The realm of the spirit.

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”

 1 Corinthians 12:1

The word 'gifts' in our opening scripture is in italics because it was not there in the original. This means that verse could have read thus, “Now concerning spiritual, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” This means that God wants us to become aware of the realm of the Spirit. He wants us to be trained in spiritual things and how to function in the supernatural.

For instance, I remember the story of a dear man who understood how to function in the supernatural. He was led by the Spirit to buy a piece of land. When he went to his realtor or real estate agent to enquire concerning the land, the realtor told him that the land was worthless, but he insisted on buying it because God told him to buy it. After he bought the land, sometime later, minerals were found in the same land which was termed worthless by the real estate agent. How did he know he was supposed to buy that land? He followed the leading of God's Spirit; that's how to function in the supernatural. As a result, that land alone made him a wealthy business man in America.

It is so important you realize that the realm of the spirit and walking in the supernatural is real. In fact, it is more real than the natural realm. Therefore, if you are a Christian reading this devotional, I encourage you to follow the leading of the Spirit of God in everything you do. If you are not a Christian, I encourage you to confess Jesus as your Lord and ask Him into your heart by praying the prayer of salvation on page 62 so that you can be ushered into the realm of the supernatural.

Get ready to learn more about the realm of the spirit and how you can function from the realm of the spirit as a child of God throughout this month's devotional. 

Your imagination.

“And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” Genesis 11:6

One of the words for imagine in the Hebrew is the word 'yetser' it refers to conception. This means that whatever you are imagining is what you are conceiving. I will not be able to change your life, your conduct, or your character until I change the way you see yourself.

In Genesis 6:5 the Bible says, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Man was wicked because the imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This means that the inward picture of a man is what determines his conduct and character.

You are the way you are today because of the way you see yourself. That means your conduct and character is a manifestation of the imagination of the thoughts of your heart. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: …”

Confession.

In the Name of Jesus I declare that I am who God says I am. I can do what God says I can do, and I have all that God says I have. I have victory in all realms of life by His grace that is at work in me, to the glory and praise of His Name. Amen.

For further study read:

Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:9, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Doing the Word.

Consciously meditate and fill your heart with the Word of God.

See from your spirit.

"And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, 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."

Genesis 13:14-15

From our opening scripture God told Abram to look northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward from one point. It is evident that he couldn't have been able to see all these vast lands with his physical eyes from one point. He could only have seen it with the eyes of his spirit.

What do you see yourself becoming? What do you see yourself having? Do you see yourself having your child this year? Do you see yourself having your car this year? Do you see your church growing? Do you see your children sound and healthy? If you can see it you can have it. God told Abram in our opening scripture, "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." This means that if you cannot see it, you cannot have it.

I have seen myself minister in stadiums around this country and beyond. Where have you seen yourself? Where do you see yourself? Do you see yourself begging? Do you see yourself giving? Remember that whatever you see becomes inevitable.

Instruction.

Celebrate what you see yourself becoming this year by His great grace.

For further study read:

Genesis 17:4-5, Romans 4:17-18.

Doing the Word

Only call yourself what God calls you.

Seeing the unseen

   
"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 reasons God gave us His Word is to form new pictures in our minds, because your present behavior is consistent with the way you see yourself. What you are attracting as an individual is also based on what you see in your spirit.
Paul said in our opening scripture, "While we look not at the things which are seen, …" This means we refuse to consider the things we see with our physical eyes because they are temporal. Therefore, we look with the eyes of the spirit at the things which are not seen with our physical eyes that are revealed to us from the Word of God, the Bible says they are eternal.
The man that is not born again cannot see these things because the Bible tells us that the mind of the man that is not born again is blind See 2 Corinthians 4:4. It is only the man that is born again that can see these things because it is only through the gospel the eyes of the spirit are opened See Acts 26:18.
God wants the eyes of your spirit to be opened because He wants you to be able to see in your mind what He has said concerning you, this is because when you start seeing yourself that way, it becomes inevitable. Remember that the future that you see, is the future that will be.
Dear Father I thank you because your Word is producing in me what it talks about, even as I choose to see myself in the light of your Word, in Jesus Name. Amen.
For further study read:
2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 12:2.
Doing the Word
Let the vision that God has shown you be your motivation in life.

