Friday, April 19, 2013

Arrows of the Mighty

We want to talk briefly talk about the ARROW OF THE MIGHTY.

Psalm 127 v 3-5 Lo children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is His reward, as arrow are in the hand of a mighty man so are children of the youth.

Happy or blessed is the man that has his quiver full of them, he shall not be ashamed but he shall speak to the enemy at the gate.

Tell your neighbor you will never know shame again!

The one who spoke before me had already given you the definition of an arrow.

Simply put an arrow is a weapon; it could be a weapon of defense 1 Samuel 14 v 45- 47 when David was going to kill Goliath, he didn't get close to Him, he sent what you could call an arrow to go and deal with him.

Because an arrow is a weapon that you stand in one place and you send it on an errand to go and deal with your enemies.

And I am praying that even as you are here tonight, the Almighty God will send all those forces to go and deal with all those forces working against you.

An arrow could also be a weapon of offences; when you need to deal with forces that are coming against you and you need to go ahead and attack them particularly before they can overwhelm you.

In Psalm 8 v2 the Bible says out of the month of babes and suckling Thou art ordained strength, so that you can still your enemies.

God ordained strength through the mouth of babes, and as you are going to see later on God uses children as a weapon of his warfare.

Now since we have two major words; Arrows of the Mighty.

Arrow and mighty and you already known when we talk of mighty you know whom we are talking about.

Maybe we should spend some time to talk about weapons generally, because there are categories of weapons; you have arrows, you have spears, you have guns and now you have bombs.

But when we say we want to talk about weapons briefly now, we want to talk about spiritual weapons.

And I will start by talking about weapons that available to all; whether you are a Christian or you are not a Christian, there are weapons that will work for you.

Maybe I will just mention one that is common to everybody. Interestingly it is a weapon many people are reluctant to use.

It is called the law of harvest, the Law of harvest says in Galatians 6 v 7 be not deceived God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows that is what he reaps.

The law of harvest; you sow you reap.

It is applicable to everybody, it doesn't matter where you are a Christian or you are a total unbeliever, if you sow you will reap.

Proverbs 11 v 25 says the liberal soul shall be made fat; he that water shall be watered himself.

Now He didn't say the liberal holy soul, it doesn't matter whether he is a sinner or not. The liberal soul shall be made fat. . It is a weapon available to all.

When God said give and it shall be given, He didn't add provided you are a Christian, it is a weapon available to all.

But then there are some weapons available to believers only;

Number one: Praising God.


When you praise God; He arises for you Psalm 68 v 1 - 3 says let God arise, and His enemies will be scattered.

You praise God, He will arise for you. That is why Christian who know what they are doing always come before God with praise.

People wonder why do we spend so much time praising God, it's because it is a weapon.

I have told you before, you've never seen me when we are gathered together like this no matter how huge the crowd, you have never heard me say "Devil I bind you"

I don't want you to interfere with this program. Because every day I hear people say Devil I bind you, at the beginning of the service, Devil I bind you, in the middle of the service I bind you, and at the end Devil I bind you.

Did he get loose so quickly?

But I have discovered that if you want to get the Devil far away from you, just praise God.

That is why I started everything by saying let somebody shout Halleluiah!

But God will not even accept the praise of a wicked, according to Proverbs 15v 8 it says the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God.

But praise in the mouth of a Christian is a weapon.

2Chronicle 20 v 25, you know very well how a king overcame all his enemies just by praising God.

I still remembered a case several years ago, either 1981 or 1982 at the headquarters, we were having a little crusade at the Headquarters.

God spoke to me and said tonight, nobody should pray to me, everybody should just praise me; sing dance and praise me and see what I will do, and I announced it.

Shortly after, they brought a woman that had been rejected from the hospital to go home and die. They brought her to the place because she heard that God was performing miracles.

Daddy says the story I am about to tell you is going to be replicated here tonight.

They brought this woman, she was dying, and she came and saw my assistant and said "please pray for me, they said if I get here God will heal me".

My assistant said "sorry ma; announcement has come from the altar, no prayer tonight, just praise".

She said "But I am dying".

My assistant said, If only you will do what they tell you just dance you will be well

She said "but I could not even stand",

The old man said "sorry I am not going to disobey God".

