I Shall Not Die: Secrets To Long Life by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Urgency of Spiritual Enlightenment

These times are not seasons for entertaining ignorance. Spiritual ignorance, especially as the age closes, means defeat — it means an individual may never be able to represent the purposes of God in his life. There must be an ever-open readiness to access light: light that grants grace to be in command, light that grants grace to reveal Jesus.

Authority in the spirit is light dependent. John 1:5 — for as long as you are in darkness, there are things that will not be possibilities in your life. Ephesians 4:18 — when the mind is blind, we are alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in our hearts.

The Responsibilities of a Teaching Priest

The first assignment of a teaching ministry is not to teach the word — it is to labour with the Spirit and insist that the atmosphere remains conducive for encounters. Encounters with the Spirit of God do things that teaching cannot.

The second assignment is enlightenment: granting access to high-level spiritual illumination so that the ways of God are comprehended, because in enlightenment is the manifestation of authority in the spirit.

The third is empowerment: supplying, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, every spiritual resource that makes for strengthening — spirit, soul, and body. Mental empowerment through superior ideas. Spiritual empowerment through building capacity.

Fourth is purpose: connecting all training and dealings to help each person find their place in destiny. Prosperity without purpose becomes a burden. Revelation without purpose becomes a burden. There must be a connection between what is learned and where it should be used.

Fifth is mastery and efficiency: not only comprehending truth, but arriving at a point of mastery so that the whole counsel of God produces holistic growth — not lopsided, not biased toward any one area of kingdom life.

The Participatory Assignment of the Learner

The first assignment of any serious believer is not writing, not receiving, not shouting amen — it is a commitment from the depth of the heart to submit to learning for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of destiny, for the sake of those connected, for the sake of the mandate to reveal Jesus. Acts 2:42 — they continued steadfastly, with resilience and endurance, in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Continuation was not convenient; it was a covenant.

The second participatory assignment is to apply the truths that are learned. Knowledge alone is not enough — grace must be obtained to walk in what is known. Paul said he knew what to do, but to do it he did not have the ability in the flesh. The engracing of the Spirit bridges that gap.

The World We Are Living In

Every time men begin to multiply, greed begins to multiply. Self-centredness begins to multiply. The fight for resource control intensifies. With increase comes the burden of maintenance. There are people who will kill without thinking twice, even if you are their relative. There are people who fraternize with the realm of the spirit to clear obstacles out of their way. The heart of man is desperately wicked.

Rather than flattering yourself that evil will not come near your corridor, wake up and find the forces that secure you.

I Shall Not Die

This message carries deep mysteries — the mysteries that control longevity — and reveals a secret that can grant dominion over the spirit of death.

Psalm 91:16 — with long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Exodus 23:26 — there shall nothing cast her young nor be barren in the land; the number of your days I will fulfil.

Four Major Truths About Longevity

1. God's desire and plan is for the saints to live their lives to the fullest

   It is not the plan of God that our lives be cut short. It is not the plan of God that we do not finish our course. Psalm 139:16 — all the days ordained for you were written in God's book before one of them came to be. Before you showed up, there were days earmarked for you. John 10:10 — the thief comes not but to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to do all three. But Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.

2. It is possible for a person to die before their time

   Ecclesiastes 7:17 — "Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish. Why shouldest thou die before thy time?" A man can die before his time. Psalm 55:23 — bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. Deuteronomy 5:33 — walk in all the ways the Lord commanded, that you may live and that you may prolong your days. Deuteronomy 6:1-2 — keep His commandments, that thy days may be prolonged. Days can be added; days can be subtracted.

3. In most cases, God is not behind the untimely death of the saints

   Isaiah 65:20 — there shall be no more an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days. Ezekiel 18:32 — "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord. Wherefore, turn yourselves and live." God is a giver of life and a sustainer of the same. It is not His will that people are cut short before their time.

   • The qualifier "most cases" matters. There are conditions where the God of longevity may take a saint home — particularly one who has made deep spiritual investments and is about to be cut away from God by their own decisions. God may take them to spare them. Jesus Himself said, "It is more expedient that I go."
   • Jesus demonstrated His position on untimely death through three resurrection miracles: Lazarus — because He loved him, not because Lazarus had earned it. Jairus's twelve-year-old daughter — Jesus took out time to tell us her age, declaring twelve years is too small. The widow's son at Nain — the grief of her loss moved Him to act.

   Those who have lost loved ones in Christ can find rest. For those who lost loved ones without Christ, the greatest consolation is to make up your mind that this pain becomes power — to bring as many souls as possible to Jesus.

