Possess the Gates of Your Enemies

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The Bible records that the siblings of Rebekah blessed her and prayed that her descendants would possess the gates of those who hated them. Please read Genesis Chapter 24 verse.

Your enemies are the devil and his cohorts who determinedly stand against your progress, God’s divine progress for your life and your nation. An example which readily comes to mind is that of the Israelites enroute to Canaan but were hindered from forward movement at the gates of Jericho because the people of Jericho shut their gates against the Israelites. With massive impenetrable walls and firmly locked gates, the Israelites could not move forward. But God Who always has the last word brought down the walls of Jericho by His great power. Jericho was not only burnt down, the people of Israel possessed the gates of their enemies and proceeded to Canaan unchallenged by the now dead people of Jericho.

Yet another example is that of Balak who hired Balaam to curse the Israelites so that they would not make progress to the land of Canaan. Beloved, God frustrated both Balak and Balaam and the Israelites possessed the gates of those who hated them.

God’s judgment on Mount Seir/Edom because of their ancient hatred/bitter hatred against the children of Israel is an important lesson on why people should not hate.. The Edomites had consistently teamed up with Israel’s cantankerous and wicked neighbors to always fight against Israel, shedding the blood of Israelites. However, God always dealt with the Edomites.

In the book of 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 20, the Bible records how the Moabites and Ammonites turned against the Edomites and destroyed them completely before turning against each other to destroy themselves. Please take note of verses 21 to 29.

Where, when, how and why did Edom develop such bitter hatred for his brother Israel? After Jacob stole the blessings of the father from their father Isaac, the Bible records that Esau who later became known as Edom hated Jacob and took a decision to kill Jacob. Though they resolved their differences many years later, it is obvious that the harm had been done. How? It is possible that Esau must have told his children what Jacob did to him and his children also must have told their own children and it became a trans generational hatred culminating in the descendants of Esau (who had long become known as the Edomites and inhabitants of Mount Seir) always teaming up with the enemies of Israel against Israel). Please read Genesis Chapter 27 verse 41, Ezekiel Chapter. Unfortunately for the Edomites, God rose against them on account of their hatred for Israel.

Beloved, you do not have to run away from those who hate you and your nation. Rather, take control and drive out all the forces opposed to the perfect will of God for your nation. Ask God to intervene and route out all the opposition even as He routed out the Philistines in 1^st Samuel Chapter 7; Goliath and his fellow Philistines in 1^st Samuel Chapter 17. Do not entertain, do not accommodate; do not give right of way to the opposition. Your nation must survive in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Labor in prayers for God to dislodge the opposition no matter how fierce it is in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

David for instance took on Goliath by faith – he had never been to war, was not a trained soldier, did not own military dress and hardware and had never fought with military gadgets. But he was able to take on Goliath, brought him down and brought the victory which had eluded Israel for so long.

Pursue, Overtake and Recover All 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The strength of an oppressor lies in either the ignorance or outright refusal of the oppressed to take actions that would stop the oppression against the oppressed and oppression. As long as King Saul and his mortified army refused to act against the verbal oppression of Goliath, Goliath remained strong and invincible. But the moment that a mere teenager unschooled in military warfare showed up and challenged Goliath to a fight, the oppression came to an end and Goliath vacated  the earth for the Israelites to enjoy peace.

Beloved, do not allow any form of satanic oppression by anyone against you and your loved ones to go unchallenged. Confront every Goliath who makes you tremble and bring them down by the power in the name of Jesus Christ. Do not be emotional.

The seven year oppression of Israel by the Midianites came to an end when Gideon responded to the call of God to be used of God to put an end to the oppression that had impoverished and intimidated the people of Israel for so long. In point of fact, they were so intimidated that they threshed whatever wheat they were able to harvest in wine presses. But all that, the seven year reign of economic impoverishment came to an end with Gideon’s anointed army of just three hundred men.

In essence, God fought for Israel to pursue, overtake and recover all from the Midianites who always devastated the land of Israel.

This implies that the pursuit to overtake and recover it all is not by physical might and power. It is divine and by the Spirit of God. God takes the initiative to stop the oppression of the enemy, puts it in the hearts of His children by His Spirit and gives them the methods to deploy in pursuing and overtaking the enemy to recover it all.

Midian for instance had gotten used to just entering Israel at any point in time especially after planted crops had germinated and were in full bloom; not to harvest the crops but to destroy them so that the people of Israel would have nothing to eat. But God ended it. In like manner, any oppression being experienced by your nation can come to a sudden end by the Spirit of God if you and the people in your nation partner with God to end that oppression.

The Amalekites had done what they considered a great job. They had utterly destroyed Ziklag and taken the women and children captive. Needless to say, David and his men were devastated: to the point that his men considered stoning him. That was perhaps when David realized that he had not done the right. Instead of turning to God immediately, he had joined his men in wailing and now they were about to stone him. So with no one to wail with, David turned to God and God Who never fails His own gave David a word. Go after them irrespective of how far they appear to have gone for you will definitely recover all they took from you.

