GOSPEL OF COMFORT BIBLE CHURCH INC.

TOPIC: VICTORIOUS LIVING

PASTOR F.K OLA OJELABI

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 CHAPTER ONE
1. INTRODUNCTION
1.1 MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF BATTLE

1.2 MY CALAMITY, WHY?

1.3 WHAT HELP ME TO STAND

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 INTRODUCTION
Victorious living is the original plan of God for mankind, the plan of peace and not of evil
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. To live struggle free life, sickness
free life, accident free life and to live comfortably - 3 John 2 “Beloved, I wish above all
things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth”. To be in
control which means to reign, to rule and have dominion over every other creature – Genesis
1:28. To be divinely secured, fear free and rest in safety - Job 11:17 – 19.
Fulfilling these original plans of God is not without demand. What is the demand? The
demand for Adam and Eve was, if they want to continue in God’s original plan for them,
then Genesis 2:15 – 17 must be in place
a. They should be responsible to their given responsibilities Genesis 2:15 “And the Lord
God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” The
responsibility is to dress and keep the garden.
b. There should be total obedience which is the doing what is commanded and abstaining
from what is forbidden Genesis 2:16 – 17 “[16]And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17]But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die.” The mother of Jesus told the disciples that whatsoever
he say unto you, do it – John 2:5.
Also Christians must know the dos and don’ts that guides us and we should not err from it.
And if eventually you have erred from it, brother Job admonishes us in Job 11:14 “If iniquity
be in thine hand, put it far away and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles”. That is,
repent and be converted and live a holy life.
If these are not in place, it means we are out of God’s original plan and purpose. And
this is a sign of great danger that require us to quickly attend to. In my book “TOTAL
VICTORY”, I wrote that battle precede victory. That is, there can be no victory without
battle. He who fights and wins battle of life is called “VICTOR”. I expatiated more on my
experience of battle of life as a pastor and also a counselor. I also mentioned what the bible
says about the battle of life and the sources of battle. I was unable to talk about my personal
experience of battle of life which I will chip in here.
1.1 MY PERSONAL EXERIENCE OF BATTLE OF LIFE
It is a trustworthy truth that life itself is a battle, and any man that is born of a woman
must encounter battle in his journey of life – Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few
days, and full of trouble”. The psalmist confirmed it in Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions
of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all”. The Apostles preached it in
Acts 14:22 “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the
faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”. Our Lord
Jesus Christ established it in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world”. Whether we like it or not, it will surely come. Whether we pray for it
or against it, it will surely come, so we should be prepared for it, that when it comes it should
not catch us unaware. Also we should be aware that victory is sure in Christ Jesus.
One particular night, I and my wife slept on a bed. And when I woke up from the
sleep, I saw her lying on the bare floor and asked why she slept on the floor? She replied that

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an unseen hand carried her and put her on the floor (not fall from the bed but an unseen hand
carried her and put her on the floor). I immediately asked her to get up from the floor and
return to bed but she could not move her body again, then I hold her and prayed for her until
the power of God overshadowed her and she rose on her feet. In another battle of life, I was
not around and my wife was feeling feverish, she then called the attention of medical
practitioner who gave her injection. When I got home, she narrated what she had gone
through to me and I challenged her why she did not wait for me before taking injection
because what happened to her was not medical issue but rather spiritual, she could not walk
again and her body began to rust on the wheel chair for almost one and a half year until God
took control.
In another battle of life which I experienced was that my son woke up one morning
and couldn’t move his body again. He was quickly taken to hospital. And trends of going
from one hospital to another hospital continued until he was referred to Lagos University
Teaching Hospital (LUTH) at Idi – Araba where he spent months taking drips and bloods
(uncountable). While the boy was admitted into one ward, his mother, my wife was also
admitted in another ward at LUTH. How a boy of eighteen years is now learning A for
Apple and two letter words. The incident that took us to LUTH is responsible for this. When
I heard his teacher teaching him A B C, A for Apple and two letter words, I shook my head
and concluded that life really is a battle but victory is of Jesus – Psalm 74:20 “Have respect
unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.”
God had through me delivered so many people from their chronic diseases and terrible
problems but had turned against me instead. For instance, somebody that had gone through
operations three times in Ondo state but was brought to our ministry here in Lagos through
his sister and her husband who was then our member. God healed him of that many
consuming and life threatening ailment. But what follows? The man and his wife through
which the boy was brought to Lagos later became serious persecutor and antagonist of our
ministry and wanted to upturn the ministry.
Also, a notice of a marriage which was at the edge of collapse was brought to me and
God through me restored their marriage and delivered the husband from demonic influence.
The husband and wife later became our member, the man was discipled and ordained as a
pastor, but later turned to be rebel leader who doesn’t want to hear my name nor anything
that has to do with me. These do not allow me to see anyone as an enemy however, because I
know it is not them that do all that, so it is not their fault, but the power of darkness is at
work.

1.2 MY CALAMITY, WHY?

There is never a smoke without fire. When I considered all that has happened, I know it is
the work of Satan that does not want me to succeed ministerially. I have been going from
one battle to another in my ministerial work and the reason was not known to me until my
father passed away in the year 2012. After the burial, I returned to Lagos. Then the message
came to me that they consulted oracle in the family and they said that there is a star in the
family which nobody can stop from shining, but he should bring a big white ram for ritual.
The star they are referring to is me. I bluntly refused to succumb to their gimmicks as the
scripture had warned us to be wary of the devices of Satan – 1 Corinthians 2:11. This was the
genesis of the trouble and pandemonium in my personal life and ministry.

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 The devil and its agent waged war against me because they don’t want me to succeed
in life and ministry. They want me to bow down and come down to their level. They want to
frustrate my life and ministry to succumb to their prescription. They turn all that to be of
help against me. They are determined to spoil my testimonies. They want me to err from the
sure foundation. They desire to get me compromise my faith I have in Jesus, introducing so
many ways and ideas of escapes outside God but I said NO. I have known the way of life
and will never go away from it. I have walked (uncountable kilometers) with Jesus therefore
I can’t go back. Even there was a prophet that told me that God has a great thing for me and I
shouldn’t be doing holy, holy to get there quickly, and I know that he isn’t the one talking
but the devil speaking through him and I said “my resolution is I CAN’T GO BACK, No!
No! No! I have decided to not go back”
Though, they are right in their own thinking, because, how come a person that God
had through him raised the dead, made the lame walk not once nor twice, restored eyes to the
blind and so many other undeniable miracles which cannot be mentioned here, what could
have been responsible for such a man, through whom God has done these many great things,
should still remain struggling. Nothing else, other than Satanic attack. Somebody came to me
and asked me that you, that God is using for these great works didn’t have big church and
large crowd like those prominent and renowned pastors, she said “you supposed to have
gone far with these testimonies and miracles that is happening in your ministry”, and I
replied “God’s time is the best”.

1.3 WHAT HELP ME TO STAND IMMOVABLE

In my passing through, in the midst of the storm of life and calamity, I considered my
challenges insurmountable, my soul fainted in me, when I did not know what to do and
where to go. Instead of being frustrated and allowed evil thought to overwhelm my life, the
spirit of God therefore led me to:

a. Opened hymns and began to sing as was recommended by Apostle Paul in Ephesians
5: 18 – 20 “[18]And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
[19]
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord; [20]Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of Lord Jesus Christ;” Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”.

1. AS I JOURNEY THRO' THE LAND SINGING AS I GO

1. As I journey thro' the land singing as I go
Pointing souls to calvary-to the crimson flow,
Many arrows pierce my soul from without, within;
But my Lord leads me on, through him I must win
Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face
There to sing for ever of His saving grace
On the streets of glory let me lift my voice;
Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.

2. When in service for my Lord, dark may be the night

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 But I'll cling more close to him,He will give me light
Satan's snares may vex my soul, turn My thought aside;
But my Lord goes ahead, leads what'er betide

3. When in valleys low I look towards the mountain height,

And behold my Saviour there, leading in the fight.
With a tender hand outreached
Towards the valley low,
Guiding me, I can see, as I onward go.

4. When before me billows rise from the mighty deep,

Then my Lord directs my barque,
He doth safely keep,
And He leads me gently on through
This world below,
He's a real Friend to me, oh, I Love Him so.
Amen.

2. BE GLAD IN THE LORD, AND REJOICE,

1. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,
All ye that are upright in heart;
And ye that have made Him your choice,
Bid sadness and sorrow depart.
Rejoice, rejoice,
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice;
Rejoice, rejoice,
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice

2. Be joyful, for He is the Lord,

On earth and in Heaven supreme;
He fashions and rules by His word;
The ‘Mighty’ and ‘Strong’ to redeem.

3. What though in the conflict for right

Your enemies almost prevail?
God’s armies, just hid from your sight,
Are more than the foes which assail.

4. Though darkness surround you by day,

Your sky by the night be o’ercast,
Let nothing your spirit dismay,
But trust till the danger is past.

5. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,

His praises proclaiming in song;
With harp and with organ and voice
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 The loud hallelujahs prolong!
Amen.

These two hymns ministered to my soul and boost my faith.

i. Tells me the devices of Satan
ii. I discovered that no darkness can prevail against light

b. i. When I opened the Bible, I heard Nehemiah and Elijah preached to me not to
come down - 2 Kings 1:9, Nehemiah 6:3
ii. Madam Ruth preached love and loyalty to me, “NEVER GO BACK” - Ruth
1:15.
iii. The three Hebrews preached faith and determination to boost my faith - Daniel
3:18
iv. Job preached patience, endurance and perseverance to me equally - Job 13:15;
19:25.
v. Jesus Christ the greatest RABBI, preached humility and commitment, when he
willingly submitted Himself to die on the cross - Isaiah 50:6, John 10:17 – 18.

Through these hymns and lessons from the heroes of faith, I believe there is victory for me,
also I am encouraged and keeps coming out strong every day, living victoriously even in the
midst of storm of life.

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 CHAPTER TWO
2. UNDERSTANDING VICTORIOUS LIVING
2.1 WHAT VICTORIOUS LIFE MEANS

2.2 THE BATTLE THAT CONFRONTED DAVID

2.3 TO LIVE A VICTORIOUS LIFE

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 UNDERSATNDING VICTORIOUS LIVING
It is possible to live victorious life in the world of battle. It is worthy of all acceptation that
this world is a world of battle which started in Eden when our father ate the sour grapes that
set us their children teeth on edge – Ezekiel 18:2b. This life is full of warfare; life throws
many challenges on our way. It is not possible not to have any challenges, but in the midst of
storm, problem and pandemonium, we can still live a victorious life. One day one of my
friends called me “The Chair” as he fondly calls me, he said “you are strong”. Then I was
tossed here and there with the storm of life while my son was in one ward at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and my wife was in another ward receiving treatment.
We were there for more than six months. I also have my own personal ailment I was battling
with. The ministry also was at the verge of collapse and in all the passing through, it didn’t
show on my face and it didn’t stop me in my pastoral duty even nobody knew what I was
passing through except my close friends. When he saw me performing my pastoral duties
without hindrances, nothing shows that I was passing through turbulent time. I attended to
everything that needed to be attended to. I ministered in every place I was invited to and at
our prayer mountain. So he came to me and said “you are strong”, he said “no one can read it
in your face, and you are doing things as if nothing happens”. And I replied him saying “All
is well, Faith can sing through days of sorrow”, I found this in the hymn below and it
always encourage me that all shall be well

1. All will be well;

Free and changeless is His favour,
All, all is well:
Precious is the blood that heal'd us;
Perfect is the grace that seal'd us;
Strong the hand strech'd forth to shield us,
All must be well.
2. Thou we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Christ hath purchas'd full salvation,
All, all is well;
Happy still in God confiding;
Fruitful, if in Christ abiding;
Holy, through the Spirit's guiding,
All must be well.
3. We expect a bright tomorrow;
All, will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow
All, all is well;
On our Father's love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Then in living or in dying
All must be well.
Amen.

