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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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What it Means to Have a Choleric Husband or Wife

Strengths of a Choleric Husband

1. Kofi Choleric, is the hot, quick, active, practical, strong-willed temperament type.

2. He is self-sufficient and very independent.

3. He tends to be decisive and opinionated and finds it easy to make decisions for himself and for others, and often needs to be in charge and in control.

4. He is an extrovert but not an intense one.

5. He thrives on activity––in fact to him life is activity.

6. He does not need to be stimulated by his environment but stimulates his environment with endless ideas, plans, goals and ambitions.

7. He rarely engages in aimless activity because of his practical, keen mind.

8. He is capable of making sound, instant decisions and planning worthwhile projects.

9. He never wavers under the pressure of what others think.

10. He takes a firm stand on issues and often crusades against things like social injustices.

11. He is not discouraged by problems, but rather problems encourage him to find solutions.

12. He has a dogged determination which usually allows him to succeed where others have failed because others become discouraged and quit whereas the choleric doggedly keeps pushing ahead.

13. He is a born leader known as a Strong Natural Leader (SNL) in the business world.

14. He seeks useful and productive values in life––if he is a Christian he is usually a very dedicated one.

15. He is a very open and honest person, sometimes to a fault.

16. Finances: • He is an achiever and successful. • He is a great provider. • He does not want his wife and children to be in need, and does not understand why there should be a problem after he has done all these.

17. Spirituality: • He is an achiever, a pioneer, and a builder. • He is hard-working. • He has a tendency to believe more in his strength than in God.

18. Commitment:

• He is very committed.

• He has a dogged determination that makes him achieve, even if he is not gifted.

Weaknesses of a Choleric Husband

1. His emotional nature is the least developed part of his temperament.

2. He does not sympathize easily with others and does not naturally show or express compassion.

3. He is often embarrassed or disgusted by the tears of others and is usually insensitive to their needs.

4. He reflects little appreciation for music or the fine arts unless his secondary temperament traits are those of a melancholic.

5. His most serious weakness is anger.

6. Cholerics are extremely hostile people.

7. They use their wrath as a weapon to get what they want because they come to realize that other people are usually afraid of their strong outbursts.

8. He may willfully cause pain to others and enjoy it.

9. His wife is usually afraid of him and he tends to terrify his children.

10. He is a door-slammer, table-pounder and horn-blower. Any person who gets in his way, retards his progress or fails to perform up to the level of his expectations bears the brunt of his wrath.

11. Cholerics tend to carry a grudge for a long time.

12. He often falls prey to ulcers by the time he is 40 years.

13. Cholerics are sarcastic and can make scathing remarks which can wither the insecure or devastate the less combative.

14. He usually leaves a path of damaged psyches and fractured egos because the other temperament types wilt under his treatment of them.

15. He is the most unaffectionate of all the temperaments and becomes emotionally spastic at the thought of any public show of affection.

16. Marital affection to him means a kiss at the wedding and on every 5th anniversary thereafter!

17. They are so strong-willed and so bent on doing what they want to do that they may resort to tricks to have their own way.

18. Emotions • He finds it difficult to relate to or understand emotional things. • He has a problem with anger and forgiveness.

19. He may find himself thinking more in terms of “what I have done” than in terms of the grace of God.

20. He is likely to be dogmatic in his stance and will carry out his opinion without thinking much about how his partner feels.

21. Is an emotional extremist, that is, either hot or cold, and can get furiously angry or explode.

Strengths of a Choleric Wife

1. Korkor Choleric is a take-charge-woman––she tells everyone else what to do and is commanding in her style.

2. Shake-things-up, make-things-happen kind of woman.

3. She is very energetic and outgoing and is always up to something new.

4. Is bossy, can be overly aggressive and domineering. She is often considered a threat by other men and resented and judged by other women who tend to want to cut her down to size.

5. Courageous––she believes she can do whatever she sets her mind to. She’s got nerve that can be used in powerful ways for good. No matter what the obstacles, she will hold firmly to her belief that she can do it.

6. Determined––she views life as a series of problems to solve or challenges to overcome,

7. Often struggles after leaving the workplace to stay home with her children, because she thinks there is nothing specific to accomplish; with housework nothing is ever finished. This is because she thrives on the battle to battle, challenge to challenge, conquest to conquest routine of the workplace.

8. Crusader––notices wrongs and injustices of life and feels compelled to set things right. She is the one who crusades for change.

9. Productive––since the choleric woman is so hard-working, goal-oriented and energetic, she tends to lead an exceptionally productive life. Many of them have successful, high-powered careers. They usually crave more than just being wives and mothers. Because of their need to be productive they tend to neglect their families.

10. Open and honest––You don’t have to wonder what they are thinking or feeling because they will let you know right up front whether you want to know or not. Often she has excellent insight that is ignored because someone doesn’t like the way it was presented.

11. Effective Disciplinarian––Spells out exactly what she expects and carries herself with an air of confident authority that children respect. Her children are usually exceptionally well-behaved. Often used powerfully by God––very often have brilliant ideas and are absolutely right when they propose solutions to problems but people don’t want to listen to them or implement their ideas. People often delight in actively opposing their plans. They’re often dedicated Christians.

12. She is a forceful woman with many goals in mind. She may help with the finances of the home.

Weaknesses of a Choleric Wife

1. Unpopular––may be greatly admired at a distance but disliked by people around her.

2. Mean––may appear angry, distant and unapproachable even when she is not in a particularly bad mood. She may just be so preoccupied with her own agenda that frankly she doesn’t even notice you.

3. Gets angry quickly––she can be mean to her husband, children and even total strangers. She thinks the planet is populated by incompetent fools whom she merely tolerates at best. She will often control her family by fear and intimidation. She can be harsh and may hurt people’s feelings with tough language and a harsh unloving attitude. She may also use her mean streak to control her husband especially if she married a phlegmatic man, which is often the case.

4. Self-Centred––she’s interested in just herself.

5. Uses people––doesn’t take time to make friends. Is not interested in the two-way give and take relationship required to maintain a long-term friendship. Her projects and accomplishments keep her busy enough. She’s happy for you to help her; she’ll ask for favours, she’ll call you to report her accomplishments etc. She tends to view people as tools to accomplish her goals and objectives. In her mind projects are more important than people. This attitude leads to conflicts.

6. Impulsive––she’s often too impulsive. She takes strong actions to get the results she’s after but will leave the end to be finished by others.

7. Workaholic––she works beyond working hours, yet when it comes to housework and the more mundane tasks of life and motherhood, she suddenly behaves like a lazy person. She is in actual fact conserving her energy for what she deems important.

8. Bossy––she comes across as the bossiest, most annoying, know-it-all personality on the planet. She is a woman who likes to take charge.

9. She is not very domesticated.

11. She is not tender. She is not good at demonstrating love and affection; may not show much feeling or be very caring about her husband, workers and children.

12. She is frank and has a sharp tongue. • She may appear to be insubordinate. • She is very critical, even in the area of sex.

13. A choleric wife may be more pleasing to her boss at work or to her pastors, because she achieves a lot. However, were the boss to marry her, he may not be able to live with her!

14. She is a strong woman who tries to dominate and lead her husband in everything. • She may not consult him when taking certain major decisions. • She naturally tells everybody else what to do.

15. She may have a hot temper.

16. She may be very unforgiving towards her husband.

17. She may be so active at home pursuing countless activities that her spouse may feel unwanted. She may even find activities to do in the night.

18. Doesn’t take time for real conversation and is easily threatened by questions.

19. Is usually not very popular because other males feel threatened by her and she is often resented and judged by other women.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Esther

1. Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Overcome in Your Marriage by Receiving the Prophetic Message of Your Marriage

The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, GO, TAKE UNTO THEE A WIFE OF WHOREDOMS and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.

Hosea 1:2

Hosea’s unfortunate marriage brought out a strong message from God. A marriage can give you a message from God. You can receive the spirit of understanding through your marriage experiences. Having a difficult wife may be God’s way of giving you His message. If you have a bad or difficult marriage, you may be walking in the footsteps of the prophet Hosea. Hosea is the man of God who ended up being married to an unfaithful prostitute. You may be married to a Loveless Oldie or a Quarrelsome Queen. It is just a variation of what Hosea had. Do not be sad if you have a terrible experience in your marriage. Welcome to the “Hosea Club of Difficult Marriages”!

The nature of your marriage and the experiences you have can constitute a message from God to you. The experience Hosea had in marrying a prostitute became a message to him from God. God speaks to the man of God through his marriage. Perhaps, the reason why you have experienced all that you have is to help you receive a message from God.

Hosea was shown what God thinks about people who run after other gods. The marriage experience with a prostitute caused Hosea to learn what it was like for God when His children run after other gods.

Things God Can Teach You through Your Marriage Experience

And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. Hosea 1:4

And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. Hosea 1:6

God may allow you to have a certain kind of marriage so that He can give you a certain message through the marriage experience. He made Hosea marry a prostitute so that He could give him certain messages.

There are prophetic messages that God can cause you to receive by causing you to enter a marriage that has certain characteristics. The characteristics of your marriage may be a clear prophetic message from the Lord for you. Many people have misunderstood Hosea. They have felt that God made Hosea marry a prostitute to have children with odd names.

The big surprise for you today is that God may have sent you to marry an equally problematic person for precisely the same reason that He made Hosea marry a prostitute. Your marriage may be as mysterious as Hosea’s marriage and the purpose of your marriage may be as mysterious as Hosea’s.

Many pastors have wondered whether God guided them into their marriages. “If God guided me, why would I end up with a prostitute or a clearly deficient woman?”

God guides those who ask Him to guide them. Instead of thinking of your marriage as a mistake, think of it as a prophetic message! Acknowledge the Lord in all thy ways and He shall direct thy paths. Once you acknowledged the Lord before you got married, God has directed your paths.

You may have married a man who slaps women. You may wonder why you should marry a “slapper” after all the prayers you have prayed.

You may wonder why you would marry a Quarrelsome Queen after all the prayers you offered up. You may wonder why you should marry a loveless person after all the love you give. These are experiences that give you a deep understanding of God and His word. Perhaps you are just like Hosea and have entered a strange marriage with a prophetic message for your life and ministry. Let us have a look at some of the mysterious messages God may be giving you through your marriage.

1. God could cause you to be married to a man who does not provide for you so that you will not take for granted His provision in many ways. This is to send a message to you to look up to God and stop looking to man for provision.

For she did not know that I GAVE HER CORN, AND WINE, AND OIL, and multiplied her silver and gold, WHICH THEY PREPARED FOR BAAL. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

Hosea 2:8-9

2. God could make you marry someone who does not love you very much so that you understand what the Lord experiences when His children do not love Him. In such a marriage, you would pour your love out in vain just as God has poured out His love on us in vain.

Through this experience, you discover the importance of the scripture, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind and with all your soul.”

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:30

Instead of loving the Lord with all your mind and all your soul, you have loved a woman with all your mind, and all your heart and all your soul. What a mistake! You have given to a human being what you should have given to God! You have sown seeds of love into the wrong place and you have received a painful reward for that mistake. Through your marriage, God may be directing you to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and might.

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5

3. God could make you marry a man or woman who accuses you constantly so you understand the power of the accuser of the brethren. In this kind of marriage, you would learn and understand all about accusations and how the accuser of the brethren functions. You will understand why satan is called the “accuser of the brethren”. Most people do not understand that title. To most Christians, accusations sound like a nuisance rather than a real problem.

You may not fully understand the word “accuser” but when you experience it in marriage, you will get the full revelation of the work of the devil and of demons. Through your marriage to an accuser, you will fully understand the work of satan in the church. As you experience division and separation in your marriage, you will develop a deep understanding of how division and separation occur in a church through accusation. As love, happiness and peace are destroyed in your marriage, you will understand the power of accusation. You will understand how love, happiness and peace are destroyed in churches through false and baseless accusations. These are things you may never understand until you experience a real and a living accuser next to you.

