It’s Time to Seek the Lord

It is time to seek the Lord. This is nothing but a spiritual warfare. No arm of the flesh such as social distancing, washing hands ten times or running and hiding or closing of shops can save us. It may help, in some way to reduce the number of death and delay the onslaught of the hordes of hell, but it is not the solution. Definitely not! This is a spiritual warfare and we must fight it from the realm of the spirit. Principalities and powers, rulers of darkness are responsible for what we see and they are bent on killing, stealing our liberty, dividing our families and destroying our businesses and ways of life. They are bent to frighten us into submission, despair, despondency, hopelessness and depression. They are bent on stealing the confidence we have in our God. They want us to doubt the God we serve and His ability to preserve and protect.

It is time to seek the Lord like Jehoshaphat did when Judah was suddenly threatened by many nations in an evil alliance that was formidable, overwhelming, and frightening beyond belief. They were like the sands of the seas. 2Chro20

The King at the time even feared at the onset of the bad news. But thank God he plucked up courage and knew what to do. He knew that no amount of soldiers or armament would save them at that time but the intervention of God almighty. Similarly, we cannot save ourselves at this time by any preparedness, washing of hands, amassing of hand sanitizers or face-masks or development of vaccines or closing of borders. Much as it is good to do what we can in the natural, but our primary armament is spiritual and we need to realise this and harness it immediately and not curtail it. This is the time for the Church to rise up and be a light in her world, the salt of the earth and the city on a hill. This is the time for the leaders to call for prayers and call on God to intervene and stop the powers of darkness in their tracks. Their ploy is to use fear to dispossess us of our inheritance, our way of life, our freedom to worship, our liberty to go about our daily businesses; our ability to socialise with each other. Their strategy is to divide families, divide countries, and create suspicion of each other, “Is he carrying the virus or is she carrying the virus?” The enemy wants to divide and rule. Some are pointing the finger here and there blaming the government for not closing the borders early or not closing schools early or not having enough ventilators or masks. People are looking for scape-goats because the god of this age has blinded their eyes, making them to pursue shadows instead of seeing who the real enemy is- Satan and his cohorts.

This is the kind of prayers we should be praying:

“O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

⁷      Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

⁸      And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,

⁹      ‘If disaster comes upon us — sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine — we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.‘

¹⁰   And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir — whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them —

¹¹   here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

¹²   O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

It is a spiritual warfare.  And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, not man-made but have divine power to pull down, demolish every stronghold and every pretentions of the enemy. We need to deploy our spiritual weapons: 2Cor10:4-5

Helmet of salvation– We need to protect our minds from the constant bombardment of the media of the death toll in various countries and rate of infection to cause alarm and fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear but that of love power and sound mind. We need to limit the diet of fear spun out incessantly and feed on the word of faith. Through our God we shall do valiantly. If God be for us who can be against us?  We have the mind of Christ. God is our Refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble. Let the mountain be moved and be carried into the midst of the sea, we shall not be moved. We know whom we serve and whom we have believed. It shall be unto us as His word has said. We will not die but live to declare His word. We will not die before our time. A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand but the evil will not come near us. If the Lord delights in us, He will keep us and protect us. Let us think positive in line with God’s will for us.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰   Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

¹¹   Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹²   For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

¹³   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴   Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵   and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶   above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

¹⁷   And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

¹⁸   praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —

Stop dwelling on the horror stories!

Meditate on These Things

⁸              Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²      I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

³      Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

⁴      He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

⁵      You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

⁶      Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷      A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

⁸      Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹      Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

¹⁰   No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

¹¹   For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

¹²   In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

¹³   You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴   “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

¹⁵   He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶   With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

God is our refuge and our strength. 

        The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

²      When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.

³      Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.

⁴      One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

⁵      For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

⁶      And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Ps27:1-6

⁴      Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵      You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

⁶      Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Ps23:4-6

Let us be like Joshua and Caleb , “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Let us quit speaking like the 10 spies who spoke fear, death, disaster, hopelessness despair:

“The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.

³³   There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Let us speak words of faith and not fear. Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord. Those who know their God shall be strong and shall do great exploits. If God be for us who can be against us.

