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THE LIFESTYLE OF
FAITH
The Lifestyle Of Faith
Copyright © 2010 by:
DAVID O. ABIOYE ISBN
978-9-78290-572-7

Re-printed 2012
Re-edited 2018

Published in Nigeria by:


DOMINION PUBLISHING HOUSE

All rights reserved.


No portion of this book may be used without the written permission of the
publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts in magazines, articles,
reviews, etc.

Dominion Publishing House is an affiliate of the Christian organization,


Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a Winners' Chapel International.
We will in no way endorse or publish any material considered controversial,
immoral or against the Christian Faith.

For further information or permission, address:


DOMINION PUBLISHING HOUSE
Km 10, Idiroko Road, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria. Tel:
+234 816 406 0777, +234 909 151 4022

Or visit our website: www.dphprints.com

Connect with David O. Abioye

BishopDOAbioye @BishopDOAbioye

@bishopdoabioye www.davidabioye.org.ng

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible, except
otherwise stated.

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CONTENTS
Introduction 5
Chapter 1
The Characteristics of Faith 9

Chapter 2
Wonders: The Product of Faith 25

Chapter 3
Hope: The Womb of Faith 39

Chapter 4
The Word: The Foundation of Faith 53

Chapter 5
Vision: The Eye of Faith 61

Chapter 6
Obedience: The Hallmark of Faith 69

Chapter 7
Confession: The Spirit of Faith 87

Chapter 8
Testimonies: The Arrows of Faith 107

Chapter 9
Action: The Efforts of Faith 121
Chapter 10
Tenacity: The Fight of Faith 141
Chapter 11
Love: The Motive of Faith 167

Chapter 12
Discipline: The Rule of Faith 175

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH
Chapter 13
Good Conscience: The Purity of Faith 189

Chapter 14
Patience: The Need of Faith 197
Chapter 15
Praise: The Strength of Faith 205
Chapter 16
Rest: The Behaviour of Faith 211
Chapter 17
Prayer: Faith’s Failure Proof 221
Conclusion 233

Epilogue 237

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Introduction
Faith is the anchor of Christianity; it is the believer ’s
winning ticket. It is not just a means to an end but the
very essence of the believer ’s existence because it is the
basis of his relationship with God. Faith is much more
than an instrument; a spiritual device that we use to get
our needs met or to claim promises from the Word of
God. The Bible says:

…The just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

So the purpose of faith goes beyond getting our needs


met, receiving healings and any other miracles we might
desire from God, faith is the life of the believer. It
involves the totality of his existence, including his
attitudes, conducts and approach to issues of life. Faith
is not something to be generated at will, but rather a
virtue to live by. No wonder the Bible summarizes that
without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews
11:6). If you can’t please God, how do you see His
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

face? If you can’t see His face it means you are cut off!
That is alienation! That is utter darkness. In essence,
faith is a relationship; it is the lifeline between God and
the regenerated man. That is why faith is not a choice
but a necessity.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him:


for he that cometh to God must believe that He
is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

In the first Church, Christianity was embraced as “the


Faith” (Acts 6:7, 14:22, 16:5, etc). Think about it: is there
any tangible Christian experience outside of faith? We
are saved by faith, we stand by faith, we are healed by
faith, live by faith, overcome by faith, etc. So, outside of
faith, there is no Christianity. Faith is the practice of
Christianity. It is the nerve center, the muscle and
backbone of Christianity. Faith is the strength and
vitality of Christianity. Faith at work is Christianity on
the move.
“The just shall live by his faith,” implies that life can
only be sustained for as long as faith is at work. You
can’t kill a man of faith because you can’t kill faith. It
also implies that the quality of life you live is a function

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of the strength of your faith. Outside of faith man

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INTRODUCTION

merely exists. It is faith that turns existence into living.


Life is a battle and only those who confront the battles
of life with faith emerge as winners. Hence the just shall
win by his faith because 1 John 5:4 says, “This is the
victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” Faith is
victory! Faith guarantees winning. Hebrews chapter 11
talks of great men and women “Who through faith
subdued kingdoms…” (Hebrews 11:33). When faith goes to
battle it always returns with victory.
“The just shall live by his faith” Minus faith, there is no
hope for the righteous. Job was a very righteous man, so
righteous that God boasted of him to satan. Yet, satan
attacked and got him down. How? He first attacked his
faith and then afflicted him (Job 2:6, 3:25). So, you are
not a loser until you lose faith. When faith is off, you
become as chaff and grain that can be sifted. Faith is
your spiritual center of gravity, it is your stability.
When faith is at work you are immovable, but when
faith is on leave, anything can move you (Luke 22:31-
32).
Your faith is the taproot of your success. There is no
secured destiny outside of faith. Neither is vision
fulfilled outside of faith. It doesn’t matter how glorious
your vision is, minus faith it will hit the rock. It is faith

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that keeps you on the winning track all the time.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

When faith is at work, good reports are guaranteed,


which is the evidence of a winning life! (Hebrews 11:1- 2).
To ignore faith is to miss the core of life. To forsake it is
to be forgotten from the list of the triumphant. Those
who ignore faith suffer ignominy but those who live by
it triumph always. If you must keep winning, then you
must keep living the faith life.
My primary objective in this book therefore, is to
establish that faith is a lifestyle. As such, each chapter
presents landmark teachings that would show you what
it takes to follow in the journey of faith. It is my prayer
that you would no longer merely exist but begin to live
and win by faith.

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Chapter 1

The Characteristics
of Faith

Faith has peculiar characteristics that make it the


most viable spiritual force for winning. In this chapter,
we shall be looking at some of those characteristics.

It Is A Lifestyle
Faith was the lifestyle of our covenant fathers. To
them, faith is more than an event or vocational exercise;
rather it was a way of life. They lived and walked in
faith; they responded to the demands of faith in order
to enjoy the benefits of faith. Think about Moses, he
was a very great and outstanding man, but the Bible
says, “By faith… when he was come to years, refused to

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be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to


suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25). Faith is
a choice; a choice to refuse what is wrong and embrace
what is right even if it means suffering affliction for a
season.
Some Christians think they can switch on faith when
they need it but it doesn’t work that way. This is why
many end up disappointed and they begin to wonder, “Is
this faith message real?” You don’t switch on faith,
rather you live by faith.
Faith demands the totality of your being to guarantee
its effect in every area of your existence; salvation, health,
prosperity, etc. It is not something you try to do but
something you need to do. It is not a choice but a
mandate; we are mandated to live by faith. “… The just
shall live by His faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). There is no
provision for alternatives; the only way for the just man
to live is by faith. That is why a man of faith does not
serve God on conditions, he never considers alternatives.
Most of the men and women of faith that were
mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 did not only receive
promises and perform great exploits through faith, all of
them were known first for their walk with God. In
Genesis 17:1-2, God appeared to Abraham and said to

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him, “… I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me


and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” So, it is
your walk with God that guarantees the effectual
working of your faith. You don’t pray down the
covenant, it is your walk of faith that guarantees your
access to the covenant.

It Is A Journey
Faith is a journey, not a destination.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out


into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not
knowing whither he went.
Hebrews 11:8

Faith begins with your response to God’s call despite


the inconveniences that may accompany that call,
which is one of the reasons many people don’t walk in
faith. God shows to us our glorious destination but
will rarely give us details of what or where we have to
go through to get there. This is where faith actually
comes in. Faith is a journey to the unknown but real
destination; it is taking practical steps towards the God
ordained destination for your life. When He called
Abraham He told him, “… I will make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;

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and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”
(Genesis 12:2-3). But Abraham started his journey to
becoming a great nation by being a sojourner in a
strange land.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a


strange country, dwelling in tabernacles...
Hebrews 11:9

Sometimes, in your journey of faith you may look like


a wanderer at the onset but at the end you will be
turned into a wonder. Abraham was initially a wanderer
in the land of Canaan, his ultimate place of possession.
He had no place of his own, yet he kept following in
faith. Following God in faith means enjoying where you
are till you arrive your place of destiny. Many
anxiously look forward to the place that God has
promised them but they are not willing to go through
the process He wants to take them through. You must
understand that your destination defines and patterns
your passage. To arrive a glorious end, you must be
willing to follow the patterned route.

It Is A Profession
Many Charismatic in the name of operating faith have
blown the aspect of confession out of proportion,

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leaving out the very vital requirements that make for a

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

lasting and enduring walk with God, which is what faith


is all about.
Faith is not just making confessions, claiming and
saying something. No! It is more than that. Of course
confession is scriptural and it remains a vital force for
obtaining results. “For verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed,
and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his
heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith
shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith”
(Mark 11:23). “We having the same spirit of faith,
according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I
spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak” (2
Corinthians 4:13). Confession is simply saying or
declaring what you believe, it is a major way of expressing
faith but it is not the summation of faith. Faith is not just
confession, faith is essentially a profession.
There is a difference between confession and
profession. C onfession is w hat you say whileprofesionis what you
do. That is why you are normally asked, “What is
your profession?” Not “What is your confession?”
Have you not seen people who are not doctors but call
themselves doctors? I have seen roadside mechanics who
call themselves engineers, and even have it printed on
their complementary cards and signposts, yet that
does not make them engineers. They are only
confessing. Anybody can call himself any thing but

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doing it is what validates the confession and

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

guarantees results. Anybody can say, “I shall prosper! I


shall succeed!” but only few are committed enough to
take the covenant steps that make that confession a
reality. Hebrews 10:23 says:
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith
without wavering; (for He is faithful that
promised).

Confession is simply saying what you believe but


profession is being committed to making your confession
a reality. It is confession plus commitment (which is
expressed through action) that equals profession. It is
what you do to back up your declarations of faith. Many
believers betray what they say by what they do and as a
result their faith does not work.
For instance, before Abraham became the father of
faith and was blessed with abundance, he needed to
show his commitment by giving up his son as sacrifice.
And when God saw his readiness to meet that demand,
He said to him, “Now I know that you fear Me” (Genesis
22:12). God does not know you by your confessions, He
only knows you by your actions (Rev. 3:8). Your
commitment is proved by your action and your action is
fueled by your obedience.
God has promised to prosper you, but it won’t happen
by you putting your hands in your pockets and speaking
in ‘heavy’ tongues! He has promised you a peaceful and

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harmonious home but what steps are you taking
towards it? As a man, do you love your wife? And as a

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

woman, are you submitting to your husband?


(Ephesians 5:22-25). God has said concerning you, that
you shall be the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy
28:13) but it is not enough for you to go about
confessing, “I shall be the head and not the tail.” Among
so many other things, you must obey the law of
diligence. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he
shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean
men” (Proverbs 22:29). Until you get committed to the
covenant practice of diligence, there is no proof that
you believe God’s promise to make you the head and
not the tail. Your commitment remains the most
authentic proof of your faith.
Can you imagine somebody who is praying very hard
for promotion but goes late to work every day? And
then when he is given a query, he writes a list of the
names of the people in his workplace who he thinks are
standing in the way of his promotion. And his prayer
focus is that God should sack all of them, so that he can
take their place, probably to exhibit his laziness the
more. But the profession of faith is that while you are
praying to God for promotion, you must also be walking
in wisdom in order to inherit a place of glory (Proverbs
3:35).
Faith is not funfair; it first places a demand on you
before it delivers the reward to you. That is why I said,
faith is a journey. It will first take something from you

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before it gives back something to you. That is why a

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

wise Christian will always look out for Scriptural


instructions to obey rather than promises to claim. And
as soon as he gets the instruction, he promptly responds
to it with excitement. As he keeps at it, the heavens
soon open up and blessings begin to tumble down on
him.
Faith is like a school where you go through various
stages of trials or proving and as you pass each stage
you are elevated. That is why the Bible talks of the
trying of your faith in James 1:3. As you fulfill the
requirements at every level, you graduate from faith to
faith (Romans 1:17). This will be your experience from
hence forth, in Jesus name!

It Thrives On Love
The operation of faith demands establishment of
relationship as a priority. And you know, nothing
strengthens relationship like love. Love is the lubricant
of relationship.
In Mathew 22:37-40 a young man came to Jesus and
asked him: “… Master, which is the great commandment in
the law?” And Jesus said to him:
… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the
first and the great commandment. And the second is like
unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self. On these

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two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

Jesus meant to say that every law in Scriptures


produces on the platform of love and you cannot love
except you are in relationship. All of God’s
commandments can be summed up in one word - love.
And Galatians 5:6 says, “… Faith which worketh by love.”
Faith is a law of the spirit but it works on the platform
of love. You can’t love God and not believe Him. You
can’t love God and want to disobey Him because whom
you love you always want to please. It is very cheap to
doubt someone you don’t love and it is very hard not to
have faith in the one you love. If you love God enough
you will believe Him enough, so love for God is the cure
for doubt. If you can succeed in loving God with all of
your heart, then believing Him will become natural
with you.
Until your love for God is accredited, your faith is not
certified. It is love that takes you into the realm where
your relationship with God remains intact with or
without material blessings. That was the faith of our
covenant fathers; the faith that chooses to lose even if it
means losing. The Bible says concerning them:

These all died in faith, not having received the


promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth

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Hebrews 11:13

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

They did not live to see their God given visions


completely fulfilled, yet they held onto God because
their love for Him was so strong.
Apart from destroying your doubts, love for God will
take you to an unusual realm of revelations where
strange faith is naturally born and when that is done,
you enter into a realm of manifestations that is beyond
comprehension. I Corinthians 2:9–10 says:

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have


entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love Him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God.

What more? Your love for God will build in you the
virtues of trust. You will become immoveable, refusing
alternatives no matter the cost. The Psalmist said,
“They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion,
which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever” (Psalm
125:1). It is love for God that moves you to such level of
trust. The reason some Christians go for alternatives is
because they don’t genuinely love God.
Many years ago a relation of mine called me into his
room and out of genuine concern for me he said, “You
know this world is evil, I can see a future before you and

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I want you protected.” Then he held out ‘one black

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

thing’ (a charm) expecting me to collect it, but I looked


at him in the eye and said, “I have something better.” I
was young in the faith then but I had enough covenant
sense to say, “No!” My love for God wouldn’t let me take
that thing from him.
If you are still playing the game of alternatives; using
the anointing oil in one hand and charms in the other
and telling yourself, “Heaven help those who help
themselves” remember that God cannot be mocked,
what you sow you will surely reap. As you deny God
before men, He will also deny you in the day of trouble.
The three Hebrew boys; Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, were brought before king Nebuchadnezzar
for refusing to bow down to his idol and the king said to
them, “I will give you the last chance. Bow down to the
idol or be thrown into the fire!” The boys said, “We will
not bow. We believe that our God is able to deliver us.
But in case our faith fails and we are not delivered,
because we love Him, we would rather die than bow to
your idol” (Daniel 3:13-18 paraphrased). That is love-
based faith at work! That is profession of faith not
empty confessions! No wonder the Bible in Hebrews
chapter 11, talking about men of faith, makes mention of
those who gave themselves up to be tortured, not
accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection (Hebrews 11:35). They refused alternatives

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even at the point of death! They were prepared to die

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in faith rather than live in doubt.


You know why people complain that God has not
blessed them with material things? It is because they
love those things more than God. But those who are
matured in the faith remain thankful even when there is
yet to be physical evidence that things are working,
because of their love for God. And you know
thanksgiving is the will of God. “In every thing give
thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). And Hebrews
10:36 says, “…That, after ye have done the will of God, ye
might receive the promise.” Love for God takes you to
the realm of thanksgiving and thanksgiving qualifies you
for quick delivery of His promises.
Faith without love centers around material things
because according to Hebrews 11:1, “…Faith is the
substance of things hoped for...” Take note of the word
‘things!’ But love centers around relationship; relating
with the Giver rather than the gifts. Faith focuses on
gifts but love focuses on God. It is only when faith is
operated in love that it goes beyond things to relating
with God and having a covenant walk with Him.
Consider the man Job for instance. The reason Job lost
everything he had was because he lost his faith and gave
in to fear, so the devil attacked him. But despite his
afflictions, Job did not forsake his love for God. And

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eventually, that love revived his faith and all

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

his blessings were restored to him. At the peak of his


afflictions, Job’s wife came and said to him, “Curse God
and die!” But Job told her, “Why do you speak as one of
the foolish women…?” And “…In all this did not Job sin
with his lips” (Job 2:9-10). Despite what he went through,
he did not utter one word of complaint against God
because his focus was not on things but on his
relationship with God.
To further prove the strength of Job’s love for God, he
said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I
will maintain mine own ways before Him. He also shall be
my salvation…” (Job 13:15-16).
So, if for any reason you lose your faith, make sure you
don’t abandon your love for God because if a woman loses
a child and she still has her womb, there is hope that
she will have another child. But if she loses her womb,
the hope of ever having a child is gone. In the same way,
if faith is lost and love is in place, there is hope that
faith can be revived again.
Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22:31-32,

..Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift


you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not…”
(1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV)

Faith can fail but “Love never fails.

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Love is a shield, it is a defense for faith and as long

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

as faith is rooted in love, it cannot fail. Love is the


guarantee for failure proof faith.
Love God with all your heart, love Him so much that
whether you have material things or not, you will keep
following Him. The Church of Jesus needs to leave the
realm of “Give me bread, give me butter, give me… give
me…” to the realm of loving God. Rather than focusing
on things, let’s start building our relationship with
God. The first thing you need to check in your faith
walk is your love for God because you can’t love God
and not believe Him.

Let’s Follow Examples!


Now that we know the characteristics of faith, how do
we enjoy the reality of the same? Hebrews 11: 1-2 says:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a
good report.
This verse presents to us that there are examples we
can follow in the walk of faith. There are elders; those
who do not only have experience in the operation of
faith but also generated proofs. And you know, in
solving mathematical problems, the basic thing you
need is examples; when you have examples you have a
great assurance of getting the answer. This also applies
to the issues of life. When you see somebody ahead of

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you go through a particular hurdle successfully, you

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are inspired to follow suit. So, examples show to us that


what looks impossible can be done. The Word of God
says for us to be “followers of them who through faith
and patience inherit the promise”(Hebrews 6:12).
You don’t need extraordinary efforts to make it in life.
One of the vital things you need is to observe and learn
from people who have gone ahead of you. Jeremiah
6:16 says, “…Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye
shall find rest for your souls…”
All through the Bible, we have several examples of
people who have gone ahead of us in the practice of
faith. By studying them, we can draw practical examples
that would establish practical principles for us. As we
get acquainted with their ideas, we build up our ideals
for a lifestyle of faith. God also said in Isaiah 51:2,
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that
bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and
increased him.
Abraham is not called the father of faith just for the
sake of having a title; he was indeed an embodiment of
faith. And in his walk with God, he did not see the
subject of faith as ‘trade by barter’ as most people do
today. That was why he was able to take Isaac his only
son up to the mountain as God commanded him and
was ready to sacrifice him there. As he was going up the

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mountain with his son he told his servants, “…I and

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you”
(Genesis 22:5). In his faith walk, Abraham considered
sacrificing to God as a form of worship. But today, many
Christians bring their offerings or sacrifices to God as
instruments of negotiation, issuing all manner of
commands that God must obey in return because they do
not understand the worship dimension of faith.
The path that Abraham walked may be old but it
remains relevant; it guarantees rest for the soul. The
fact that a pathway is old does not discredit it’s validity
neither does the attraction of a new road guarantee
that it leads to a good destination. Majority of people in
Church today are looking for the popular message; the
one that is convenient to follow and one that does not
place any demands on them so when they are shown
the old paths, they say, “ We will not walk therein.”
Jesus said, “…Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”
(Matthew 7: 14). Let us stop looking for cheap
alternatives; rather, stand in the ways and search out
scriptural precepts, let us locate the old paths that will
lead to great heights and unequaled distinction. And as
we follow, we are assured of greater exploits than they
ever did because Hebrews 11:40 says that God has
reserved something better for us. That will surely be
your testimony, in the name of Jesus!

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Chapter 2

WONDERS:
The Product of
Faith

Wonders are the sum total of faith. They are the


summary notes of faith. Wonders are the displayed
items in faith’s showroom. The walk of faith ultimately
opens to the floodgate of wonders.
This is why the supernatural is the natural realm of
the Christian. A Christian is not to seek after wonders
because he is called to be a wonder. It is the believer ’s
heritage to live as a wonder. Because God is a God of
wonders, the relationship of a Christian living with God
and His family without wonders has very serious

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

question mark.

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath


given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel
from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount
Zion.

Isaiah 8:18

Wonders are the seals of the reality of redemption.


They are the proofs that God is alive and at work.
David Hume, a Scottish philosopher and historian said,
“The Christian (faith) not only was at first attended with
miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any
reasonable person without one.” Wonders
authenticate your divine nature.
You should be surprised when you don’t see the
supernatural. I have heard Bishop Oyedepo respond to
people who express surprise for certain developments in
the ministry that he would have been surprised if those
things do not happen as they had.

What Is A Wonder?
A wonder is anything that makes people to wonder. A
wonder is a surprising outcome. A wonder is a direct act
of God that overrides the laws of nature. A wonder is an
incidence that arouses amazement because it is

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unusual or outstanding. When somebody says

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WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

concerning you, “I wonder how he is making it” then,


you are a wonder. If people can explain how things are
happening for you, then it is not a miracle. If all you can
count at the end of the month is your pay cheque, you
are not yet walking in wonders. There is a difference
between the reward of your labor and the blessing of
the Lord. Blessings come from God without sweat or
sorrows.

Living Faith Church Worldwide has become a


phenomenon. People around us cannot explain how
things happen. We have been accused from several
quarters by the whims of ignorant men. One said we
must be minting money somewhere to have the kind of
resources we use to execute projects in record times.
When the operations of Jesus Christ could not be
explained by His observers, they accused Him wrongly.

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem


said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the
devils casteth He out devils.

Mark 3:22

People are free to exaggerate and distort stories about


you when you step into the realm of wonders.

And great multitudes came unto Him, having

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with them those that were lame, blind, dumb,
maimed,

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’


feet; and He healed them:

Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when


they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be
whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and
they glorified the God of Israel.”
Matthew 15:30-31

Wonders are acts that suspend natural laws. A wonder


underscores the intervention of God to add His extra to
our ordinary, so that we have an extra-ordinary
experience or event.
Simply put, a wonder is the Lord’s doing. A wonder is
anything which only God could do or any act that only
God can perform. The Bible says,

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our


eyes.
Psalm 118:23

I love to pray that God would do for people I minister


to what no man can do for them. There are things men
can do, and there are things only God can do. There are
many mighty men, but there is only one Almighty God.
I recognize that there are things men can do but may
not be willing to do. And there are things men are
willing to do that they cannot do. But God is unlimited.
It is when God acts beyond the limits of men that we

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have what we call a wonder.

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WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

The Password To Wonders


Wonders don’t just occur, neither do they answer to
begging; they are usually commanded or worked out. I
have seen Christians with such amazing destinies
cheated, robbed and humiliated as wanderers on earth
when they are supposed to be wonders to the world
because they lack some basic understanding.
Some years ago, I was travelling with my wife from
Kano to Maiduguri. As I settled down trying to hook my
seat belt, the air host came to me and asked, “Excuse me.
May I know you sir?” I enquired from him what that is
about and he said, “As you passed, something passed
with you.” I told him that is normal; it’s no surprise. I
don’t walk alone. There are beings that move with me.
(Psalm 34:7). That explains a crucial element that puts
you in command of wonders which I want us to
consider here.
At the root of every wonder is faith in God. It is faith
that works out wonders. The Apostle Paul talked about
“… the working of miracles” in first Corinthians
Chapter 12 verse 10. If you need a miracle, don’t wait for
it, work it out. Faith puts you in command of wonders.
Faith is the Commander in God’s battalion, when it
leads its troop; it conquers, subdues and dominates.

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Faith is the key to the world of wonders.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Faith connects human limitations to divine enablement.


Ephesians Chapter 6 verse 16 says:

Taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be


able...

At a point the disciples of Jesus Christ were convicted


by the manifestations of Jesus Christ and weary of living
as ordinary men.

Then said they unto Him (Jesus), What shall we


do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work


of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath
sent.

John 6:28-29

What distinguished Jesus was His faith. He operated


in the realm of wonders because He put faith to work.
Jesus went further in John Chapter 14 verse 12 to tell
them categorically,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on


Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto My Father.
John 14:12

Jesus established that He was not in any way better


than them in the issue of operating in wonders. The
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factor that distinguished Him was faith and it is the

51
WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

same force all the disciples required to operate in the


same realm. If they can believe what He believed, they
would get what He got. This requirement has no respect
for age, title, position, location or gender. So, to do the
works of God; to be become a man of wonder – believe,
or simply, have faith. Your faith is your only limit.
Faith puts you on the same platform with God. Faith
gives you seat on the same bench with God. Faith
beckons to God to act spiritually when your natural
abilities are exhausted. Faith is the switch to engage
when the natural ceases to work.
We see Peter emerging in the Acts as one that truly
believes what Jesus said. He virtually did all that Jesus
did, and even greater! Peter walked in wonders,

Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into


the streets, and laid them on beds and couches,
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by
might overshadow some of them.
Acts 5:15

Faith makes you a wonder and amazement among


men because it connects you with the extraordinary
God and provokes extraordinary things to happen in
your life. Faith puts you above the devil and on top of
every life situation. (Ephesians 6:16).

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Please understand that faith is pragmatic. Every


process of faith has wonder as its product. Every time
you step out in faith, you are sure of an outcome. Faith
is a vital force that initiates awesome events. Faith
forces things to change. It makes amazing differences in
people and situations. It has changed none-entities into
celebrities. It lifted men from the dungeon to the
throne; picked Rahab the harlot from the brothel to
stand on the same platform with men like Father
Abraham, Moses, Elijah and David. (Hebrew 11).
Faith will simply make you a wonder among men. The
biography of a despised beggar, Blind Bartimaeus the
son of Timaeus entered the Gospel account because he
moved by faith. Faith will always give men their place
in destiny. It is faith that makes men to count. (Genesis
15:6).
When faith goes to the market, it purchases valuable
things. With faith, you can buy anything. It was faith
that built the largest Church in the world with over fifty
thousand sitting capacity under twelve months. With
faith at work, everything keeps working. Until faith
fails, you cannot fail, no matter how vehement the devil
opposes you. Faith gives you access into the zone where
satan becomes irrelevant and non-existent. It makes
you a marvel and a wonder among men.