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “ The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? Zechariah 3:1-2 (NASB)

4. You could be married to someone who cannot have a child. God may give you this experience to reveal to you the importance of bearing fruit. Perhaps, God is giving you the spirit of understanding through your marriage. There are levels of understanding that you cannot attain by reading a book. You will learn the truth about barrenness through your experience of marriage. You will discover how God yearns for His children to bring forth fruits that abide.

Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. Isaiah 5:1-5

5. God could make you experience the death of your spouse so that you would understand that everything on earth is vain indeed. Perhaps you have not really believed or understood how vain and useless earthly ventures truly are. Everything here is temporary. Marriage is a temporary arrangement! Children are temporary tenants! Human love is transient! Your buildings are vain attempts to create eternal dwellings. Your gardens are a phantom of the eternal “Gardens of Eden” that we look forward to. But perhaps you have not believed all these things. Most people do not believe the scripture. Many Christians do not believe the Bible at all. Solomon said it all!

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

The death of the spouse whom you really love will send a strong message of the futility of life into your soul. You will receive a deep understanding of the phrase, “Vanity of vanities!” You tried to make a home! You tried to have love! You tried to live in peace! And it all blew up in your face! You are left with futility, sorrow, depression and memories that are difficult to erase. Through the futility of the death of your spouse, you will understand the need to set your affection on things above and not on things below. Indeed, God will deliver into your heart one of the strongest messages of wisdom and understanding, through the death of your spouse.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

6. God could make you experience the bitter and wicked character of your angelic looking wife so that you will understand that there is none righteous, no not one. Perhaps, you did not believe there was none righteous. But through your marriage you will understand that no human being is perfect or righteous. Every time your angelic wife, whom everybody praises, treats you badly, you will understand the scripture even more. You will marvel at how people are deceived and impressed by your “nice” and “angelic” wife. You will understand how the whole world lies in wickedness and deception.

As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one…” Romans 3:10 (NASB)

7. God could give you a rebellious son so that you would learn and understand the message of the prodigal son. You will discover what God is experiencing from us as we rebel and go far from Him. You will understand what it is like to bring up a child who turns against you. You will understand what it is like to have a child who does not want to be near his father.

And he said, a certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living Luke 15:11-13

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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What it Means to be Married to Jezebel

And JEZEBEL HIS WIFE SAID unto him, dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I WILL GIVE THEE THE VINEYARD of Naboth the Jezreelite. 1 Kings 21:7

Jezebel is the infamous wife of King Ahab. The Book of Revelation also makes mention of the “spirit of Jezebel”. Apparently, the same spirit operating during the time of Ahab was operating in the days of John. You cannot discount the presence, existence and operation of the spirit of Jezebel in our world today. Jezebel is a spirit that attacks great men of God like Elijah. If you are in the ministry and are destined for greatness, you can expect to encounter a Jezebel somewhere! Jezebel is real!

The beauty you marry can become a Jezebel! There in the basket sat a woman!

“Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, ‘This is wickedness’, and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth”. (Zechariah 5:7-8)

Always remember that Jezebel can be defeated if she can be identified.

Jezebel is the spirit that attacked Elijah. Any spirit that attacks Elijah is a spirit that is a specialist at attacking men who carry a great anointing.

It is therefore important that every man of God and also the pastor’s wife become aware of this spirit and oppose its activities in the church and the ministry. Remember: Thou shall not suffer that woman Jezebel ... !!!

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, BECAUSE THOU SUFFEREST THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Revelation 2:20

Jezebel Today

I once spoke to a broken-hearted assistant pastor. He had been the assistant to his senior pastor for twenty-five years. He had worked closely with his senior pastor and faithfully sacrificed for the ministry. Together they had built a powerful mission with thousands of members.

One day, the senior pastor’s wife slapped one of the church members during an argument. The church member lost her temper and organised a group of people to protest against the pastor’s wife.

“Enough is enough”, they exclaimed. “We have had enough of our senior pastor’s wife. We will no longer stand for her nonsense. We want her to go! We don’t like her! She is an evil person! She has tormented us since our pastor married her! She quarrels, she accuses, she drives away people, she divides the family and now she has slapped one of us.”

Following the uproar, the senior pastor resigned and left the church. The pastoral team was broken up and the church virtually closed down. Everyone went their separate ways. The ministry was effectively terminated by the pastor’s wife’s attack on a church member.

The broken-hearted senior assistant pastor lamented, “We had been together for twenty-five years. We had a great ministry and a great church. Now we have lost everything.”

He continued, “I don’t even know what I am going to do with my life from now on. Our church is closed down. Our ministry is over!”

Then I asked him, “How did all this happen? How can an entire ministry be terminated overnight? What has caused all this?”

He answered, “I think we made a great mistake with our pastor’s wife. She was clearly a Jezebel and we allowed her to operate freely in the church. We thought we were showing respect to our senior pastor so we never confronted her.”

He confided in me, “She divided the church. Many people left the church when she married our pastor. She even drove away the pastor’s children who were forced to attend another church.”

He continued, “But we strongly believed in loyalty to our senior pastor and never confronted her about all the quarrels and divisions she was causing.” After one and a half hours of talking about the effects of having allowed a Jezebel to freely roam around in the church, we parted company. I did not know how this faithful assistant was going to come by his next meal and live through the next month. He had lost all that he had built up over twenty-five years.

Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because YOU ALLOW THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. Revelation 2:20 (NKJV) Many people do not understand the scripture that says, “I have a few things against you because you allowed that woman Jezebel…” Jezebel is a dangerous spirit that fights great men of God. It fights them through their wives and other powerful influencing figures. A Jezebel must not be allowed to operate freely in the church.

Through the revelation of this book, you will overcome every kind of Jezebel operating in your life and ministry. Scripture tells us not to allow the woman Jezebel to operate freely. Most pastors are too dignified and self-righteous to confront a pastor’s wife or to bring her into order. Many pastors want to maintain good relations with everybody. As a result of that, they will not rebuke and correct wives who are out of order. When you allow a Jezebel to roam freely, you, like Elijah, will be tormented without end. When you allow a Jezebel to go uncorrected, you will lose everything just like Elijah lost everything.

Let’s see what happened to Elijah. A careful analysis of many great men of God who walk in high levels of the anointing, like Elijah did, will reveal the pattern that I have described below. The patterns produced by a “Jezebel wife” are unmistakable.

Dangers of Being Married to a Woman With the Spirit of Jezebel

1. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO BE DISCOURAGED IN MINISTRY.

What is it like to be married to a Jezebel? What are the works of this unique spirit whose specialty is to attack God’s leading servants? Through a “Jezebel wife”, you will experience a severe attack of discouragement that will make you feel like you have achieved enough in ministry. That is the spirit of Jezebel at work. The spirit of Jezebel made Elijah say, “It is enough. I have done enough. I have done more than enough!” You may wonder - what would make a happy and successful man of God say “I have done enough”, “It is enough”?

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, IT IS ENOUGH; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4

2. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO BE DEPRESSED IN MINISTRY. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, TAKE AWAY MY LIFE; for I am not better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4

Elijah wanted to die. His prayer was, “O Lord, take away my life!” Elijah became suicidal after his greatest achievements in ministry. You may wonder why a person at the peak of his ministry would ever want to die.

In the same way, you would also wonder why a great man of God would consider death as a happy escape from his wife. Through a “Jezebel wife” you will become depressed and will want to die. When a person does not mind dying, he is depressed.

If you ever experience severe depression where you want to die, you are probably dealing with the spirit of Jezebel. The spirit of Jezebel makes you say, “Let me die”. It is depression that makes a person suicidal. There are many pastors who are suicidal because of problems at home.

One pastor confided in me. He said, “When I had marital problems with my wife, I considered killing myself twice.”

He continued, “Once, I wanted to throw myself down from a tall building. The torment, the accusations and the pressure from my wife were too much for me to handle.”

I was amazed as I beheld this great man of God confessing that he had contemplated suicide twice because of his wife.

3. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO CHANGE HIS ASSISTANTS AND FRIENDS. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, AND LEFT HIS SERVANT THERE. 1 Kings 19:2-3

A “Jezebel wife” will cause you to set aside the important people in your life. It is mysterious, but it will happen. Through Elijah’s interaction with Jezebel, he became terrified and set aside the servant that had been with him for years. Elijah abandoned his main friend, his great helper and his assistant! You may wonder why a person would separate himself from those who practically help him. Sometimes, men of God are forced to change members of their staff because their wife dislikes them. That is Jezebel in action!

Sometimes men of God are forced to dismiss important people from their lives. The departure of these important people often leads to major changes in their ministry. Often, Jezebel secretly forces the man of God to do away with people she does not like.

It is important for the man of God not to “allow that woman Jezebel” to operate freely. Do not allow the spirit of Jezebel to control you and make you remove important people from your life. You must only take decisions, as you are led by the Spirit. You must not be led by your wife, but by the Holy Spirit!

4. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO END HIS MINISTRY PREMATURELY. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and ELISHA THE SON OF SHAPHAT OF ABELMEHOLAH SHALT THOU ANOINT TO BE PROPHET IN THY ROOM. 1 Kings 19:15-16

A “Jezebel wife” will cause you to end your ministry prematurely. Elijah abruptly ended his ministry. He handed over the reins of his ministry to Elisha long before he had to. The effect of a “Jezebel wife” is indeed mysterious!

I earlier on shared the testimony of the assistant pastor whose senior pastor’s wife slapped a church member. It is interesting to note that this twenty-five year old ministry also came to an abrupt end. A large and successful ministry was closed down suddenly by a woman’s behaviour. A major church and ministry was terminated by the wife’s behaviour. All the pastors of that great church were scattered. The founder of that church became the laughing stock of all his enemies.

Jezebel is the greatest threat to the ministry of powerful men of God. When a man of God operates at the level of Elijah, he has probably overcome many obstacles and it is only a woman like Jezebel who can influence or detract him from his mission. Notice how Elisha was prematurely brought on the scene to take over the office of Elijah. Elijah’s handing over to Elisha is an example of a premature and abrupt end of a ministry.

Elijah handed over his ministry when it was at its very peak! Watch out for these signs when you are looking to spot a Jezebel. There is probably a Jezebel somewhere when there is a premature ending to a ministry.

5. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” MAKES A MAN OF GOD BEHAVE ABNORMALLY. A “Jezebel wife” will cause her husband to behave abnormally. Watch out for abnormal behaviour in a man of God. You would wonder why Elijah would run away from a woman after fearlessly confronting 400 prophets of Baal. Unusual occurrences and unusual behaviour patterns of men of God are often due to Jezebel spirits. I once watched a man of God do unusual things. He travelled away from his home. He lived away from his home. He always acted frightened when his wife’s name was mentioned. He looked nervous and on edge most of the time. And yet God was using him to do mighty things. I found out much later that he had a fully anointed Jezebel in his bedroom.

On another occasion, I noticed a man of God who was usually gentle and soft-spoken, become extremely irritated and angry for a season. His behaviour seemed completely out of sync with his normal way of doing things. I also found out later that he had a Jezebel in his bedroom. Watch out for unusual behaviour in a man of God. He is probably under pressure from a Jezebel!

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And WHEN HE SAW THAT, HE AROSE, AND WENT FOR HIS LIFE, AND CAME TO BEERSHEBA, WHICH BELONGETH TO JUDAH, AND LEFT HIS SERVANT THERE.