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 2.1 WHAT VICTORIOUS LIFE MEANS
To live victorious life means to overcome, surmount and defeat anything that life throws in
our way. Life is about warfare, for the warfare actually began from Eden when our forefather
ate the forbidden fruit. We cannot have victorious living by murmuring or by blame game
i.e. pointing accusing fingers: it is my wife that caused it, it is my parents that contribute to
my failure, if it is not because of the family I’m born into, I would have gone far. Instead of
murmuring and blame game, we need to fight tirelessly. We should know that our passing
through or the challenges we are facing is God’s instrument to take us to the place of destiny.
We fight until victory comes our way, therefore, we should not stop until sure and total
victory is attained. Our victory cannot mean to be total until we have rest round about us as
recorded in 2 Samuel 7:1. When God gives us rest doesn’t mean the battle or warfare is over,
fighting still continues until we obtain crown of life which is for the victorious ones.
Therefore, one victory is not enough; our victory should be from victory to victory. One
victory open doors to other challenges. To fight and obtain the crown of life calls for
determination because there will always be challenges that will always make our heart
weary. Victory is in levels but sure victory is eternal, where we enjoy all round rest

2.2 THE BATTLE THAT CONFRONTED DAVID

David warfare started from his youthful age. There is an adage that says the struggle of
man begins at birth – Psalm 129:1 – 2, Psalm 27:10. He fought the youthful battle – 1
Timothy 4:12. During the period of battle, there he confronted the battle of loneliness in the
wilderness. When the battle was conquered he was brought into the city to be anointed by
Prophet Samuel, and later got connected with palace. From there, he confronted the battle of
Goliath. After he conquered that, he confronted the battle of King Saul. After he conquered
Saul, he became the king over Israel and Judah and it was credited to him that God gave him
rest roundabout 2 Samuel 7:1. He thought the battle has ended and he relaxed 2 Samuel 11:1
“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle,
that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the
children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem”. And he was
relaxed when he supposed to lead the war, he was resting at home, so he sent Joab his
captain to lead the war, there he entangle himself with another yoke when he fornicated with
Urriah wife, Beersheba. That opens to another warfare which he battled for some period of
time till he conquered. And the battle did not end there, he needs to face Goliath other
brothers. We should not relax until sure victory is attained Amos 6:1.

2.3 TO LIVE A VICTORIOUS LIFE

a. Abide in Christ John 15:1 – 5 “[1]I am the true vine, and my Father is the
husbandman. [2]Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every
branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [3]Now ye
are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. [4]Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye,
except ye abide in me. [5]I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and
I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”.
Without him, we can do nothing for the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man
who works to direct his steps. Because we cannot do it by human power, so, we should
submit to God Job 22:21, James 4:7, Galatians 2:20. One life is your natural man, the
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 other is your spiritual man. One must surrender the natural man so that the spirit man
will have the victory.
b. Ensure you wait upon the Lord Psalm 40:1, Psalm 27:14;, Isaiah 40:31
HOW TO WAIT UPON THE LORD
In prayer and fasting: waiting upon the Lord is seeking the face of God in place of
prayer and fasting. It also means to pour your heart to him, tell him exactly what you
feel and how you feel 1 Sam 1:15, Psalm 62:8. It also means reminding God his
promises Isaiah 43:26. It means telling God what you are asking and the reason why
you need and why you worth what you are asking for Isaiah 42:21. We pray for divine
instruction and guidance Psalm 32:8.

In the word of God: We get the instruction from the word of God, we can’t get it
from fasting and prayer alone. Without the word of God, prayer and fasting is useless.
The word of God make prayer effective Hosea 14:2

Take step: Ecclesiastes 9:10. You can’t just fold your hands while waiting upon God.
Without this step, it means you are waiting for God

c. Make sure you give attention to reading 1 Timothy 4:13 “Till I come, give
attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine”. Study the bible, read books by
men of God, read wide, it will help you and build your faith. Our faith can be from our
heart.
d. Be strong and courageous Joshua 1:7 – 9 “[7]Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my
servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou
mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. [8]This book of the law shall not depart out
of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. [9]Have not I commanded thee? Be
strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord
thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”.
Believe that tough time never last but tough people do. Do not be weary in the day of
adversity for it will surely come but victory is of God Psalm 24:10, John 16:32- 33.
e. Be wise like David, he learnt that one victory is not enough. After he killed Goliath
with one stone, he kept the remaining four stones, he didn’t throw them away. Having
known that the war is not yet over, there are other four Goliath brother 2 Samuel
21:16,18; 1 chronicles 20:4 – 5. Until David conquered four Goliath’s other brother,
his sure victory is not attained.
f. Don’t reject Godly elder counsel, for their experience cannot be matched by any
youth ideas – 1 King 12:1 – 11 “[1]And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were
come to Shechem to make him king. [2]And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king
Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) [3]That they sent and called him. And
Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
[4]
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of
thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
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 [5]
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the
people departed. [6]And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before
Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer
this people? [7]And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this
people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them,
then they will be thy servants for ever. [8]But he forsook the counsel of the old men,
which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with
him, and which stood before him: [9]And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that
we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy
father did put upon us lighter? [10]And the young men that were grown up with him
spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee,
saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt
thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. [11]And now
whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father
hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Because
Rehoboam rejected the elderly counsel, his kingdom was tore apart.
g. Be a helper to somebody. Help people to be outstanding, Help others to get to a
greater height and breakthrough. Knowing fully well that the people you help today
can in turn help you tomorrow. Help is reciprocal.
1 Samuel 30:11 – 19 “[11]And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought
him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
[12]
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he
had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any
water, three days and three nights. [13]And David said unto him, To whom belongest
thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an
Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. [14]We made an
invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to
Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. [15]And David
said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me
by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and
I will bring thee down to this company. [16]And when he had brought him down,
behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing,
because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and
out of the land of Judah. [17]And David smote them from the twilight even unto the
evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred
young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. [18]And David recovered all that the
Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. [19] And there was
nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither
spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.”

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 CHAPTER THREE
3. I CAN’T COME DOWN

3.1 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COME DOWN

3.2 LESSON FROM NEHEMIAH

3.3 EXHIBIT NEHEMIAH LIFE AND ATTITUDE

3.4 TAKEN CRUCIAL DECISION

3.5 GIVE NO ROOM TO DISTRACTION

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 3.1 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COME DOWN
Before anybody can come down it means such person has been at the top either
spiritually or physically. However, the book will be focused more on spiritual aspect of
coming down. The desire of every person is to remain at the top, and his song or words will
always be I CAN’T COME DOWN. The statement I CAN’T COME DOWN is a statement
of intent, language of the saved who doesn’t want to backslide. It is also a statement of true
disciples of Jesus Christ. It also a statement always profess by a decisive, incorruptible,
single minded, courageous, immovable, purposeful, liberated follower and earnest (serious)
children of God, somebody who know his purpose in life and does not want to fail in his
mandate. It is also a statement of somebody who knows where he’s going and what it takes
to get there. Somebody who realised he’s not an ordinary person but a being created in God’s
image with a divine assignment and doesn’t want to err from it. It is also a statement of
people who want to keep their testimony to the end. Such people will stand resolutely at the
top and never want to come down because they know the implications of coming down.
What does it now mean to come down? It means to bow to the pressure and give up to
soon. It is to have abortion of divine mandate, unable to accomplish one’s mission and
purpose in life. It also means to be discouraged, compromised and back to one’s vomit. This
type of people cannot stay long at the top and can be easily swept away by a little challenges
of life. Anybody that does not want to belong to these classes of people must possess and
arm himself with the language of a champion, winner, and conqueror. And what is that
language? “I CAN’T COME DOWN”.

3.2 LESSON FROM NEHEMIAH

Nehemiah was of a Jewish nation who was carried into captivity along all other Jews
into Babylonian empire. Although he was in a palace as a cup bearer to the king, he was not
carried away with such office. He knew he has divine purpose in life. He understands that his
present position was just a distraction to his purpose in life. As he was pondering on these,
an opportunity to rise up to fulfill his purpose in life came knocking.
Nehemiah 1:1 – 4 “[1]The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came
to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
[2]
That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked
them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and
concering Jerusalem.[3]And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. [4]And it
came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned
certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven”.

Nehemiah learnt about the distress of the remnant in Judah and that the walls of
Jerusalem were totally broken down. When he heard about the news, he totally broke down
and wept bitterly for the city of Judah and the remnant thereof. Then he rose up, he first
sought the face of God in prayer before approaching King Artaxerxes for a permission to go
and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 1:9 “But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do
them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will
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 I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set
my name there.”.
And the king gave him permission and also gave him materials by commanding all the kings
at other side of the river to supply all he needed to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
As a Christian, we are the minister of restoration Isaiah 58:12 “And they that shall be
of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to
dwell in”. Nehemiah rose up to fulfill his purpose in life to remain at the top in the face of
antagonists, critics, and prosecutors from the strong men of the world in his days. He refused
to compromised, discouraged and distracted. He did not bow down to pressure and evil
intended advice, neither did he allow vision killers and enemies of progress to stop him or
look back, realising that he could not achieve his purpose in life by coming down but forge
ahead. His decision however paid off, he had victory, finished well and silenced all his
oppositions at last when he finished the project of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in
52days, and also he became the Governor. I pray for you, you will not have abandoned
project, you will finish well in Jesus name. Nehemiah rose up to the task and had full
backing from the king. The king also commanded the kings under his domain to support him
and supply all the needed materials; if earthly king can do this, how much more the King of
kings, the Lord of lords will not command every creature to support you and supply all your
needs when you are zealous for good deeds Matthew 17:5, Philippians 4:19.
- He will command money to obey you.
- God commanded the widow to feed Elijah, angels by God’s order fed Elijah too
- You will enjoy divine provision
- He will divinely protect you
- You will be divinely elevated.
So we are like Nehemiah in a strange land. Do you know that we are a stranger here in
the world, heaven is our real home. Satan does not want us to remember and think about
heaven. Satan deploys his agents to attack us in all ways to make our heart and our hand
weary to distract our attention and forget our purpose in life.
He (Satan) want us to be equally yoke with the unbelievers , to think the same way
they think, dress in the like manner with items, all to allow children of God to lose focus and
forget their purpose for their existence. But when you refuse to come to the land of nominal
Christians, Satan makes people to mock you, they will uttered different types of words at you
such as “you cannot go far, you will soon come down”, they will despise you, attack you,
don’t bother, stand for the truth, profess the truth, toe the path of holiness and walk in there,
they will never prevail because truth we always prevail, darkness can never prevail over light
John 1:4-5 “[4]In him was life; and the life was the light of the men. [5]And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
God that gave Nehemiah victory is still alive - Hebrew 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and forever. He has not change and he will never change. He is
unchangeable changer.

3.3 EXHIBIT NEHEMIAH LIFE AND ATTITUDE

Attitude matters in life. Somebody attitude can mar or make him. The desire of anybody not
to come down and achieve his purpose in life is a function of their attitude. As a Christian,
our attitude will dictate the altitude we can get to in pursuance of our purpose in life.
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Nehemiah for instance forgets he was into slavery in a strange land but was possessed with
positive attitude to restore the broken wall of Jerusalem. He neither look at the multitude, nor
distractions left and right that compassed him around, but was obsessed with the attitude to
rebuild and he pursued it vigorously until he achieved it. If you must also be possessed with
the positive attitude like Nehemiah, which is the greatest requirements as a Christian not to
come down, you must be a right thinking Christian. In order to be a right thinking person and
possess with the positive attitude, you must take the following points below into serious
consideration

a. DISCOVER YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE (Nehemiah 6:1 – 4):- It takes right thinking
person to discover that he is not in this world by accident. You have a mission to accomplish
and purpose to fulfill. God have a reason for creating you in His image. There is a reason
why you were born in that particular family, there is also a reason for making you a
Nigerian, there is a reason why you are member of your local church, until you discover, you
will not know how great the work of God is. You must make sure that you fulfill your
purpose in life lest you disappoint your Creator and your generation. Esther identifies her
purpose in Shushan Palace, she knows her purpose to be enthroned after the dethronement of
queen Vashti, was to save the entire Jewish nation from evil conspired of Haman. She
realised it is time, she rose up to the occasion, suppressed the greatest enemy of Jews nation
and gave freedom to her people.
Esther 4:14 – 16 “[14]For if thou altogether holdest your peace at this time, then
shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou
and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the
kingdom for such a time as this? [15]Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
[16]
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and
neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise;
and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I
perish.

b. FIGHT FOR YOUR COURSE:- The scripture says in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” . We should be wise
than the Satan as in Nehemiah 4:14 “And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles,
and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord,
which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your
wives, and your houses”. What you can’t fight for, you can’t possess it.
a) Nehemiah fight the good fight of faith and encourage his people to snub the treat and
arrogant looking of the nobles and rulers who were against their purpose (Nehemiah 6:1 – 4
“[1]Now it came it pass, when Sanbalat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of
our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein;
(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) [2]That Sanbalat and Geshem
sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of
Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. [3]And I sent messengers unto them, saying I am
doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I leave it,
and come down to you? [4]Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered