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Some time ago, a young man came to see me on an

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WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

issue that had reached the highest authorities in an


establishment where his proposal was being considered.
The indices at that point were clear that he was going to
lose. But he believed God for a change of story and
came for me to agree with him. That day, I was on my
way out of the office, so I said to him, “I will not go back
to my office because of this matter.” Faith rose in my
heart and I told him, “Go. They will call you back
tomorrow. The man in authority will not allow
anybody to speak; he will endorse your proposal.” The
man came back with excitement to tell me that when
they got to the meeting, the opposition raised their
hands to say something, but the Chairman ignored
them and used his veto power to approve his request.
You cannot be troubled when faith is at work. Even
when trouble has gone ahead, faith will catch up with it
and overtake it. That is why Jesus could wait four more
days after Lazarus had died before going to raise him
up. I don’t care what satan has stolen, killed or
destroyed in your life, faith will get them back to you.
I have studied Scriptures and closely observed men
that are walking in wonders. When I look at my mentor
and father in the faith, Bishop David Oyedepo, I don’t
pray to be like him, rather I pray and strive to believe
like him, because I know that if only I can believe like

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him, I will attain to the amazing things he does.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

At the root of a wonderful life is a faith-filled heart.


When your faith is full, your life will be wonderful. The
Bible says:

… Stephen, full of faith and power, did great


wonders and miracles among the people…
Acts 6:8.

Faith is your guarantee for a life of wonders.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In


My name shall they cast out devils; they shall
speak with new tongues.
Mark 16:17

When faith marches on, wonders follow behind. Put


your faith ahead and wonders will naturally follow from
behind. Wherever faith goes, signs follows.

Operating In The Realm Of God


Faith upgrades you to the realm of God. Jesus
established this in two profound statements:

… With men this is impossible; but with God all


things are possible.
Matthew 19:26

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all


things are possible to him that believeth.

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Mark 9:23

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WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

Faith translates you from the natural realm to the


supernatural. When Paul ministered to the crippled man
who never had walked in Lystra, the Bible records that
the man “leaped and walked.” Acts 14:10.

And when the people saw what Paul had done, they
lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of
Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the
likeness of men.
Acts 14:11

Faith turns you into another man. It brings you into


the realm where people marvel at you and wonder,
“what kind of man is this?”
The operation of faith is sponsored by what you say.
Your declarations determine the manifestations.
Wonder-provoking faith speaks. You can’t believe and
be dumb about it. Silence is an atmosphere for doubt,
while speech is the fuel of faith. Silence fertilizes and
crystallizes doubt but speech enriches and energizes
faith.

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it


is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
we also believe, and therefore speak.
2 Corinthians 4:13

Faith is an insistent talker that is not bothered about

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physical conditions. It overrides situations by imposing

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Word-guided declarations. Faith says, “this is what I


believe and until I breath my last, I will not change my
language.”
If I paid in a million naira cheque into my bank
account today, the cash balance would read my previous
balance, particularly if it is an inter-bank cheque. Even
though I am already a million naira richer, the banking
institutions needed time to clear the transactions before
crediting my account. So also, from the moment you
spoke in faith, you already have what you said. Don’t
shift your ground in the transition period, no matter
how short or long the time it takes.
Faith operate by words. Faith calls forth what it wants
and goes to sleep. All Jesus did to dry up the fig tree w
as speak to i t , “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever.” Mark
11:14. And on the following day:

… Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him,


Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst
is withered away.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith


in God.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall


say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his
heart, but shall believe that those things which
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he saith

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WONDERS: THE PRODUCT OF FAITH

shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he


saith.
Mark 11:21-23

The principle is clear. Say it, and it shall come to pass.


You can’t afford to be careless with your
pronouncements. Your words carry weight in the realm
of the spirit. This is why I don’t make long, sprawling
statements in prayer. My prayers are short, precise and
faith-filled. I humorously told somebody that I have so
much to do for God that I am in agreement with Him
not to spend more than necessary time with any issue,
especially in prayers and ministry. I just make simple
statements and He takes over to establish them because
I serve Him. (Isaiah 44:26). Of course, ministering
to an assembly of tens of thousands of souls with divers
needs, I am left with only few minutes to attend to each
of them at their times of need. At times we have several
callers in need of my attention at the same time; I need
to deal with each issue with dispatch.
Somebody called me some time ago that he was just
coming from the hospital with a diagnosis of high
blood pressure. I said, “No! You cannot have high blood
pressure. Get back to the same hospital and they will
tell you it is no longer there.” He went back there and
called me two hours later that the doctor confirmed

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

after some more series of test that he does not have


high blood pressure. A wonder had taken place.
You must start speaking to your destiny. Declare your
expectations to your family situation, children, business,
career, etc. You are destined for wonders. You already
have what it takes; now start talking.

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Chapter 3

HOPE:
The Womb of
Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for…

Hebrew 11:1

Hope is the foundation of faith. It is one of the


powerful traits that is evident in the lives of men and
women of faith in the Bible. Irrespective of what they
went through, they remained hopeful. Abraham was
called the father of faith because even in a hopeless
situation he was hopeful. It was in hope that he
announced his change of name from Abram – meaning
‘father’, to Abraham – meaning ‘father of many nations’

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

(Genesis 17:5). Apart from the fact that Sarah was past
childbearing age, her womb was dead, and with time
Abraham’s body also became dead (Romans 4:19), so
medically and physiologically speaking, theirs was
obviously a hopeless case, yet God promised them a
son. So against hope, Abraham believed in hope
(Romans 4:18) and because “ Hope maketh not
ashamed…” his shame was turned into glory. When
hope is in place shame is displaced!
Hope is the process of anticipation. It inspires your
expectation for the fulfillment of God’s promises and
shows you the possibility of achieving it. From there,
faith takes over and begins to reinforce your confidence
to reach out for what you have seen. Naturally, you
cannot reach out for what you have not seen, so hope
sees it while faith reaches out for it. That is why until
hope is in place, faith does not work. It is hope that
gives faith the opportunity to demonstrate its potency.
Hope sets the goal and faith targets it. So a hopeless
man is a ‘goalless’ man; he has no goal set before him
and that means he will never score. Hope is the resting
place of faith.
Abraham waited twenty-five years for his promised-
son and all that time, he did not stagger at the promises

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of God, he never gave up once, rather he remained

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

hopeful. And after Isaac was born, Sarah said in her


testimony, “…Who would have said unto Abraham, that
Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born
him a son in his old age” (Genesis 21:6). That means it
looked as if it was never going to happen but because
hope was in place the miracle became established.
Hope is the sustainer of faith, it keeps faith going
strong even when the miracle seems to be delayed.
Without hope faith is helpless. That is why no matter
how fiery the messages of faith that a man hears, if he is
hopeless he remains helpless. So, the greatest bondage
Satan can put a man in is that of hopelessness.
A sick man who is receiving the best medical
treatment in the world may still die if he is hopeless.
Meanwhile, another man who has been diagnosed as
having a terminal or incurable disease and may have
been considered medically hopeless, especially if he
cannot afford the required treatment, will be perfectly
healed in no time if he decides to hope in God.

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that


it will sprout again, and that the tender branch
thereof will not cease.
Job 14:7

At one stage or the other in your walk of faith, you

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will encounter situations that seem hopeless and

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

perhaps, people may even mock you and conclude that


you will never make it. But the only thing that will keep
you going at such times is the hope that you have in the
future that is set before you.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might


become the father of many nations; according to
that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Romans 4:18

I don’t know what your present position is, may be


your pocket is empty, your clothes are worn out, or you
are squatting in somebody’s house with no means of
getting your own in the nearest future, no matter how
bad the situation looks, there is still hope for you!
Medical experts may have classified you as barren, that
is not a reason for you to lose hope because your case
cannot be as bad as that of Abraham and his wife,
Sarah. Yet the Bible says:

Through faith also Sara herself received strength


to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child
when she was past age, because she judged him
faithful who had promised.

Hebrews 11:11

Even though her case looked hopeless, Sarah judged

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God faithful. That means she remained hopeful because

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

she reasoned that God is faithful and He would do what


He had promised. And at the end of the day, her
expectation was not cut off. When nobody thought it
could still happen, she brought forth a son. May you be
imparted with the virtue of hope in the name of Jesus!

Hope Is The Anchor Of Life!


Hope is not only the foundation for faith, it is also the
anchor of life! When nothing seems to hold any longer,
if you can grab the anchor of hope and hold unto it,
your future will be secured. When everything else
seems to be lost don’t lose hope. Even when you can’t
catch anything, catch hope! When there is nothing else
to hold in terms of human support, resources or
position, hold on to hope. If you have tried several
times and have not achieved your goal, don’t lose hope!
The only reason many believers remain on the ground is
because just when they were about to hit the mark, they
lost hope. The first step from failure to success is hope.
In the journey of faith you will encounter so many
trials, all in Satan’s attempt to dissuade you from
pressing on. He will tell you, “Stop bothering yourself.
Count the number of times you have tried and failed.
Forget it, there is just no way out!” But faith does not

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count the number of trials; rather it cancels the trials

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

and counts the opportunities. The more you count your


failures, setbacks and trials, the more discouraged you
become. The more you count the number of times you
have been disappointed the more disappointed you
become. A hopeful man says, “I don’t care how many
times I have tried and failed in the past, this time I am
getting it!”
Don’t be moved by the many trials you are facing,
they are temporary but whatever God has spoken to you
can never fail because His Word has been tried seven
times in fire (Psalm 12:6). God is not a man that He
should lie, neither the son of man that He should
repent (Numbers 23:19). What He said He would do, He
will surely do!
You know why Abraham obeyed without grumbling
when God instructed him to sacrifice his son, Isaac? He
hoped to receive him back from the dead! He believed
that God would raise his son from the dead so before he
went up to the mountain, he told his young men, “…I
and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you”
(Genesis 22:5). That is a language of hope! He was taking
his only son up to the mountain to kill him, yet he said,
“We will come again to you.” And the Bible says:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

Isaac… Accounting that God was able to raise him


up, even from the dead; from whence also he
received him in a figure.

Hebrews 11:17-19

In John chapter 11, a man called Lazarus died, and


when Jesus arrived at the scene four days later, Martha
his sister said to Him, “Master, You came late. If you had
been here my brother would not have died.” Jesus said
to her, “Your brother shall live again.” So before Jesus
put faith into action He first inspired hope in those
ladies by telling them that the dead would live again.
And then at the tomb He saw that they had rolled a
very heavy stone over the place. That stone represented
hopelessness, it means the case was closed and sealed
but Jesus said to them, “Take away the stone.” It was
only after they had done that that He called Lazarus
and he that was dead came forth out of the grave. I tell
you, nothing keeps a man in the grave like hopelessness
but once the stone of hopelessness is rolled away
nothing remains impossible. So, don’t roll a stone over
your case yet because Job 14:7 says:

There is hope of a tree if it be cut down that it


shall sprout again….

It doesn’t matter how much the devil has knocked

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

you down or how many times you have been told that
you can’t make it, just get to the fountain of hope, keep
your eyes away from what is not working! Remember,
hope cancels your failures of the past and counts your
future opportunities.

The Source Of Hope


The principal source of hope is the Word of God; the
Bible is the book of hope. It points to you what you can
become rather than showing you your present
situation. It inspires you to see a future rather than
explain to you the present circumstances. The Bible is
the only book that shows you how a prisoner can
become a prime minister. It literally beckons you into a
bright and great future by showing you God’s plan for
you. He said in Jeremiah 29:11:

For I know the plans that I have for you…plans


for welfare and not for calamity to give you a
future and a hope. (NASV)

God’s Word helps you to look up from where you are


to where you ought to be. That is why it says to a sick
person for instance, “Let the weak say, I am strong” (Joel
3:10), so that he can make his choice whether to stay
with the sickness or agree with the Word of hope. It is

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information that keeps hope alive.

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

To the poor, the Bible says, “He raiseth up the poor out
of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set
them among princes, and to make them inherit the
throne of glory…” (1 Samuel 2:8). Job 22:24 says, “Then
shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the
stones of the brooks.” So, even if that man has no food
to eat at that time, the hope he has received from the
Word of God will not allow him to be cast down.
Haven’t you noticed that whenever you are downcast
and you come to Church and hear the Word, hope is
rekindled in your heart? And in the place of depression
you return home with joy. Every word of God inspires
hope, so to be Wordless is to be hopeless.
Even when you are knocked down and your situation
looks hopeless, just lay hold on the Word and muster up
your last energy to open it. God will show you a verse
that will fire up your hope again and in no time you will
be back on your feet, challenging the opposition!
The strength of your faith is a function of the strength
of your hope. If your hope is weak, your faith will be
weak. But the strength of your hope is determined by
how much of the Word you have. Those who have the
Word never easily become hopeless in life. When I first
embraced the message of prosperity and began to preach

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it, I had virtually nothing in terms of material

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

possession. As a matter of fact, when I was going to wed


I couldn’t afford new shoes but I knew it was just a
stage I was passing through. It is only a man who lacks
hope for a better tomorrow that becomes depressed
because he can’t buy new shoes for his wedding. It was
after I wedded that the number of coats I had increased
from one to two, yet I was so full of the Word of hope
that I was always jumping and leaping in every Church
service. I used to wonder how people never saw that my
shoes were open in front. But now the story is
different.
Hope operates in future tense. It presents to you what
is yet to come but which is sure to come. So when the
Word of God imparts hope to you it gives you vision.
That is, it shows you pictures of the colorful future that
you have in Christ. When you see a future you cannot
be cast down in the now. So the Holy Scriptures help you
paint mental pictures that enable you realize your
actual future and your hope.
Nothing inspires a man’s hope like the Word of God.
You can’t be around the Word and be hopeless, just like
a plant cannot be beside the waters and still wither. Job
said:

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that

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it will sprout again, and that the tender branch
thereof

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

will not
cease.

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and


the stock thereof die in the ground;

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring


forth boughs like a plant.
Job 14:7-9

Spiritually speaking also, water represents the Word


of God. So when hopelessness attempts to settle with
you, bring yourself to the Word. As you begin to take
root in the Word, hopelessness gives way!

The Sign Of Hope


You may wonder, “How do I know if I have hope or
not?” A sure sign of hope is joy, enthusiasm and
excitement while the sign of hopelessness is depression.
When God wants to help your faith He first inspires you
through His Word to have a vision, which in turn
generates joy in your heart and when that joy is in
place, faith comes to birth your miracle. So when you
receive the Word and joy bursts forth in your soul it is
an indication that hope has come.
Faith does not work for the depressed. The Bible
speaking of Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 says, “…Who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
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shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

of God.” That is what hope does. It helps you to ignore


and disregard contrary circumstances. For the things we
see are temporal but the things, which are not seen, are
eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Hope tells you, “Your
situation will not always be what it is now. Things will
soon change for the better. After all, the end of a matter
is better than the beginning thereof” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). It
is too early to draw a conclusion on your case because
you are still under construction and all things,
including the obviously contrary are working together
for your good (Romans 8:28).

Every time you notice depression around you, it means


hopelessness is trying to arrest you, and you should free
yourself immediately by going for the Word.
Sitting down in depression is an indication that you
have accepted your case as hopeless because hopelessness
is simply to agree that nothing good can come out of
your situation again. And at that stage you find yourself
either seeking alternatives or wishing that you were
dead. Some day David the Psalmist found himself in
such a situation, hopelessness was about to overwhelm
him so he began to speak to himself. He said:

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art

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thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall

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HOPE: THE WOMB OF FAITH

yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.


Psalms 42:5

“Hope thou in God” also means “Hope thou in His


word”, and since God is always attracted to His word,
He becomes the help of your countenance because when
a man is hopeful it shows on his face.

The Expression Of Hope


God’s Word is the fountain of hope but it does not
work by itself, it works when you begin to speak it. The
more you speak the Word, the more hopeful you
become. Even in the natural when you tell yourself, “I
can make it” you begin to receive the strength to make
it. If you don’t speak the word to yourself, satan will
speak to you. When you wake up in the morning, don’t
sit by the edge of your bed with your hand on your
chin. That is an invitation to satan to speak words of
hopelessness to your heart. He will tell you, “Can you
see yourself now? You failed yesterday and it is obvious
that you will fail again today.”
I never give the devil room to speak to me. I don’t
allow him tell to me who I am. I tell myself who I am
from what I have seen in God’s Word! I might have
failed yesterday, but God’s Word doesn’t tell me I am a

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failure. Failure is an event not a person so I refuse to be

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

intimidated by it.
When you are too quiet, the devil will keep speaking
to you and ultimately use you as the agent of your
destruction. Start speaking the Word! By speaking out,
you are stirring up yourself, establishing hope in your
heart and at the same time intimidating your opponent.
And before you know it, you will overcome him. Speak
out like David did:

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art


thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall
yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.
Psalm 42:5

Understand that you are in a game of life! Even when


it looks like satan has put you on the floor, rise up and
fight him back! Don’t allow one-minute of negative
thoughts! When he tells you, “You will never make it”,
tell him, “Nothing can stop me because God is on my
side!” There is hope for you! There is a future for you!
You will get there, in Jesus’ name!

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Chapter 4

THE WORD:
The Fountain of
Faith

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most


holy faith…
Jude 1:20

Faith is victory, but faith is not cheap. Faith is


powerful but it is not to be assumed. You have to pay
the price of building it up. Romans 10:17 says, “…Faith
cometh…” That means faith does not just occur, it
comes through a process. Your belief system is not an
accidental occurrence; you have to take conscious steps
to build it up. In this chapter, I want to show you two
crucial steps you can take to build up your faith.
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

1. Information
The process of building up your faith begins with
enlightenment. You have to be spiritually enlightened to
operate faith successfully because faith begins with
what you know. What you are not aware of, you cannot
believe. So, you must locate scriptural information
concerning the area of your life where you need a change.
Information is very powerful. As a matter of fact, the
quality of your life is information determined because
the information you have access to determines your
behavior and your behavior ultimately determines what
you become.
So, to be well informed is to escape deformation. It
was information that brought the woman with the
issue of blood into her healing. “When she had heard of
Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His
garment” (Mark 5:27).
Blind Batimaeus also changed his position from
“sitting by the wayside begging” simply by the
information he received.
And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what
it meant.
And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
And he cried, saying, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have
mercy on me.

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Luke 18:36-38.

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THE WORD: THE FOUNTAIN OF FAITH

The woman ‘came’ because she heard. Bartimaeus


‘cried’ because he heard.
All things are possible to him that believes but it begins
with information gathering. When you are informed, it
becomes easy to believe and when you believe, the
possibility of getting your miracle becomes established.
So the possibility of all things begins with accessibility to
information. You have to be well informed by finding out
what God has said concerning you. What has He said
about your health? What does His Word say about your
finances, your children and your career?
He said, “If you hearken diligently to the Word of the
Lord, He would set you up on high above all the nations
of the earth” (Deuteronomy 28:1). He said, “…Promotion
cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from
the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and
setteth up another (Psalms 75:6-7).
A man may promise to do some thing for you tomorrow,
only for you to hear that he died before the time. But you
would not be moved if you are informed that there is a
God who lives forevermore, who remains constant; He is
the everlasting Father in whom there is no variableness
nor shadow of turning. His yes is yes and His no is no.
What He says He will do, He will surely do. And what
more? That God is your Father! You have to be well
informed that the Lord is your shepherd and He will not

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allow you to be in want of anything.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Information intoxicates! It can revolutionize your life


and change your position from the floor to the top.
When you receive information, the immediate thing
that happens is that it raises your awareness. You
become aware of what you have and then your mentality
begins to change; you begin to think and talk differently.
And of course with a change of mentality, faith is born.
Naturally speaking, when you become aware that
some thing has been provided for you, what happens?
You begin to aspire towards it, you take steps to possess
it. You are ready to do anything to overcome the
obstacle on your way just to get what you know is
yours. That is faith! Information gives birth to faith and
when faith comes, transformation is guaranteed.
When the information you possess begins to move
you to take steps, it means faith has come! Faith is
simply an overflow of information; it is an indication
that you have known the truth to a point of
intoxication. That is what happened in the case of the
woman with the issue of blood and blind
Bartimaeus. Otherwise how do you explain the source
of the strength with which an anaemic woman pushed
through a crowd of people to touch Jesus or how a
completely blind man could run without aid towards
Christ to be healed?
Remember, “…Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So, keep hearing the

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Word and in the process you will keep believing.

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THE WORD: THE FOUNTAIN OF FAITH

And what you keep believing will keep following you


(Mk. 16:17).
When the Word of God is fully built into your
mentality and your lifestyle, it naturally becomes your
behavior, lifestyle and expectation. And that is what
faith is – expectation based on knowledge. It is to know
that God’s promise is true and that it will surely come to
pass for you. You may not be able to tell how or when,
but it is surely coming to pass.
Go for more of the Word because more Word will
result into more faith. The higher you go in the
acquisition of the Word, the stronger your faith becomes.

2. Meditation
Words are seeds for vision; they are potential pictures.
Even in the natural when somebody is talking to you,
somehow you begin to form mental pictures of what he
or she is saying before you ever see it physically. In the
same way, vision comes via the Word, especially when
we take time to meditate on it. This is where many
believers fail. They hear so many things but profit very
little from it because they don’t meditate on the Word (1
Timothy 4:15).
Faith is born when Scriptures become pictures in your
mind because what you hear you may doubt but not
what you have seen (Genesis 15:5). We know that faith

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comes by hearing and hearing by the word (Romans

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

10:17) and I consider that second hearing as seeing


because the Word of God is sent to make all men see
(Ephesians 3:9). The devil is not scared of your hearing
but he considers you a big threat when you begin to see.
So, he would do anything to keep you spiritually
blinded. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says,

…The god of this world hath blinded the minds of


them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious gospel…should shine unto them.

No wonder Apostle Paul prayed very passionately for


the saints that the eyes of our understanding be
enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). It is the scriptural practice of
meditation is that this possible.
God’s word is for our meditation. And what is
meditation? It simply means deep thinking. It means to
ponder, to reason or reflect. It is the process of turning
Scriptures into pictures; bringing the unseen into reality
and when you see it, you can’t doubt it. Meditation is the
process of turning information into dreams and visions.
It is the process of translating the Word you have heard
from the letter realm to the spirit realm.
Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:8, ‘…Think on these
things.” Instead of thinking we have only been praying.
Praying without thinking is what has kept many
people on the same spot. Except you are a
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THE WORD: THE FOUNTAIN OF FAITH

thinker, you cannot enjoy Christianity. God respects


thinkers. He said, “Come, let us reason together…”
(Isaiah 1:18). This is the only way we can enjoy the best
of God, because it is the only way we can see what He
shows us from His Word.
Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart
out of your mouth but thou shall meditate upon it day
and night...” Hearing the Word is the first step to
generating vision. After hearing, you must take a step
further to reflect on what you have heard. As you do
that intensely and consistently, the Word begins to
register and to form pictures in your mind and then it
becomes real to you. At this stage, you become
intoxicated with the Truth; the vision is so strong in
your heart that nothing can make you doubt it. Even
though you have not seen it physically, you are too sure
that it will happen. And when you begin to declare your
expectations, it sounds strange to the natural man
because he can’t see what you have seen. So, information
comes by hearing the Word but understanding and faith
are born through meditation.
It is through meditation that words are converted into
pictures and you know, you don’t hear pictures, you
only see pictures. And what you see, you cannot doubt.
So, you must go beyond hearing the Word to seeing it.
God said to Abraham in Genesis 13:14-15,
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

“Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and
westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed for ever.” You are not blessed by
what you hear but by what you see. This is why you
must take time to convert what you have heard into
pictures. Don’t be like the people talked about in Isaiah
6:9 who hear so much but understand nothing and see
many things but cannot perceive. Why? Because, there
is no meditation, no reflection.
Also, in your mediation, ensure that you document
what you see. That is one way to process its fulfillment.
Anything you can’t write, you have not seen. If you have
seen it, then write it. That is the first proof that you
believe what you have seen. Moreover, what you have
not written you cannot be committed to. So the process
is: When you hear the Word, meditate on it till you see
it and a vision is born in your soul. Then document it
and of course, if it is a genuine vision, you will be
moved to pursue it.
There is a great future set before you! The great plan
God has for you shall find fulfillment, in the name of
Jesus!

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Chapter 5

VISION:
The Eye of Faith

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,


saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see
a rod of an almond tree.

Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen:
for I will hasten My word to perform it.
Jeremiah 1:11-12

What the eye is to the body is what vision is to faith.


Just as the human body moves towards what the
natural eye sees, vision sets a goal for faith to reach out
to. Vision is the eye of faith. By it the believer can ‘spy’
his future.
The eye of the spirit is different from the eye of the

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

body. There is also the eye of the mind, which receives


information from the eye of the spirit and helps us to
see things in the right perspective as God has ordained
them. So vision is a spiritual term for “seeing with the
eye of the Spirit.” It is the ability to see the invisible or
beyond the realm of the physical into the spiritual.
Talking of Moses in Hebrews 11:27, the Bible says:

By faith he forsook Egypt… for he endured, as seeing


him who is invisible.

Vision is beyond a dream of the night. It is vivid and


tangible, that is why it has the power to translate a man
from the floor to the top.
Vision links the present to the future. It is seeing your
destination from the beginning of the journey, or your
future from the present. Many people get stagnated
because of what they see in their immediate
environments with their physical eyes while others keep
advancing because of what they have seen in their future
through the eye of the spirit, irrespective of the doom
and hopelessness spelt by their immediate environment.
In Genesis chapter 15, Abraham was in a discussion
with God concerning his expectation of the promised
child. And to help his faith, God brought Abraham out
to the open in the night and showed him what his seed
would be like.