1 Kings 19:1-3 6. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO WANDER ABOUT IN THE WILDERNESS OF MINISTRY. But he himself went a day’s journey INTO THE WILDERNESS, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4

A “Jezebel wife” causes her husband to wander about in the wilderness. Elijah was displaced and began to move around from place to place. His base had been taken away. There are men of God who are roaming about in the wilderness because of a Jezebel at home.

A man of God wrote about how he kept moving house in order to quench the raging storms at home. He moved several times over a period of years. He had hoped that each move to a new home would bring about a change in the terrible marriage they were experiencing. He described how every move to every new building was an attempt to control the Jezebel in his home.

I know another man of God who conveniently lived at a place that was a seven-hour flight away from his wife. He did that in an effort to stay away from his marital home.

I know yet another man of God who abandoned his church for several years and moved to live in another country. Everyone thought he was pioneering a new mission overseas. Unfortunately, it was not missionary work that had made him move abroad. He, like Elijah, was on the run!

John Wesley declared that he might have settled down if he had had a loving, good wife. It is possible that John Wesley kept roaming around and achieving great things for God because he could not go back to a peaceful and happy home.

7. A “JEZEBEL WIFE” CAUSES A MAN OF GOD TO TURN INTO THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE WANTS TO BE. Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, thus saith the Lord, HAST THOU KILLED, AND ALSO TAKEN POSSESSION? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. 1 Kings 21:18-19

A “Jezebel wife” causes the man of God to become the exact opposite of what he is. “Ahab, have you killed somebody?” “Ahab, have you taken possession of land that is not your own?” This was a question Elijah was sent to ask Ahab (1 Kings 21:19). Ahab, did not originally intend to murder Naboth, but only made him several offers for his land. Jezebel turned Ahab into a killer of an innocent man.

Jezebel could have advised Ahab to negotiate more with Naboth about his land. She could have advised him to offer Naboth more money for his land; but Jezebel rather turned Ahab into a murderer! When a man of God becomes the exact opposite of what he set out to be, you must consider the possibility of a “Jezebel wife”. There is a power that can turn men of God into the exact opposite of what they set out to become.

Jezebel turned Ahab into a murderer. Ahab was not going to kill Naboth. Ahab had no intentions of killing Naboth. Remember that Ahab actually met Naboth and spoke to him directly.

Ahab did not initially arrest or destroy Naboth. However, when his “Jezebel wife” got involved, Ahab killed Naboth and became a murderer. Today, Ahab is remembered for murdering Naboth; something he never intended to do! Many men of God are bent slowly by their Jezebel wives into becoming the exact opposite of what they want to be.

One day, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “I will show you seven famous men of God who have experienced the power of ‘Jezebel wives’. ” Each of them has become the exact opposite of what they set out to be. The Lord showed me how many of these great men of God, through the intervention, operation and activities of their wives, had became the exact opposite of what they wanted to be. Most of them had the symptoms of depression, discouragement, abnormal travels and abnormal behaviour I have described above.

I remembered several famous pastors who never intended to be divorced. They had loved their wives and they loved the good image they had in marriage. However, through their wives’ behaviours, they are all divorced today. I remembered two famous pastors who served God with all their hearts. They became Christians in school and lived very straight and moral lives. I know this because I know them personally and I know a lot about their personal lives. Through the pushing and pulling of their wives, both of these pastors ended up in prison. They ended up standing trial and being convicted of crimes they did not really commit. They were insulted, ridiculed and treated as worthless criminals. When they became prisoners, they obviously lost their ministries. Like Elijah, they ended up becoming the exact opposite of what they set out to be through their ‘Jezebel wives’.

Then I remembered two more famous men of God who ended up divorcing and re-marrying three times. These men of God were the greatest family men you could ever meet. They loved their families and were committed to the ideals of marriage. But they both ended up divorced and marrying at least three times in total. None of them ever intended to be married three times. Both of these pastors had powerful “Jezebel wives” in their homes.

Yet again, I remembered a pastor who was the most amazing, dedicated and committed missionary you could ever find. He was so dedicated on the mission field that he spent twenty-five years fighting for church growth and church establishment in that country. Through his wife’s manoeuvres, he one day abandoned the ministry and fled to his home country.

I was amazed to see him flee. Many difficult crises had happened to him over the years on the mission field; but none of them had been able to make him flee. However, through his “Jezebel wife’s” involvement, he left the mission field abruptly and never returned.

Always remember these symptoms of a “Jezebel wife”. You will never see a woman with the name, “Jezebel” written on her face. But by the symptoms of a man of God’s abnormal behaviour, premature handing over of ministry, dismissing valuable assistants and turning into “exact opposites” you will know that a “Jezebel wife” is at large. Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “THIS IS WICKEDNESS,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth. Zechariah 5:7-8 (NIV)

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Understanding the Curse Associated with Childbearing

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children…

Genesis 3:16

These words you read above are the reason for the creation of the obstetric and gynaecological professions. As a medical doctor, it has always amazed me how a large profession could be created because of the female reproductive organs. We do not have large departments for treating intestines or livers. But we do have massive blocks for treating the diseases associated with the female reproductive organs.

There is such a need for a specialized department of obstetrics and gynaecology. At the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana, where I was trained, there are four main blocks as well as many smaller departments. One of the main blocks has to do with obstetrics and the other large department has to do with children (paediatric block).

So you can see that there are many problems associated with conception and bringing forth of children.

The female reproductive system has received much attention because of this curse.

When we are born again we are not delivered from this curse. That is an obvious reality. Women who are born again still undergo pain and sorrow in childbearing. Christ did not come to release us from the curse of Adam. All men, including Christian men still earn money by the sweat of their brows. That curse has not been lifted; you and I are still labouring under the sentence.

Some people teach that Christ has redeemed us from the curse so that when they are in labour they would have no pain or difficulty. Dear sister, do not deceive yourself and do not kill yourself. Through the wisdom of medical science, which is God-given, you can circumvent the effects of the curse. It is not a spiritual fight. It is a battle in which wisdom is a key player.

Dear woman with direction, apply the wisdom that God has made available and you will find yourself sailing through this life and having children without the curse working against you.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. There are many curses in the Bible. There are the curses of Adam and Eve, the curse of Ham, the curse on Jericho, the curse of the Law and the list goes on. Christ Jesus delivered us from the curse of the Law and not from the curse of Adam and Eve.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Galatians 3:13

The curse of the Law can be found in Deuteronomy 28 where Moses outlines the curses that come upon those that do not keep the Law.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deuteronomy 28:15

Please do not make the mistake of equating the curse of the Law with the curse of Adam and Eve.

I will now share with you the key to overcoming this curse.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Confessions for Achieving Pastoral Success

I am a pastor of a glorious church. Behold the glory. I see glory everywhere!

I declare that my church experiences prosperity all the time. There is no lack or need in my ministry!

All my deficiencies are covered by the blood!

God supernaturally helps me to overcome my limitations. My limitation in education cannot keep me from going forward in the ministry!

My church does not borrow money!

My church members give generously to the ministry. Most of my members pay their tithes!

I am not an extortionist. I do not manipulate my church members to get their riches!

I do not put on a show of poverty. I am self-sufficient. I am well paid. I do not behave like a beggar who is in need of a tin of milk or sardines!

I do not need people to feel sorry for me anymore, God has blessed me!

My ministry is reaching the unreached. I am a soul winner!

When I get to Heaven, I will receive a soul winner's crown. Because I am in the ministry, many people will be saved. Many people will go to Heaven because of my ministry!

I have good worship leaders in my church. I have a beautiful choir. God has given me loyal musicians!

Every aspect of the church is working well because God has blessed me with good people!

I am a successful pastor!

I treat my associates well!

I pray for my assistant pastors. My pastors are more and more anointed than they have ever been. They have peace and long life. Their enemies are truly scattered!

I declare that those in the forefront of this ministry have divine protection. The Lord will fight for them. The Lord will keep them from political intimidation and attacks!

Of all that the Father has given me, I have lost none. On the day of Judgement, I will be confident!

I can feel the anointing increasing. I am moving into higher realms of ministry. I receive invitations to minister from around the world!

God gives me divine protection. I am blessed going and I am blessed coming. I am blessed in the city and I am blessed in the field!

By faith, every attack on my ministry shall be quenched. I shall prevail!

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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How Tithers Invoke the Blessings of Almsgiving

Tithes are also used to support the poor and unfortunate in our society. Tithers therefore always invoke the blessings of those who help the poor. When you pay your tithes, you may not have intended to help the poor but you will indirectly contribute to their lives. Tithes contribute to the upkeep of widows, orphans, aliens, and poor people. You can therefore expect many blessings to come your way because you are involved in their support. Everyone who pays tithes has supported the poor and can expect the blessings of those who support the poor to come upon them.

1. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect the blessings of those who obey His Word. Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.

At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. Deuteronomy 14:27-29 (NASB)

2. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to never be in need. HE WHO GIVES TO THE POOR WILL NEVER WANT, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses. Proverbs 28:27 (NASB)

3. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be considered as righteous. BECAUSE I DELIVERED THE POOR that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I PUT ON RIGHTEOUSNESS, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. Job 29:12-16

4. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to stand guiltless before God.

If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;) If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: THEN LET MINE ARM FALL FROM MY SHOULDER BLADE, AND MINE ARM BE BROKEN FROM THE BONE. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure. If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: THIS ALSO WERE AN INIQUITY TO BE PUNISHED BY THE JUDGE: FOR I SHOULD HAVE DENIED THE GOD THAT IS ABOVE. Job 31:16-28

5. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be preserved. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. THE LORD WILL PRESERVE HIM, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

6. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be kept alive on the earth. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and KEEP HIM ALIVE; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

7. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be blessed on the earth. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and HE SHALL BE BLESSED UPON THE EARTH: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

8. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be kept from falling into the will of the enemy. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and THOU WILT NOT DELIVER HIM UNTO THE WILL OF HIS ENEMIES. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

9. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect to be strengthened by God in time of difficulty. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. THE LORD WILL STRENGTHEN HIM UPON THE BED OF LANGUISHING: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. Psalm 41:1-3

10. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect God to take care of them in time of sickness. BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: THOU WILT MAKE ALL HIS BED IN HIS SICKNESS. Psalm 41:1-3

11. Tithing fulfils God’s instruction to support the poor and therefore tithers can expect God to pay back all the tithe they have ever given. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Proverbs 19:17

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Six Aspects of the Healing Anointing

1. The healing anointing prolongs life.

And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. Matthew 8:14–15

The healing anointing heals fevers, sicknesses, headaches, and pains. It also heals heart diseases and cancers. God is a healer and Jesus is a healing Jesus. I remember once I was in a certain city, ministering at a miracle service. A lady came up with breast cancer. As a doctor, I know what breast cancer is. I prayed for her. As I was praying for her, I said, “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed, save me and I will be saved."

Doctors can do very little about breast cancer. Cancer is often a death sentence. This lady went back to the hospital because she was supposed to have an operation. She told the doctors she believed the cancer had vanished. She reported how the doctors examined her and were surprised that the cancer had disappeared.

The healing anointing prolongs your life. The devil wants to shorten your life. But God will give you long life and prolong your days. The healing anointing will extend it! You will live and not die because there is a healing anointing coming your way right now.

2. The healing anointing heals the broken-hearted. The heart of a person speaks of the very centre and core of the human being. A broken heart is a disappointed heart. It is a shocked and bereaved heart. Many broken-hearted people become depressed. I have had many depressed people in my miracle meetings testify about how they felt the spirit of depression leaving them. Thank God for the healing anointing, which can heal the heart. The church is a place where the healing anointing will heal every disappointed heart. Jesus is in the business of healing disappointed hearts. Depression is a common and serious illness.

Suicide is a common thing among depressed people. I have seen different people commit suicide. Medical students have committed suicide. I have seen doctors commit suicide. I have seen men with good jobs in the United Nations commit suicide. I have seen church members with apparently normal and blessed lives commit suicide. These people were probably depressed and felt life was hopeless.

