THINGS GOD GAVE MAN BEFORE HE GAVE HIM A WOMAN

What does it require before you begin to talk about marriage?

Genesis 1:24 says: Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.(NKJV)

Genesis 1:25 says: And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.(NKJV)

This is the first thing that God instituted; it is called the seed principle. Every seed has the capacity to reproduce its kind. In life you reproduce what you are carrying. Sometimes it comes in form of attitude. You may teach what you know but you reproduce what you are.

Whenever a man gives his life to Christ, he takes upon him the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 says: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.(KJV)

God created everything according to its kind. God also has a seed and so, He reproduce according to His kind. The bible said in:

Genesis 1:26 says: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."(NKJV)

God’s tool for creation is the word. God spoke to the waters and they formed all kinds of creatures, all of them came out of the water. All the things He created had a source which is Him and they must remain connected to their source for them to survive. For the stars, animals, man, vegetations and the rest must remain connected to their source to remain alive. When God wanted to create man, He spoke to himself and said “Lets make man in our own image and likeness”.

Every human being has a place in him/her for God to dwell. Man is the only creature that can harbor the spirit of God. 

1. GOD GAVE MAN IDENTITY.

The first thing that satan questioned was man’s identity. 

Genesis 3:1-5 says: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."' Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."(NKJV)

God already created Adam and Eve to be like Him. This was what enabled Adam to name all the creatures. Satan has not changed, the first thing he does is to make you doubt God’s love for you, doubt who you, doubt God’s investment in you, he makes you doubt your identity. If you don’t know who you are, there is no way you can successfully fulfill divine purpose in your life. You must know who you are even in your marriage.

Singleness is not a state of been unmarried, is the state of completeness. You cannot have a successful marriage until you are single. Until you have what you contribute in your marriage, you cannot be successful in it. 

The marriage that God designed is the marriage of two givers. When you have a marriage of two takers, you should know its satan’s design. What defines your identity is what God said about you. Your identity is not defined by your circumstances.

Nobody is born by biological accident. There is no illegitimate child. Before you were born, God thought of your birth. God designs the end from the beginning but still, it is your choice. For example, God has designed that everyone should be saved, but not all will be saved because man still has choice.

The knowledge of the fact that you are not on earth by accident gives you a great confidence. There is a reason for you to be in the world. Nobody can intimidate you if you have a proper knowledge of who you are, it doesn’t matter where the person has been or what he has done or achieved. If you are a woman in this direction, you will be successful in your marriage.

You are the one that determine your identity before others, you are the one that grants permission, you have control and can determine whether someday should despise you or not. The way you view yourself is the way others will view you. Don’t let people classify you else they will put you where they want. Who is the person you see in the mirror? Understand that you are the image and likeness of God and nobody will intimidate you. Have confidence and believe in yourself. Know yourself, celebrate yourself and don’t look down on yourself. 

Numbers 13:1-4 says: And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;(NKJV)

Numbers 13:17 says: Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains,(NKJV)

God has given the children of Israel a land and has given them the tools and techniques to reclaim the land because the occupants are illegal occupants. You must have a true knowledge of every land that God has given you.  You are supposed to be significance in everything you have passion for. If you want to change Nigeria, then you must have a thorough knowledge of politics, you must be well educated. 

Numbers 13:25-33 says: And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "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. 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."(NKJV)

Is understandable for you to know yourself, but how do you understand how others view you.

How did these people know the way they look. They concluded the way the saw themselves is the way others saw them. You must view yourself the way God view you. As a lady, you must have confidence in yourself and never allow any man to misdirect you.

2. THE SECOND THING THAT GOD GAVE MAN WAS ACCOMMODATION. 

Genesis 2:8 says; The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.(NKJV)

The concept here is independence. God planted a garden and placed two of them to be together. Before you get ready for marriage, you must first be independent. Until you are complete and independent, you don’t have anything to offer another person. 

3. GOD GAVE HIM A JOB

Genesis 2:15 says: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.(KJV)

This is a source of income. A man wants to get married and he does not have source of income. How can his marriage work efficiently? You must be emotionally and financially independent before you begin to think about marriage. You cannot do well in marriage if you don’t know how to tend things. You must be able to manage things. A man should be tested in his ability to tend things.

Before you talk about marrying somebody, you must know his principles. What does he stand for, what is his integrity, what are the rules that guide him? If you don’t know where you are going to how do you then direct somebody. 

