LIVING IN ABUNDANCE IN THE SEASON OF FAMINE

I have received a word from the Lord for us and it is a promise “Living in Abundance in the Season of Famine”. 

God has asked me to announce to my audience that the Lord is sending us an abundance even though it is globally the season of famine. 

Amen! 

Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. Gen 41:29-31NIV

This is actually a response I got from the Lord in my time of private prayer. I declared seven days of fasting and prayers with some leaders in the PNUR family from 30th of June and we will end on the 7th of July 2025.

I pray that the river flowing from my bowels will flow into yours in Jesus’ name.

Let us start by saying that everyone faces a season of famine. Let us put it in another way; when there is famine in the land, godly and ungodly people experience it. There is no guaranty that while the rest of mankind is facing a famine that some special people of God will be enjoying a good season.

Abraham experienced a famine, even though he was known as a friend of God and he had an eternal covenant with God

Isaac the child of divine promise experienced famine even though he was God’s miracle child to Abraham

Jacob faced famine that forced him to Egypt even though he often talked with angels and enjoyed divine protection.

Our main text is from an account of Joseph telling Pharaoh that they should prepare for a coming famine. That means that Joseph faced the famine too. Go through the Old Testament bible and you will find that even the man after God’s heart, King David faced famine. Good kings and bad kings faced the famine in their own time.

If you think that things should be different for the people of grace who operated under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, read the following scripture;

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. Acts 11:27-30NIV

The prophet of the Lord announced that a famine was coming but he did not bind the demon of famine nor did he release a prophetic word to ward off the famine so that it would not affect the people of god, rather he told them to prepare to face the famine.

Let me repeat here; famine is part of life and everyone faces the famine.

There is an irony here; our main text said that God had to warn Pharaoh to prepare for the famine that will hit the whole world. God told a Gentile king to prepare for the famine that will come upon the whole world but not Jacob who carried the Abrahamic covenant. Prophet Agabus warned the Gentile church in Antioch and they were the ones that sent support to the people of God in Judea. Till date it still appears that the people of the world are often more prepared than the members of the Body of Christ in dealing with famine. That must be the reason God gives them advance information.

Child of God, I am called by the Lord to warn you to prepare for the coming famine.

There is another strong message there; there will be an abundance before the famine. Like the matter of famine, abundance also gets to everyone but after the abundance, the effect of the famine will totally wipe out all the benefits of the abundance and the painful effect of the famine will make people to forget that they ever had abundance.

So we see here that God’s way of giving us preferential treatment is by warning us to manage our abundance well.

Let us take these 5 points.

1. God will always warn us before he sends an abundance and a famine.

We saw this consistency in the account of God giving Pharaoh a warning and the prophet Agabus warning the Church in Antioch. 

2. It takes a decerning mind and connection with the Spirit of God to hear the warning.

God spoke to Pharaoh and he was wise enough to seek the interpretation. I strongly believe that God would have spoken to Jacob and other people around the world but they did not show the determination that Pharaoh had. There are other natural signs that could precede a famine. These could be weather changes but often our minds are captured by the present abundance that came before the famine.

3. God will likely supply us with the guidance on how to face our famine season.

In the time of Isaac, God told him not to flee the famine but to stay back in the place of famine and continue his business.

Now there was a famine in the land — besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time — and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. Gen 26:1-3NIV

God tried to forestall Isaac repeating the mistake of Abraham who went to Egypt in the time of famine and that was where he got Hagar who became a generational problem in his family. Many of God’s people fail to listen to God and their attitude is to rely on the view point of the world in dealing with their famine.

In the case of Pharaoh, God made an advance arrangement to connect the bottler to Joseph in the prison. Pharaoh was humble enough to consult the services of a condemned prisoner in the dungeon. For some people, pride would have kept them from talking with Joseph.

4. God sends an abundance before the famine. 

That was actually what God wanted to prevent. Many people who are going through their season of famine now, had wastefully used their season of abundance because they did not hear the warning about the coming famine. As deliverance minister I have counselled people who came to me seeking deliverance from evil forces that drained their resources; some had four cars but presently have none; some had plenty of houses in major cities but today they have none; some occupied high political offices but today they are down trodden. All these people strongly believe that some agent of darkness was their problem. After prayers, I could not observe the activities of satan or his agents. Most of these people had enjoyed their abundance but did not make plans for the famine.  