What are you seeing?

"And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, …" Genesis 15:2
From our opening scripture we see that Abram was seeing wrongly because he was seeing himself go childless. As long as he kept seeing himself that way, God's word concerning him that he will be made the father of many nations will not come to pass. So God had to change the inner picture of his future.

If God doesn't change the inner picture you have of your future, the future that God has planned will never happen. The children of Israel died in the wilderness; those who were 20 years and above when they came out of Egypt except Caleb and Joshua because they refused to believe the Word of God to them since they could not see what God had said coming to pass. They couldn't enter the promised land because of unbelief and their inability to see themselves the way God saw them. (See Numbers chapters 13 & 14)

No matter what God promised you, if you don't see it, it will never happen. This is why I say, vision is the mother of faith. When Abram in our opening scripture saw himself dying childless, what did God do? The Bible shows us in Genesis 15:5-6, "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, 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. And he believed in the LORD; …" God gave him a new picture, when he began to envision his children, that was when he was able to believe God.

I encourage you to allow the Word of God form new pictures in your mind that are in line with what God has said concerning you in His Word as you do, your faith will be activated.

Prayer.

Dear Father I thank you because the eyes of my heart are anointed to see visions and revelations that are in line with your purpose and plan for my life in Jesus Name. Amen.

For further study read:

Acts 2:17, Acts 16:9-10.

Doing the Word

Hold on to God's vision for your life for it shall come to pass.

Know your identity.

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Jeremiah 1:5

God speaks in our opening scripture to you saying, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; …" The word 'knew' there is from the Hebrew word 'Yada' which refers to an intimate knowledge. Yada also means to 'ascertain by seeing.' This means that you were born because God had a vision of you. This means that we could read Jeremiah 1:5 this way, 'Before I formed you in the belly I saw you.' Then God said, "…before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." This shows us that God's vision for your life gives you a sense of identity.

When you find an insecure person, you've found someone who does not know why he or she was born. There is something every man of vision knows, he knows that if you put him anywhere, strip him of everything he has, with who he is, he would have. Have you found your identity in God's vision for your life? Have you found out that you have the capacity to shine wherever you are because of God's vision for your life?

You would not be insecure anymore when you discover God's vision for your life because God's vision for you would give you a sense of value. Don't measure your value by where you are today, measure your value by who God has made you based on His vision for your life.

Prayer.

Dear Father I thank you because I believe that the purpose for which you permitted my birth shall be fulfilled completely by the working of your grace in my life in Jesus Name. Amen.

For further study read:

Acts 26:16-19, Acts 9:10-15, John 1:19-23.

Doing the Word

Stop comparing yourself with others, be secure in God's vision for your life.

Knowing God's vision.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, …"

Acts 2:17

One of the things that the Holy Spirit came to do in our lives is to enable us to see visions. The Holy Spirit came to give us a vision for our lives. That is why as a young person it is important you are able to get a hold of God's vision for your life from an early age.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: …" This means that living without a vision is like dying without knowing. This is because your life will lack meaning without vision.

How do you know that you have gotten God's vision for your life? You know you have gotten God's vision for your life when you know God's plan and purpose for your life, because vision is a revelation of God's plan and purpose for your life.

God's plan means what God wants to do with your life. God's purpose means why God wants to carry out His plan in your life. So if I find out God's vision for my life, it means that I know what God wants to do in my life

and why. That gives meaning to your life. Also, if you want to be ahead in life, then you must know why you were born.

Knowing God's plan and purpose for your life also gives you a sense of identity and self value, because if God has a plan and purpose for your birth it means that you are important and significant to God.

