The Afflictions Of The Righteous by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The ministry of light

The teaching of the word of God in partnership with the ministry of the Holy Spirit is the only platform for the enlightenment of the saints

Saints are not enlightened just by passion or desire. It takes the ministry of the teaching priest in partnership with the Holy Spirit to bring genuine enlightenment that leads to transformation

How do you know that what you are receiving is light indeed? Two things

John 1:5

If it is light indeed, it must sustain the power to veto the presence and the influence of darkness

John 1:9

There are false lights, information that resembles liberty but has no power to set free.

When it has to do with the ministry of light, every man is qualified to have access, regardless of race or background

The sun is older than every man on earth yet its illumination has never diminished. Light does not sustain the weakness of fading.

Every time light seems to fade, the problem is the object reflecting it

The night looks dark because of the alignment of the moon, not because the sun's illumination has changed

Proverbs 4:18

Shining more and more is the destiny of every believer in Christ

Matthew 5:15

Once that lamp is lit, it is impossible to hide it

Be intentional about receiving the word of God. Do not be careless about it

Jesus gave the parable of the sower Matthew 13:3 to Matthew 13:8

Good seed on four kinds of soil, and even the good soil yielded thirty, sixty and a hundredfold

It is the responsibility of every believer to open up your heart. The one on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it Matthew 13:23

Your hearing and your understanding is what makes you a good soil

This topic will give wisdom, mature our understanding of the ways of God and help us command greater levels of victory

Jeremiah 3:15

This is the assignment of the teaching priest, to feed you with knowledge and understanding

2 Timothy 3:15

When the word of God is taught it helps you understand the ways of God and fades away ignorance from your Christian experience. In the presence of light you can walk in dominion.

Dominion is not a possibility outside of light

Isaiah 60:1

Arise and shine is not because you are tired of sitting down. Amplified: arise from the depression and prostration that circumstances have kept you in, rise to a new life

The afflictions of the righteous

Psalm 34:19

Two powerful pieces of information. Number one, many are the afflictions of the righteous. Number two, the Lord delivers him out of them all

Romans 8:28

This is information privy only to believers, not general knowledge. It gives staying power through negative seasons.

All things work together for good, not to everybody

2 Corinthians 4:17 to 2 Corinthians 4:18

Things which are seen are temporal, subject to change. Things which are not seen are eternal

3 foundations

1. Believers are called to a life of victory

   When you give your life to Jesus Christ you receive of His life, and there are definite implications

   Colossians 1:13

   A translation from the kingdom of darkness

   2 Corinthians 5:21

   You become the righteousness of God in Christ, with access to that gift of righteousness

   John 10:10

   You have access to that life, and life more abundantly

   John 3:16 to John 3:17

   When you become a believer you are not an ordinary person. You are the righteous, a bona fide recipient of the life of God. You now sustain the potential to walk in victory

   1 Corinthians 15:57

   Believers are called to a life of victory. Have that at the back of your mind

2. The basis for the believer's victory is the finished work of Christ

   You must be able to defend your confidence that you should live a victorious life, because situations and circumstances will challenge that victory

   The summation of everything Jesus did, His death, His burial and His resurrection, is the basis

   If you do not know the basis for your victory you become a religious person speaking what seems right, but it carries no power in the spirit.

   The anointing is released on the strength of understanding

   It is not what you say or do that releases power. It is the understanding that supports what you say or do. This is a kingdom predicated upon understanding

   You can act correctly and speak correctly, but from ignorance it will not produce any result

   The sons of Sceva said the correct statement, "we adjure you by Jesus", but the requisite understanding that releases power to back it was not there Acts 19:13 to Acts 19:16

   Ephesians 4:18

   Ignorance alienates from the life of God. The assignment of the prince of this world is to blind the minds of the people 2 Corinthians 4:4

   The singular basis for the believer's victory is what Christ has done, in partnership with our understanding and our acting on that truth in faith

3. There will be moments of affliction

   The Bible is clear on the believer's heritage and destiny of perpetual victory. It is also not silent that believers will face moments of afflictions, losses, pain and challenges

   Psalm 20:1 to Psalm 20:5

   The psalmist identifies a moment called the day of trouble. This was not negative confession.

   Even as a king he saw that there are time periods in the lives of men, even the covenant people, called the day of trouble

Righteous people who went through affliction

1. Abraham and Sarah

   Genesis 15:1 to Genesis 15:3

   Even with such a salutation from God, Abraham was in the midst of a serious problem. I go childless

   He was saying, thank God for the salutations, but this is what matters to me right now

   Genesis 16:1

   Abraham, the friend of God, and Sarah, so close to God, had an issue trusting God for the fruit of the womb.