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And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look

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VISION: THE EYE OF FAITH

now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be


able to number them: and He said unto him, So
shall thy seed be.
Genesis 15:5

When Abraham saw the stars in their glory and their


multitude, he believed God. He began to see himself
not only having a son but also having descendants that
would one day be as many as the stars in the sky. And as
a result of what he saw,

… He believed in the LORD; and He counted it to


him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:6

So, while everyone saw Abram as childless, he


envisioned himself as a father of many nations and to
show that he believed what he saw he changed his name
from Abram (meaning father) to Abraham (father of many
nations). That is vision giving birth to faith!
Somebody may look at you and by virtue of what he
sees in your immediate environment, call you ‘poor’ but
because you have seen into your future with the eye of
the spirit you refuse to be called poor and rather call
yourself what you have seen.
So the difference between what people say about you
and what you say about yourself is vision. When you are
downcast because somebody said something negative

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about you, it is a proof that you have not seen

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

anything about your future. You are bothered about


what people say concerning you because you agree with
them, and you agree with them because you can’t see
better than them.
When you have a vision of your tomorrow you won’t
be moved by what anybody is saying about you or by
whatever is happening around you now. Can you
imagine that while Jesus was under the weight of the
cross and the women were crying for Him, He could say
to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but
weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23:28).
That was not natural, it was vision at work.
Whatever vision sees, faith will naturally pursue.
Many people are not in pursuit of great things in life is
because they can’t see great things ahead. You can’t
have a vision and remain seated or have your arms
folded. It is what the eye sees that the feet pursues.
So don’t blame a man for not running, find out first if
he can see anything. And if you want to help him, don’t
attempt to make him run, rather help him to secure
vision and he would naturally begin to pursue it.

How Faith Sees


Physiologically speaking, God by His wisdom
connected the ears and the eyes to the mind. That is

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why we learn most effectively through what we hear

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VISION: THE EYE OF FAITH

and what we see.


God’s Word also attests to this where it says, “The
hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even
both of them” (Proverbs 20:12). And all through the
book of Deuteronomy, God talks about hearing the
Word with your ears and keeping it before your eyes
until it becomes registered in your mind. Also, in Mark
4:24 Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear.” Because what
you hear contributes largely to your making and the
fulfillment of your destiny.
If there is a connection between hearing and seeing,
then there is also a connection between words and
pictures.
So every time you hear the Word of God, a picture is
formed in your subconscious and vision is created. This
is why I often tell people, “If you can attend word- filled
Church services consistently for four to six months with
an open heart, your perspective will change and so will
your life.” Because the more you hear the Word the
more emphasized it becomes and the more it is
impressed on your mind. Scriptures create pictures of
your future.
Many people who are now prosperous, were very poor
when they began attending Church but as they kept
hearing the Word of prosperity their mentality
changed. Soon, the thought of borrowing no longer
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

appealed to them and with time they stopped begging


and started giving.
A new vision was born and in the place of seeing
themselves as poor they began to see themselves as the
blessed of the Lord. Some who were neck deep in debt
became free as they continued to hear the Word:

…Thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou


shalt not borrow…

Deut. 28:12

Even though it looked impossible at first, an


impression has been created in their minds and with
time they became debt free.
In the same way, somebody comes to Church sick,
with fear in his heart and he is wondering, “Will I
survive this plague?” But as he continues to hear the
Word, a vision of divine healing and total health is
formed in his heart and before he knows it, sickness
departs from his body. In a short period of time, the
man who was once dying of sickness starts healing the
sick and casting out devils. That is the power of vision!
One young man who is a medical practitioner testified
that for sometime he had a strange disease in his body.
Whenever he took his bath his body would begin to itch
him and that caused him a lot of discomfort. But the

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first time he heard me say in Church, “I cannot be

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VISION: THE EYE OF FAITH

sick!” He was very angry. He kept being angry every


time he heard that statement, but after hearing it over a
period of time, a picture was formed in his mind and it
dawned on him that he too could be free from sickness.
So, he stood up one day and declared, “I cannot be
sick!” Now, he is not only free from that affliction, he is
an ardent preacher of the message of divine healing.
May be, the first time you heard the message of divine
success, it sounded so strange that your mind probably
reacted or even rejected it outrightly. But after you began
to meditate and to reflect on the Word, you gave it a
second, third, fourth and fifth thought. Then you tell
yourself, “If it is happening in someone else’s life, it can
happen for me too.” As you continue to think about it,
understanding comes and then you begin to believe and
to act on the Word till it becomes a reality in your life.

Beyond The Natural


Faith always sees beyond the natural, which is why it
often attracts mockery. Can you imagine the mockery
that Abraham must have suffered as he went about
announcing his new name to the people in his
community, a childless man calling himself the father

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

of many nations? He must have been the object of


scorn and ridicule, yet he did not stagger at the promises
of God, because of what he had seen.
Our Church, the Living Faith Church started in
Kaduna in 1983. At that time, some pastors of other
Churches in the land came to talk with Bishop David
Oyedepo, the Founder, and they asked him, “What is
your vision for this city?” He said to them, “We are here
to take over the city.” As at that time the Church had
just about 15 members in regular attendance so the
vision of taking over the city naturally attracted
m ock ery but today there is no doubt th
a th e ci t y is t
ruly taken over.

People don’t m ock ordinary things, th


y only m ock w h at
e
t h ey con si der t o be r i di cul ous or beyon d t h e
natural. I f a m an w ho is st i l l squatting in som ebody ’s
h ouse begi n s t o t al k about bui l di n g m an si on s an d
estates for his relat ions som e day, he w i l l naturally be
m ocked because that doesn’t sound realistic. So never be
surprised or feel st range i f you are being m ock ed for
your fai th. I f i t is a vision from the Word of G od, i t w i l l
surely com e to pass and al l w ho have m ock ed you w i l l
com e and bow dow n to you.

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Chapter 6

OBEDIENCE:
The Hallmark of
Faith

Obedience is the hallmark of faith because whosoever


you believe, you naturally obey. Disobedience is simply
an expression of unbelief but every step of obedience is
a step of faith!
God relates with us primarily on the platform of our
obedience. If you believe that He would do what He
has promised, then you will take steps to obey His
instructions. Your not obeying God is an
indication that you don’t believe He can do what He
said He would do.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

The Scripture says, “Let the weak say I am strong” (Joel


3:10). If you now say, “Ah! With this terrible headache?
How can I say I am strong?” You are simply saying to
God, “I can’t obey You because I don’t believe You.” The
reason God instructs the weak to say, “I am strong”, is
because as he says it, he would actually becom e st ron
g, for th e Bi bl e says, “…
He shall have whatsoever he
saith” (Mark 11:23)
I have heard my wife constantly advise that Christians
should resist the tendency of getting used to God. Those
who get used to God end us useless. Relate with God
with a sense of awe and take His Word seriously at all
times.
Your obedience is an acceptance of the fact that God
knows better than you. When God gives you an
instruction He never tells you the totality of what He
has in mind. He only tells you what to do. Your faith in
Him thereafter, moves you to obey even though you
may not know what the outcome may be.
For instance, God may not tell you that He has a plan
to bless you financially before He demands that you
give a sacrificial offering.
Sometime in 1998, we were in a meeting in Lagos
(Nigeria) and an offering was being raised for the

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building of Faith Tabernacle. My wife and I had set

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

aside some little money, just about one hundred and


eighty thousand naira, which we wanted to use to start
building a personal house. And the Lord said to me, “I
need that money.” With joy, I immediately dropped it at
the altar.
The following day, without my knowledge, somebody
sent a draft of five hundred thousand naira to me. Can
you compare one hundred and eightty thousand to five
hundred housand? Every time God tells you to do
something, He only wants to use it as an avenue to
qualify you for a change of status.
God has nothing to gain or lose per se, from your
obedience or disobedience. Whether you obey or not
He is still God. You are the only one who has
something to lose because every time you disobey, God
does not give you the next instruction. And as a result,
you remain stagnated.
God never told Abraham what he would do before He
instructed him to go and sacrifice his son on the
mountain. But Abraham judged God faithful and he
obeyed Him to the letter. He believed God so much that
as soon as he received the instruction, he did not mind
how crazy it sounded or how inconvenient it was, he
woke up early in the morning, took his son, the knife

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and the wood for the burnt offering and went

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

out in search of the mountain which God would show


him. To show his willingness to obey God, he did not
forget the knife back home. After two days, he was still
searching for the mountain yet he kept going because
he believed. When God showed him the mountain on
the third day, Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here,
my son and I will go up yonder to worship and return to
you.” Even in the face of that situation, Abraham never
saw God as punishing him. God stretched Abraham
before He spread him.
The reason many people never get blessed is because
they think that obeying God is punishment so they sing
songs of self-pity and carry out the instructions
mournfully. Those who obey God grudgingly are never
blessed but Isaiah 1:19 says:

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good


of the land.

The word ‘willing’ means to ‘eagerly comply’. And that


could also mean ‘hope’ or ‘anticipation’ because you
only comply with eagerness when you have hope of
receiving the promise at the end. When you are
hopeful, you will be willing and of course, your
willingness will naturally move you to obey joyfully.
And once that is done you are sure to eat the fruit of the

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land.

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

Every test in the school of faith centers on obedience.


God demands obedience from you before He will deliver
the blessing to you. Remember that obedience is a sacrifice;
it is not convenient, but God loves a cheerful giver.

Obedience Is Superior To Prayer!


It costs less to obey than to pray. The Bible says, “To
obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). Think
about a couple that has crisis in their home for instance,
the woman is praying daily for peace, she takes her
husband’s name to every prayer group in town and
anoints his picture until one can’t even see a trace of the
image any more. But when the husband gives her an
instruction, she feels too big to submit.
There is no devil anywhere that needs to be bound! If
she could just obey the law of submission, she may
never need to say one more prayer concerning her
husband. That means as she is confessing, “I have the
peace of God in my home, for when He gives peace no
one can make trouble”, she is also professing it by
practicing what the Word says, submitting to her
husband and doing as a wife should do in the home.
When that step of obedience is taken, God looks down
from heaven and turns the man’s heart to love her and

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to be a proper husband and father in the home.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

The same goes for the man. If he would shower his wife
with love just as the Word of God says in Ephesians 5:22,
God will through His Word, supply whatever the wife is
lacking and then harmony abounds!
What moves God is not your prayer but your
obedience. That is what commits Him to answer you
even before you call. Many think that they can use their
prayers to substitute their obedience, it is not possible!
If only you will obey God for the things you are praying
to Him about, your life would never be the same again.
Get delighted in the commandments of God! Let
everything He says be convenient for you!

It Pleases God
Nothing pleases God like obedience. That is why, all
through the Bible you will discover that the foremost
requirement to receiving God’s blessings is to diligently
hearken to His voice and obey His commandments. The
Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:13:

…Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God


and keep His commandments, for this is the
whole [duty] of man” (NIV).

The peak of our walk with God is pleasing Him; when


God can look down from heaven and say, “I am pleased

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with you.” That was all He said about Jesus at

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

His baptism: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well


pleased” (Matthew 3:17). He didn’t say, “This is My
beloved Son, a miracle worker.” Neither did He say, “This
is My beloved Son, a prosperous man.” Rather, “This is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” No matter
how great a miracle worker you are or how prosperous
you are, if you are not pleasing God, your relationship
with Him is not yet approved.
Our fathers in the faith were blessed, not because they
prayed for blessings but because they pleased God with
their lives. Look at this:

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for


God took him.

Genesis 5:24

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not


see death; and was not found, because God had
translated him: for before his translation he had
this testimony, that he pleased God.

Hebrews 11:5

God was pleased with Enoch, so He took him. He


didn’t allow him to see death, which is what every mortal
man should naturally experience. Abraham also, because
he obeyed God’s instruction, God was impressed and
among other things He said to Abraham, “By Myself

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have I sworn…for because thou hast done this thing, and

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as
the stars of the heaven…” (Genesis 22:16-18).
What prayer did Abraham pray to qualify for such a
blessing? None! He simply pleased God by his
obedience. Note that God said, “…Because thou hast
done this thing.” Not “Because thou hast prayed about
this thing.” There is a level of blessing that your prayers
cannot obtain but by pleasing God by your obedience, it
comes with ease. You enter into a realm of ceaseless
blessings where you don’t have to make confessions
over your empty pockets before your needs are met.
There is always something you must do to please God
for Him to be moved to bless you. So, every time you
come across a promise in the Word of God, look out for
the instructions you must obey to commit God to fulfill
that promise in your life.

What Is Obedience?
To obey God means to be dominated and
overwhelmed by Him and His word; to hold Him in
high esteem and to have high regard for His word. It
means to take His word as the final authority over your
life and to respond to it’s demands. I have not found a
more comprehensive definition of faith than ‘obedience

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to God’s word.’ When you obey God you are

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

simply saying, “Lord, I trust in You.” That is faith at


work! As you begin to take steps in obedience to God,
fear may attempt to creep in, but keep following, don’t
let fear hold you down! You may not see the workability
of the instruction from the onset or even in the middle
of the way, but continue to the end and watch what God
will do.
Obedience is a result of your conviction concerning
the person and the integrity of God’s word. It is judging
God faithful. Simply put, the deeper your
understanding of God, the easier and the more excited
you would be to obey Him.
Let’s look at the qualities of obedience that make it a
vital force in the operation of faith.

No Alteration!
Apart from promptness, another thing that makes
your obedience acceptable to God is doing it the way
He says it. Not carrying out His instructions fully is as
good as not doing them at all. Obedience must be
absolute.
When they were going to build the tabernacle in the
wilderness, God told Moses in Exodus 25:40:

And look that thou make them after their

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pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according


to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in
the mount.
Exodus 26:30

… As it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they


make it.
Exodus 27:8

When God told Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country,


and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a
land that I will show thee…” The Bible says, “So Abram
departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him…” (Genesis
12:1,4). He did not negotiate with God nor did he alter
what God had said, he departed as he was instructed.
Many believers negotiate with God when He tells them
what to do. They look for ways either to dodge the
instruction or attempt to persuade God to change His
mind about it but Abraham did it as the Lord had
spoken unto him and he got the blessings as God had
promised.
If we do what God commands, we will get what He
has promised.
Some day also, Peter had toiled and labored all night
trying to catch fish without success and when he was
washing his net in frustration Jesus came to him and

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asked to use his boat to preach. After preaching Jesus

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep, and let down
your nets for a draught” (Luke 5:4). But Peter began to
argue, analyze and give reason why he didn’t think it
was the right thing to do.
Many people are paralyzed because of their tendency
to over analyze issues. They analyze, streamline,
explain, negotiate and argue God’s instructions till He
allows them to have their way and by so doing they
miss His perfect will for them. We often forget that we
are limited to what we can see around us per time but
God knows the end of the matter from the beginning.
Peter eventually obeyed Jesus and the Bible says,
“…When they had this done, they enclosed a great
multitude of fishes: and their net brake” (Luke 5:6). It is
what you do that moves God to respond in your favor.
Just as it is in scientific law - action equals reaction;
absolute obedience commands absolute blessings.

It Is The Proof Of Godly Fear


Let us consider once more Abraham’s story in Genesis
chapter 22 when God instructed him to sacrifice his son
Isaac whom he waited twenty-five years to have. There
is so much to learn about obedience from that passage.
You will notice from that story that after Abraham

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received the instruction, He rose up early in

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the morning and went unto the place of which God had
told him (Genesis 22:3). He didn’t wait till the afternoon
when he would have been choked with too many
negative considerations, he set out early and when he
arrived at the mountain which God showed him, he
took his son up there, tied him and lifted up the knife
to slay him. At that instant, the angel of the Lord called
unto him out of heaven and said:

… Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou


any thing unto him: for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son from Me.

Genesis 22:12

Your obedience is the proof that you fear God. You


can’t claim to fear God if you keep disobeying Him. And
you know the Bible says, “Blessed is the man that feareth
the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments”
(Psalms 112:1).
You are blessed because you fear God and the proof of
your fear for Him is your delightsome obedience to His
commandments.
You don’t attract the rewards of faith until you
respond to the demands of faith. And the foremost
demand of faith is obedience. When the people at the

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marriage in Cana of Galilee needed a miracle supply of

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

wine, Mary the mother of Jesus told Him of the


situation and then she turned to the people and said,
“Whatever He tells you to do, do it” (John 2:5). There is
something God is telling you to do, go and do it!

It Is The Pathway To Dominion


In Genesis 1:26 God said, “…Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion…over all the earth…” You are created for
dominion but you may never exercise dominion on the
earth until you first allow God’s Word to dominate your
life. When you are under the dominion of His Word, all
things respond to you.
Second Corinthians 10:6 says, “And being ready to
punish all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
The reason many things are disobeying you is because
you also are disobeying God; for whatever a man sows
that he shall reap.
Obedience to God compels obedience from the devil,
your finances, and from all situations around you. That is
why every temptation Satan brings your way is
targeted at moving you to disregard God’s Word and
disobey Him. It is obedience to God’s Word that
establishes your dominion on the earth. Until the word

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dominates your life you cannot dominate your world.

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James 4:7 says, “Submit yourself therefore to God, resist


the devil and he will flee from you.” Nothing withstands
the devil like your obedience to the Word of God and
nothing dethrones a man like disobedience to God’s
word. Submission to God’s word makes everything
around you submit to you, even those who hate you will
submit to you.
I want you to understand that there is no free man in
life. To be lawless is to end as a captive. Jesus never
regarded Himself as free. He said, “I can of Mine own
self do nothing: as I hear, I judge…” (John 5:30). You are
too small to think you are free to do what you like. Jesus
never lived as a free man. He submitted to God so much
that God was impressed and gave Him a name above all
names (Philippians 2:10-11).
The secret of dominion therefore is obedience, and
submission to God’s Word; putting your self under His
law. If you want to exercise dominion over poverty for
instance, you must obey the law of giving (Luke 6:38).
Those who don’t enjoy being under law, will remain
low. Rulers are made by following rules. This was where
Adam missed it. He refused God’s continual
domination, so he lost his domain in the garden. As
long as they were under God’s dominion, everything

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was under their authority. But the moment they turned

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OBEDIENCE: THE HALLMARK OF FAITH

their backs at God in disobedience, He sent them out of


the garden into the wilderness (Genesis 2:16-17). If you
want to put the wilderness permanently behind you,
then submit to God’s instructions, enjoy being under
His law and you will find yourself enjoying dominion in
all spheres of life.
Not all obedience is rewarding. The obedience of faith
have two outstanding qualities that I feel should be
mentioned here.

1. Excitement
Obedience to God must be with excitement. God’s
instructions should be obeyed worshipfully and
delightfully. This is the aspect of obedience that touches
God directly. Abraham moved God to put Himself under
an oath to bless him because he obeyed God
worshipfully.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye


here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again to you.
Genesis 22:5

Your service and obedience becomes unprofitable if it


carries any element of being a burden. God’s
commandments are not grievous; they are to take you

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into greater glory and enlargement.

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2. Willingness
God will not coarse anybody to obey Him. If you are
cajoled into doing anything for God, it will not bring
any reward back to you. Don’t step into doing anything
for God until you are convinced and willing to do it.

For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but


if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is
committed unto me.
1 Corinthians 9:17

Unwillingness is what makes people to lose their


rewards. When he was to take an offering from the
children of Israel, God told Moses,

Take ye from among you an offering unto the


Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him
bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver,
and brass.

Exodus 35:5

3. Promptness
Obedience goes beyond just responding to
instructions. It also has to do with how you respond.
Obedience actually means prompt, willing, excited
response to instruction. That is to say, “God has said it
and I am excited at it. I am willing to do it, and I will do

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it without delay.” Please take note of that word ‘prompt’
because, delayed obedience is the same as

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absolute disobedience.
You know why many Christians have to pray more
than once over issues of their lives before they see
results? It is because they make God speak more than
once before they respond. Those who won’t let God
instruct them over an issue more than once will never
need to pray twice over any issue of their lives. As a
matter of fact, God may not even wait for them to ask
before He answers.
So, when God speaks to you or you locate His
instructions in His word, take steps to obey promptly;
go into action quickly. That was the secret of our fathers
in the faith. In chapter 17 of Genesis God spoke to
Abraham about circumcision. At age ninety-nine, God
told him:

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin;


and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me
and you.

Genesis 17:11

What did he do?

… Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were


born in his house, and all that were bought with
his money, every male among the men of
Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of

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their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had
said unto him.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when


he (obeyed God)...

Genesis 17:23-24

Circumcision, as I know, is usually done for babies at


the eigth day or at most for children between the ages
of six and seven. Can you imagine what it meant for a
man of ninety-nine years to circumcise himself?
Abraham regarded himself as a baby before God. You
are also aware that the healing process in the human
body is slowed down with age. Yet Abraham went ahead
to obey.
Some people are too intelligent for God, that is why
they can’t obey Him. Some are too advanced in the
knowledge of technology so they choose to believe
science rather than the Word of God. Abraham did not
only go ahead to circumcise himself and every male in
his house but he did it the same day that God
instructed him. He was prompt about it!
I decree that whatever makes you delay obeying the
Word of God be destroyed from your life today, in the
name of Jesus!

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Chapter 7

CONFESSION:
The Spirit of Faith

For with the heart man believeth unto


righteousness; and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
Romans 10:10

Faith is born in the heart but is expressed through the


mouth. “For with the heart man believeth…” Belief can be
likened to stored or potential energy while speaking is
kinetic or released energy. When you speak, you release
what has been stored in the heart for physical
manifestation. So, the effect of faith is made known
through it’s declaration. Undeclared faith is un-
activated faith because until faith is declared it
remains stored in the heart. It is your confession that

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sets the process of manifestation in motion; it brings


out what you have believed so that the effect can be
seen in the open.

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it


is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
we also believe, and therefore speak

2 Corinthians 4:13

This Scripture reveals that confession enlivens faith by


supplying it with wings to fly with.
In communication, words spoken rides on air waves.
For instance, someone in far away Japan can converse at
the same second with another person in Africa.
Similarly, words that are spoken have no barrier in the
spirit realm. This is why the wise Centurion
requested Jesus to “speak the word only.” The Bible
records that he got what he desired “in the selfsame
hour!” (Matthew 8:8, 13).
Words are messengers. You don’t have to be
everywhere for your effect to be known. Your words can
reach where you cannot reach in split seconds.
If you truly believe the Word in your heart, your mouth
will naturally speak it. Your closed mouth is a proof that
you don’t believe it enough. God believed that light
could be made to shine out of darkness, He believed
that it was possible to create a new earth from the

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formless and void chaos that was before Him,

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

but He never saw any of these things until He declared


it. Until He spoke out the things that be not as though
they were in existence, they did not come forth
(Romans 4:17).
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good…
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst
of the waters, and let it divide the waters from
the waters…and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And God
said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the dry land
appear: and it was so… and God saw that it was
good.
Genesis 1:3,4,6-10

Speaking what you believe means announcing it and


announcing it means calling it forth. If for instance you
have three children named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
You don’t call Isaac and expect Abraham to answer.
When you call Isaac, Isaac answers. Similarly, in the
things of the spirit, it is what you call that manifests.
God called light and He saw light. Every other thing He
called He saw. You may not see it the first time you call
but that does not mean it will not come. Keep calling, it
is on the way coming! Don’t you see that in your home
sometimes, you call your child and he or she does not

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answer the first time? But when you call again, he comes
running. As you keep declaring

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what you believe, it keeps coming closer and closer


until it finally manifests. Confession releases the ‘spirit of
faith’ to work in our favor (2 Corinthians 4:13).

Use Your Gift!


Your mouth is a major weapon in spiritual warfare.
That is why when God sent Moses to Egypt to deliver
the Israelites, He said to him, “…I will be with thy mouth,
and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Exodus 4:12). Also,
when Jesus was going to bless His disciples He said to
them, “…I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all
your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist”
(Luke 21:15). So put your mouth to use! Express your
faith and watch things begin to happen in your life. The
opening of your mouth is the opening of your destiny.
Hear me very well: If you can’t declare your prosperity
you will die in penury. If you can’t declare your health
you will die in sickness and disease. I don’t care what
medical report has been given to you, look at it straight
and say, “Satan, this is not for me! By the stripes of
Jesus, I have been healed! Himself took my infirmity! If
He took it I don’t have it!”

You Must Be Bold!


It takes bold speaking to come out of the pit, and out
of every trap of satan. That was why the disciples prayed

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for boldness when they were arrested and threatened


not to speak any more in the name of Jesus. After they
were released they returned to their own company and
together they prayed:

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and


grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness
they may speak Thy word…
Acts 4:29

You must understand that you are in a warfare and the


major reason satan threatens you is to stop you from
speaking the Word. He knows that the moment you
begin to declare the Word of God in a particular area of
your life, you have won the battle in that area, so he
does everything to make you keep quiet. And it is
unfortunate that many religious believers take pride in
the fact that they are “very quiet.” They don’t know that
closed mouths lead to closed destinies! No matter how
anointed you are, one of the deadliest attacks Satan can
launch against you is to close your mouth. But those
who know the secret of bold declarations never suffer
defeat. David in the Bible was such a man. He said, “I
shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord”
(Psalm 118:17). “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress: my God; in Him I will trust” (Psalm 91:2). No
wonder he could not be killed.

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The Bible also says concerning Job that despite the

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calamities that befell him, he did not sin with his lips
(Job 2:10). He declared, “For I know that I know my
redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25) so God had no choice but to
keep him alive.

Care Less About Public Opinion!