So they managed to bring her out of the car, somebody supported her on the right, somebody supported her on the left, she could hardly move.

But as the music was going on, she was moving a little to the right, a little to the left and suddenly the power of God hit her and she pushed the fellow on her right aside, pushed the fellow on her felt aside and was completely whole.

That is going to happen here tonight.

Another weapon available to Christians that some of you might not be aware of is a very simple weapon called shouting.

The Bible says in Psalm 47 v 1 He says clap your hands all ye people; shout unto God with a loud voice of triumph.

In Joshua 6 v 20 all that the children of Israel had to do to pull down the wall of Jericho was to shout.

Now let me hear somebody shout halleluiah!

Again I tell you another story, some years ago, they brought a woman to the headquarters and she said for years, that any time she eats anything she will vomit.

The doctors have tried everything just to help her keep down any little food; if she drank water she will vomit it. And they brought her for prayers.

And just about as we were about praying, we started by saying let everybody shout halleluiah! As she shouted halleluiah! She vomited a worm and as she vomited the worm, the sickness disappeared.

Whatever it is the Devil has planted in you shall be pushed out as you shout another halleluiah!

Weapon number three, that is available to Christians only is the name of Jesus.

Because according to Philippians 2 v 9-11 the Bible says God has given Him a name, that is above every other name; that at the name of Jesus, every kneel should bow; of things in heaven, that includes agents, things that fly, of things on earth and of things underneath the earth.

It doesn't matter where the demons are hiding they must bow to the name of Jesus.

In Act 16 v 16-18 the Bible tells us about a girl who was demon possessed and was following Paul and Silas about, disturbing them, the Bible says Paul turned around, commanded the demons to leave and the demon left immediately.

Last night, I was going to minister to my children after the Holy Communion service and as I was about to enter the car, there was these girl who was screaming and screaming and ran towards me.

So I told my boys to leave her alone and see what is happening.

Somebody who brought her said she was on youth service and something happened there and she lost her voice completely.

And she wrote on paper that if only she can get to Daddy G.O the demon who has taken over her voice will go out.

I said "that is a simple matter",

Father in the mighty name of Jesus..., you know the kind of simple prayer, before I finished praying, she said Amen.

I turned round to enter into my car and she began to shout daddy, daddy.

And my son said she is already speaking, I just smiled.

The Bible says it is written at the name of Jesus Christ every knee must bow.

Do I hear someone shout the name of Jesus?

Another weapon that is available to Christians is the blood of Jesus.

Revelation 12 v 11 says they overcame the devil by the blood of the lamb.

The Bible tells us that God said when I see the blood, I will pass you by, I will make sure that the destroyer won't come near you when I see the blood.

But if you are not a Christian of course you can't use the blood.

I mean if they say they overcame the Devil by the blood of the Lamb and you belong to the Devil according John 8 v 44. If you belong to the Devil, you cannot overcome the Devil by using the blood.

But in case you don't know how powerful the blood of Jesus is, I will give you two illustrations very quickly because it is very essential particularly when you are dealing with children who are having nightmares.

Because some of you have problems with children who will just cry out of dreams, it is because forces of darkness are tiring to oppress them, when they are going to bed just cover them in the Blood of Jesus.

Years ago, I think I have shared this with you before. A husband and wife were wondering what is going on because their money was disappearing.

The money of the husband disappeared, the money of the wife disappeared from the house. At first, the husband felt it was the wife who was stealing the money.

The husband said 'what is wrong with this girl all she needed to do was to ask me for more'.

And the girl was wondering; if He gave me money for housekeeping and he stealing the money then what kind of man is he?'

One day the husband confronted the wife and the wife said " I thought you are one stealing my money" And then the two of them came and I realized immediately that it was the devil misappropriating their finances.

So I told them from now on anytime you are putting your money anywhere, say I cover you in the blood of Jesus. From that moment onward they never lost anything.

Today I am decreeing that everything that is precious to you be covered in the blood of the Lamb.

I tell you another story just to let you know how powerful the blood is, I think this was 1977 we went to Ilorin for a congress and at that time there was a acute water shortage in the town

And so to get water to bathe, people had to go to one very dirty stream.

They brought water for me, the water was black, and you don't have to be a scientist to know that there is danger in the water.

