18 Oct I will; be Thou Clean by Dr Mike Okonkwo
Matthew 8:2-3 {KJV}
‘’And behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.’’
Often times, we do not really doubt God’s ability, but we are not too certain if He is willing to handle our situation and so we approach Him with so much fear and uncertainty. I come to assure you this morning that the God you serve is both willing and able to do much more than you can ask because He loves you. He is favorable disposed to you, so all through the remaining days of this fast, you must approach Him with an iron clad assurance that He has taken care of all that concerns you. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 4:21-22 ‘’…And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.’’
From the scriptures, it is clear that Abraham was fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had said even when he had not seen the manifestation. All he did was to believe and receive. Do you realize that the devil may have used people close to him to discourage him? Rather than doubt, he believed in what God had promised. In the same token, you must also believe that God heard you even though you have not seen the manifestation yet. I know that the devil has an age-long trick, of bringing back the symptoms of the challenge and making you feel like nothing has happened. He may even try to make you feel as if the prayers are not answered and that God is not real, but beloved, stand your ground and you will take delivery of all that God has packaged for you.
All through the remaining days of the fast, I encourage you to walk with the confident assurance that your God is both able and willing to do all you have asked. Operate from a position of victory because you know He will come through for you. He has your back covered and your victory is assured. However, you must refuse to give the devil a foothold this season. There are several ways through which you can give the devil a foothold in your life. I want to zero in on three major routes through which you can give the devil access.
The first strategy is through negative confession. You will agree with me that often times we give in to pressure and exchange the symptom for the real thing. Yes, you have prayed and God has assured you of your healing, but the symptom is still there. Understand that the devil actually intensifies the symptom to make you confess negatively and of course whatever you confess you receive. So when he backs you to the wall and applies pressure, rather than confess negatively, choose to praise the Lord. No wonder God commanded us to give thanks in all things. You may not know how, you may not know when, but be fully persuaded that He will do it again. Beloved keep thanking God until you see the result; and I guarantee you that it will not tarry.
The second strategy is un-forgiveness, malice and strife. Paul writing to the church at Corinth as recorded in 1 Corinthians 3: 1-3 described those early believers as carnal and not spiritual. Yes, they were believers, but he called them carnal. The scriptures tell us that they were involved in envying, divisions, strife and yet they expected the power of God to move in their midst. That is why you cannot afford to lift up holy hands to God in prayers, and yet refuse to forgive those who have hurt you no matter what they did to you. Go out of your way and make peace with all men. Refuse to harbor grudges against any person. Don’t let strife and bitterness against any person rob you of your benefits during this fast.
The third strategy is listening to the second voice – because it is so loud and compelling. The first key to controlling the second voice is to identify it, the next thing you do is to cast it down. Don’t give it any room to grow in your life especially at a time like this. Counter it with the word of God. Remember God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 17 that He would make him the father of many nations, but the second voice came to Abraham and he laughed. Why did he laugh? He looked at his age and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, but thank God the story did not end there. God’s reply to him was – ‘’…Is anything too hard for me?’’. The second voice will always make you disbelieve God’s word. This word of assurance from God helped Abraham and his family to overcome the voice of the adversary. That same God will prevail in your life to shut down the second voice. You will not miss out in Jesus name.
I encourage you to keep these issues close to heart so that you will be a partaker of all that God has ordained for you. Remember, He who hath begun a good work in you will surely perform it. My God will exceed your expectations. You will surely testify. I bless you in Jesus name. Maranatha!
In His Royal Service,
Dr. Mike Okonkwo, The Presiding Bishop
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