4. Satan is behind most untimely deaths

   John 10:10 — the thief is the one who steals, kills, and destroys. Satan is directly behind most, if not all, of the untimely and tragic deaths we experience. There are strategies he uses:

   • Accidents — not every accident is carelessness. Some people report their steering locked with no explanation. Others describe the scene going dark while they were driving, then waking in hospital. Some planes shake violently as if a spirit has taken hold of them.
   • Sicknesses and diseases — mysterious diseases with no medical explanation. It looks like cancer but is not cancer. It looks like blood pressure but it is not blood pressure. One of the major tools Satan has used through the ages to cut short lives is sickness and infirmity. Patterns of disease that appear at certain ages, things that move around the body, conditions that return after surgery.
   • Suicide and mental health oppression — suicide is not merely a psychological issue. It is the presence of a demonic spirit. Every spirit that says kill yourself is of the devil. Any generational cause or pattern that makes people suicidal — in the name of Jesus Christ, whether inherited or outsourced through ignorance, that spirit is broken.
   • Spiritual manipulation during sleep — a spirit of the grave connects to people through the faces of dead loved ones in dreams, saying "Let us go." If you have been trying to wake up and cannot — this is a spirit of death. The Bible says, "I lay me down and I slept; I waked, for the Lord sustained me."
   • Patterns of death in families — where every year or two, someone must die. That cycle is broken by the truth of God's word received and applied.

Seven Kingdom Keys for Longevity

Saying "I shall not die" is beyond a wish. Victory in this kingdom is light dependent. These are the keys:

1. Submit to Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life

   John 11:25-26 — "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." When you are sick, you do not go to a carpenter — you go to the one who addresses your situation. Jesus did not merely call Himself the way, the truth, and the life. In this regard, He calls Himself the resurrection and the life. Submitting to Him is the surest guarantee over untimely death.

2. The Fear of the Lord

   Proverbs 10:27 — the fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Proverbs 9:10-11 — the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; by it your days shall be multiplied and the years of your life increased. Proverbs 3:1-2 — forget not God's law, let your heart keep His commands, for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to you. 1 Kings 3:14 — "If thou wilt walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commandments as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days."

   • To fear the Lord means to honour Him, to reverence Him, to respect Him. The clearest proof of the fear of the Lord is obedience.
   • There is a way that a person fears the Lord — determined to obey Him — that no devil can cut short their life before its time.

   The baptism of the fear of the Lord rests upon your heart now.

3. Scripture-Based Confession

   Psalm 34:12-14 — "What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking deceit." Every time you speak, your words have an implication on your longevity. Proverbs 18:21 — death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. The same tongue can produce either.

   • The realm of the spirit does not care whether you are joking. It records every word and it becomes a tool for execution.
   • This is more than positive confession — it is scripture-based confession. You are declaring to create. You are declaring to maintain.
   • Words matter. The first fall and destruction of man came because of something he heard. Manage what enters through your eye gate and ear gate. Many believers have authorised demons to afflict them by exposing themselves to content they were not supposed to encounter.
   • Elders and fathers of faith who have lived long, when asked for the one key to long life, consistently point to speaking well — speaking correctly. Some who mocked those who confessed the word are no longer alive. Some who confessed with childlike faith for decades are still standing.

   I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. — Psalm 118:17

4. Honour to Parents

   Ephesians 6:1-3 — "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise — that it may be well with thee and that thou mightest live long upon the earth."

   • The spirit of rebellion and dishonour will always cut short the life of the victim.
   • Proverbs 20:20 — "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." If a father fights his son, he loses his honour. If a son fights his father, he loses his life. There are allocations to these offences in the spirit.
   • This applies to both physical parents and spiritual fathers. When God plants you within a ministry, honour the authority structure He has put there.
   • Balance is required: children obey your parents in the Lord — the Word of God is the final authority, not every parental instruction. And honour does not mean surrendering all discernment.

   You may also like

   

   Power And Victory Over Devils

   by Pastor Dolapo Lawal

   arrow_forward
   • If — whether by mistake, past error, or ignorance — the curse or ill-speaking of a parent has been secured over your life, by the mystery of the blood and the mercy of God, that statement is cancelled now.

5. Engaging the Mystery of the Communion

   1 Corinthians 11:24-30 — Paul warned the church at Corinth: "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Many have gone to the grave because they did not discern the Lord's body. The communion with understanding is a deep and powerful mystery.

