Daily Understanding Eternity - DUE

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (5)

“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” (Isaiah 11:6)

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 1:18)

The Spirit of the LORD - LORD here is YHWH, commonly pronounced as Yahweh. It was the Spirit of Yahweh that rested upon Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:18, 20) and was empowered to live as the perfect human man through that same Spirit (Luke 3:22, Luke 4:1, 14, 18). This is the central part of the Jewish Menorah candlestick out of which all else proceeds.

“And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, set Nigeria free today from every covenant made with the gods of the waters by the blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (4)

“11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
11:2 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;
11:3 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:
11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

In this wonderful passage, Isaiah spoke of One who was coming that would totally possess without measure the seven-fold Spirit. This One, the Messiah, would come from the line of Jesse (David's father). Though it looked like that royal line had been cut off, a shoot would spring forth from its stump and bear great fruit! This is obviously speaking of Jesus, the Messiah. He will rule in righteousness (we need that!) and judge, making decisions for the poor of the whole earth. We shall continue with our study tomorrow as we look at the description of the seven-fold Spirit that rested upon Him.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, because of the blood of Jesus, let a new Nigeria become a reality in 2027 in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (3)

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne” (Rev 1:4)

“And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (Rev 4:5)

In these passages we can see the description of the Holy Spirit given by John.

We see from these two verses that before the throne are the seven spirits of God, visually seen as seven burning lamps. Now that is interesting. The Holy Spirit is obviously one Spirit, but also seen here as seven. Why is that? We know from the book of Revelation that the number seven is prominent and critical. In Bible numerology, seven speaks of completeness or divine perfection. It is God's perfect number. Man, whose number is six (Rev 13:18), falls short of that perfection. But the Holy Spirit is seen in all His perfection, as shown by the number seven. We should also note from Rev 4:5 that John saw the Spirit as seven lamps that were blazing before the throne. This is a clear reference to what God was illustrating way back in the tabernacle built by Moses. In it lay the golden lampstand in the Holy Place with its seven lamps:

“25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made,
25:37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.” (Exo. 25:31, 37)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Whatever evil covenant has held this nation bound hitherto, let it be undone by the blood of Jesus. Father, set Nigeria free to experience liberty in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chr. 7:14)

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (2)

“1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14)

The foundation of our experience with the Holy Spirit is salvation.

Man was so engineered by God that the presence of the Creator within the creature is indispensable to his humanity. Christ gave Himself for us to give Himself to us! His presence puts God back into the man! He came that we might have life – God’s life!

“3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, let the works of the dragon against the peace and progress in Nigeria be consumed by fire and let there be continuous prosperity in the length and breadth of this nation in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD (1)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:7)

Jesus Himself, especially near the end of His earthly ministry, emphasized the importance of the Holy Spirit.

He convinced His disciples that His leaving them will be to their advantage because there is another that will come and be with them. Not only that, but this One, called the Helper, Jesus says "will be with you for all time." And what's more, He is not limited to being in one place or with one person either. This Helper is someone we all need!

Now the disciples did not understand this at all. 'It is to your advantage that I go away?' I don't think so! Jesus could just have easily said it is to your advantage that I go to the cross and die. And they would not have seen that either. It just would have made zero sense. And yet it was... for all of us. Often, we don't get what God is doing. He is so far above our pay and thought scale! How far do the eyes of God see? He sees things that are for our advantage for all eternity, even though they seem strange and bring initial pain or difficulty to us in the short term. And yet, they are for our advantage. Always remember this, especially in the confusing times.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, swallow up uncertainty by Your Word and make a new Nigeria a reality in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” (Exo. 7:12)

OUR ALIGNMENT MATTERS IN OUR WALK WITH GOD

“10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Jesus told Martha that the choice of Mary to sit at His Word is greater than being worried about other things (verse 39). We must therefore seek a position of constant attention to the voice of God because the Word of God is divine, with capacity to give definition to our higher destiny in Christ. Not just that, it also empowers us to arrive there.

“110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” (Psalm 110:1-2).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, let Your good thoughts for this nation begin to come to pass as we see the reality of a new Nigeria in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11)

FASTEST WAY TO KNOW GOD

“And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and g*t him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” (Exo. 24:18)

“And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” (Exo. 34:28)

It has been proven that fasting is a spiritual way to experience freshness in our spirit-man which allows the believer to access next level encounters with God. This was proven in the life of Moses, Elijah (1 Kings 19:7-8) and our Saviour Jesus Christ. They all engaged in a forty days long fast. Moses did it twice as recorded (Deut. 9:9-11, 17-18, 25-26; 10:10). Therefore, it suffices to say that the fastest way to know God is to be in a fast coupled with Word study and prayer.

“4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” (Luke 4:1-2, 14)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, restore the dignity of this nation among the community of nations in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.” (Joel 2:25)

THE TRINITY (60)

“1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:4-5)

In this passage John identifies the triune God as the source of grace and peace. God the Father is viewed as eternal, existing in the past, present, and future.

The seven spirits is a unique reference to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit performs seven major ministries and those ministries are alluded to in the term "seven spirits" (Isa. 11:2).

And, the following reference to Jesus Christ seems to suggest that John is describing the entire Trinity, in turn. John describes Jesus Christ as "the faithful witness," because He is the truthful, reliable source of what is recorded in this revelation.

Jesus conquered death and arose from the grave. He was the first to rise from the dead in a glorified, everlasting body. As such, He is referred to as "the firstborn of the dead." His resurrection guarantees the resurrection of believers of the church age (1 Corinthians 15:12–28; Philippians 3:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), the resurrection of tribulation martyrs (Revelation 20:4–6), the resurrection of Old Testament believers (Daniel 12:2), and the resurrection of the wicked dead of all periods of history (Revelation 20:12–13). Someday He will return to earth and reign over the nations. At that time every king will submit to His rule.

John points out that the ruler of kings is the believers' redeemer. In His deep love for us He shed His blood on the cross to end sin's tyranny over us.

This concludes our series on the Divine Trinity.

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, thank You for the release of Your Word of peace over this nation in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

THE TRINITY (59)

“1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 1:4-6)

There is partnership in the Divine Trinity. In the last book of the Bible the Trinity is seen as working together in all things (Rev. 1:4-6; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 21:10; 22:17).

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Every force that seeks to draw Nigeria back to the past, I curse you; be consumed by fire in the name of Jesus and by the blood of Jesus, Amen.

“For our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:29)

THE TRINITY (58)

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Luke 24:39)

Jesus claimed even after the resurrection that He was not a spirit being, so He could not be the Father or the Holy Spirit who are spirit beings (Luke 24:39; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15).

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, put Your stamp of ownership on this nation with proofs that are undeniable in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)