Bible-in OneYear- Day 10 (January 10)

Genesis 28-30       

As it was in the beginning, so it is and ever shall be. In our last discussion, there was a troubling thought of why Isaac never rebuked Jacob on realizing that he cheated his brother.

I have searched the scripture, I have seen the elderly and I am still observant of things happening around me. I have come to realize that;

1. Male: represents STRENGTH, and
2. Female: represents INFLUENCE.

The domineering factor is INFLUENCE. No matter how big a vehicle is, the steering will still influence direction. Influence is to work on somebody’s will through the mind. It is to transfer one’s imagination to another’s mind to make the victim follow the initiator’s thought. Strength is ability. It is power. When influence comes in, it gives power (unreduced) the direction to go or act.

Satan knew how much influence Eve could have on Adam. He did not go straight to Adam. Rather, he went for Eve to work on her mind while Eve worked on Adam’s emotion to use the will. The secret of emotional weakness of Adam was revealed to Satan when he first saw Eve. In the emotion of man lies the ability to love. There is a correction that has to be made. Women are emotionally strong while men are emotionally weak. Men are strong in the mind, but women are weak in the mind.

Women’s weakness in the sense that, their thinking is vulnerable. Satan attacked the thinking of Eve. She, therefore, assumed God was deceiving them. But Adam was not deceived in his thinking. His problem was that he had feelings for the wife. Feeling, love and affection are factors of the emotion of man. While imagination, fear and assumptions are the factors of the mind.

In view of this, the act of working on another’s emotion is influence. Women are known for that.

1. Eve influenced Adam; sin entered the world
2. Sarah influenced Abraham; Hagar and son was cast out of the home.
3. Rebekah influenced Isaac and Jacob;
   1. Jacob to deceive the father, Isaac, by cooking the food in such a manner that Isaac couldn’t distinguish between a bush meat and that reared at home. The love for that taste was another problem of the emotion of man. Not only that, the manner she dressed Jacob up to be and smell like Esau was unimaginable. She fixed that aspect of it.
   1. Isaac to bless and transfer the flow of the covenant to Jacob.
   1. Jezebel was an influence on King Ahab

Her disguise of Jacob resulted in another problem; bitterness and hatred between brothers. She quickly fixed that. How?

Heth was the second born of Canaan whom Noah cursed. The descendants of Heth are the Hittites from whom Esau married his first two wives. That grieved Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 10:15 “And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,”

Genesis 26:34 “And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.”

Rebekah then used that situation to influence Isaac to approve the departure of Jacob to her brother’s place which was not the issue at that time. The problem is in Genesis 27: 42-45. Isaac, again, yielded to her influence, Genesis 27: 46, 28:1.

In fairness to Jacob, he did not steal from Esau. Rather, his mother had great influence on him. He turned down her mother’s proposal because he was conscious of the repercussion of the action. But the pressure from the mother was overwhelming. Truly, he could have refused to the last. But because he loved his mother, he yielded. That was the problem of Adam; he loved the wife and he hearkened unto her advice.

On his way to Laban’s place, the angel of the Lord appeared to him to confirm his custody of the covenant which started from his grandfather, Abraham.

It is good to note that, the prayer of Isaac for Jacob at departure was the one that sealed the transfer of covenant.

Genesis 28:3-4 “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”

From this moment, Isaac ceased to be the custodian of the covenant as nothing was heard ofhim again until his death in Genesis 35:29. All attention shifted to Jacob’s.

Esau did not witness the first blessing proclaimed on Jacob by reason of eating good food. But he witnessed the second one, the sealing one. From Genesis 28:6-9, we see the following.

1. He saw that Isaac blessed Jacob and was jealous.
2. He heard his father’s charge to Jacob against the Canaanite from where her two wives came.
3. He realized Jacob was obedient to his parents; unlike him who grieved them.
4. If Isaac, his father do not like the Canaanites, then it means his wives cannot be exception.

