoke, not as a carpenter but as the Lord. Let us go to the other side to do ministry.
During the world war, in London they were bombing everywhere so people ran to the forest. Pastors and everybody ran to the bush hiding. Church members gathered and a woman was not there so they were wondering maybe she had died. Maybe the bomb had hit her and was gone. After the whole thing ceased, they came back to the town and found this woman on the street.
We thought you were dead, people had wept over you. She said no, I read the bible that he that watches over me neither sleep nor slumber and I said to myself if he is not sleeping and am not sleeping it is a bad work. If he is not sleeping let me sleep. So she confessed God's word, and nothing affected her. It is not presumption; she had something to rest on. When you rest on God's word, you can go and sleep.
After Jesus told the disciples, let's go to the other side, he slept. He was not the driver, why
should he be afraid or worry whether there will be an accident. He just slept. But as they sailed he fell asleep…
Luke 8:23a
That God spoke to you does not mean that trouble cannot arise.
…and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
Luke 8:23b
When trouble arises, people doubt. They say has God changed his mind. God has made up his mind to bless you. The storm of life cannot stop God's word coming to pass in your life.
Water was coming inside the ship. Jesus so slept that he didn't wake up. These are deep sleeps, the sleep of a hardworking man. He had worked hard, so he slept. The disciples didn't say master you perish rather they said we perish. The one that believes God's word will not perish. Why worry over nothing. Jesus slept.
They said what they believed. They were fishermen, they had seen many deaths and many ship capsizing, many waves torpedo ships. Experience of the past made them think that it was finished for them but the One that was raised by a carpenter knew the end. He spoke the word and slept.
So they woke him up. At this time he silenced the storm. In your life, every time you stay where
God places you and things come against you, use the name of Jesus to silence it. In the story here, he stood up and rebuked the storm. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the father may be glorified in the son If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it
John 14:13-14
Jesus talks about using his name. We can use it to stop the storm of life. But the story here is different from that in Matthew chapter 14. Some times when you 'have' the word of God you simply walk over the storm.
Every day: devil, devil, fight and fighting. You will be wearied and you will not enjoy your Christian life. At times just be silent and say, 'God said….' instead of saying, 'I bind….' They are different. 'Death, I bind you' is different from 'Lord, you said in your word that I will not die but live'. One is fighting, the other is confessing. Not every time you fight. Sometimes all you need to do is to know what God is saying rather than echoing what the devil is saying.
I have no business fighting death; all I need to do is to be speaking life. 'I will live. He sent his word and heals me. With long life will he satisfy me...' That is positive confession. That is not fighting storms, it is walking above storms. What we saw in the story in Luke 18 is Jesus rebuking storm. Let's see where Jesus walked over it.
And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get
into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
Matt 14:22-23
The story here is that the disciples had gone. In the first story he was sleeping, but now, he wasn't there. The enemy said last time I wanted to kill them, they woke Jesus up; the next time I attack, he won't be available. What they said that day 'carest not that we perish', the devil used it against them because they didn't believe in long life.
Some people will talk about death and they die. The enemy doesn't know what you are thinking until you say it out. The day that he wanted to get them was when Jesus left them to pray. They said that they can perish, so today will be the day of disaster, the devil said
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Matt 14:24
I travelled on that Sea of Galilee when we went to Israel. We called it 'Jesus trip'. The same type of canoe that Jesus used was what we used. They played songs for us and we entered into the ship. They showed us where they had trouble; we opened to the part of the bible where the story was. The journey was not more than a 30-minute ride but they spent 3 hours struggling, fighting death.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Matt 14:25
This time Jesus wasn't sleeping but the God that sent him told him that his disciples who said last time 'are we going to perish?' are in jeopardy. If they die, Jesus would start ministry all over again and his energy would have been wasted. The experience of the past often affects us; when you are afraid of death, anything around looks like death.
I love Peter he is bold though occasionally he talks before he thinks. He always believes that if you say you can do it, then he can do it also. He is a practical, pragmatic disciple. No wonder with all the failure in his life God still used him. He will not watch things happen, rather he makes things happen. He was one of the few that make things happen.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Matt 14:28
Jesus wouldn't have denied himself when Peter said if it is you, bid me to come. He didn't ask if he should come but he said if it is you, ask me to come. He put Jesus in a box and Jesus said 'Come'.
