Transcription
[Music] Hallelujah! I say, [Music] hallelu, oh we are high in spirit!
All right, um can you say Happy New Year to your neighbor? Because I know people are so spiritual today. And for those of you participating online, you are as much a part of this service as anyone of us that is here present. So I want to say to you, Happy New Year! Can we tell the people online, Happy New Year?
All right, let us pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we enter into this season of waiting upon you with great expectation that you will reach out to us and visit with us, and open the eyes of our understanding. Grant us direction. Let Your great name be praised because of the assurance that we have already in our hearts that You meet with everyone at the point of their needs. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.
Please, you may be seated. God bless you indeed.
Turn your Bible to the Book of Revelation, chapter 12. I need to refresh your memory before we begin our adventure in the Word of God. Revelation chapter number 12, and there are a few points I'd like you to note as we read together. God bless you in Jesus' name.
Revelation 12, verse number 7: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven."
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the Earth, and all his angels were cast out with him.
Verse 10 is an announcement. "Say, when things happen in the heavenlies, are you still with me? There are some angels that function like town criers; they bring announcements to heaven so that everyone is updated as to the new scheme of things and the new direction of policy."
So this is one of such announcements: "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.’"
Verse 12 is my emphasis for the night: "Therefore rejoice, O ye heavens; and ye that dwell in them!"
The reason why heaven is asked to rejoice is because there is a creature that has been deposed from heaven; he can no longer function in the heavens on account of the exit of Satan from heaven. There is an announcement that the entire landscape of heaven should rejoice. Guess what happens to the earth? It says, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea!" For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Can we read verse 12 together? 1, 2, go!
I will need to support this scripture with another scripture, which I read some time ago, which is in the Book of John, chapter 10, verse number 10. The inhabitants of the earth cannot but encounter this personality that has been deposed from heaven.
If we read the Book of John, chapter 10:1, which we read when we began the series on spiritual covering, we said that "the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."
And then Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." It means anytime the thief comes, he comes to steal, he comes to kill, he comes to destroy.
So it means that the inhabitants of the earth are going to be exposed to theft, they'll be exposed to killing from the devil, they'll be exposed to destruction, and it is because of this that we began that series on spiritual covering. Spiritual covering is a technology of the spirit that guarantees that you will be preserved in spite of the activities of the devil. It is a guarantee of preservation.
Allelujah!
So before we go into the main subject of spiritual warfare, which will be the emphasis of our teaching during the course of this time of praying and fasting, I will need to finish the syllabus on spiritual covering so that you will know how to deposit yourself with wisdom in a certain location that is beyond the reach of the devil. Even though the devil will attempt to come, because the Bible says that the thief cometh—not just in case he comes; he's not coming to play, he's coming to steal, he's coming to kill, he's coming to destroy. Are you there?
But if we understand the principles of spiritual covering, you can be deposited in a place that the insurance policy of God guarantees that you will be safeguarded. So before we talk about how to fight spiritual wars, the utensils that we have through the grace of God to combat the enemy, we will need to look extensively at the infrastructure that God has put in place to guarantee the well-being of His people and the security of His people despite the vengeance with which the kingdom of darkness is operating. If you are still with me, say amen.
Now, I would like to know if you have been following my teaching. Because when we started talking about spiritual covering, we spoke about the principle of uprightness as the basis of your personal hedge. You still remember that principle of uprightness? Job was the actor that we were profiling in our study. We saw through Satan's confession that Job had a hedge around him; Job had a hedge around his household, and Job had a hedge around the things that he had.
So Job's hedge was three-fold: around him, around his household, and around the things he had. And when Satan went to meet with God in the heavens, God advertised Job to Satan. We saw the qualities that Job had that were responsible for the hedge that was around him: how that he was an upright man, he feared God, and he eschewed evil. That was what was in the life of Job that guaranteed the presence of a hedge that God put as a security system to safeguard him.
And that hedge, which is the first item of our defense against Satan, is God that places it in your life over your life because you are such a person that prioritizes personal uprightness and integrity. When you find someone that is within your space not minding at all about integrity, personal righteousness, and holiness, just allow them; let them continue doing what they are doing, and you continue in the practice of righteousness.
I told you the other day that righteousness doesn't produce visible results quickly; righteousness is slow in producing results. So if you want to win by righteousness, then you must be patient. But you see, when the kinetic energy that comes through righteousness is fully mobilized, it has the momentum to travel transgenerationally.
The wealth that is gotten through ill means doesn't have transgenerational potential because it comes with an accompaniment of curses, and the people that are supposed to inherit such wealth experience so much curses that the wealth itself becomes a plague in their hands. But you see, righteousness has the capacity to produce and to channel transgenerational blessings. Are you still here?
All right, so we saw the principle of personal righteousness, and we also saw the principle of honor. How many of you still remember the principle of honor? You have gone for Christmas and forgotten the scriptures? All right, just to remind you, we need to go back to the Book of Malachi. Then I will refresh your memory on the principle of honor because that’s where we stopped.
We stopped at the principle of honor. Malachi chapter 1, beginning from verse number 6: "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is mine honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Sayeth the Lord of hosts. O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, wherein have we despised Thy name? Ye have offered polluted bread upon my altar; and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, the table of the Lord is contemptible."
You will see violations of the principle of honor, and it goes on and on. I challenge you to read the Book of Malachi, chapter 1 into chapter 2. You are going to see various aspects in which God is dishonored. And if you want to operate under the protection of Jehovah, one of the smartest things you will need to do is to uphold the principles of honor—God's principles of honor.