In his bid to mend is ways in terms of his marriage, he decided to marry another wife. But, this time around, from Ishmaelites with the thought that he will find favor with his parents.

Genesis 28:9 “Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.”

Technically, Esau married himself out of God’s covenant (agenda) for Abraham. All his marriages never had any connection with the purpose of God for mankind.

Rebekah may seem to be a tricky woman; the truth is that she was a fixer. Let’s look at it this way. Abraham preferred Ishmael to be the custodian of God’s covenant right after his birth. When Sarah demanded Hagar to leave the house, and Abraham was grieved in the mind, God told him to cheer up and concentrate on the path of the flow of the covenant. He said His covenant will be with Isaac. But for Isaac, he did not hear which one of his two children to carry the flow of covenant. Rather, he wanted the flow to be as his stomach directed. It was obvious that his appetite for venison was the determinant factor for the flow of the covenant. That would have been detrimental to the covenant. But Rebekah knew and loved Jacob for what God had told her while she was pregnant of them

Genesis 25:22-23 “And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

As far as her knowledge of God’s agenda was concerned, Rebekah did not want things to go wrong for her children. She knew Isaac wanted to release the covenant through the power of words and it was going the wrong path, she quickly moved to fix it.

Isaac had the potent power of the covenant, but Rebekah had the influence to give direction. Since Rebekah’s influence yielded a positive flow and not negative, we could regard her as THE FIXER.

Immediately the mission was accomplished, there was no mention of her name again until (no more thing to do for God; a fulfilled life) her death and no mention of her name again after her death except to testify that what happened was not because of the sin of Esau but because of God’s purpose, He elected Jacob.

Romans 9:10 “And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.”

The most important thing in life is to live a fulfilled life and gain heaven. The number of years spent isn’t the joy of a genuinely born-again Christian, but how fulfilled such is in God’s agenda.

Your days shall not be wasted in the land of the living in the name of Jesus.

Keep the fire burning

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Bible-in OneYear- Day 9 (January 9)

Genesis 25-27           THE FLOW OF COVENANT

In our last two discussions, we talked about;

1. The Church of Ishmael
2. Covenant and Oath

The most important of our discussion so far is covenant. Covenant is the route of God’s plan to achieve His goal. Truly, we have talked about many characters in the chapters we have read. Adam is the most important because he was created to dominate the earth and keep it. He was not created to die or to live in heaven. Adam was not created to have fellowship with Satan or any other spirit of the like. He was created to have the earth as his kingdom. If this had been as it was, there wouldn’t have been the need for any covenant.

When man fell, he had his mind severed from purpose of creation. He got his mind divided, knowing good and evil (left to choose between two options). For God to relate with man, He needed his consent and be in agreement with man in order to use man in getting somethings done. As we discussed before now, no spirit could do anything on earth without an earthy body; even God needed a man to do His work. Satan negotiated for the serpent’s body to intrude the earth and, consequently, entered into agreeing with man to carry out his havoc. This is the reason evil spirits appear as abominable animals in dreams most times.

God’s plan of redemption started with agreeing with Abraham. He started by promising Abraham His blessing which was sealed up in covenant. He had covenants with some characters before Abraham, but that of Abraham was for the redemption of man from the grip of Satan and restore man in His goal; to dominate the earth. We shall all come back to reign on earth in the new Jerusalem, a new earth, with Christ since man was not created to live in heaven.

Though Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are important figures in the scripture, covenant is what made them important. God defended His covenant with them through which His redemption plan would be actualized. Abraham wouldn’t have died if it was him that had to live. But it was the plan that had to live and that was the reason the covenant had to be sustained.

Abraham had many children after Isaac, particularly, after the death of Sarah through Keturah and concubines. These children would have been problems to the flow of covenant through Isaac. He took a step to preserve and protect that flow before he died.

Genesis 25:5-6 “And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.”

The servant of Abraham who searched for Rebekah even testified to this whilst negotiating for Rebekah’s hand in marriage before Laban and Bethuel.

Genesis 24:34-36 “And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. 35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. 36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.”