   The Bible could have summarised Abraham as a noble man who received a promise and offered Isaac, but it goes into detail to tell us the concerns of that man

2. Israel in Egypt

   Exodus 1:8 to Exodus 1:14

   God's own chosen people were in captivity 430 years, and God still called them my people and they still called Him their God

   The captivity started as a plan to manage fear and jealousy. The king said they would join our enemies and fight us, so captivity and bondage became a strategy to keep them limited

   Taskmasters afflicted them with burdens, building treasure cities Pithom and Raamses. This is the longest officially recorded captivity of God's people

3. Job

   Job 1:1 to Job 2:10

   It has remained a theological debate. It takes extreme spiritual intelligence to decipher the Book of Job. A man who feared the Lord and shunned evil, qualified to be called a righteous man

   A sermon in the heavenlies and Satan was there. The Bible never called him Lucifer at this time. It is a disturbing scripture, but that is not our debate.

   Satan was given permission to touch everything around Job except his life

   Report after report came on earth, the sons, the cattle, everything. And Job shaved his head, fell down and worshipped. In one day you lose your sons, your daughters, your business, and you worship

4. Ruth and Naomi

   Ruth 1:1 to Ruth 1:5

   Two women had the privilege of their names as books of the Bible, Esther and Ruth

   Famine drove them to Moab. Naomi's husband died, and both sons who married Orpah and Ruth also died. She said, I am a woman with many sorrows, go and find husbands

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   That looked like the end of Ruth's life. It led to a series of events that connected her to Boaz and the genealogy of Jesus.

   Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all

5. Jesus Himself

   Luke 22:39 to Luke 22:71

   You would think the Son of the living God, creator of the ends of the earth, would be exempted. He stood before Pontius Pilate, was handled by the council, and died on the cross

   In Gethsemane He asked why they came with swords when He was with them daily in the temple, and said this is their hour and the power of darkness

   The cross is the place where both good and bad people meet. Three crosses at Golgotha, three men, and one was Jesus.

   Be careful who you talk about on the cross, you might be talking about Jesus

6. Peter and the early apostles

   Acts 12:1 to Acts 12:4

   Herod killed James with the sword, then apprehended Peter and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers. A man filled with the Holy Spirit, mentored directly by Jesus, bound as a criminal in prison

   Acts 16

   Paul and Silas cast out the spirit of divination and were flogged and put in prison, bound hand and foot

   Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivered them from them all

Believers must be trained to respond to affliction

Because of the loud proposition of victory in Christ, most believers are at a loss when they face moments they cannot understand

Many have turned away from the things of God because of negative circumstances around their lives

I understand the affliction of the sinner. The destruction of the sinner is based on God's justice system and the laws of the spirit Proverbs 13:15

But how do you reconcile the righteous seeming to go through the same experience as the wicked? What then is the excellency of righteousness?

Almost daily I receive calls and messages from believers with lamentations. Loved ones who died though they confessed "by His stripes I am healed."

People who lost positions because they refused to give or collect bribe. Martyrs who stood for Jesus even to death. Believers who emptied their accounts for the kingdom and saw a boomerang effect.

The pandemic hit believers and unbelievers alike

If perspective is not given on this, we will lose many believers in the days that come

I have had to stand and weep with people at their funerals. There are times it is wisest to just be silent, because anything you say will be foolishness in light of that catastrophe

Sometimes the best way is to say, Lord we thank you, we may not understand but we thank you

I have studied this and by the Spirit of God come up with 5 keys that help the righteous not only manage affliction but turn it to victory

John 16:33

Challenges are not unusual. This is not a prophet or an apostle, it is Jesus the Christ Himself saying there is a guarantee of tribulation

The righteous businessman, the righteous apostle, prophet, mother, student, politician, even the righteous nation

5 keys to turn affliction to victory

1. Look unto Jesus

   The word of God is not a recommendation or an opinion.

   For the believer who wants to walk in perpetual victory, the word of God is life, instruction, and final authority Proverbs 4:20 to Proverbs 4:22

   Any righteous person in a season of affliction, whatever it is called, the first recommendation from scripture is to look unto Jesus

   Psalm 34:1 to Psalm 34:10

   Hebrews 12:2

   It is very difficult to look unto Jesus in the face of challenges. To look means to direct one's gaze and focus away from other things towards someone.