God can heal depression through His power. In the medical world, drugs and electric shocks are used to treat depression. Thank God for the healing anointing, which heals the broken-hearted and depressed people of this world.

3. The healing anointing heals the "will" of men. The healing anointing heals the soul, which consists of the intellect, the will and the emotions of man. The inability of some people to say "no" to things that destroy them is a sign of a diseased will. Some people cannot say "no" to drinking, smoking and sex. The healing anointing heals you of the inability to take decisions.

4. The healing anointing heals the souls of men. He restoreth my soul: Psalm 23:3

The soul is devastated by sin. Our emotions and minds are often damaged by experiences we have had. Through the healing anointing, we receive restoration to our minds, our wills and our emotions. Some people cannot love anyone! Others cannot receive love! These are all symptoms of damaged and wounded people who need healing.

I once watched a documentary of a nineteen-year-old black American who was a serial bank robber. He escaped from jail many times until he was put in a maximum security prison for life. I watched with compassion as this teenager with a diseased mind was caged like an animal for life. Why do you think so many American men are in jail? They are wounded and diseased in their souls. These are people broken by years of discrimination, poverty, racism and fatherlessness.

5. The healing anointing heals men who are demon-possessed. And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of the disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came near to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; AND THEY THAT WERE VEXED WITH UNCLEAN SPIRITS: AND THEY WERE HEALED. Luke 6:17, 18

People who were set free from evil spirits were said to be healed. The healing anointing touches lives afflicted by demons. The healing anointing is not just for the healing of sicknesses but for healing the effects of demon oppression. When the healing anointing is present, it drives away evil spirits.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and HEALING ALL THAT WERE OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL; for God was with him. Acts 10:38

Many people have evil spirits. Anybody who is oppressed by the devil or has any demonic activity in his life needs the healing anointing. Jesus healed people who were vexed with unclean spirits. Demons see people as homes they can live in. Many people who are delivered from evil spirits testify that they feel something going out of them. The human being is like a house with many rooms. Jesus described how evil spirits see human beings as houses where they can live. A house has many rooms. Some of the rooms of the house are used more than others. The rooms of a human being could be his mind, his temperament, his flesh, his heart, his attitude, his emotion, his will and his understanding.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there… Matthew 12:43-45

There are people whose emotions and moods are occupied by evil spirits. Some people become moody so often that it is clear that their moods are occupied by demons. No one is able to stay around such people when they get into their moods.

Some people have evil spirits occupying their sexual lives. Unbridled sexuality is usually caused by the presence of evil spirits. Others have evil spirits in their minds and understanding. Stubbornness and the lack of understanding could well be a sign of the presence of demons. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, healing comes to all these afflicted areas.

6. The healing anointing breaks the yoke. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. Isaiah 10:27

A yoke is something that keeps you captive in such a way that you can't come out. A yoke is something you can't stop or get away from. Blindness and paralysis are yokes. A yoke is a heavy burden that keeps you fixed in a particular state so that your movement and freedom are limited. A cow, which is under a yoke, is fixed in a particular state. It cannot move to the left or to the right. It's under a yoke. A yoke is a fixation. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is a yoke-breaking and a yoke-destroying anointing. It will heal anything that has tied and fixed you. The healing anointing can break the yokes in people’s lives.

Some people seem doomed to die tragically no matter what they do. That is the yoke of death. There are some people who are told by the devil that they will divorce when they marry. Divorce seems to be their destiny. They seem to be destined and tied to unhappiness in marriage. Some nations are under yokes. No matter what they do and what type of governments they have, they go in a particular direction. A yoke is something that is tied around your neck that pulls you in a particular direction. You will realize that almost everything about our lives requires healing. When the healing anointing begins to flow, the burdens will be taken off the shoulders of the people. The yokes will be removed from people through the healing anointing.

Through the anointing, the yokes will be broken and you will have the opportunity to preach to thousands. It is time to gather whole cities!

And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. Mark 1:32-34

The healing anointing is your opportunity to gather the whole city to your church. The healing anointing is our opportunity to gather the whole city to our crusades. The work of God will enter a new dimension when we operate in the healing anointing of Christ.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Why We Must Fight to Protect the Lay Ministry

There is good news for laymen! I have good news for all volunteers who perform their services willingly and without pay. The message that laymen can have a part in this great work is truly good news for those who love God but are unable to give themselves wholly to this calling. This good news is that in a large house, there are many vessels. God is able to use different kinds of vessels to do His work. He can use volunteer vessels and He can use dedicated full-time priests.

You must not allow anyone to destroy this wonderful provision that the Lord has made. It is important that you do not pervert the concept of lay people being in the ministry. The lay ministry must remain pure and must continue as unpaid volunteer work. When the lay ministry is corrupted, volunteers want to be paid and begin to ask for money. Corrupted lay pastors want to be paid for their volunteer services and begin to grasp after benefits.

The leader of a large denomination once lamented about the lay preachers in his denomination who were demanding cross-country vehicles to be given to them on their retirement from the lay ministry. They demanded money and benefits that are reserved for people who do the ministry on a full-time basis. Obviously, the concept of lay ministry was corrupted and changing into something totally different from what it started as.

Every church that has embraced the lay ministry must fight to preserve it. There will always be people who start out as volunteers but metamorphose into hawks who want to be paid for everything they do. When people realise that the church is not as poor as they thought, they see their lay ministry as an alternative job and want to get as much as they can out of it.

Fight the Enemies of Lay Ministry

1. Do not allow people to corrupt the good news that lay people can also work for the Lord.

As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:9

Paul was sure of what he was teaching. He believed in the gospel being sent to the ends of the world free of charge. Freely have you received, freely give. That is the gospel that we preach. Do not give place to people who turn the ministry into a business. No not even for an hour! “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5).

The absence of lay people working for God is a tragedy. The absence of volunteers in a church is a mistake. Everybody can do something for God. If everyone has to be paid for every little thing he does, what hope is there for the church? We are standing in the midst of seven billion souls who need to find Jesus Christ before it is too late. To remove lay people and volunteers is to remove a large section of God’s working force. Let us resist all those who corrupt the lay ministry and destroy the army of the Lord from within.

2. Openly oppose those who corrupt the purity of the ministry. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I SAID UNTO PETER BEFORE THEM ALL, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? Galatians 2:14

Paul opposed Peter when he walked in hypocrisy. He rejected the very scent of corruption as it tried to enter the ministry. We must also reject those who corrupt the ministry! The ministry can be corrupted from many angles, including from the laymen. The lay ministry can be destroyed by those who no longer want to sacrifice themselves for the ministry. If we allow this, there will be no more volunteers in the ministry. Without lay people, most of the world will not be reached and the gospel will be hindered.

3. Do not build the lay ministry and destroy it afterwards. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Galatians 2:18

It is madness to build up an army of volunteers and then destroy it by killing the culture of self-sacrifice. Churches that have worked with lay people must always value them, even when full-time workers become prominent. It is madness to promote lay ministry and later destroy it because you have some new ideas.

4. Do not frustrate the grace of God that works through lay people. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 2:21

When lay people are able to grow a church as though they were full-time priests, it is because of the grace of God. The grace of God helps the layman to do things as though he is in full-time ministry. Through the grace of God, a lay person may minister as though he was a prophet, an apostle, an evangelist, a teacher or a pastor. When the grace of God is at work, a person is supernaturally lifted up.

Unfortunately, some lay people take the grace of God for granted and begin to think that being in full-time ministry is not necessary. They feel that they, as laymen, have been able to accomplish just as much as full-time ministers. They do not realise that it is God who has worked supernaturally to enable them do certain things. Some lay people who are helped so much by the grace of God begin to think they are even better than full-time priests because they are not paid by the church.

5. Do not allow witchcraft in the church to manipulate and corrupt the truth about lay ministry. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Galatians 3:1

People who operate in witchcraft try to manipulate the truth and cast a slur on lay ministry. They attack full-time ministers and say that full-time ministers enjoy benefits while they work for nothing. Such words corrupt the sacrifice of ministry and stir up people to think that they are being cheated. People who once sacrificed their lives happily in the service of the Lord, begin to have an evil eye towards the ministry and no longer want to sacrifice or pay the price. Watch out for witchcraft that prevents people from obeying the truth of God’s Word. As Paul said, “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” Indeed, such people must be feared because they can wipe out the entire volunteer force that is needed to work in the ministry. I remember a lay pastor who wrote a letter to me with a calculation of how many miles his car had driven as he did pastoral work. He wanted the church to pay for his car because of the mileage it had accrued. How sad it is when laymen begin to calculate their sacrifices and present a bill to the Lord.

6. Fight for the birth of the lay ministry. My little children, of whom I TRAVAIL in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4:19

Paul was fighting for Christ to be formed in the church of Galatia. What did Paul mean by that? Paul wanted the character of Christ to be formed in the people who had been born again. What is the character of Christ? It is the character of humility, obedience and self-sacrifice. Such traits do not come to people easily. Such traits do not enter a church easily! A church can easily have a vampire culture in which everyone wants to drink the finances of the church of Jesus Christ. In the vampire culture, no one does anything for free. To change such a culture, you must fight with all your might.

You must travail in birth until the sacrificial and humble character of Christ is formed in your church. You must fight to have an army of volunteers in the church. It is not easy to introduce the culture of sacrifice and volunteer service to a church. In today’s world, everybody wants to be paid. If you fight for this culture, it will successfully be birthed into the church.

7. Cut off the little leaven that will leaven the whole lump.

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:9

You must remove people who do not understand what it means to be a lay pastor. You must urgently eliminate those who are not prepared to sacrifice. If you have instrumentalists who are not prepared to play instruments without being paid, get rid of them. If you have even one musician or talented singer who charges a fee for his services, you must get rid of that person urgently. He will pollute the rest of them and no one will be happy to work for the Lord free of charge. If you have a lay pastor who begins to eye the offering, you must get rid of him. Volunteers must not think about the money that the church receives. A volunteer is there to work for the Lord without charge. If a volunteer wishes to give himself wholly to the ministry, he is welcome to the ministry. But he must not come to the ministry because he sees it as an opportunity to earn some money.

8. Do not be weary of lay ministry. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10

Unfortunately, many volunteers say to themselves, “I’ve had enough of the church. I cannot continue to spend my time and money serving for nothing.” But lay pastors and volunteers must not become tired of the sacrifices they make. The rewards of ministry are great. God has huge harvests waiting for those who have sown the seeds of personal sacrifice and humility. It must be a joy to take up every opportunity that presents itself to lay people. If you are a lawyer, you must be overjoyed that there is a case you can do for the church without charging. If you are an accountant, you must be overjoyed that there are some accounts you can do for the church without charging a fee. What a blessing it is to do something for the Lord!

I noticed how people who became lay pastors in their twenties became weary of the ministry in their forties. Weariness and discouragement had set in! But we must not be weary of well doing. We must continue to work for the King of kings to the very end.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end… Ecclesiastes 12:12

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Examples of Giants (Nephilim)

There were giants (nephilim) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men (gibborIM) which were of old, men of renown (SEM).

Genesis 6:4

Three different types of creatures were produced when angels interacted with human beings: 1. Giants 2. Famous men 3. Tyrants. This chapter deals with the giants who once existed.

Giant Skeletons Chart

There have been several examples of Sem (famous men), Gibbor (bullies and tyrants) and Nephilim (giants) in human history. These men are not easily forgotten because they were unusual. Let us look at real life examples of (Nephilim) giants.

1. A Giant Finger In Egypt

According to the German newspaper, BILD.de, a researcher named Gregor Spörri has presented a number of photos of a mummified giant finger. These incredible images are now being shown to the public for the first time. The finger is 15 inches long and if it is genuine, it belonged to someone who was more than 16 feet tall.