And then they gave me a bottle of Izal. "Sorry sir, this is all the water we have, but if you mix Izal with it, it will be safe for use, I thanked them and took the Izal.

I was about to pour it when the Lord spoke to me, "son, which is more powerful, Izal or my blood? I said your blood.

He said because I am going to send you to places in the world where the water will be worse than this and there will be no Izal, cover the water in my blood and take your bath.

I covered the water in the blood of Jesus and took my bath.

The fact that I am still alive today tells you the blood works.

Everything that could cause you any form of danger the blood will speak against it in Jesus name.

Thank you Father, the Lord says healing has started and He asked me to tell someone specifically that your joint shall be strong again.

Thank you Father, the Lord said there is someone tonight, He said for years now, it has been one story of sorrow after another, He asked me to tell you, for years to come it will be story of glory and promotion.

The Lord said that there is someone here tonight, He said the incident that will begin your upward movement is about to happen.

Another weapon available to Christian is the word of God.

Because it is written Psalm 119 v 89 forever oh Lord Thy word is settled.

The Almighty God says in Psalm 1 v 1-3 He said if you stay away from sinners, from the ungodly, from scorners and you meditate on the word of God day and night, He said you will be like a tree planted by a rivers of water bringing forth its fruit in due season.

The word of God is a powerful weapon particularly against the devil.

You know very well in Mathew 4 v 1-11 that, that is the weapon Jesus used against the devil.

Each time the devil brings a temptation, Jesus said it is written.

The devil cannot contradict "it is written", if it is written, it is written.

Do you know that it is written that It shall be well with you?

If you are a child of God it is written in Isaiah 3 v 10 "Say ye to the righteous it shall be well with him".

So you can tell your neighbor your tomorrow will be alright.

I think it was 1981, I have become General Overseer and I was visiting our churches, kind of familiarization tour and at that time several of the youth were rejoicing because God has put us in position and I remembered we were going towards my village.

Suddenly the devil began to speak to me and said you are very popular now, it is better to die when you are popular than wait till the time when they won't like you anymore, it is honeymoon time for you, if you go now it will be good.

And I knew it was the devil speaking and the word of God came out to me saying I will live, I will not die and I will declare the works of the Almighty God.

Do you know that less than five minutes after that we nearly had a horrible accident.

If the word of God has not come up to deal with the devil it will have finished me on the road at that time.

At that time the entire congregation of the Redeemed Christian church of God was less than one thousand. Suppose I had died then, look at what the devil saw and he wanted to prevent.

I am saying to every one of you here tonight, none of you will die; you will fulfill the purpose of God for your life.

So there are some weapons exclusive to everyone, sinners, Christian.

There are some weapons available to Christians alone.

And then there are some weapons exclusive to God's servants.

There are some weapons that are exclusive to God's servant, maybe I will just mention about two of them tonight.



One is prophesy:

Amos 3 v 7 says God will not do a thing without revealing it first to his servant the prophet.

1Samuel 3 v 19 says God will not allow the word of his prophet to fall to the ground,

Ezekiel 37 v 1 - 10 when the Almighty God wanted to bring dry bones back to life, He used his prophet.

He said to Ezekiel "can this dry bones live?", Ezekiel said "Lord only you can tell".

And God said alright you do the job for me; prophesy and as he prophesied to the dry bones, the dry bones came together, bones to bones, skin covered them but they were still dead.

So God said to Ezekiel, "son of man, prophesy again" and he did.

And suddenly, what used to be dry bones became a mighty army.

Tonight I want to prophesy into the life of someone here, I want to prophesy that it shall be well with you, I want to prophesy to you that God will answer all your prayers. I want to prophesy that your joy will over flow.



Another weapon available to the servant of God is what I called decrees:



You know the Bible says in Job 22 v 21-28, He says if you will satisfy certain conditions, then you will decree a thing and it will be established unto you, but when you go through the scriptures you will find that those who have used that weapon successfully are mainly, and I'm not saying exclusively, are the prophets of God.



For example, in 2 Kings 4 v 1-7 a widow came to Elisha and said, I am heavily in debt what shall I do?



The man of God said what do you have in the house?



She said a bottle of oil.