5. You cannot pray the famine away

There are people who erroneously believe that prayer and fasting will take care of the famine. Some believe that being a covenant child of God will protect them from famine.

Here is the recommendation of Joseph to deal with famine;

"And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." Gen 41:33-36NIV

Here is how Isaac prospered in the time of famine,

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. Gen 26:12-14NIV

Because Pharaoh heeded the warning from the Lord and obeyed the counsel of Joseph, the land of Egypt had abundance in the season of famine.

There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace. When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up." Gen 47:13-15NIV

Did you read where it said that the famine was also severe in Egypt but read further, they grew wealthier in the season of famine than they were in the time of abundance.

Halleluiah!

That is why God is sending you this special message. An abundance is coming but understand that if you use it well, you will grow richer when other people famine in the future.

Can you begin to pray now; "Holy Spirit, I connect my spirit to you for your guidance as I walk into my abundance". Pray fervently. 

Happy New Year 

God's word for us this year is BLOSSOM!

I will love to hear from you.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

08 - I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN! 8

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Sam 17:45-47NIV

The battleline is drawn and your days are numbered!

On behalf of the generation with the wilderness anointing, I am bold to tell you, the enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ, that the season when you hold sway and determine and change the rules of this conflict is over.

I can understand why you have become arrogant and insolent of late; yes, you have erroneously concluded that having neutralized the Sauls’ generation of the Church age to the point where they have lost their voices and they now serve as your propaganda channels, you have concluded that there is no more future for the Church.

I am here to announce to you that you are wrong in this matter.

You have misjudged the weakness of men to imply that our God must be weak too.

You must have a short memory!

Do you remember what happened to the Pharaoh of Egypt when he refused to let the people of God to go? Do you remember how our God humbled him and he fell on his knees to beg the Israelites to go? Do you remember what happened to him when Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after the people of God? Pharaoh and his army drowned in the sea. It turned out for the glory of our God.

I assure you that this season will also turnout for the gain of the Church and the glory of our God!

Do you remember what happened when Nebuchadnezzar became as insolent as you have now become? He threw the three young servants of our God into the blazing furnace; do you remember that our God became the fourth man in the fire? The fire of persecution has never destroyed the genuine children of our God.

All your persecution and molestations do not have the power to harm us. It can only make us stronger.

Nebuchadnezzar became proud and boasted of his glory as if he got them independent of Jehovah. Remember how our God showed His limitless power when he made him to live like an animal in the bush for seven years?

Oh, enemy of the Church; I can see your humiliation around the corner.

Do you remember what happened when King Herod spoke like he was a god? The angel of our God struck him and maggots ate him up.

 History is on our side and we will never call you a giant. You are an uncircumcised animal. You will go down like Goliath.

God has watched closely as you infiltrated our ranks and you have projected your servants into our midst, who now masquerade as servants of our God. You have desecrated our holy places. On the social media and in every other means you could find you have spoken profanities against our God, his servants and our sacred institutions. Like Goliath, you have stayed for so long that it now appears that you are invincible.

I want to let you know that your time is up. You will be humiliated and defeated.

This battle is our God’s battle and He has guaranteed victory for us.

You may start the battle but our God determines how it will end.

Our God has raised an unconventional army against you and in the year 2026, they will be released and you will be destroyed.

These are not the kind of warriors that you have always known and their principal source of strength is their selfless devotion to our God and His kingdom.

Your rampaging will end with 2025 and I am speaking as an authority for the kingdom of our God.

You will be humiliated and defeated

No longer shall you deceive the people of our God.

Henceforth, every insolence and abuse shall be met with a severe repercussion.

The season when you humiliated the children and servants of our God has expired.

The people of God will shout in triumph over you and from henceforth, your alleys shall flee.no longer shall your alleys cause us to flee but they will flee before us.

One shall chase a thousand and two shall chase ten thousand.

Our God has the final say and you do not have the power to resist Him.

Your season of evil reign has ended.

With the blood of Jesus Christ as my ink, I sign this letter.

Your time is up!

By my authority as the servant of Jehovah, I declare AMEN!

Emma N J Nwosu, Int’l President of PNUR.