   It also means to rely on and depend totally upon

   Look unto Jesus means set your gaze on Him, not wavering. And depend and rely totally upon Him even when you do not understand Him

   Illustration: the fiery serpents

   Numbers 21:4 to Numbers 21:9

   Israel was discouraged, hungry and angry, and spoke against God and Moses. The Lord sent fiery serpents and many died.

   Moses prayed and God said make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone bitten who looked upon it shall live

   What is the relationship between a serpent and healing? It was not about the serpent. He was teaching them there is life and dominion in trusting God's plan, however foolish.

   The wisest thing before a snake is to run away, not to look. That is the foolishness of God's path. The ways of God may not make sense but in them there is life.

   Look and live

   Psalm 123:1 to Psalm 123:2

   To depend upon Him

   The word trust is the word batar

   Trust in the Lord means to throw yourself at Him expecting Him to hold you, like the Hebrew boys who said even if He does not deliver us, we will not bow Daniel 3:17 to Daniel 3:18

   Conditional Christianity is dangerous. Our love for Jesus must be beyond the results that come. Even in the midst of fire, if rescue does not come, let me die trusting Him

   Why look unto Jesus

   Psalm 127:1 to Psalm 127:2

   Romans 9:16

   You can stretch your human imagination from border to border. If God does not show you mercy, everything you do ends up moving in circles

   Psalm 62:11

   Power belongs to God. When you look unto Jesus you are looking to the only God who has the power to do something about your situation.

   Men can want to help and be sincere, but do they have the power?

   Psalm 113:1 to Psalm 113:9

   God is the only one who can raise men. This is what He can do when you look unto Jesus

   It may sound like foolishness in the midst of challenges. The most difficult phase in a believer's life is when God is silent. The silence of God is also a language.

   You must know what God is saying when He is not speaking

   A word of caution

   Matthew 11:6

   If you have not had the temptation to be offended in God, you are either a baby or you have not lived long enough. There are moments you feel almost cheated for loving Jesus

   John the Baptist ordained Jesus to ministry and identified Him, "behold the Lamb of God."

   Locked up courtesy of Herodias' daughter and about to be beheaded, he sent disciples to ask, are you the Messiah or should we expect another? His pain vetoed every vision he had about Jesus.

   That is what offence can do Luke 7:18 to Luke 7:23

   Jesus calmly healed a few people and said go and tell John what you see

   Lord, where were you when I was losing my job? Where were the angels when my loved one died in a car crash?

   Where were you when for the sake of my integrity I went down? Joseph, because of his integrity, did not go to the palace, he went to prison. Hannah wept year after year.

   God's people were under the bondage of the Egyptians

   A believer is not a believer because of results. A believer is one who has committed to trusting Jesus

   When people cannot see Jesus, they tell the one closest to Him what they would have told Him. Some told me, Apostle, with all due respect, do not talk to me about prayer now.

   I know they do not mean it. It is what pain can do

   A man watched his two month old car burn to ashes. They had poured oil on that car. Businesses of believers, great sponsors of the gospel, went down in the pandemic.

   A man of God who laid hands on the sick was arrested and thrown out, and left the crusade ground as if leaving a funeral

   In the midst of challenges you forget every title you have. Even Jesus wept John 11:35. The comforter of those who weep is weeping. Weeping carries a picture of limitation and despair.

   As God He never cried, but as a man He cried

   Jesus was angry. The Bible does not hide His frustrations. He flogged people in the temple, and cursed a fig tree because He was hungry and it did not deliver

   There will be moments you cannot find answers intellectually. That is why there is a peace that surpasses all understanding Philippians 4:7

   At the apex of Job's problem his wife was confused, "curse God and die." Job said, why do you speak like one of the foolish women?

   Job 2:9 to Job 2:10 Different people came and Job said there is a spirit in man Job 32:8

   Job encouraged himself in the Lord, then got angry. He summoned God, "we need to talk, explain this pain," and God came in a whirlwind Job 38:1

2. Commit to prayer

   Even in the midst of hopelessness and despair

   James 5:13

   It is difficult to pray in pain. That is where spirituality is tested. "Lord, I do not know what is happening but I pray"

   1 Thessalonians 5:17

   When you do not know what to do, pray. It is in the place of prayer that direction comes. Pray in the spirit, pray in your understanding

   Man of God, pray. Businessman, pray. It does not take a certificate to pray. It takes hunger, passion and the recognition that there is a God who rules over the affairs of men

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   Apostle Joshua Selman

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   When you do not know what is happening in your life, that is not the time to run from pillar to post.