Armed with the word of God and other physical weapons, they embarked on the pursuit of the unknown raiders until God ordered their steps through the sick Egyptian servant of one of the Amalekites. He eventually led David and his men to the Amalekite raiders who were having a party. David and his men attacked immediately and rescued their wives and children as well as their flock.

You can be strong spiritually irrespective of whatever persecutions you face on a daily basis. Build spiritual stamina for the midnight hour. Deploy the weapons of spiritual warfare God has been schooling to use by His Holy Spirit.

Pursue, Overtake and Recover All 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Beloved, I have no idea what the enemy and his cohorts stole from you and your nation but those things can be recovered if you will up to God and give the enemy the hot pursuit of his life. It does not matter how far they have gone. Simply pursue them in prayers and whatever means God directs you to by His Spirit and you will recover all.

Goliath had succeeded in immobilizing the well-equipped and well-armed army of Israel for forty days and forty nights. That was plenty of time to crush a people’s spirit to submission. So as far as the Philistines were concerned, Israel had capitulated and would surrender in no time. But unknown to the Philistines, there was a young man whom God directed his teps to the camp to bring Goliath down. So after forty days and nights of oppression and torment, David rose up against Goliath and the oppression and torment ceased as Goliath was killed by David in minutes. The Israelites through David whom God used by His Spirit had successfully pursued, overtaken the Philistines and recovered all that the Philistines stole from them. Their confidence in God to deliver them was restored and they rose up confidently against the Philistines because a young man who had absolute trust in God dared to challenge Goliath. Please read 1^st Samuel Chapter 17 for details and insight.

The woman with the issue of blood did not give up in her quest for a cure despite all the negative reports and fail stories she had experienced. She pressed on and eventually was completely cured by the Master Healer Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How about the widow of the indebted prophet? Indebtedness had become their family identity and history and had even progressed to a situation where her two sons would serve debt bondage. But the woman chose to deal with the issue of indebtedness by consulting with God through Prophet Elisha. After being instructed by Prophet Elisha on what to do, she embarked on a pursue, overtake and recover all mission so that her two sons would be spared the debt bondage. Thereafter, indebtedness, was no longer their family identity and history.

Basis for Nation Building and Development in the Nations

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

What is nation building? Can a nation / nations be built without the awesome, sanctifying and healing presence of God? 

What God wants from people and nations of the world is already revealed in the word of God. So also is what He does not want people and nations to do. His word states that righteousness exalts a nation; and that godliness and contentment is great gain.

The righteousness which exalts a nation or nations comes from Christ Jesus. If nations turn to Christ, they learn to live right in Christ and God exalts them above all the oppression of the enemy and his cohorts. To live right in Christ is to abide in Christ is to abide in His words and the word brings fruitfulness and great blessings from God – John Chapter 8 verses 31 to 32.

The blessing of God makes rich and does not add sorrow. The blessing of God upon a nation changes a nation irrespective of where the nation is located. It is not about where the nation is located but the nation’s connection with God. This is because the blessing of God upon a nation is predicated on obedience to God. The Bible specifies the modes of obedience in Psalm 1 – study and meditation of the word of God, love for and obedience to the word of God which dovetails into refusal to partner with the ungodly, sinners and the scornful.

Another mode of obedience is absolute trust in the Lord; dovetailing into hope in the Lord.

This results in unending fruitfulness, absence of fear and anxiety in the life of such a nation.

When nations choose to obey God, His word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit through their love for God and not because of the consequences of sin, then they are truly living in obedience to God and His word, in point of fact, they are perfecting obedience and learning to trust God. God prunes the people of such nations on a daily basis to take away the dross that militates against total commitment to Him. God prunes them to greater fruitfulness.

God also rebukes the devourer for the sake of the peoples of the nations. One of the ways God rebukes the devourer for their sakes is to give them wisdom to navigate ignorance, foolishness, laziness, thoughtlessness, carelessness, pride, self-will, etc so that the enemy does not find loopholes to attack and destroy the works of their hands.

Leaders of nations as well as the peoples of the nations should exploit the fear of God for nation building and development. This is because the fear of God is always a precursor to justice and nation building as well as development in any land. Please read Nehemiah Chapter 5 verses 14 to 19.

Pursue, Overtake and Recover All

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God created you to exercise dominion at all times even when it appears as if the enemy has the upper hand. The Amalekites had burned down Ziklag and taken the women and children captives yet God asked David to pursue and overtake them in order to recover all that the enemy had stolen.

Though David and his men had no idea where to head to, they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit until they found the young Egyptian who gave accurate description of what happened and instructed them on where to head to. Eventually, David and his men caught up with the Amalekites who were celebrating too early. The women, children and livestock were not only recovered but other spoil was taken from the Amalekites. Please read 1^st Samuel Chapter 30, note verses 2 and 3, Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 8, Genesis Chapter 14 verses 12 to 16.