07 - I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN 07

God’s instrument for divine intervention 

Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah d of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit.  See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance f from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines." 1 Sam 17:17-19NIV

I am not able to hold back laughter each time I read this scripture to this point; Jesse mobilized provision to send to the armies of Israel because he believed that they were fighting a brutal war against the Philistines. Just imagine how many other families that were doing the same but when David got to the battlefield here is what he found;

Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.  As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. 1 Sam 17:20-24NIV

Contrary to what was believed, they were not fighting but were all running away from the enemy. They had lost control because the enemy determined and changed the rules. They would have gladly returned home but they were not sure of what answer they could give to people like Jesse. The enemy set up an obstacle to their advancement and retired to do other things. For forty days they remained in that condition until God graciously brought in a man who carried a kind of grace.

David stepped in with something that was unpolished, totally crude and unconventional. Nobody honors that kind of person or thing but that was who God had prepared for a time like this.

Amen!

This is the condition of the Church of Jesus Christ today. We have our archbishops, bishops, prophets, apostles and all the other bogus titles that men assume today. We have built high rising structures all over the land and boast of all that we have accumulated of the goods of this world yet, the enemy is messing us up. Satanism, idolatry and all manner of evil practices are practiced in our communities but we are helpless; we are powerless to deal with them.

We strive to show how one denomination is superior to the other and set up different cults of bishops and the sons of the prophets just to create the impression that God is still with us. We shamelessly claim that Christian ministry is now about packaging and logistics in the face of the teeming human needs that are begging for urgent intervention from men who claim to carry the power of God.

It is important that we state why this situation has arisen; King Saul had unresolved issues with God. Instead of taking a break to deal with those matters, he continued to create a false impression that all was well while fighting the battles of God. God was fed up with him and the Lord’s servant, Samuel, was tired of praying for him

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? 1 Sam 16:1NIV

Samuel mourned for him. Believe me, the children of God who read the bible well are mourning for our church leaders, but God is about to call them out of that mourning. God has told me that  He is planning an inversion into this bad situation that will make the mourners to rejoice in the new things God will do.

This is also the condition of a lot of people who are making noise all over the place, making prophetic declaration in the name of the Lord. The absence of the genuine power of God in our midst is no longer a secret. Hence, we make up for our poverty by sharing food and medicine to those whose real need is the salvation of their souls. Instead of calling the people to the place of general repentance, they plan one-million-man praise night. Instead of crying between the temple and the altar, we rent crowds of the unregenerate to fill our lifeless auditoria. Like Rehoboam, we are not interested in fighting to restore the gold of the sanctuary but we have replaced them with polished bronze. A generation that has become experts at hypocrisy; fake healing testimonies and fake miracles has become our propaganda tools.

Just like we read in our text chapter, God is about calling in another kind of ministers from their place of preparation in the wilderness. Like David, these are men who have been despised; these are men who have been treated like trash by the Jesses of this age. People like Jesse  keep sending their tithe, offerings and covenant seeds of faith to the wrong people while despising the men who have been walking in close devotion with God. They despise them and the Sauls of this age do not know them or where they are coming from but God is about to shake the world through His special vessels.

Let me also say something to this generation with the grace of David; be careful that you do not lose sight of the real issues. You are not supposed to despise Jesse or try to compete with Saul. They are still children of God but their lifestyles have brought the name of the Lord to disrepute. God is going to use the David kind of anointing in your life to redeem His name before the enemies of the Church and these backsliders will return and praise God again because of what He is about to do through you.

Amen!

My beloved brethren, I bring you word from Jehovah for this new year, 2026, God is going to call you out of the wilderness and into the place of prominence where you will showcase all that God has been training you for. That is why you must remain committed to your devotion to God.

I hear it in the spirit, in 2026, the word from God is BLOSSOM! (Isa. 60:5).

The seed of God in you will blossom and the grace of God in your life will be unlocked and you will flourish because God is sending the rain of His word on you.

Praise master Jesus Christ!

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  Isa 55:10-11NIV

Begin to give praise to God!

Keep following.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

06 - I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN! 6

Whose Son is That Young Man?