A Giant Finger

Mummified giant finger

This photo was taken during an excavation in 1988.

Could it also be that mega monuments such as some of the pyramids in Egypt, structures in Stonehenge, Easter Island, the Orcadian stones and others were constructed by an ancient race of giants? To our race as human beings, these stones appear incredibly massive, and they are. It is universally accepted that these massive stones and blocks require some type of mechanical advantage to handle and erect them. As large as these stones are, most seem to average about the same height everywhere they are found on Earth. These stones may not have been any much taller than any giants who may have mined, handled and erected them.

2. A Giant’s skull?

This is a greatly disputed picture of a skull purported to be the head of a giant. This “head of Goliath” is purported to have been discovered by a German archaeologist and made headlines in many newspapers.

3. Giants in iRAQ

In Sumerian (Iraqi) text and images, we see evidence of a giant race, such as depicted in the following tablet:

Sumerian tablet with seated giant king.

How tall might this king be if he stood up? The more you study this image the more symbolism you'll find. Note the great detail in the king's attire and cuneiform writing in the clay.

4. Giants in South America

The first accounts of a race of giants living on the Pacific Coast of South America come from the chronicler on Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage in 1520, Antonio Pigafetta.

Pigafetta tells of an entire race of the people who were said to be so tall that the tops of the Europeans’ heads only reached to their waists.

The captain, Magellan, named them “Patagonia” which came to mean “Land of the Bigfeet”. Upon meeting the rest of the people, Magellan was said to be anxious to take a few of them back to Europe. They sent their strongest men to capture two, but the giants fell ill and died on the journey back to Europe.

Sir Francis Drake’s nephew, in his published account of their journeys, told of their encountering massive giants. The voyage of John Byron of the British Royal Navy in the mid-1700s also seemed to confirm the tales. A book published two years after the ship’s return told more stories about the giants.

5. Giants in Wales

There is an ancient copper mine near the coastal town of Llandudno in North Wales. This area rises 220 meters above the Irish Sea, and it is known as the location of the Great Orme Copper Mine. It dates to the Bronze Age, about 3500 years ago. More than 2500 hammers have been recovered at the mine.

It is believed that the mine stretches for many kilometers, with six kilometers already surveyed. It is known to have nine levels within it, and over 1700 tons of copper are known to have been removed from the mine. This is quite a staggering accomplishment for a society of that era without the use of power tools, or at least as we know power tools today.

The largest typical sledgehammer used today weighs 20 pounds, though sledgehammers in the 10 pound class are more commonplace. A grown man (without back trouble yet) can wield a 20-pound hammer, but only for limited amounts of time.

An even bigger 64-pound sledgehammer was found at the copper mine by archeologists. To lift this 60 pound hammer, using only the far end of a 9 foot long handle would be beyond the strength of any man. To swing it with force would be virtually impossible.

So who or what could have wielded one of these? If we scale the size of the ancient people so they could use this tool, the giants at the copper mine may have been perhaps 12 to 18 feet tall, or about 3 times taller than an average human being of today. To put this in perspective, the height of the wall in an average home in the United States built within the last 50 years in any given room is just 8 feet. Perhaps these are the people referred to in the Bible in Genesis, where it says there were giants on the Earth in those days.

6. GIANTS IN GREEK HISTORY

Cyclops

A cyclop, according to Greek and Roman history, was a member of a race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Anointing for Babies and Sucklings

At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Matthew 11:25

Why do babes and sucklings get the anointing of the anointed? Because they believe, they copy completely. Grown-ups do not copy completely and grown-ups do not trust fully. There is a great secret in admiring the anointed and his anointing. This is the secret that babes and suckling have, but grown-ups do not have. You cannot receive from somebody you criticize. The secret of genuine admiration is the secret of babes and sucklings.

John, the youngest disciple, was full of admiration for Jesus whom he had seen, looked upon and handled. (1 John 1:1-2). The discourse of John chapter one reveals his admiration of the Jesus he saw being crucified.

Admiration for a man of God is not the same as hero worship or making a man into God. I am not talking about illegally falling in love with the anointed. Genuine admiration is what is found in babes and sucklings.

You can receive the anointing through genuine admiration. Without genuine admiration your mouth is not open enough to receive from the anointed.

Genuine admiration brings you to a place of relaxation, which makes you open to the anointing. Genuine admiration is a key to the special anointings. It is the feeling of the greatness of the person that opens the door of your spirit to receive the anointing from the anointed.

Do not let the enemy tell you that you are in love with the anointed. Do not let enemy ask you, “Is he God?” Remember that the one who admires most is the one who receives most.

And said unto him, hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Matthew 21:16

The highest form of praise is found in babies and sucklings. It is perfected in children. Breast milk contains everything the baby needs. It is sucklings who catch the anointing of the anointed. The suckling latches on the breast because the breast milk is its stew, sausages, orange juice, water, vitamin C, etc. It is in this group that the perfected ultimate Christianity is found.

When you become a suckling of the anointed it means you have attached yourself with one of the breasts of the anointed and you are drawing power and anointing from the anointed. The highest grade of receptivity to the anointing is found in the babes and sucklings.

Overcome the familiarity that does not allow you to genuinely admire the anointed.

But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, we have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Matthew 11:16-19

Notice why the failures occur with children not dancing or mourning! Note why people did not listen to John the Baptist and how it will happen to you too, but in a different way. Jesus knew they did not dance for John and they would not mourn for Him when the time came.

With a certain attitude, no matter the power or anointing that comes, people do not respond to it. This is the attitude of a vagabond in the market. Nothing impresses or affects him. This is an attitude opposed to the attitude of a babe or suckling. Be careful not to turn into a child that does not respond to greatness around him. John the Baptist came with great power. He was not eating, was fasting all the time, had a sunken look and they said he had a demon.

Jesus came but they did not respond to His eating, drinking and fellowshipping with others.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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The Sweet Influences of the Holy Spirit on Your Level of Obedience

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

And I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU AND CAUSE YOU TO WALK IN MY STATUTES, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASB)

Amazingly, it is the Holy Spirit who helps us to obey the commandments of the Lord. When someone is under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, it becomes easy for him to obey the commandments of the Lord. The very one who gives you the instruction, sends His Spirit to cause you to be obedient. This is why none of us should boast in ourselves. Whatever we are able to do has been given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Do you want to obey God? Do you love God? Are you struggling to be obedient to the commandments of God? Pray to God for the Holy Spirit and you will have the ability to obey Him. He Himself will make you walk in obedience. Do not trust in your own abilities. Bring yourself under the beautiful influence of the Holy Spirit right now.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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The Road to the Anointing-Elisha, the Best Example

Elisha is the best example of someone who chose the anointing.

Elisha is the best example of someone who asked for the anointing.

Elisha is the best example of someone who received the anointing.

Elisha is the best example of someone who used the anointing.

Elisha is the best example of someone who received his spiritual mentor as a father.

Elisha is the best example of someone who served until he received the anointing.

Elisha is the best example of someone who was more anointed than his father.

In three remarkable verses of Scripture, we see the amazing revelation of how Elisha moved from being an ordinary ploughman to becoming the famous and extraordinary prophet who succeeded Elijah.

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

1 Kings 19:19-21

Let us join Elisha on his road to the anointing. You can receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit if you walk the road Elisha walked. Everyone who walks on a particular road ends up at the same place. Roads do not lead to different places for different people!

Seven Steps on the Road to the Anointing

1. Accept the call eagerly.

And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah...

1 Kings 19:20

It is important for you to accept the call of God. God calls many but not everyone accepts the call. Pouting a thousand and one excuses, they give themselves to other pursuits. Many whom God has called choose to live uneventful lives as “normal”, moral, good Christians. In the name of being conscientious parents and responsible citizens, they choose to ignore the call of God.

These people receive a pat on the back from society and friends. They are applauded by the world as the “type” of Christian they want to see.

However, Elisha eagerly ran after the call. God is looking for people who respond eagerly to the offer of ministry.

2. Be a fighting man.

…and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu SHALL ELISHA SLAY.

1 Kings 19: 17

Elisha was a man who could fight with the sword. The Christian life is a battle and the ministry is even more of a battle. Much of the fight goes on in the mind and in the form of temptations, ideas, imaginations, and alternatives to the will of God.

There will be continual pressure to fulfil your natural desires and instincts in the wrong way. Satan will present you with a cocktail of fantastic thoughts, suggestions, deceptions, and delusions. Until your very last day, an array of people, events and circumstances will present themselves as a complicated network of tests and temptations. Devils presenting themselves as angels and angels whom you suspect to be devils, will add to the confusion and the clamour of the battle on this earth.

If you are not prepared to fight, you cannot have the anointing. Paul fought throughout his life and ministry. When he was dying he said, “I have fought a good fight.” You will fight for every drop of the anointing that you ever receive. You will fight for every position that you ever occupy. 3. Be a ploughing man.

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, WHO WAS PLOWING with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth...

1 Kings 19:19

Elisha was ploughing when he was called. Ploughing the ground speaks of hard work. Elisha was a hard-working and diligent person before he was called. The ministry is full of hard work that lasts for many years. Rarely does a lazy person amount to anything in the ministry.

4. Understand what it means when the mantle is thrown on you.

...and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

1 Kings 19:19

It is important for you to understand what is happening in your life. The call of God is mysterious and may be vague.

However, exactly what God is saying and what He intends to do is often hidden from you. It is important to understand the gentle indications that God sends to you.

Elisha could have asked Elijah, “Why did you throw your mantle on me? What are you trying to say? Do you think I need some extra clothes?”

Elisha did not say any of those things. He knew what it meant. He lost interest in his oxen! He did not want his ploughing business anymore! His eyes were lifted up to something higher.

Sometimes when a mantle falls on you, you just have a desire to serve God and to live for him. Sometimes when a mantle falls on you, your interest in secular things dies. Nothing attracts you and no amount of money can lure you. These changes in your life are signs that a mantle has fallen on you.

5. Kill your oxen.

And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat...

1 Kings 19:21

Everybody has something valuable when he is called. It is important to sacrifice what you have and to follow the call of God to its logical conclusion. Every call has a price. Do not think that you are going to have the anointing without paying as high a price as all anointed people do. 6. Leave your family.

...Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee...

1 Kings 19:20

The call often involves some kind of separation from your family. Your family always pays a price for you to live out the call of God.

Many people have a priority list in which they say, God first, family second and then ministry third. I wonder where they got that list from. I do not agree with that priority list.

That is in conflict with what Jesus said.

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:26-27

Husbands, wives, children, brothers and sisters all pay a price because God has called you.

Although the cost of ministry is high, the cost of disobedience is even higher and this is what people do not know.

7. Serve the anointed man.

...Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

1 Kings 19:21

How necessary it is to humbly serve in the house of the Lord. Elisha was known to the public as the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah (2 Kings 3:11). The apostles were known as the servants and disciples of Christ. Joshua was known as the servant of Moses. Before you receive the depth of the anointing, you must become a servant.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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The Sins of a Devil: MURDER

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 8:44

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CRUCIFIED THE LORD of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:8

“One of you is a devil!” How can you know when someone is a devil? When somebody is a devil, he behaves exactly like the devil and kills people just as the devil did!

One of the greatest sins of Satan was to organise the murder of the Son of God. How could you kill the only begotten Son of God, the precious Lamb of God? What wickedness! What a cruel way to deal with the Saviour of the world! Watch out for those who hate Jesus Christ.

Watch out for those who hate Christianity and those who kill Christians. It is the same thing that the princes of this world did to the Son of God. We are children of God. The princes of this world are organising people to fight Christianity. Satan is inspiring people to kill Christians all over the world. The same spirit of Lucifer that organised religious men called Pharisees to kill the Son of God, is organising religious men to kill and murder Christians in different parts of the world.