The man of God say okay go home; borrow empty vessels from your neighbors. Borrow not a few, lock the door on yourself and your son, and begin to pour that little oil you have into the vessel, and whenever one vessels is full, set it aside.



Read the passage when you get home, you will notice that Elisha didn't even pray, you will notice he didn't even say thus says the Lord, he simply decree that the oil will keep on multiplying and it kept on multiplying until there was no more vessels to contain it.



I want to decree to someone here tonight, that kind of blessing that will be more than sufficient, receive it tonight in Jesus name.



Thank you Father, the Lord said there is someone here tonight He said I should reassure you, apparently He has told you that before, but He said I should reassure you that He is your backbone and because He is your backbone, nobody can break your back.



In 2 King 4 v 8-17, The Bible says there was this great woman of Shunem who has been taking care of Elisha.



And one day Elisha said woman "what can I do for you?"



The woman said I don't need anything.



And then Elisha made some investigations and discovered that the woman was barren.



And he said to the woman, woman nine months from now you will have a son.



Now he didn't prophesy, he didn't say thus say the Lord, he merely issue a decree; woman, you will have a son nine month from now.



The woman said "man of God don't deceive me,"

If you enjoy my food say thank you, don't make a promise that cannot be fulfilled.



Because the woman was advanced in age, the husband was old. When you hear a prophesy the fulfillment of a prophesy is anchored on if you have enough faith to receive it, when it is a decree even your doubt is not going to stop it.



That is why I am decreeing tonight to every one of you here, this is the beginning of your greatness.

Maybe I should just leave that alone and move on to the weapons that are exclusive to God.



We have talked about weapons common to everybody, we have talked about weapons available to Christians, we have talked about weapon available to Gods ministers, now we are talking about weapons exclusive to God.



And it will amaze you that the principal one among the weapons available to God exclusively are children.



They are His number one's weapon, that is why the text we read said children are the heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb are His rewards, as arrows in the hands of mighty.



He compares children to an arrow in the hand of the worrrior; He said just as an arrow is in the hand of the warriors, so are children in My hands.



And like in the passage I mentioned earlier, Psalm 8 v 2, He said out of the mouth of babes and suckling Thou hath ordained strength because of your enemies, to still your enemies and your avengers.



Whenever God wants to fight His enemies, His number one weapons are children.



Why?



Because they are surprise weapons.



In 1samuel 17 v 42-51 when Goliath saw David coming, he thought what kind of joke is this.

And God said 'good, Goliath you are dead'.



If it had been a huge man, a big warrior, coming against Goliath, Goliath would have been more careful, but when he saw a little fellow coming, he said "this one?" This one is already dead



And God said good! I will surprise you.



In the Name that is above every other name, God will surprise all your adversaries.



You know the rest of the story. But there is something important that you need to take note of.

Mathew 18 v 10 Jesus Christ said. Be careful, don't despise any of these little ones, He said because their angels have direct access to God.



Every child has at least one angel guiding him or her, every child.



I don't know how many of you have seen angels before, I have seen them a couple of time, and I am telling you that angels are fearfully huge, as a matter of fact, if you see a true angel, the first thing he will say to you is fear not.



That is going to be statement number one, because nobody can see an angel for the first time, that will not be terrified, they can be huge.



You ask me how huge?, I give you and illustration; if you have ever seen an airplane, the biggest one before the current one is a 747, an angel can carry a 747 in the palm of his hands.



So if you know a man who can carry a trailer, let's bring it low. If you know a man so big that he can carry a trailer in the palm of his hands and you see that man suddenly; I can assure you sir, no matter how courageous you are you will be afraid.



Now God says every child has an angel and every angel of each child has direct access to God, it is not because God considers a child to be such a terrific weapon, that is why He attaché an angel to each child.



You mess around with a child, the angel will deal with you and I am telling you don't want to fight with an angel.



Children are weapons in the hands of God because many at times we older ones are too preoccupied or our hears are already dulled by sin.



So when God wants to speak, we don't hear, but children their ears are still open, they don't worry as we do.



So from time to time, God wants to send a message He will send it through a child 1 Samuel 3 v 1-10.



But probably one of the reasons why children are so powerful a weapon in the hands of God is because of their innocence; they have not yet sinned so when they pray nothing hinders their prayer.