Isaac became the channel for the flow of the covenant, the vision bearer. He inherited the covenant from Abraham, his father.

1. The blessing, Genesis 25: 11
2. Abraham’s experience, Genesis 25:21, just like Sarai.
3. He inherited the same vow given to his father, Abraham, Genesis 26: 1-5, 24
4. His father experienced famine in his time. He experienced it, Genesis 26:1
5. He went through same trying moment as his father with temptation that made him deny Rebekah was his wife, Genesis 26:7.
6. He inherited all the wells of his father.
7. He suffered grief of mind over Esau just as his father suffered over his son, Ishmael.

The covenant was under serious test of attacks.

Peculiar to covenant is the fact that each bearer goes through his own trying time; a pruning that makes the bearer perfectly fit to bear it. The delay in Rebekah was to preserve her for the flow of the covenant. Though, in the time of Abraham, two women bore two children (nations) for him. The junior (Isaac) was preferred to the senior (Ishmael). In the time of Isaac, the same thing happened. Only that one woman bore the children (nations), but the junior (Jacob) was preferred to the senior (Esau).

As Abraham passed everything he had to Isaac, so Isaac passed the custody of the covenant to Jacob.

Genesis 27:37 “And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?”

I wondered why Isaac did not rebuke Jacob even after he realized he was tricked. Rather, he blessed Jacob’s flee to Laban’s place. Isaac still lived for years after transferring the custody of the covenant to Jacob.

Covenants will face many trials but will always prevail. Covenant is stronger than gifts. It is the father of oaths. Gifts has a survival life span of the receiver. But covenant grows stronger as it ages and mostly lives for generations.

Churches established based on gifts lives for the moment the strength of the bearer could sustain. Many expire before their death. But for those under covenant, their angels follow them and supervises their transfer. Gifts were given to the sons of Abraham, but the custody of covenant was handed over to Isaac. Gifts are not what generations inherit. It ends with the receiver. God choses the route of His covenant and not the custodian. Abraham tried to present Ishmael as the person to inherit the covenant, but God insisted that it is His own route and not Abraham’s. Founders who are struggling to enthrone their own seed on the flock as the next leader don’t really have the encounter. The church will not last.

Just as Abraham gave all to Isaac, God also gave all to His dear Son, Jesus Christ. As Abraham committed all into Isaac’s custody, so has God the Father committed all to Jesus’ custody.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came, and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.”

John 5:22 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son:”

Children of covenant are those who are born of the spirit. They have gifts just as much as they enjoy the splendor the covenant. They may face trying times of life, it does not mean that the covenant is not there. Despite the covenant, Abraham and Isaac experienced their various famines. Jesus Christ faced the troubles of this world and He said, if he could go through such times, we should expect it. The scripture says He came with grace and truth. The grace to be steadfast in trying times and the truth to remain in faith.

John 20:21 “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

May the Lord grant us more of the grace and the Truth in the name of Jesus Christ AMEN.

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Bible-in OneYear- Day 8 (January 8)

Genesis 22-24          

The greatest problem of humanity is rivalry. It is a horrible spirit. It is the greatest weapon in the hand of Satan to turn the back of family members against each other. It is the stronghold of destiny destroyers among siblings of different mothers. The best name for it is polygamous witchcraft. The ugly part of it is that, the children may be in good terms, but their destinies have been tampered with by the mothers in rivalry.

The children will usually grow to respect, love and support each other if the influence of their mothers were not there. Otherwise, everything between them will be misinterpreted. When you notice cordiality in a home of two different mothers, one of the women is not in contact with her children; either through death or abandonment. The moment there is a contact, the tune will change. Exception is rare.

Hagar was Sarai’s maid. Sarai respected and believed Abraham’s conviction. But she, within the logics of man, thought that wouldn’t be realistic as far as her agility is concerned. She was absolutely ignorant of what God had in stock for her. She was ignorant of the uprightness of God and His faithfulness to His promises. In order to actualize God’s promises to Abraham, she took a step not to be a hindrance to God’s move in Abraham’s life. She gave Abraham her maid because Abraham was not ready to come as low as to be promiscuous within his own household. After all, Hagar was beautiful enough to look at, otherwise he would have rejected Sarah’s offer.