4. GOD GAVE THE MAN A SPOUSE

3 FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSES OF THE CHURCH

This is what God designed the church for, that is the mission of the church.

The main purpose of the church is to establish God’s kingdom on earth. The kingdom of God is not necessarily a geographical area. It is any place where the word of the king is law.

The first thing we are to do as a church is to spread the principles of the church. When someone gives his life to Christ, salvation is established. The next thing that shows up is personal transformation.

The second thing the church exists for is the salvation of the lost. This is because spiritual transformation must precede personal transformation.

Thirdly, developing deliverance. In every sphere God has placed you, you have to be an agent of change and spread God’s principle over there. There has to be practical relevance of the scripture you are reading. This is what makes you a leader in that place. 

THREE FACTORS THAT WILL HELP YOU BECOME A DELIVERER.

Time and its characteristics. For you to become a deliverer, you need to understand time and its characteristics. You need to know the time and season you are in.

Luke 19:44 says: and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."(NKJV)

The knowledge of time is key. Time is precious and it should not be wasted.  

Learn the lessons of history. In the church there is history, in your individual life there is also history. If you want to live after a great person like mother Theresa, then you need to study her life history and the kind of person she was.

Understand the gospel of the kingdom which consists of grace and work. When you get born again, you don’t just stop there.

Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.(NKJV)

Redemption is not the establishment of God’s program. There has to be a combination of grace and good works and this will bring about transformation. If salvation is the end then, we won’t change.

Dominion City Lekki Invites You To Her Valentine Day Meeting.

Come and learn what makes a marriage work, the causes of marriage success and marriage failures, what it takes to get married and the principles that will guide you in maintaining a good relationship and finding a good partner. Singles and married are all invited!!!

Date: 14th February 2014
Time: 6:00pm & Sunday
Venue: Protea Oakwood Hotel by,
Chevron Round About,
Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos

ENCOUNTER! ENCOUNTER!! ENCOUNTER!!!
.............................................................................................
Encounter Retreat is is here again...
Come and encounter God and experience His mighty power and glory. The first in the year of His Manifest Glory. Be blessed as you come!!!

VENUE: REDEMPTION CAMP, LAGOS IBADAN EXP. WAY
DATE: Thur. 20th – Sat. 22nd Feb. 2014
FOR DETAILS CALL: 08097796511
BE THERE!!!

Dominion City Lekki Invites You To Her Valentine Day Meeting.
Come and learn what makes a marriage work, the causes of marriage success and marriage failures, what it takes to get married and the principles that will guide you in maintaining a good relationship and finding a good partner. Singles and married are all invited!!!

Date: 14th February 2014
Venue: Protea Oakwood Hotel by,
Chevron Round About,
Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos

WHAT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO GOD?

THE BLOOD OF JESUS GIVES US ACCESS TO GOD.

What can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Revelation 12:11 says: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.(NKJV)

Why is the blood important? The blood is important because of the remission of sin.

When you take care of the accuser of the brethren (satan) through the declaration of the blood of Jesus, the first thing that comes in is salvation. Salvation is not just about been born again. Salvation is Sozo. SOZO is the original Greek word for salvation. Salvation means deliverance from sickness, operation, poverty, death. Once you receive deliverance, you begin to walk into abundance immediately. When you take care of satan’s accusation, you begin to walk in liberty.

You can’t exercise faith with sin consciousness. When the accuser of the brethren is taken care of, boldness and strength comes to you and dominion begins to manifest. Dominion is only possible when man is connected to God. 

3 MAJOR WEAPONS THAT ENABLES A BELIEVER OVERCOME SATAN.

If the Bible should talk about overcomers that means there are obstacles. The sin of Adam affected the whole creation.

Romans 8:20 says: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;(NKJV)

Humanity did not come by itself to submit to satan, Adam’s sin brought creation under bondage and corruption.

Romans 8:21 says; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.(NKJV)

All the troubles we are seeing in the world are not God’s creation and purpose. But Adam’s sin pulled away the glory of God and corruption came upon the earth.

Romans 3:10 says: As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;(NKJV)

This is the condition of humanity, everyone that is born in this world.

Romans 3:23 says; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,(NKJV)

Revelation 12:11 says: Revelation 12:10-11 says: Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.(NKJV) 

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony: What does this mean? This is not the testimony that you share among your brothers and sisters in the church. The blood of the lamb is one of the most powerful weapons but most underrated. satan knows the power of the blood. It is the tool that defeats satan. You can’t approach God by your merit. When Adam sinned something happened, his sin had three effect.