⁶      But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

⁷      and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.

⁸      If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’

⁹      Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”

Let us affirm like Paul:

³⁴   Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

³⁵   Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁷   Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

³⁸   For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

³⁹   nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us not be ensnared by the words of our mouth. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Therefore let us speak life and not death.  Let us guard our hearts diligently because out it stems the forces of life.

Let us put on the breastplate of right-standing and affirm who we are in Christ- the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are covered by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus speaks for us.

 “ When I see the blood I will pass over.” Jesus is our Passover.

Let us put on the belt of truth as to expose all the lies of the enemy flooding the internet, radio and television and social media platforms. We are not ignorant of the devices of the enemy. God has not given us a spirit of fear but that of love, power and sound mind.

Using the shoes of the gospel let us share the good news of what God has done in times past and what He is doing even now amidst the atrocities of the Corona virus incidence. Let us never speak as those who do not have hope. When David arrived at the battle front, all the soldiers were quaking in their boots because of the boasting of Goliath and his imposing stature, but David saw beyond him and started bragging about his God and what He had done in times past. He lifted the spirits of those around that they went to tell the king about him. Yes this little teenager offered to bring down Goliath and when given the opportunity he did because he knew his God. Similarly you must know your God at this time and affirm His power to save.

You must use your shield of faith to quench every fiery dart of the enemy that is flying around in the news. Feed your faith and not your fear. Be discipline to turn off the radio, TV or media you get your news from and read the word of God to build you up and encourage you. We have a more sure word of prophecy. The promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Christ in us our hope of glory.  Our lives are hidden in Christ in God.

Use the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. It is powerful, dynamic, living, sharper than any two edge sword.  Mediate on what God said to you and saying to you:

Fear not. I am with you. Be not afraid, neither be you dismayed because I am your God. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand of rightness and justice.

Fear not. You are mine. I have called you by name. When you go through the fire the flame will not kindle upon you, when you go through the rivers, you will not drown. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and be of good courage. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Be strong and courageous. Not be afraid. Do not be discouraged because of the foes. In spite of their vastness, think of the Lord’s greatness. With them is the arm of the flesh but with us the Lord of hosts.

Thanks be to God who always gives us the victory. Because of your mercies, we are not consumed. Your mercies are new every morning and great is your faithfulness.

This should be your daily diet- not fear, death, despair, hopelessness, famine and strife. Release the ability of God and not the ability of Satan. Believe more in the ability of God to keep than in the ability of Satan to destroy.

Sing: Thanks Be To God

fennywestsongs.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/thanks-be-to-god-by-fenny-west/

The Kingdom of God suffers violence
But the violent takes it by force
The Kingdom of God suffers violence
But the violent takes it by force

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
And by the Word of their testimony
They loved not their lives even unto death
But thanks be to God
Who always gives us the victory
thanks be to God
Who always gives us the victory
thanks be to God
Who always gives us the vi—–ctory

Bridge
What do we have in Jesus’ Name?
Victory!
What do we have in Jesus’ Name?
Victory!
What do we have in Jesus’ Name?
Vic——-tory! 3x

©Fenny West2020

http://www.inspiration4generations.com

It’s time to seek the Lord like Jehoshaphat did. It’s time to acknowledge that the arm of the flesh will not do. The King called for a time of national fasting and praying. That is what we should be doing more than any other thing. Unless the Lord builds the house, the labourers build in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen watch in vain. It’s time to acknowledge like the King did:

“For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

It is time for us to repent for national sins and invoke the Word of God that says: ¹⁴        if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The Church must spearhead this and push back the powers of darkness. The Church must pray so that the leaders of the nations will realise that this is a spiritual warfare and only spiritual weapons will do.

Yes, It’s time to seek the Lord like Nehemiah did. It’s time to seek the Lord, like Daniel did and when we do, Corona will die and be gone. It will be defeated and killed- dead in its tracks and we will have our streets back, have our jobs back, have our freedom back, have our families back, have our health back and have our joy back and have our freedom of worship back in Jesus’ Name.