Several years ago when my children were still very little, anytime I needed something urgently from God, I ask them to pray for me I tell them what to pray about, I know their prayers will not be hinder the answers will come.



Thank you Father, the Lord says there is someone here tonight; He said the forces pushing you back have been relocated.



Isaiah 59 v 1-2 says the hands of the Lord is not shorten that He cannot saved, neither is His ear heavy that He cannot hear, He said but your sins have separated between you and your God that you won't hear.



Sins can stop the prayer of the elderly but the children don't know sin, they are innocent, when it is time to praise Him, they praise Him uninhibited.



They know how to dance before God because they are not looking at anyone and they don't care who is looking at them. And God is always close to those who praise Him as you know very well.



When they cry to God, the angel carries the prayers straight to heaven and straight away the answers comes.



That is why the Bible says blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.



Children are blessing carrier, wherever they go they carry blessings.



You can go through the scriptures Genesis 21 v 1- 6 when Isaac was born; he put an end to the sorrow of the parent.



1samuel 2 v 1 -10, when Samuel was born, the mocker of his mother was silenced.



Judges 13 v 2-5, when Samson came on the scene, deliverance began to come for the children of Israel.



Genesis 50 v 18 - 20, Joseph was a child in the family that became a preserver, not only of his own nation but of people of the world.



That is why I have a word or two for you parents tonight.



Parents I want you to watch out; because you may not know it, there may be a Joseph already in your life.



In Genesis 37 v 3- 11 the Bible says when Joseph began to have those wonderful dreams, the brothers were angry but the father observed the sayings.



Watch out there may be a Joseph already in the family, watch out there may be a Samson already in the house.



Judges 13 v 24- 25 the Bible says the spirit of God began to move Samson at times, he was still young, but if the parents have been observant they would have noticed that the spirit is already on this child.



I know quite a few among my children and their friends, who had been speaking in tongue from the age of five.



The spirit of God came down when they had one camp meeting here, the spirits of God came down and these children were baptized in the Holy spirits, it was amazing.



The teachers didn't believe what was happening but when I listen to them I know this is God.



There may be a Samson already in the house, which is why you need to please take extra care of these children, draw them close to God, train they in the way they should go.



Proverbs 22 v 6 train up a child in the way he should go when he is old he won't be able to depart.



Remember any child that you didn't not bring up properly in the way of the Lord will cause you sorrow in the future.



Take good care of these children train them in the way of the Lord then in your old age, you will have cause to rejoice.



If you don't train them in the way of the Lord, if you say you are going to church and you leave your children at home and you said well he is already a youth, he should be able to decide for himself, if you do not bring these people up properly in the way of the Lord you will be asking for trouble.



My prayer is that in your old age your children will be a blessing to you not a curse.



Remember what Joshua said in the book of Joshua 24 v 15, he said as for me and mine house, we shall serve the Lord, not me alone, as for me and my house!



I'm appealing again to all parents, bring these children up in the way of the Lord, it is important. If you allow them to drift, the result will not be pleasant at all.



Now as for your children, just a word for you too.

Exodus 20 v 1 2 says honor your father and your mother that your days may be long.



Do you know the implication of that?



The implication is that if you honor your parent you will live long, it means the children who will not honor his or her parents are likely to die young.

I pray for all children who are here tonight, none of you will die before your time.



Children please listen to me carefully; there will be occasions where your parent will say no to certain things you want to do and you think they are being too hard, they may not tell you all the reasons, it is because of the things they have experienced, it is because of the scars they are bearing, it is because of the things they have done in the past and the repercussion that they are still suffering.



When your parents said, this is the boundary, please don't go beyond the boundary.



And the Lord will bless you as a result in Jesus name.



Now Ecclesiastes 12 v 1 stated clearly, He said remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth.



When is the day to remember your creator?



When is the time to be close to your creator?



In the days of thy youth, when you are young, that is when you should move to creator of heaven and earth, when you are young that is when you should run towards the Almighty God.



There will be friends trying to turn you away from the way of the Lord.



The Bible says when sinners entice you, consent thou not, if they say let's do it this way tell them no!



"I am a child of God. Am an arrow in the hands of the Almighty God, I know where I am going, and I will arrive, I will reach my goal."



So shall it be with all you children in Jesus name.



