Prevailers

There is a way a believer must do things that is acceptable to the Lord

Not every victory a believer has is celebrated in heaven

Jesus could have enlisted angels to destroy his enemies and then reign over his friends and brothers

He refused to do so

He chose to forgive, to stoop, and then conquer

He chose the high way of majesty, rather than a destructive path that the enemy would take without a second thought

He was the measured conqueror, like Cyrus, he conquered Babylon by dethroning only the Devil

He knew every other entity involved in his travails was only doing the will of their father the devil and he carpeted the devil in order to make their obedience to him null and void

This is how a believer wins

It is not by killing all the enemies of their father's house, nor by destroying all those who maligned or spoke of them badly

Jesus did it the only way Glory speaks

He did what nobody who is only human would do

He absorbed the blows and then revealed a better reality out of the consequences of his death

What a way to win!

Many believers today think it is cool to go the way of Elisha

Some children mocked him and he commanded bears to tear them to pieces 

I have seen many pastors reference the action whenever they desire to put the fear of God in those who persecute them

What did Jesus say?

Love those who hatefully despise you

Love those who persecute you

Defend those who aim to destroy you

Show them that love is the more excellent way

I learnt this message the hard way about nine years ago

I rented a house, paid my full two years rent and then discovered that the bill on the electricity meter of the house was humongous and I had inherited it

I went to the landlady to complain

She turned a deaf ear

I went to the electricity company to complain

They turned a deaf ear

Almost every week, my electric connection would get disconnected and I would have to spend so much to reconnect it

It was a tale of woe

Eventually, two years came to an end 

I refused to pay the next rent until the landlady sorted out the bill

The landlady refused

I also refused to budge

This woman was in her late seventies, she really loved money

I could have just moved out to another apartment but I was determined to teach her a lesson

One morning, at about 5AM she came to my flat and started knocking frantically

I opened the door and she grabbed me, wailing and screaming

She insisted I must pay her the rent that morning or move out 

She was trying to blackmail me emotionally, but I was prepared for it

Neighbors got involved and she didn't allow me to go to the office that day with her antics

When she was done and the neighbors had all left

I got angry in my spirit

How dare this woman make a public spectacle of me?

The neighbors were empathizing with her based on her age and all but they were not fair in addressing the issue

The best most of them said was, "If you cannot accept her terms, move out"

I felt they were unjust

I turned to the Lord and said, "I want this woman dead before 9pm this evening"

After saying it, I sat down in front of the window of my flat waiting for news 

About 30 minutes later, there was a commotion downstairs

I overheard a woman saying my landlady had slumped

They rushed her to the hospital

I waited there, angry and determined that until I heard the news of her death I would neither eat nor drink

At about 2pm, there was another news

My landlady had slipped into a coma

You would think at that point that I would relent

Oh no!

I started pacing in my sitting room

I started quoting scriptures

I was not going to settle for the news of a "coma" when I could have the news of her "death"

At about 6pm, the Holy Spirit said to me

Is this what I have anointed you for?

Is my spirit in you meant to kill, steal or destroy?

Are you a rebuilder of ruins or a destroyer of cities?

This is not what I have empowered you to do

This is not the life I have given you

This is not why I have raised you

What would you gain from her death?

Why would you want her to pay the ultimate price without being saved?

Why are you not interceding for her salvation?

Why is she not deserving of eternal life?

Even if you are determined not to love her, why don't you just move out of this house?

The Holy Spirit hit me with many blows to my conscience

His words were true but I was so hurt that I didn't care

The woman barged into my house, saw me wearing only my boxer’s shorts and grabbed the shorts!

For what reason?

I am a priest of Zion, a prophet of Beulah, a King that does not bear the sword as a play thing and she dared do that?

I wouldn't take it!

She must die.

That was my verdict and I was not going to negotiate it for any reason

By 8pm, the news came that she would not survive the night

The Holy Spirit said, "This is you abusing my grace!"

 I started crying

Why couldn't he see that the woman embarrassed me and needed to be taught a lesson?

The whole neighborhood witnessed the stunt she pulled

I even got a query from my boss about my absence at the office that day

Why should the woman then go scot-free?

I cried so much you would think someone I loved died

I hated the fact that I was so obstinate with the Holy Spirit

It wasn't as if I had any other source to bank on

What I have, all I had, He had given unto me and He could have pulled the plug at any moment but He didn't 

He was patient and even started negotiating with me for the life of that woman

I told him I released the woman

I shouted it out loud

I forgave her and I declared that she was healed

That same night she recovered fully and she was discharged the following day

It was not a sign of weakness for Jesus to tell John the son of thunder that it was inappropriate to call down fire on those who insulted him and that they do not know the manner of spirit that is at work in them

He said the son of man came to seek and to save...

Some may argue that there are some enemies that must die for them to get to the top

That argument is unchristian!

God told Jesus to sit at His right until He had made His enemies his footstool

We were all enemies of God once, imagine that He had killed us all!

Moses stood between God and the children of Israel as an advocate

He told God to spare them despite their misbehavior because God is merciful and kind, slow to anger and abounding in grace

If Moses did this and your response is, "Romeo must die"

You are a disobedient believer and you need to repent

There is a grace given to the church to prevail over every circumstance in Christ

Only a few believers understand this and walk in it

The scriptures say “The Lamb of God has prevailed!”

And the heavens celebrated his victory forever more

This victory was then given to the church

To you and I

Why then are you not walking in it?

Why are you not operating in the prepared blessings?

Why are you still scared of threats and empty boasts

When the Spirit at work in you has prevailed in Jesus's name?

My landlady and I parted ways amicably

I moved out of the house into a better one and from that better one I moved into my own house within a few years

I never forgot that experience

I never went that route again

From the moment I became aware of the victory I have in the Holy Spirit I stopped struggling with contentious folks

One minute they would think we are in a battle

The next minute I would have triumphed and they wouldn’t even know how

I have moved like this consistently over the years in every dimension

Subduing spiritual contentions without a struggle at every level

I would get to a location where we are to do a crusade

Some people will gather somewhere spoiling for war

My team would start singing and dancing to the Lord, we would neither engage nor acknowledge them Then like the chaff before the wind, they would find themselves blown away just like that

They disperse without carrying out their intentions and many of them come back giving their lives to Jesus

This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith!

Our faith is a saving Faith, not a killing faith

Our faith is a raising Faith, not a mauling faith

Our faith is a building Faith, not a pulling down faith

Our faith works by love, not by fear 

This is the prevailing faith we inherited in Christ

 

PS: Tonight, as we will worship together at the Night of Glory

We will be sharing about this faith

How does it work?

How do we walk in it?

There will be practical demonstrations and examples of walking in triumph without a sweat through both physical and metaphysical realities

The issues our forefathers stressed and caved under are now nonissues for us

We have the Victor's crown

We have prevailed!