16
them after the same manner”). Therefore, be ready to snub criticism, temptation,
discouragements, every form of attack, threat, defections of friends and evil intended advice.
b) Israelites fought to take their promised land, though it was given to them by God.
They had to fight the giant of the land i.e. the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Also, we need to fight the giant of our lives to
obtain the promises of God. The mental, physical, emotional, spiritual giants like worry,
doubt, depression, discouragement, anxiety, fear and temptation. These are the joy killers
and pain givers.

c. BEWARE OF UNFRIENDLY FRIENDS:- In your journey of purpose in life, so

many people will identify themselves with you. They will want to be your friend either
because, as a student you are brilliant and always leading the class, or because you are good
Sunday school teachers, sing very well, or leader of a department in your church. I need to
tell you that, not all that are identified with you are your friends. Many of them are thorns in
your flesh, they are wolves among the sheep, they are the enemies pretending to be your
friends. You must be very careful of them, hence you may come down and come short of
your divine purpose and lose the reward.
The scripture describe this set of people as green snake under green grass.
“The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his
words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords” - Psalm 55:21.
Let us also see how the scripture describe these groups of people in Proverbs 26:23 – 25
“[23]Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. [24]He that
hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; [25]When he speaketh fair,
believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
In Matthew 7:16, scriptures said you shall know them by their fruits. Once you identify them
you have to be beware of them, because men do not gather grapes of thorns or figs of
thistles.
WHO ARE THE UNFRIENDLY FRIENDS
1. They are fake friends
2. They don’t care how you feel and continue to put you down even after you’ve talked
to them
3. They are usually haters Genesis 37:4,11.
4. They are selfish
5. They are enemies of progress
6. They are like shadows, always near you at your brightest moment but nowhere to be
seen at your darkest hour.

d. POSSESS ONE EYE AND ONE MIND:- you must know where you are going, why
you are going there, what you are going to do to get there. Keep your eyes single.
Proverb 4:25 encourages us that “let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look
straight before thee”.

e. LEARN TO UNDERSTAND TIME LIKE THE CHILDREN OF ISSACHAR 1

Chronicles 12:32:- According to Ecclesiastes 3:1, the scripture says “To everything there is a
season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”. There is a time to move, a time to
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wait and study the situations. When you fail to move when it requires you to move, you
might miss the opportunity. Also when a person move when it is not the right time to move,
it may be so consequential. It will be in the best interest of whosoever desire not to come
down to take one step at a time while studying time.

f. CHOOSE DIFFERENT WAYS OF LIFE, DON’T JOIN THE MULTITUDE:- The

proverbs says if you cannot beat them then join them, and joining them is not peculiar to a
child of God. While you desire not to come down, refrain from mixing with the multitude.
Don’t dress like the multitude, walk not in the way of the multitude, don’t eat like the
multitude (Exodus 23:2 “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou
speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgement:”).

3.4. TAKE CRUCIAL DECISION

New birth involves repenting from every known and unknown sins and forsake them,
baptized with the Holy Spirit and living an absolute Holy life, that is holiness within and
without. It does not end here for as many people that did not want to come down. You still
have to forge a head. And if you must continue, you need to learn to say “I CAN’T COME
DOWN”. You have to confess it all the times among your family members, your Christian
brothers and sisters and the people in your neighbourhood that I cannot come down. I am
saved, I don’t want to backslide, I am found, I don’t want to be lost, I am for God, I can’t
waste my life for the devil, No! No! No! I am not coming down. I am ready to carry my
cross, I am a man of vision; I will endure it to the end. In other to be able to make the
statements bolding, you will need to consider the following;

- Obedience is prerequisite:- “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded
him, so did he” – Genesis 6:22. Obedience is the greatest secret of enjoying God divine
purpose for one’s life. Learn to obey all that God commanded us to do, know fully well that
disobeying any of his commandments allow God to turn away his face from mankind and
always follow with great consequence.
- Give acceptable offering:-
What are the acceptable offering that God require of you
a. Your heart Proverb 23:26
b. Your body Rom 12:1
c. Your Isaac – your laughter, something that is too precious to you, things you love
most. Genesis 22:1 - 14
HOW CAN THESE BE ACHIEVE
[1]
Roman 12:1 – 3 “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
[2]
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God. [3]For I say,
through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith”.
 v.2 – By not conformed to this world
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  v.2 – by being transformed by the renewing of our mind
 v.3 – Not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think but think
yourself soberly in other words, do not be proud.

- Be a Fighter:- You must be ready to fight to remain at the top. Every individual that
do not want to come down must be ready to fight to remain at the top. When I mentioned
fight, I don’t mean physical combat by exchanging blows, carrying of gun or cutlass. The
scripture says that we are not fighting against flesh and the blood, but against powers,
principalities and rulers of darkness. So, for you not to come down you need to engage in
serious spiritual warfare, why because we are fighting unseen enemy. The devil our
adversary is going about seeking whom he will devour. Satan is our greatest enemy, he
employed the services of his followers such as witches, wizards, marine power, occult
power, foundational power etc. to engage us in warfare in order to bring us down. However
like David, you must fight like a dogged fighter to never to come down.
- Be determined like Daniel and 3 Hebrews – Daniel 1:5 - 21
Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of
the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself”.
REWARD OF BEING DETERMINED
1. Their countenance appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did
eat the portion of the king’s meat. Daniel 1:15
2. God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom Daniel 1:17a
3. Daniel was singled out Daniel 1:17b

3.5 DON’T ALLOW DISTRACTION

For every Christians to stay in course and not waver, they must;
Beware of the crowd they mingle with:- distraction is synonymous to crowd. People
with different ways of life, character and life style made up the crowd. Among them are the
ungodly, the scornful, backbiters, murderers, evil doers etc. The scripture encourages us not
to walk in their counsel or stand in their way Psalm 1:1. If you don’t choose whom you are
to associate with, they will kill your visions of not coming down or totally distract you from
pursuing the goal.

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 CHAPTER FOUR
4. NEVER LOOK BACK

4.1 ENCOURAGEMENT NOT TO LOOK BACK

4.2 CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES ON THE WAY

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 4.1 ENCOURAGEMENT NOT TO LOOK BACK
A dream does not become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and
hard work. There is nothing that is good that come easily. So, when you have dreams and
visions, and you are prepared to actualize those dreams, you will need to be determined and
work harder. Your determination to actualize those dreams of yours will keep you to remain
focus. Why? In your desire to actualize your dream and vision, there are lots of obstacles and
challenges waiting for you on the way to obstruct you and perhaps allow you to look back.
God spoke to Joshua after the death of Moses to take the leadership mantle of leading
Israel to the Promised Land. He was never told that, there is Jordan on the way neither was
he told that he was going to meet with a stiffed opposition from Jericho and city of Ai on
their way to the land that is full of milk and honey. Glory be to God almighty, Joshua was
not deterred by all this obstacles, he did not look back, he forge ahead engaged those
obstacles one after the other. Every Christians like Joshua needs concentration without losing
focus. To look back is to lose focus, distracted, and go back to one’s vomit. It means
returning to the old life style after confessing Christ.
Every believer is pilgrimage in this earth. We are returning to our Promised Land
(Heaven) after our sojourning here. But once you have look back, it is impossible to reach
that Promised Land. Where is this promised land located?
John 14:1 – 4 “[1]Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me. [2]In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3]And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. [4]And
wither I go ye know, and the way ye know”.
Revelation 21:1 – 8 “[1]And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2]And I John
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. [3]And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4]And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away. [5]And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he
said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful. [6]And he said unto me, It is
done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of water of life freely. [7]He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. [8]But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death”.

Reading through these two passages of the scripture, you will understand the land of
promise for every believer is a land where God has prepared for all his genuine Children. It
is a place of peace, Joy, happiness and rest; a place where there is no sorrow, no pain, no
weeping; a place where maximum security is guanrantee, where you will sleep and nothing
shall terrify you, a place of satisfaction where you don’t struggle for anything. It is clled an
abode of God, the creator of the heaven and earth.
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 4.2 CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES ON THE WAY
The road to the Promised Land is not smooth, it is full of ups and downs, pot holes
here and road block there. The journey to the promised land is full of many challenges,
afflictions and obstacles. These obstacles are programmed there to get you distracted and
encouraged you to back out from pursuing your goals and purpose in life. On the journey,
are the likes of Pharaoh, red sea, the wilderness, Jordan and Jericho and crowd. All of these
together constitute problems on the way to promise land. Let us quickly know what the
aforementioned stands for;.

A. Pharaoh:- Pharaoh on the journey to land of promise represents unrepentant enemy,

task masters, oppressors, murderers, time wasters, evil negotiators and evil pursuers.
Exodus 1:17 – 18, 22 “[17]But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of
Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. [18]And the king of Egypt called
for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the
men children alive. [22]And pharaoh charged all his people, saying every son that is born
ye shall cast into the river and every daughter ye shall save alive”.
The reason why various challenges always appear in your way is to kill you before you attain
your glory, to kill you before the manifestation of the promise of God. It is an unrepentant
enemy because he will not stop from pursuing you to bring his evil counsel to past. Pharaoh
did not only kill all the male children of Israelites to reduce their population and strength but
also hardened his heart not to allow Israelites to go to their land of promise. When he knew
that the Israelites had fled from Goshen towards their destination where God had promised
them. He gathers all his chariots and men of war to pursue after the Israelites.
Exodus 14:5 – 7,9 “[5]And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and
the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said,
Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? [6]And he made
ready his chariot, and took his people with him: [7]And he took six hundred chosen
chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. [9]But the
Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his
horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth,
before Baalzephon”.
Except you’re determined well and know who you believe, Pharaoh will always come after
you to stop you and to kill you and become your stumbling block on your way to land of
promise.

B. Red sea:- the second challenge or difficulties on the way to the land of promise is what
I called “RED SEA”. What does red sea means? It means power that threatens, intimidates
and terrorizes people as they aspire to reach their goals and objectives. They create fear into
man’s heart, to cause man to doubt the existence and power of God to fulfill his promises.
Exodus 14:11 – 12 “[11]And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in
Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus
with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? [12]Is not this the word that we did tell thee in
Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for
us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness”.
Anything that represents red sea instills fear into the heart of man and fear terrorizes the
heart.
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 C. The wilderness:- Another challenges that many face on the journey to promise land is
what I called the wilderness. It means persecutions, famines, sickness, trouble, trials and all
form of problems that can lead to frustration.
Exodus 17:1 – 3 “[1]And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed
form the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the
Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
[2]
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.
And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
[3]
And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and
said, wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our
children and our cattle with thirst?”.
The result of this single action of the people of Israelites was so grievous to both the
Israelites and Moses their leader. To Israelites, God anger was kindle against them and told
Moses that he was going to wipe off the people of Israel of the surface of the earth.
Although, Moses pleaded for his people of God for mercy, their actions forms part of the
reason why God killed Israelites from 20 years and above when they did not believe the
report brought by Caleb and Joshua, two members of the spies that went to spy the land of
Canaan. And to Moses, God anger came upon Moses because Moses did not honour Him
before the people of Israel because of the way he struck the rock with his rod to bring out
water. God told Moses that he would not get to the promise land due to that single act of his.
That was exactly, the wilderness experience. It is experience that stop one from
fulfilling destiny if you don’t know whom you believe. Such experience can kill before the
day of glory. It can make the glorious child to remain unfulfilled forever. It allows prince to
become a slave except one stands in faith and know where he is going. The wilderness does
swallow so many people.

D. CROWD:- this challenge is also refer to as mixed multitude. This comprises of people
who looked serious but inwardly they are not serious. They procrastinate about everything.
They can hardly take a decision that will impact them positively. This set of people called
crowd possesses some characteristics through which you can identify them very quickly:
1. They always complain about everything. Such people are the one that says, they will
not go to church because they don’t have money
2. The love to argue on the things of less importance
3. They always walk after the flesh
4. They think carnally, speak carnally and act carnally.
5. This set of people are easily offended
6. They are very greedy and covetous in their desire
7. They murmur against their leaders and God
8. They show ingratitude to all things because nothing seem pleasing to them
9. They always rebel against their leader and backbites about them
10.They hate seeing people progressing
11.They are the tears among the weeds.
So, you cannot do without meeting these people in your pilgrimage (Christian) journey. Why
because, they are purposely planted there by Satan to distract, discourage and confuse you to
look back which is dangerous for you.
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 CHAPTER FIVE
5 EFFECTS OF DECISION TAKING IN VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN
LIVING

5.1 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF THOSE WITH NEGATIVE DECISION

5.2 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF MEN OF BOLD DECISION

5.3. THINGS THAT ARE IN THE BACK

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 EFFECTS OF DECISION TAKING IN VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN
LIVING
Decision making is very crucial to every Christians who wants to live a victorious
Christian life. Decision sometimes may be positive or negative. But for every Christians who
indeed want to be victorious in their Christian journey must always take a positive decision.
However, there is difference between taking a decision and the ability to see through and act
to accomplish the decision made. The reason why is that, once a decision taken to be above
the bound in our Christian journey, there are lots of things that will want to work against that
accomplishment of the decision. The reason why you will see some Christians who had one
time hot for God but suddenly backslides. The bible says we are not wrestling against the
body and the flesh but against powers and principalities. The factors are responsible for so
many Christian who lost their focus while on the Christian journey.
Let us look at the biblical examples of those that their decision has either made or mar
their Christian victorious living for a better understanding.