   Discussing it with people who have no power to solve your problem only depletes the energy that is left. Use that energy, lock the door and pray

   Sometimes you may not know how to pray. Allow your tears to do the prayer, or let prayer come from any material while you soak in the glory

   Ten years, fifteen years without a job, pray. Someone in the hospital has said forget me, focus on the children, pray. Man of God, ministry looks like it went down since the pandemic, pray

   Discussion may be consoling but you have to pray. You can pray yourself to comfort and to faith.

   Prayer is like exercise, nobody likes it but you have to start, and once you start something happens

   Most people will do any other thing but pray. They will cry, which is human and okay

   But prayer has nothing to do with whether you have the appetite. It is a requirement

3. Meditate upon and speak the word over that situation

   Joel 3:10

   Let the weak say I am strong. When you are weak, there is always strength to say. God will always ensure the strength to say remains.

   The strength to say gives you the strength to do. There is no situation that should make the believer lose the ability to say

   He never said let the weak say "strength." Personalize it and believe it. Let the weak say, I am strong

   Isaiah 3:10

   The same righteous with many afflictions. Prophesy to yourself

   In the name of Jesus I decree and declare that it is well with me.

   I know I will come out of this.

   I may not see wind or rain but my valley shall be filled with water, because there is Abba, the one who never dies.

   Do not mind what the devil is saying. Let the person in debt say, I will come out of it. Say to the one who has lost the breadwinner, God is father

   If He can clothe the lilies of the valley and feed the birds that do not sow or reap, they are violating a fundamental spiritual law, yet they never lack Matthew 6:26 to Matthew 6:30

   Speaking the word is not a Pentecostal suggestion. It is part of the frame. We are made in His image and likeness, which means to function like Him. All through scripture God creates by speaking.

   He blesses, restores and lifts by speaking

   He breathed on man. It does not mean He used His nose. He opened His mouth and life entered man Genesis 2:7

   Psalm 107:2 to Psalm 107:3

   It is not enough to know, you must say so. The redeemed, the blessed, the healed, the lifted of the Lord, say so

   • In the name of Jesus I am coming out of this situation.
   • The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid?
   • I may not understand what is happening, but all things work together for my good.
   • I expect glory at the end of this confusion. I may not know the process but I know the end is glory.

   Do not say what is happening. Say what the word of God says. Continue to make declarations even if it looks hopeless, even death

   Even when you may not see the person again, you can decree, I know the comfort of the Spirit is at work in this family. With each passing day strength is released upon us.

   God will raise men in multiplied ways to play that role

   When emotion drives the vehicle of your Christian life you end up a disaster. Push emotions aside and peg yourself to the word of God no matter what you feel

   The word confession comes from homologeo. It means to repeat as you have heard, and the purpose of repeating is for creation, not just emphasis Ezekiel 37:7

   Every situation has an ear, and it can hear the word of the Lord

4. Seek comfort, prayer and help from Godly friends and the family of believers

   This is a very major secret to overcoming afflictions

   Acts 4:21 to Acts 4:24

   Peter and John went to their own company. They had a larger community of believers to resort to. They reported together, and as a company they lifted their voice to God with one accord

   Many believers do not survive afflictions because they lack this. It is a terrible thing for a believer not to be connected to a larger body of believers.

   No matter how powerful you are you will need them to shield and encourage you. There are times the sermon you need will come from someone else

   1 Thessalonians 5:25

   There are times you may not have energy to pray for yourself. Do you have brethren you can honestly say, pray for us?

   Philippians 1:19

   Paul, the prayer warrior, says he requires the prayer and shield of other believers

   Living an isolated Christian life will not profit you in the day of adversity

   Ecclesiastes 4:9 to Ecclesiastes 4:12

   The power of unity

   Having Godly friends and a family of believers who know you and support you requires you sowing seeds of love, care and help

   The proof of being connected to a spiritual family is not attendance. It is genuine connection proven by service. Who knows you are there? Who has been a beneficiary of your kindness?

   Many attend meetings but nobody knows them enough to knock on their door and say, I heard you have been crying for two days, your home is my home, your tears are my tears

   Some believers go through pain alone because they have no track record of service, giving, prayer or support. They just freelance

   Many believers have cheaply come out of affliction because of the power of a larger body. "Why is your face gloomy?" "I have not paid my rent."