As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is." As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head. "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. 1 Sam 17:55-58NIV

King Saul watched an unknown teenager who walked into a battleground but was not afraid of an enemy that everyone else fled from. It was some of the soldiers that brought him to the king. They took time to properly brief David about the risky situation at hand, but he was surprised that nothing intimidated David. He heard David trash all the reasons he had for not going to confront Goliath himself. The young man even turned down the specially designed armor of the king but went in to the battle without a sword. He observed his audacity as he moved towards the deadly enemy. In our characteristic way of judgment, he thought the father of David must have done a great job in his life.

Then, he watched as David exchanged words of threat with Goliath. King Saul was clutching to his heart in apprehension. Then came the moment when Goliath charged towards David and King Saul thought in his heart, this is the moment the lad will flee, but to his shock, David ran further towards the battle line. King Saul said in his heart, this can be nothing but sound home training from a father who was a military man himself.

He turned to the general commander of his army and said, “I want to know and meet the father who raised this boy”.

We already know that the king was wrong in this matter. It had nothing to do with David’s father or the family he came from. Let me explain; before David came, there were three members of David’s family in the army and they were in the number of those who repeatedly ran away from Goliath for forty days. It is possible that the King did not know but just few days ago a prophet visited the family of Jesse of Bethlehem, after passing the seven other sons of the same father through the test, none of them were fit to be a king in Israel. God Himself declared them unqualified.

When Abner could not answer his question, King Saul kept watching as David ran towards the battleline, picked out one stone from his porch, loaded it into his sling, took an aim at the rampaging giant and while everyone watched, Goliath came crashing down to the ground. As if that was not enough, David ran towards him, took the giant sword of the giant warrior of the entire Philistine army and cut off the head of the once dreaded champion.

Try to follow the electrifying moment and hot pumping of the blood through the veins of the King as the young man started walking back to king Saul with the head of the giant in his hand.

Whereas the rest of the armies of Israel charged out to pursue the fleeing host of the Philistine armies, I imagine David lift the head of Goliath before King Saul and said, “My king, I told you that it is going to be easy”.

King Saul was not looking at the Goliath’s head in his hand, “Young man, who is your father? Who raised you?”

How often do we give credit to those who have nothing to do with the success in question? This has nothing to do with Jesse of Bethlehem; he was not a warrior and if he contributed anything to what David has become, it is the rejection and disregard he showed for David.

We are taking time to explain all this because of someone among my readers who would argue that his life would have been better if he came from a different background. Yes, some people say, if only I had a rich father or if only, I came from this other country or if only I belonged to that other Christian denomination, etc.

Like King Saul, people believe that people from good backgrounds have a better chance to make it in life.

My friend, it is not true. In this moment of truth let me tell you some things. Some people think that I am making this kind of wave in the ministry because my father was a missionary with the Scripture Union, Nigeria and the Anglican Church. It is not true. My father died while I was less than ten years. I got nothing from my father. I got nothing from the Scripture Union, not even a bible study follow-up. I got nothing from the Anglican Church. It is true that I spent some time with the Assemblies of God and Foursquare Gospel Church but there is nothing I have today that came from them. There are a number of other Christian organizations that I passed through, but they did not give me anything that has kept me where I am today. I am not saying that the time I spent with them was useless. Far from that. what I mean is that what God has brought me through was different from what they meant to my life.

There are those who talk about the schools they attended; after listening to me teach, a pastor asked to know the bible school I attended, but believe me this has nothing to do with a bible school, secondary or university education. If not for the mercies of God, some of those places would have ruined what God has done with me today.

About family background; even though I came from a supposing wealthy family background, I can say it here that I have not received any kind of support from them. What Joy and I got from our families was antagonism and witchcraft attack. I can count the three times that I am sure that people from my immediate family made attempts that would have taken my life.

Yes, lest I forget, the witchcraft attacks, antagonism, betrayals and inexplicable hatred we suffered from them contributed to make me an international authority in the field of deliverance and spiritual warfare. Those were the secret resources that enabled me to write more than twenty different book titles on the subject of deliverance and spiritual warfare.The rejection and lack of support contributed to make me a self-sufficient person, because I learned it very early that no one is coming to save me. This life has been between me and my God. It is not about my family.

Let me not make this too personal, go and ask some of the people you believe are successful in life and you will be shocked that their stories are not different from that of David and mine.