The reason many believers don’t declare their faith is
because they are too mindful of public opinion. Their
fear is, how would people feel if they hear me say, “I
cannot be sick?” Or “I can’t be poor”? Won’t they think I
am proud? Look, every man of faith is seen as a proud
man at one time or the other.
When David got to the battlefield and he said, “I am
going to kill Goliath”, his brother accused him of pride.
Eliab said, “I know your pride and the naughtiness of
your heart.” Yet, David did not change his language.
When he was brought before king Saul, he insisted, “Let
no man’s heart fail because of this Philistine, I will go out
and fight him” (1 Samuel 17:26-32).
When you declare, “I cannot fail! No, I cannot be sick!
I cannot be involved in an accident!” You may sound
like a proud man but you are planting a seed of life that
will yield fruits for you tomorrow. If you wait for people
to understand before you speak, you will die in failure
and misery!
You must learn never to consider people’s views above

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the Word of God, because what they call you is not as

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

important as what the Word of God says concerning


you. It is what you declare from the word that
determines your outcome in future. They may call you
foolish or call you a failure, but never call yourself such
because that is not who you are. Every body takes
responsibility for his life through his personal
declarations. If I had considered people’s views, I would
not be where I am today. But I chose to speak what I
believe and now I am becoming it.

Speak, Doubting Nothing!


Another reason people don’t speak out is because of
doubt. “What if I say it and it doesn’t happen?” Well, say it
first! Yours is to say it, God’s part is to confirm it! Isaiah
44:26 says that He confirms the word of His servant, and
performs the counsel of His messengers. God does not
confirm His servant, He confirms the Word of His servant.
That means God cannot perform what you don’t say, so say
it! If you say it the first time and it doesn’t happen, say it
again. Keep saying it persistently and insistently, till it
comes to pass. Jesus said:

… Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be


thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and
shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that
those things which he saith shall come to pass; he
shall have whatsoever he saith.

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Mark 11:23

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When the apostles went everywhere preaching the


Word, the Bible tells us that, “God was working with
them, confirming the Word with signs following” (Mark
16:20). God works only with people who speak the Word.
He was confirming the word not their status, not their
age or educational qualifications. What God confirms is
your words, so give Him enough words to confirm.
If you want to keep seeing manifestations then you
must keep speaking the Word. Whatever you want to
see manifest in your life tomorrow, start declaring them
today. It is today ’s declarations that result in
tomorrow’s manifestations, because words are seeds of
destiny. One of the reasons I can never be poor in my
life is because I have declared so much about prosperity
over the years and now, it is manifesting.
You can predict your future from God’s Word because
it shows you the picture of what God wants to make of
your life, it shows you what you can become. In
Deuteronomy 28:13 it says, “And the Lord shall make thee
the head and not the tail, and thou shalt be above only
and thou shalt not be beneath…” But in Isaiah 43:26 God
said:

… Declare thou that thou mayest be justified.

The word ‘justified’ means to be marked right. When

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you declare what God has spoken concerning you in

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

His Word, He marks you right and establishes it for you.


What you don’t declare, you are never justified for. But
when you speak it, angels will pick it and then God will
fix it (Psalm 103:20).
So, if you are a student preparing to graduate from
university, don’t talk of unemployment, rather start
talking about the wonderful job you will get as soon as
you are out of school and God will establish it for you. If
you are a young lady yet to be married, keep talking about
the peaceful home and the number of children you will
have. It will surprise you how soon it will come to pass.
Keep saying what you want until there is a
manifestation, irrespective of who is angry. You are
responsible for where you are today because of what
you said yesterday. So if you want to see a better future,
start framing it the way you want it from now. Keep
pressing towards your blessing by declaring it.
Despise what is happening around you and declare
what you desire! The fact that you have failed once does
not make you a failure. Failure is only an event, so if you
find yourself in it, keep declaring your success until it
becomes a reality. The Bible says in Genesis 1:2:

…The earth was without form, and void, and


darkness was upon the face of the deep...

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But in the midst of that, God said, “Let there be

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

light!” And there was light (Verse 3).


Never mind what is happening, focus on what is
written and as you keep declaring what is written, what
is happening will give way to what is written.
Sometimes, the difficulties of life will press so hard on
you, but the harder the pressure the stronger your
language should be. The dryer your pocket becomes,
the stronger your language for prosperity should be.
The weaker you are in your body, the more strongly you
should speak words of healing. You can order your
immediate environment with the words of your mouth
because what is written will ultimately erase what is
happening. What is happening to you is temporal, but
what is written is already settled. (Psalm 119:89).
Words are weapons of war, they are the greatest attack
against the devil. If you don’t speak out, you will soon
give up. So, speak into your future.

How To Make Your Declarations Effectual


Matthew 12:34 says, “Out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaks.” To make your declarations effectual,
you must fill your soul with the knowledge of God’s
Word by reading and listening to teachings on faith.
“For faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of
God” (Romans 10:17).

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Be an addict of the Word! When your heart is full of

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

the Word, unbelief and negative thoughts of failure and


poverty will naturally be choked out. So don’t allow any
vacuum in your heart. Satan only fills up vacant room –
“…neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). Get soaked
in the Word so that when the pressures of life come
your way, the only thing that will be pressed out of you
is the Word.
Secondly, be consistent in your speech. If you spoke
positive words yesterday and then begin to speak
negative words today, you have neutralized all the
positive words you said before. And that means you
have to start again from zero level. Paul said in
Galatians 6:9:

… Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due


season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Don’t be weary in well doing, including making


declarations of faith. Be strong in your language and
keep at it for as long as necessary. Some miracles will
manifest after only two weeks of declarations, while
some others may require your speaking consistently
over the years before they manifest. But the rule of the
game is, even when you don’t see it, keep speaking it.
Some of the blessings I am enjoying today are the fruits
of what I have been speaking strongly for many years.

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We are told in Acts 19:10 that Paul the apostle stayed

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

in Asia for two years preaching the Word of God boldly,


until all the people that dwelt there heard the Gospel.
He kept at it strongly and long enough and as a result
“…God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul”
(Acts 19:11).
When Moses was to go and deliver the Israelites from
Egypt, God sent him with a message to Pharaoh: “Let
My people go that they may serve Me.” But you know
something? God did not tell Moses how many times he
needed to declare the word before Pharaoh would let the
people go. Moses perhaps thought that he would only
need to say it to Pharaoh once and the deed would be
done. But if you go through the book of Exodus, you will
discover that Moses made that declaration about ten
times and each time, God hardened the heart of
Pharaoh to refuse. So, each declaration was followed by
a different plague upon the Egyptians. It was after God
had plagued them ten times that Pharaoh called Moses
and Aaron and said to them, “…Go, serve the LORD, as
ye have said” (Exodus 12:31).
The word of faith naturally stands the test of time as
you declare it consistently. Every other thing may fail
but not the word of faith. If you won’t be tired of
speaking the word, a time comes when Satan will have
no choice but to let you go.

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No matter how poor you are now, if you refuse to

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

stop declaring prosperity, one day poverty will become


tired of you and say, “Go and prosper as you have said.” If
you won’t be tired of declaring your health, no matter
the number or types of diseases that are ravaging your
body now, a time will come when all the demons will
advice themselves and say, “Let’s release this man to go
as he has said.”
Faith comes by hearing, it is built up through
meditation but released through bold declarations. So,
see a bright future ahead of you and keep declaring it! It
will work for you, in Jesus name!

Refuse To Fear!
Fear is one of satan’s strategies to disarm you of your
weapon of faith. He seeks to oppress you by first
introducing fear into you. He flashes all kinds of
dangerous images into your mind and when you become
afraid, he afflicts you. Until you fear, Satan cannot
afflict you.
Fear is the opposite of faith. When fear comes faith is
punctured. What you don’t fear can NEVER happen to
you. Job was said to be the most righteous and the
greatest man in the east in his days but he was afflicted
because Satan attacked his faith and introduced fear.
Job said, “…The thing which I greatly feared is come upon

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me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

me” (Job 3:25). No matter how righteous you are if you


fear you will fall.
Psalm 91:5 says, “Thou shall not be afraid…” That
means it is in your power to say ‘no’ to fear or to open
the door to it. Fear would always attempt to come but
“thou shall not be afraid!” Philippians 1:28 says, “And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries…” Satan’s plan is to
terrify you, he wants to scare you and make you drop
your shield of faith, so that he can afflict and devour but
you must refuse to fear. Don’t fear terrors; don’t fear
epidemics or pestilences no matter their number.
The truth is, fear comes to all, there is no exception,
but your attitude or reaction to it is what determines
your outcome. David, a great warrior who never lost a
single battle in his life said in his prayer to God, “What
time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3).
Wherever fear is allowed, faith cannot stand. Just as
faith pleases and attracts God, fear opens the door to
the devil. Some time ago, I prayed for a young man who
was dying of blood cancer, I prayed for him from the
depth of my heart but after the prayer he opened his
mouth and said, “Pastor, the truth is that I am afraid I
will die.” And he died! Fear not!
Most of the afflictions and evils that happen to man
come as a result of his fear. If you will take time to do

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

a little appraisal of yourself, you will discover that the


times you were afflicted by satan were preceded by
suggestions of those evil occurrences. You bought those
suggestions and some day, it happened. It perhaps took
a day, a month or a year, but the thought came and you
did nothing to resist it, so it was registered.
A pastor in our Church testified that he was traveling
from Lagos to Kaduna with some other pastors and in
the course of the journey, the pastor who was driving
said he heard a voice whisper in his heart, “The tyre of
your car will burst now and you will have an accident.”
He immediately said, “I rebuke that spirit in the name
of Jesus.” And you know what happened? The ‘tyre-
bursting-demon’ was around because as soon as he made
that statement, the tyre of the vehicle next to theirs,
busted, right in motion! You see why you can’t afford to
nurse any evil suggestions that satan sends into your
mind?
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given
unto us the spirit of fear...” So, fear is a stranger, it only
comes to try to gain access into your heart. God did not
give it to you but satan wants to force it on you and the
Bible tells us in James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee
from you.”
Jesus also said, “These signs shall follow them that

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believe, in My name shall they cast out devils…” (Mark

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

16:17), including the devils of fear. So, when fear comes


knocking on the door of your heart, you cast it out in
the name of Jesus! Somebody said, “When fear knocks
on your door, send faith to open the door and you will
discover that there is nobody there.” Fear is a spirit, it
does not have power over you until you entertain it.
The cheapest way to humiliate fear is to speak out;
make bold declarations of faith. “I am defended! I am
kept by the power of God! No plague shall come near
my dwelling, a thousand may fall at my right hand and
ten thousand at my left hand, it shall not come near me!
I cannot suffer lack and want!” You can’t be speaking
and be afraid at the same time.
When you make declarations of faith, Satan begins to
take steps backwards. I have discovered that one of the
secrets of very courageous and bold men is speaking.
They intimidate their enemies with their words. That
was how David killed Goliath. As he was approaching
Goliath, he said:

This day will the LORD deliver you into my hand;


and I will take your head from you; and I will give
the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this
day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts
of the earth; that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel

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1 Sam 17:46.

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

And then when he used his sling, a strange force went


into it and that little stone penetrated into the skull of
Goliath. Not only that, he fell on his face and died. You
know why? Because David had killed the giant with his
declarations of faith before the stone touched his head.
When you speak out in faith, you are destroying your
fears and at the same time sending warning signals into
the camp of the enemy.
The more you speak, the more courageous you become.
That is why when soldiers are going to war they sing all
manner of instigating songs. If you don’t know how to
speak you will become a cheap prey in the hands of the
enemy because death and life are in the power of the
tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
The reason God said in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that
is formed against thee shall prosper…”, is because He has
given you authority over them. So, when Satan brings
imaginations and suggestions of evil to your heart, he is
only indicating that he wants to bring his judgment
upon you. This is why the Bible furthermore says,
“…Every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment,
thou shalt condemn…” (Isaiah 54:17).
When Satan comes and whispers in your heart, “You
will die.” You don’t watch it, you cancel such words of

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

fear with declarations of faith. “I shall not die but live to


declare the goodness of God.” We have heard many
testimonies of people who in the midst of fatal
accidents shouted, “Jesus! I shall not die but live!” And
they were saved.
Fear comes through what you see and hear, it also
comes through your thoughts and imaginations. So,
take heed what you hear and see, don’t be a dumping
ground for evil information. Don’t sit down with people
who discuss evil news that are likely to put fear in your
heart. Things will continue to happen around you,
Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars, but
disregard them because you are not programmed to be
their victim. The things you regard are the things you
fear, if at the instances of hearing evil news, you are
smart enough to say, “No! It can’t happen to me”, you
have escape fear already.
A lso, i f you are gi ven to dream s of t h
enight , bew are. I f
you slept at ni gh t an d dream t t hat you w ere i nvol ved i
n an acci den t or t h at you r l oved on e di ed, don’ t ann
ounce i t t o an ybody. Wak e up i n th e m orn in g an d
cast d o w n t h at i m agi n at i o n acco r d i n g t o 2 C
ori nt h ian s 10:4 -5 :

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,


but mighty through God to the pulling down of

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strong holds;)

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CONFESSION: THE SPIRIT OF FAITH

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing


that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ.

Every evil dream that comes to you is a way of Satan


informing you that he wants to afflict you, he is
seeking your permission and many unconsciously give
him that permission by telling the dream to everybody
around them. Bad dreams are not to be announced,
they are to be cancelled. The moment you announce it,
Satan registers it and will come back to perform it. This
is why you have to gird up the loins of your mind and
keep your heart with all diligence (1 Peter 1:13, Proverbs
4:23).
Some people put their innocent children in trouble by
thinking evil concerning them, like Job did to his
children. Every time Job’s children celebrated their
birthday parties, “Job would send and have them purified.
Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering
for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have
sinned and cursed God in their hearts”…( Job 1:5 - NIV). He
was constantly entertaining fears over his children and
one day, Satan took advantage of his fear and struck
them. Job’s ten children were feasting in their elder
brother’s house when a mighty wind struck the four

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corners of the house where they were. It collapsed on

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

them and they all died (Job 1:19). That is how some
parents today think concerning their children. “Ah, my
child, traffic is always heavy in front of his school, what
if a car, a taxi….?” And then when it eventually happens,
he will say, “I knew it, something told me that this
would happen someday.” Refuse to fear! Every time you
think of your children in school or wherever they are,
speak peace concerning them. Declare boldly, “The Lord
is the keeper of my children, He will neither sleep nor
slumber. The sun will not smite them by day nor the
moon by night, no evil shall come near them, for the
seed of the righteous shall be mighty upon earth.” You
can’t speak like that and still fear. Even if the devil
wanted to touch your children, when you make
declarations of faith, their angels move into action
and quell every attack of satan.
Those who do not fear will not fall. You will never fall
again.

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Chapter 8

TESTIMONIES:
The Arrows of
Faith

Testimonies are arrows that faith shoot to subdue


oppositions. It is as potent as the blood of Jesus,
Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…”
There is power in testimonies. Many people in Church
today came as a result of the testimonies they heard.
They were suffering all manner of afflictions but when
they heard testimonies of God’s doings in the lives of
others who were once afflicted like themselves,
something stirred up on their inside and they began to

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see the possibility of enjoying the same victory. As they


put their faith on the line, they were blessed and they
also began to testify of the power in God’s word. It is
impossible for the devil to confuse such people since
they have proofs; they have something they can always
make reference to when they are confronted. The
testimony of the Lord is the victory of the saints. Those
who share their testimonies cannot be turned into trash.
How do testimonies build up faith in the life of a
believer?

Testimonies Inspire Faith And Build


Confidence
Testimonies strengthen our assurance that God is
faithful and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever.
When you hear what God has done in the life of
another person, you are assured that He is still at work
on your behalf. If for instance you have believed God for
the fruit of the womb for two years and then you hear
the testimony of somebody who waited for nine years,
at the end of which God blessed her with twins, your
faith will naturally be inspired. You tell yourself, “My
case is not closed, if God can do it for somebody after

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nine years, my own is very cheap.”

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TESTIMONIES: THE ARROWS OF FAITH

Faith is easy to build with testimonies because you can’t


doubt what you see.

Testimonies Raise Your ExpectationsFor


Good reports
Testimonies give us something to aspire to. Each time
you hear a testimony you become expectant and hopeful
that the same could happen for you. If God could raise
somebody who came to Church a year ago from the
level of wearing bathroom slippers to now riding a car,
then there is hope for anyone who would believe. When
you hear that somebody who had no job a few months
back is now an employer of labor, it raises your
expectation; you begin to look forward to having such a
testimony some day. If you are faced with unemployment
and you hear how God provided miracle jobs for others,
it inspires your faith. When you hear of how people
were promoted without lobbying, you make up your
mind never to trust in any man for your promotion but
to trust in God only and wait on Him to do it for you.

Testimonies Are Memorials


The book of Exodus contains the story of how the
children of Israel came out of Egypt after four hundred
years in bondage. And the night before they came out,

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God ordained what is called the ‘Passover ’ (Exodus 12:1-

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

36). Now, God also told the people of Israel that the
ordinance of Passover was to be a memorial to all
generations, it was to be celebrated continually so that
their children and their children’s children would know
how God, by His mighty hand brought them out of
Egypt into the Promised Land (Exodus 13:1-10). So, each
time the people of Israel remembered their
deliverance from Egypt, they were strengthened to face
the next battle before them. In Isaiah 8:16 God said:
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my
disciples.
Testimonies can therefore be referred to as memorials
or things to remember. If you don’t know what
happened yesterday you may not know what to expect
tomorrow. If you have no record of what God did
yesterday, you may not be inspired to believe Him for
what He would do today. That is why the Israelites had
a tradition that every time they were going to war, they
recalled how God delivered them from their enemies
in the past (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). And as they did that,
their faith was strengthened and God was moved to
deliver them and give them victory again and again. As
long as they kept celebrating His acts in the past, God
kept subduing their enemies before them. This is why
people who despise testimonies can never enjoy victory.

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A man who does not know where he is

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TESTIMONIES: THE ARROWS OF FAITH

coming from will never get the strength to go on to his


next phase in life. So, if your faith is failing, listen to
testimonies. When you don’t know what to do with
your situation, make reference to testimonies. Your faith
cannot die as long as you keep hearing testimonies.
Testimonies enliven faith.
In Joshua chapter 4, something happened. The
children of Israel were about to cross over river Jordan;
a miracle was about to take place and God told Joshua
to choose twelve men, a man from each of the twelve
tribes of Israel and let them pick a stone each from the
Jordan river after the people have crossed over on dry
ground and before the river closed up again. They were
to carry the stones to their lodging place and set them
up there. You may be wondering, what was the reason
for this? Joshua explained:

That this may be a sign among you, that when


your children ask their fathers in time to come,
saying, What mean ye by these stones?

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of


Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant
of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the
waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones
shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel
for ever.
Joshua 4:6-7
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So the reason for testimonies is to establish a

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

memorial, to remind us that God has not forgotten His


people and that He is still at work in our midst.
Testimonies glorify God. Those who despise
testimonies are never free from calamities (Malachi
2:2). Since, they have no reference of God’s doings in
the past, they don’t know how to provoke His presence
and His power in the present. When the Israelites
forgot the acts of God, He gave them over to their
enemies (Psalms 78:56, 59-61).
This is why God commands us to keep His
testimonies. David said in Psalm 119:111, “ Thy
testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever…” Also in
Psalm 44:1, he said:
We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have
told us, what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of
old.
This shows that testimonies are records delivered to
future generations, reminding them that whatever our
God did in the past He can do it again. So, when we
read the testimonies recorded in the Bible; how people
like Elijah, Elisha and other great men of God performed
great miracles, it assures us that we can do the same in
our days. As a matter of fact, if the miracles in the
ministry of Jesus were not recorded, we would not
believe or be inspired to do the works that He did, not

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to talk of greater works.

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TESTIMONIES: THE ARROWS OF FAITH

Testimonies Serve As Lessons


“ Thy testimonies also are my delight and my
counselors” (Psalm 119:24). When you have examples to
follow, you don’t have difficulties solving your
problems. When we hear testimonies, we are not only
hearing what God has done for others, we are learning
how to provoke the same manifestations in our lives.
Testimonies teach us the process of enjoying the kind
of triumph that somebody else has enjoyed. Remember
Hebrews 6:12 says, “…Be not slothful, but followers of
them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises.” Bishop Oyedepo often says that the secrets of
men are in their stories. It is through testimonies that
we learn the steps of those who have gone ahead of us
and then as we begin to follow in those steps, we obtain
the same good reports that they have. For instance,
somebody testifies that he was sick; he anointed
himself and kept declaring the Word of God till sickness
gave way. So if you have such a challenge at any time,
you know what to do. Examples have no respect for
individuals, they simply answer to followers. Those who
follow examples will get the same results.
Let me show you some examples from Scriptures, of
people who used testimonies to keep conquering and

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winning each time they were confronted.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Looking at the story of David in I Samuel chapter 17,


you will find that what inspired the young lad to
confront Goliath were his testimonies of victory in the
past. When David got to the battle field and saw the
giant harassing the armies of Israel, he was grieved and
he said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him…”
(1 Samuel 17:32). Obviously, when the men of Israel saw
Goliath, their hearts were panting and failing; their
faith was dying so they ran and hid themselves in
holes. But David said, “I will go and fight with this
Philistine” (Verse 32). Saul began to admonish him and
said, “You can’t fight this philistine, for you are a mere
youth and he has been a man of war from his youth”
(Verse 33). Then David said, “I have a testimony.”
Those who don’t have testimonies can’t see far,
they will be limited and stagnated by present
circumstances just as Goliath harassed and kept the
armies of Israel stagnated for forty days (1 Samuel
17:16). You can’t have problem winning the next
battle when you remember what God has done in the
past. That was why even before David stepped out to
face Goliath, he had the assurance that the victory was
won already. He said:

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear;

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this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of


them…

1 Samuel 17:34-36

Testimonies are spiritual credentials that the devil


cannot deny. After Saul heard David’s testimonies he
said to him, “Go, and the Lord be with you” (Verse 37).
David’s testimony inspired Saul to change his language.
At first he said, “You are not able to go out against this
Philistine and fight him…” But after hearing the
testimonies, he said, “Go!”
The testimonies of yesterday set the pace for today’s
triumph. So every time we have the opportunity to
hear testimonies, it is not a religious activity on the
Church program, it is rather enlightenment time.
Testimonies are ordained of God as spiritual weapon to
silence the devil and keep us winning all the time!
One brother met me some time ago and told me that
he was being threatened by some people at his place of
work. There was a special appointment that was
supposed to be assigned to him but suddenly, these
other fellows got interested in it and they threatened to
push him off. When he came to me I showed him a
testimony from the Bible. I reminded him how that in
the book of First Samuel, the Philistines captured the

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ark of God in a battle with the people of Israel and

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

back in their country they put the ark of God in the


shrine of their god called, Dagon. By the time they
returned the next morning, Dagon was fallen face down
before the ark of God. And by the next day he had his
hands and feet broken (1 Samuel 5:1-4). I told the
brother, “Just as dagon bowed before the ark of God that
is the way those people will bow before you.” His faith
was charged and he left. The next time I saw him he
said, “It happened just the way you said.”
I tell you, if you don’t have testimonies, your faith has
no future. Except you energize your faith with
testimonies it will become lame and lifeless. Please never
toy with testimonies! The reason I am always charged is
because I have heard so many testimonies that I can’t
be confused about what God will do when His Word is
declared.
Let us look at another example from the New
Testament. In Mark chapter 5, there is the popular story
of the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve
years. She pressed through the crowd to touch Jesus by
the hem of His garment and as she did that she was
made whole. But I discovered that the woman heard a
testimony that provoked her own miracle.
Beginning from verse one in Mark chapter five, we

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TESTIMONIES: THE ARROWS OF FAITH

are told that when Jesus came into the country of the
Gadarenes, a man possessed with an unclean spirit
came out of the tombs to meet Him. And Jesus cast out
the legion of demons and unclean spirits from him. Now,
as Jesus was leaving the coast, the man that was
delivered from demon oppression, pleaded to go with
Him. But Jesus refused and He said to him:

… Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great


things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had
compassion on thee.
Mark 5:19

And the Bible says in verse 20:

… He departed, and began to publish in Decapolis


how great things Jesus had done for him: and all
men did marvel.

Jesus Crossed over to the next town and there, another


miracle occurred.

And a certain woman, which had an issue of


blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things of many


physicians, and had spent all that she had, and
was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press

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behind, and touched His garment.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I


shall be whole.

And straightway the fountain of her blood was


dried up; and she felt in her body that she was
healed of that plague.

Mark 5: 25-29

It says, “ When she had heard of Jesus…” How?


Through the testimony of the man that was delivered
from demon possession. Because we are told that he
went and began to publish the great things that Jesus
had done for him and all men marveled. The woman
must have heard his testimony and reasoned within
herself, “A man who could cast out devils from
somebody who had been living in the tombs for so
long will certainly have enough power to heal me. All I
need do is to go and touch the hem of His garment and
I will be made whole.” Her faith was inspired and
despite the crowd, she pressed until she touched Jesus
and her flow of blood ceased. From hearing the
testimony of another person, she also has become a
testimony!
You can’t hear testimonies and not have your faith
stirred up! So take time to locate materials on
testimonies, in tapes, books and journals. Books that

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make references to testimonies don’t only provide you

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TESTIMONIES: THE ARROWS OF FAITH

access to information, they also inspire your faith. I read


one of such books by Smith Wigglesworth some years
back and it showed me how to operate superiority
mentality and exercise my authority over the devil.

Do Warfare With Testimonies


Don’t stop at listening to testimonies and reading
them, begin to declare them. If you believe that the
same things can be done in your life, express your faith!
God is the same yesterday today and forever! If He
delivered the children of Israel from the house of
bondage in Egypt, He can deliver you from whatever
satanic bondage may be around your life right now. So,
you don’t only thank God for testimonies, you do
warfare with them. When David said, “The Lord who
delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the
bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine”, he
was doing warfare.
Look at whatever is confronting you right now,
whatever has been weakening your faith, and declare to
it, “I believe in testimonies and I know that God who
did it for others is doing my own! God has not retired,
He is still at work! My case is too simple for Him. I am
receiving my own miracle now!” Do warfare with the
weapon of testimonies!