Prayer.

Dear Father I thank you for giving to me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you and your plan and purpose for my life in Jesus Name. Amen.

For further study read:

Jeremiah 1:4-5, Galatians 1:15-16, Romans 8:28-30.

Doing the Word

Measure your success based on the fulfilment of God's vision for your life and not based on the life or achievement of somebody else.

Do you question the Word?

"And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?"

Acts 2:12

The basis for doubt as seen in our opening scripture is questioning the Word of God. Doubt begins to grow in our hearts when we begin to question the Word of God. One of the root meanings of the word 'doubt' means 'to double or to vacillate between two opinions.' That is why certainty is anchored on clarity.

When satan tempted Eve in Genesis 3:1, he began by questioning the integrity of the Word of God. Therefore the areas of your life where you have questions concerning the Word of God are the areas of your life where you will have doubt. This is because you cannot be sure of something you don't understand. So faith is anchored on clear understanding.

Therefore, until you understand the Word of God, you will not believe, and what you don't understand you will eventually lose. The Bible says in Matthew 13:19, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side."

If you are struggling with doubt in any area of your life, I encourage you to meditate on the scriptures that are listed below in the further scriptures below.

Prayer.

Dear Father I repent from all unbelief and doubting of your Word concerning any area of my life. Today I choose to receive your Word in faith declaring that it will be unto me according to your Word, in Jesus Name. Amen.

For further study read:

Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Psalm 89:35, Luke 21:33, Titus 1:2.

Doing the Word

Boldly declare what God has said concerning you this year because it shall come to pass.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Vision determines what you receive.

"And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, 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." Genesis 13:14-15

It matters who you are associating with because there are people who will blind you. For instance, the name Lot means veil or covering. So there are some friends you have to detach yourself from. This is because your association with them sabotages your destiny.

Also notice from our opening scripture that God told Abram to look from where he was, saying to him that, "… all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." Showing us that your location is not what limits what God can do in your life, its your vision. The man with a vision attracts the support and resources He needs. This is because it is what you see that God will give to you.

I remember something that happened to a certain man of God named Happy Caldwell, he traveled to Hawai and saw a very beautiful house which was well situated. When he saw the house, he said, "I cannot see myself in that house." Then God said to him, "as long as you cannot see yourself in that house, you can never have it."

Where do you see yourself in the next ten years? Where do you see yourself at the end of this year? If you cannot see it, it will elude you but if you can see it, God will give it to you.

Confession.

In the Name of Jesus I see myself making progress, I see myself moving forward and upwards in this year. Nothing shall be impossible unto me. God's grace is heavy on me both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Amen.

For further study read:

Proverbs 4:18, Job 8:7, Mark 9:23.

Doing the Word

Just as Lot separated from Abram, pray that God would remove from you every friend sabotaging your destiny.

Have a written focus.

"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:" Isaiah 30:8

Many people don't like to write, but today I want to encourage you to write down your vision in a book. Have a book where you write down the great things God have shown you, what you are expecting and what you want your life to be like.

Do you know that God writes down His visions? That is what is documented in the Bible for us. The Bible begins with a revelation of the past and ends with a revelation of the future.

This principle of writing down visions is also being practiced by the business moguls of the world. Those who have turned out to be the wealthiest people in the world all have clear goals that are written down.

I heard about a research that was carried out by Harvard business school; they asked their students concerning what they wanted to be, and about ten percent knew what they were going to be, but only three percent wrote it down. Now, among the seven percent that did not write out their vision, only five percent was successful later in their lives. Of the three percent that wrote down their vision, ninty five percent of them became successful in life. This was because their lives had a written focus. The question I will like to ask you today is this: "Does your life have a written focus."

Instruction.

If you've not still written God's vision for your life, please write it down today.

For further study read:

Isaiah 8:1, Habakkuk 2:2, Hebrews 10:7.