   • It can be idolised as a ritual with no power, or it can be engaged with revelation and understanding — and when it is, it flushes out demonic things, enforces the covenant of life, and activates the mystery of the blood of Jesus.
   • Exodus 12:7-8, 12-13, 23 — the blood on the doorposts was a token. When the destroyer saw the blood, he passed over. "The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you."
   • What you are taking does not have to be a specific colour or substance for it to be communion. It is the revelation and understanding that releases the power of God upon the tokens. The key is understanding, not ritual.

6. Master the Art of Spiritual Warfare

   Satan and his cohorts, using witchcraft, wizardry, necromancy, sorcery, and activities of dark power, will continually launch attacks against the saints. Jesus said He would build His church — and acknowledged the presence of the gates of hell. Even Satan tempted Jesus. This reality does not end.

   • Ezekiel 13:17-23 — God indicts those who fraternize with the realm of the spirit using magic charms and veils to ensnare people: "You have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not have lived." God declares He will tear the charms from their arms and set free those who were ensnared.
   • Access to divination, necromancy, sorcery, activities with constellations and mediums — these are real forces working against the lives and destinies of people.
   • Spiritual warfare for the believer in Christ is about establishing. Prayer does not produce the victory — the victory is already finished in Christ. Prayer transports that which is finished in Christ and stamps it as a reality upon your life.
   • You do not pray from a standpoint of weakness and win. You pray to enforce your authority based on what is written. The basis for the believer's victory is the word, not emotions, not sentiments, not religious chants.
   • Jesus, though seated and exalted, is still making intercession for the saints — which proves He is aware that Satan is still on earth waging war. Even Jesus prayed before, during, and after His ministry. After saying "It is finished," He still intercedes.
   • When signs of attack begin — unusual physical symptoms, files going missing, recurring disruptions — do not wait until it is complicated. From the infancy of the attack, engage it in prayer.
   • Parents: pray for your children. Job prayed for his children continually, just in case. Leaders: pray for the people God has given you. "All that you have given me, I have kept and none is lost" — Jesus took responsibility for those entrusted to Him.

7. Walking in Wisdom

   Proverbs 3:13-18 — "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom... Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour... She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her." There is a very direct relationship between walking in wisdom and longevity.

   • Attending to your health — Revelation 22:2 — the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 2 Kings 4:38-41 — there was death in the pot. The prophet cried, "Oh man of God, there is death in the pot." Death is not only found in the grave — it can be found even in what you are eating. Many pots today have death in them, including those in restaurants.

     • Medicine is not anti-spirituality. Luke was a doctor and a disciple of Jesus. Medical checkups, doctors, and the science of wellness have a valid and important place.
     • Man does not live by words alone, and man does not live by bread alone. Both must be in order. If the words are correct but the bread is wrong, you will die. If the bread is correct and the words are wrong, you will also die.
     • Many diseases could have been solved if people had been attentive enough to detect them early. Most people resort to medicine only as a last resort.
     • If you are truly healed, medicine will not fight your miracle. Let them tell you what is wrong — then you can choose the path of faith.

   • Avoiding gluttony and carelessness with food and drink — even without spiritual reward, fasting and moderation extend life. There are biological strategies for feeding that change with age. What worked at 20 is not the same at 40 or 60. Pay attention to the kind of water you drink and the kind of food you eat.
   • Walking with the wise — he that walks with the wise shall be wise. Be careful about exposing yourself to materials and environments that open you to demonic things. In a search for revelation, do not let curiosity lead you into books of the dead, consciousness teachings, or encounters with familiar spirits. The scripture — with the leadership of the Spirit — is sufficient for every kind of growth you seek.
   • Resting — stretching yourself without rest is not faithfulness, it is foolishness. Love people but do not be a fool in the process. Leaders who throw their health into disarray in a bid to serve people who will largely not be grateful are not honouring God — they are being careless with the temple. Invest in your health at least as much as you invest in your possessions.
   • Prioritising health over appearances — it is wiser to have a modest car and a healthy body than an expensive car and a failing one. One of the greatest contributions you can make to those around you is helping them know God and live healthy.

   I impart upon you supernatural grace to walk in wisdom.

The Power of Prophetic Declarations

In addition to all seven keys is the power of prophetic speakings and declarations — decrees that are consistent with scripture, spoken with understanding and faith over a life. These are real. The blessing that fathers and elders carry over those who come to them in honour is powerful and transferable. It is one of the ways long life is secured from generation to generation.

A Word Before We Pray

Challenging the spirit of death and contending for longevity is not driven by fear. If you fear death, you are already defeated. For the believer in Christ, whether in this life or after, victory is secured. Philippians 1:21 — to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul said to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. The saints who have transited in glory, having finished their cause, did not lose.

But longevity matters — for yourself, your family, the purposes of God, and the continuity of His programme. There is still much to do.