Programme: Believers’ Convention Prayer Meeting 2021 (Week Three Day Two)
Date: 29th June, 2021
Powered by: Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Minister: Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears…” (Isa. 11:2-3). Judgment is different from wisdom and understanding. The revelation of Christ gives one wisdom and understanding. On the other hand, the revelation of God requires the fear of the Lord to make one of quick understanding. The purpose of quick understanding is so that one will not judge after the manner of the natural.
“I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.’’ (Ps. 142:5). The realm of the living is the realm of everlasting life. Without the instruments of Urim and Thummim (Ezra 2:63), there can be no accurate divisions in the Most Holy Place. This is because the Most Holy apportionment requires priests who can administer judgment.
The aim of the Gospel is to bring everyone to Zion. There is a knowledge in Zion that changes the nature of those who come to her. Zion is an interface between those in the everlasting dimension and those coming from the carnal dimension. Thus, it is at Zion that iniquity is judged because of the saviours that arise from her (Obad. 1:17).
“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Gen. 15:1). God declared to Abraham the works which were before Him. This verse is often misinterpreted to mean a natural shield; but rather, this shield is the work of God. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Ps. 84:11). The Lord God is a sun and shield; and He is good. As such, when He promises not to withhold anything good from us it means He would not withhold Himself from us. To receive Him, we must have a kind of patience that is beyond what flesh can express.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.’’ (Isa. 2:2-3). The "law" highlighted in verse 3 is higher than the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:2). This means that men (nations) would have learnt the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus for them to seek and learn the law of Zion.
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). Worship is a response in obedience towards God; it connotes movement towards God. God will raise churches that will be powerful enough to turn souls towards God. This will be done by training them with the law of movement. These churches will train souls in what true sacrifice entails. True sacrifice is beyond subjecting oneself to 'seemingly' difficult natural experiences; it is the response of a soul to the demands of the Gospel.
“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:29). The hand of the Father is not an ordinary hand; works flow out of His hands. God wants to harvest the seven candlesticks into the Father's hands so as to carry them into Eternal Life. The seven churches are churches of everlasting life.
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Rev. 1:20). What illuminates the candlesticks are beings called stars. The "seven golden candlesticks" are candlesticks of the Most Holy Place. These candlesticks are works of God that were made by the revelation of God through everlasting life. The candlesticks also express God’s expectation for the churches. God desires that all men should be built up to the measure of the stature of the candlestick. The candlestick is an everlasting work that depicts an everlasting church. This is God’s vision for the work of the end. This is what constitutes the labour of the seven churches.
The stars are angels who are shepherds of the churches – they give direction to the churches. The purpose of the shepherd is to be able to see the pasture for the churches. The Lord Himself holds the ministers of these seven churches in His hands. This state is not just for any minister of the Gospel; it is for those who have attained the stature of an angel in the Most Holy Place. The candlestick is a work that can be finished to produce a star. When stars have graduated out of the candlesticks and are engraved in His hands, works have been finished. What the Lord wants to harvest to the Father are stars (2 Peter 1:19).
The hand of the Lord Jesus is also the hand of our Father. We must work until we find our place in His palm. While Jesus was on earth, He was in the palm of the Father. That was why no one could touch Him. The palm of Jesus is the place where His work precedes from. The Lord will bear us up in His hands and carry us in order to present us to the Father.
“And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.’’ (Hab. 3:4). Hand refers to a place of everlasting stature. What came out of His hand as a horn are His works that go before Him. Out of His hand proceeds works that are horns. Horn is the growth of light; it is a shining/piercing. This implies that the secrets of works are in His hand. What is coming out of the horns of His hand is everlasting life. However, He also has eternal horns on His head (Rev. 5:6). When the Father is giving Himself and working Himself in people, He shines His everlasting light. This is how saviours will be raised from Zion (Obad. 21).
A saviour is a shepherd. Jesus is the Great Shepherd who saves. Therefore, anyone who will become a saviour must be a shepherd. Shepherds are beings of life; and they raise men by giving them life. A shepherd is one who is skilled with life; he is not a destroyer but a saviour. A shepherd is equipped with all things that he needs to save the sheep; he is equipped with all patience, meekness and lowliness for the purpose of saving the sheep. A sheep is helpless without its shepherd; and the shepherd knows that every sheep is vulnerable to Satan. A sheep that will do well and receive help from the shepherd is one who can depend on the shepherd; such must not be dependent on itself.
Meekness in a sheep attracts the Shepherd. As such, we should always be helpless no matter the height we attain in God. We should never look unto ourselves. This kind of relationship is reflected between God and Jesus. Jesus has weaknesses that are not about any vulnerability to sin; they are His vulnerability to the Father as a result of His love for the Father. We should also be vulnerable to our fathers here on earth because the same attitude we have towards them is the same attitude we would have towards God.
We should love our parents to a fault. We should also know that God will protect the sheep, even when it might look like the shepherd may not be perfect. Our attitude here on earth determines how we will relate with Jesus. As such, we must have reverence for those set over us. We should all be children and love ourselves to a fault; let us not size up one another’s strength (Philip. 2:4). This is a conversation in the Holiest.
It is possible for married people to easily see their spouses as better than themselves. Homes that are like this can never be chaotic. Some who are not even in this light but practice this principle are keeping their marriages. Those who are like this may seem weak but they are actually the strongest; they cannot be easily manipulated by Satan. Satan takes advantage of our pride, but he cannot take advantage of our weaknesses/vulnerabilities to God