Doing the Word

In your dream book, write down what God has shown you concerning your future. Write down what you expect daily, monthly and for the year. Write down what you see yourself having, doing and being like by the end of this year.

Vision unlocks prosperity and greatness.

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: …" Proverbs 23:7
Many people are poor today not because poverty is so powerful, they are poor and in bondage to poverty because of the vision they have. They remain poor because they are limited in their thinking. They cannot see themselves any better, they cannot see themselves getting greater, they cannot see themselves moving forward, as a result they do not have anything worth living for therefore their lives lack inspiration.
When you have a vision you would have a drive and the motivation to wake up in the morning and get to work, it will give you the drive to stay up late at night to work or to seek for information when others are sleeping.
If you are going to become great and prosperous, then you must live your life primarily to fulfil a vision. Jesus our ultimate example lived His life on earth with a definite vision. He said in John 10:10, "… I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Notice that the vision that Jesus had was unselfish, it was all about making life better for the rest of humanity. Use this to judge your vision. Is your vision unselfish?
Secondly, Jesus was so passionate about His vision that He was willing to sacrifice Himself for the actualisation of His vision. He said in John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Martin Lurther said, "A man that has nothing to die for, is not fit to live."
Therefore no matter where you begin in life or in your business, if you truly have a vision you will be diligent, if you are diligent in what you do, the Bible says this concerning you in Proverbs 10:4, "… the hand of the diligent maketh rich."
Prayer.
Dear Father I come boldly to the throne of grace and I receive grace for the fulfilment of God's vision for my life in Jesus Name. Amen.
For further study read:
Proverbs 6:6-11, Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 21:5.
Doing the Word
Outline the things you need to do daily for you to fulfil God's vision for your life.

See yourself the way God sees you.

"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."
Psalm 82:6-7

Our opening scripture shows us that our limitations are based on the way we see ourselves. You rise or fall to the size of your vision. You are either limited by your vision or you are empowered by your vision. This is because your life is moving in the direction of your vision or what you see in your mind.

God called them gods in our opening scripture but they died like men and fell like one of the princes because they couldn't see themselves that way. If you want to change the mental picture in your mind especially if it is contrary to God's view of you, then you must learn to meditate on scripture. What has God said about you in the Word, what picture do you see in the Word? Meditate on it until you see yourself in the light of what the Word of God says concerning you.

When you meditate on the Word until you see yourself in the light of it, faith comes. It is the faith that comes through the mental picture you conceive from the Word of God that enables you to take the risk involved to see your vision come to pass. This explains why those without vision spend their lives taking the path of the least resistance as they try to avoid discomfort. The level of sacrifice that a vision requires will determine the size of the people who follow it.

Instruction.

Please meditate on Philippians 4:13.

For further study read:

Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3, 1 Timothy 4:15.

Doing the Word

See yourself the way God sees you.

The necessity of vision.

"Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." John 4:34

What you are willing to die for is what you will live for. God spoke to me in 1999 saying, "the man that has nothing to die for, has nothing to live for." I remember when I said that to a friend of mine at that time, he said to me, "you must have heard that from Martin Lurther" I said, "no God told me that." Martin Lurther actually said, "the man that has nothing to die for is not fit to live."

Have you ever thought of what you will be remembered for when you die? Always remember that what you live for is what you traded your life for. Therefore is all your life worth the way you are living right now?

I want to encourage you to know that there is always more in God. Don't settle for anything less than the vision that God has birthed in your heart concerning your life, your marriage, your business, etc. Work at it. If you are falling short in any area, seek the right information and knowledge that will give you the advantage in those areas of weakness.

You were born to be excellent, therefore let that passion to be the best drive you to make the necessary sacrifice needed for the actualisation of God's vision for your life.

Instruction.

Go for knowledge; get books and tapes that will enhance your knowledge for the actualisation of God's vision for your life.

For further study read:

2 Timothy 2:15, Daniel 9:2, 2 Timothy 4:13.

Doing the Word

Let your passion to be excellent and being the best drive you to study.