5.1 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF THOSE WITH NEGATIVE DECISION

At the junction, I wish to remind you some of the people who had looked back in the Bible
in their pilgrimage journey and the consequences. The bible admonish us that no man put his
hand on the plough and look back, such person is not fit for the kingdom of God. Once a
man looked back and loses focus on his pilgrimage journey, there is no possibility of making
it back again. And that is why I am beseeching us to hold on tight to the faith. A lot of people
look back in the bible, some died, and some missed on the way, and some failed, and nothing
was heard about them again till now;

1. Lot’s wife – Luke 17:22 - 33, Genesis 19:26

The land of Sodom and Gomorrah was full of evil and idolatry. God then promised to
destroy the land where there cannot be found in the land five saints. However, God because
of Abraham promise to save Lot’s and his household. So when the angel of destruction came
visiting, they told Lot’s and his entire household to quickly depart from the land, with a
warning not to look back. After they depart from the land and have walked some distance,
his wife heart wandered away and remembered those things of the world, the mixed
multitude used to relate with, the foolish discussion they normally have together, the worldly
affection she used to enjoy, she then rejected the voice of God not to look back and she
looked back, immediately she turned to pillar of salt. That was when she ended her
pilgrimage journey in flagrant disobedience to the warnings of God. One of the reasons why
God give his children command in the journey of life is for them to be successful in their
journey, so they will not fall into Satan prey.

2. Demas:- another person that started very well but looked back is Demas (2 Timothy
4:5). He was one of the disciples of Timothy. He was destiny to become great and become
one of the great Apostles like his master Paul. However, he was deceived by the beautiful
things of the world and dumped his divine assignments to take up earthly assignments. He
jeopardizes heaven for hell. So many people in the world today are also walking in the way
of Demas, from the altar to the ministers, to deacon and deaconess and church workers.
Some believers are not also left out. Pastors, deacons and deaconesses of today have swap
25
from their divine callings to pursue worldly callings. No wonder Jesus said, will he find faith
in the world again when He return. It is important that the affected people should turn back
from their worldly pursuit so that their remembrance will not be cut off lie Demas.

3. Orpah:- this is another biblical character that mar her divine agenda. Her inability to
take decisive decision that affected her divine mission. Orpah and Ruth were married to
Naomi two sons (Ruth 1:8 – 18). However, the unexpected happened, Naomi husband and
two sons died suddenly in a strange land where they are living. So Naomi was left with no
other options other than to return to her native land. The point at which Orpah and Ruth
needed to take a decisive decision, Orpah manage to wait for Naomi to pronounce her
decision that the two daughter in-laws should return to their native land and their people and
she immediately departed. But Ruth, who knows her divine agenda, who was not worried by
the challenges of having no husband again neither hope for somebody to married her told her
mother in-law not to compel her to go back from her. She told her she had made up her mind
to follow her wherever, she was going, she would take her people as her people and not that
alone, her God will be her God.
Ruth took that decision knowing that God have a great plan for her, and made up her
mind that she will not depart from the way she has chosen to follow. And at the end, God
compensated her greatly because the savior of the world (Jesus) was from the Ruth lineage,
but Orpah was forgotten till today and nothing was heard about her. There is a great reward
if you don’t look back but persist to see the good of the land.

4. The Israelites in the wilderness:- the Israelites believe the reports of ten false spies
without taking into consideration of Caleb and Joshua. They murmured against God who
delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh and host of Egypt. They forget so easily the
miracle of the red sea, conquering of Jericho and Ai was not remembered by this people. But
in flagrant disobedience to the commandment of God and his ability to keep his promises,
they refused to listen to the report of Joshua and Caleb who told the entire congregation that
they are already in the promised land for God is capable of delivering it into their hand
(Number 14:1 – 4). Rather, they believe the report of the other spies who told them they
can’t possess the land except they would all die. And Israelites began to murmur against God
which attracted the anger of God. In His anger, God told Moses to tell the people of Israel
that they had caused him to anger in so many ways. And because they believe the report of
mixed multitude and did not believe that God is capable of delivering the land into their
hand, what they have said, that is exactly what will happen to them. Because, they had failed
to believe in his capability, every man from age twenty and above shall not see the promised
land but they will all die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:28 – 38). Unbelief and murmuring
against God is capable of stopping you from fulfilling divine agenda. When there are
challenges, hold on to faith in God and refuse to listen to mixed multitude that can easily get
you derailed and receive God anger.

5.2 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF MEN OF BOLD DECISION

There are people who cannot stand the test of time when it comes to taking decision.
They are always tossed around like the water of the sea. And such people always ended up
becoming a prey to the devil. We have examined of such characters in the bible in just
concluding part. However, as there are these set of people, there are also people who are
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resolute in their decision making. They are not worried about the consequences of their
decision as long as it is the right thing. Such people don’t bow to pressure from anybody to
change what they believed in. Death or life, they will not be moved. Let us quickly look at
the biblical examples of these sets of people.

1. Moses:- Hebrew 11:24 – 27 “[24]By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; [25]Choosing rather to suffer affliction with
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. [26]Esteeming the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of
the reward. [27]By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as
seeing him who is invisible”.
Moses identifies his identities. He understands that he was from the cherished people
of God, even though they were in the land of bondage and suffering from the law of task
masters. Although, he was living in palace where he had everything to himself which
includes luxuries of life, but he refused to be carried away by the pleasure of sin which could
not last long. He took side with his people; fight every oppression against them, when the
news of support for the people of Israel becomes alarming, he ran away from the land of
Egypt. He was later called by God (Exodus 3:5 – 10) to go to Egypt as a deliverer to the
people of Israel. He went to the land of Egypt and to Pharaoh to delivered God message to
Pharaoh. God also through him fought Pharaoh and the people of Egypt tooth and neck until
he brought the people of Israel out of the land and eventually sink Pharaoh and his host and
chariots in the red sea. You can also choose not to allow the pleasures of sin of this world to
make you look back. Looking back may not allow you to become instruments God want to
use. It may also make you to compromise and eventually jeopardise the divine assignments.

2. Job:- Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I will maintain mine
own ways before him”.
It takes people of great mind and decision like Job to have made such confession.
Despite all he went through, imagine somebody losses all he had in just one single day and
left without nothing but life. All the materials things he has, the business, the children he
gave birth to, all the houses he built, everything went down the drain in a day.
Then were different advices and counsel was flowing in to Job, from friends, relatives,
neighbours, even the people of the same faith with him. And also his wife, all was advising
him to deny faith and curse God. So many people told him that God did not love him;
otherwise, he could not have afflicted him so much. But Job quickly realised what others did
not realise. He knows that what happened to him was not from God but from the temptation.
He realised that he needs to stand firm in faith for God to intervene in the situation, thus, he
rejected every wrong counsel to curse God. Often times, as a Christian, you will need to pass
through some challenges for you to go the next ladder of your divine assignments. Those
challenges came in order to know if you are qualified to go to the next level of faith.
Challenges are like examination to Christian which they must pass in order to proceed in the
journey of divine assignments.
Job had a challenge, he faced it with faith, and he overcame. The bible recorded it that
his(Job) end was greater than his beginning Job 42:10 – 17. You can also end well in your
divine assignment if only you refuse to bow down to the pressure of challenges and stand
resolutely never to look back. May God help our infirmity in Jesus name.
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 3. APOSTLE PAUL:- 2 Tim 4:6 – 7 “[6]For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of
my departure is at hand. [7]I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith:”
Apostle Paul, ever since he had met with Christ on his way to Damascus had not lost
his focus about his divine assignment. He did not look back for once. Despite the persecution
from his own people and those that are against the gospel, he did not allow the persecution to
stop him from pressing forward. He refuses to look back. And that is why he was so gracious
to write almost thirteen epistles out of the 27 epistles in the New Testament. He was also
most traveled among the apostles.

4. THE 3 HEBREWS:- Daniel 3:1 – 6 “[1]Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of

gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof of six cubits: he set it up in
the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. [2]Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather
together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the
counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the
image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. [3]Then the princes, the governors, and the
captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the
provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. [4]Then an
herald cried aloud, To you is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, [5]That at what
time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of
musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set
up: [6] And whose falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
The three (3) Hebrews men as they were fondly called were part of princes of Jews
that were taken into captivity in a strange land (Babylon). While in Babylon, they separated
themselves for God, they did not mix with the multitude neither do they allow the culture
and tradition of the land they were held in captive influence them to go against the
commandments of the God of Israel. They came to a point at which ordinarily, if they had
not made strong their mind about the God to serve, they would have looked back and lose
the divine goal.
They came to a point when they need to decide between death and life. An accusation
was laid against them.
Daniel 3:9 – 12 “[9]They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live
forever. [10]Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick,
shall fall down and worship the golden image: [11] And whoso falleth not down and
worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. [12]There
are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they
serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

The king was so enrage when he heard and quickly commanded to summon great men
before him. The desire of king as at that time was that possibly these men will change their
mind seeing him sitting down on the throne. However, these people were not perturbed by
the earthly throne. They told the king, our God commanded us “that we should not bow to
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any other God or any image” Exodus 20:3 – 4. They were threatened with death by King and
brag that no God will be able to deliver them from his hand. He carries out his threat by
throwing these men into fiery furnace that was made to hot seven times. While inside the
fiery furnace, nothing happened to them until the king went closer and saw that they were
alive radiating the goodness and glory of God. He commanded that they should be brought
out. To his dismay, all that were with them saw that not even one single hair of them was
burnt.
The events that later followed was actually the landmark achieved by these great
decision maker. Daniel 3:29 “Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and
language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is
no other God that can deliver after this sort”.
There are four things that need to be established from this verse of the Bible;
a. The lives of these three (3) Hebrews men became a testimony to people. It has never
happen in history that someone was thrown into the fiery furnace and came out alive.
b. God through these 3 men establishes and proof that He is a supreme God that can never
be compared to other gods.
c. A command that nobody should serve any other god apart from the God of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. Which means everybody in Babylon then turned to God of
Israel and forsook their idol.
d. God also through these 3 men negate the rule of impossibility. He made it known to the
people that there is no impossibility with Him.

Having established the four points, therefore, you should know the God you are
serving. God will always proof whatever you proclaim Him to be. If you proclaim him to be
big, He will proof himself bigger in your life and if it is otherwise, so will he do. Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego proclaimed God to be big, great and powerful and can do the
impossible, and God also proved himself to be so. What can separate you from the love of
Christ, is it persecution, lack, affliction, hatred, joblessness, sickness, Jesus is bigger than all
of these. Don’t look back, he will make your life a testimony and many people will come to
the kingdom through your testimony.
 What I want you to see here is that, no matter what you are facing, if you trust God to
deliver you, you will be able to face it will confidence.
 Depend on God’s resources like David 1 Samuel 17:37 – 40 “[37]David said moreover,
The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be
with thee. [38]And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his
head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. [39]And David girded his sword upon his
armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot
go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. [40]And he took his
staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a
shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew
near to the Philistine.
 Trust God or salvation like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Daniel 3:17, Psalm
62:8. Never doubt God
 Believe that God can act on your behalf like Jesus Christ Matthew 26:53, 2 Peter 1:3
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 5.3. THINGS THAT ARE IN THE BACK
- Death is in the back - Numbers 14:26 – 38.
- Failure is in the back
- Poverty is in the back
- Bareness is in the back
- Demotion is in the back
- Destruction and regret are in the back
- Famine and disease are in the back

AVOID THINGS THAT CAN HINDER YOU FROM FORGING AHEAD

 Our past; sometimes our past hinders us from a great relationship with Christ
 Remember not the former things, look on what God has in store for you.
 Remember not your past mistakes, God has forgiven you.
 Remember not your failure; if you fail, never give up; forge ahead.
Because F.A.I.L means – First Attempt In Learning
E.N.D means – Effort Never End
N.O means – Next Opportunity – may be you have missed the former don’t miss the next.
It is not over until it is over Job 14:7. So continue.
 Remember not those who offend you in the past, the Bible says forgive. Mark 11:25,
Matthew 18:27 – 35.
 Remember not your past sinful partners, the bible says old things have passed away
 Remember not your past disappointment the Bible says he made all things new
 Leave the past behind you until you say goodbye to the past you cannot say hello to the
future
 Look straight Proverb 4:25
 Your success is not in the back
 Your promotion is not in the back
 Your children are not in the back
 Your healing is not in the back
 Your breakthrough is not in the back
 Your testimony is not in the back; all are in the front. So look up!
 If you want to be distressed look within
 If you want to be distracted look around
 If you want to be disgraced look down
 If you want to be disappointed look across
 If you want to be defeated look back
 If you want to be delivered look up. Psalm 121, Hebrew 12:2, Psalm 62:9 – 10, 123
 Have a strong decision

Everything about and around you is a product of your own decision. Your whole life is
rested on your decision. Decision is the bridge between your thought and your action. Our
decision impacts every area of our lives. Making better decision means looking for a better
life – Hebrew 11:15 – 16.