It is the spirit of Satan that hates Christ and Christians. What you see today is merely a continuation of the crucifixion of the Son of God. When Saul persecuted Christians and killed believers, Jesus appeared to him and asked him, “Why are you persecuting me?” When you kill Christians you are persecuting Jesus Christ Himself! Men of religion have been used by Satan to kill, steal and destroy in the name of religion.

One of the most brutal sins of Satan is the sin of murder. The sin of murder is one of the most wicked activities of a devil. Until you have encountered the senseless murder of an innocent person, you may not understand how evil the sin of murder is. The devil was thrown out of heaven because he was a murderer. Satan has inspired countless numbers of people to become murderers. The devil directly inspires people to become killers. Wherever you see an increase in murder, armed robbery and terrorism, you are seeing an increase in satanic activity. Look at what happened to Job: And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:And the Sabeans fell upon them, and TOOK THEM AWAY; yea, they have SLAIN THE SERVANTS with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath BURNED UP THE SHEEP, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have CARRIED THEM AWAY, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of THE HOUSE, AND IT FELL upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Job 1:12-19

The story above is a wonderful revelation of the satanic power behind robbery, killing, murder and destruction. As soon as Satan was released into the life of Job, several things happened physically. If you are spiritual, you will know that these events are caused by Satan and other demonic powers.

a. Stealing and armed robbery: Job’s oxen and asses were stolen by the armed Sabeans. b. Murder: Job’s servants were killed c. A fire outbreak: Job’s servants and sheep were burned d. The destruction of his transport business: Job’s camels were stolen and the servants killed. e. The destruction of property: Job’s eldest son’s house collapsed. f. Financial loss: Job’s businesses were destroyed. g. Family tragedy: Job’s children were killed.

All attacks on your life that involve stealing, killing and destruction are caused by the devil and his agents. Spending time to bind demonic powers and destroy their plans will protect you from such evil attacks. Men who go around stealing, killing and destroying are walking in the image of Satan and are inspired by the devil himself.

Demon-possessed men have no pity and compassion on the people they harm. Their pitiless hearts reveal the presence of darkness and devils.

The thief cometh not, but for to STEAL, and to KILL, and to DESTROY: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

When you deal with thieves, murderers and destroyers you are dealing with Satan himself. When you allow thieves and destroyers to prosper around you, you are allowing demonic activity to flourish. It is a great mistake for you to open yourself up to thieves and murderers. Deal with the devil in your life by dealing properly with thieves, murderers and destroyers.

The devil comes to steal, to kill and to destroy but Jesus comes to give life. Can Satan affect the circumstances in your life? Indeed, he can. There is enough evidence in the Bible to show that Satan can and does influence circumstances in this life.

When Satan alters circumstances, it is to make them unfavourable, difficult and complicated for you. Most Christians do not realize that Satan is involved in manipulating situations and circumstances. Whenever there is a lot of stealing, killing and destroying you can be sure that demons are on the loose. One day, I saw a spiritual monkey sitting on the burglar-proofing of my window. This was a big monkey, unable to pass through the small holes. I was startled because I realised the creature was trying to enter my room but had been blocked. When your eyes are opened, you will see many creatures attempting to do various kinds of evil against you. They exist in the realm of the spirit and are trying to get to you.

Satan sought permission to attack Job and created a series of circumstances and events which affected Job’s life terribly. Each of the things that happened to Job was an occurrence in the natural, but orchestrated by Satan. If Satan could orchestrate them in the days of Job, then he can orchestrate similar events in today’s world. No one should tell me that Satan has no part in the circumstances of life. Satan can manipulate circumstances in an evil way against your life. I want you to notice all the different things that Satan orchestrated. They are all events that look natural but are manipulated by demons.

1. Satan caused the death of Job’s children. 2. Satan organized the killing of Job’s servants and workers. Satan is a murderer and the author of all forms of murder. Every nation that has a lot of murder has a strong presence of Satan. 3. Satan organized Sabean thieves to attack Job’s business of oxen and asses. 4. Satan organized Chaldean thieves to attack Job’s camel transport system. All the camels were stolen and Job was left without transport. 5. Satan caused a fire to burn down Job’s business of sheep farming and to kill all the workers. 6. Satan orchestrated and initiated financial difficulties in Job’s life by starting a fire that burnt down his business. 7. Satan arranged a great wind or storm to blow over Job’s house. Satan tampered with nature and the weather in order to destroy Job. 8. Satan caused the collapse of Job’s house. Satan physically attacked the home of God’s servant, causing it to collapse. 9. Satan caused the deaths of Job’s children in a freak accident when the house of his eldest son collapsed. 10. Satan orchestrated the funerals of many people in Job’s life. His servants, his children and his loved ones died. Job had no choice than to organize multiple funerals. 11. Satan caused Job to develop a serious illness.

These chronic illnesses which do not kill but harass, intimidate, frighten and threaten the life of people are evil things organized by the devil. Sickness in general, is caused by the devil. But there is a type of circumstance in which the person is greatly intimidated by the presence of a threatening illness. It is not an easy thing to be under threat of death. This is why it is a terrible experience to be on death row, expecting to die at any moment.

Today, there are many people who labour under the foreboding threat of illness and death. This circumstance is caused by Satan. This is what Satan did to Job. Job did not die from the illness that Satan put on him. God was protecting him and he was actually shielded from death.

Burning Down a Night Club

Always remember that Satan can tamper with circumstances so that he can oppose you, frighten you and ultimately destroy you. There was a pastor who struggled to minister in his own church. The atmosphere in the church was dead and anyone who preached there struggled to flow and to minister. Visiting ministers also struggled to flow and no one enjoyed ministering there.

The pastor of the church decided to wait on the Lord about the atmosphere in his church. On the seventh day of his fast, he was kneeling on the stage about three feet behind the pulpit. When he looked up, directly above the pulpit, the ceiling had disappeared. Sitting in the ceiling rafters, directly above the pulpit was a huge spirit that looked like a baboon. He said to the creature, “You’re going to have to come down.” The spirit drew away as if he did not want to obey.

He shouted, “You, come down in the name of Jesus!” This creature fell down onto the pulpit and then jumped onto the floor. The pastor then said to the evil spirit, “Get out of here.” The creature said nothing but looked at the pastor as if to say, “I don’t want to.” “Just march out of here in the name of Jesus,” he said. The baboon marched down off the platform and the pastor marched right behind him. He would go four or five steps and stop and look at the pastor, almost begging. He would not move until the pastor said, “No, go on in the name of Jesus.” They continued to go down the aisle, stopping every four to five steps. Finally, the pastor went ahead of the spirit and held the doors open. Still, the spirit would not go until he said, “In the name of Jesus!” Eventually, the spirit reluctantly moved out of the door. He went down the church steps and got halfway into the churchyard. He stopped again and the pastor had to command him to continue on out of the premises.

“I command you to leave this premises and never come back again in the name of Jesus.” The creature ran across the street and went about a quarter of a mile away from the church. The pastor then described how he watched the spirit run into a nightclub. The next night, to his amazement, the nightclub burnt down. It is amazing how evil spirits can manipulate circumstances and cause fire and destruction. If you are a spiritual person, you need to understand the activity of evil spirits and constantly bind their power lest they take advantage of you or your circumstances.

This pastor later testified that the atmosphere in his church changed completely after that incident. Visiting ministers began to comment on how the atmosphere in his church was radically transformed. It is important to pray and block all attacks of the enemy that come in the form of stealing, killing and destroying. Bind the works and activities of armed robbers in your life! Bind the works of stealing in your life! Curse the power of death, murder and destruction in your life!

From today, every power of wickedness against you is overturned! Armed robbers, thieves and murderers are blocked in Jesus’ name! Every wicked being that looks at your home and plans to attack you goes blind in Jesus’ name! Your enemies are blown away by the east wind. They will be found no more. Murderers and assassins are wiped out in the name of Jesus!

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Demons Cause Physical Changes in Human Beings

…had been often bound with fetters and chains,…and NO MAN HAD STRENGTH TO TAME HIM.

Mark 5:4 (ASV)

And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the MAN IN WHOM THE EVIL SPIRIT WAS LEAPED ON THEM, AND OVERCAME THEM, and PREVAILED AGAINST THEM, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Acts 19:14-16

From these two testimonies, we see that the presence of demons gave unnatural human strength. One madman was able to beat up seven men. That is supernatural strength. The madman of Gadara was able to break chains. It is not natural to be able to break chains with your bare hands. Even the weight lifting champions do not break chains with their bare hands.

This principle provides a very important revelation of the effect that evil spirits have on our physical lives. Evil spirits want to inhabit a human body so that they can affect the person physically. Sickness can be caused by the presence of evil spirits in your body. When you open your life to evil spirits, they can fasten themselves to your body and cause illness.

I read two powerful testimonies from one of Kenneth Hagin's books, which illustrate this principle perfectly. In one of them, a twenty-three year old woman suffering from cancer of the lungs was healed when the demon was cast away. She had been brought to a meeting that Reverend Hagin was holding in a certain town, to be prayed for. As Kenneth Hagin laid hands on her, he suddenly was enveloped in a glory cloud and he saw a little creature which looked like a monkey hanging onto a tree limb, on the outside of the woman's body.

This monkey-like creature was holding on to the woman's left lung where the cancer had started. Reverend Hagin commanded the demon to leave but it refused to go. Then Kenneth Hagin commanded it to leave in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and it fell off the lady's body. It whimpered, and whined and shook like a beaten pup.

Then Kenneth Hagin commanded it to leave the premises and he saw this creature run out of the aisle and walk out of the door.

This lady was completely healed afterwards. That same week she went to see the doctors and they told her that her lungs had been completely healed and marvelled, asking her how it happened.

In the second testimony, a pastor's wife with cancer of the breast was healed as an evil spirit came out of her. The cancer had started in the lady's left breast and had spread to her lymph glands. By the time she got to the doctor, it was too late and they could not do anything for her.

Kenneth Hagin went with his wife and another pastor to pray for her. They continued praying for this lady for two days and two nights. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit told them to go and stand at the head of the bed and command the spirit of doubt and fear to leave. The moment Kenneth Hagin did that, he saw a great black bat, twice as big as a man's hand, just rise up from that dying woman's left breast and fly out of the window.

The woman instantly rose up completely healed. She praised God and danced all over the house. She was totally delivered and set free.

Is it not amazing how the presence of a demon can cause cancer?

When Demons Cause Epilepsy

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, STRAIGHTWAY THE SPIRIT TARE HIM; AND HE FELL ON THE GROUND, AND WALLOWED FOAMING. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:17-29

The presence of the evil spirit made the young man experience chronic convulsions. The evil spirit made him throw himself into the fire. The presence of evil spirits causes all kinds of physical illnesses.

Evil spirits can cause barrenness! Evil spirits cause cancers! Evil spirits cause heart diseases! Evil spirits cause mental illnesses! You should always deal with evil spirits as led by the Spirit of God.

Screaming and Rolling

Some people do not understand why people writhe and scream when demons are going out of them. But the Scripture shows that as Philip ministered, evil spirits came out screaming.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. FOR UNCLEAN SPIRITS, CRYING WITH LOUD VOICE, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:5-8

Screaming and rolling over, are common biblical occurrences. They are signs of evil spirits going out of human beings.

Living Deliciously

There are other physical manifestations of the presence of evil spirits. Some evil spirits cause an accentuation of lustful behaviour. Some people under the influence of evil spirits, are trapped in extreme lustful and immoral behaviour. An unnatural desire and practice of sexuality leads them into all kinds of experiences.

