HIDDEN RICHES

READ: ISAIAH45:1-3

You need to learn a lot concerning hidden riches. Most of what we know is generally limited to the realm of apparent wealth. Hidden riches must be discovered and explored to be enjoyed. This is he time to go for hidden riches of secret places. Let us look at one promise of God in Isaiah 45:3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.”What does He mean by treasure of darkness and hidden riches of secret places? Until the discovery of crude oil, how many knew the “black gold” was hidden under the ground where nobody could see it with the naked eye? What about diamond? Where do we get it from? What about gold and silver? The Almighty God is saying here that He will give you oil, diamond, gold, silver and other minerals. You may have difficulty in believing this. God owns all these minerals and He can give them to whoever He pleases. The reason why many are where they are today is because they are afraid to go higher. They simply pray, “God, just give me the money to rent a one-room apartment.” If you want to die poor you will die poor, but I want to emphasize that poverty is evil. Do not let anybody deceive that poverty is good. The Bible says in Proverbs 10:15 “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.” God says poverty will destroy the poor. I do not want to be destroyed that is why I want to get rid of poverty and destruction altogether. In Proverbs 14:20, He says: “The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.” Also, Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” If you decide to be poor, then you will be a slave throughout your life. This means that poverty brings hatred to you. You have not offended anybody but just because you are poor, your neighbor will hate you.

MEMORIZE: 2 CORINTHIANS 8:9 –For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

DIVINE WEALTH

READ: 2CORINTHIANS8:1-9

We need a new paradigm shift. Gone at the days when we muse to equate poverty with holiness. The general believe is that the poorer you are the more humble you are likely to be. Many, hitherto, look down on anyone who is well dressed and when they see somebody riding a limousine, they will look at the fellow and conclude that the fellow is not going to heaven. Who told you? When I bought my Toyota Crown car, all my friends were buying Volkswagen Beetle cars. Many of them said, ‘Oh! What a pity. We thought God was going to use this brother, see he has not started and he has backslidden. I asked why they thought I had backslidden? They said, “Look at how long your car is. You cannot be riding in this big and very beautiful car and get to heaven.” I told them that I will get there before them. “I wish above all things”, that is what God says. I am not the one who wrote the Bible. The first thing He mentions, is that you will prosper and for you to have good health to enjoy the money. It is not prosperity with sickness, but prosperity with good health! Then He said my soul, of course, will prosper. Many of us will turn around and say Jesus was poor and the Bible says, we must follow His foot steps, therefore, since He was so poor, we too must be poor. This is not in the Bible. What is in the Bible is in 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” I do not know if you ever read this one before. I want you to pay attention to what it says here. In Heaven, nobody canbe compared with Jesus Christ in wealth. The ground in His Father’s Kingdom is of purest gold. However, He put aside all these wealth and came into the world as a poor man. He did this so that we can be poor and He might now lift them out of dust. The Bible did not say He was poor so that we can be poor! He became poor so that we can be rich. Everything Jesus Christ suffered was so that we might have the opposite. He died so that we can live. He was beaten, so that we might be healed. The Bible says, “By whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24). He went to hell that we may not go there. He thirsted, so that we may not thirst. If you do not want the wealth that the poverty of Jesus has purchased for you, then you must refuse His health that His stripes have purchased for you. If you receive His salvation that His death bought for you, it follows that you must receive His wealth that His poverty purchased for you.

MEMORIZE: 2 CORINTHIANS8:9–For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

YOUR GARMENT

READ: EPHESIANS6:13-18

Why is resisting the devil in a battle a tough aspect of spiritual warfare? Why is it a dangerous spiritual exercise? It is because of the kind of enemy we face. Ephesians 6:12 tells us more about this enemy: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” When you get going and begin to cast out demons, this stirs a crisis, which the devil doesn’t like. Of course, naturally, he would seek to fight back or retaliate. The good news, however, is that we had won the battle ever before it started. We are already overcomers. How then do we help those who do not know their need for help? How are we gong to defeat the devil in every angle from which he may come upon us? What we have to do is get dressed and then call on the Almighty God for assistance. Our dress is listed for us in our text. You must speak the truth at all times. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Put on the shoes of evangelism. Let your faith be your amour. Don’t forget to put on the protective helmet f Calvary. The sword of the spirit, the words of God are indispensable. Finally, pray without ceasing. If you are always speaking the truth, when you profess love, you must mean it. You must preach the gospel and be straight in all your dealings. You need to heal, to cleanse lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons. Also, if you are in the army of the Lord, you must be sure of your own salvation. You will also have to know the word of God. You are also to pray always, especially in the spirit. Put on the whole amour of God and you will have victory in all battles of life.

MEMORIZE: EPHESIANS 6:12 –For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

BLASPHEMY

READ: JUDE

Blasphemy does not only entail speaking against the Lord or the Holy Spirit. It is also possible to blaspheme a man of God. This is rampant today. Blaspheming against an anointed man of God is evil. When Angel Michael came for the corpse of Moses, Satan tried to stop him. Satan claimed that the corpse belonged to him. Angel Michael could not resist Satan. He actually said something surprising. Jude verse 9: “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said , The Lord rebuke you!” Angel Michael could not speak against Satan. The reason for this is found in Ezekiel 28:14: “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I establish you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.” Satan is called an anointed cherub. No one has the right to speak against an anointed man of God, no matter how far he has gone into sin. No matter how wicked the person is, he cannot be as wicked as the devil. Satan was an anointed cherub so Angel Michael could not say anything against him. He said God would have to deal with him. How many times have you spoken wrongly about any anointed man of God? The anointing is very important and we should start appreciating it. God had told jezebel that when she died, dogs would eat her corpse; the dogs did not eat from her head. This was because she was a queen. Her forehead had been anointed with oil. The dog recognized that she was anointed. What is the significance of the anointing oil? It is the Holy Spirit of God. In the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Consuming Fire. Jesus Christ confirmed to us that any sin against the Holy Spirit couldn’t be forgiven, now or forever. We are not to speak against the anointed of God. If you have ever spoken evil against any anointed of God, you should go and make amends. If you fail to make amends, the anointing may work against you in life. Think of what you can do to receive positive blessings from the anointing of a man of God today.

MEMORIZE: MARK 3:29 –But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.

PLAYING RELIGION

READ: EPHESIANS 4:24-32

There are many smart actors in the church. Many people think they can play religion and get away with it. If you have been playing church, I admonish you, for the sake of eternity; it is time to seek the Lord. I want you to go to the Almighty God and tell Him to do whatever He can to make you a new creature. You can deceive your pastor but you cannot deceive God. He knows everything. Now is the time to seek the Lord for total sanctification. Although many o us praise the Lord for being born again, there may still be a little problem, say a little anger, once in a while. We can always take this to the Lord because, should the trumpet sound today, that little thing in you that is not absolutely of God may debar you from going. The Bible says: “That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27). During one of my vigils some years back, I asked God to explain to me this idea of wrinkle. The Lord said, supposing my wedding dress with the Lamb had been prepared and hung, and as it was hung, the wind blew and one layer folded over the other and there was one single wrinkle running from the top to the bottom. This would no longer be acceptable, no doubt. Is there any wrinkle in your life? It is time to go to the Lord and forget all your own theories and philosophies. They will not help you on the last day. God shall judge us by the standard of the Bible. If your pastor is not perfect, he or she shall fail to make heaven. God is not respecter of persons. You cannot bride God. If you are not absolutely pure, you are not going anywhere. Are you playing church? Are you ready for the rapture? Are you preparing for the coming of the Lord? Examine yourself today.

MEMORIZE: EPHESIANS 5:27 –That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.