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 CHAPTER SIX
6. NEVER GO DOWN

6.1 INTRODUCTION AND MEANING

6.2 SIGNS OF GOING DOWN

6.3 LESSONS FROM JONAH

6.4 WHY MANY PEOPLE REJECTED GOD’S OFFER OF LOVE

6.5 EFFECTS OF JONAH’S FLEE FROM BEFORE GOD

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 6.1 INTRODUCTION AND MEANING
This is a strong warning and words of encouragement to all Christians. Those who
were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have made partaker of the
holy ghost. Upon whom the end of the world is come, that we should be vigilant lest the evil
of the end time overtake us. The Word “NEVER GO DOWN” is directed to you so that you
will not fall victim of one of the dangers of the end time which is “GO DOWN” 1 Timothy
4:1 – 2.
Great and mighty men of faith are falling on daily basis in the midst of battle. How are
the mighty falling, and the weapon of war perished – 2 Samuel 1:25 – 27. It will be a great
disaster for any Christians who were once hot for Christ, highly committed to the faith,
having great zeal, enjoying divine fellowship and heavenly focus to fall from Grace
Galatians 5:7 – 9.
What does Never Go Down mean? To go down in a simple layman understanding
means to fall from grace to grass, from glory to reproach, from maximum to minimum, from
fame to shame, form victory to defeat, from praise to blame. It also means to be at top
yesterday and to have fallen down the following day. However, from spiritual perspective, to
go down means to err from the truth. It means to be highly spiritual, anointed with great zeal,
hot for God and having great grace of Christian testimony but begin to say vain glory “I have
done great things for God in the past, yes I have organized power crusade where millions of
souls are won into God’s kingdom in the past”, but today it has become story.
Before now, you are very zealous for God’s work, your primary concern was to win
souls for Christ, your target was to bring sinners to Jesus and turn them to Christians through
the help of Holy Spirit. Whenever you are praying, heaven opens, you are filled with the
words of God such that whenever you minister, people do see themselves and jump to
surrender their lives to Christ anytime altar call was made. But you have lost all, only
dwelling on the past glory. It is a sign of going down which means “backsliding”. To go
down is to sink to the pit of hopelessness. It also means to turn from saint to sinner, from
being righteous to wickedness.

6.2 SIGNS OF GOING DOWN

The very moment you begin to notice the following in your life as a Christian, you
should know that danger is looming already:

a. Abandoning your first love – Rev 2:4 – 5 “[4] Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because thou hast left thy first love. [5] Remember therefore from whence thou art
fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
b. When you are concerned mostly with the things of the world than the things of God 1
John 2:15 – 17 “[15] Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. [17] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
c. When you could no longer trust God for your provisions
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 Ps 62:8 “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before
him:God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
Jeremiah 17:5 – 8 “[5]Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in
man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. [6]For he
shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
[7]
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. [8]For he
shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,
and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit”.
d. When your prayer life is becoming boring or tiredness.
e. When you are always sleeping or dosing off whenever you are studying the word of
God.
f. When taking short cut as against the commandment of God Proverb 3:7
g. When you no longer walk by faith but by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Peter 2:15
h. Walking contrary to the plan and purpose of God for one’s life i.e. hate what God
love, and love what God hate. When saying YES to what God says NO to and NO to
what God says YES to.
All these are signs of going down. They are the people who are best describing with the
proverbs “As a dog that go back to their vomit”. My prayer is that evil prophecy will not
come to past in your life. But, kindly take this divine counsel very serious
Galatians 6:3 – 4 “[3]For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceiveth himself. [4]But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.”
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

6.3 LESSONS FROM JONAH

It is my prayer that your word will be “Let thy will be done” after you are done with
this chapter.
Who is Jonah? Jonah means “Dove”; his father name was Amittai which also means
“True or faithful”. He was nicknamed a “sleeper” because of the character he played in the
scripture. Jonah was one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible. He was a
Hebrew from the tribe of Judah. He was a type of backsliding Christian Galatians 5:7 – 9,
Hebrews 6:4 – 6.
God spoke to him as a prophet but failed to honour God’s voice having the
understanding that God was speaking to him without any controversy – Jonah 1:2. The
location and the specific assignment was given “Arise, go to Nineveh”. God also gave the
description of the city as “the Great city”. What made Nineveh to be great city?
- The city was 48 miles compass
- The city also have great number of inhabitants Jonah 4:11
- It was great in wealth Jonah 2:9
- Great in power and dominion, sometimes ruled over the kings of earth.
- It also great in wickedness which may serve as barrier to Jonah.

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 So, despite what Jonah knew about God, His power, faithfulness and ability of God to
back and support whosoever He sent on errand. Jonah refuses to go on errand for God.

6.4 WHY PEOPLE REJECT GOD’S OFFER OF LOVE?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
John 1:10 – 11 “[10]He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not. [11]He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
The greatest thing that the Supreme God hath done for mankind is the show of love
which He gave to mankind through offering His only begotten son “Jesus” as a ransom for
the sins of the world so that He can reconcile mankind to Himself. However, many still
reject this great offer. Why then despite this great offer, many still rejects?

i. Inability to see the commission as honour from God – Rejection of hands of love
stretched towards mankind by God is due to the inability to discern that God meant to
honour mankind with such commission. Jonah for instance failed to realise that the
command to go to Nineveh by God was an honour that can rarely give to any man. He did
not realise that he was not qualified in the first instance to be considered for such assignment
but for the grace that he received which qualifies him among so many other prophets and
“well to do people” in the land of Israel as at that time: God did not look at the wise men and
learned people at such time in the land of Israel but counted Jonah worthy to undertake such
assignment then – 1 Samuel 9:20b – 21 “[20b]for they are found. And on whom is all the desire
of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? [21]And Saul answered and said, Am
not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the
families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”
ii. FEAR: Another factor that may be responsible for people rejection to the call of God
is what I call “fear”. Fear is the opposite of faith with the acronyms False Evidence Appear
Real. The bible says fear has torment 2 King 7:5 – 7 “[5]And they rose up in the twilight, to
go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp
of Syria, behold, there was no man there. [6]For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to
hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said
one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the
kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. [7]Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and
left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their
life”. Jonah was overwhelm by the fear of the people of Nineveh having heard about their
wickedness. He had forgotten that when one is back by the Supreme being, the one that rule
over all the kingdom of the nations, he can do exploits. 2 Chronicles 20:6, Romans 8:31
iii. PRIDE: “Pride goes before destruction, and haughty spirit before fall” – Proverb
16:18 – 19. Whenever a man see himself more highly than he ought to think, he will fail to
see the need to embrace whatever hand of love God hath spread towards him/her. And such
act leads to eternal damnation.
iv. LACK OF PASSION FOR LOST SOUL: “He that is saved should rise up for the
souls of the unsaved so commanded by the scripture; Ezekiel 3:16 – 17, Acts 13:47 – 49,
Jude 3. Anytime a man forgets how he was brought to the redemption fold of the Lord Jesus
Christ, such person will fail to understand the needs to be passionate about lost souls. A man
that forget that he was once a sinner and was saved by the grace through the death, burial and
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resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ could hardly do anything to seek after the lost souls
neither will he accept the commission to speak about the love of God to others who are
vulnerable to the deceit, counsel of the Satan. Evangelism is the heart beat of God and we are
saved to rise up for the salvation of others who are yet to be saved – Matthew 28:19 – 20.
v. LACK OF TRUST IN GOD: God is reliable, dependable, trustworthy Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:hath he
said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”. When man
fails to trust God, fear set in. For instance, you may have a divine instruction to go on a
divine assignment, but fear orchestrated by Satan may set in so that you begin to have a
negative thought of been killed, if you embark on the journey. But if you trust in God that
sent you, you will quickly rebuke the evil thought, and begin to confess positively and trust
in God, you will go and nothing will happen to you.
Many people failed in their endeavours because they failed to trust Him that said, I am
the Lord your God who teaches you to profit and leads you in the way you should go – Isaiah
48:17. So many ended up bowing down to battle because they did not trust God who said I
will be with you, when you pass through the water, it will not overflow you, when you
passed through the fire, it will not burn you. Brethren, we need to trust God the more so that
we can live a victorious Christian life. The three Hebrews trust God and their lives glorified
God. Your life and everything about you will glorify God as you trust in Him beginning
from now.
vi. Pursuing Worldly things: John 10:40, 2 Timothy 4:10, 1 John 2:15 – 17 “[15]Love not
the world, neither the things that it are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. [16]For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. [17]And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever”. A servant
cannot serve two masters. There is no way you are preoccupied by the things of the world
and at the same time embrace the love of God. The love of pleasures, beautiful and new
model cars, houses ‘in an eyebrow areas’ of the city, all these things will only pursue you
away to embrace the love of Christ. When our master, Lord Jesus Christ was taken to the top
of the hill by Satan with a promise to give the whole things to Jesus if only He could bow
down to him. Jesus was not obsessed with the pleasure and all the beautiful things of this
world hence the victory he had over the world, otherwise he would have lost that glory of the
only begotten son. Flee from all the attraction of the world, it will lead to eternal damnation.

6.5 EFFECTS OF JONAH’S FLEE FROM BEFORE GOD

Jonah disobeyed God’s command to preach at Nineveh, he fled from the presence of
God by his counsel to Tarshishi, forgetting that God is everywhere and no one can escape
from Him as long as His hand was upon such people. God is omnipresence; He is
everywhere at all time. Apart from that, God knows the intent of every man heart, He is
omniscience.
Every step that man takes has a consequential result whether positively or negatively.
The positive results of man steps always bring joy and happiness while negative steps
resulted in negative results and ended in sorrow and heartbreaking and had I know (regret).
In Psalm 37:5 – 7 – God counsel us to always commit our way unto him and also trust in
Him, and He shall bring it to pass. This verse simply means that outside God is failure, but
with God, success is sure. David hardly does anything without enquiring from God. And
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until he get go ahead from God, he will never take any step. 2 Samuel 15:23 – 28, 1 Samuel
30:8.
So Jonah rejected the way of God and went on his way believing he has escaped from
the presence of God. Jonah’s actions provoked God’s anger that causes trouble and
pandemonium to him and all the innocent souls in the ship he was running away in Jonah
1:4. I beseech you that you desist from anything that can bring trouble to you and people
around you.
What happened to Jonah?
a. He paid for his own transport fare Jonah 1:12:- That is the price for going contrary to
the plan and purpose of God for one’s life. God knows you and what he has created you for;
there is particular mission you are to accomplish in life. There is a particular mandate you
have to carry out Jeremiah 1:14 – 19. If you walk along the line of God ordained plan, you
will enjoy divine backing and support Matthew 28:18 – 20.
He will make every provision ready when He sends you including your transport fare.
A man of God came to me sometimes for prayer, and while we were praying, God spoke to
me to tell him to go and start his own ministry, for thus says the Lord “ I have made
everything ready for the commencements of the ministry”. The man of God took a bold step
and to his surprise, the 3 “M” that’s needed for the work of the ministry was divinely
provided for him. The 3 “M” simply mean – MAN, MONEY & MATERIALS. This 3 “M”
is supplied by God. God is the supplier, therefore, you need to trust in him for everything
Philippians 4:19, 1 Corinthians 9:7.
Your own price for rejecting God’s plan for your life may be joblessness, constant
disappointment, failure at the edge of success, wasted effort, life of struggle, life of no result,
living in penury, frequent sustaining injury, unexplainable sickness, disease, loss and
inability to perform parental functions. A friend of mine was once called into teaching
ministry but was concerned about the tithes and offering and other benefits from the
members that church founder do enjoying. So he went ahead to establish a church, but before
he knows what was happening, his marriage was on the verge of collapse. Nothing was
working well with him until he returns back to God and takes his teaching ministry very
serious, before he starts to enjoy the dividends of obedience.
God cannot ask you to go and back out Jeremiah 1:19, Jeremiah 20:11. Often times,
we do attributes our challenges to Satan and its cohorts. Sometimes it may be that we are
paying the price of disobedience. Whenever you are passing through hard time and your
wound refuses to heal, yet you have prayed and fasted but the situation seems unmoved, then
check yourself. You have been to mountains, different men of God have conducted
deliverance on you and the situation remains, check yourself whether you have missed
somewhere.
b. HE WENT DOWN
Jonah went down which is the price of his disobedience to his maker in chapter one.
Where did he go down to?
FOUR TIMES JONAH WENT DOWN
- He went down to Joppa Jonah 1:3b
- He went down into ship Jonah 1:3a
- He went down to the ship side Jonah 1:5
- He was casted down into the sea Jonah 1:15.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN
7 GREAT QUESTION