I’m going to show you quite a few aspects of the principles of honor that you need to uphold if you are going to experience the guarantee of protection and of spiritual covering. Are you there?
Now, because this is not my subject for tonight, I’m just trying to do a recap in order for you to remember what we have been teaching. I will jump. Malachi chapter 1:6-14 gives us a full documentation of the grievances that God had and the practices that were carried out in temple worship that were contrary to the principle of honor. He took time to point all those practices out so that we will understand as we go on in the teaching.
You will understand that if we are not careful to give God honor, then we should not expect His covering. I told you during the course of the teaching that part of the things that God did is that He transmitted some of His power into principles. God did what? God is omnipotent, but God decided to transmit some of His power into principles. Just like we have the law of gravity: if I drop my handkerchief, it will always go in the direction downward; it will never fly upward.
That suggests to us that there is something responsible for the downward motion. Part of the way God sustains the things that He has created is that He creates laws and allows this frame of reference to function under the influence of the laws that He has created. Are you with me?
It will be out of place, for instance, for us to expect this handkerchief to fly when it is dropped. All right? Because of the presence of gravity. So if you know there is such a law, it has already helped you to manage your expectations that it is impossible for this handkerchief to fly.
So you don't expect it to fly. What you do is that you can walk with the existing laws; you can tap into their full potential and use the laws to work for you. That's what it means when we align ourselves to the provisions of God. And one of such provisions happens to be what we call the law of honor. Are you there?
All right, so I have brought you back to where we stopped. Under the law of honor, the principle of honor, a part of the principle of honor is what we saw in our last Bible study, which is the accursed thing. How many of you remember that teaching?
We said that an accursed thing is something that has been dedicated. An accursed thing means what? It means dedicated things. It's just like I take a goat and I take it to consult an altar, and I submit a goat there. Then I go back home and discover that there is no meat in the fridge. I dash back to the shrine and have changed my mind. "This I have need of this goat." Now what you have done is that you have taken a dedicated thing and you say when you take a dedicated thing, the jealousy of the deity that that thing was offered unto will be aroused.
Now, so I am here to tell you today that there are things that are God's. Are you there? Okay, you don't believe me? Turn your Bible to the Book of Psalms, 29:2. There are some things that belong to God; it is His due.
You need to know the things that are due to God. You know, when you work for the government for 30 days, which is one month, your salary is due; you have earned your salary. Just in case the government refuses to pay, the government is owing you because it is your due. Do you understand that?
Now, I’m here to tell you today that God has a due. There are things that are due to God, and a man that is going to walk in the protection of God must understand the things that are due to God and must be diligent to make those things available to God.
What did He say there? He said, "Give unto the Lord the glory that is due His name." Underline the word "due." That's His salary. You need to know the things that are due to God. You know, when you work for the government for 30 days, which is one month, your salary is due; you have earned your salary. Just in case the government refuses to pay, the government is owing you because it is your due.
Do you understand that? Now, I’m here to tell you today that God has a due. There are things that are due to God, and a man that is going to walk in the protection of God must understand the things that are due to God and must be diligent to make those things available to God.
What did He say there? He said, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name." How do you do that? You worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. I don't have time to explain the part B of that scripture because many of you have read, "Worship God in the beauty of holiness," and you have not investigated to find out what it means.
There is a glory that is due to God, and if you refuse to give God that glory that is due to Him, it is the same situation when you work for the government for 30 days and they refuse to pay you your salary. And if the government continues owing her workers salary, there's going to be a strike. The workers' union will declare a strike, and all the services that are available through the instruments of government are going to be suspended because the government is not responsible enough to ensure that that which is due her workers are paid to them.
The average believer doesn't know the items that are due to God. He doesn't know what is due to God, so unfortunately for him, those things that are due to God are accursed; they are dedicated things. If you use it for another motive, for another purpose, it brings a curse upon you.
So if we want God's protection, and indeed in 2023 we need God's protection, we have seen it in the laser beams of Revelation how that we need God's protection this year much more than we had need for it in the previous year. And that's why we are trying to unveil a few things.
If you take that which is due to God and squander it on any other mundane purpose, you are guilty of trespassing in the issue of the accursed thing. It means you have not yet understood how to deal with a spirit being.
Have you heard what Jesus said when they came to Him with that coin, asking a political question whether they should pay tax or not? He said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." He also said, "Give to God what is God's." There is something that is God's, and if you want to enjoy immunity from the rage of the Satan that have been cast out from heaven and when He was cast out from heaven, there was an announcement: "Now is come salvation and strength, the kingdom of our God, the power of His Christ; for the accuser of the brethren that accused them day and night has been cast into the earth."
The announcement continued: "Woe unto you, the inhabitants of the earth, for Satan is coming to your midst, and he has come with great wrath, because he knows his time is short."
Now that you have this information up front, what we need to do is to develop strategies by which we can be protected from the vengeance of the devil. Given that the Bible says the thief cometh, that means you don't need to invite him; he will just show up just like he has shown up in your village, you know that your village in your compound he was there.
But when they ask him where have you been going? He said, "I've been busy up and down. I went to here, I went to IMU." What's the name of your village, evangelist? "While you were doing that crusade, he was there." So if you want immunity, you want security, then there are things that are due to God.
And the Bible says that we should give to God the glory that is due to Him. That’s the first scripture before I start. Psalms 96:8—Psalms 96, verse 8: He said, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering and come into His courts."