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Another way to do warfare with testimony is to tell

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

it. Tell people what God has done for you! Don’t keep it
to yourself because testimony not shared is victory lost.
If you don’t want to lose your next victory, share your
present testimonies. Because as you do that, not only
will it strengthen the faith of others, but your own faith
as well. When you refuse to share your testimony, the
devil comes to contend with you over that miracle and
may even attempt to bring back on you, the affliction
from which you have been delivered. So just as Jesus
told that man to go to his friends and tell what God has
done for him, I say to you now, go and share your
testimonies! Tell your neighbors, your colleagues at
work, your family members.
Sharing your testimony is giving glory to God and that
qualifies you for your next miracle. You won’t miss it in
Jesus’ name!

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Chapter 9

ACTION:
The Effort of
Faith

Faith is not passive. Faith means absolute dependence


on God, which involves walking in His instructions to
get His intervention. In fact the process of faith is
incomplete without practical steps from the practitioner.
No matter how small, your input is needed to make
your miracle a reality. There is an effort you are to
make for God to bring about the effect.
Faith does not just say, “God will do it.” Faith says,
“What must I do to commit God to do what He has
promised?” You will always be required to do something
in order for God to act on your behalf. It is your action

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

that instigates or sets the pace for God’s action. Man’s


compliance with instructions provokes God’s
commitment to fulfilling promises. That is why
sometimes before you speak a word in prayer, God is
already acting on your behalf, because He responds to
your actions more than your words. What you do moves
God more than what you say. In the school of faith,
there is what to say and there is also what to do to get
what you desire.
Faith remains a fairy tale until action is in place. That
is why I regard action as the last course in the school of
faith. Faith is born when the Word gains entrance into
your heart but your miracle is born when you step into
action. And whether you know it or not, the ultimate
proof of your faith is your action. God weighs your
actions. “…The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him
actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3).
There was a woman called Hannah in the Bible. She
was called a barren woman and for many years she kept
coming to God’s presence at Shiloh, weeping and
complaining about her counterpart – her husband’s other
wife who had children and constantly provoked her to
tears, but she got no answer. One day, after she prayed, she
did something she had never done. The Bible says:

… So the woman went her way, and did eat, and


her countenance was no more sad.

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… And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

LORD remembered her.

Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was


come about after Hannah had conceived, that she
bare a son, and called his name Samuel.
1 Samuel 1:18-20

To every word of faith there must be a corresponding


action. Action is the seal of the Word, it guarantees
performance of those things which the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.
In the school of faith action is mandatory; it is not
optional. It is the action of faith that is called the effort
of faith. Until you make an effort God does not produce
an effect. It is your effort that guarantees the effect.

Work Up Your Faith To Boiling Point!


We all eat cooked food, but you know, no food is ever
cooked without getting to the boiling point. So also,
faith does not produce until it comes to a boiling point,
which is the meeting point between the Word in your
heart and the Spirit of God who breaths upon the Word
to bring your desire into physical manifestation.

1. Faith Can Be Seen!


In Mark chapter 2, there is the story of a group of four
men, they had a friend that was sick of palsy. Their

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friend was bed fast and couldn’t move. Someday,

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

these men heard that Jesus, the Healer was in town. So,
excitedly they carried their friend on his bed and came
to the place where Jesus was holding His crusade, only
to get to the entrance and discover that there was no
access; everywhere was jammed with people. I can
picture them asking themselves, “What shall we do
now? We can’t go back.” They were desperate and their
desperation moved them into action. In no time, they
found themselves on the roof of the house. The Bible
didn’t tell us how they got there - because when faith is
at work it ignores procedures and breaks all protocols.
Desperation will always birth action. Desperation is the
atmosphere where action is created.
Unbelief considers too many things; it makes analysis
until paralysis results, but faith takes step towards the
impossible and gets the job done by any means – either
by removing the mountain, going by its side, going
over or under it. No matter what, faith will always
move. May be those men hired a ladder or they climbed
on one another to get to the roof, we can’t tell. All they
wanted was a miracle of healing for their friend and
they made all the necessary efforts to get it. It is also not
on record whether carpenters were there to help them
or not but we are told that they tore the roof open, not
minding what the owner of the house would say. As far
as they were concerned all other issues would be settled

211
later. Faith has no consideration for

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

implications. Their faith in Jesus moved them to break


all protocols.
I guess also that they were not only sure that Jesus
would heal their friend but that he would appeal to the
owner of the house on their behalf or pay for the repairs
of the roof. And as they let down their friend through
the roof, the Bible says, “Jesus saw their faith…” (Mark
2:5). So, faith can be seen; it can be noticed or perceived
through your actions.
To those men, they were only making an effort to help
their friend, but Jesus equated their effort to faith and
when He saw their faith (effort) He said to the sick man,
“…Son, thy sins be forgiven thee…Arise, and take up thy
bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:5,11). And
immediately, the man received strength and went
home.
Effort is instigated by the desperation or seriousness
of faith. If you want to see speedy manifestations, then
work up your faith to a point of desperation where
your heart’s cry is “Lord, do it now or never!” This is
different and far from being anxious, I am talking about
intensifying your faith; building it up to a point where
you are too sure of an answer. Drop your lukewarm
attitude and strive to get your faith to a boiling point.
Don’t say, “If God will do it let him do it.” You have to
take steps! Engage the labor of faith to move God in

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your favor. With this kind of faith at work, God won’t

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

tell you to go and come back tomorrow.


The reason many believers don’t go far in their journey
of faith is because they are not desperate enough to take
steps towards what they believe God for. They are too
gentle for their faith to work. I have met some sick folks
who after being prayed for were asked to say, “I am
healed.” But they would rather ask, “How can I say I am
healed when I am still feeling the pain?” There is no
desperation in their hearts so their faith remains dead.
There are others, who the moment they are being prayed
for, jump to their feet and declare “I am healed!” You can
actually see their faith at work.

2. Faith Can Be Felt!


In Mark chapter 5, there was a woman who had an
issue of blood for twelve years. One day she heard that
Jesus was in town and she decided to take a step in
order to get her healing. Can you imagine what it
means for a woman to be losing blood continuously for
twelve years? She would be fragile and very weak.
Moreover, the Jewish law forbade such women to appear
in public. But this woman saw a crowd and she asked
what was happening. She was told that Jesus, the Healer
was passing by. She mustered up the little strength in
her and began to press through the crowd, pushing

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hefty men aside just to touch Jesus.

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

When faith is at work, it does not mind the


mountains on the way!
This woman had seen herself being healed even before
she left her house. She said, “If I may but touch the hem
of His garment, I know I shall be made whole” (Mark 5:28
paraphrased). So she pressed through the crowd in her
fragility, touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and
immediately, virtue flowed to her. The Bible says:

And straightway the fountain of her blood was


dried up; and she felt in her body that she was
healed of that plague.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that


virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in
the press, and said, Who touched My clothes?
Mark 5:29 -30

When Jesus asked, “Who touched My clothes?” the


woman came before Him trembling and told Him what
she had done. And Jesus said to her, “Your faith, which you
exhibited by pressing through the crowd to touch Me,
that faith which you enacted and put to work, has made
you whole!” (Mark 5:34 paraphrased). Your confession
of faith does not draw virtue, only action does.
Now, look at the amazing thing about the touch of
faith. Immediately the woman touched Jesus, she felt in
her body that she was healed of the plague and Jesus

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also felt in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him. A

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

crowd of people consisting of men, women and children


were thronging and pushing Jesus. Peter, His bodyguard
was also working vigorously to keep the people from
crushing his master, yet Jesus felt none of these except
the touch of a very weak woman who did not even have
access to any part of His body but the hem of His
garment. As a matter of fact when He turned round and
said, “Who touched My clothes?” The disciples said,
“Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest
Thou, Who touched me?” (Mark 5:31). Yet, He felt it,
because the touch of faith cannot go unnoticed, it will
always draw virtue.
So don’t you ever say, “I believe God” and then sit
down without taking any steps. If that woman had said,
“I believe God, if God wants me to be healed, let Him
come and do it in my house”, she would have died with
that issue of blood. But in desperation she took steps
and got her healing.

3. Faith Can Be Heard!


In another instance, a blind man called Bartimaeus sat
by the roadside begging. Suddenly he heard the noise of a
crowd and when he asked what was happening,
somebody told him that Jesus, the Healer was passing
by. As soon as he heard that, he began to shout, “Jesus,

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Thou son of David have mercy on me!” The people

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tried to stop him but he cried yet the more. And the
Bible says, “Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be
called...” (Mark 10:49). You know what blind Bartimaeus
did? He threw off his garment, rose up and came to
Jesus. It is not written that he was aided by anyone. If
there were Olympic race for the blind, Bartimaeus would
have won a medal. And when he stood before Jesus and
requested to receive his sight, Jesus said to him, “Go,
thy faith has made thee whole.” “Thy faith” not “Thy
cry.” The cry was only an expression of desperate faith;
that was his effort of faith.

Take Corresponding Steps!


Faith is not passive, it is active! While you are
believing God, you must keep asking yourself, “What
scriptural step must I take? What corresponding action
should I employ to commit God to do what I believe
Him for?” Every word of faith will demand the work of
faith to be fulfilled.
When the people at the marriage in Cana of Galilee
needed wine, the mother of Jesus told them, “This man
will tell you to do something, don’t only confess what
He tells you, take steps. Whatever He tells you to do, do
it” (John 2:5 paraphrased). Jesus told them to fill the
water pots with water and ‘foolishly’ they obeyed, but at
the end, they got the best of wine. The action of
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

faith will often look like foolishness to the natural mind


but it is the link between what you believe and its
manifestation.
How can people jump on the roof of a house and tear
it open just because they wanted their friend to be
healed? It is an indication that before those men set out
from home they believed that Jesus would heal their
friend and they decided to take steps from the point of
believing to the point of receiving the healing. Action is
the link between believing and receiving.
There is no doubt that you believe God but you must
prove your faith by taking steps. When you draw near
to God, He will draw near to you (James 4:8). Your
miracle leaves the hand of God when your feet begin to
take positive steps.
In the case of the man with palsy, it was not the
tearing of the roof that got the miracle. The tearing of
the roof was only a proof that faith was at work. Jesus
must have looked at them and said, “If somebody could
go to this extent, I am obliged to do something.” God is
watching for your corresponding step of faith to bring
about your miracle, so do something!
Faith without effort is fake, it will never produce.
James 2:14,17-18 makes this very clear:

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man

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say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith
save

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

him? …Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead,


being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith,
and I have works: show me thy faith without thy
works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

Paul said in I Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos


watered; but God gave the increase.” It is God that brings
increase but He does so only in response to somebody’s
planting and watering.
Many claim to be walking in faith when they are
actually playing. All they are doing is ‘faith comedy’;
making confessions, claiming things but doing nothing.
Somebody, for instance, claims to believe God to be
able to build a house soon, yet every time he receives
his salary, he spends it riotously. There is no effort
made to save anything, he is not giving to the Kingdom
of God, he has no furniture in his house, no assets to
point to. He is just eating and drinking everything, yet
he is making great confessions of faith; quoting all the
blessings in Deuteronomy chapter 28.
There is no amount of confession you can use to
conjure a building from the ground, you must make
efforts by putting something aside from your earnings,
then you take steps – buy sand, buy cement and blocks
and start something. While you are doing that, God will

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begin to bless your efforts and the building will

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continue to rise till it gets to completion. It’s as a man


takes steps that divine coincidences begin to occur
around him. He becomes ‘lucky’ in the view of the
natural man.
Somebody who believes God for financial blessing for
instance, after he has made all the confessions and
prayers, must also take corresponding steps by engaging
in giving and working diligently with his hands.

Confession Works With Action


In the walk of faith, there are scriptures to confess and
there are those to obey. For instance, Philippians 4:19 is
for confession. “My God shall supply all my need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” But
while you are confessing that, you must also obey Luke
6:38. “Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over shall men
give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye
mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” And
Proverbs 11:24-26 which says, “There is that scattereth,
and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more
than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul
shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered
also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall
curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him

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that sellethit.”

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

If you are not acting on corresponding scriptures that


commit God to fulfill His promises in your life, you will
confess till you become confused. Confession
without corresponding action ends in confusion.
God does not record your words as much as He weighs
your action. This is why many people find themselves in
crisis. Rather than looking for instructions to obey, they
are only looking for scriptures to confess and promises
to claim.
A pastor who desires to see his Church grow cannot
sit down, claiming souls into the Church while he sleeps
all through the night. Every wise pastor will stay up to
prepare spiritual food for the souls he is expecting
because the Bible says, “For wheresoever the carcass is,
there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matthew
24:28). What God blesses is our effort; that is what
instigates Him to move on our behalf. Your words may
not be heard by men but let your action be registered
before God.
You want healing? Start making efforts. Refuse to be
held down on the bed of sickness. Disagree with the
medical reports you have been given and start acting
like somebody who is healed. You want a job? You can’t
be confessing that God will bless you with the best job
and then sit down at home. After you have prayed in

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the night wake up in the morning, and say,

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“Lord, order my footsteps today.” Then you step out to


look for a job. As you do that He will be committed to
lead you to where the job is waiting for you.
God does not pamper lazy people. Miracles won’t
come to you while you are seated, miracles will meet
you on the move. There is a time to pray and a time to
take steps. When the Egyptian army was pursuing after
the Israelites and they were faced with the Red sea, they
cried to God but God said to Moses, “…Wherefore criest
thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that
they go forward” (Exodus 14:15). And the effect of that
effort is graphically illustrated in Psalm 114:3 – “The sea
saw it and fled, Jordan was driven back.” So each time
you claim that you believe God, ask yourself, “What
effort am I making to authenticate my faith?”
There are many potential millionaires in the Church
who have remained poor because they are not making
any efforts. They spend all their time sleeping and
loitering around. At the peak of business hour of the
day, they are not found at their place of work yet their
confessions are louder than that of every other person. I
know you believe that God will prosper you and
distinguish you but may I ask, what effort are you
making to actualize this? Faith will always demand that
you make an effort.
One woman came to Prophet Elisha in 2 Kings Chapter 4

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and said, “I want to pay off my debt.” The man of

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

God said to her, “What do you have in your house?” She


said, “Just a little cruse of oil.” And he said, “Go and start
turning it into vessels.” She obeyed and from that she got
more than she needed to pay off her debt. So when you
want a miracle from God, first find out the steps you
must take before you begin to pray.
Some people are praying to be free from debt, yet they
continue to borrow. And by so doing they betray their
prayers. Faith means standing firm on God’s Word. He
said in Deuteronomy 15:6, “…Thou shalt not borrow.” That
is not only a promise to be claimed but also a
commandment that must be acted upon. So if you want
to be out of debt you must refuse to borrow even when
you are tempted to. Refuse to buy things on credit. People
may laugh at you for wearing shoes that are open in
front, no matter the pressure, refuse to borrow! Choose
to believe God for your supplies. Sometimes, when you
take a step of faith like that, it may look like you are
about to hit a dead end, but before that happens, God
will always make a way out for you.
God will only do what we cannot do! When you do
what you can do, He steps in to do what you cannot do.
Those men in Mark chapter 2 made efforts to let down
their friend through the roof but there was something
they could not do, they could not make him rise up
from the bed. So Jesus took over from where they stopped

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and said to the man, “Take your bed and go home, you

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are made whole!” Until you do what you can do, God
will not do what you cannot do.

Work It Out!
Faith does not work without a working hand. That is
to say, faith will work only for workers and not for the
idle. It does not work for lazy and indolent people. It is
the work of faith that makes things work.
God has spoken many wonderful things concerning
you in His Word and I am glad to let you know that He
has not changed His mind about any of them. He still
has a program to lift, bless and prosper you but those
words may never come to pass until you begin to work
them out. In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul said:

… Work out your own salvation with fear and


trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure.

God is at work inside you, but for you to see the effect
on the outside, you must work it out. “Work out your
salvation…” The cheapest way to kill your faith is to
refuse to work it out. Faith without works is already in
the grave!
All the men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrew
chapter 11 were people who worked out their salvation
– they believed God but they also took steps to work

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out the fulfillment of the word they had believed.

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ACTION: THE EFFORT OF FAITH

Abraham for instance, was not justified only by


confessions but also by the works of faith. Faith will be
paralyzed and ineffectual without the effort of a man.
Do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless?
Was not our ancestor Abraham considered
righteous for what he did when he offered his son
Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith and his actions were
working together, and his faith was made
complete by what he did.
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says,
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to
him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s
friend. You see that a person is justified by what
he does and not by faith alone.
James 2:20- 24 (NIV)

The same is true concerning Isaac. When God told


him, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and
will bless thee…” He believed it and the Bible says, “Then
Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an
hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him” (Genesis 26:3,
12). There was famine in the land, which was enough
reason and excuse for Isaac not to do anything. But he
understood that until something is done, faith would
not work so he began to till the hard ground. Despite

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the famine, he dug wells, irrigated the

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

land and sowed his seed. So when God saw his work of
faith, He blessed him because when the word of faith
becomes married to the work of faith, they give birth to
miracles.
Many Christians are talking the faith, but what we
need here is the work of faith. There is the talk of faith,
the walk of faith, the patience of faith, and the rest of
faith. They all work together in harmony. Both talking
and walking the faith, brings you into the rest of faith
which is the point of assured performance. Without you
stepping out, God does not step in. You really don’t
know what God can do until you do what you can do.
David also was a man of great faith, but when he was
face to face with Goliath he didn’t stop at making
confessions. He said to the Philistine, “The Lord will
deliver you into my hand today, I will take your head from
you and give your corpse to the fowls of the air, and
everyone will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel
17:46 paraphrased). As he was saying that he was
putting a stone in his sling and running towards the
giant. By the time he threw the stone, God empowered
it and that little stone thrown by a small boy went into
the forehead of Goliath and he fell down dead. Yet
David did not stop there, the Bible says, “…David ran,
and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and
drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and

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cut off his head therewith…” (1 Samuel 17:51). While you


are confessing, you must also be working! If you make
confessions with your hands folded you will end up as a
cheap prey in the hand of the enemy!
Another man of exploits that was named in Hebrew
chapter 11 is Samson. And you know how he achieved
his exploits? He killed a thousand people with the fresh
jawbone of an ass. (Judges 15:15). That is what faith does!
It multiplies your little effort to produce great effects,
even when what you have in your hand seems
insignificant compared to the task before you.
As a pastor, I pray and I confess the Word of faith, I
believe in bold declarations. But I don’t stop there and
go to sleep. After I have prayed, asking God to bring the
multitudes to Church, I sit down and study; I prepare
what to give the people when they come. I don’t wait
for the people to come before I begin to prepare what
to give them because the Bible says, “…What things
soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). After I have
prayed, I believe that the people are coming so I begin
to prepare for them. I do my work diligently following
the scriptural injunction that says, “Study to show
yourself approved unto God, a work that needeth not be
ashamed,but rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2
Timothy 2:15). It doesn’t matter how anointed you are,

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if you are not diligent in the study of

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

the Word, you will see shame. Faith will bring the
people, but it takes the Word to keep them.
We have had enough of faith talk, it is time to do the
faith work!
T he Bible says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazarethwith 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). Jesus was super anointed
but He didn’t sit down making confessions, He went
about doing good! In John 9:4 He said, “I must work the
works of Him that sent Me…” Faith will always demand
work no matter how small. It is the word of faith, plus
the work of faith that provoke manifestations.
As you begin to take steps of faith from now, I see you
enjoying diverse deliveries of miracles, in Jesus’ name!

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Chapter 10

TENACITY:
The Fight of Faith

Life is a fight and faith is the believers’ foremost


weapon of warfare. Paul writing to Timothy in 1
Timothy 6:12 said:

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life…

The fight of faith will always bring good reports; it


delivers your inheritance to you. You never possess what
is yours without the fight of faith. When you want to
take your blessing and Satan says, “No, you can’t have
it”, by faith, you cut off his hand and take what belongs
to you. Fight the good fight of faith! Hebrews 11:6 says,
“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” If faith
pleases God, then the fight of faith pleases Him also.
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

There is no other way for you to win in life than


fighting. Unfortunately, there are very many faith
confessors, but few faith contenders. There are many
faith talkers, but few faith takers. The Bible doesn’t say,
“Chant the good word of faith” but “Fight the good fight
of faith.” Faith is not a toy you play with, it is a weapon
you fight with!
Talking of the whole armor of God in Ephesians
chapter 6, Paul described faith as a shield, which is a
very important weapon that no combatant soldier can
do without. He said, “Above all, taking the shield of faith.”
That is to say, “Faith is above all the weapons I have
mentioned before.” So until you take faith, you have
taken nothing. Before you take your certificate to go for
an interview, take faith. Before you take your pen to
write your exams, take faith because it is above all!
“…Taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Verse 16). Faith
is a ‘quencher’ of evil! The word ‘quench’ means to
extinguish, kill, or stop. When you pour water on fire,
what happens? It is quenched! That is what faith does,
it ‘kills’ the fiery darts of wickedness. It stops the arrows
of satan. That is why the book of Hebrews talks of men
and women who through faith quenched the violence of
fire (Hebrews 11:34).
Another thing about faith is that it is handle-able.

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When death knocks at your door, you take the shield

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of faith and declare, “I shall not die but live to declare


the works of God!” He also said, “…Wherewith ye shall be
able…” So, faith enables, it empowers you to quench the
arrows of satan.
Life is in phases and every phase you want to move
into will demand your contention. Satan will stand on
the way and say, “There is no way here!” In the face of
such oppositions, some lazy Christians stand rooted to
the spot with the excuse that “There is a lion on the
way.” But a fighting Christian will say, “I carry ‘The Lion”
of the tribe of Judah inside of me, therefore any lion on
my way must disappear!” Even God your heavenly
Father is called the Man of War (Exodus 15:3), so stop
looking like a child of defeat!
What ever wants to kill you now will eventually
become food for you. The opposition you suffer today is
a clear signal of the position you will enjoy tomorrow.
Refuse to fear because at every stage of your trial, God
will fight for you.

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold


your peace.
Exodus 14:14

It Is A Fight Of Faith!
In the application of faith, tenacity is required because

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sometimes, once may not be enough. Tenacity talks of

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

persistence and consistency. It is adhering insistently to


the word of God till your desired blessing is delivered.
Hebrews 11:30 says:

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they


were compassed about seven days.

When Joshua, as instructed by the Lord, led the


Israelites round the city of Jericho the first day, there
seemed to be no impact. The second, third, fourth, fifth
and sixth days, the same thing. Yet, he didn’t give up.
On the seventh day, he led them out again, and this
time they marched round Jericho seven times, blowing
trumpets and making a loud noise. And then, the walls
came crumbling down (Joshua 6:15-20). Often times, you
require such tenacity to resist the oppositions on the way
to your miracle.
There are several other graphic illustrations in the
Bible that emphasize the place of tenacity in the
application of faith. In James 5:17-18 we are told that
prophet Elijah prayed earnestly that it might not rain
and at his word, there was no rain on the earth for the
space of three years and six months. Then he prayed
again, and the heaven gave rain. See how it happened:

...Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast


himself down upon the earth, and put his face
between his knees,

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And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There
is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he
said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the
sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say
unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee
down, that the rain stop thee not.
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the
heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there
was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to
Jezreel.
1 Kings 18:42-45

Also, Psalm 12:6 says:

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried


in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

So, until you have tried seven times and failed, you
don’t have a right to your first complaint. “For a just
man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” (Proverbs
24:16). The greatest problem that many believers seem
to have today is lack of tenacity; after their first or
second attempt at laying hold on their blessings, they
give up. Note that Jesus said in Mark 11:23,
“…Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in
his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith

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shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

saith.” He never said you were to say to the mountain


only once or twice and then if it doesn’t move, you stop.
Rather, He meant to say that if you truly believe in your
heart, you will keep speaking to the mountain until it
moves! Even blind Bartimaeus had to cry the more in
order to get Jesus’ attention. Mark 10:48-49 says:

And many charged him that he should hold his


peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou
Son of David, have mercy on me.

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be


called…

What about the Syrophoenician woman whom Jesus


commended for her great faith? She simply exhibited
tenacity.

… A woman of Canaan…cried unto Him, saying,


Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my
daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

But He answered Her not a word. And His disciples


came and besought Him, saying, Send her away;
for she crieth after us.

But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto


the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord,


help me.

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But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the
crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman,


great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that
very hour.
Matthew 15:22-28

The strange thing about this woman’s case was that


nobody seemed to sympathize with her, everybody
appeared to be against her, including Jesus. Yet, she got
her miracle. First, the disciples saw her as a nuisance
because of the way she cried after them. They appealed
to Jesus to send her away and then Jesus, after having
ignored the woman for a long time turned to her and
said, “You are not qualified for what you are
demanding.” That should have been enough to make
her give up and go home disappointed but instead, she
decided to press further - she came and worshipped
Him. This time Jesus answered her again and He
literally said, “In case you did not understand what I
said before, healing is children’s bread and I cannot give
it to you because you are not one of the children, you
are a dog.” Now, at this point she had every natural
reason to break down, but it became her point of
breakthrough. She did not argue about being called a

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dog rather she said, “…Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs

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which fall from their masters’ table.” And Jesus being a


good master would not deny His dogs of at least the
crumbs that fall from His table. So, He said to her, “Be it
unto you according to your faith.” In other words, “Be it
unto you according to your tenacity. Have it the way
you want it.” That is what tenacity does for you. It
delivers your blessing to you the way you want it.
Think about Moses the great deliverer whom God sent
to bring out His people from Egypt after 400 years of
hard bondage. It was not the first day He arrived Egypt
that the people were let go. He had to appear before
Pharaoh several times, declaring one message: “Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go that they
may serve me” (Exodus chapters 5 – 14). And at the end
Pharaoh said, “Go…as you have said…” (Exodus 12:31). If
you won’t give up, satan will soon hands up. Tenacity
delivers to you your blessing the way you want it.
God’s blessings are available to all believers but only
the tenacious take delivery of them (Matthew 11:12).
The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that the elders
obtained good reports through faith. They subdued
kingdoms, quenched the violence of fire, and turned
to flight the armies of the aliens, not just by saying, “I
believe God” but because they were “valiant in battle”
(Hebrews 11:32-34). They were tenacious! They were
not jelly like believers. They were a “no

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giving-up” people who knew how to stay tirelessly on


till they saw the result of their faith. Even when it
looked as if the battles they were fighting would
overwhelm them, they kept at it. They held unto the
promises of God with all tenacity till the enemy had
no choice but to give up.
You must understand that satan’s intention is to
frustrate you by all means. That is his strategy; He
wants to dissuade you from believing God’s Word and
convince you that there is no point fighting. He will
keep pointing out to you how many times you’ve
attempted and failed and then he will tell you, “Why
don’t you just give up?” But a man of faith will say, “It is
better for me to die believing than to withdraw and be
alive in failure!”