The moment Hagar was upgraded to wifery and she conceived, Sarai felt despised. A pregnant woman will always have a change in body chemistry which will affect her domestic duties. Many times, they look more beautiful. This might probably be the condition of Hagar which Sarai misinterpreted. On the other hand, she might have lost a little bit of respect for Sarah. She definitely became not submissive.

Genesis 16:4 “And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”

As woman, who felt despised, that home became inhabitable for Hagar. The angel of the Lord met her and told her to learn submission and the house will be okay. She did and we never heard of another fight or contention between them until she found Ishmael playing the ‘big brother’ pranks on Isaac. Then, the subdued fire flared up again.

Genesis 21:9-11 “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had bornunto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.”

She did not even call Hagar and son by name anymore, but by what she represented in that home; slave. She was intimidated that Ishmael might take over the inheritance in future. This was grievous in Abraham.

Rivalry is the problem of the church today. Rivalry between founders of ministries. Rants of spiritual leaders against another leader. It so bad that cliques are being formed now as against brotherly love among the body of Christ. One clique calling another demonic and unscriptural ministry. To another clique, uneducated. Some even rate anointing. Satan is winning just because the children of Abraham are at war with each other through the doctrine of the various mothers; rivalry.

Just as rivalry is polygamous witchcraft, so it has become witchcraft in the body of Christ and this is a grieve in Jesus Christ. Some thing has been violated in the body of Christ and that is LOVE.

John 13:35  “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Members cannot worship with another ministry. If a ministry was faced with satanic attack, it is the church that would first condemn that ministry before the gentiles. They delight in the plight of one another. Members in the body of Christ are no more one but divided. The body is in pain.

The rivalry between Sarah and Hagar terminated the recognition of Hagar and Ishmael in Abraham’s life. Nothing was heard of both until Abraham’s death and Ishmael had to come and bury his father. The death of Hagar was not stated in the Bible. They were lost in the wilderness.

This is the dilemma of victims of polygamous witchcraft.

After ousting Hagar and son, Abraham was left with Sarah and Isaac. He had no option but to regard Isaac as the only son. The greatest test in Abraham’s life was when God requested for Isaac for a sacrifice. Sarah was too protective of Isaac. To the point that Abraham did not tell her God wanted her son for a sacrifice but sneaked out to carry out the Lord’s instruction. At this point, he had regarded God as first before Sarah without hurting Sarah.

Genesis 22:16-18 “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

To pass God’s test, it is a personal thing; not joint efforts. Your heart must be totally given to him and it must be tried and tested. Abraham made a good bargain with God on behalf of his descendants. This bargain is extended to his children by faith through Jesus.

Since Isaac was a child of covenant, everything about him fell in pleasant places. In the choice of a wife, it was prophetic. And the servant carried his ministry under oath of a covenant. In all of his journey to find a wife for Isaac, he was always mentioning the God of his master, Abraham. He was under an oath and he recognized the covenant under which his master operated and he prospered.

Every genuine ministry is established under a particular covenant struck under a horrifying condition, Genesis 15:12.

Genesis 15:12 “And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.”

Once they remain under that covenant, the ministry prospers. If another covenant is mixed, problems starts. Many have deviated into the ministry of mammon. This is the reason many become intimidated when they see one in prospering in his ministry.

The covenants are different form each other. Each covenant has its own detailed instructions. Abraham’s was detailed. Ministries are different from one another based on the divine encounter and place.

The workers under the ministry are under oaths. Once they remain under oath to the covenant, they will prosper just like Abraham’s servant.

Unfortunately, many who are supposed to be under oath have assumed their gifts to be a covenant and, therefore, broke the oath to start their ministries. Such have caused a lot of problems in the body of Christ. They are usually not stable. They listen to other messages and take them to preach, claiming ownership. Some use the miracles of other ministries to pass their messages thereby taking credit for it; spiritual fraud.