You might have come from a bad background but you must not let your background to pin your back to the ground. One time in my life, I took time to check the backgrounds of some people I considered very successful ministers of the gospel, but I was shocked that they did not get to where they are today because of what they got from where they came from. Most of them were disowned by their families because they picked up their bible to follow Jesus Christ. Now they have become successful and their families are claiming them. There are a good number of them that were doctors, university professors, lawyers and bigtime businessmen; almost all of them took nothing from their past. They trusted God like David did, put in some quality time for self-discipline and development, and that was how they got to where they are today.

 Unfortunately, few people know what I am talking today about the so-called successful people. In my years of relating with different Christian denominations, I discovered that the so-called large congregations only steal trained church workers from the smaller ones. You are free to investigate this yourself; most pastors in the large congregations are the disciples from other churches.

I want you to know that you can become the richest person in your country

I want you to know that you can fulfil your dreams in your career.

I want you to know that what people say or think about you can only govern you if you let them.

I want you to know that your background does not have the power to pin you down if you do not let it.

There are eight things you have to bear in mind as you enter into the next phase of your life.

1. You need to have a very strong relationship with God. He is the one that can truly bless you. Somewhere the bible says that a man receives nothing unless it is given to him from above (John. 3:27). Do not joke with your prayer and meditation time because this is how you build the closest tie with God. Fear magnifies your problems and doubt diminishes your God but it is in the place of prayer that you cage the two enemies of your purpose.

2. You need to invest time in self-training and development. This is different from going to school or attending church fellowships and programs. You need to deliberately train yourself for what you want to become. It may involve taking an additional academic program or discipleship training or exposure to some kind of apprenticeship. That is how you prepare to be qualified for your expected elevation.

3. You need to intentionally seek out people who are serious with their life and connect with them. Connect with people who motivate you. You did not have the opportunity to choose your parents or siblings. The only thing that is within your power to choose is your friends and you must not joke with it. That includes the church denomination you identify with and the person you relate with as a personal mentor or pastor. If the church you currently belong to is not building you up, child of God, walk out of that place. If the person you take as a mentor is not building you up, prayerfully seek out for someone better for yourself. When you get to heaven, you can explain.

4. You need to walk away from any relationship that is draining your energy spiritually or emotionally. You must not hate them before you walk away. You may need to walk away for awhile just to fix what was broken in your life. That includes people who refused to improve despite your years of investment in them. That also includes people who kept making promises to support you but never keep their words. When you walk away, you will free your mind to check out for new opportunities.

5. You must not let the pains from your past drain your energy or dampen your focus to where you are heading to. Like we learned from David, be thankful for them. Each time the devil throws thoughts from your past at you, cover them with thanksgiving. “I thank God for carrying me through all of these”.

6. You must be ready to serve in small things while you wait for the great things. David was anointed as king of Israel, but while waiting for the day he would be crowned, he kept taking care of his father’s sheep and carried food to his brothers in the battlefield.

7. You must be on the standby every moment because you do not know when the opportunity you have been praying for would come. David did not know that his connection with the king of Israel will come the day he was told to send some food to his brothers. He did not know that killing Goliath was the first step of the ladder to joining the mighty men in Isreal’s army.

8. You must not allow the opinions of those who do not understand what God is doing with you to push you out of God’s direction. Some give their opinions out of ignorance; some give their opinions out of envy in order to sabotage you, and there are those who weaponize misleading opinions to derail you. Only you know what God has told you in the private. Hold to them firmly.

I need to let you know that if you have read to this point in this meditation that you are almost ready to shake the world around you.

Keep following

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

05 I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN 5

Trained and Perfected in rough Places

But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Sam 17:34-37NIV

David said to King Saul, “I have come thus far through the pathway of challenges and suffering”.

I know you will wonder how I got that.

Shepherding has never been a job for the weak minded. It involved moving about in lonely places to guide the flock to find pasture. Somewhere the bible said that every shepherd is detestable to the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34); shepherds smell like their sheep and sheep don’t smell wonderful.

When David started by saying that he was a shepherd, King Saul could relate and he knew that David was used to tough times.

Then he added, “I kill lions and bears and I kill them when they are hungry”.

It is important that you take a special note of that; lions and bears are harmless when they have been fed and they are not provoked. But these animals are deadly when they are hungry. Now, imagine what the situation was like when they came into the fold of David’s flock, picked one sheep and started walking away; yes, imagine that David approached them to recover his sheep. David said that, as expected, they always turned towards him to feed on him. That was the time he took hold of each of them and killed them. 