1.      First, it affected God almighty, man lost access to God.

Romans 3:23 says: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,(NKJV)

What covers the earth is the glory of God. It was this glory that was covering Adam and this was lost by the sin of Adam. When God ask Adam where are you, the first thing Adam did was to cover his nakedness. God killed an animal and put the blood in-between him and Adam and carried the skin of that animal to wrap Adam. Because of this God declared that all have sinned and come short of His glory.

2. The 2^nd thing sin affected was man. Sin consciousness was created in man. Sin consciousness is one of the biggest enemies of the church.

3. The 3^rd place that sin had an impact was before satan: Sin is a legal document. Sin gave satan boldness and legal ground to act.  The major consequence of sin is judgment. God spoke to Abraham that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has come up before me. And Abraham began to negotiate with God. The time of Noah was so severe that God apologized to Himself for creating the world. One of the things that satan does is to get a believer to have sin consciousness. Sin provokes judgment which is the main target of satan.  

Why is the blood important? The blood is important for remission of sins. 

THERE ARE 3 LAWS THAT BREAKS THE CYCLE OF DEFEAT.

1^st is the law of resistance: As you keep on resisting sin, it will definitely break. But this does not work every time. The law of resistance does not solve the entire problem.

2^nd is the law of environment: The Bible said “flee every appearance of evil”. There are certain things that thrive under the law of environment. The law in breaking the law of defeat is the proper environment; you need to be in the right environment. God is not impressed by your ability to withstand sin. Every wise man knows his limitation.

3^rd is the law of displacement: You can’t wipe out a law. You can’t wipe out the law of sin and death but you can displace it. No matter how much light you have in a room, it will not totally wipe out darkness. Light displaces darkness but darkness still exists. No matter how much you use the Holy Ghost to deal with the issues of sin, you might still have some issues, you don’t live above sin. This is the reason why you need the blood to displace sin. There are certain things you do that you think are ok which are not. The law of displacement cannot displace completely.

Romans 8:2 says: For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.(AMP)

There is no law of eradication. As long as you are still in the body, there is no time that sin or weakness will be totally eradicated. 

Romans 8:10 says: But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].(AMP)

You can apply these three laws and after that, you will still fall short, that is why you must apply the blood of Jesus. The blood is the only thing that gives you 100% result. Before God the issue of sin was resolved. If God wants to bless you, iniquity will not allow Him do that because is not His nature. The 1^st effect that Jesus provided was the positive effect. attornment means to cover sin, and in New Testament it is not attornment it is called remission.

What a sinner needs is not forgiveness but remission because his nature is sin. After remission, he can then ask for forgiveness. The blood helps us settle an account with God. The moment you are born into this world, there is a debt in your head which you supposed to pay. But Jesus took care of this by dying for all of us. 

Hebrews 10:5-10 says: Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all].(KJV)

He took away the first and established the seconed. Jesus came to do the will of God. we

Hebrews 10:11 says: And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:(KJV)

Every year the priests offer blood for sacrifices. This works one year only. It expires and the sins keep on pilling up and so judgment keep on pilling up as well. There was a different high priest that showed up. The Bible said after offering his blood once He sat down by the right hand of God. The high priest in the Old Testament does not seat down because their works never finishes but the Bible said after this particular High Priest offered His blood, he sat down by the right hand of God Almighty. 

Hebrews 10:12 says: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;(KJV)

Therefore, you don’t need to offer anymore sacrifice. His blood speaks mercy and proclaims your inheritance. When you proclaim His blood, all that the blood has brought you will begin to manifest.

Hebrews 10:13-14 says: From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.(KJV)

3 Levels of Salvation:

1. Regeneration. The moment you got born again, your spirit is re-created.

2. Salvation of the soul, the mind, the intellect. It happens as you expose yourself to the mind of God.

3. Salvation of the body. This is the highest level of salvation.

Romans 8:24 says: For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?(NKJV)

Hebrews 10:14 says: For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.(KJV)

The same blood that took care of our salvation is the same blood that takes care of my spirit, soul and body. The tool of sanctification which is the blood of Jesus is able to preserve your body, soul and spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.(NKJV)

REVELATION 12:11 - AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY, AND THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES TO THE DEATH.(NKJV)