   The one you may not even know says, I have watched you in the house of God. Your service, your glow when people are sad. Here is the key to your house

   Challenges are as large as the ignorance of the victims. Invest in strategic relationships. Do not say it is none of your business when someone is sick or in trouble Romans 12:15

   You can prolong your life using your kindness and benevolence.

   Your contribution to the programme of God can be so significant that God will not allow any devil to take your life Acts 9:36 to Acts 9:41

   Matthew 5:7

   Galatians 6:10

   There is such a concept as the household of faith

   If your absence is not missed, your presence was not contributing much. Where is that lady who always smiles on Sunday? She lost her mother. Let me know where I can send something to her

   It is a culture in this ministry that all who are connected are shown care and love as God grants grace. I do not believe in using people. I believe in people being blessed

   Growing up I wondered why elderly people attended every wedding and burial. In our foolishness we thought they were wasting time. They were investing in people.

   When you blow the trumpet like Gideon, thirty three thousand should show up Judges 7

   Why are you crying? My child has not been able to go to school. Not under my watch, leave this child's education to me. I remember when I was in primary school you were there for me

   The law of seedtime and harvest works. Your carelessness of yesterday can become a padlock on your destiny

   Do not just be an attendant, be genuinely connected. Be friendly. Be an active contributor to the growth of people. Practise the law of honour.

   Do not downplay and demean people and expect them to invest in you in the day of adversity

   Sometimes I am tired, but if I see certain people's call I will make effort to get up and respond. I love everybody, but their participation and contribution in my life is not at the same level

   Does somebody believe in you enough to say, I will never watch you in shame, I will wrap my arms around you and stand by you?

   Depending on yourself by yourself to come out of affliction may end up burying you there

   People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. Do not just be anointed, a prayer warrior, a war giant.

   Compassion, honour and empathy make people arise to your rescue

   May you never lack help. At every point in your life may someone arise genuinely and sincerely to help you.

   Even Jesus needed Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross to Golgotha Luke 23:26

   4 kinds of destiny helpers

   1. Divine connectors

      They do not have the solution but they know who has it. Like the slave girl connecting Naaman to Elisha 2 Kings 5:2 to 2 Kings 5:3.

      Everybody is at most four people away from their solution

   2. Men of influence

      They have credibility, a track record and the ear of the territory. Their endorsement can rewrite age long narratives. One signature can give you a job or veto a limitation

      There are gatekeepers, believers or not. God grants you favour to pass through them. Afflictions remain indefinite in the lives of some because they do not understand the power of destiny relationships

      Everything on earth is controlled by men

      Behind every system is a man with a will and an emotion

      Even the unrighteous judge who did not fear God nor regard men, until a weak woman used a strategy to weary him Luke 18:1 to Luke 18:8

      Do not insult great men, rich men, people who have paid the price to rise. Obtain wisdom and ask God to position you strategically. Joseph needed Pharaoh. Daniel needed Darius and Nebuchadnezzar

   3. Gifted men

      One gifted person can save you financial leakages and bring efficiency beyond imagination. The brains behind great corporations may not be more than four or five gifted men

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   4. Burden bearers

      They are not after your title, they are after you as a person. They may not move you forward but they stop you from going back.

      They cry with you, see your nakedness and still cover you

      May God send burden bearers to your life in the name of Jesus.

   Build Godly relationships and make meaningful contributions in the spiritual family. Finance is the least contribution you can make. Through your life someone is encouraged and drawn back to the things of God

5. Engage the prophetic

   Hosea 12:13

   The Lord did the deliverance but used a prophet

   Every time believers went through adversity, the ministry of prophets was their breakthrough.

   The Exodus, the axe head floating 2 Kings 6:1 to 2 Kings 6:7

   The wife of the son of the prophet, the Shunammite, the widow in Zarephath 1 Kings 17:8 to 1 Kings 17:16

   Samaria in famine 2 Kings 7:1 to 2 Kings 7:20

   Affliction can never turn to victory by isolating the prophetic. Genuine, authentic apostolic and prophetic ministry has a role to turn captivity around. It is a mandate and mantle God has placed

   God has anointed men. If you open your heart to receive of the spiritual investment in their lives, night becomes day and affliction can turn to victory

   The prophetic is a potent ministry in spite of abuses.

   Yes there are abuses across the globe and we hope God will fix the excesses, especially in Africa, but do not throw away the baby with the bath water

   Jesus needed three major prophets in His life to emerge: Simeon, Anna the prophetess, and John the Baptist Luke 2:25 to Luke 2:38.