There are things that are due to God. A politician went to meet an altar for blessing. This politician is not in Nigeria, so don't strain your brain. So he went to meet an altar for blessing and was told, "If you win the election, this and these are the things you need to do for our kingdom."
So the guy won the election, he became vice president, and he was basking in the glory of vice president. And he forgot the address to the shrine. What mobilized him to the shrine was when he got the knowledge, the news that the altar in charge of the shrine had died. And there was no one again that understood that spirit enough to give him that which was his due. You know how the story ends, so I will not continue.
All right, so we want to see the things that are due to God as the accursed things; they are the dedicated things; they belong to God. You will get caught up in a crisis if you attempt to use them in a way apart from the way that God has ordained. Are you there?
The first among the things that are accursed or dedicated—things that are due to God—we saw a little of it; it is called the tithe. Can we look at the tithe briefly?
Hallelujah!
Well, let me use the scripture you are used to before we begin to talk about it. The tithe is one of the things that is accursed; it doesn't belong to you; it is due to God.
You are not following me. Now go back to the last scripture I read in the Book of Psalms. I don't know why people manipulated this volume; my bass has gone, but when they take that bass away, I begin to look small on the prophet.
All right, see what the scripture is saying, it says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name." All right, then he said, "Bring an offering and come into His courts." So I'm showing you that there are some items, are you there? That if you want to worship God, the instrument that will be an accompaniment that you will take into the presence of God, those items that are accursed that are due to God, those are the items you take to the presence of God in order to accomplish worship.
It is only a man that knows the things that are due to God that can accomplish worship. Because worship requires that you have an understanding of what is due to God, and then you bring it to Him faithfully. It is that which is due Him that you use to worship Him. I acknowledge that this is yours, and in faithfulness to Your majesty, I brought it to You.
You know the supernatural these days is cast in the life of believers because they don't know what is due to God. There is no priest that is ignorant of the things that are due to the spirit that is serving that will enjoy the protection and the goodwill of that spirit. It is impossible. So one of the items with which you accomplish worship, because worship is done with understanding, is one of those items that you use to accomplish worship are the things that are due to God.
And we have seen it. The first thing that is due to God, which is God's property, it is God's possession. And if you keep it from Him, you will be regarded as a thief, and God will treat you like a thief. Because anytime a thief is caught, his plundered, whether the shirt he is wearing belongs to him legally, nobody will take that into account the day he is caught.
So even that which belongs to you legally becomes a prey, becomes plundered when you are caught up when God catches up with you because of your status as someone. And you see, the reason for which you are a thief might be ignorance. You are not aware that those are the things due to God.
Have you ever seen an ignorant thief? He came to your house and took your soup, took the food you were fasting and cooking, and when you wanted to break, he had stolen. And then you knew that there was a pot here, there’s a pot. You are not likely to show that thief mercy.
You will even take things beyond what is stolen because he has been apprehended. It's not good to be a thief, but it's very easy to be a spiritual thief on the account of ignorance because the average believer does not know how to worship—doesn't know how to worship. Worship is locked on obedience, an obedience that is rooted in knowledge.
Now, this God that you are coming to serve, there are such things that are due Him, and you ensure that that which is due Him gets to Him. It is an act of honor to God, and people that honor God that way enjoy His protection.
Now let's read a traditional tithe scripture, which is Malachi chapter 3. Hallelujah! I say hallelujah!
He said, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house..."
No, no, no, no, no! Let's go to 8. It said, "Will a man rob God?"
It is in the context of the things due to God that it is possible to rob God. You get that? So he said, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me." But he says, "Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and in offerings." Can you see the consequence?
Next verse: "Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."
If the objective of talking about spiritual covering is to put us in a situation where we are covered and there is insurance that covers Us from the storm and the vengeance and the bitterness of the devil, then one of the things that is wise to do in order for a dimension of that vengeance not to leak up on us is to be faithful in this accursed thing.
Because you are considered a robber if you are not faithful in dispensing this accursed thing. And the implication is that you are cursed with a curse.
This curse is not from Satan; this curse is not from the devil; this curse is not from men. This curse is from God! So as gentle as God is, He's capable of exacting curses.
So when He decides to exalt a curse, the implication of the curse is that your life becomes vulnerable to a spiritual agency called the devourer. Are you there? You are not following me? You're not following?
You know what I normally do when you're not following? There's an aspect of the lecture we will cancel. Then when you have labored in the wilderness for two years, the Lord might bring you to the understanding of the things that we have refused to share. Are you with me?
I went somewhere, and I was counseling with ministers of the gospel. This one came and said his wife has been sick for two years, all his resources have been squandered. The next one came; the place they were holding meetings, they just came, and their equipment and everything was stolen. There was no positive remark; everything was negative.
I had to call the pastor and say, "Let's start this counseling again. Do you people pay tithe?" These are signs that you have no covering. There is a curse that is at work here. It's easy for us to ask people to pay tithe when we pastors don't pay our own. May the Lord help us in the name of Jesus!
So, He says, "You are cursed with a curse because you have robbed Him." And it is even possible for an entire nation to rob Him and for an entire nation to suffer under the influence of that robbery.
Next verse is said, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, sayeth the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Next verse: "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes."
Now this is the insurance policy that I'm talking about—there’s an effort that God puts in place to ensure that He wards off the waster.
So we cannot talk about spiritual covering without talking about several principles that God put in place for our protection. I said it in the last teaching we did before we went for break that part of God's power is vested in principles. For the Bible reveals that Jesus upholds everything by the words of His power, and part of God's power is vested in principles.