Then he went further by saying, “My King, I do this often”.

He presented these as part of his credentials to seek the King’s permission to confront Goliath. At this point King Saul understood that this man may be young, but he knew what was involved in this situation.

It is easy for us to understand that David’s family members did not love or value him but I have a problem with it when God who claimed that He loved David dearly would allow David to face all that danger. It is even safe to say that it was God who made David’s father to neglect him like that and so David lived a life in daily danger in taking care of the family flock of sheep. It was in this difficult situation that he encountered and killed lions and bears.

Years later David wrote,

Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. Ps 144:1-2NIV

He was giving thanks and praises to God for exposing him to those dangerous situations and he referred to them as his training school; his war college. I strongly believe that this was not the way David saw this situation when he was going through it. It was after he had passed through it and now, when circumstances came up, he discovered that those tough times he went through have prepared him to face them.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Heb 12:11NIV

I could not believe my ears when my then mentor made a prayer of release over me; he prayed that God will expose me to suffering at an early time and grant me the grace to overcome. He specifically mentioned Rev. 2:10

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Rev 2:10NIV

Well, fortunately or unfortunately, God granted his request and I really faced difficulty in the early days of my ministry. After going through the bible, I discovered that even the Apostle Paul would have made the same prayer for me if he were my mentor;

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer. 2 Tim 2:3-4NIV

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Rom 8:16-17NIV

The suffering should come before the glory, just as planting should come before harvest. Even though Jesus Christ was God-incarnate who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born by a virgin, it is recorded thus about Him;

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Heb 2:10NIV

There is the perfecting of God’s children and especially God’s servants, that is only possible through suffering.

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him Heb 5:7-9NIV

Did you observe that being prayerful and submissive to God’s command do not exonerate God’s chosen ones from the season of divinely apportioned suffering?  It is a perfecting process; it is like tearing off layers from our souls in order to bring us to the size that fits us to enter into God’s perfect purpose for our lives.

Contrary to what some theological schools of taught say, in God’s economy, those who would follow Jesus Christ should determine to follow Him even in His suffering.

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27NIV

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21NIV

There are many who follow Jesus Christ today but they avoid the pathway of His suffering. To be frank, there were other young men like myself in those early days who stepped into the ministry but they were afraid of suffering. They looked for early gratification and chose terrains that were soft and easy. They were focused on how to look good outwardly and offered their services as God’s servants to the highest bidders. They joined groups and organizations that promised to make their walk with God stress-free. 

Some of them rose very fast and became rich and popular, but today they are no where to be found. A good number of them are no longer in the ministry. This is not only about those in the gospel ministry, but concerns everyone in any other field of human endeavors; the suffering must precede the glory, otherwise the glory will be a fading glory. 

Yes, there is a fading glory and there is an enduring glory. 

There are two bible examples like that. they were exceptionally anointed, one was anointed with power like no other man who ever lived on earth, his name was Samson. The other one was gifted with exceptional wisdom like none other ever had, his name was Solomon. These men enjoyed relevance and power but they did not pass through the wilderness of suffering to get to the top. I believe that this contributed to their woeful fall from glory.

 David was trained in God’s war college. It did not make his training easier but tougher. It was a process in loneliness. He was there all alone and the dealing was personal. The beauty of it was that one hundred thousand “wild animals” of the Philistine army did not scare him.  

It is a very necessary part of your Christian growth and development. If that is where you are now, do not be afraid, you will come out stronger and better.

Keep following!

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

04 I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN 04

HE DID NOT CALL HIM A GIANT

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 1 Sam 17:36-37NIV

(1 Samuel Chapter 17)

While reading through our text chapter, did you notice that David never referred to Goliath as a giant? That was not because he did not see him the first time. 

Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. 1 Sam 17:21-24NIV

Note the charged atmosphere that he met and how everyone else fled from the fear-inspiring presence of the giant champion from Gath, but only one person stood immune of that atmosphere of fear and that was David. 

But, why?

He did not judge things from the public opinion.

They saw a giant, called him a giant and fled from the giant.

David saw an animal, called him an animal and confronted him like an animal.

