On Sunday when I awoke, I felt a strong wind and it was a warm wind.  I began to sweat.  As this wind was blowing, I heard a voice saying “It is the first of the month. Forget all the past failures and all things that did not come to pass.  It is a New Beginning.  You shall declare it and decree it and it shall come to pass”.  Isaiah 43:18-19 says 18 “Do not remember the former things,Nor consider the things of old.19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.”  

 

You cannot embrace a new beginning without letting go of the past.  It is time to let go and let God.

That Sunday I went with my family to Bishop Butayi’s church.  And when I was there he told the congregation that a Prophet does not simply appear.  He comes with a purpose and then he said to me that I had to give the church a word.  At that time I did not have a word for the church but then I remembered that the Lord had said “ You shall declare it and decree it” meaning that the New Beginning was a word for the church and not I alone, so I gave it to them.  I like what the Bishop did, he called on the church to pray in line with that word.  He did not let them leave the word in the church.  I pray that you too do not leave the word here and that you pray in line with it.  Last month, August, was a month of greatness.  This month we need to stretch our faith into new beginnings.

1Chronicles 4:9 – Jabez was an honorable man but he was satisfied with that.  He was better than all his brothers; this means he was favored before the mother. But the name given to him meant ‘born out of pain’.  This is what I perceive about it, he either came into that family when he was not expected or well prepared for. Right from the fall of man, among the curses that Eve received was that she’d bare children in pain. But ask yourself, why is that no single mother since that time has ever reported of that pain – it is not written that Hannah had pain or Peninah.  But Jabez’s mother says that he is born out of pain.  That is why I think that this young man said to the mother, ‘I know you love me but I am tired of that reproach; how can you give me a name that symbolizes pain?’  So he knew what he had to do was to call upon his God.    Some of you are in the same shoe, you are honorable before some people; they keep telling you that all is well. I advise you not to listen to them when you know your very self.  Even Hannah, when the husband told her that she was fine and not to mind about children, she refused the comfort and went to her God because she knew what she wanted.

Now when Jabez prayed (verse 10), he cried Oh that you would bless me indeed. You know sometimes you are mocked and given titles that you know do not suit you.  Jabez was called honorable, but you know how honorable people are, they live in a lovely lifestyle.  Jabez refused the mockery. He asked the Lord to bless him.  If you are being praised in your neighborhood when you know that you have not arrived to where you want to be, it is time that you call on the God Most High, it is time you stretch forth your faith.  If it means shifting to another place, then move to another place, where you have people you can compete with.  He said bless me indeed because I am tired of the nice words of my mother, I to turn to my God, I am tired of this name – a name of pain.  Enough of deception in the name of Jesus. Enough of people that are mocking you in the name of the Lord.  Enough is enough.  This month of September, call upon the Lord your God, He shall hear you!  Bless me indeed he cried, change my name.  Some of you know your names, they have different meanings.  If you find out your name has negative connotations pray about it.  I too took time to find out the meaning of my name.  It means warrior or hero.  So when I put my first and surname together, it became “first hero”!  That is why even till this day I refuse to lag behind.  No matter what comes my way, I refuse defeat. It does not matter what people have spoken about you, it does not matter who has cursed you.  What matters is that God is alive and it is never too late to believe Him and you call upon His name.  So we render powerless all the negative names; do not change them but we render them powerless.  When I am going through challenges I always say I am a hero, I am a victor.  And this is the season to see some of these things.

 

He then added enlarge my territory that you hand will be with me and keep me with evil and not cause pain.  No I understand why he was called Jabez.  There was no true blessing from the Lord. First he said bless me indeed, secondly he said widen my tent – meaning he was a poor man.  Thirdly he asks let your hand be upon me; keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain. You know you could be a person who causes pain; when everywhere you go, you cause havoc.  And you may be asking yourself what is wrong with you. You could be in the line of Jabez. But may the Lord bless you indeed, may He enlarge your tent! May He enlarge you that you are no longer a burden to people.  Sometimes we are burdens to somebody and it comes to an extent of them avoiding answering our calls. Enough of that in the name of Jesus.  When Jabez said that prayer, the Bible says that the Lord hearkened to him and the hand of the Lord was upon him.  He enlarged his tent.  I pray that when you say that prayer that the Lord shall answer your too. Why did God respond to Jabez; because he stretched forth his faith. He was tired of the mockery; he was tired of the situation. Get tired of the mockery too.  Let no man deceive you, you know yourself better.  It is time you call upon Him, turn to him.  The bible in Romans says let every man be a liar but God be true.  God will never be a liar, His word is always true.  We shall believe the report of God, not the report of man.  So as you stretch forth your faith, God’s hand is going to be revealed.  As you choose to go beyond the ordinary, God’s hand is going to be revealed on your behalf.  You will see the hand of God in your finances, your family and your business because you are tired of the mockery.  Believe God now, do not get contented.  Keep believe God for the best.  Pray about it in faith and we shall see the hand of God in a mighty way, in way that we have never seen.  Ask and you shall receive.