Servants under oath find things easy in ministry, while servants who have broken the oath become problems to the body of Christ.

Is your ministry under oath or out of oath? To remain under oath is to remain under the blessing of your mentor.

Genesis 24:40 “And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:”

Abraham’s servant remained under oath and here is his testimony, prompt answer to his prayers.

Genesis 24:45 “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.”

May the Lord plant your feet in the place of blessing this year in the name of Jesus Christ

Keep the fire burning

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Genesis 19-21          

We looked at the congregation of Ishmaelites in the last discussion.  And talked about how they are usually constituted. The church of Ishmael is always constituted out or trial and error. She follows natural law and not spiritual law. Don’t be surprised if messages are of worldly things in the name of the Lord. God said such will be wild. Yes, they are, since they are not of the covenant but of the flesh. They are wild when it comes to honoring mammon. They can do anything for money. To them, how you got the money isn’t the issue for as long as you pay your tithe forgetting that in paying tithes and offerings, no lame and corrupt sacrifice is allowed.

Malachi 1:14 “But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.”

Deuteronomy 15:21 “And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.”

This was the reason God requested for Isaac (the good sacrifice) as a sacrifice and not Ishmael (the sacrifice with blemish).

Lot belongs to this church. He blended easily with the world around him. When he was with Abram, he appeared righteous because of his environment. But he didn’t sustain such behavior when he left Abram as he was already regarding the wicked inhabitants of Sodom as his brethren when the Angels of the Lord came to rescue him because of Abram’s plead.

He so much loved Sodom that he was reluctant in leaving the city at the instruction of the Angels. The Angels had to hasten him out of the city.

Genesis 19:15 “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

Lot was blind to:

1.  Spirituality; his lifestyle changed. He started drinking alcohol.
2.  Spiritual choice of place whilst with Abram
3. The iniquity of his environment
4. Spiritual help in escaping the woe that was about to befall Sodom; the Angels suggested mountain top to him, he said the valley was better.
5. He was blind to the urgency of escape.

With all his choices, he lost one thing or the other. Towards Sodom, he lost his spirituality. On escape from Sodom towards his self-chosen route, he lost his wife. On getting to the cave of fear, he lost his descendants to the curse of a bastard.

The case of Lot was closed as far as God was concerned at the sins of his daughters. There God remembered Abraham concerning His promise to him.

Genesis 19:29 “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”

The Lord visited Sarah to fulfill His promise.

Genesis 21:1-3 “And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.”

The arrival of Isaac was the ousting of Ishmael. When the true covenant comes in, the old one is done with

Hebrews 8:6-7 “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:”

This is the essence of the Blood of Jesus; the New covenant to replace the blood of animals.

May the covenant in the shed Blood of Jesus Christ speak for you this year in the name of Jesus. Amen

Keep the fire burning

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA

Genesis 16-18        

One beautiful thing about God is that He will never leave his own in a situation of confusion. Discouragement is a horrible thing. It wearies the soul. But God is always there for the righteous in the darkest night.

Proverbs 10:3 “The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.”

Abram got to a point in life that he got so wearied of God’s promises. Another promise at this point was that God said He was Abram’s shield and exceeding great reward. If God was going to be his reward, whom would he leave his gain with? All born in his house were his servants. He became so fearful that he thought his end might be messed up and he would lose all he had to the servant. It had been promises upon promises. He did see the Lord’s goodness in his life going by his possessions but no one of his seed that would inherit them. This led him into asking God for a token that His promise is was coming to pass considering his old age. Though he believed God, which was counted to him as righteousness, yet he wanted some thing to hold on to. The reason being that, the land he was standing seemed unconquerable and for his old age, seemed unrealistic in his time.

Genesis 15:8 “And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

This question led into God entering a covenant with Abram. Covenant is an upgrade of promise. For God, both His promise and covenant are just the same for as long as one remains in the condition binding it.

