COURAGE: A FORCE OF DESTINY

There is a story about two good adventurous friends who embarked on a journey of discovery. They both wandered the desert which was enroute their destination. After much trekking under the scotching desert sun; they became very tired, thirsty and hungry. One said to the other; he was going back, he had lost the courage to go on. He was discouraged.

due to the fact that they’ve been unsuccessful throughout their journey. From a distance they had seen what seemed to be an oasis, but only to discover it was a mirage

After much plea from his partner to take courage perhaps the next mirage might turn out to be an oasis, which didn’t yield any positive response, they parted ways. The discouraged friend headed back home several miles from their current position. But his friend continued the journey with as little courage as to take the next step. Just five hundred meters from where they parted ways, he found a pool of water and beside it was the treasure they had been looking for in the past three days.

You may be faced with a hard situation and now contemplating a U-turn, just wait a minute, and take one more step forward.
This might just be the step that will usher you into the miracle you’ve hoped for. In the book of Exodus God asked Moses to tell the children of Israel to move forward in the face of the red sea. This is an act of courage. The four lepers in 2kings 6 moved into the camp of the enemy by an act of courage.
By courage Queen Esther entered the king’s chamber without invitation. Take that bold step and see the salvation of your God.

“Courage is what makes a man to try again and again after several failures.”- Kennedy Joseph Oshioma

“Courage is the ability to stand, fight, and conquer the rage of the enemy before you”- Kennedy Joseph Oshioma

You must resolve in your heart to protect your destiny, win your enemies and remain a champion. Our success in life is greatly dependent on our ability to stand against oppositions through the display of courage. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind. Joshua and Caleb withstood the intimidating report by an act of courage to possess their possession.

Always have the mind of a champion, because that’s who you are. Do not entertain excuses no matter what’s before you.

FOUNDATION (UNLOCKING YOUR GLORIOUS DESTINY)

In this article, we shall critically look into the issue of foundation and its influence on people’s destiny. The greatest influence on anything that has a beginning is its foundation. It is simply the principle on which that particular thing draws its existence and strength.A strong foundation will surely guarantee a lasting structure in terms of withstanding pressure, and other militating factors. Foundation now; is the base on which a life stands. Without it, there is nothing, and a faulty one brings ruin. Psalm11:13, If the foundation be faulty, what shall the righteous do? The answer is also embedded in the scripture James 5:16… the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. Once a child is conceived, or even before his conception, God has a destiny for such a child. This is a destiny of greatness, and prosperity. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Like in the construction of a house, our parents are the first human contacts we have, therefore are saddled with the responsibilities of building our foundation; they are to channel our lives in the path we should go. Proverbs 22:6, “Teach a child in the way he should go and when he grows up will not depart from it”.

Some people‘s destiny have been botched by their parents through ignorance, and practices that are demonic. For instance what do you think will become of a child dedicated to a family deity at birth?

The foundation is the most important part of the human life, and must be critically checked for correction in the event of abnormalities in the life of an individual. It is impossible for anyone to fulfill destiny on a

wrong or faulty foundation because the foundation of a man has a direct impact in the life of that person.

A typical case study is the life of “honourable” Jabez. Jabez was a man with so much to offer, a man of honour so the bible says.

He was probably loved by many, and well appreciated. He had a lot of potentials, and displayed a lot of qualities that made him better than his peers. He was trustworthy, with great business acumen; people believed in his ideas and would always want to associate with him, but Jabez was a complete wreck. His life was a disaster!

A lot more people are like Jabez. People with great future, but are been denied of their inheritances due to some other person’s mistake or ignorance. If the foundation be faulty, let the righteous pray!