The prophets bewailed Babylon because she had become the habitation of evil spirits. When these evil spirits inhabited Babylon what happened? She committed fornication, lived deliciously, and glorified herself.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. How much she hath glorified herself, and LIVED DELICIOUSLY, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. And the kings of the earth, WHO HAVE COMMITTED FORNI-CATION AND LIVED DELICIOUSLY WITH HER, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Revelation 18:2, 7, 9

How the Birds Came

Babylon is described as a hold for every unclean bird. It is described as a woman who has become the habitation of foul spirits.

Revelation 18:2

But how did these evil spirits come into her in the first place? The Bible gives us the answer. It explains that these evil spirits came because many people drank from the wine of her fornication.

Evil spirits inhabit men and women who give themselves over to fornication with multiple partners (the nations). These evil spirits inhabit the individuals and cause them to live deliciously (immorally) for a season of their lives. Often when these individuals become older and less sexually active, the evil spirits leave them for other younger candidates. Many of these individuals would never reveal the depth to which these lustful spirits have taken them.

Nations and Demons

The pleasurable lifestyles of some nations are often a manifestation of demons in those countries. In certain nations, evil spirits sometimes cause the physical appearance of dirt and underdevelopment. These people are resistant to all forms of improvement. Unrelenting wars in many nations also show demon activity.

Dear Christian friend, evil spirits do have an effect on your physical body. These effects may influence you to indulge in fleshly sins or to be violent. Evil spirits may also cause strange illnesses to fasten themselves onto a believer. The time of ignorance is past. We are no longer ignorant of the wiles of the devil.

Furthermore, by these few pages, my son, be admonished because of making many books there is no end.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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The Mysterious Purposes of Full-Time Ministry

It is time to magnify full-time ministry. I have magnified the lay ministry for years and many have taken that road. As Paul said,

But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry Romans 11:13

Paul made his ministry important by stressing on it and teaching about it. As you know, God has appointed me as a special messenger to you Gentiles. I lay great stress on this and remind the Jews about it as often as I can, Romans 11:13, TLB

It is important to magnify the ministry. Full-time ministry is important. It is the priesthood. It is the fulfilling of the call of God. Full-time ministers are the New Testament Levites. Full-time ministry is mysterious in that it is not easy to perceive or even faintly quantify what a priest does to occupy himself all day long and everyday of the year. Yet, it is the highest calling and the most important work that a person could be involved in. I can confirm this to be a reality. This section of the book will help you to understand some of the hidden purposes, which are accomplished through full-time ministry. Because of the mystique surrounding the work of a priest, little is known about it. That is why I am writing this book.

1. Enter full-time ministry to avoid the neglect of your gift.

NEGLECT NOT the gift that is in thee... 1 Timothy 4:14

Many gifts will be neglected until you give yourself wholly to them! Because these gifts are spiritual, it is not easy to see that they are being neglected. This is one of the reasons why God is calling you to full-time ministry. He wants you to have time to attend to the spiritual gifts and callings on your life.

The first thing I noticed when I entered full-time ministry was how free I was to travel to plant churches and to do the work of God. Without being in full-time ministry, I would not have been able to attend to the work of planting churches. There is no secular job that would accommodate my absence from work for such long periods. It may not be apparent to you, but many things are neglected because people do not give themselves wholly to the ministry.

So Busy in Ministry

One of the mysterious things about my full-time staff is that they are so busy and have hardly any time for anything else. It makes you wonder about what was happening to the issues they attend to now. Obviously, those things were being neglected until they came along to attend to them fully. One medical doctor now in full-time ministry remarked, “I am so busy now and I have no time for anything else.”

He continued, “Yet, a year ago I was equally busy running my hospital.” He said, “It’s amazing. There is so much work to be done and I was busy elsewhere.”

You see, God’s work lies largely undone and neglected. God is calling many to come into His service and do His work and nothing else.

Is There Anything to Do?

When you are a layperson, the largeness of the work to be done is not apparent. Somehow, it is not obvious from the layman’s point of view. That is why newcomers to full-time ministry, who have laboured in banks, hospitals, companies, etc., are genuinely surprised to find themselves inundated with work, which they cannot finish. They are simply amazed at how they are continually exhausted with work which never ends.

I smiled to myself when a lay brother said to me, “Of course I will come to work in the ministry if there is something to do.” There is something to do indeed! The whole world is waiting for us to come to them. God has sent us to tell six billion people about Jesus. Do you think that that is a lot of work? I do, and I think there is a lot of work for as many as are willing.

A song I love says, There are so many jobs in God’s vineyard for all of us to do. The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few There are so many jobs in God’s vineyard for all of us to do We must work while it is day spreading the Word of God As we walk along the way We live to do His will, spreading the Word of God Till it reaches to every hill. We must witness to everyone we meet in every song we sing We must tell them of the soon coming King We must witness to everyone we meet in every song we sing We must tell them of the soon coming King. God called me to be a pastor and a teacher. I could have neglected that gift and spent my days doing something else. For the last several years, I have given attention to my calling. Indeed, it has been several years of growing in the anointing and gifting of the Lord.

2. Full-time ministry is for meditation, reading, exhortation. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 1 Timothy 4:13

Many people do not even understand the purpose for which they are in full-time ministry. One of the principal reasons for full-time ministry is meditation, reading and exhortation. Each of these activities is different and has a unique place.

Reading

When you work in the secular world there is little time for reading. A minister is someone who must be “given” to reading. Reading is one of the most important activities of someone called to full-time ministry.

Reading the Bible and reading other books takes a lot of time and has no substitute. Unfortunately, many who are in full-time ministry do not do the very thing for which they became full-time ministers. Forgive!

Reading is not regarded as work. It is generally seen as something to be done in one’s leisure. Sadly, many pastors do not understand that reading is their God-given work. As you read, you go deeper into the things of God. Your depth determines the height you can climb to.

I have found reading to be even more important than praying. Reading has opened doors for me and lifted me to new heights in ministry.

Meditation

The church is filled with ministers who glance briefly at Scriptures and read over large portions rapidly. That is why there is a lack of personal revelation. Sermons are empty and there is no depth in what is being said. Instead of spending hours meditating, ministers love to repeat and relay the revelations of others who have sought God and meditated on His Word. Meditation is thinking deeply about God’s Word. Indeed, the lack of meditation is the cause of a lack of personal conviction.

Both Kenneth Hagin and Rick Joyner have had powerful visions. I love reading their visions and benefiting spiritually from them. I long for visions from the Lord that will teach me precious hidden truths. However, I cannot spend my whole life waiting for a vision, I have to do what all ministers are supposed to do - meditation.

Sometimes people have visions that are deep revelations about the Word. God gives these supernatural blessings. However, most of us will not have these special revelations. We will have to depend on meditation. I can always tell when I speak to someone who meditates on the Word of God. He is full of wisdom and understanding. It is dangerous to relay the messages of others without taking the time to meditate for yourself. You could easily become a false prophet reading out dead sermons whose relevance have expired.

Exhortation

Exhortation is all about sharing the Word with one another. I love to share the Word with anybody who loves the Word. It is sweet like honey and tasty like spicy, grilled pork chops. It is such a delight for me to share wonderful truths with small groups and individuals.

What people do not realize is that, as you share, you become more grounded in the truth. You understand and remember the Word better. Exhortation helps you to preach better. That is why exhortation is important for full-time ministers. Just like reading and meditation, it grooms you for your ministry. 3. Full-time ministry is to ensure salvation. ...for in doing this thou shalt both SAVE THYSELF, and them that hear thee. 1 Timothy 4:16

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ENSURE SALVATION both for yourself and for those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:15-16, NASB

One of the mysterious purposes of full-time ministry is to ensure salvation and to save yourself. How can that be? If God has called you to ministry, it would be dangerous to do anything else. Paul said, “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel”. He also said, “necessity is laid upon me”. In other words, it is very necessary that I preach the Word.

If your boss sent for you, wouldn’t you go? If you did not go when you were called what would happen? He is likely to dismiss you for refusing to come when called. That is why servants are quick to respond and ready to do anything. Servants want to keep their jobs and their lives. There are people who have died prematurely because they refused to give themselves wholly to God’s calling.

Years ago, a young man said to me, “God has called me to ministry. I want to be in full-time ministry.” But I told him, “There is no opportunity for you to work in the ministry at this time.” But he insisted, “If I don’t work for the Lord in full-time ministry, I feel that I will die.” “Wow,” I said. “I know that feeling.” I allowed him to be in full-time ministry and today he has a great church and ministry. “Woe is me” simply means something terrible will happen to me. You see, the genuine call of God leaves you with no options. Who are you to refuse God’s outstretched hand?

Do you know the One who has called you? He is El Shaddai, the Almighty God.

Do You Dare Disobey This Call?

Jonah experienced the terror of rejecting the call of God. Rejecting the call to full-time ministry will only provoke the storms of life and prepare the whales in the sea to receive you. By rejecting the call of God, Jonah walked right into the storms of life. He fell into the hands of wicked men who heartlessly threw him overboard. As if that was not enough, he was swallowed by a big fish and stayed in the belly of the fish for some days. Finally, he was vomited out and given a second chance to obey the call of God. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the SECOND TIME, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you. Jonah 3:1-2, NASB

Expect storms and expect wicked people to take over your life if you disobey the Master. God controls everything. When Jonah had a bad attitude, the Lord appointed a plant to cover him and then sent a worm to eat the plant. God also sent the wind to Jonah. This illustrates the almighty power of the One who calls us. So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.

But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.” Jonah 4:6-8, NASB

Even the growing of a plant and the movement of a worm are determined by God. I believe there are many people whose lives are ruined because they failed to come into full-time ministry. Their lives are ruined because they could not trust and obey God. Sadly, some people even lose their salvation by running away from full-time ministry. This is why Paul said giving yourself wholly would ensure salvation. Our very lives depend on obeying God. You can make light of God’s call, but you may pay dearly for it.

4. Full-time ministry sets a good example.

...that thy profiting may APPEAR TO ALL. 1 Timothy 4:15

Several good examples are set when you enter full-time ministry. You set an example of faith and of trusting in God. Full-time ministry sets an example of loving God and obeying Him. Full-time ministry demonstrates that you believe in the sacrifice of the cross. You have taken up your cross and are following the Saviour.

Full-time ministry sets a good example of implementing the Scriptures practically. It makes you a doer of the Word. Interestingly, we cannot relate with large sections of the Scriptures unless the model of full-time ministry is practised. Many of the truths relating to the tabernacle, the Levites and the priests have no relevance to people who do not practise the complete dedication that full-time ministry requires. Many things that Paul said about the ministry relate to people who are completely immersed in ministry.

Many of his struggles and teachings are from the perspective of someone completely dedicated to the service of God. Even the often-quoted Scripture, “My God shall supply all your needs” had to do with him receiving support in full-time ministry. The famous verse in Galatians 6:7 about reaping what you sow is also related to him receiving financial support for full-time ministry.

5. Full-time ministry permits the continuation of your ministry. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; CONTINUE IN THEM… 1 Timothy 4:16

Many people practise a part-time ministry, giving God some weekends and some evenings of their lives. This is all well and good and sometimes is a necessary phase of ministry. However, full-time ministry is a logical continuation of the lay ministry. What you have done for years on a part-time basis can be continued and upgraded in full-time ministry. It is indeed a privilege to have the opportunity to continue to fulfil your call at a higher level. If God has called you to the ministry, pray for the opportunity to go all the way. I have experienced both lay ministry and full-time ministry. I can tell you, it is the greatest blessing to give yourself wholly to the Lord.