In your life, he can't deny himself. Someone said Peter walked on water. No, he walked on 'Come'. Who said come? Jesus. His word controls everything. Everything that he made, he controls it. His word controls devil, demons, evil dreams, death, etc. Anything that God made, he controls them. That's why he spoke to a fish, go and vomit Jonah. To a raven, go and supply food twice a day to
Elijah. How it got the food we don't know. What God made will obey him. A donkey spoke to a foolish Balaam when he was going on a wrong journey. The donkey spoke because God was involved.
So Peter came down out of the ship and walked on the water to meet Jesus. He attempted it. He walked on 'Come'. He walked on the word of God. The storm had not stopped, neither had the waves stopped but he walked on the word. He walked over the storm with the waves.
Some are waiting for God to stop everything, so when they have peace like a river they will now walk over trouble. They profess, "If everything is good, I will succeed and do anything". There is no better time than now. Now is the day that God has accepted. The storm did not stop. Jesus did not rebuke the storm.
You may not have strength until you go through some things. Everybody has muscles but it is not developed in everyone. No one develops muscle without carrying weights. You don't develop muscles by reading books but by practicing what is read in the book. Potentially it is, but it will come when you carry weights. Potential of great faith come by hearing but real faith come by going through trouble. We all run from trouble but trouble has made all of us. Show me a man, who is made, he was made by trouble.
Don't tell me that the olive oil in a bottle is sold for N200 in the market. That is not the real price of the oil, go and meet the olive tree and ask it how much it costs it. How it feels when
they pressed it in the industry to get oil out of it. The oil came out of pressure. The real price was paid by the olive tree. No suffering, no gain. In the midst of it all, Peter walked on the sea. But see what he did next,
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.'
Matt 14:30
The wind did not stop, the storm was still there, the trouble was still about to kill others in the ship but he said to himself I will leave the majority, who will not do anything, in the ship. I am going to meet Jesus and he walked out of the boat. How long did he walk over the storm, we don't know and nothing was coming against him until he focused on the wind. The wind that was contrary was still there when he walked. The problems do not have to go before you believe God. Believe God in the midst of them and you will walk over them.
Your focus is the issue. Concentration is the mother of success. What you focus on will look for you. If you don't focus on wrong things, they won't look for you. No one gets trapped in adultery without deliberately entering into it. Whatever you do in life is what you attract, whatever you become in life is what you attract to yourself. Don't attract negative forces by seeing the devil everywhere. See what God is saying.
Don't have a diary of bad dreams. Sleep again! The devil doesn't know what you are thinking. How do I know this? In the days of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and he compelled his advisers to tell him his dreams else they'll die. None of them could tell the king except the God of Daniel who knows the heart of men. The devil wouldn't have loved his magicians to die so that he can continue to use them for evil.
Devil can't figure my thoughts but God knows my thoughts. He uses what I'm saying and, I won't say wrong things under pressure. When pressure comes, I remind myself that pressure has come, will I say lack or say plenty, will I say sickness or healing, will I say bad dreams or good dreams. I will say what God says concerning me.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me
And immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they had come into the ship, the wind ceased. Matt 14:30-32
Did Jesus command the wind to stop; did he pray? No, He simply walked over it. The word of God made everything you see and everything that has intelligence will obey the word, so; get the scriptures into your heart.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Joshua 1:8
The word does not bow down for storms. I don't know which storm is around your life; exercise your authority over it. Learn to walk over it by confessing the word of God. When you say 'I rebuke doubt and death in Jesus name', it is different from 'I refuse to doubt in Jesus name'. When you rebuke doubt, that is using authority, but when you refuse doubt, it is a higher level. One is destroying; the other simply walks above it. To me, I believe that walking above issues is a better type of prayer.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want'
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters'
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake'
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me'.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…
Psalm 23:1-5
This world is that valley. You don't stay in the valley but rather you are walking through. Your enemies don't need to die before you enjoy God. If all your enemies die, who will be saved? Let them be alive to see that the
more they throw you into Potiphar's house and/or prison yard, the better you become. They push you closer to your throne.
Once I am at the centre of God's will, those who have decided to pitch themselves as my enemy are unknowingly working for me. Their efforts become my acceleration. It becomes my way to make progress. It hastens me to do the will of God for my life.
Ride on the word of God. When doubt comes, answer it with the word. Fire doesn't quench a fire, water quenches fire. The fire of the enemy can be quenched with the water of the word of God. May you walk in this advantage (Amen).
REFLECTION
You have no prayer life until you have a word life.
Chapter end
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