Like I shared with some of you yesterday Ecclesiastes 11 v 9 says if you don't want to take the advice of your parent, if you don't want to live within the limitation of the Christian upbringing, if you want to be free to do whatever you like, the Bible says go ahead; enjoy yourself, fool around, sow your wild oats, do whatever you want, drink, smoke, take drugs, fornicate, do whatever you want in your youth.



He said but remember you will pay one day.

Any child who says I don't want to be limited, I want to be free, I want to do whatever I like should remember the Proverb of the elders.



You know in the olden days, chicken in the farm are allowed to roam freely, they called them free range.



The mother hen will say to the little chick, "stay close to me, don't stray"



And the little chick will say why?



Why do you want to hinder my freedom, let me stray.



The little chick doesn't know there are eagles overhead looking for chicks for dinner.



I pray that forces of darkness hovering over your life trying to devour you will not succeed in Jesus name.



Children obey your parent, honor them and you will live long, remember your creator now in the day of your youth before you get into trouble, remember your creator.



Don't join those who say they want unlimited freedom; unlimited freedom will only bring you into casualty.



Take my advice



Do you know you are not an arrow in the hands of God unless you are one of his children?



If you are not a child of God then you are not an arrow.



But there is an opportunity to anyone who wants to become the child of a living God, because according to John 1v 11- 12, the Bible says He came unto his own but His own received Him not, but as many as believe Him to them He gave the power to be sons of God.



If you are willing to receive Jesus Christ tonight, you will become the child of the living God and you will become an arrow in the child of the Almighty Himself.



So what do I need to do to become a child of the living God?



Very simple, you come to Him, you call on Him and say Father I am surrendering my life unto you, please cleanse me in your blood, please wash me in your blood, let your blood wash away all my sins and I will serve you for the rest of my life.



It is as simple as that, the moment you call on Him for salvation He will save your soul.



So I am going to give an opportunity to anyone tonight who will want to surrender his or her life to Jesus should come and do so.



Please remember if you claim that you are a child of God and you are still living in sin then you are deceiving yourself, because the Bible is clear, he that is born of God does not commit sin.



If you are here and you are still living in sin and you want to become a child of God come now.



Pray as you come ask God to have mercy on you, asks God to cleanse you in his blood, ask Him to make you a child of the living God today, call on Him.



The rest of us, shall we please stretch our hands towards these people and pray for them; that the one who saved our soul will save their soul also.



Intercede for them; ask that the Almighty Saviour to save the soul of everyone of them and to restore every backslider among them back to Himself

....In Jesus mighty name we have prayed.



Eternal Rock of ages I want to say thank, I want to bless your Holy name.



Thank you for your word, I want to thank you for all these your children who have responded to the Altar call, Father you promised that whosoever will come unto you, you will in no wise cast out, Father they have come unto you now, Father please receive them in Jesus name.



Forgive them in Jesus name, let your blood wipe away their sins in Jesus name, save their souls tonight and write their names in the book of life.

In Jesus name and Lord God Almighty the grace to serve you from now on and forever give to them in Jesus name.



Please Lord from this moment onward anytime they call you on you, answer them by fire in Jesus name. Let them become arrows in your mighty hands in Jesus name.



Thank you Almighty God, for in Jesus mighty name we have prayed. Amen.



Now those of you who have come forward let me hear you shout halleluiah!



Now I am rejoicing with you tonight for two major reasons;



Reason number one because of you right now according to the word of God, Jesus is dancing in heaven because you have come to Him, and that is very wonderful.



And then the second reason why I am rejoicing with you, is that from now on by the grace of God, I will be praying for you and you will be receiving miracle that you didn't even ask for, you will know that there is somebody somewhere praying for you and that somebody is me.



So I am going to need your name your address and your prayer request.



APRIL HOLY GHOST SERVICE PRAYER POINTS

1. Praise God for saving your soul and making you a child of a God.

2. Father, please make both me and my children signs and wonders to the world.
3. Father, please make both me and my children vessels unto honor in your mighty hands.
4. Please use my family to heal the sick, raise the dead and set captives free.
5. Father, use my family to win billions of souls into your kingdom.
6. Father, please keep sickness, death and demons and every form of tragedy far from my home.
7. Father, let there be only shouts of joy from my habitation
8. Personal request.

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