We have our eyes, ears, nose and the sense of touch; they are not called sense organs for nothing. When your eyes catch something, they transfer the information to your brain, your brain analyzes what it has received and sends a processed report to the mind, that is what is referred to as heart in some circles. The kind of mind the person has determines the final report. If the mind is tilted to the world and controlled by the flesh and the views of this corrupt satanic system, its final report will be according to that order. The mouth will then declare what the mind has sent it. If the mind is controlled by the Holy Spirit because it has been renewed through the knowledge of the word of God and fellowship with Christ, the report will obviously be different.

What we are trying to say is that same old statement by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45NIV

The people the Lord addressed here came to His healing and deliverance service and declared that Jesus Christ was using satan’s power to cast out demons. They saw some formally demon possessed people walking home restored in their minds and bodies and when they opened their mouths to talk, “BOOM!”, they said He was using the power of satan.

It is not as much about what the eyes saw as it is about the definition or interpretation that the heart gave to what they saw. The subsequent labeling of what they are dealing with and their reaction towards it, is governed by what they processed in their hearts.

Ok, let us put it this way; it is not that the Israelites were afraid of Goliath or that David was courageous, it was about how they analyzed it in their hearts. 

Pause for a while and ask yourself some simple questions, “Why do I react to these things the way I do?

“Why am I always afraid?

” Why do I feel insecure?

“Why do I always feel that everyone hates me?

“Why do I always believe that I will not succeed?

“Why do I just believe that I will soon die?”

The Lord told His people somewhere,

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy, do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. Isa 8:12-13NIV

Do not call a giant everything the people who do not know your God call a giant and do not fear what they fear. In my opinion, that was why David did not refer to Goliath as a giant. In that same text chapter, he referred to the entire army of the Philistines as mere animals. When human beings die, they are referred to as corpses and animals at death are referred to as carcasses. 

Now, read this,

This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 1 Sam 17:46NIV

Whereas the rest of the armies of Israel saw an army from Philistine, David saw some animals running loose. 

He did not call Goliath a giant.

Do not think that this would be an easy thing. Far from that. Especially when you walk in among your own people like David did and everyone is screaming the same thing. They even attack anyone who does not agree with their popular opinion just like Eliab attacked David. You will need some kind of faith to continue to insist that Goliath was not a giant but an animal. Remember that you need to convince yourself first before you would be able to convince those who disagree with you.

You will need another kind of mind;

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom 12:1-2NIV

That word, offer in this scripture is in the present continuous tense, which means to continue to offer your bodies to God every day and moment of your life. David lived his entire life in daily declaration that He belonged to Jehovah and he continued to testify to it in spite what he met around him.

Then, it goes on to say, “Do not switch to their general opinion”. 

Yes, you read me right; to conform means to switch over to their channel of general opinion. It goes on to say that instead of conforming to their standards and general opinion, let there be a transformation in your inner person, your mind. It says that it is the only way you would be able to know God’s perfect will. 

I know you will agree with me that you can only stand to defend what you know. 

How would one receive this kind of knowledge that will generate this dimension of faith?

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Rom 10:17NIV

You must surround yourself with channels that expose you to the word of God. You have to relate with and go to places that keep you in touch with God’s word. Besides reading your bible, you need to keep in touch with ministries like PNUR that keep reminding you about prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the way you develop this kind of faith.

Sister Amaka returned home from evening fellowship to meet her child stretched out on the floor, lifeless. Her then unbelieving husband kept shouting to all the neighbors who gathered in their living room, “Who among you have not heard me telling my wife to stop attending all these fellowship meetings with all these fake churches and pastors? But she would not listen. Now, while she was at one of those evil churches, our only child has died. Is it not clear now that the evil spirits from those churches have killed my child?”

Amaka reached down and took the lifeless body in her arms and went to the second floor of their house. Amaka and Amarachi, her prayer partner, locked the door behind them and began to pray. After about two hours, she walked down with the same child on her feet. 

They said that her child was dead.

Amaka saw it as an opportunity for her God to manifest His power.

Everyone said it was a hopeless situation but Amaka and Amarachi said God can change anything.

The King Saul and all the armies of Israel called him giant Goliath.

David did not call him a giant. He called him an animal. 

What do you call that thing before you?

Yes, what do you call that thing before you?