7.1 LAID FAST ASLEEP

7.2 RESULT OF JONAH’S DISOBEDIENCE

7.3 RISE UP AND BOUNCE BACK

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 GREAT QUESTION
Jonah 1:8 “Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is
upon us; What is thine occupation? And whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of
what people art thou?
These were the questions posed to Jonah when he was discovered where he was
sleeping in the ship while others people are tormented with fear and likely perished into the
sea. The same question is also coming to you and needs to be answer speedily, for there is no
causeless curse – Proverb 26:2. There is no smoke without fire “For whose cause this evil is
come upon us?” Your wife is asking “for whose cause this calamity that came upon us, this
feeding and accommodation problem, inability to pay house rent, living in penury, struggle
life, no peace and no rest of mind”.
Your husband is also asking “who is behind this wretchedness situation and hardship?
Who is the cause?” Your innocent children are asking “why are they lagging behind away
their colleagues, payment of their school fees is a problem, no food, no cloth, no shoe, why?
For whose cause? Who is troubling this family?” You need to ask yourself if you are the
cause 1 Kings 18:17 – 18. You need to find out, if you are the one that’s bringing this trouble
upon the innocent souls, that their destinies are attached to you have waited tirelessly. They
are lamenting, your parent are groaning because you disappointed their expectation on you
Romans 8:19. Your siblings are wearied about your life that always brings shame to the
entire family.
Even you yourself is lamenting on daily basis, confused, wearied and life has become
tiresome to you. “For whose cause”, are you the prime cause? God has been calling you for
all this while “follow me and I will make you the fishers of men” – Matthew 4:19. Let us
quickly refresh our mind about this verse of the bible. God was saying in this verse that you
follow him so that He can make your life better. He wants to make you great, rich, important,
wealthy. However, you refuse to yield to His call; your disobedience to his call has been
delaying the miracles He wants to work in your life. You have been responsible for the evil
things that are happenings in your family and the entire destiny that are attached to you.
Your children and all those great destinies that are attached to your destiny are become
wanderers just because of your simple act of disobedience. Many supposed to be general in
the Kingdom of God today, had refused that call and chosen to be a Doctor, Chartered
Accountant, Lawyer and many more. The reason why you are still successful in that field is
just because God is gracious. He is still giving you the grace to have a rethink. He is asking
you to leave that comfort zone of yours to a place, He had prepared for you before it is too
late.
In Genesis 12:1 – 3 the bible says “[1]Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will
shew thee: [2]And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [3]And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him
that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”.

If Abraham refuses to leave the place he regarded has his comfort zone, he would have died
like every other person in his family. He would not have fulfilled God divine purpose for his
life. God requested you to drop your personal agenda that contradict his divine agenda for
your life. The bible in Isaiah 45:9 reminded us that woe unto him that striveth with his
maker. Therefore, drop your own personal will now and say as our master, Jesus, said in
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Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not
my will, but thine, be done.” Check also John 5:30, John 15:5, Phil 2:9 – 11.
When following the plan of God for your life, you will be promoted and will not have
abortion of your mandate. To be carnally minded is death, thus, walk by faith and not by
sight. Trust God for everything. If he sent you, He is just and faithful to that which he has
promised.

7.1 LAID FAST ASLEEP

To sleep means to be in a state of unconsciousness, to be unaware of what is going on around
you. Not having understanding of what one is passing through, it also means to be ignorant
of what to do, how to do it, and when to do things; for there is how to everything and there is
time and season for everything in life. When to do things, because there is time and season
for everything in life Ecclesiastes 10:15, Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 7.
SIGNS OF LAID FAST ASLEEP
- PRAYERLESSNESS:
Prayer is the medium through which we fellowship with God, path way to commune with
God. God have a wonderful fellowship with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. He used
to visit them in the cool of the day to have a fellowship with them. Adam and his wife, Eve,
enjoyed a face to face fellowship with God until sin crept in and that good fellowship got
broken. God in His infinite love instituted prayer to replace face to face fellowship, so that
we can have avenue to commune with Him in faith through the words of God.
Prayerlessness is a sin because prayer is the native language of faith. Prayerlessness
means lack of faith in God. According to Hebrew 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him”. Prayerlessness means separating oneself from God,
distancing self from God, and disobeying God’s command. In Jeremiah 33:3 God says “Call
unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest
not”. When we fail to pray, we cannot please Him. Prayerlessness will make our land barren.
Amos 8:11 says “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord”.
Prayerlessness will lead to ignorance to His promises Isaiah 43:26. A prayerless person will
always face with defeat and loss of opportunity.
Prayerlessness means to be spiritually dead – 1Samuel 3:2. It means to be spiritually
blind, deaf and deficient of power. To be spiritually alert is to be prayerful. In Acts 3:1 – 7,
Acts 4:23 – 31, the apostles prayed to God. Prayers are to be offer without ceasing 1
Thessalonians 5:17. Jesus also endorses our prayer according to Luke 18:1 – 7.

- EMPTINESS IN THE “WORD”:

The word of God makes man wise unto salvation 2 Timothy 3:15. The word of God is our
sure weapon of warfare Hebrews 4:12. It is light unto our path, profitable for doctrine,
reproof, correction in righteousness and that the men of God may be perfect – Psalm
119:105, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16. The amount of the word of God in believers
determines how far he can go in the spirit realm. It will also strengthen the relationship with
God and determines the quantity of fire and power that a believer carries.

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 - LACK OF LOVE FOR GOD:
Loving God will motivate you to do more for Him and willing to do all that pleases Him
John 14:15. His command are not grievous – 1 John 5:3. When you do what is pleasing unto
Him, you then automatically become His friend. The scripture says “ye are my friends, if ye
do whatsoever I command you” – John 15:14. He never hides His secret from His friends –
Genesis 18:19, John 15:15. How then do we show love to God? We can show love to God by
fearing Him and walking in all His ways – Deuteronomy 10:12. You can also show love to
God by loving others – Matthew 25:40. You can also depict your love to God by showing
kindness to others always Luke 10:30 – 32. And lastly, you can show that you love God
when you love Him with all thy heart, soul and mind and above all to love your neighbor as
yourself – Matthew 22:37 – 39. Jonah failed in all these things.

- LACK OF ZEAL FOR THE THINGS OF GOD:

Psalm 69:9 “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that
reproached thee are fallen upon me”. Also John 2:17 “And his disciples remembered that it
was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up”.
In 2 Kings 10:10, Jehu said “come and see my zeal for God”. In 1 King 19:10, Elijah
said “I am jealous for God”. Many have zeal for the things of the world in negligence to
God’s things. For instance, you will see Christians wake up from their bed as early as 4am to
avoid lateness to their different secular job. But they don’t care about going late to church for
services. They handle things of God carelessly while they treat the things of the world with
utmost respect. We are to be zealous for things of God. Apostle Paul told the Romans church
to spiritually alert, then they will be able to discern the things of the spirit. You must be
zealous for God to be spiritually alert and able to discern the things of spirit.

- RESIGNED TO FATE:
Jonah 1:12 “And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the
sea be calm unto you:for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Jonah pronounced his own judgment, forgetting that mercy triumph over judgment.
Although you may be guilty of the reason for those unpalatable situations you and your
family find yourself. You have come to the point of blaming yourself and even taking steps
to commit suicide. No, that is not the solution, what is required of you is to realise your short
comings and take bold steps to do the needful. And what is that “ANSWER GOD’S CALL”.

7.2 RESULT OF JONAH’S DISOBEDIENCE

All disobedience to God has a repercussion. I pray it will not be grievous when such
repercussion comes upon the disobedience children. The scripture says “Now the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days
and three nights” – Jonah 1:17
- Jonah was casted into the sea and swallowed up by faith.
- He had what I termed belly of fish experience – Hell on earth. What was this his
experience symbolized?
 Curse Deuteronomy 28:16 – 18
 Trouble and pandemonium (calamity) Jonah 1:4. You will not learn lesson in
the hard way

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  Eternal damnation Jonah 1:15. It is my prayer that this shall not be your person
in Jesus name.

7.3 RISE UP AND BOUNCE BACK

In Jonah chapter 2, Jonah realises his mistakes and cried to God out of the fish belly.
And Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. There is hope at
your end, don’t lose hope, don’t give up, it is not late. Answer the call of God, calling you
into repentance. Now is the day of acceptance, now is the day of salvation Act 2:38. God has
no pleasure in the death of a sinner. Repent today and find your way back to your creator. Do
the needful and you shall be forgiven Ezekiel 18:30 – 32. This is the reason why Jesus came
into the world, to save you and reconcile you back to God – Matthew 1:21, 23, Romans 5:6 –
8. If you can come to him, He has promised never to cast you away – John 6:37.

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 CHAPTER EIGHT
BUT IF NOT
It is worthy of all acceptation that “people that know their God shall be strong and do
exploit” – Daniel 11:32b.
The phrase “BUT IF NOT” was a resolution of the 3 Hebrews men Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego in the land of captivity in Babylon. These are the people that know
the power and ability of God to do the impossibility. They knows that when God speaks, He
brings to past and will never promise or say what He will not do.
GOD’S ABILITY
- Ability to raise children for Abraham from stones Matthew 3:9
- Ability to provide more than 12 legion of angels to rescue His elects Matthew 26:53
- Ability to put every situations under control Joshua 3:15 – 17, Exodus 14:21
- Ability to raise the dead John 11:40 – 44
- Ability to bring dry bone to life Ezekiel 37:1 – 10.
- Ability to set table (provide manna) in the wilderness Psalm 78:19 – 20, Exodus 16
- Ability to perform what he has promised Isaiah 43:1 – 2, Romans 4:18 – 19.
In Daniel chapter 3, these 3 men of great faith believe that God cannot forsake them,
because he never forsakes righteous ones – Psalm 37:25, 32 – 33. And this gave them
assurance and boldness, that no matter the situation, in as much they did not deny his power,
He will save and deliver them from the devices of Satanic princes and chiefs of Babylon who
wanted them dead at all cost.
Daniel 3:16 – 25 “[16]Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the
king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to careful to answer thee in this matter. [17] If
it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and
he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. [18]But if not, be it known unto thee, O king,
that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
[19]
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should
heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. [20]And he
commanded the mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. [21]Then these men were in their coats,
their hosen and their coats, their hosen and their hats, and their other garments, and
were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. [22]Therefore because the king’s
commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire flew those
men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. [23]And these three men, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
[24]
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said
unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They
answered and said unto the king, True, O King. [25]He answered and said, Lo, I see four
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the
fourth is like the son of God”.
In the scripture above, the three Hebrew men determined that they will not serve other gods
other than the God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob. They refused to bow to the
pressure of death warrant hanged upon them if they should bow to any other God apart from

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the image made by Babylonian king. They made great resolution to die instead for them to
fall into the hand of Satan. These 3 great men of faith took a bold decision that seems
impossible to many Christians today. They told king Nebuchadnezzar boldly, “Hear thou
king, we are not supposed to reply you on these matter, but hear, even if our God is not able
to deliver us from the shackles of death, we are not going to bow down to your image” –
Daniel 3:16 – 18.
What does this means? It means that at any given point in time, we are required to
stand for the truth. Taking one stand on what is right and just, not minding the consequences
that compromise faith. The 3 Hebrew men were not weary by the king threat of death,
always ready and wanted to die for the truth. You can also be like them by standing and
defending the true course and never submit to the tension or people’s pressure but hold on to
your profession Hebrew 10:23.
Why would you want to deny faith in the first instance? Is it joblessness, famine, lack,
mockery and reproach, sickness, nakedness etc. – Romans 8:35 – 39. Whatsoever that has a
beginning must always have an end. Never lose focus; heaven must be your focus and goal
because you are a stranger and pilgrimage here. You will not be here forever. You will one
day return home where there is no sickness, death, terrorist threat but all round peace.
8.1 RESULT OF THEIR BOLD DECISION
- They quenched the violence of fire
- They change the kings decree
- A decree was issue to proclaim their God as the most Supreme God.
- Many nations of the world were lead to God through them.
- The impossibility was made possible as no one had been thrown into the fiery furnace
and comes out alone.
- They became the heroes of faith.
Hebrew 11:33 – 34 “[33]Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34]Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight
the armies of the aliens”.
“BUT IF NOT” means but if God chose not to deliver us, it is not because he is lacking the
power or the ability to do it, the reason for doing so is best known to Him, we accept the will
of God to be done in our life, and the bible says “all things work together to those who loves
God – Roman 12:28. So we accept whatever be verdict of God. Apostle Paul says “I take
pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake.
For when I am weak, I am strong” – 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10. Romans 8:35 – 39. Stand as
these 3 Hebrew stood, you a man of like manner.
Do away with distractions; you have what it takes to be like Daniel, Elijah, Elisha,
Moses, Joshua and David of our time. And like the Apostles and the early church heroes that
suffered and died for the faith and thereby inherits the kingdom of God – Hebrew 11:35b –
39.
Come out among the people with contact without content, people of substance without
value, and surround yourself with people that can serve as booster to your faith, people that
will motivate and encourage you not to go down in the faith. Please desist from following
multitude, stand out and stand for God alone. One with God is majority – Isaiah 41:10. Be a

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man of purpose Acts 11:23 and be determined Daniel 1:8. And you shall prosper even as
your soul prospers.