So if you know these principles, that they are of God, they were instituted by God, and you align with these principles, and you function by these principles, the principles have power in them to safeguard you from the torture of the enemy.
I've seen too many well-meaning Christians that are victims of satanic plunder. In most cases, it is a function of ignorance because we have not given unto God that which is due Him. Satan is not that strong; he's only strong in the life of a disobedient Christian or an ignorant Christian.
Are you still with me? All right, let us go to the Book of Genesis, chapter 14—the first time ever in the Bible where tithe was mentioned. And it will interest you to know because I don't want to go into the argument of saying whether New Testament believers should tithe or not.
The reason why I would not need to go into that argument is because in Genesis chapter 14, the law was not in force at this time. This predates the law. And according to the Book of Galatians chapter 3, the Bible reveals in Galatians that the things that existed before the law, it is impossible for the law to nullify.
So Titan preexisted the law, and the law does not have any authority to nullify it. Is that clear? And just in case you need something from the New Testament, then I give you the Book of Matthew, chapter 23:23. Quickly, give me—put that on the screen for me—Matthew 23:23. Where is the man on the screen? Are you here now?
In the Book of Matthew, chapter 23:23, what Jesus is doing is that He is functioning in the capacity of a lawgiver. Now, this is part of His ministry as a lawgiver that He is dispensing. In the Book of Matthew 23, it says: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay the tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law."
The first statement Jesus is making is that in terms of weight, how many of you still remember University education? That there were some courses that were major courses, some other courses were electives, there were some courses that were for credit unit courses, and some other courses were one credit unit courses. You still remember that arrangement?
Now, in terms of weight, tithe has low credit compared to other matters of the kingdom that Jesus Christ emphasized. Are you there? So that's the first disclosure that Jesus makes here. He says, "You pay tithe." That means these guys, the scribes and the Pharisees, were faithful in emphasizing tithe. The only problem with the emphasis was that the emphasis was opposed to weight in terms of credit.
So this was the counsel that Jesus gave: "He said, you pay tithe of mint, you know mint. Lea of anise... oh, you don't know anise? It’s like Roo, and cummin is like crayfish. So, the guys were so detailed on the subject of tithe that people gave tithes of Maggi cubes. They gave tithe of crayfish measures, and they gave tithe; they gave tithe of bitter leaves. That was how detailed the subject of tithe was well expounded, and the emphasis was upheld in every service, every meeting.
Even if there’s a barrier, they say, “tithe.” So Jesus came and said, "There’s something wrong with your arrangement, not because teaching of tithe is wrong but the emphasis you are bringing is not consistent with weight. There are other matters of the kingdom that are more weighty than the tithe issue."
Are you there? Yes, sir. All right, He says, "And have omitted the weightier matters of the law." Then He mentioned a few of them: "Judgment, mercy, and faith."
Then this was His counsel: His counsel was in the last part of the verse: "He said this ought ye to have done." That means you should have upheld the weightier matters of the law and not to leave the other undone. And never you leave the issue of tithe undone! Don’t do the weightier matters and trivialize the tithe.
You get it? But as much as you are doing the tithe, also carry on emphasizing the weightier matters. So this is Jesus. Jesus did not abolish the emphasis of tithe in the New Testament.
Just in case this is not enough for you, I will take you to the Book of Hebrews and I will show you that the priest after the order of Melchizedek was the one that took time from Abraham. And that time, the Levitical priesthood did not exist.
In prophetic analysis, Paul in the Book of Hebrews said that if Abraham gave tithes unto Melchizedek, it means his grandson Levi also gave tithes in his loins. And then we now have Hebrews 7:7 that says, "Without any contradiction, the less is blessed by the better."
It means that the Melchizedek priesthood is better than the Levitical priesthood, and that's why in the Levitical priesthood, in Abraham, gave tithes unto Melchizedek. So what we are talking about here is that Jesus is the priest after the order of Melchizedek, and if He took tithes from Abraham, He would take tithes even in eternity beyond time.
So that's—so nobody has the authority to abolish it because Melchizedek is a king-priest that has no beginning of days and no ending of days. So if when He came, He took tithes, forever it will be His due, and He will give it to Him. Exactly!
All right, so I don't want to go into all of that. Those days, when we were much younger teachers, we used to labor to debate. But I believe the Bible is so clear; you need to be twisted to misunderstand the Bible.
Okay, are you there? All right, so all right, so let us go to the Book of Genesis chapter 14. We will see the first time in scripture when tithe was mentioned. The entire protocol of tithe and the attendant insurance possibilities that abound are captured in the environment of the use of the first mention.
So Genesis chapter 14, if you are still with me, say amen.
All right, in order to bring you into the context and the spirit of Genesis chapter 14, we will do Genesis 14:1-4 so that you can understand the context, and then we will jump to verse 17 where the emphasis of interest can be found. Is that clear? I hope you know what we are doing, but well, I'm showing you the first thing that is due God, the first one of the first items under the accursed things.
So it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, that these made war with Bera king of Sodom and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, and with Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
And all these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the Salt Sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year, they rebelled.
And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashtaroth, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim.
What's that thing?
Okay, that thing. All right, now, here’s a political scripture.
So, Cal [Music] down! I don't know where they get this name. Sometimes I saw one name the other time. Ah, even the people that type reports in Punch would have found it difficult to type that name.
It’s strange!
Now, this is what happened there. There’s a political situation. A certain king had territories under him that paid tribute to him, and among the kingdoms that paid tribute to him was the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, and some other nations.
And he enjoyed their tribute for 12 years, and in the 13th year, they collaborated and said they were going to rebel, and that became the occasion for war.