The Place Of Endurance


When God told Abraham, “You will have a son”, he
believed it. But after then he waited the first year, second
year, third year, twentieth year, till the twenty-fifth year
and all that time, the Bible says:

He staggered not at the promise of God through


unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God.
Romans 4:20

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That does not mean he was never tempted to stagger

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

but he was tenacious in the faith until the promise


was fulfilled.

And after he had patiently endured, he obtained


the promise.
Hebrews 6:15

So, tenacity talks of endurance; elasticity or the ability


to withstand the stretch of faith. And in 2 Timothy 2:3,
the Bible says for us to endure hardness as good soldiers
of Jesus Christ. We are to withstand satan’s
confrontations on our way to obtaining God’s promises,
staying on without wavering or giving up. That is what
tenacity is all about.
Your blessing is so close to you but the trick of the
devil is that the closer you are to it, the more pressure
he puts on you. So, every time you see pressure
mounting, it is an indication that you are closer to your
miracle and that is when you should press the more.
When you see the opposition getting stronger, you
position yourself better because breakdown comes
knocking on the eve of your breakthrough. There is just
a moment between break down and breakthrough.
Pressure is the turning point to your pleasure. Paul said:

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith


without wavering; (for he is faithful that
promised.)

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Hebrews 10:23

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

Why Tenacity?
The reason for tenacity is that life is a fight. We are in
warfare not fun fare. Even if you don’t want to fight,
there is a man called the devil; your adversary who
constantly wants to engage you in a fight. That is his
mission according to Jesus. He said, “The thief comes
not but to steal, to kill and to destroy…” (John 10:10). So,
you don’t start crying if your child has fever, you rise up
to the challenge because it is an indication that Satan
wants to engage you in a fight. Life is a fight. If Satan
touches your business and you don’t react, he will go for
your head and attempt to kill you.
Life is a fight! You don’t have to like it, you just have
to fight it. Naturally speaking, I grew up as a very gentle
man, I didn’t like to fight, but when the enemy started
fighting me with witchcraft, I told myself, “If you wait
you will die for nothing! Fight!” And I am here today
because I fought. Satan’s intention is to take you out of
existence, so if you want to live, you must fight! Stand
up and say to him, “No, I must live! My child must live!
My business must prosper!” That is why the Bible says:

… Now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,


and the violent take it by force.
Mathew 11:12

If “the violent taketh it,” then it means the gentle

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shall lose it. You think Jesus made a mistake when He


said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents…” (Matthew
10:16)? No! He knows who your enemy is, so He says to
you, “If you must overcome him, you have to be as wise
as a serpent.” And what does a serpent do? It fights. A
serpent is not a friend, it is always looking for an
opportunity to strike. So, Jesus is trying to help you
understand from that statement that you have both the
nature of a sheep (which is gentleness and
submission to God) and that of a serpent (which is to
fight). You carry both the gentle nature of a sheep and
the fighting anointing of a serpent, so use it! Never
befriend negative circumstances. Rather, strategically
strike at the enemy of your progress and well being.
Naturally speaking, we see fighting as evil but in the
realm of the spirit, the Bible says, “Fight the good fight...” (1
Timothy 6:12). So fighting (especially spiritual
warfare) is good. Many believers have been robbed of
their inheritance because they are too gentle to fight.
Every time satan harasses them, they withdraw. Many
blessings come their way but when they are almost
touching it, the devil takes it from them. Then they
start the process all over again, believing God for another
opportunity. That will not be your experience any more!
In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus told a parable of a man

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who planted good seed in his farm but his servants got

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there and found tares among the wheat. When they


came and told the owner of the farm he said, “An enemy
has done this” (Matthew 13:26-28). So, whatever is
contrary to good in your life is the work of the enemy
and you don’t watch your enemy, you fight him!

You Must Fight To Recover!


When the devil steals what belongs to you, you have a
choice either to sit down and start crying over the lose
or to become violent in spirit and pursue after him to
recover your blessing. In 1 Samuel chapter 30, there is
an account about David and his men. They returned to
their camp one day only to discover that some
Amalekites had invaded and burnt the city with fire and
had also taken their wives and children as captives.
Initially, they reacted just like many believers today
would do. The Bible says:

Then David and the people that were with him lifted
up their voice and wept, until they had no more
power to weep.

1 Samuel 30:4

David and his men wept much, yet they recovered


nothing. The people even thought of stoning David but
he encouraged himself in the Lord and decided to
inquire of the Lord, to know the next step to take. And

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in verse 8:

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I


pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them?
And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt
surely overtake them, and without fail recover
all.

David pursued and in I Samuel 30, verses 18 and19:

… David recovered all that the Amalekites had


carried away: and David rescued his two wives.

And there was nothing lacking to them, neither


small nor great, neither sons nor daughters,
neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken
to them: David recovered all.

Abraham, the father of faith had a similar encounter.


In Genesis chapter 14, there was a battle where Lot,
Abraham’s nephew was taken captive. When Abraham
heard of it, the Bible says:

…He armed his trained servants, born in his own


house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued
them unto Dan.
And he divided himself against them, he and his
servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued
them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of
Damascus.
And he brought back all the goods, and also
brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and

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the women also, and the people.
Genesis 14:14-16

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

If you must recover whatever satan has stolen from


you, then you must pursue. To remain seated is to lose
all. Life is for running, if you won’t run, situations will
overrun you! Satan is trying very hard to fight you out
of your destiny, so stand your ground and fight him!
If you sit watching, complaining and murmuring
against your neighbors who didn’t sympathize with
you, he would destroy whatever is left of your blessing.
He rejoices when you are crying, he is happy when you
sit down counting your loses but all you need do to
stop him, is to rise up and fight! Pursue him in the
name of the Lord, cast him out and take back what
belongs to you!
You need tenacity to pursue and to keep fighting till
you recover all. A very good illustration of this is found
in the book of Judges Chapter 8 when God called Gideon
and sent him to deliver the Israelites from the hands of
the Midianites that had oppressed them for many years.
Gideon and his army of three hundred men overcame
the Midianites but as they pursued after the three kings
of Midian, the Bible says that they were weak and
fainting, yet they kept pursuing. I could imagine them
panting heavily but they kept the pursuit till the battle
was won! (Judges 8:4).
It is natural to feel weak and faint while pursuing, but
one thing you must never do is to stop the pursuit. Your

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stopping is the enemy’s advantage. When you

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

stop he gains grounds but when you keep the pursuit,


you are sure to recover all very shortly.
Some Christians live as though satan does not exist.
And that is the truth, satan is afraid to move near them
because they are alert, they are fighting believers not
crying believers. At the slightest challenge from satan,
they are set to fight. They pursue the enemy and keep
up the pursuit till they recover all. That is how to keep
satan off your territory! You will no longer be robbed
from henceforth, in Jesus name!

Stand Insistently On God’s Word


God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the
son of man, that he should repent: hath he said,
and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?

Numbers 23:19

God does not joke with words, He is not a deceiver!


Whatever He has said to you, He means it. He has not
changed His mind about what He promised to do in
your life! And for your information, satan is too small to
change God’s mind about you. If He said He will bless
the work of your hands, He means it. If He said He
would lift you up above all the nations of the earth, He
is not just trying to make you feel good. God does not

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send His Word just to make people feel good in

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Church. If He were that kind of God, nobody would still


be serving Him by now. Anything you hear God say to
you either through His servants or directly to you from
His Word, please believe it.
Psalms 119:89 says, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is
settled in heaven.” So, whatever God says to you is not
something that He is just trying to do. No! He is telling
you what is already settled in heaven. Before He says it,
He has completed it. But it would also interest you to
know that everything God says, He allows satan to
contend for it if he cares to. That is why He does not
speak to us in the secret. When He spoke about Jesus, it
was in the open; at the riverside where He was being
baptized. God said, “…This is my beloved son in whom I
am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Many witnesses heard
it including Satan, so he came shortly after to tempt
Jesus - “If you are the son of God, as I heard God say a
while ago, turn these stones into bread” (Matthew 4:3
paraphrased). He came to contest what God had said,
but Jesus also overcame him with the Word of God.
In Mark chapter 4, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us
pass over to the other side” and then they set out in a
ship. But as soon as they were in the middle of the sea,
Satan raised a terrible storm, the ship got filled with
water and it looked as if they were going to drown. The
disciples forgot that Jesus has said, “Let us pass

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over” not “Let us go under.” So they became afraid and


when in their panic they woke Jesus up, He simply
spoke to the storm, “Peace, be still.” Then He said to his
disciples, “…Why are ye so fearful? how is it thay
tehave no
faith?” You know what that means? The absence of faith
is revealed by the presence of fear. Faith makes you a
spectacle while fear makes you a spectator as was the
case with the worried disciples.
So, the believer loses, not because God’s Word is not
true, neither is it because the devil is too strong, but
because he lack tenacity. Have you ever seen two children
fighting over a toy? One says, “It is mine!” The other
also says, “It is mine!” And both of them are dragging,
but at the end of the day, the one that is more tenacious
gets the toy even though it may not really be his. That is
the way you should approach the promises of God for
your life because in actual fact, they are yours. He said,
“As far as your eyes can see shall be given to you”
(Genesis 13:14). You must be tenacious! Don’t let the
devil rob you of what belongs to you! “and give no place
to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). He owns nothing except the
one you give him.

How To Keep Fighting


1. Never Be wearied!
Satan is the accuser of the brethren, his strategy is to

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tempt the believer and then turn around to accuse him.

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

He would taunt you by saying, “Can you see now? You


have committed sin that is why you are being tried.”
Maybe as a woman you have had some miscarriages
after marriage or a delay in conception. Satan would
tell you, “This is the price you must pay for all the
abortions you committed before you became a
believer. God will not hear your prayers one bit. You
have killed all the children in your womb!” He does
that to people who are facing challenges in different
areas of their lives. But before you begin to condemn
yourself, may I ask you a question? Did Jesus commit
sin before he was tried and opposed by Satan? No, He
didn’t!
So, don’t let the devil deceive you! It is not because
you have sinned that your faith is being tried. The Bible
says, “…Though now for a little while, you may be
distressed by trials and suffer temptations, so that [the
genuineness] of your faith may be tested…[This proving of
your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and
glory and honour…” (1 Peter 1:6-7 Amp.). The trial of
your faith is not to condemn you but to work out a
testimony that will bring glory and honor to God. So,
don’t feel condemned! The prevailing faith is first a
travailing faith.
May be you believe God for the restoration of your

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finances and Satan comes to you and says, “Do you

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

think God will prosper you again? All the money He


gave you before, you squandered it, God won’t answer
your prayers!” Never feel condemned, because Satan’s
plan is to break down the wall of your confidence. He
wants you to lose your confidence and miss the rewards
of faith (Hebrews 10:35). Jesus didn’t commit sin before
Satan tempted him.
When your faith is being tried, simply get back to the
Word of God and encourage yourself in the Lord. It
says, “The time of ignorance God has overlooked…”
(Acts 17:30). If you have repented, God is not holding
any sin of the past against you!
Second C orinthians 5:17 says, “…If any m
nbe in Christ,
a
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.” Every time Satan reminds
you of your sinful past, you should thank him for
reminding you how much God has forgiven you. By the
time you do that twice, he will be frustrated.

2. Don’t Be Intimidated!
Jesus said, “…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed…nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew
17:20). A big mountain does not require big faith to
move it. You only need a small measure of faith, as small
as a grain of mustard seed. Think of the explosives that
are normally used to blow up mountains and rocks. They

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are very small in size compared to the mountain

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

but when it is set in place and left for a few hours, the
mountain is blown into pieces and leveled down.
Similarly, every challenge before you is at the mercy of
your mustard seed faith.
Faith is not measured according to size but according
to expression. Jesus said, “…If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove
hence to yonder place; and it shall remove…” If you have
small faith and you keep expressing it, you will naturally
enjoy greater victories than a man who claims to have
great faith but does not express it.
Think about Joshua and the Israelites before the walls
of Jericho. Despite its size, they were not intimidated.
The wall was said to have been like a cuboid. Even if it
fell down, it would still remain like a great wall because
the width and the breadth were the same, in terms of
thickness. The width was such that six chariots could
run side by side on it. So, the only way to pull it down
would have been to sink it and no one could do that. I
can imagine the people of Jericho laughing at the
Israelites when they saw them marching round the
wall, they must have wondered, “Do these people know
what they are doing?” They were so mystified that they
didn’t even bother to fight the Israelites.
And the Israelites, with their trumpets in their hands,
confidently marched round the city of Jericho for seven

186
days. What was the basis for their confidence? God

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

had instructed them to do it and He told them to be


tenacious about it. He also assured them that on the
seventh day, after they had gone round the walls seven
times, it would fall down flat.
If there is a disease in your body that has defied all
treatments and even prayers, refuse to be intimidated
because the Word of the Lord says, “By His stripes you
were healed.” His healing provision has been concluded
two thousand years ago and it will soon begin to
manifest if you refuse to give up.
Let’s get back to the time that Moses sent twelve spies
to the Promised Land (Numbers chapter 13 and 14).
When they returned, two of the spies – Joshua and
Caleb were very courageous and they brought a good
report. They said to the people, “Let’s go up at once and
possess the land. We be well able to take the land.” But
the other ten shouted them down and discouraged
the people. They were intimidated by what they had
seen in the land so they said, “We be not able to take
the land”. They even said, “We saw giants in the land
and we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes!” Can
you imagine a human being looking like a grasshopper
beside a giant? Not even a baby! When people are
intimidated, they tend to exaggerate their problems,
and of course, to their detriment.
Joshua and Caleb also saw the giants in the land but

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they were not intimidated. Rather than consider the

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

giants, they considered the goodness of the land and


the promises of God. So they encouraged the people
saying, “…The land, which we passed through to search it,
is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then
He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which
floweth with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:7-8).
So, you have to be very careful how you describe your
situation. That is why often times, when somebody
meets me and says, “I have HIV.” I tell him, “Shut up!
You can’t have HIV!” He may think I am not
sympathetic but I know what I am doing. I am never
intimidated by whatever name anybody calls his
situation. As far as I am concerned, it is all a cheap case
for God.

3. Be Still!
In Psalm 46:10 God said, “Be still, and know that I am
God…” That means, don’t be worried, don’t be agitated.
By the time you begin to say, “God said He will do this,
when will He do it?” It means anxiety is gradually taking
over. If it is faith you are operating, you will be anxiety
free. The cheapest way to know that you are in faith is
when anxiety is absent. Faith and anxiety are no
neighbors, when faith is present anxiety will be absent.
Calmness is an evidence of faith at work. So, be still!
When the Israelites saw the Egyptians pursuing after

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

them and the Red Sea in front of them, they cried out in
fear and God told Moses to tell them, “Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show
to you to day” (Exodus 14:13). No matter the intensity of
the storm around you, God is able to bring you out. So
give no room to anxiety.

4. Confront Your Opposition!


You need courage to confront whatever is standing on
your way. Jesus never said, “…You shall look at this
mountain…” or “You shall dodge this mountain.” H e sai
d, “ … You shall say to this mountain…” T
hatmeans, you
will need to specifically address the issues of your life,
no matter how long they have been with you. Don’t
try to explain to God how long it has been there, all you
are required to do is to speak to the mountain;
challenge or problem before you. You must confront the
giants in your Promised Land in order to take it!
Confront the bees surrounding your honey if you must
enjoy the sweetness of life!
You may not know this, but Satan is so afraid of you
that he tries to send signals of fear into you from afar.
That is why he tells you all manner of things, and when
you refuse to listen to him, he comes to you in a dream,
shows you how that you traveled and died in an

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accident, or other horrifying dreams, all in a bid to

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TENACITY: THE FIGHT OF FAITH

put you under pressure or to catch your attention.


Remember, he goes about like a lion seeking whom he
may devour. He does not really have the power to devour
you, he only tricks people on the premise of probability.
And that probability becomes a reality if you allow
yourself to be fooled and intimidated by his lies.
Be bold! Be strong! Confront your oppositions with
the Word of God! There is nothing God has said
concerning you that He will not do but you must fight
your way through to it. Fight for your finances! Fight for
your health! Fight for your children! The victory is yours
already – “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Now, you may have wondered, why is it that Satan
often tries to sit on certain areas in the lives of
individuals? For one person, it could be in the area of
his finances, for another, it is in the area of child
bearing, for another; it is his business or marriage, and
so on. And Satan tells the individuals lies like, “Look, in
this area of your life, forget it, you can never make it.”
He even convinces some that such challenge is the
‘cross’ they must bear for life. But you must realize that
God’s promise for your triumph is all embracing (2
Corinthians 2:14). Satan tells you, “You know, you can’t
have a bright sky without some dark clouds.” But if you

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look at the sky in reality, even when there are

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

dark clouds, they are always moving. They pass away


just as quickly as they appear. So, the question you
should ask yourself is, “Why is the dark cloud in my
own sky remaining for so long?” The Bible says, “For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2
Corinthians 4:17). Don’t allow any dark cloud to remain
with you, rise up and move it away! From this day, you
shall triumph over every battle of your life! In Jesus’
name!

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Chapter 11

LOVE:
The Motive of faith

Without love faith is futile; it cannot work because


the Bible says in Galatians 5:6:

… Faith which worketh by love.

The connection between faith and love is motive.


When Faith says, “This is what I want”, Love says, “This
is why I want it.” Faith says, “What will I get?” Love says,
“Who will benefit from it?” Oftentimes, what God weighs
to determine your blessing is the motive behind your
desire. So until your motive is clear, your faith remains
paralyzed. That is why in 1 Corinthians 13:2 Apostle Paul
said, “…Though I have all faith, so that I could remove
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Your motive determines your motion. If your motive is


not right, your journey cannot be safe but when your
motive is pure your motion will be fast. Your intention
determines the extension of your faith.
Some people believe God for financial prosperity but
their motives are wrong. They have great faith for it but
God has weighed them in the balance and seen that if
such a person is blessed with money, he will not pay his
tithes, neither will he be in Church again. So God says,
“Why must I bless him? It is better to have him poor
and keep him in Church than to give him money and
lose him to the world.” And as such, God blesses him
with just enough to encourage and keep him going. But
there are others who God blesses lavishly because He
knows their motives; He knows they will serve Him
with their resources.
Every time you are operating faith, be conscious of
your motive. Until you are able to answer the question
‘Why?’ The substance will not be delivered to you.
Love must of a necessity be the motive for exercising
faith because, until your motive is clear, your blessings
cannot be cleared.
Why do you believe God for a car? Is it so you can be a
blessing to your family or so you can show to people
that you are superior to them in faith? Your motive

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must be clear! The reason many preachers are not

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LOVE: MOTIVE OF FAITH

blessed despite the fact that they preach prosperity is


because they are only looking for what to get from
people – that is their motive for preaching prosperity.
Some others want to have money so that they can have
dozens of suits in their wardrobes. That is why they
never get it. Until God certifies your motive, your
blessing is never approved.
Every time you are operating faith on the grounds of
selfish interests, it does not produce. James 4:3 says:
Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that ye
may consume it upon your lusts.
There is no crime in asking, but why are you asking?
Faith is not for robbery! It is not a gamble! You don’t go
around claiming somebody else’s property and
oppressing him with all manner of requests in the
name of “believing God.” And then when the man
becomes frustrated and decides to give you the property
in order to be free from your pressure, you now say
your faith is working. That is not faith! That is
nothing but robbery!
Faith will never produce a thing until love is in place.
The reason faith was working for Jesus was because He
had compassion on the people. And I describe
compassion as love in action. That means you are not
only touched by the plight of someone, you are also

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moved to do something about it. Being touched by the

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

needs of people is mere sympathy and the best it offers


is pity but true compassion will move you to alleviate
the sufferings of the people.
Talking of Jesus in Mathew 9:36 the Bible says:

But when He saw the multitudes, he was moved


with compassion on them, because they fainted
and were scattered abroad as sheep without
shepherd.

Also, in Mark 8:2-3, He said to his disciples:

I have compassion on the multitude, because they


have now been with me three days, and have
nothing to eat.
And if I send them away fasting to their houses,
they will faint by the way: for divers of them came
from far.

The disciples answered Him, “Where shall we get bread


in this wilderness to satisfy all these men?” But Jesus
commanded the people to sit down, He took the few
loaves that were available, gave thanks and then gave to
His disciples to set before the people. And the Bible says,
“They did eat, and were filled…” (Mark 8:7). What
multiplied the loaves was not just faith, it was compassion.
One day, a young lady came to me - she had a wound
that had refused to heal for some years due to a diabolic

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attack. There were maggots in the wound, eating up her
flesh. When I saw her faith I was moved with

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LOVE: MOTIVE OF FAITH

compassion. I anointed the wound and commanded the


devil to be out. About two weeks later, she came back
jumping. The wound had dried up, she was completely
made whole!
The reason some people will not be blessed is because
they want everything for themselves alone. I have
always believed that the reason God blesses a man is
because of the people around him. Ultimately, the size
of your heart determines the volume that God puts in
your hand. So when you believe God for something,
have a pure motive.

Let It Flow!
Jesus, in His teaching said that the greatest
commandment is to love God with all your heart but He
did not stop there, He went further to say:

And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thy self.
Mathew 22: 40

If you truly love God you will love your neighbor. If


you can’t love your neighbor, it is a clear indication that
you don’t truly love God.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he


is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not
seen?
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And this commandment have we from him, That

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

he who loveth God love his brother also.

1 John 4:20-21

Many Christians no longer count hatred, bitterness


and anger as anything serious because satan tells them,
“It does not matter?” Betrayal between husband and wife
among many is seen as normal. They forget that the
Bibles says when there is rancor between a husband and
his wife, their prayers are hindered (I Peter 3:7), that
means their faith cannot work! It is surprising to see
some couples who believe God for the fruit of the womb
yet, they are living in strife. No matter the measure of
faith you claim to be operating, if you are in strife, your
faith is paralyzed, the miracle cannot take place!
You know what made John the Baptist to lose his
head? Bitterness! John was a most anointed prophet of
God who announced and introduced Jesus as the Lamb
of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He even
baptized Him and was an eyewitness when the voice of
God sounded from heaven and said, “This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased.” But when bitterness
overtook him, he sent his disciples to go and ask Jesus,
“Are you the one to come or shall we look for another?”
He was offended in Jesus and even began to doubt his
own prophecies. And at the end, he lost his head (John
1:32 –36, Luke 7:19-23, Matt. 14:1-12).
Every time you are being tempted with hatred,

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bitterness and offences, beware! Satan wants to cut down

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LOVE: MOTIVE OF FAITH

your faith! The archenemies of love are strife, bitterness


and selfishness. If you must operate faith successfully,
then you must give these no place in your life! You
cannot be bitter against a fellow brother and expect
faith to work for you. Wherever there is strife, faith
cannot thrive. As a matter of fact Jesus said:
… If thou bring thy gift to the altar and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee;
leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy
way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then
come and offer thy gift.
Mathew 5:23-24

It is as serious as that! Some believer ’s drop their


offerings in Church thinking they are giving to God in
faith, but as long as they are in strife and bitterness,
they are only throwing away their seed. The ushers may
take it and the minister blesses it but God has not
accepted it, so it yields no harvest. Apostle Paul said,
“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence towards God, and toward men”
(Acts 24:16). Having a good conscience is something you
have to practice consistently. Stop holding grudges
against God and against your neighbors!
Consider the story of Isaac in Genesis chapter 26. He
was a prosperous man and because the Philistines
envied him they drove him away from their midst and
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even went as far as closing up the wells that his servants

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

dug. But when they returned to ask for forgiveness,


Isaac made a feast for them and sent them away with
good will. That same day, his servants came and
reported to him, “We have found a well of springing
water.” For a man who was farming in a desert land and
in the time of famine, that is great news. It was a great
breakthrough, yet he did not need to say one prayer for
it. He simply walked in love.
You don’t know what you are missing by walking in
strife and keeping malice with everyone that offends
you. Please free your self! Hatred, bitterness, envy,
castigations are devices of the enemy to keep you on the
floor. If you are given to castigating others you will
discover that you are always under them. You can never
become greater than those you castigate. So when you
see your neighbor prospering and progressing, thank
God for him, go and congratulate him and then find out
what he is doing to be blessed. Today, it is his turn,
tomorrow it will be your turn.
The Bible says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Spirit of God (Romans 5:5). You have God’s
love in your heart already, all you have to do is let it
flow. Even when you don’t feel like loving people, love
them anyhow. Love is not a feeling, it is a choice you
make and then you express it through your actions.
From this day the love of Christ will flow freely from
your heart. As a result, your faith will not fail, in Jesus’
wonderful name!
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Chapter 12

DISCIPLINE:
The Rule of Faith

If you don’t know how to address a situation, you


cannot arrest it. Situations and conditions are subject to
laws. In every issue of life where winning or mastery is
the goal, there are rules and regulations to be followed.
Faith is described both as a race and as a fight and you
know that every sporting activity is guided by rules and
regulations. You don’t just get into a boxing ring for
instance and begin to throw punches anyhow; you must
know and follow the rules of the game. No one wins
anyhow; only those who excel by following the rules of
the game are declared winners. Paul the Apostle said:

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… If a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not


crowned, except he strive lawfully.