Jabez decided to pay his mum a visit; but this time a very unusual visit because of the motive behind it. His motive was to make a search into his numerous woes and failures in life. It is seldom said that, “a problem

known is half solved”. His mother told him the circumstances surrounding lures.his birth, and the part she played in keeping him in perpetual failure. She revealed speaking the wrong words into his life. She sewed the seed that had grown to challenge his destiny. Words are the pillars on which our destinies are built; words are spirit and has the capacity to either bring life or death depending on whose mouth there are coming from.

Jesus said; “the word I speak are spirit and life.”

FAMILY RESTORATION

The family consists of parents (Husband and wife) and usually children, in a house hold. The family unit may be with or without relatives, friends, and servants. The family is the oldest and most basic of human institutions. God created it. Why is the family Important? The family is God’s plan for husbands and wives to team up with Him in the continuing work of creation by conceiving children and propagating godly offspring within the union of their marriage (Genesis 4:1, ..now Adam slept with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant . . . she gave birth to Cain, and she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have brought forth a man!” , (Ps 127:3). (Malachi 2:15).

The family is the building block of every nation

The Family is a spiritual unit, the center of growth, development, teaching and learning about God and godliness for the attainment of mature adult character. It is the place for effectively modeling the truth. (Joshua 24:15 . . . as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord). It is a place of love, encouragement and shelter from life’s storms. For the purpose of functioning according to God’s plan, the family has a built-in authority structure, roles and responsibilities of the members are clearly spelt out.
The husband is leader to the wife and the parents are leaders to the children. All leadership is a form of service rather than of tyranny, and these domestic leadership roles must be fulfilled in love (Eph. 5:22–6:4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Parents must teach their families how to know God and walk with him (Det 6:7, Ex 10:2, Titus2:4-5, Prov 22:6, Eph 6:1-4 .

Children are to learn to take care of themselves and take care of others in the family. Children must be instructed (Gen. 18:18-19; Deut. 4:9; 6:6-8; 11:18-21; Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4) and must be encouraged to take the instruction seriously as a basis for their living (Prov. 1:8; 6:20). Parents must discipline their children, that is, provide directive and corrective training which is necessary to lead children beyond childish folly to self-controlled wisdom (Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15, 17). Just as there is purposeful, loving discipline in God’s family (Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:5-11), so there must be in the human family. Households became the units of Christian commitment in New Testament times (Acts 11:14; 16:15, 31-33; 1 Cor. 1:16).
The fitness of candidates for church office was assessed by observing whether they had led their family well (1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12; Titus 1:6). The Bible lists several genealogies, all recorded by family units, showing the family as central and fundamental to the development of people, communities and of nations. It is therefore one of God’s greatest resources for communicating truth and effecting change in any community as there is no better place to learn the essential principles of life and nowhere can the truths of God’s Word be more effectively taught and modeled.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PART 2

The word of God is one of the fiercest weapons against Satan, he cannot withstand the word. It neutralizes darkness, and reveals the truth. The bible calls it the sword of the Spirit. It is the only offensive weapon in the armoury which makes it a great companion. Hebrews 4:12, for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Our Lord and Master dealt with the Satan severally by the power of the spoken word. Rev.12:11. …and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. Satan and his demons can’t understand the power of the word. It keeps them in a retreating position because it’s too powerful for them to handle. Our fight is in the unseen realm; our enemy is an unseen one,Hecreati we need proper spiritual guidance before embarking in a battle. Ephesians 6:12 for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 2Corinthians 10:4, the weapons of our warfare are not canal, but mighty in God, pulling strongholds… We need the ministry of the Holy Spirit if we must prosecute this war unto victory. The Holy Spirit is the master of the spiritual realm, He knows the weakness of the enemy and He is always ready to help us if only we rely on Him. 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat was faced with a great army from enemy nations, he was afraid because physically he could not go against such a great army; so he enquired of the Lord, and by the Spirit of God, he was guided on how to win the battle. He gathered all the singers and players of instruments of music and they praised the Lord of host; and God laid an ambush against the enemies of Israel. I was at vigil one night when a song of battle and victory was raised in worship of the Most High. I knelt down in worship: a few seconds after, I saw a man (in the spirit) dressed like a Roman soldier with a shining sword in his hand. I was afraid and quickly asked him why he was coming towards me? He said “I have not come against you, but have come to put an end to this war.” This experience brought to my memory the encounter Joshua had with the Captain of the host of the Lord in Joshua 5:13-14.14…and he said, Nay; but as the Captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, what saith my lord unto his servant?