Are you there?
In that war, Sodom and Gomorrah were vanquished, and their spoil was gathered to the cities of the victors. Unfortunately for them, they didn't have a prophet counseling them. When they plundered the resources of Sodom, they now took Lot captive. That’s the only problem they would have left Lot; in fact, they would have apologized to Lot and accepted to pay him pensions in his retirement.
But they took Lot along, and because of that, the man of covenant, Abraham, was drawn into the battle.
Most of us know global politics and how that which happened in Nagasaki, how it happened. The U.S. was manufacturing things like washing machines, pressing irons because it was a great time of boom. And the moment they knew that that war was going to involve them, I think it took 10 months of research for them to create the atomic bomb, and they had the opportunity in that particular war to test the power of the atomic bomb, and that was how that war ended.
So Abraham was there on his own, but because they brought— they took Lot captive, he had to be part of the war. Today is not the day for me to show you the skills—the war skills, the war strategies that Abraham used to discomfit kings. One man. He was not a kingdom, but the army that was raised in his house had the capability to take on kingdoms, because Tidal, the fourth king, was referred to as the king of nations.
So we are not going into the technology that Abraham used to discomfit them; that lecture is for one whole evening. The skills, the fighting skills of Abraham were documented in the Bible so that it will be carried on from generation to generation.
So Abraham had to be drawn into this battle, and his interest was that he wanted his brother free. Did you get to that point?
He actually went, conquered those kings, recovered all the spoil, recovered all the slaves. Everything was okay. Then he had an encounter.
Let's go to the Book of Genesis, chapter 14, verse 17. And the king of Sodom—you see when Abraham defeated the kings and recovered the spoil, that he was resting, and while he was resting, he had an encounter with Melchizedek.
Meanwhile, if you study this story very well—as I want to bring your attention to it now—you will see that the distance that the kings of Sodom were walking to meet with Abraham was not a long distance. But in between the take-up point and the arrival, that was when Melchizedek encountered Abraham.
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he returned from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings that were with him at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God.
This was the first time in the entire Bible that communion was made reference to. It was not in the New Testament, but it was in the Old. It was the same king-priest, Melchizedek. The first thing he did to Abraham when the guy came out of the slaughter was that he served him communion.
He gave him bread, and I don't want to go into the significance of that and why communion.
No, no need for that because that’s not the emphasis.
All right, so he brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abraham of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth."
That was a salutation that he brought to Abraham: "Abraham of the most high God. The God of Abraham is the possessor of the heavens and the earth."
Please memorize that in your mind. I know that 's not how you see yourself.
What's your name?
What?
The name is difficult to pronounce?
Yes, you! What’s your name?
Precious?
So blessed be Precious of the most high God, possessor of the heavens and the earth!
That was that was a— the salutation in itself was deep in revelation. But if Abraham did not understand anything, he understood that the one that he was dealing with was the one that had custody of the earth and the heavens.
Do you understand that?
All right, next verse: "And blessed be the most high God, which had delivered thine enemies into thy hand."
And Abraham reciprocated by worship. How did Abraham reciprocate? He gave him the tithes of all.
Please stay with me, stay with me. This is a critical point. You know, I told you that you cannot accomplish worship until you carry articles that are due to God to Him. In fact, the act of worship itself has to do with a lot of knowledge of the deity that you are serving. You need to deliberately and intentionally take to Him that which is due to Him.
Do you realize—are you there? Are you following me?
Do you realize that Melchizedek did not ask Abraham to pay tithe?
Please look at Him. He did not! Just like God will not come to you and confront you to ask you to give Him what is due Him.
Melchizedek was silent!
All he did was that he made available bread and wine.
And then he gave a very glorious salutation: "Blessed be Abraham of the most high God, the possessor of the heavens and the earth."
There was more insight about the most high God than Abraham. "Possessor of the heavens and the earth." And blessed be the most high God that has delivered your enemies into your hands.
The moment the salutation was over, what did Abraham do? He gave him tithes of all. They didn't request for it. There are so many people that submit to me in ministry that don't pay tithe to me; the reason for the submission is not tithe.
Like I told you the other time, God will determine where and how you tithe. Melchizedek will not ask for it. If you are a reasonable Christian that will tithe to Him, and the way you pay your tithe is consistent with Melchizedek prescription.
So my covenant relationship with people that I accept to be in covenant with as sons in ministry doesn’t include my prescribing to them how to manage tithe. Because Melchizedek himself will not ask you for the ones that say believe that God has convinced them that it is me God wants them to pay to, I cannot receive.
Do you understand that?
But to say that it is compulsory that you must seek me out even when I’m in the farm to come and pay tithe?
No, it is not compulsory.
And I will never ask for it because Melchizedek did not ask for it. You see, there are too many people that are asking for tithe.
Now, I will not call them at the end of the month to say, "Am I your [Music] father?"
You are not following!
You are not following me!
I will never!
Okay, my pastors are here. Please, you can put me to shame if by any means I've ever come to you for tithe in your house.
Put me to shame in public!
I will never do that because Melchizedek did not do that.
Anyone that is bringing tithe will bring it willingly, not because you asked for it.
And then, because the person brought willingly, you can now bless the person in the name of the most high God, the possessor of the heavens and the earth.
If the tithes are made available, then there's meat; there are administrative resources to carry on the agenda that God has committed to men.
All right! If it doesn't come through you, it will come through another source. But let it come by leading. It will be powerful. It will generate such capacity that can cover you in the day of trouble.