2 Timothy 2:5

So, there are laws guiding the operation of faith;


things you must do and those you must not do. This is
why it requires discipline. As a matter of fact, the Bible
talks of the law of faith (Romans 3:27).
There are laws guiding the operation of faith. Many
people claim to be operating faith but they at the same
time, work against their faith unknowingly. Playing a
game without following the rules is losing without
knowing. In a race for instance, the fact that you arrived
at the tape first doesn’t make you the winner. You may
be disqualified, simply for breaking the rules.

THE NEED FOR DISCIPLINE


In the context of this teaching, discipline can be
defined as control of thoughts, words and action. These
are the checkpoints where you must exercise discipline
in the operation of faith.

1. Discipline Your Mind


Faith is essentially of the heart, “… for with the heart
man believeth…” (Romans 10:10). You may have seen

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some vehicles or trucks whose front tyres go in one

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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

direction while the back tyres go in another direction.


The problem with such a vehicle is that of
misalignment, so the tyres suffer the effect and the
passengers also suffer discomfort.
For faith to work, your mind must be in proper
alignment with your heart. It is important here to make a
very clear demarcation between the heart and the mind
because what the devil attacks in the fight of faith is
not you nor your heart but your mind.
Your mind is the entry point of all information that
comes to you; it is your point of interaction with the
world. Your heart is in touch with God while your mind
is in touch both with God and the world. You receive
faith in your heart, because the Word of God that
brings about faith registers in your heart. That is why
your mind is often saying something contrary to your
heart.
Faith tells you for instance that by the stripes of Jesus
you are healed but your emotions (which operates
through your mind) tell you that the pain is still there.
“You say, ‘you have faith, where is the effect of the faith?
Why are you still feeling pains?” That is how Satan
attacks your mind through your emotions,
sometimes directly and other times indirectly by moving

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people to speak negative things to you. Somebody

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touches you and says, “Your temperature is very high, do


you have fever?” That is where discipline comes in. If
you are not disciplined, you will say, “Yes, I have fever.”
And the moment you say that you are playing foul in
the operation of faith. And just as you can’t say, “I am
sorry” to the referee when you play foul in a game of
football, so also it is in the world of the spirit. You can’t
say, “I’m sorry” after you have spoken a negative word.
The duty of the angels is to ensure that you have
whatsoever you say. This is why you must discipline
your mind.
Faith will not work except you disregard what you see
and what you hear. Until your mind lines up with your
heart, you are not yet operating in faith. Winning the
battles of life begin with winning in your mind. That is
where your victory is born so guard your mind with all
diligence. Cast down every imagination that is contrary
to the Word. Fight those dangerous thoughts that go
through your mind.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are


the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

And the Bible shows us how to do that effectively in 1


Corinthians 10:4-5 where it says:

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(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but

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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

mighty through God to the pulling down of strong


holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ.

a. Take Heed What You See!


One way satan attacks your mind is through what you
see. That is why the Bible says:

While we look not at the things which are seen,


but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the things which
are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18

One of the greatest enemies of faith is facts;


circumstances and things that can be seen. But this
scripture tells us to disregard the facts; refuse to look at
the circumstances, but rather focus on the things which
are not seen. And then it says, “The things which are not
seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18). And you know, the
only thing that is eternal is the Truth, and the Truth is
the Word of God. So, keep your eyes on the word
because what is written is stronger than what is
happening. What is happening will soon give way to

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what is written. What is written will always outlive

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

what is happening because it has existed before the


happening and it is also settled for ever.
Now, how do you look? There are two ways to look at
something. You either glance at it or gaze at it. Of
course we are all tempted by what we see. Satan will
always bring so many things your way in an attempt to
get your attention, but you have a choice either to
concentrate on what you see or to look away from it. No
one can actually escape a glance but to keep gazing is a
choice. The twelve spies that Moses sent to the
Promised Land all saw the giants but two chose not to
gaze at their height and so they escaped intimidation.
In Deuteronomy 20:1 God said, “When thou goest out
to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and
chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of
them: for the LORD thy God is with thee…” He means to
say, you will always see circumstances that look
intimidating and contrary to you, but don’t look at
them; don’t gaze at them. Satan comes to you and says,
“Can’t you see that you have only one coat.” Tell him, “I
can’t see it, I can only see God.” Whatever you see
physically today is temporal; it shall come to pass.
That was why Moses told the frightened Israelites
at the Red Sea, “…The Egyptians whom ye have seen to

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day, ye shall see them again no more for

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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

ever…” (Ex 14:13).


So, don’t allow your life to be ruled by the present.
The present will soon pass away, but the future is yet to
come. Your future is bright, there is nothing you have
seen in the past or present that can compare to what
the future holds for you. So don’t let the present tie you
down, look into the future with excitement, it will soon
begin to unfold for you.

b. Take Heed What You Hear!


What you hear determines what you believe and what
you believe determines how you behave. That is why
the Bible says, “…Take heed what ye hear...” (Mark 4:24) and
“Take heed therefore how ye hear…” (Luke 8:18).
Relationship influences – negatively or positively, so
mind who you listen to! Never call a man your friend
who does not edify you with his words. Take heed what
you hear and take heed how you hear!
When Satan can’t get your attention with words from
people, he attempts to show you some fearful things in
your dream. And an ignorant believer would wake up in
the morning after having such bad dreams and begin to
announce it to everyone he meets, thereby confirming
what the devil has shown him. When Satan comes to
show you anything that is contrary to the Word of God,

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you cancel it and decree what you expect instead.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

I love what the Bible says in Romans 4:19-20 about


Abraham. It says:

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his


own body now dead, when he was about an hundred
years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s
womb:

He staggered not at the promise of God through


unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God.

Romans 4:19-20

The circumstances around him were saying, “You are


an old man. How do you think you will have a child at
hundred when you couldn’t have one at seventy-five?”
And you know, that sounds very logical, because the
older you become the weaker and less functional the
reproductive system becomes. But faith is not logic, it is
a spiritual force that makes possible the things that are
humanly impossible. For “…All things are possible to him
that believeth” (Mark 9:23).
Even though Abraham had many opportunities to
stagger at the promise of God, he refused to consider
the facts that were all around him. He stood strong in
faith till the promise was fulfilled.
Your faith will first undergo some light afflictions

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before it releases to you the weight of glory (2
Corinthians 4:17).

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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

When you allow satan to attack your mind through


the things you hear, the things you see and your
emotions, he presents to you facts and when you accept
those facts you begin to consider them. You find
yourself thinking, “It may not even be everybody that
God wishes to heal. It may not be God’s will for
everybody to have children after all. It may not be
everybody that will live to fulfill the number of his
days.” Satan is giving you facts to consider and the
moment you give them consideration, you begin to
stagger at the promises of God. One day you are
believing, the next day you are in doubt; confessing
faith this moment and saying something contrary the
next moment. Faith does not work that way!
Please understand that from the day you got born
again, your heart is intact with God, but Satan wants to
corrupt your mind so he can turn your heart away from
God. That is why the Bible says for us to be spiritually
minded and not carnally minded (Romans 8:6). So
when your faith is being attacked, maintain your
spiritual position and arrest your mind to stay in line
with the Word of God. 1Peter 1:13 says:

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be


sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be

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brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Continually plead the blood of Jesus over your mind


and let your heart be filled with the Word of God so that
when the devil comes to attack you, there is a natural
resisting device to stop him.

2. Discipline Your Mouth


Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Proverbs 6:2

The major problem many believers have is with their


mouth. Somebody is asked, “How are you doing?” He
says, “We are trying.” Again, “How is business?” He
replies, “It is not moving.” You ask him, “How is your
family?” He says, “We are managing.” As far as they are
concerned, they just must say things ‘exactly as they
are.’ That is against the law of faith! Faith rather calls
the things that be not as though they were (Romans
4:17).

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by


thy words thou shalt be condemned

Matthew 12:37

Many of us have connected ourselves to good things


by what we say (Prov. 13:2). For instance, some people
make outrageous demands on me. “Bishop, can you
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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

give me five hundred thousand naira?” I tell them,


“Why not? Just give me some time.” I have never in my
life said to anybody, “I don’t have.” Because I am
operating the law of faith and I must not play foul by
speaking negative.
Non-Christians and ignorant believers brand the
declarations of faith as talking ‘nonsense’ and they are
right. When they hear you say, “I cannot be sick, I
cannot be poor”, it makes no sense to them because it is
spirit-sense. Jesus said, “The Words I speak unto you, they
are spirit…” He didn’t say they are common sense. If what
will keep me healthy is to keep saying, “I cannot be sick”
is that not more profitable than going to lie down on a
hospital bed and spending my money on drugs? People
will naturally say what they see about you but what are
you saying about yourself? What you say is what God
performs (Num. 14:28).
When somebody says, “Your body is hot, maybe you
have fever”, what do you say? If you say, “Yes, I have
fever” then you have it. But if you say, “No, I can’t have
fever!” The symptoms of fever will begin to leave your
body because you shall have whatsoever you say.
When you find yourself in the company of people and
they begin to talk negative things, don’t join them. If

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you can’t dominate the discussion positively, then

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

excuse yourself from there. Never you fellowship in a


Church where the pastor speaks negative words,
otherwise you’ll become a thrash bin and end up as a
spiritual dwarf.
In case you don’t know it, the size of your mouth
determines the size of your life. God said in Isaiah
43:26, “…Declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”
What you don’t declare can never be cleared for you.
Your justification is a product of your declaration. In
Mark 11:23 Jesus said, “…Whosoever shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the
sea…shall have whatsoever he saith.” So, you possess
your possession by speaking out. God said, “…Open thy
mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalms 81:10). Discipline
your mouth; even when you have a challenge and you
need to discuss it, say it with such assurance that God is
in control and He is working it out for you. Be
disciplined in your utterances and faith will work for
you.

3. Discipline Your Actions


The fight of faith begins in the mind, is expressed with
the mouth and perfected through actions. For faith to
work, your thoughts, your words and your actions must
be in sync. You can’t behave poor and claim to have

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faith for prosperity. You can’t claim to be strong

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DISCIPLINE: THE RULE OF FAITH

while you are looking and behaving fragile like a


vegetable. When you say you are strong, walk like a
healthy Christian who is representing redemption! You
can’t claim to have the mind of Christ and you are
answering questions like a dull-headed person. You have
to be sharp, behave like a man in charge! May be you
have waited to get a job for some time and now you
have been invited for an interview, do your best to
appear smart and neat. Even if you have only one suit,
make sure it is clean. Look like a man who has already
secured the Job. Stop looking defeated and cheated or
like some one who should be pitied. You are not a child
of problem you are a child of destiny!

You want to be prosperous? Start by being a distributor


now, give from the little that you have and with time it
will multiply greatly. Act prosperous, act healthy!
Whatever you want to become, start behaving it now
because the Bible says, “…The Lord is a God of
knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3).
Your action instigates His reaction: it provokes Him to
move in your favor, so act in line with your faith.
In the law of faith, you have to behave and act what
you believe! Act what you are expecting to happen till it
happens. God always weighs your action
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

in order to measure your blessing. It’s time to start


celebrating your expectations in order to birth your
manifestation.

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Chapter 13

GOOD CONSCIENCE:
The Purity of Faith

In I Timothy 1:19 Apostle Paul writing to Timothy said:

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some


having put away concerning faith have made
shipwreck.

Faith minus good conscience will always lead to


wreckage. The subject of good conscience has been
abandoned in many Charismatic circles where people
have mistaken the messages of faith and prosperity to
mean, “Grab it any how. Don’t mind how anybody feels,
you just feel good or confess that you feel good!”
Good conscience is the scale on which the quality of

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

your faith is measured. It is the control valve of faith. It


also assesses the credibility of your faith because your
faith is never credited beyond the goodness of your
conscience. A good conscience produces healthy faith,
while an evil conscience gives birth to polluted faith.
Faith is good but the question is, are you using your
faith for the right thing? Many people use their faith for
wrong things. Holy Ghost filled, tongue talking
believers, due to dead and evil consciences operate faith
in the realm of carnality! Fellow Christians, duping
their business partners, young ladies using faith to claim
other women’s husbands, a student paying somebody to
write his exams for him, young girls selling their bodies
in a bid to get admitted into higher institutions or
secure well paid jobs and all manner of worldly things.
You even find pastors duping Church members, using
Church money to satisfy personal needs without fear of
God! All because of dead conscience! Some Christians
engage in all manner of dubious businesses with the
excuse of “It has been prophesied that we will build our
miracle houses this year and you know, heaven help
those who help themselves.”
Check yourself, is your conscience still alive? If you
lack good conscience whatever faith you are operating

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GOOD CONSCIENCE: THE PURITY OF FAITH

is deceptive. It may look like it is working for you now


but it will eventually lead you to a dead end because the
evil you don’t stop will stop you someday!
Another scripture that reiterates Paul’s writing on
conscience is James 4:1-3:

From whence come wars and fightings among


you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that
war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have,


and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have
not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,


that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Faith can be applied amiss when it is on the premises


of lust, carnality and selfishness. And that, of course,
leads to its shipwreck.
Many believers don’t know that the short cuts they
take is the reason their lives are cut short. Think about
Joseph in Genesis chapter 39 who had the opportunity
to lie with his master’s wife but refused! How many
young men today would not jump at such an
opportunity? But conscience wouldn’t let Joseph. He
said, “How can I do this evil and sin against my God?”

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(Genesis 39:9). People just need to realize that sinning

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

against God is hurting their own destinies!


Even though Joseph spent many years in prison for
refusing to sin, God eventually took him from there to
the palace. He escaped shipwreck by maintaining good
conscience.
In Genesis chapter 14 also, Abraham went to battle to
rescue his cousin, Lot, and some other people of Sodom
who were taken captive by the five kings that attacked
the land. And he did that on behalf of Abimelech the
king of Sodom. So at his triumphant return, the king
said to Abraham, “Give me the persons, and tak e the
goods to thyself.” But Abrahamsaid,“I have lift up mine hand unto
the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and
earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe
latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine…”
(Genesis 14:23). So good conscience means lifted hands
and only clean hands can be lifted for all to see.

As soon as Abraham left Abimelech, God spoke to him


in Genesis 15:1, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy
exceeding great reward.” Now, if you were Abraham
which would you choose; a reward from the king of
Sodom or a reward from God? Men can only give you
temporary blessings but God offers you eternal
blessings. Abimelech presented counterfeit riches to

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GOOD CONSCIENCE: THE PURITY OF FAITH

Abraham but he opted for the true riches that come


from God.
I pray that your conscience would come alive today
because without it a shipwreck of faith is inevitable!
I love what the Bible says concerning Moses in
Hebrews 11:24-27. It says:

By faith Moses, when he was come to years,


refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter;

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the


people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season;

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches


than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath


of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is
invisible.

As the supposed son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses


had a chance to live free while his Jewish brethren
suffered in bondage and endured all manner of
afflictions. Moses could easily have denied being an
Israelite, but when he came of age, he told the Egyptians,
“I don’t belong here!” Despite the reproach he would
suffer, he chose to identify with God’s people. Do you
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know how many believers deny the faith daily? Men

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

who cannot openly identify themselves as Christians


before their unbelieving business partners? You hear
them say, “This is not an issue of Christianity, this is
pure business. I have to remove my Christian badge and
do like them.” How do you think that the faith you can’t
profess openly will bless you? Jesus said:

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and


of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation; of him also shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels

Mark 8:38

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused…” So


in your walk of faith, there are things you must refuse.
When Moses fled from Egypt he left behind all the
pleasures of the palace and was in the wilderness for
forty years till God called him and made him the leader
of his people.
Righteousness may cost you something today but will
pay you something better tomorrow. This faith journey
may look like punishing you today, but it will ultimately
polish you. You have to understand that those who will
live righteously will also suffer persecution (2 Timothy
3:12).

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Faith will take you to the highest height in life but

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GOOD CONSCIENCE: THE PURITY OF FAITH

not without righteousness and the fear of God because


that is what it takes to maintain your place at the top.
So, whatever you are doing that betrays your faith,
must be stopped now before it stops you. Whatever you
know is not straight, leave it! Never struggle to get what
God has not given you! When it is your turn, everything
will turn!

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FAITH

19
6
Chapter 14

PATIENCE:
The Need of Faith

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which


hath great recompense of reward.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have


done the will of God, ye might receive the
promise.

Hebrews 10:35-36

As powerful as faith is, it has one need and that is


patience. Every expectation requires time to be fulfilled.
By faith you place order for your blessings but through
patience you wait to take delivery. Many place orders for
blessings but don’t wait to take delivery. Everything in

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life occurs in a process of time no matter how short.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

So, faith will always need time to manifest it’s effect. All
the men of faith in the Bible, who are our examples,
never operated faith without patience. And we are told in
Hebrews 6:12:

… Be not slothful, but followers of them who


through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Talking of father Abraham, the Bible says in Hebrews


6:15:

And so, after he had patiently endured, he


obtained the promise.

That is why Apostle Paul said:

… Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have


done the will of God, ye might receive the
promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall
come will come, and will not tarry.

Hebrews 10:36-37

If he had said, “You have need for patience”, that


would mean just waiting and waiting. But now he says,
“…You have need of patience”, which implies that
patience is a virtue, it is not just about sitting down and
waiting, rather it is a test of character or a test of
intention.

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Patience is meant to prove the worth and the quality

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PATIENCE: THE NEED OF FAITH

of your love for God more than the desire for things. If
your intention for wanting that blessing is pure, you
will patiently and excitedly wait on God to do what He
has said He would do.
The reason most people get offended with God when
the answers they desire seem to be delayed is because
their intentions are not right; they want things from
God but they don’t want Him. If you truly love God,
whether He gives you what you desire or not, it doesn’t
tamper with your relationship with Him. That is the
kind of patience I’m talking about. A truly patient man,
therefore is one who would still judge God faithful,
with or without material blessings!
To be patient does not mean folding your hands and
waiting for your chance, it is keeping your eyes on God
and on His Word, making your declarations and
resisting the devil while awaiting the manifestation of
God’s blessings.
When you make declarations of faith, you generate an
assurance in your soul, which helps you wait for the
manifestation of your miracle. The reason many cannot
wait is because there is no assurance in their hearts that
God would perform what He said He would do. After a
little while they lose their confidence and once
confidence is lost, it becomes impossible to exercise

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patience.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

Why Must We Wait?

1. For Focus:
The foremost reason God allows you to go through
the test of patience is so that you can graduate from
focusing on things to focusing on Him. God desires that
our faith be relationship based rather than material
centered.
So were it as in, the season of waiting, God works on
you to ensure that when the miracle comes, it does not
become your new ‘god’. He has no problem giving you
things, He only has problem managing you after He has
given you the blessing. God has no problem blessing
you, He only has the task of preparing you for your
blessing.
If for instance you believe God for financial prosperity,
God has to be sure of what you will do with the money
before He puts it in your hands. You cannot be a careless
spender and expect Him to prosper you financially, no
matter how hard you pray.

2. For Maturity:
Patience is the process of preparing and maturing
you for your blessing. And while you are exercising

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patience God is busy perfecting you for the blessing.

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PATIENCE: THE NEED OF FAITH

He is ready only when you are ready. I believe the


reason Abraham had to wait so long to get his
promised son is because God was preparing him for the
covenant. By the time Isaac was born, Abraham’s heart
was so fixed on God that when it was time to sacrifice
the son he had waited twenty-five years to get, he did
not hesitate. And because he did that, God established
the covenant with Him!
So the question is not whether God will give you
what you desire of Him or not - for His Word says,
“…No good thing will He withhold from them that walk
uprightly” (Psalm 84:11b). The question is: “Are you
ready for what you are asking God to give you?”
The place of Christian maturity cannot be over
emphasized in the walk of faith. In the local assembly
that I am privileged to pastor for instance, from the
inception, God spoke to the founder of our ministry,
Bishop Oyedepo, of the great crowd of people that would
be gathered here to worship Him. And by His grace
today, the congregation numbers in tens of thousands,
but in the early days of the ministry we never saw such a
crowd. We were not ready for it then, so we needed to be
patient. If God had given us such a large congregation
much earlier, the pastors would have died under the
pressure spiritually, mentally and physically. So, we did

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not have the kind of facilities we have now to

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

accommodate the people. But when God saw we were


ready – in administrative, spiritual and infrastructural
capacities, He began to bring the people. This applies to
so many other areas of life. Our patience does not get
God ready to bless us; rather it gets us ready for His
blessings.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now, Faith is…” Faith operates in
the now. Whatever God has said concerning you in His
Word is not just going to be done, it is done already. But
you need patience to mature for its manifestation. You
will naturally not allow your two year-old-child to
handle a knife no matter how much he cries for it, but
when he is ten years old, you can give it to him and say,
“cut this carrot for me”. The same child, the same knife,
but different timing. So, the essence of patience is
maturity. God is not withholding your blessing, He is
only giving you time to mature for it, so your destiny
would be preserved.

3. For Perfection:
The second reason for patience is to allow room for
perfection.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye


may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

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James 1:4

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PATIENCE: THE NEED OF FAITH

Often times, the quality of what you want determines


how long you wait to get it. Look at the process of
furniture making for instance, you know there are some
pieces of furniture you buy and after three months,
they begin to sag and bend, but there are others you use
for so many years and they still remain solid. It may
surprise you to know, both were probably made from
the same type of wood. What makes the difference is
that one went through a short period of processing and
seasoning, while the other was allowed to spend the
appropriate period of time. The one that goes through
the right process comes out, not only beautiful, but also
solid and durable.
Consider also the period of pregnancy. The moment a
woman conceives, the foetus has every thing needed to
develop into a proper baby, but it must remain in the
womb for nine months for the purpose of perfection. If
for any reason delivery occurs before the normal
gestation period, it will either end in a miscarriage or
the birth of a premature baby. And such premature babies
usually require artificial incubation to nurture them to a
point where they can survive independently, and may
end up being deficient in one area or the other. But
when a foetus completes the required term, it comes

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out strong, healthy, lively and without complications.

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In the same way, life is a process. Patience is needed


for God to take our blessings through a process of
perfection. If only you can see yourself the way God sees
you, you will stop questioning Him for taking you
through a season of waiting and rather tell yourself, “He
is working on me, I am under construction, when I am
fully made, I will come forth as gold”.
Understanding the subject of patience will enhance your
confidence, which would in turn, enable you not to
throw away your blessing before the due season.
Hebrews 10:37 says, “For yet a little while, and he that
shall come will come, and will not tarry”. So, what you
consider to be a season of waiting, in God’s program, it
is actually not wasting, because He does not come late,
He will not wait one minute later or earlier than
necessary. When you are ready, your miracle will
manifest, it will not tarry.

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Chapter 15

PRAISE:
The Strength of
Faith

Faith can grow weak in the face of challenges,


oppositions and trials. You must take steps to protect
and enliven your faith. You can retain the strength and
virtue of your faith by ensuring the storms of life do not
carry your faith away. And the way to do that is by
giving praises to God.
Just as we take tonic to enhance our blood level, which
in turn increases our strength, praise is the tonic of
faith. Praise upgrades faith to trust, and then to
confidence and persuasion.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

So, praise is the driver of faith. Anywhere you find


praise; faith is always persuaded to move forward. That
is to say, faith is never discouraged when praise is on.
Faith is up when praise is on. Talking of Abraham in
Romans 4:18-20 the Bible says:

...And being not weak in faith, he considered not


his own body now dead, when he was about an
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of
Sara’s womb:

He staggered not at the promise of God through


unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God;

How did he become strong in the faith? By giving


glory to God (Romans 4:18-20). Because Abraham was
strong in faith, he became fully persuaded that what
God had promised, He was able to perform also. That
means, he came to a point of no return. When you are
in praise, you get to a point where it becomes difficult
for you to doubt God, no matter the challenges you
face. That was the point Abraham came to. Rather than
doubt God, he was increasing the strength of his faith
by giving glory to God. In the 24th year of his covenant
walk with God, he was yet to receive his promised son.
At this time, he was already 99 years old, and God

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instructed him to change his name from

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PRAISE: THE STRENGTH OF FAITH

Abram to Abraham, meaning father of many nations


(Genesis 17). He had not seen the promise, yet he went
about announcing his change of name to everybody.
That is to say, “it looks impossible, but I am still
expecting this miracle to happen”. The mockery must
have multiplied but the miracle was in the making. By
the time Abraham was an hundred years old, Isaac was
born.
When we praise God, we are simply enhancing our
faith. That is why you cannot praise God and at the
same time doubt Him. Murmuring and complaining are
expressions of doubt, but praising God, especially when
it is not convenient, is an expression of faith. Faith is
actually being perfected when you praise God.
Praise is not just singing. Actually, singing is just a
medium of praise. Praise focuses on two things to make
it effective. First, it focuses on the Word of God. David
said, “In God I will praise His Word” (Psalm 56:4). We
praise God for what He has provided for in His Word.
The Word of God is the strongest motivation for praise,
especially the kind of praise that will boost your faith. If
your praise is limited to just singing, you will be
frustrated. I recommend for you therefore, to always
choose your songs carefully. Do not just sing any song,
but rather sing songs of faith; songs that minister to

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God and inspire your soul. Of course the melody will

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

add sweetness to the song, but the meaning will add


strength to your faith.
Abraham was giving glory to God because he
remembered what God told him in Genesis chapters 12,
15 and 17. He remembered how God led him out one
night and said to him, “…Look now toward heaven, and tell
the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be” (Genesis 15:5). Abraham
remembered all those words and his faith was
strengthened. When you know that Heaven and earth
will pass away but not one jot of God’s Word shall go
unfulfilled, no circumstance will be able to stop you
from praising Him.
You cannot successfully praise God if you do not know
His Word, otherwise, what will you be praising Him for?
What would you be thanking Him for? But when you
praise God with understanding, as the Bible
admonishes us in Psalm 47:7, your faith is
strengthened, and you are able to rise up and face your
Goliath. The revelation of His word will naturally birth
songs of joy (Jeremiah15:16).
The second thing that praise focuses on is the
faithfulness of God, which talks about His constancy; He is
the same yesterday, today and forever. “Faithful is He that

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calleth you, who also will do it (1Thessalonians 5:24).