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 CHAPTER NINE
I CAN’T GO BACK
This lesson is to encourage all Christians to stand firm (immovable) in your first love. That
Christian should not derail, deviate and compromise their faith especially in this end time.
That we should understand that our calling to be Christian is a call for patience in afflictions
and enduring persecutions as we know that it will surely happen (John 15:19 – 20; 16:33).
That our suffering has an expiring date i.e. it will end one day (Revelation 2:10). That the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us (Romans 8:18). That we are not of this world. We have been chosen out of the
world (John 15:19; John 17:14 – 17). That we are peculiar person (1 Peter 2:9). And to know
that Christianity calls for determination; “for no man having put his hands to the plow and
look back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62; Luke 14:28). That we should be careful
lest we be deceived with vain words (Ephesians 5:6). Jesus Christ warned “And Jesus
answered and said unto them; take heed that no man deceive you” – Mathew 24:4. Then
Apostle Paul warned “Let no man deceive you by any means ……………” – 2 Thessalonians
2:3a. “Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times shall some depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” – 1 Timothy 4:1.
So we should be careful of decisions we are going to make lest we make wrong
decision that will draw us back. Remember an adage which says: “Forward ever, backward
never”. Backwardness is not good; it is a bad experience which no man will ever desire. It
means moving from glory to shame; from grace to grass; maximum to minimum. It is
moving from higher level of honour to nothingness.
When someone is said to be going backward, it means the person who has been doing
well, whether academically, politically, financially, and spiritually are not doing well any
more. It is called retardation or retrogression which means moving from hero to zero. May
you not have such experience in Jesus name. When someone that is burning for Christ before
with testimony of genuine salvation, a good prayer warrior, a good Bible student, someone
participating well in all church activities, person that is known to be committed and devoted
Christian, one who is committed to soul winning left their first love and backslides. It is like
salt that lost its savour.
Christian growth should be from glory to a higher glory not from glory to grass.
“And the child Samuel grew up, and was in favour both with the Lord and also
with men” – 1 Samuel 2:26.
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the
grace of God was upon Him” – Luke 2:40
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man” –
Luke 2:52
As we grow in stature, also we should grow in spirit, so as to know how to refuse evil and
choose the good.
I can’t go back is a statement of a person who have tasted the good word of God and
the powers of the world to come and doesn’t want to fall way as the Psalmist rightly say “O
taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him” – Psalm 34:8.
The testimony of a person who has searched for the truth and found it and doesn’t want her
testimony be spoiled. Her name is RUTH, the great grandmother of our LORD Jesus Christ.

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She had once enlightened and has tasted of the heavenly gift and was made a partaker of the
Holy Ghost and doesn’t want to miss such great opportunity.
She saw beyond the physical, she saw the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
worldly treasure. She knew that she a Moabite, married to a Hebrew man was not an
accident. It was for a purpose. There is something that God have in mind to allow such. She
doesn’t want her mandate to be aborted. She wanted to achieve her purpose in life. She took
a strong and courageous decision without minding the repercussion. She told her mother-in-
law, don’t persuade me to leave you. My sister-in-law might have gone back, but I am not
going back, I can’t go back. I have made up my mind. I have chosen the God of Israel. I am
ready to pay any cost. I am not going back to the Moabite gods that I have once renounced. I
am not like dog that go back to its vomit. My watchword is forward ever, backward never. I
am ready to suffer affliction with men of God. I prefer suffering afflictions with men of God
than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. I am not going back. I have decided, I am
determined, no amount of your persuasion can make me go back. I have cleaved to the God
of Israel and nothing shall separate me from the serving God. I have known the way; Jesus
Christ is the way, the truth and the life. I don’t want to err.
Behold a woman of great faith, a woman of vision, integrity and a purposeful woman
(Ruth 1:8 – 19). Do we have faithful Christian today as of in the Bible days? Godly people
who stand against ungodly and false teaching and declare for true God. “…………
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” – Luke 18:8.
Men and women of great faith like:
a. Moses who refused all Egyptian glory, honour and riches and chose to suffer affliction
with people of God than enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season – Hebrew 11:24 – 27.
b. Elijah who preached against idolatry, wickedness and injustice in Israel and refuse to
compromise. His watchword was “one with God is majority. He challenged people to
choose between God and Baal - 1 king 17:1 – 18:21. He challenged the prophets of
Baal and he defeated them – 1 King 18:20 – 40.
c. Joshua: he challenged all the people of Israel to serve the living God and if they refuse
he will not compromise his faith Joshua 24:14 – 15.
d. The Apostles and early church fathers that suffered martyrdom – Hebrew 11:36 – 40.
i. Like Apostolic fathers of the first and second century A.D who believed to have
personally known of the 12 Apostles or have been personally influenced by
them.
ii. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, a second century Christian who died a martyr,
bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to touch him.
He refused to deny Christ even when the Governor persuaded him to do so. He
said “86 years I have served Christ, he has done me no harm, how then could I
blaspheme my King who saved me”. Let us forsake the vanity of the crowd and
their false teachings and turn back to the word delivered to us from the
beginning…..Hear me declare with boldness. I am a Christian”.
Time and space will not permit me to say about Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch who
nicknamed himself Ignatius Theophorus meaning GOD BEARER. Justin Martyr,
Pope Clement 1, Tertullian and Ireneaus Bishop of Lyon and many others that I
cannot mention, one who said it is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ
than to reign over all the ends of earth.

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 People that have Jesus Christ in their heart not the people who have Jesus on their lips
and world in their heart, they said “Christianity is the greatest when it’s hated by the world -
Matthew 24:9 – 10. People who will stand on their decision and tell the death, torment,
famine, nakedness etc. why are you delaying? Come now and do your worst.

9.1 THINGS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BACKSLIDING

These are things that Christian should avoid if we don’t want to compromise:
1. Impatient: Elemelech driven by famine into Moab and he died there – Ruth 1:1 – 5.
Christian should beware of what is driving them. Patient and perseverance are the
fruits of the Holy Spirit and it’s needed in our Christian journey, especially when
things get tough.
2. Fear of uncertainty: Fear of uncertainty made Orpah to go back, thinking if she went
with Noami, the probability of getting married in Israel in zero. Fear of how can she
adapt to the belief and lifestyle of Hebrew made her went back – Ruth 1:8 – 13.
3. Evil association: the bible says, evil associations corrupt good manners – 1
Corinthians 15:33. Solomon form alliance with the heathen kings and fell from grace –
1 Kings 11:1 – 4. So those you associate yourself with in the pilgrimage (Christian)
journey matters for bird of the same feather flocks together – Proverb 13:20
4. Worldiness: This affected brother Demas in his Christian life. He started well and
because he loved this present world, he backslided – 2 Timothy 4:10, James 4:4, 1
John 2:15 – 17. You can’t follow Jesus as long as you love this world – Matthew 6:24
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or
else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon”.
5. Indecision: Decision determines success or failure. No decision without challenges.
Decision making is a risk taken – Hebrew 11:24 – 27, Hebrew 7:23. Decision is not
what you make by mouth but it is the action taken. Decision that Orpah took ended her
story in the chapter one of the book of Ruth and Ruth’s decision took her beyond the
book of Ruth. She was listed among the hero of faith. She became great, great
grandmother of our LORD Jesus Christ. Ruth is one of five (5) women mentioned in
geneology of Jesus found in the book of Matthew. Ruth, Tamar, Rahab, Bersheba and
Mary. The book of Ruth is one among the two (2) books of the Bible named after
women: Ruth and Esther.
The living example of our time is Leah Sharibu who refused to compromise her faith. She is
an hero of the Gospel that every Christian should emulate. The decision you take today can
make your name written in Guinness book of Life – Revelation 2:2, 11, 26; 3:5, 12, 21.

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 CHAPTER TEN
NEVER BOW DOWN
The word “Never Bow Down” is credited to the Lord Jesus our Saviour when He was
tempted by Satan in the wilderness after He fasted for days and nights – Matthews 4:9. Who
is this Jesus? Jesus is God in man flesh. He is 100% man and 100% God, who left his glory
in heaven for an earthly divine assignment of redeeming the mankind to God. He is our
mentor, role model, our leader, only one who is the way the truth and the life, the light of the
world, one that who follow shall not work in darkness but have the light of life. If Jesus our
savior who also is a God can be tempted by Satan, then we his disciples (Christians) should
be prepared for temptation (John 1:1 – 4, 14).
Luke 4:1, the scripture says Jesus being full of Holy Spirit returned to wilderness and
to be tempted by Satan. So being Christian full of Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in
tongues does not exempt you from the temptation of Satan. Your holiness life as a Christian
is not an assurance that you will not be tempted of Satan. In John 15:16, 18 – 20, Jesus
specifically told us that the world is going to hate us because they hated Him also. And Satan
will also tempt us because he also tempted Him.
Matthew 3:16 – 17 “[16]And Jesus, when he was baptised went up straightway
out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: [17]and lo a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.
God announced the sonship of Jesus Christ to the whole world through (Matthew 3:16 – 17).
Satan has the understanding of the pronouncements yet he (Satan) went ahead to tempt Him.
Immediately you give your life to Jesus, being baptized by immersion which means
announcing to the world that you have declared Jesus, be expecting stiff opposition from
Satan and his cohorts. I want us to quickly look into how Satan tempted Jesus three times
and the lessons we need to learn as a child of God.

TEMPTATION ONE – LUKE 4:3 – 4 “[3]And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of
God, command this stone that it be made bread, [4]And Jesus answered him, saying, it is
written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.
Jesus fasted for forty days and nights and was hungered aftermath. But why did Satan
come at this point to tempt Him? Why will Satan ask Jesus to turn stone to bread knowing
fully well He is a child of God. And a child of God is God. He was aware of the power of
God and what He(God) is capable of doing, yet He tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread.
Why? The reason is not far-fetched. Satan knew Jesus has great power and wanted
Him to misuse that power. Satan knew turning stone to bread could be amounted to misuse
of power, so he wanted Jesus to do so to bring disrepute to His divine sonship and jeopardize
his divine assignment. Turning stone to bread also means making shortcut to help God in His
divine purpose for you. Therefore every Christians must be very careful with the way we use
the power of God in our lives. God has endowed so many Christians with power but they
have misused it and thereby bring sudden end to their divine assignments. There is a man of
God whom someone that is junior to him told him that he had a dream about him, that he
died. But rather for the man of God to pray over the dream to cancel it, instead he used the
power of God in his life to avert the death to the dreamer (the person that told him about the
dream) and the person died in no distant time, misuse of power! Elijah also misused the
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power of God in his life by killing all the prophet of Baal by himself – 1 King 18. Also
Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23 – 24. So many men of God have misused their God given power to
prevent their upcoming pastor under them to progress or go from them. And when he
releases them reluctantly, he will make sure things did not work for them, that’s absolutely
misuse of power. Every children of God must be careful and be guided against misuse of the
God given power in their life.