6.Full-time ministry is for the protection of yourself and your message. TAKE HEED unto THYSELF, and UNTO THE DOCTRINE; continue in them... 1 Timothy 4:16

An ambassador is a special envoy with a special message. Every minister is an ambassador.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

It is important that a messenger does not change the message he was given. The messenger himself must not be corrupted or swayed by the people. He must be faithful to the one who sent him. Recently, I needed to send a message to someone. The message was a very hard message of judgment. I did not want to do it myself so I looked for a messenger. Somehow, I knew that each of the people I was thinking of would modify the message.

They would say things differently and tone the message down. Then I got discouraged and gave up the idea of delivering that message. I understood why God had said, “Who will go for me?” I began to identify with God’s problem of finding a faithful, reliable messenger who would deliver the truth without compromise. Unfortunately, the very sight of the recipients of the message frightens the messengers and they come up with amazing variants of the original.

In full-time ministry, spending more time with the Lord ensures that you protect the doctrine and the message given to you. It is easy to deliver a mutant of the original message.

I believe that much of what is preached currently is a mutation of God’s Word. Because Scriptures and Bibles are used in the pulpit, innocent and ignorant people swallow the modified messages of the modern church. Listening to present-day preaching would leave any genuine student of the Bible wondering. Rick Joyner, in his vision of the Final Quest described how he met the apostle Paul. He asked Paul for any comments he had about the church. Paul had one comment. He said he could not recognize the message nor the ministry of the present-day church. Paul said the message of the first church was the message of the cross and that message had been quickly lost by the church. How sad!

I am not surprised that Paul cannot recognize what we are preaching. Many messages centre on the felt needs of people. These felt needs in Christian parlance are called blessings - things that people feel, need and want. Things like money, cars, houses, children, visas, jobs, wives, husbands and how to acquire them, take centre stage of most teachings.

In addition, many messages sound like good advice for successful living. Most of the preaching has very little divine and mystical content.

Where are the sermons on salvation and the blood of Jesus? What about the cross, Heaven and Hell? Can we even preach about sacrifice in this lukewarm Laodecian church? What about eternity and the power of God? Full-time ministry is intended to give you time for attending to God and His Word. A full-time ministry of meditation, Bible study, waiting on God and praying, will help us to protect the message and the doctrine of the church.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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conferencenotes-blog1 · 5 years

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Masters of Speed

And GO QUICKLY, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. Matthew 28:7

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and GO QUICKLY unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.

Numbers 16:46

SERPENTS ARE WISE BECAUSE THEY MOVE WITH SPEED

Most snakes are feared because of their venomous bites. But the black mamba , which has been called ‘death incarnate’ by some biologists, has an even more fearsome reputation. It has been called the most dangerous snake in the world because of its aggression and speed. Certainly the black mamba is the most feared snake in Africa. Why is that?

The black mamba is very fast and agile. A group of people are usually required to kill it. When cornered, it strikes in all directions while a third of its body is suspended above the ground. Over short distances it can move at up to 5.4metres per second which is almost 20 kilometres per hour and faster than most people can sprint. The black mamba can travel with a third of its body raised off the ground and can move quickly on trees, on the ground or in water. The speed and aggression of the black mamba make it one of the most successful snakes of all time. You will achieve great success if you learn to do things aggressively and with speed. Speed is a very important quality and most races and competitions exist to determine how fast you can go.

The strike of a snake is so fast that you may just feel the prick but never see the snake itself. Some vipers can go from being coiled up to opening its mouth, unfolding its fangs, lunging, biting and injecting venom to folding its fangs back again, closing its mouth and returning to a coiled up position in a fraction of a second. Like I said, the human eye cannot follow the strike. It is so swift! So, what is the speed of your strike? What is the speed of your response to God’s call? What is the speed of your obedience to the will of God? How swift are you when you are responding to God?

Most competitions exist to uncover and discover people’s capacity for speed: the speed of dogs, the speed of horses, the speed of cars, the speed of planes and the speed of human beings! A lot of money can be earned if you are fast. In the ministry, a lot of things also respond to speed. The slower you are, the more unsuccessful you will be in the work of God. To be wise as a serpent you must increase your speed! You must increase your speed in the many different areas of your life and ministry. In the next section, I want to show you certain critical areas where speed is important. You must critically increase your speed in all these areas.

Ten Areas to Increase Your Speed

1.Increase your speed by responding to your call quickly. If God has called you, you must answer the call quickly and you must obey what God has said. Everything changes when there are delays.

Everything changes when you do not respond quickly. If you read the bible you will discover many people who obeyed God immediately. I have been a pastor for twenty-five years and I have encouraged many people to work for the Lord. Actually, my ministry has hinged around encouraging people to serve the Lord.

The reality I have observed over the years is that people who do not quickly respond to the call of God eventually do not respond at all. All kinds of delays, slowness and excuses are the reasons why people do not end up in the ministry. You need to be quick to accept that God has called you. You need to be quick to obey His will for you!

When the apostle Paul received the call of God, he immediately began to preach. All those who do not start immediately end up not starting! A thousand excuses are given for not doing what is right, but the end result is the same. No speed, no ministry!

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and IMMEDIATELY HE BEGAN TO PROCLAIM JESUS in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” Acts 9:17-20 (NASB)

2. Increase your speed by responding quickly to visions.

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” WHEN HE HAD SEEN THE VISION, IMMEDIATELY WE SOUGHT TO GO into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; Acts 16:9-11 (NASB)

When the apostle Paul had the vision to go to Macedonia he responded immediately. What has God told you? What has He asked you to do? How many years are you going to take to do what you have been told to do? I am glad I obeyed the call of God when I was twenty-five years old. There have been many reasons why I should have done something else. Within a year of my medical training, I moved quickly into full time ministry. I have been in full time ministry all my working life. I have no regrets for starting early. There are many people who wish they had done what I did twenty years ago. They contemplated, they dreamt, they imagined but they never took the step. Speed is important if you are to fulfil the will of the Lord.

3. Increase your speed by quickly leaving the world behind you quickly. Notice how Andrew and Peter left their fishing nets and followed Jesus. They did it immediately. “

As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” IMMEDIATELY, they left their nets and followed Him” (Mark 1:16-18).

Don’t hesitate to leave your worldly friends behind. Don’t hesitate to leave your old school mates behind. Don’t hesitate to leave your old career behind. It is nothing! It is nothing! It is dung! I walked away from the world as soon as I finished my internship. I have no regrets that I did it so quickly.

4.Increase your speed by starting your ministry quickly.

Speed is most important when it comes to the start of your ministry. Ministry is a long road with many painful hurdles. No matter how you delay the start of the journey, the hurdles will remain in place, waiting for you to arrive there. If you wait too long, you will get to those hurdles by the time you are a worn out old man. The hurdles will not have pity for you. The hurdles will not be lowered because of your age. The hurdles will not be reduced because you had a late start. The earlier and quicker you begin your ministry, the earlier and quicker you will get past certain hurdles. I am grateful to God for the chance I had to start a church whilst I was a student. Although I was just following my zealous love for the Lord, I did not know that I was making one of the wisest moves of my whole life by starting quickly.

When Peter’s mother in law was healed, she rose up and immediately began ministering. All examples of successful ministry involve people who rise up and start their ministry immediately. Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.

And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and SHE IMMEDIATELY GOT UP AND WAITED ON THEM. While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Luke 4:38-40 (NASB)

5.Increase your speed of recognizing anointed people.

When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. When they got out of the boat, IMMEDIATELY THE PEOPLE RECOGNIZED HIM, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured. Mark 6:53-56 (NASB)

In the passage above, we see how the multitudes recognized the anointing and the anointed one. Because they recognized the anointing, they received their healing. Those who did not recognize the anointing, did not come out of their houses to receive a blessing.

Over the years I have treasured certain people because I recognized them as anointed men. People have wondered why I make a fuss about certain anointed men. If you are spiritual, you will recognize and respect people just because of the anointing on their lives. Sometimes it is not easy to recognize a great anointing. You must become sensitive to the anointing and recognize it quickly. Why is that? When you do not recognize anointed people quickly, you may criticize them instead. Anointed people are sent into your life at a particular season. They are also sent for a particular reason.

Kenneth Hagin was sent into my life so that I could receive an anointing and a ministry. Through the anointing on his life, I received a ministry and became anointed to do what I am doing. I loved his tapes so much and I enjoyed listening his messages. I would share them with others but no one seemed to find them as special as I did. One night, in 1988, whilst listening to Kenneth Hagin, the power of God fell on me and I became anointed to teach.

That teaching anointing has given me the opportunity to build churches, have conferences, conduct crusades, raise up pastors and do many other things. I pray for you that you will recognize anointed people when they are sent to you. You will miss your blessing if you do not quickly recognize people that are sent into your life.

6.Increase your speed of tackling the harvest. And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows -- how, he himself does not know. “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. “But when the crop permits, HE IMMEDIATELY PUTS IN THE SICKLE, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29 (NASB)

Why was the Holy Spirit given? So that we will go out and be witnesses to the ends of the earth! When the church stops winning souls it falls into darkness and the Holy Spirit departs.

The harvest is waiting for you and for me. As Christians have dedicated themselves to rejoicing in affluent cities, other religions have crept in unawares and taken over vast regions of forgotten souls. Many pastors do not do any evangelism or crusades. ‘When I am as rich as those famous American evangelists, I will also do such things’ they say. Be careful my friend. The blood of many unsaved people will be required at your hand. Souls are parting as we live today! Souls will part as the days go by! How many really will die in Christ? How many really will live again?

7. Increase your speed by quickly moving away from those who reject you.

Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Luke 8:37

Many people will not believe in you. Not everyone will believe in your call. You must be quick to turn away from those who do not believe in you, otherwise your real ministry will be quenched. There are always some people who love you, who like you and who want to hear you. Be quick to turn in that direction and avoid those who despise you.

8. Increase your speed by being quick to detect disloyalty

Immediately Jesus, aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, “Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? Mark 2:3-9 (NASB)

Another area you must develop swiftness in is your ability to detect disloyal, disgruntled and discontented people. Jesus Christ sensed the rejection and despisement in the Pharisees. When you do not detect and diagnose disloyalty quickly, it grows and infects others. Your whole church and ministry can be destroyed because you do not detect disloyalty quickly. To be quick at detecting disloyalty, see my book Loyalty and Disloyalty, especially the chapter on Signs of Disloyalty.

9. Increase your speed by being quick to identify potential leaders Another important area where you must be fast is in identifying potential leaders. The leaders of tomorrow are all around you. The wonderful people you will need are all around you. In order to do well in ministry, you must identify potential leaders and great people around you. If you do not recognize them, another ministry will. Other people will identify the people you rejected and use them for great things. When you meet them, you will be amazed at what they have been trained to do. For more on how to identify potential leaders see my book, The Art of Leadership.

Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. IMMEDIATELY HE CALLED THEM; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him. Mark 1:19-20 (NASB)

10. Increase your speed by being quick to root out foolishness

“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? “For anger slays the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple. “I HAVE SEEN THE FOOLISH TAKING ROOT, AND I CURSED HIS ABODE IMMEDIATELY. “His sons are far from safety, they are even oppressed in the gate, and there is no deliverer. Job 5:1-4 (NASB)

It is important to root out foolishness quickly. Disorderly, rebellious and disobedient people are dangerous because they have a way of spreading their poison. Many under-developed countries are poor because of a culture of allowing foolishness to take root. All sorts of things are allowed in the name of not offending people.

Visit a poor country and you will find roads meant for cars that are used as markets. Kiosks and containers line the pavements, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the roads.

Slums of shacks, kiosks and containers are allowed to expand and take over the city because politicians, fearing they may lose popularity, refuse to root out disorderliness.

In such countries, you will find the city authorities come up years after they should have prevented the development of these slums, to demolish and destroy poor people’s homes, treating the people like animals. This unfortunate style of leadership is due to a lack of speed in those who lead.

by Dag Heward-Mills

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