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PRAISE: THE STRENGTH OF FAITH

So, when you sing, do it with understanding. Hebrews


11:11 says, “Through faith also Sara herself received
strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child
when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful
who had promised.” When Abraham took his son, Isaac,
up to the mountain to sacrifice him, Hebrews Chapter
11, verse 19 makes us understand that he reasoned that
God was able to raise his son up from the dead and
bring him back alive. So he related with God on the
basis of his faithfulness.
That is the understanding that made a man like
Apostle Paul to say, “For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
(Romans 8:38-39).
Through praise you upgrade your faith to love, and
love is relationship, it is an inseparable union. When
you get to that point in your walk with God, you will be
able to say, “even if God does not do it, I will keep
serving him”. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “…Our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O

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king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image w
hich thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). T
hatis the kind of
faith our fathers operated. They judged God faithful,
constant, unchangeable. You cannot get to that point
and not move God. When God saw the
unflinching faith of those Hebrew boys, He arrived in
the fiery furnace ahead of them. Faith is judging God
faithful. Your faith brings you to a point of celebrating
His faithfulness, which naturally commits Him to act on
your behalf.
The cheapest way to come out of unbelief is to give a
shout of praise to the Lord. Every time satan tries to
intimidate you, burst out into singing, it confuses him
but invites God into your situation. No matter what
happens, when you encounter situations that are
contrary to God’s revealed plan for your life, keep
praising him for his faithfulness. Negative
circumstances will come, but when they do, remember
what God has said, and praise Him for it, because as far
He is concerned, it is done.
Praise will always culminate in a raise. As you praise
God from now, I see your faith level receiving a raise.
I decree that whatever has been putting your faith
under threat be destroyed now, in Jesus’ name!

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Chapter 16

REST:
The Behaviour of
Faith

Just as you can tell who a man is, by observing his


behaviour, you can tell when faith is at work from the
behaviour of the individual. Faith can be noticed, it can
also be perceived (Acts 14:8-10).

Faith is Anxiety Free


For we which have believed do enter into rest…

Hebrews 4:3

The behaviour of faith is rest. When faith is in place,

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rest is the evidence. When faith is at work, rest is


inevitable. If you truly believe, you will show it by being
at rest; being calm and peaceful. Rest is the evidence of
faith, while anxiety is a sure proof that faith is absent.
So you can examine yourself, and know whether you are
in faith or in doubt. The proof of faith is rest, while the
symptom of doubt is anxiety.
If you say you believe God to supply your needs, and
you still go about in apprehension; wondering how
your needs will be met or borrowing, you are not in
faith, you are in religion! Or may be you have an ailment
in your body, and after hearing a powerful teaching on
divine healing and making declarations of faith, you are
still bothered because the physical symptoms are yet to
disappear, that is a proof that you never believed.
“For we which believe do enter into rest…” Until rest is
seen in your life, you have not yet believed. If you truly
believe, you will be relaxed.

How does Anxiety come?


Anxiety comes through what you hear, see and feel. A
certain incident in the ministry of Jesus shows us a
good example of this. In Mark 4:35, Jesus called His
disciples and said to them, “Let us pass over unto the
other side”. And they commenced their journey on

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the sea.

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REST: THE BEHAVIOR OF FAITH

When God says a word, it is considered done. The


process that leads to the manifestation is only a
formality. When He says, “You shall not be barren, you
shall have a child”, it is not going to be done, it is done
already. So, Jesus, as a practitioner of the Word, told his
disciples, “Let us pass over unto the other side”, and
because He considered it done, as soon as they got into
the boat, He went to sleep.
You need to understand that between God and you;
only one person is permitted to stay awake over your
case. When you are ‘awake,’ God keeps off, but when
you are ‘asleep’ God stays awake to perform His Word
(Psalm 121).
Just as no Surgeon goes to work until his patient is put
to sleep, God does not go to work until you are put to
“sleep”. God goes to work only when you go to sleep. If
you know how things are working, then God is not at
work.

“And He said, So is the Kingdom of God, as if a


man should cast seed into the ground; [27] And
should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how”.
Mark 4:26-27

To sleep here means to be in a state of rest, void of


anxiety. When Jesus got into the boat with His disciples,

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He went to sleep because He knew that God had taken

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

charge of their journey the moment He said, “Let us


pass over…” So He was sure that they would arrive at
the other side. But the other people with Him stayed
awake, they refused to sleep. And that does not
necessarily connote physical sleep; it only means that
they refused to rest on God’s Word. They did not
consider His Word as conclusive; rather they subjected
it to debate.
So, when the storm arose, and the wind began to blow,
they saw the raging of the sea, and they became worried
and fearful. And because of fear, they became anxious.
Their anxiety was ultimately expressed in their statement
“don’t you care that we perish?” Meaning, they did not
believe when Jesus said, “Let us pass over…”.
Satan’s scheme of threat remains in the premises of
sight and sound. He shows negative pictures and creates
disturbing noises.
While the storm was blowing and raging very strongly,
Jesus was sleeping. He slept so soundly that they had to
wake Him up. The storm was much, the raging was
strong, but His rest was deep. May God give you that
kind of rest!
So, when God says, “your journey is kept”, take your
rest. When He says He will keep your going out and
your coming in, take your rest! Faith behaves what is

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said, and then becomes it.

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REST: THE BEHAVIOR OF FAITH

Be Anxious for Nothing!


Anxiety is the enemy of rest. And one thing you need
know about anxiety, it never changes things, except
negatively. That is why Jesus said, “how many of you by
being anxious can add one cubit to his height”?
(Matthew 6:27). God will never look down from heaven
one day and say, “Ah! Because this fellow has worried so
much, let Me increase his height”. No matter how much
you worry, food will never appear suddenly on your
table, so why worry?
The disciples of Jesus were so anxious, yet the storm
did not stop. But when they woke the Master, who in his
state of calmness and rest said to the sea, “Peace be
still”, the wind ceased immediately and there was a
great calm (Mark 4:39). That utterance, “Peace be still, is
indicative of the peaceful state of His heart, for out of
the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks
(Matthew 12:34).
Recently, my mother visited us. On a Sunday
morning, while we were virtually set to walk over to the
car, I heard a frantic knock on my door. I was
informed that Mama had fallen down, and lost
consciousness as she was dressing up for Church. I went
down stairs and met her gasping for breath. I looked
up to heaven and said, “Father, in the name of Jesus,

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nobody dies under this roof”. I stepped into a

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

corner and said further, “Lord, you know I have been


serving You, take charge”. I put her under the care of a
doctor, and went for the service knowing full well, all
was under control. None of my associates knew there
was any issue back at home, until I was sharing the
testimony of what God had done to restore my mother
back to sound health. Faith turns problems into
programs. It hands over to God, and continues on other
things.

“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set


yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of
the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against
them: for the Lord will be with you”.
2 Chronicles 20:17

Jehoshaphat handed over his battle to the Lord and


left it there. In his attitude of rest, God gave him light
and instruction on how to tackle the opposition.
Jehoshaphat never needed to unsheathe an arrow, but
the enemies were all slain by themselves.
Anxiety delays and stagnates a man. Somebody said,
“anxiety is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to
do, but does not get you anywhere”.
I came across the report of a research carried out by
some Psychologists and other workers in the medical

231
field, and I think the information will help you.

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REST: THE BEHAVIOR OF FAITH

According to the report, it has been discovered that


40% of the things people worry about never happen.
30% of them have already happened (that means there
is nothing you can do to change it), 12% are over
unfounded health concerns (somebody hears that
another person died of Tuberculosis, and when he begins
to cough a few days later, he says, “this must be
Tuberculosis”. Or maybe he experienced a brief period
of irregular breathing, he immediately concludes, “my
heart is failing, I think I am dying”. Those are
unfounded concerns.
The report finally says that 10% of the things people
worry about are miscellaneous day-to-day worries. From
this analysis, only 8% of the things that people are
anxious about are probably genuine. But as a believer,
there is no provision for you to worry at all because
Jesus said, “Take no thought for your life…” (Matthew 6:25).
Have faith in God! There is no better way to destroy
anxiety than to have faith in God. Understand that God
places so much value on your life. Have you ever
attempted to kill a bird with a catapult or gun before?
Did you succeed in killing them at every attempt you
made? Who do you think delivered the ones that
escaped? Scriptures tell me that it is God. Jesus said,
“two sparrows are sold for a penny, yet not one of

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them will fall to the ground without your Father’s

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

notice”. And then He said, “Fear not, you are of more


value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31
paraphrased). If God cares for the sparrows, then He
cares much more for you.
The reason you should be assured that you will
never be hurt, or killed by the enemy is because of the
value that God has for your life. Be value
conscious! Do not see yourself as a little chick that can
be crushed by witches whenever they wish. God said,
He would take care of you. Jesus said, “Even the very
hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matthew
10:30). If God takes care of birds, whose flesh you eat
as food and who will not be present on judgment day,
how much more will He take care of you who
originated from Him? Do you know, you have the
breath of God in you? Will God watch His breath
being cut off from you anyhow? Think about that and
place value on your soul.
Jesus also said in Matthew 6:29-30:

… Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;


they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say
unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,


which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the

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oven, shall he not much more clothe you O ye of
little faith.

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REST: THE BEHAVIOR OF FAITH

You know how short the lifespan of flowers are? Some


do not even last longer than a few hours, yet God
renews them everyday. That should tell you how much
God cares for you. You are precious to Him, He will not
watch you on the floor, He will not watch you suffer in
the hand of the devil!
Faith is of the heart; it is released via the mouth, and
manifested through actions. The reason a man of faith
is always at rest and never anxious is because he has
disciplined his mind, mouth and emotions to line up
with the word of God.

Antidote for Anxiety


The next time you are agitated about anything, just
laugh at the thing. Laughter will dissolve your anxiety
any day. The Bible says,

At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh:


neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the
earth.
Job 5:22

Laughter is a godly approach to take control of a


situation. When you laugh, you intimidate the
opposition.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the

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Lord shall have them in derision.
Psalm 2:4

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

When you are faced with troubles, and the voice of


turbulence wants to overwhelm you, just sit back and
laugh. Realize that you are seated together with Him in
heavenly places. You are above the troubles!
(Ephesians 2:6; John 3:31).

Jesus’ popular charge to people who met Him


distressed is, “Be of good cheer”. (Matthew 9:2; Matthew
14:27; Mark 6:50; John 16:33). Let no devil steal your joy.
Even if you are faced with a death issue, it is
wonderful to die smiling. Why must you die before you
die? A young lady came to me with a doctor’s death
verdict, and I said to her, “you cannot die now. Go and
start getting ready for your marriage”. Another young
man came with a letter of termination of his
appointment and I announced to him, “be of good
cheer; that is your promotion letter”. Do not let any
trouble to trouble you any more.
From this day, I decree that no storm of life shall be
able to destabilize you again!

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Chapter 17

PRAYER:
Faith’s Failure
Proof

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan


hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not…
Luke 22:31-32

Looking through scriptures, there are only two


instances in the Bible where Jesus prayed specifically for
a person or group of persons in the open. In John
chapter 17, He prayed for the Church, that God would
keep the Church as one, make them to walk in love

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

and all of that, and then in Luke 22:31-32, He said to


Peter, “…I have prayed for thee that thy faith faileth not...”
The only prayer Jesus ever prayed for an individual was
on the subject of faith sustenance. Why? Because faith
failure is all-round failure; if or when your faith fails,
even God cannot help you. The danger that heart attack
poses to the human body, is what faith failure is to the
spiritual life of a believer. Faith failure is fatal failure! It
is the mother of all failures.
In Matthew chapter 17, one of the disciples of Jesus
came to Him after they were unable to cast out a devil
from a lunatic child, and asked Him, “Master, why
could we not cast him out? And Jesus said to them,
“because of your unbelief”. He did not say, “because of
your lack of prayer”. So our spiritual arrowhead is faith.
If the head of an arrow is off, what can the body do?
Virtually nothing! In every spiritual battle, faith is the
first attacker that tells the devil clear off. And that is
why faith suffers the greatest attack from Satan. Faith is
the major, all other weapons are minor. Ephesians 6:16
says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith …” Once faith is
off, Satan takes over all the minor things. Remember, 2
Peter 1:5 says, “…Add to your faith…” Faith is the catalyst,
all others are additives

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Jesus said to Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you,

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PRAYER: FAITH’S FAILURE PROOF

that he may sift you as wheat…” The reason Satan


desires to have you is so that he can get rid of your faith
and destroy your destiny. As long as faith is in place, he
cannot displace you, but once he gets your faith off the
line, he has gotten you out of the race. Until faith fails,
nothing fails. You are not a loser, until you lose faith,
which also means, the mother of all victory is faith. For
“…THIS is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith” (1 John 5:4 Emphasis is mine).
Faith is the stability of your life. Nothing stabilizes the
believer like his faith. Faith is your spiritual center of
gravity and you know when you lose your center of
gravity you become unstable. All the troubles that Job
suffered were as a result of his deficiency in faith. Satan
attacked his faith, and the moment Job lost faith, he lost
all. Satan planted fear in his heart and that led to his
devastation (Job 3:25).
Now, if you read from the book of Job, you will
discover that Job was one of the wisest people that ever
lived; he was a man of vast knowledge and wisdom, but
when he was afflicted, nothing else worked, because faith
was not there. Job suffered in the hand of satan; he was
rendered empty, naked, devastated! Yet he was a
righteous man! No wonder the Bible says, “The just
shall live only by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). The

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

righteous does not live by his righteousness, he lives by


his faith. You may lose every other thing but do not lose
your faith. You must protect your faith because faith
failure is absolute failure.

Contend For Your Faith

… But you my friend must fortify yourselves in your


most sacred faith…
Jude 1:20 (New English Bible)

Christianity is not funfair, but warfare, and in every


warfare, what your enemy hunts for most, is your
weapon, if he can disarm you, he has gotten you. Satan
knows that faith is the foremost of all the spiritual
weapons that the believer has at his disposal, so he
strives to get it out of his hand. Jesus gave an
illustration in Matthew 12:29. He said, “…How can one
enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods,
except he first bind the strong man”?

Now, faith is the strong man of your house; it is the


security guard of your destiny. Whatever your faith
cannot stop nothing else can stop. When Job’s faith
could not stop the devil, nothing else could stop him.
His complaining and emotional weeping could not
stop satan, because outside of faith, nothing else works.

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This is why we are admonished in Jude 3 to contend

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PRAYER: FAITH’S FAILURE PROOF

for the faith.


One thing you must never give up is your faith.
Whatever it takes, you must contend for it. And how do
you contend for your faith? You do so by keeping it
active; by exercising it just as the human body. Faith is
not passive, it works only for the violent (Matthew
11:12). You either do something with your faith or you
lose it. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1:19, “Holding faith…”
In Ephesians 6:16 it says, “Taking the shield of faith…”
And in 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith.”
Satan is struggling with your faith, he wants you to miss
your faith and lose your blessing, so you must contend
with him. Whatever you believe God for, insist on it, do
not shift your ground until it is delivered to you. Your
faith will not fail again!

Why does Satan Attack Your Faith?


1. Satan knows that faith is the only thing that
pleases God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “…For without faith it is
impossible to please God.” And when you do not please
God you cannot receive God’s backing. When he was
afflicted, Job did all manner of things to get God’s
intervention, but there was no change. He argued and
explained, yet that did not move God, because what
moves God is faith, not your argument, or your physical
strength, nor your grammar.
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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

2. Faith subdues the kingdom of the devil.


Hebrews 11:33: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms…”
Satan knows that when your faith is at work, he
comes underneath your foot; you subdue him. With
faith all his atrocities and fiery darts are put out of
existence. (Ephesians 6:16).
3. It is only through faith that you possess your
possession. “…Who through faith… obtained
promises…”(Hebrews 1:2, 33). Faith is your purchasing
currency in the realms of the spirit, so satan wants to
get it out of the way in order to deny you of fulfillment.
4. Faith moves mountains. Jesus said “…Whosoever
shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart,
but shall believe that those things which he saith shall
come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark
11:23). This does not sound religious, but the truth is
prayer does not move mountains; it is faith that moves
mountains. That is why Satan does not attack prayer as
much as he attacks faith. He does not mind you praying
for hours or days but he is disturbed when you begin to
walk in faith for a few minutes, because he knows that
your faith will move mountains.
The quality of your prayer is not in its longevity.

247
Prayer is not answered according to the length but

248
PRAYER: FAITH’S FAILURE PROOF

according to the substance in it. How long was Elijah’s


prayer that brought down the fire? How long was Moses’
prayer that divided the red sea? How long was Jesus’
prayer that healed the sick? Short and sharp! “Arise, take
up thy bed!” And the people were healed. So, it is not
how long but how strong. The Bible says, “And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). So faith is the life wire of
prayer! James 5:15: “And the prayer of faith shall save the
sick.” Such prayer does not need to be long, because
faith does not waste time. Prayer effect is not in length,
but in the strength of words.
5. Another reason Satan attacks your faith is because
he knows that with your faith at work all things are
possible to you. “…All things are possible to him that
believes” (Mark 9:23). Faith takes you into the realm of
possibilities, which is God’s realm! That makes you
dangerous to Satan, so he is ever calculating and
scheming to have you; to get your faith off the line so
you would not enjoy breakthroughs. I see you
overcoming all his scheming, in the name of Jesus!

How do You Guard against Faith Failure?


Praying without ceasing is our spiritual guard.

249
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:

250
THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

and when thou art converted, strengthen thy


brethren.
Luke 22:31

The scriptural device against faith failure is prayer.


Jesus said to Peter, “I have prayed for you that your faith
fail not.” Satan’s target is to make your faith fail. When
you start believing the Word of God, he comes with
diverse temptations to make you give up before the
manifestation of your miracle. But Jesus shows us in this
scripture that the way to neutralize satan’s devices is to
pray.
When your faith comes under satanic harassments,
intimidation, frustration and weariness, prayer provides
a back up. Prayer does not substitute faith, it rather
fortifies it.
There came a time in the first Church when the
apostles were beaten, threatened and warned never to
preach again in the name of Jesus. Satan was fighting
very hard to kill their faith so that it would not spread
to others but you know what they did? They went into
prayers. The Bible says, “And being let go, they went to
their own company, and reported all that the chief priests
and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that,
they lifted up their voice to God with one accord…And

251
When they had prayed…they were all filled with the Holy

252
PRAYER: FAITH’S FAILURE PROOF

Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness”


(Acts 4:23-24,31).
Their faith came alive again after they prayed and the
evidence was that they spoke the word of God with
boldness. No wonder the apostles said, “We will give
ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the
Word” (Acts 6:4). Prayer is a major course in the school
of faith. This is the reason for the strong admonition
in Jude 1:20, which says:

… Building up yourselves on your most holy faith,


praying in the Holy Ghost.

… But you my friend must fortify yourselves in your


most sacred faith…

(New English Bible)

As powerful as faith is, it needs prayer support. This is


because faith is in levels. And as we can see from this
scripture, fervent prayer results in a build up of faith; it
raises your faith level. So, minus prayer, faith will
continue to crash. Jesus gave another prescription in
Matthew 26:41 where He said:

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…

You need to understand that temptation is not limited

253
to moral decadence, in its simplest form; temptation

254
THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

is a process of turning the believer from the faith.


Anything that makes you shift your ground on God’s
Word is temptation and that primarily includes all of
Satan’s devices and schemes to make you disbelieve and
disobey the Word of God. Which is why the Bible says,
“…Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
So, Jesus meant, “Watch and pray so that you would
be enabled to resist Satan’s temptations to make you
shift your ground.” If you want to maintain stability in
your faith operation, watch and pray! You may believe
God for a child, and Satan tempts you to shift your
ground. The truth is, if you do not have a child, you will
still get to heaven, but you have been robbed of a
blessing. If you believe God for restoration of your
health, and Satan tempts you to shift your ground, you
may die before your time. You will still get to heaven,
but you have been robbed of the residue of your days.
That is enough reason for you to pray in order to build
up your faith.
I want you to note that Jesus said, “Watch and pray that
ye enter not into temptation...” It is not temptation that
destroys your faith, it is falling into it that stops your
faith from working. We all are tempted to shift our
ground concerning what we have believed from God’s
Word but the way to escape and not to fall into such

255
temptation is through prayer. Pray that your faith fail not!

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PRAYER: FAITH’S FAILURE PROOF

Even Jesus was tempted to deny His commitment to


God, but He went into prayer. He was in the garden of
Gethsemane with His disciples and there He prayed
with such passion that His sweat was like drops of
blood. The temptation was so strong that He said,
“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me…” He
was about to turn His back on God’s purpose for His life
but He immediately realized that satan was tempting
Him so He said, “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be
done.” And as He continued praying, “there appeared an
angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” (Luke
22:42-43). When the multitude came to arrest Him, to
go and crucify Him, Jesus submitted Himself and
followed them willingly because He had received
strength in prayer to do the will of God.
Our prayers attract angels and they come to do two
things: To strengthen us and to take our prayers to the
Lord. They collect the prayers of saints in vials and
when they get to heaven, they swing it before the Lord
and it goes up to Him as a sweet smelling savor
(Revelations 5:8). When God smells the prayers of His
people, He gets moved with compassion and sends the
angels back with solutions for them.
So when we are in prayer we are renewing our faith;
we are charging up and refueling our weak faith so that

257
we can withstand the wiles of the devil and tell him,

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

“We will not give up”!


Now you can see why you do not need encouragement
from anybody to pray. You have much more to gain
from prayer than asking for things. Prayer is a booster
to your faith.
When you pray, you do not faint. (Luke 18:1). When
you pray, you do not fall. (Luke 22:31). When you
pray, you do not fail. (Matthew 26:41).

259
Conclusion

These all died in faith, not having received the


promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth…

And truly, if they had been mindful of that


country from whence they came out, they might
have had opportunity to have returned.

But now they desire a better country, that is, an


heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city.

Hebrews 11:13, 15 -16

Our covenant fathers lived and died in faith. It was


the totality of their lives. They saw their blessings afar
off, yet they were persuaded of God’s faithfulness, they
embraced His Word and made it their confession till
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they inherited the city that He had prepared for them.

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THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

God did not call you for fun, He called you because He
has prepared a place for you but it takes faith to get
there. Faith will take you from the dunghill to your high
place.
It was faith that took Abraham from his father’s
house to the Promised Land. Faith took Isaac from
opposition and hatred into Rehoboth. It took Jacob
from the house of servitude; the house of Laban into his
place of inheritance. Faith took Joseph from the prison
to the palace. It was faith also that took the children of
Israel from the house of bondage to the land flowing
with milk and honey. Faith took a harlot called Rehab
into significance. Without faith you are nothing, but
with faith you make a name in life.
Luke 1:45 says, “And blessed is she that believed: forthere
shall be a performance of those things which were told
her from the Lord.” When faith is in place,
performance is inevitable. If you want to graduate from
your non-performance to full performance, faith is the
catalyst you need. The Word of God is full of promises
to His children but He performs only what you believe.
God is always looking for believers to perform
something in their lives. He is not looking for the strong
or the powerful, He is looking for the believer and now

262
He has found you! When four men let down

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CONCLUSION

their sick friend through the roof, for Jesus to heal him,
the Bible says, “…He saw their faith…” (Mark 2:5). How
did He see their faith? It means He was looking for it!
When God went to the prison to look for a believer,
He found Joseph and performed the Word He had
spoken concerning him. That word translated Joseph
from being a prisoner to being the prime minister of
Egypt.
In John 11:40, Jesus said to Martha the sister of
Lazarus, “…If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the
glory of God?” The glory of God is reserved for believers.
Faith is the ladder between the grave and glory. You will
see His glory, in the name of Jesus!
Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:13, “…And having done
all, to stand.” Stand in faith because faith is for all times.
It worked yesterday; it is working today and will work
tomorrow. So make it your lifestyle. Hebrews 11:2 says:

For by it the elders obtained a good report.

When we talk of elders, we are referring to people of


repute. Everyone that lived the lifestyle of faith became
a man of repute. I see that happening for you very
shortly, in the name of Jesus!

264
Epilogue

In recent times, many believers have expressed very


great concern about the continuity of the faith
movement which begain in the 1970s because of misuse,
misapplication and abuse of the subject.

This should not come to us as a surprise anyway,


because Scriptures has forewarned us, times and again;

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who


were before old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God,
and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 4

Now the end of the commandment is charity out


of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of
faith unfeigned: From which some having
swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling.
1 Timothy 1:5-6
THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

The primary objective of this book is to allay such


fears, and I believe the Holy Spirit has inspiured you
with insight and revelation to this effect.

238
David 0. Abioye has an
instruction from the
Lord to "Lift up standard
for My people" as you
"te ach My people how to do it
by t he mse lves."

His anointing, teaching and practical


experiences are with a strong belief that the
Word works better when the preacher
preaches what he practices and practices what
he preaches.

David renders his stewardship under the


leadership of Dr. David Oyedepo, the Presiding
Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide Inc.
(whom he has been privileged to associate with
for more than three decades now), and also
serves as the Executive Vice President of the
Mission with Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

He is happily married to Mary, and they are


blessed with 3 children - David jnr, Ruth and
Daniel.

239
■ RELEASING THE CREATIVE POWER OF THE MIND

■ OVERCOMING STAGNATION

■ LIFESTYLE OF FAITH

■ COURAGE FOR CONQUEST

■ CREATING A NEW BEGINNING

■ PRODUCTIVETHINKING

■ MAKING THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITY

■ SPIRITUAL APPRENTICESHIP

1 STRATEGIES FOR PROGRESS

■ OVERCOMING STAGNATION

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