2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him Amen, ­to the glory of God by us.”

the manner of asking the question from God was a polite one; it (i.e. the question) was not doubting, but out of curiosity. The process of entering the covenant in response was strenuous. Blood was involved. This makes the difference between a promise and a covenant. Know one thing when it comes to covenant; the status before striking the deal is not the same as that after. The terms of the greater power overwhelm the agreement. This is always the case when submission is required. In Abram’s case, Abram’s submission was needed, and he had to be taken through a dreadful situation; an unnatural encounter.

Genesis 15:12 “And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.”

Genesis 15:17 “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.”

These two verses look same but not. The first has to do with Abram, while the second has to do with God; with God in all. The first was Abram’s experience to humble him. His flesh trembled. The darkness was an unnatural one because the sun was still visible; a land beyond the dreams. An unexplainable location. His attention was arrested, and God spoke with him that the promise was not for that moment as the occupants of the land would have to be evicted because of their iniquities. Meanwhile, Abram’s descendants would be preserved as strangers in a foreign land under affliction.

The real covenant is in the second verse, Genesis 15:17. This took place when it was night. Two symbols were used, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp.

The smoking furnace is a symbol of refining. And the burning lamp is to lighten his understanding

Psalms 18:28 “For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.”

Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

A genuine call goes through this dreadful experience; an indelible experience. To be boastful or confident of what you could do for God is an expression of lack of understanding of what a calling is. To have a gift is not the same as having a vision.

You may start a church with a gift. It is not the same with starting a church with a vision. One is for a while and the other endures. One is materialistic, while the other is absolutely spiritual. One seeks for affiliation, while the other is a movement, not comparable and not competitive, but according to the revealed pattern. A church of vision is unique, not after the pattern of others. It does not imitate and never bordered about criticism. Such has no time for condemning others. Its pattern will always be different and could be regarded as strange. Apostolic signs follow a church of vision. Such church does not hustle for membership, it is always gathered divinely for them to maintain. Such church does not run after Christians to be members but win souls for Christ and train them as armies in the kingdom. Many churches are winning membership from other churches and think they are winning Satan. Hear what Paul says.

Romans 15:20 “Yes, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:”

The life of Abram was not the same after the covenant. His body was renewed to prepare him for the plan. At his age, he became sexually active because he had been refined in the vision. He started with Hagar in chapter 16 of which Ishmael was born. Sarai’s body was out of date. She needed to be updated and refined also.

The relationship between Abram and Hagar was without any token from Abram’s side. Ishmael was born without Abram giving his token of the covenant to God. The covenant was only completed and sealed with the circumcision of the foreskin and his name and that of his wife were changed to reflect the promise.

Genesis 17:10-11 “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.”

The circumcision also extended the covenant to the generations unborn.

Hagar was still having her menstrual period and, therefore, could make babies. Unlike Sarah whose body had cease to be after the manner of women.

A church without this visional experience is Ishmael’s church. Though propagate the gospel, mostly perversely. But not covenanted to endure until Christ’s second coming. Just as Ishmael is predicted to be wild, so such churches are wild. They accept any manner of wildness just to maintain the congregation; dressing, conducts, messages, flamboyance, etc. No pattern. Very materialistic. Pretend to be soul winning conscious, but more of what to accumulate.

For the body of Sarah, the visitation of the three men in chapter 18 quickened her body. When she heard of what God wanted to do, she laughed. The virtue of the spoken word quickened her and made her to laugh.

Genesis 18:12-14 “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

For every vision, God prepares the vision carrier, body, soul and spirit. Unusual grace entered both of them and the body that was termed dead came alive. Isaac was a product of completed covenant. Natural rules for conception were violated. Therefore, he was a covenant child.

Jesus’ birth never followed natural rules of conception also. His blood became the new covenant for us.

The God who worked in Abraham and Sarah for His name to be glorified shall touch your need in Jesus name.

Keep the fire burning

Supo Abayode

MFM, Delaware, USA.