   If you ignore the prophetic in times of adversity you do it to your detriment

   Prophetic declarations

   One utterance backed by the anointing of the Spirit and testimonies happen just like that. He confirms the words of His messengers Isaiah 44:26

   One prophet stood over Samaria, "by this time tomorrow," not speaking to a company or a region but a whole nation. A foolish king said this cannot happen. Be careful what you say cannot happen.

   The kingdom of God is a compendium of infinite possibilities waiting for you to engage with understanding, and one is the prophetic

   I have watched people rise from grass to grace at the instance of the prophetic. I am a beneficiary myself. Doors just open.

   Even if it is four lepers, the Holy Ghost will arrange insignificant conditions that ensure you come out of that situation 2 Kings 7:3

You are not the first to go through this

You are not the first to go through a financial, embarrassing or health challenge Ecclesiastes 1:9

There is nothing happening to you for the first time. The Bible chronicles men and women who went through affliction until they wrote victory out of them Hebrews 11:32 to Hebrews 11:35

Hope that I will come out of this Romans 15:4

Hope that I will have the last laugh. Hope that the ministry will rise again

Samson

Judges 16:21 to Judges 16:30

Even if you are Samson, your hair can grow again, even if they pluck out your eyes. Three things were to be removed to destroy him, his hair, his eyes and his hand.

Satan did not remove the third, and that was what brought the greatest victory

His hair was cut, his eyes plucked, but the hand was left. With it he said, God, no matter what I have done wrong, grant me one last time.

While the hair was growing back and the eyes could not, the hand pushed. He killed more people in his death than in his life

Mephibosheth

2 Samuel 9:1 to 2 Samuel 9:13

His tragedy was not due to his carelessness. A midwife did not handle him well and he was made lame. Some situations you have no active role in making John 9:2 to John 9:3

The widow of Nain

Luke 7:11 to Luke 7:15

She lost her husband, then her only son. Her life was shattered, but just when they were about to cross the gate, here comes Jesus. When you see Jesus you see hope and restoration.

Light can come at the end of darkness

A 33 year old body hanging on the cross, and even Satan, men, kings, principalities and powers believed that was the end. But many are the afflictions of the righteous.

Provided you are righteous there is a guarantee that the Lord shall deliver him from them all. Financial afflictions, marital afflictions, ministerial afflictions. Many, not few

Job again

Job 2:7

Another conference in the heavenlies, and Satan demanded to touch his body. Boils came out that could not be explained. Everybody ran away.

The greatest man in the East, like a Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, and in one day everything crashed. The friends ran away, the family ran away, the people he had raised.

Only him and his wife, the same way it was only Jesus and Mary

Job 42:10

The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and gave Job twice as much

Every captivity in your life, give way in the name of Jesus Christ.

When you see any believer going through affliction, ask, are you the righteous? If they say yes, begin to dance and rejoice in the midst of the storm

The guarantee is that the Lord, not an angel, will deliver him from them all

God can give you twice what you lost. Twice money, twice influence, twice anointing, twice joy, twice grace. Whatever a man loses God can restore.

If a loved one has died, God can bring ten fathers, ten husbands, one person equal to ten sons.

You may never see them again but you will meet them again, and in the interim it is not you who will see shame

Mephibosheth restored

Imagine passing through Lo Debar and seeing the lame man. "It was not my fault. Perhaps I would have been great but the midwife was careless"

One day a king sat restless in the palace and said, is there anyone in the house of Saul I may show kindness?

Saul is dead, he spent his life persecuting me, but is there any man in his house? Send for Ziba, fetch that crippled man

He thought they were going to kill him. "I do not even have the energy to fight. This is how my life will end."

Not knowing that once you are the righteous, the Lord delivers you from every affliction

David told Ziba, you have fifteen sons, farm for Mephibosheth, but you will dine with me all the days of your life

Do not be surprised that someone calls and says, God has told me to stand by you in ministry. The battle of ten, twenty years comes to an end

Do not be ashamed of your battles

Never be ashamed of your battles. It is common to all men. Fight the marital battles with dignity. Fight the academic battles with dignity. Fight the good fight of faith.

Do not act as if yours is unique

Man of God, ministry looks like it is not growing, do not be ashamed. Stand tall. A man of God whose children are wayward, and it is a bad testimony, do not worry.