 

Now when we read Genesis 13:14-18, we see God gave Abram direction. After Abram had separated from Lot, Lot chose a place that was the best but it turned out to be Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abram chose a place that looked dry and bad. But that place was blessed.  The revelation here is that it does not matter where you are, the Lord can still bless you from there as long as the hand of the Lord is upon you!  It does not matter how many times you have tried to go abroad, God can still bless you from your home country.  The hand of the Lord was upon Abram and told him lift up his eyes.   Why does He tell him to lift up his eyes; the Psalmist says that I look up to the mountains, where does my help come from?  God told Abram, lift up your eyes to me because with me there is no limitation.  But if you lift up your eyes and focus on an individual, then you shall be limited. If your eyes are focused on the government of Uganda, then you shall be limited to it. But if you are seeing God, and your eyes are upon Him, then you shall live a life in Uganda that is far better than any Ugandan.

 

God is telling Abram, lift up your eyes, as far as you can see, I have given to you.  God will never give you that which you have not seen.  You have to first see it, then you believe it and then He shall give it you.   You have to see it and embrace it and start to see yourself in that thing already.  You need to see yourself like you are already there; see yourself in that house, in that car, in that kind of family, then the Lord will bring it to you.  This month, as God says to us New Beginnings, let us dare to believe. And as you believe, you mean it.  Many have spoken about faith but the reason we do not see results is because we do not believe.  Abram believed what the Lord was saying and the Bible says he built an alter.  The alter was built as a sign of faith.  An alter was a place of sacrifice, they sacrificed animals as a sign of thanksgiving. So Abram thanked the Lord in advance for the things that he had heard.  Sometimes the Lord will dare us to thank him in advance before you receive as a sign of faith.  But if you wait to see then that is not faith.

 

The Bible says the just shall live by faith.  Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the Lord.  If He has spoken the word, He will fulfill it.  If it has come from His mouth, He shall watch over it until it is fulfilled (Jeremiah1:12, Isaiah 55:8-11).  The Old Testament prophets had extraordinary faith.  They thanked God for things they had not seen, that is why God moved greatly among them.  The time is now for the hand of God to move in every aspect of your life.  Jesus said that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.  Basically what the devil does is to subtract and what Jesus does is to multiply.  So now ask yourself, is your life moving forward or not?  If you life is in the subtractive mode then just know that the devil must leave.  There should be additions in your life because that is the way God works. God said, ‘My people are destroyed by their ignorance’.  You know at times when trouble comes into our lives, we console ourselves saying ‘it was the will of God’ or ‘God was in it.’ This makes the devil happy.  Lack of knowledge is what makes you think that way.  It is time we embrace the truth and we shall be liberated.  God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil.  God is going to liberate you and add value to your life. Also be careful of friends that do not add value to your life. God given friends always add value, it is not only material, but could also be in the words they speak into your life.  Our God is a God of multiplication.  May He multiply you, in the name of Jesus.

 

Abram had to see where the Lord showed him.  Abram loved what he saw and he built an alter.  He thanked God in advance. Genesis 8:20 shows us that an alter was a place of offering. Noah offered clean animals after the flood.  When Abram built an alter it means that he gave something thanking God for His promise.  A Pastor friend of mine told me that in Nigeria, every prophetic word they receive, they give money.  They thank God in advance even before they have seen.  Let us learn to be thankful and not wait to be reminded.

 

Are you now dreaming big? Have you stretched forth your faith? Are you ready to thank God in advance? There are words that are about to come to pass but God wants you to thank Him advance before the word is fulfilled.  This month I am praying for some people.  There are people who feel the word has delayed but they too shall testify.  When the Lord promised rain, Elijah prayed until something happened.  The Lord had spoken, but the Prophet needed to pray.  This month you too should pray; create time to seek God. Get tired of the situation.  Create time, get away from the crowd and be with Him and tell Him that enough is enough, I need to see something in this month of September.  It is not the will of God for the year to end when you have not seen a thing.  It is time for you stretch your faith.