TEMPTATION TWO – LUKE 4:5 – 8 “[5]And the devil, taking him up into an high
mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6]And the
devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered
unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. [7]If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be
thine. [8]And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”.
To bow down means to worship which is contrary to the will of God for us as his
elects Exodus 20:1 – 5 “[1]And God spake all these words, saying, [2]I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3]Thou shalt
have no other gods before me. [4]Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth: [5]Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”.
Jesus being God knew that Satan is a liar. Jesus called him father of all liars John 8:44.
We should not be ignorant of the devices of Satan. He will demand us to sell our soul to him
before we can make it in life. Who gave him (Satan) all the things he claims ownership to
him? Jesus refused to bow down as demanded by Satan a lying lips and He commanded it to
be put to silence Psalm 31:18.
Satan wants Jesus to pursue the things of the world, when Jesus knows that the glory
of heaven is much greater than the earthly glory. The idea Satan sold to Jesus was to allow
Him to lose the glory He left in the heaven and come to the world in man flesh.
Many Christians failed in their divine mandate this time because they have bow down
to Satan simply because of what they want to become and the pleasure of life. Most men of
God have derailed from the way of righteous and have joined occult for fame and monetary
gain. They have bowed down, but Jesus never bows down because of the things of the world
that will perish one day. No wonder Apostle John (The Beloved) warned us (Christians) in 1
John 2:15 – 17 that we should not love the world and everything that is in the world. If any
man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Everything in the world and earthly
glory are perishable – 2 Corinthians 4:18. Loving the world will automatically bring enmity
between man and God. Mingling and dinning with the world will subject you to be influence
by Satan – James 4:4. Jesus warned us not to work for the food that can perish – John 6:27.
We should understand that not only food that can perish, be it cars, houses, clothes and
luxurious things of this world shall all in one day perish. Therefore we should work for the
thing that will not perish as a Christian.
TEMPTATION THREE – LUKE 4:9 – 12 “[9]And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him
on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down
from hence: [10]For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
[11]
And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash your foot against a
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stone. [12]And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God”.
Satan intention was to use the third temptation to destroy Jesus having failed to realise
his intention in first and second temptation. What he thought was to succeed in deceiving
Jesus to cast himself down from the top of the pinnacle knowing fully well that He (Jesus)
will not survive it thereby he (Satan) will now take the reign over the world. However, all the
glory be to the God Almighty, Jesus yielded not to the deceit of the Satan thereby given Him
victory over Satan which is the first victory he had over Satan. The second victory that Jesus
had over Satan is the victory on the Calvary – Colossians 2:15 “And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, and triumphing over them in it”.

10.1 RESULT OF JESUS’S VICTORY OVER SATAN.

1. The angels were ministering to Him:- immediately after the victory of Jesus over
Satan, the angels began to minister unto Him. As a Christians, angels are ministering agents
to us because we are the heir of salvation. However, this can only be made possible if we
overcome like our master Jesus Christ. We must overcome Satan and his hosts and we must
overcome the world, then will the angels become ministering agents unto us – Hebrew 1:14
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?”.

2. JESUS BECAME POWERFUL – LUKE 4:14a “And Jesus returned in the power of
the Spirit into Galilee:”. Jesus was able to acquire all Satan promised Him through deceit
when He (Jesus) overcame Satan. Christian’s ways of being endowed with power is not
limited alone to prayer and fasting, but must also overcome all the Satanic temptations that
can ridicule us to be powerless. No wonder Bible warned us to flee from all appearances of
evil – 1 Thessalonians 5:22.

3. HE BECAME FAMOUS(POPULAR) – LUKE 4:14b “and there went out a fame of

him through all the region round about”. Jesus did not seek earthly fame which is introduced
by Satan to him. Otherwise, he would have brought eternal disrepute to his divine agenda on
earth. So many children of God seek for fame from Satan, forgetting that there is nothing
Satan give that can last but expire in a moment. It is only fame that originated from God last
till eternity because it is not perishable.
4. HE BECAME A TEACHER – LUKE 4:15a “And he taught in their synagogues”.
For one to become a teacher, he must have had experience. Experience they say is the
best teacher. To become a Christian teacher, he/she must have experienced what he is
teaching. There are always differences between teaching from what one hear, taught or read
and teaching from experience. Jesus taught in the synagogue by experience through what he
knows and what he had experienced such that the teachers of laws, the Pharisees and
Sadducees were all learning from him in amazement – Matthew 7:28 – 29. He taught them
with the one that have authority and not as the Scribes.

5. HE HAD TESTIMONIES LUKE 4:15b “being gloried of all”

People were testifying to the glory of God in Jesus life. The testimony of being the son of
God as it was earlier announced in the scripture – Matthew 3:17. The testimony of him
overcoming the temptation of Satan. Is your Christian testimony still intact? Your being call
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and addressed as a Christian still genuine. The life of Jesus after overcoming Satan
temptation still glorifies God. Can you say your life as a Christian glorifies God? Has your
light not been dimmed by darkness as a child of God? Is your Christian testimony still
genuine or faking people? Your claim that God is behind your fame, riches, success,
promotion and wealth, is it true or it is by rituals and you being a member of cult.
Remember, you can only fake man, you can never fake God. In Luke 4:15b, Matthew 5:13,
bible called Christians as the salt of the world and that should be seen and notice in our life
as child of God. Salt sweetens and preserves things, does your life as a Christian add
sweetness and preservation to other people’s life. Our life should not contaminate and bring
regrets to other people life. Our life is in X-ray form which cannot be hidden – 2 Corinthians
3:2. As the light of the world, we must be a good mentor and a role model like Jesus who
was going about doing good. The power of the holy spirit with which Jesus was baptised was
used for good work and glory of God in his life. So, once we have accepted Jesus, Christ
must be readable in us. Let me quickly share this testimony of a boy and a man to encourage
us. This particular boy was sent on an errand by his mother, while he was going on the
errand, he lost the money his mother gave him. Immediately he realised the money had got
lost, he busted into tears and hid himself in a corner while still crying. As he was weeping
profusely, a man saw him while passing by and asked him why he was crying. And the boy
narrated what happened to the man. The man advised him to go back home and explain to
his mother. Instead of the boy to listen to the man, he told the man that it is better for him to
get lost than to go back home and tell his mother that he had lost her money. The man was
moved by the pathetic story of the boy, and he gave the boy the money to go home. After the
man has walked a distance, the boy called him again and asked him “Sir, are you that Jesus
Christ that they told us about in our Sunday school on Sunday?” The man asked him why he
asked such question, and the boy answered him, because we were told that He was always
going about doing good – Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of
the devil; for God was with him”. Until your life reflects that of Jesus, you are not yet a
Christian – MATTHEW 4:14 – 16 “[14]That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias
the prophet, saying, [15]The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the
sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; [16]The people which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up”.

6. FULFILLED PROPHECY – LUKE 4:16 – 20 “[16]And he came to Nazareth, where he

had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath
day, and stood up for to read. [17]And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet
Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, [18]The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, [19]To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. [20]And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister,
and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
The prophesy of Isaiah in the book of Isaiah 61:1 – 7 came to fulfillment in Luke 4:16 – 18
after Jesus overcame the temptation of Satan.
7. COMMENCEMENT OF HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY – MATTHEW 4:17, 23 – 24
[17]
“ From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is
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at hand. [23]And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease
among the people. [24]And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all
sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were
possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he
healed them”.
There are things we need to conquer before the commencement of our ministry. For instance,
we must conquer Adamic nature, covetousness, greed, hatred, unforgiving etc. If we fail to
conquer these things before launching into the ministerial work, they will later destroy such
person. We should also ensure that we overcome foundational battle. What are the battles
that conquer mother, father and those that have come before you. There are also the
foundational battle.

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN
VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN AND THE RAPTURE
The greatest event that the saints in Christ are waiting and earnestly expecting is the
rapture. Who are these saints? They are Christians who had and still lives a victorious life.
They have turned their back to the world and all the things that are therein. They have
become enemies of the world to retain their sonship. They have crucified everything to the
cross not minding that their names is not written in the Guinness book of records but assured
of the fact that their names are contain in the book of life. These set of Christians are general
in faith that are dead to sin.
Such Christians are refers to as those who have live victoriously and are rapturable.
They are those that will hear the trumpet when the Son of man is coming for the second time
to take the saints home. For the understanding of this chapter, let us look at what rapture is
and those events that will precede rapture.
John 14:1 – 3 “[1]Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also
in me. [2]In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3]And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 3 “[1]Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [2]That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us,
as that the day of Christ is at hand. [3]Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;”
Meaning:- An end time event when all Christian believers who are alive along with
resurrected believers will arise in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air . 1 Thessalonians
4:16-17 It is the first phase or stage of the second coming of Christ.
WHEN WILL THE RAPTURE TAKE PLACE?
Before the great tribulation and can happen anytime from now “in a twinkling of an eye”
without a moments of warning “the trumpet will sound”. 1 Thessalonians 15:51,52 The
Second Advent will not take place until after the great tribulation.
11.1 TIME OF THE RAPTURE
The time of the rapture is unknown even by the angels Matthew 24:36, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-
5 HOW?
The rapture will be heralded by the voice of the archangel and the blowing of the trumpets
signaling the end of the church age 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 15
11.2 TRUTH ABOUT THE RAPTURE
Jesus is faithful, trustworthy, reliable and dependable in who is no lie. He has never lied and
He cannot he. He possesses all the attributes of God the Father, since He is the second person
of the God Head(trinity) John 1:1-5; 10:30; Num 23:19; Josh 21:45; 1 Kings 8:56; John
14:2b. He is faithful then, He is faithful now and forever faithful. Mai 3:6; Heb 13:8
Whenever He makes promise He keeps it. Isa 43:2
Examples: - Moses in river Nile floats in basket. Exo 2:1-6
Israel in Red sea and river Jordan Exo 14:25 - 15:2; Josh 3:15 - 17
Three Hebrews in fiery furnace Dan 3:18 - 30
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 Daniel in lion den Dan 6:16 - 28
The promise of first advent was fulfilled Isa 42:9. The prophecy of His birth, death, and
resurrection fulfilled.
■ Jesus spoke about rapture and His second coming John 14:1 - 3; Matt 24:27-35
■ The Angel testifies to it. Acts 1:9-11
■ The Apostles and Saints throughout the ages preached it.
11.3 THE MYSTERY OF RAPTURE IN THE SCRIPTURE
The rapture was a mystery, unknown to the O.T saints and prophets. God had underlined this
great event in 2 different ways in the scripture to assure us of its certainty.
First, it was illustrated in Enoch and Elijah, the 2 living saints who did not tasted death but
were translated in a moment of time and caught up in the air. Gen 5:24; 2 King 2:11-12
Second, it was illustrated in Christ in the N.T. He died, was buried and resurrected. While He
talked with His disciples on mount Olive, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of
their sight. Acts 1:9-11
11.4 WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF HIS COMING?
What would be happening on earth shortly before His coming Matt 24:5 - 12, 30 - 39 He
highlighted the following as what to expect
1. Many false Christ will arise to deceive many
2. There will be wars and rumours of wars
3. There will be international wars
4. Famines (global economic recession)
5. Pestilences
6. Earthquakes
7. There will be persecution of Christians and some cases of martyrdom
8. The emergence of many false prophets
9. Backsliding from faith on the increase
10. More people given to pleasure and merry making than those seeking the Lord
The Bible also predicts the conditions characterized by a system of denials that will be
prevalent within the visible church, shortly before Christ’s return
A. There will be a denial of God (2 Tim 3:1 - 5)
B. A denial of Christ ( John 2:18, 4:3)
C. A denial of Christ’s return (2 Pet 3:3,4)
D. A denial of Christian living (Jude 8)
E. A denial of authority
All these signs are being fulfilled before our very eyes
11.5 REQUIREMENT TO BE PARTAKERS OF THE RAPTURE
1. Be born again
2. Live a transparent holy living
3. Walk daily in the light
4. Do service to God
5. Watch daily, pray always with all prayer and
6. Maintain these experiences at the time of the rapture or at the time of death as the case
may be John 3:3; Heb 12:14; John 4:35 - 38; 9:1 - 4; 1 Thess 4:16 - 17
All these signs preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ is all fulfilled.

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 11.6 THOSE THAT WILL NOT BE RAPTUTRED
■ The sinful church members
■ The backsliders
■ The careless and compromising preachers will miss the rapture. It doesn’t matter what
Christian work they have done in the past
■ The sinners outside the church
So repent today, tomorrow may be too late

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