You may become the discussion of many people, but it is good they are aware, so there will be witnesses when you rise

Many are the afflictions of the righteous

The word righteous and the word affliction sometimes go hand in glove

Do not add to the pain of people in church

Your assignment is not to be a rumour monger multiplying people's pain. The child is irresponsible, what can we do as a contribution? That is a believer's response. Two minutes of prayer

Then the child comes for service, the power of God fetches him out, and that is the end of that demonic thing. You watch a Saul become Paul

It does not bring glory to God when we celebrate the downfall of one another.

The disciples wanted to call fire on those doing ministry elsewhere, and Jesus said you do not know what spirit you are of.

I am here to heal, to mend, to lift, to bind Luke 9:54 to Luke 9:56

The body of Christ is expert at multiplying the pain of people. We must learn to be people of love

When you see a businessman battling with loans or a politician who lost an election, invest prayer and encouragement. They will come out of it

Do not find joy in adding to the pain of people. It is an antichrist, luciferian spirit

I have watched God transform people. I have watched night become day, the relegated become nobles, people of dignity and honour

If you had seen some of us 15, 17, 18 years ago you would never imagine we would be used by God

I do not know who has concluded about you. You may not carry resemblance of the palace but when you are chosen you are chosen

Good can come out of Nazareth, whatever Nazareth means to you John 1:46

Promotion and restoration

You have waited ten, twenty years for promotion, but God is talking of restoration. Promotion means to go higher. Restoration means to gain time, to be brought back to where you would have been

You will rise again, businessman, because you are the righteous.

You will rise again, every family, north, east, south and west.

Let God arise, and financial affliction be scattered. Let every curse and every yoke be scattered.

Provided you can answer to the name righteous, something can still happen.

The one who dabbled in ministry and played games and the grace seems gone, the one who repented genuinely

The one who slept around for rent money and has made up your mind to work with God, God can help you right from where you are

Those trusting God for the fruit of the womb, those trusting Him to end yokes and curses, family, marital, financial, ministerial curses.

God leads, God restores, God wipes the tears of men until you look at your former self and cannot recognise him. Your life becomes a sermon Ephesians 3:10

Let men laugh at you while you look to Jesus, pray, speak the word, enjoy the comfort of the church and receive the prophetic.

Victory is a formula, something plus something plus something equals manifestation of victory

When anybody laughs at you, verify that you are still the righteous. Then give God praise, because sooner or later anyone who laughed at you will bury his head in shame

Illustration: the surgery

Do not be afraid of your wounds. A patient about to go for surgery lies down helpless. After the anaesthesia the doctors work for hours removing things, replacing things, bypasses.

You are watching what looks like a dead body, and you think it will never come back to life. Sometimes the doctors themselves become afraid at what they see.

Then they seal the person up, and in a few hours the person wakes up. After a few months that same person is running around and you would never believe he was once there

You are not the first to fail in ministry, in family, in your studies. Everybody has had a shelf of failure and pain

You are not permitted to say "I am finished." Jesus never said I am finished, He said it is finished. You may cry but God is the lifter of man John 19:30

Only a fool will say there is no God. If you doubt whether God can help men, my life is a testimony

Prayer

Every battle you face, as a businessman, politician, parent, whatever the situation, the weak can say, so we can say. The moment you can say, all other things fall in line

In the hospital, bereaved, crying, discouraged or offended with God, make sure you are praying

• In the name of Jesus every discouragement, every mountain before me, I announce that I am the righteous and therefore I am coming out of it.
• Over my health, my failing business, my marital issue, my ministry, my job.
• Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers me out of them all.
• Nigeria is a righteous nation, therefore the Lord will deliver her from them all.

The righteous man falls seven times, but he rises Proverbs 24:16. The righteous preacher, mother, family, business, laborer, prophet, apostle, teacher, pastor, evangelist can be afflicted

Man of God, if there is sickness in your body, do not be ashamed and do not join the hypocrisy. Pray, get people to pray, and go to the hospital and treat yourself with nobility.

It does not make you less anointed. Take responsibility for your life and health while trusting God for strength

Your child is wayward, do not be ashamed. We can pray and cry together and say, Lord we will not lose this one to the devil

Your business has fallen, listen to the message Principles of Restoration, where I teach 5 reasons why people lose things. There are corrections you may need to make.

But let the word "I am righteous" stay

Even though the afflictions are many, He said "from them all", not from them. You will hear testimonies of people who did not believe God could bring them out.

You will sing and dance with tears, "God, even me"

I am convinced He loves me. It is not an emotional blind thing.

It has a basis in what He did on the cross, and though He is exalted Lord and King He still makes intercession for me, like Job did for his sons.