Are you with me?
So, this man after Melchizedek gave the glorious salutation, he presented tithes of all. He didn’t keep back some because he knew that the one he was dealing with had full knowledge of everything that came in.
The resources that come into your hand are first of all a test. Then when you pass that test because you worship with the accursed things, God rises up in His jealousy to protect you after you have done that.
Let somebody wake up and say, "You are my problem; I want to do something." That’s the day that we know this possessor of the heavens and the earth that delivered Abraham’s enemies into his hand.
You get that?
Yes, sir!
All right, so that means I can stop there on the issue of tithe. So one of the accursed things, which is one of the things with which we used to accomplish true worship, is the tithe.
The second thing is what we call the first fruit. The first fruit has two definitions in the Bible; the first fruit has two definitions in the Bible. And the first fruit does not belong to you; it belongs to God.
It's one of those things that are accursed. It is dedicated to God. You will need to have knowledge in order for you to take it to God.
Do you get that? You don’t like it? I’m hitting you too much, so you are tired?
Okay, if you are tired, we will stop.
[Music]
Now, I need to say this to you quickly just because you’re already angry that I’m talking about—you see, it took me how many years? This is the 16th year before I'm talking about money!
And I'm not talking about it because I want you to give me, I'm talking about it because it is one of the instruments by which you can enjoy God's covering policy if it is adequately administered with knowledge and with worship and reverence.
It becomes the reason why you'll be indestructible.
All right, I say all right? Yes, sir!
Okay, number two—the second category of things that belong to God, like I said, is the first fruit.
Now, I will show you the two definitions of the first fruit. There are two meanings in the Bible, but just to introduce the idea of the first fruit, let's go to the Book of Leviticus chapter 23:10.
Leviticus 23:10. There is a slight change in the New Testament when you get to the New Testament.
Are you there?
How many of you remember those guys that were saved in Egypt? The firstborn of Israel!
The firstborn of Israel! Because what God did was that God released the Angel of Death to come into Israel, and before the angel of death came into Israel—by the gift of God of knowledge—Moses told Israel that the angel of death would take substitutes as possible.
So they took a ram, killed it, took the blood, and put it on the lintel and the doorpost of their houses. So when the angel of death came to go, he saw that somebody had helped him kill the firstborn in Goan already, and that was why he passed over—there was evidence that killing took place before he showed up.
Do you understand what I'm talking about? That's why he passed over and killed the firstborn of Egypt. Are you there?
Yes!
Now, when they went to the wilderness to worship God, God now said, "Those ones that are firstborns, that were redeemed by the principle of substitution, they belong to God; they should be dedicated to Him." They will be used to do what He wants because the only reason why they are living is because of the strategy that He gave in the word of wisdom that Moses operated.
That's why they are alive now; if not, the angel of death would have consumed all. Do you understand that?
All right!
And that's why in the New Testament, unfortunately for us, all of us are firstborn because the blood of Jesus that was shed was shed for you directly, just like that lamb—the ram was shed for the firstborns in Egypt.
He was shed for you directly, and that's why the Bible in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 12, calls us the Church of the Firstborn.
And there is this thing about the firstborn. Are you there?
The firstborn is supposed to be dedicated to God. So, in the New Testament philosophy, we are supposed to be dedicated to God, and any man that is dedicated to God doesn't have the luxury of property rights.
So in the New Testament, what we teach is consecration because you were bought. Everything you are and everything you have belongs to God.
But God will not ask you to give what you have if you are not yet reasonable to start giving Him His due. Before you go into the university, you’re admitted into the university; you must have passed all level examinations.
O level examinations qualify you to go into the university. Is that true? So, somebody that fails O level cannot gain admission into the university.
The O level of this matter of consecration is tithe. When you know how to give tithe and to give God the things that are due Him, it will be easy for you to now give yourself eventually.
So it is a progression. If you don’t start from this place, don’t tell me that you are submitted to God. I know you fast and shout at night; you are not God's, because the things that are not weightier matters you have not yet succeeded in them.
What makes you think that you have succeeded in issues that have higher credit in the kingdom of God? So before we got to where we are in terms of our submission to God, we started with those basic indicators of submission, which required that we gave God that which was due Him.
And then when God eventually began to put pressure on us for more commitment, it was easy for us to give more to God, because we have a culture of giving Him what is due in easier matters. So we could receive grace to give Him ourselves in weightier matters.
Is that clear?
So when you see somebody advocating for tithe-less, it is a proof of the fact that he is far from consecration. Such a believer is going to compromise at the slightest provocation because he doesn’t know what is due to God.
As we study this matter of things that are due to God, you will soon realize that your body is one of the things that are God's property.
The way you use your body, He says, "This body, it is His; I will show you." You have been reading it, but it didn't make sense to you. That’s the reason why some of us will not commit adultery or fornication, no matter how beautiful you are.
You are not mine; you are not mine. The reason is because there are things that are due to God. My body belongs to Him!
My body is His; it is one of the things due to Him. He will decide by His own laws what I can subject my body to. It is no longer in my hands!
Hallelujah!
Also, you know in marriage, your body belongs to your wife too. That which is God's, God will allow your wife to borrow it legally.
Are you there?
Let’s reach there first, then we will be able to discuss it adequately.
He says: "Speak unto the children of Israel." This is a direct command: "And say unto them, when ye become into the land which I give unto you and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest."
This is a commandment that God gave.
All right, that's just an introductory scripture to introduce the subject of first fruits.