You can go into prayer now.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com

03 I CAN TAKE THIS FIGHT; I CAN WIN

 

MY GOD AGAINST THEIR gods

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Sam 17:45-47NIV

(Read 1 Samuel 17).

It does not matter who you are or where you live, every one of us has our own giant. We just must defeat this giant or we will be stuck in a place like King Saul and the rest of the armies of Israel. Another vital point is the way we see our enemy; whether they are spiritual, physical or circumstantial. It is important that we know our enemy and that is what we do when we study deliverance and spiritual warfare.

In this matter David was wrong in his assessment of Goliath; Goliath did not come against David or the armies of Israel relying on his spear, javelin or even his track record as a fighting champion. We have scripture to prove that.

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 1 Sam 17:41-43NIV

Take note of how the narrator presented the same battle implements that King Saul had warned David about. Also take note that even after Goliath had taken a careful but military assessment of his opponent, he saw that David was a harmless young man with no sophisticated weapon; now also take note that he still cursed David in the name of his god. 

This was not an ordinary word but the same kind of curse that Balak had invited Balaam to place on the Israelites in order to weaken them.

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed." Num 22:4-6NIV

Those curse words were invoked to draw down the forces of nature to rise up against his enemy and weaken the enemy and then make his defeat easy. But who is the enemy in this case? A small boy with a stick and sling and just five pieces of stones. He despised him but still invoked the spiritual weapons of curses against him. What an irony? 

For Goliath, the battle was more of spiritual than physical. Goliath was not relying on the things King Saul and the rest of Israel feared. It is even safe to say that the fear the people of Israel experienced was demonic. They were under a demonic spell of fear and the bible said that for forty days they could do nothing but run from their enemy. Having being conquered by that spirit of fear, they joined their voices to magnify the power of their enemy. They kept repeating and magnifying it among themselves; just like they did to David, they would paralyze anyone who came to the camp who could have helped them. Yes, they will tell the person about the problem and still tell the new comer that it was a helpless situation. They would attack one another the way David’s brothers attacked him but no one dared to face the enemy.

It is unfortunate but this is the way some church members relate in their neighborhood; they are too scared to face the satanic powers in their territory but engage in persistent infighting. That is the way some families coexist; they are not ready to deal with their enemies from outside but they focus on fighting among themselves. Even if they dared to talk about their common enemies, they magnify them; they talk of the great powers of witches and wizards; they talk of how one powerful native doctor strikes his enemies with madness; they talk about the devil and his servants in a magnifying way. They keep viewing God with the lens of their enemy. It is not that their enemy is too strong but it has to do with the way they view him.

Who is the Holy Spirit talking to here?

Who is that servant of God who has yielded his voice as a loudspeaker for the devil?

Who is that child of God who has become the propaganda channel of the devil?

Now, you have talked about the satan and his power so much that you no longer remember the power of your God.

Now, you have spoken so much evil about the Body of Christ that everyone around you have accepted your definition and now no one is moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The environment around you has become so charged with the negative current coming from your confession that no one remembers to put their trust in God.

I am sorry to say it but you may be under the influence of the demons projected into your space to render you impotent. 

That inability to pray maybe demonic.

That depression and hopelessness could be demonic.

Now, say with me, “I command every satanic atmosphere over my life to scatter in Jesus’ name!”. 

Shout, “the blood of Jesus Christ!” 7x before you proceed with reading this meditation.

Why could David move beyond the atmosphere of fear and defeat that he met in the camp?

Look at our main text again.

1. David knew that he belonged to a greater and stronger God

2. David knew that he was not fighting his own battle but God’s battle

3. David was not looking for a personal glory but the glory of his God

4. David was not relying on his power but he relied on God’s power to fight God’s battle

5. David knew that the God who did it yesterday is going to do it even now

6. David openly declared to the enemy that his size was different from the size of his God

7. David viewed the enemy through the lens of his God, hence the enemy looked smaller than others saw him

8. David ran to the battle line to give his God the opportunity to prove Himself

9. David’s confession was in line with his actions and his battle strategy.

10. David understood that it was God that was under a test, not David. His God could not have failed him because he never fails.

Beloved child of God, read this short prayer to yourself and personalize it.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Eph 1:18-19NIV

It is true that there are just a few days to go in this year but a miracle could still come your way.

Remain under the anointing in Jesus’ name.

Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com