That is the responsibility of a father Job 1:5

It may not look like it but you will rise. It may not look like it but you will shine.

In your lifetime you will see God lift your children and save them.

The prodigal son came back home.

For every parent whose child is in a beer parlour, in internet fraud, who has vowed all kinds of things, God who delivers the righteous will bring them back Luke 15:11 to Luke 15:24

Mention the areas of affliction in your life and pray: your marriage, finances, health, ministry, a new level, your work with God, your prayer life, your word study life, your family Philippians 4:6

The light that entered me

When the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me He stretched His hand toward me and light did not shine on me, it entered me.

How I survived is a question I will ask Him in heaven, because no man can receive that kind of light and survive

Sight is the eye plus light. If you enter a dark room, even if your eyes are correct, you will not see

Habakkuk 3:4

The power of God hides in His light

Illustration: the perfume

When you buy a perfume it comes in packaging, layer after layer, and in the end a small thing. You do not need the packaging.

When you apply it you know the value of that small thing

When the word of God comes, contained within it is His wisdom, His favour and His power

What Jesus was doing was an infusion of spiritual power. From the abundance of what we receive we speak over people, cities and nations and shift the spiritual climate of men, systems and structures.

It is not just speaking, it is an impartation

We have not come by ourselves. When He sends, He equips

Every affliction that has brought you tears, shame and pain, in the name of Jesus I decree that affliction comes to an end now.

Between now and the end of June, return with strange testimonies.

I program strange testimonies around your life in the name of Jesus.

Rise to the place of prophecy. Rise to the place of destiny.

Like Samuel prophesied to Saul, that missing donkey, I command it to return to your life 1 Samuel 9:20 to 1 Samuel 10:2

The Father of spirits

The way you pray over men is different from the way you pray over things. Things were given to dominion, so you can command them.

With men you cannot command per se because God honours their will

Hebrews 12:9

God is called the Father of spirits. Every spirit can be summoned by Him. The body is a slave to the spirit. Even those who practise witchcraft summon the spirit, not the body

Your boss is a spirit. Your business has a spirit connected to it James 2:26

A body without a spirit is dead. Situations are alive because they have spirits connected to them. Separate the situation from the spirit and the situation dies

I may not have the power to command a human being, but like Michael I can say "the Lord rebuke you" Jude 9.

I can call on the Father of spirits to summon the spirit of your destiny helper and insist they find no rest until they bless you

Watch the Father of spirits in action. The night Ahasuerus could not sleep Esther 6:1. He gave Pharaoh a dream and Pharaoh could not sleep until Joseph came Genesis 41:1 to Genesis 41:14.

Nebuchadnezzar did not rest until Daniel came Daniel 2:1 to Daniel 2:16. When God moves as Father of spirits, men never rest until you are blessed

When spirits participate with bodies they create longevity. Men can bless you by the law of time and chance, but when the spirit of favour comes there is longevity to that blessing

A slight headache from wear and tear is natural, but when a spirit partners with that condition it gains longevity. The assignment of spirits is to sustain processes.

Anything staying unnecessarily long already indicates a spirit component. A business issue that could be solved in one day has taken three, four years.

There is a spirit you are within the office of the believer to deal with

Father of spirits, summon every destiny helper ordained for my life from now to the end of June.

Every unclean spirit attached to any situation around your life, manipulating it and creating pain, I separate you from that spirit now.

Let the blessing speak on your finances, your family, your ministry. Go and prosper. Rise and scale heights in destiny.

Life to your prayer life. Life to your word study life.

No one under the sound of my voice will die prematurely.

Let this grace called favour rest on your life and produce extraordinary results.

Men rise into your health, rise into your rescue. Let shame and reproach run away.

Closing charge

The key word in all of this is the word righteous, not even the word affliction.

Your only immunity in doing business with God is that you willingly receive of His life and are thereby qualified to be called the righteous

The gift of righteousness comes only through Jesus John 3:16

• Lord Jesus, I have heard your word. I believe you died for me and rose again for my justification.
• Right now I receive Jesus into my heart as my Saviour, my Lord and my King.
• I declare that the power of sin, Satan, hell and the grave is broken over my life. From now and forever I am a child of God.

As many as come to Him He will in no wise cast away John 6:37. There is no other name given among men by which we must be saved Acts 4:12

Your sins are forgiven. You are a bona fide recipient of the life of God.

The power of sin, Satan, hell and the grave is broken over your life. You walk in victory and in liberty, and you go forward, never backward, in the name of Jesus Christ.