Now, I'm going to use some other scriptures to define it, and there are two definitions you will find in the scripture. Each definition has an application that borders on your immediate affairs.
If you are still with me, say amen.
Amen.
Now, I noticed that amen is suggestive of the fact that someone is saying, "Pastor, it don't do."
[Music]
Um, maybe he will stop there.
And then, no, why I say, say Amen? They, oh, it seems you like your life the way it is.
One day, a minister of the gospel came to my house and said, "He's a prosperity preacher; why is he not prospering me?"
I'm not preaching prosperity, and I'm prospering. That I should sit down and explain to him. I said, "Bro, it is not about what you preach; it's about what you are living."
"Are you living it?"
Then we opened some of these matters, and he found out that all the things due to God he wasn't giving to God.
I don’t need to name the name of the pastor; he’s in this town. The things that are due to God he was not giving to God.
But he was expecting to prosper just because he was a prosperity preacher.
If you had taken your time to check the body of Christ, you would have seen, in the days of the holiness movement in Nigeria, they didn't preach prosperity.
Men prospered because prosperity is not a doctrine; it's not a teaching—it is the result of kingdom-mindedness.
It says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the things that the Gentiles seek will navigate in your direction."
It’s a consequence of alignment.
So you can preach it all you want. If you are not in alignment, it will be revealed.
So, he came to my house in frustration, saying, "Why is it working for you?"
So I sat him down and said, "Let's go back to the Bible."
Can we do you believe the Bible?
He said, "Yes."
So I said, "Okay, we have a common ground of discussion." Then we began to talk about the things that are due to God.
I brought the first one. I said, "Do you do this one?"
He said, "At times."
"Okay, this one, do you do this one?"
"I don't even know that this one existed."
"Say, do you do this one?"
"What about your body? This body, the Bible says it belongs to God; it is His temple. It's not your own."
So you cannot decide. If you decide to join it to an harlot, God says, "I will destroy you."
So have you joined something?
I will not go into that.
He violated all the laws.
I was expecting to prosper just because he was preaching prosperity.
Who told you that it is prosperity preaching that makes people prosper?
So the way I'm seeing you reluctant to receive the Word of God today, it means you have another way of prospering.
So let me keep my own.
Let me keep my—tomorrow we will start tomorrow. We will start the issues on spiritual warfare.
I have it, I have it there. The average believer doesn't know how to worship; he can't worship.
Okay, let me get a contribution from online. Show me one of—are they also tired? Show me their own position on this matter. Are they tired, Philip B? Show me one of the people online.
What are they saying?
So that I will know what to do.
[Music]
Now, huh?
Okay, I'm not on Zoom today?
Okay, all right.
Let me try again.
I will give you an additional 15 minutes, then I will stop. Are you there?
Yes, sir!
These are the if you want to be covered, we need to teach you the things to do.
So the second matter here is the issue of first fruits. Just like I said, it has two meanings—two meanings!
I will do the first meaning, then I'll stop. Tomorrow we will continue from there as we go gradually because I want us to have a prayer session that will push some of the outstanding issues concerning our nation, our territory, and our lives before the throne of grace.
Nehemiah chapter 10, verse 32-35: "Also we made ordinances for us to charge ourselves yearly..."
This was an administrative decision that was taken by the elders of Israel, the men of Israel. God did not—this was not a leading; this was them taking responsibility.
Are you there with me?
So he said, "We made ordinances for us to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God, for the showbread, and for the continual meat offering and for the continual burnt offering."
So these were the things that were going on in the temple. There was continual meat offering; there was continual burnt offering.
There were sabbaths of the new moons and of the set feasts for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel and for all the work in the house of our God.
And we cast the lots among the priests and the Levites and the people for the wood offering to bring into the house of our God after the houses of our fathers at times appointed year by year to burn upon the altar of our God.
As it is written in the law, verse 35: "And to bring what? The first fruits of our ground!"
Stop there!
So they are—are you with me?
Yes, sir!
This was a decision!
This first fruit of our ground that they spoke about is annual first fruit. This one is annual.
And the first fruit of all the fruit of the trees, year by year!
So the cycle here is annual. Did you get that?
You are not with me?
Yes!
All right, all right!
Since you got this, then I will show you one scripture, then I will close.
I don't know, maybe my wife will help.
Now we have an academic year; we have a business year. So when does an academic year begin? The month of September!
So an academic year begins in the month of September. Who is a businessman? I mean a professional businessman that does banking and all of that in our midst?
When does a financial year end, and when does it begin?
We don't have any authority in that area?
Okay, no authority in that area.
All right, what I want to show you now is a spiritual year—when a spiritual year begins.
They say the academic year begins in September. If we had a professional business personnel here, they would have confirmed—are you here?
Now, when does a business year end?
Huh?
It ends in April?
It ends in March and begins in April?
Yeah!
So it ends in March, begins in April?
Why do you keep quiet?
All right, so a business year ends in March; that's when they balance all the books.
They know how much profit came in for the twelve months of trading. They know all the losses and the deficits. People that are still owing loans and they mobilize the police to arrest them; that's when they will know the level of deficit that is in the system because money will be going in, and money will be coming out.
Bags of money will be coming in, and there'll be counting money, and it will be difficult for you to know where you are until that cycle is accomplished.
All accounts are balanced; then you know that, "Ah, this loan that was collected has not been paid," and all of that.
They can now calculate their profit; all of that is supposed to end in March.
So a new business year begins in April. That is what I researched.
Okay, but I need to show you how to begin a spiritual year because just like everything is a cycle, and there are principles on how to mobilize the cycle to commence, you must know what you need to do in order to commence a spiritual cycle.