Not digressing, the potency of the Word of God cannot be over emphasised; it is the everlasting power of God in creation, it extinguishes all forms of darkness. Ignorance of the Word of God is ignorance to the power of God available unto us. 

Satan and his cohorts thrives in darkness, but the Word is the emission of light. Light drives away darkness, invariably making Satan vulnerable. I hereby admonish us to continuously acquaint ourselves with the Word and be apt to speak the Word in season and out of season. Take your stand against the enemy by the Word you speak by faith.
Culled from Unlocking your Glorious Destiny by: Kennedy Joseph

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PART ONE

Spiritual Warfare Part 1

There is no gainsaying that we are at war and have eternal enemies militating against the plans of God for our lives. Our battles are not with physical enemies, but with spiritual elements deter- mined to destroy God’s purpose for our destiny. We must not be ignorant of the activities of the enemy; the devil, but must oppose him in all forms of manipulations. The devil has nothing good to offer to anyone and must be treated as a persona non grata in our affairs. He is nothing, but a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of this age, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. It is imperative for us to be aware of this, and be spiritually alive. 1Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil is as a roaring lion,  about, seeking whom he may devour. Our opponent is not a gentleman and must not be treated as one. He is a slimy trickster with loads of wickedness under his sleeves. But we must also know that; he is a defeated foe. We are fighting an adversary whose back is on the ground already. We must understand the operations of the devil, and his arsenals for us to be able to checkmate him. We must also understand our position and the arsenals at our disposal in prosecuting these battles.
Nothing happens in a man’s life without permission either consciously or otherwise. Like I said before, the enemy is a trickster who being darkness can mimic the light to deceive ignorant folks. He may come subtly and gain entrance into people’s life to enslave them. One of the tools the devil uses against multitudes is ignorance; he will do all he can to make people unaware of his operations in their lives through manipulation centered on their ignorance. . 2:11, “lest Satan should get advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” A man who lacks knowledge will be at the mercy of anything presented to him. Children of God know your foe and know him well. There are two types of ignorant people; the one that is not saved and ignorant of the saving grace of the blood of Jesus Christ; who is a puppet of the devil his master and the one who is saved, but does not know his left from his right. A Christian must know that he is on the winning side and must not let his guards down. He who breaks the edge the serpent will bite. We must be vigilant at all times and be battle ready in all instant. The devil has a legal right in the life of an unsaved soul, he has an opera- tional permit to steal, kill, and destroy such a soul because that individual is not protected. But the believer is God’s property; the expression of His love bought by the sacrifice of the precious blood of Jesus Christ and given authority to trample over serpents and scorpions. Luke 10:19, behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Hosea 4:6, my people parish for lack of knowledge. This means, God’s people lose value due to ignorance. An ignorant believer may not recognize that there are spiritual forces against him, therefore may have a carefree attitude concerning evil operations around him. He would say; “at least I am born again and old things have passed away.” Did your enemy also pass away? The moment you switch allegiance and pitch your tent with the Lord; the enemy becomes mad at you. He feels you’ve betrayed him and would launch multiple attacks on you. The battle becomes fiercer! You become a target to the enemy, because you are a threat to his agenda on earth. Please know that you have been equipped and made ready to dislodge the horde of the devil. You are like dynamite, but if the enemy would succeed to make you believe anything different; he will be most joyful.

Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand the wiles of the devil. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of GOD: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…”
Culled from the book: "UNLOCKING YOUR GLORIOUS DESTINY"