This resonates with the Scripture that the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against the enemy because the Spirit knows best what standard to raise against the enemy in order to quell satanic flood like attacks targeted at the nations. Please read Isaiah Chapter 59 verse 19, Psalm 93 verses 1 to 5, 124 and 118.

The physical walls of Jericho for instance came crashing down through praise to God because God asked the Israelites to praise Him rather than attempt to bring down the walls for which they had no weapons to do so. Please read Joshua Chapter 6 for details and spiritual insight. Nations and peoples of the nations may be or are experiencing satanic blockades which hinder their progress and development. Such blockades can also be likened to the walls of Jericho that attempt to stifle, contain progress in the nations. They are the satanic blockades orchestrated by the doctrines of men, persuasive words of human wisdom to stop the nations from worshipping God. Please read 1^st Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 1 to 4. Quality praise to God by believers will bring all such walls down not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord God of Hosts Who is the Man of war and the Lord strong and mighty in battle. As the walls come down, the hearts of the people will be liberated to worship God in truth and spirit.

Witchcraft for instance is a work of the flesh, what a person, family or families, institutions and communities do to interfere to stop the progress of other people, for example, the attempt by Moab to stop the progress of Israel to the Promised Land through curses from Balaam. But God reversed the evil attempt and ensured that Balaam could not curse Israel. It is also what the young girl with the spirit of divination attempted against Paul and his team; distract them and the people they were preaching to by continually proclaiming that they were the servants of God. Fortunately, the Apostle Paul understood that as a trick of the enemy to interfere with preaching of the gospel and silenced the evil spirit casting it out of the slave girl. Please read Acts Chapter 16 verses 16 to 19. Thereafter, a good number of people were saved there.

Proclaim Good Tidings in the Nations 4

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Flourish – Excerpts from Ezekiel Chapter 34 verses 24 to 31

God is healing the nations.

He will place the right shepherd over them.

He will make a covenant of peace with them. He will rid the land of wild beasts so that both deserts and forests are safe for living in and sleeping in. The people will be secure in their land.  The bars of yokes destroyed.  The people will be rescued from the captivity of those who enslaved them. There will be no more plundering by the nations incensed against them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. They will live in safety in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. No one will make them afraid in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Wild animals will not devour them.

He will bless the inhabitants of the nations.  He will also bless the places surrounding His hill. He will send down showers of blessing – the showers will be sent in due season and not out of season. The rain comes when it is required to soften the ground and provide abundant nourishment for the crops planted so that the crops can flourish, blossom and fruit bountiful harvests – Ezekiel Chapter 34 verse 26, Deuteronomy Chapters 11 verse 14, 28 verse 12, Zechariah Chapters 8 verse 12, 10 verse 1, Isaiah Chapter 30 verses 23 to 24. This is why the rain is referred to as showers of blessing – rain in right quantity and at teh right time so that the people will experience and enjoy them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. The trees of the field will yield their fruit.  The ground will yield its crops.

God will provide for them a land renowned for its crops – their crops will flourish, produce bountiful harvests that will feed them to overflowing; sold for money and wealth and abundance so that there will be a continuous overflow of abundance in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.  They will no longer be victims of famine in the land.  They will no longer bear the scorn of the nations in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

God will always be with them.

They are the people of God and the sheep of His pasture; and considering that His pasture is always lush, well watered and full of the good things, the people will always be blessed with goodies by God.

It is a great privilege to be the sheep of God’s pasture. This is because you do not go wandering in countless directions in search of food and security. As the sheep of God residing in the pasture of God, you will be amply supplied with all you require for daily sustenance - food, security, entertainment, you name it. And considering that God’s wall of protective fire is always around His people, ample security is always guaranteed. Please read Zechariah Chapter 2 verse 5, Psalm 125 verses 1 to 3, Psalm 121, 1^st Kings Chapter 4 verse 24 and 2^nd Kings Chapter 6 verses 8 to 17.

Proclaim Good Tidings in the Nations 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Expansion

Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance, who seek the Lord! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. You worry at being so small and few, but Abraham was only one when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation. And the Lord will bless Israel again, and make her deserts blossom; her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and lovely songs. Isaiah Chapter 51 verses 1 to 3, TLB, The Family Devotions Bible.

O house of Israel, trust in the LORD – he is their help and shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD – he is their help and shield. You who fear him, trust in the LORD – he is their help and shield. The LORD remembers us and will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, He will bless those who fear the LORD – small and great alike. May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 115 verses 9 to 15, NIV, Women’s Devotional Bible.

Protection Plan

God always has a deliverance and protection plan for His people. The Lord is your keeper and your shield; therefore, no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying], Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give [thee] the heathen [for] thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [for] thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him. Psalm 2 KJV.

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprises. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the forward is carried headlong. Job Chapter 5 verses 12 and 13 KJV.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday.  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee.  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in [their] hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Psalm 91 KJV.