It is because of this I like to invite you to the Book of 1 Samuel chapter 1, verse 1-3. 1 Samuel chapter 1, verse 1-3. Are you with me?
All right!
So I will end with this explanation, and then tomorrow I will continue with the second definition of first fruits.
So if we itemize their accursed things, one of them is the tithe, one of them is the first fruit.
So we will keep showing you their accursed things. Another one is your body. We will talk about that tomorrow.
The way you use your body will determine whether you are vulnerable to Satan or not.
A man of God was on a stretcher, so he went to pray for him.
Hallelujah!
He was afflicted. When we raised hands to pray for him, the Lord said, "Put your hands down, and walk out of that place."
I said, "They will say I'm a wicked man."
They say, "So you have a reputation to protect, you are protecting something."
I said, "Walk out of the place."
Okay, I said, "Okay, I'm already going, but can you give me more insight? Why are you very hard on this man?"
Ah, the Lord! May the Lord give you understanding!
He has used his temple in a strange way, and God says in such cases, "I destroy."
And there was no prayer that could revive the dear man, even though he repented profusely.
Prayer could not raise him up.
Okay!
Where are we?
All right, this is one of those strange names again. There was a certain man of Ramathaim, of the daughters of the names I’m talking about of mount Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohua, the son of Zuf, and Ephrathite.
And he had two wives, and the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah.
And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
And this man went up—please take note—he went up out of his city yearly—underline yearly—to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.
Now, you will notice that there is "yearly" in that scripture, and I’m trying to describe to you the things we need to do in order to commence a spiritual year.
Just like my wife said that an academic year begins in September, so a spiritual year begins the moment you do this which this guy does yearly.
So what does he do yearly? He goes to worship.
I hope I've told you that in order for you to accomplish worship, you must take one of the things that are due to God and you present it to Him.
Now notice that in this yearly worship, what he goes to present to God is what? Is sacrifice—one of the things due to God. You must take it as you proceed to worship.
Okay, go to verse 21, which is my emphasis, and that’s where I’m going to stop for the night.
21: "And the man Elkanah and all his house went to offer unto the Lord his yearly sacrifice and his vow."
That yearly sacrifice there is first fruit.
So he goes to commence his spiritual year by going to God with first fruit.
The moment he has given first fruit, it means that he has reactivated the covering of God over his life for that year.
That whereas others might die by Boko Haram, die by bomb, die by blight, he will not die by those.
It is only when his days are accomplished that he can sleep with his fathers.
So the question is, have you been really conscious about activating your spiritual year?
That's why most of us end the year the way we started; there's no wisdom in our ways.
He goes yearly with his sacrifice and his vow. That is how he goes to Shiloh.
It's something deliberate, and he goes there not just with a sacrifice; he goes there with a vow.
I don’t have time to talk about vows because the average Christian today is vowless, and that is why we lack the skills on how to move the hand of God.
You are confronted with the wall of Jericho—something that is humanly impossible, something that is impregnable.
There are skills that you can put to work that can move God's sovereign hand.
The man is going to trade with God; he's going to do business with God. He leaves his city, and he journeys to Shiloh.
He goes there with a sacrifice of first fruit; he also goes there to make vows and to redeem vows so that he can get God's commitment.
There might be fire, but his own lands will be watered.
There might be bloodshed, but his children will survive.
There might be disaster, but he will look upon it on the right and the left, and he will be spared.
It is when you know this truth that you will hear tales of woe only from afar, and it will be said concerning you when they shall say there is a casting down, you will say what? There is a lifting up!
He goes to Shiloh to renew his covenant with God, and that is how his spiritual year starts.
Jehovah Sabaoth becomes his backing.
And when if you meet him in the office and looking for people to show wickedness, if you make a mistake and add him to the numberers, what that he came to sacrifice to at the beginning of the year will appear in your dream!
Yes!
He will appear in your dream with a weapon and say, "You are a dead man! I'm behind that man!"
You know what I tell you? Is what I practiced!
People that rose up in the office and say, "This man is our problem," they were cut off.
They brought one manager like that, just causing problems, causing problems.
When I got fed up, I went to God and I said, "Is this man relevant to you?"
Because I need to know if the man has a covenant with God too; it will be difficult to contend.
So I had to go ask God some private question: "Is this man relevant to you?"
The Lord instead of answering me yes or no, He showed me a wild wind from His presence that came and plucked the man from his seat in the office!
I know how his seat looks like.
And threw him away!
So I went to the office, and one of my colleagues who happens to be a son of the born woman came to me and was complaining.
He said he went home 2:00 a.m. last night that his wife had slept and left the door open, that am robbers would have invaded.
He cried.
I said, "Weep not, for I have seen the visions of God."
A white wind from the presence of God came and took the man that utterance was fulfilled in seven days after I declared it!
That's when the sons of the born woman believed that I was a prophet more than Christians!
Yes!
Oh, one of them wanted to marry; he brought the wife that should check for scan for demons.
There are things you can do that will guarantee your preservation!
So, there are witches in your family? Let one carry your name; that’s the last trip the person will go!
I’m not saying it boastfully; I know where I’m talking from.
I’m not saying it boastfully; I know where I’m talking from.
Yes!
I’m not saying it boastfully; I know where I’m talking from.
[Music]
I’m not saying it boastfully; I know where I'm talking from.
So listen to me, no one else should die!
No one else in your family should die!
No one else should die!
And just in case you are listening to me online, I say you shall not die!