The Good Shepherd by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Establish the pattern of asking the Lord

Pray about it. Even if you don't hear a response, or you think you didn't hear a response, still establish the pattern of asking the Lord. It is very important

Divine leading does not mean there is no difficulty

There is something about divine leading that many Christians, particularly in charismatic circles, do not understand

They think that just because God is leading you, things will not be difficult or hard. That is not what the Bible teaches

The patriarch who kept digging wells Genesis 26:18-22

The Philistines contended with him for the wells and successfully seized them.

It was only after he had dug a few times, by the seventh well I think, that he named it Rehoboth: God has given me room

Loss is no indication that God is not with you

If you dig the first well and lose it, it does not mean the hand of God is not on you. The hand of God is proven in spite of challenges and confrontation.

It finds expression in tenacity: there was strife and conflict, but I didn't give up

The Rehoboth anointing is proven with time. Sometimes you judge in the middle and conclude prematurely, and you are asking God funny questions.

Why did I lose that job? Why did I lose that business?

When he lost those first few wells he didn't even cry. I'm not saying human emotions are wrong, but he understood something: as long as God is with me, the result is inevitable

Sometimes it is not that I did anything wrong. I just need to go again

The hand of the Lord is upon His children to wear the devil out. Seize the first well, I will dig another. Seize the second, I will dig another.

I know the prophecy over my life. The result is inevitable

You lost that job, go again. You lost that business, you have cried for a bit, dust yourself, go again. You lost the child, go again

The devil will never have the final say over your life. God will overturn it and overturn it until the events in your life match up to the prophecy over your life

Joel 2:25

This word is for someone here. This is your season of restoration. Go again. The hand of the Lord is upon you

It is not over until you win. It is not over until everything God has said about you happens

Your area of struggle can become your ministry

2 Corinthians 3:5

Sometimes even ministers of the gospel find themselves in a situation where the very area you are struggling in is where God wants to give you a ministry

The great Smith Wigglesworth, who reportedly raised 18 people from the dead and healed many, had a daughter who was deaf all her life

Sometimes it is in the very area where you are struggling that your anointing is built. The problem is we disqualify ourselves.

We look at our own self sufficiency and say, how can I be praying for people to receive what I am looking for myself? Many times that is where the anointing is developed

Illustration: Abraham and Abimelech Genesis 20

Abraham was afraid Abimelech would take his wife, so he said she was his sister. It was a white lie because she was actually his sister. Abimelech took Sarah

God appeared to Abimelech and said he was as good as dead, together with all the men in his house. All the wombs were shut

God said, I withheld you from sinning against me. Call him, he is a prophet, not just a businessman. Let him pray for you and all your house

Abraham was praying for a nation that was barren while his own wife had no child.

He had to lay hands and release words over a nation trusting for a child, knowing that in his own house he was trusting for the same thing

That is the mistake many of us make. Because you are not yet married you avoid weddings.

Because you are trusting for a child you avoid naming ceremonies. Many times that is the training you need

In wielding that weapon of grace towards others, it is a double-edged sword that blesses us as well 2 Corinthians 1:4

2 Corinthians 6:10

The sufficiency is not of yourself

Imagine what it took to lay hands on people and say, receive your child, knowing he was trusting for the same thing

In the last few verses of Genesis 20 he was done praying for everybody. Then Genesis 21:1

Before then Abraham had done many things. He looked at the stars. He thanked God. He sowed seeds.

Nothing happened until the Lord used him to pray for others for the very thing he was trusting for

He had waited almost 30 years. The moment he had enough faith to pray for others, trusting for the very thing he had been waiting for, it opened

It is the same thing you have been trusting for. People are coming to you for counseling on how to overcome this, and you disqualify yourself. Our sufficiency is of God

• My sufficiency is of God

Divine leading is the greatest asset in your life

The greatest asset in your life is divine leading. Just the presence of God guiding you, leading you

Open your heart to it. Embrace it as a possibility

Two ways to read the Bible

Some of what you read is historical. God told Moses to speak to a rock and water came out Numbers 20:8.

It does not mean that is how you will solve the plumbing problem in your house

There are things in the Bible that record what God did at a particular time to a particular people. The Bible was not written to you, but it was written for you

But not everything is mere history. There are aspects that are prophetic. Anything you read that is consistent with God's plan in Christ Jesus in the church for you, you embrace

Even if it was said about Moses, it is also true about me. Even if it was said about David, it is also true about me

The Lord is my shepherd

Psalm 23:1

Are you just reading about David, or is this true about you?

What kind of mind must you have to pick up a pen and write this? It means it is true about your life. This is your meditation

This is not a poem, it is a song. He wrote a song about the experiences of his life that I have noticed in my life. I don't get stranded.

Somehow I end up with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time

Even if I go without capital, I am usually not stranded. I shall not want

We have the compendum of David's story, so we know this was true.

Before he went to battle he asked the Lord, should I pursue, should I overtake, will I recover all 1 Samuel 30:8.

God would give him a response

He didn't do anything trusting in his own power. He trusted God enough to ask before he did anything

When Saul was coming to where David was hiding, he asked the Lord whether the people would betray him and deliver him to Saul. God said they will. Run 1 Samuel 23:11-12

This is not just something you confess in church.

It can be the testimony of your life, something people will write about you in your biography: that man, that lady trusted the Lord in all things

Is it possible to have a life where divine guidance is so normal, even in the small aspects, that you can ask God anything? Is God still alive and well?

Is He the God you are following?

My own testimony

In my career I always know what to do. Even when I almost entered the wrong marriage, two weeks to the time, the Lord saved me

Divine guidance is normal in my life through dreams and visions. Sometimes I just find myself in a place and someone is saying something, and you know God just spoke to you

Someone was trying to get close to me and I didn't know what to think about the person.

At the remembrance service of someone who died, the two people by my side were talking about the person and spilling the beans

I thanked God for saving me. When I told the person what I had heard, he was shocked. There was no way I could have known

Psalm 23:2

This is not just church lingua. This is the story of my experience

He leads me means there is leading in my life. He makes me lie down in green pastures means that anywhere He sends me, there is provision. There is what to eat

This was the story of Abraham's life.

If the Lord says go to a place I will show you, I may not know the way, I may not have the map, but I will go.

And I always find the resources waiting for me

He leads me beside still waters means that in the leading of God there is peace. When you are in the plan of God there is peace and tranquility in your spirit.

Not everybody has that kind of peace

Psalm 23:3

Some of you may not like this one. The fact that God is leading me does not mean I won't find myself in unfavorable circumstances once in a while

Psalm 23:4

How do I get there? He led me there. He allowed it. There are some trying times God allows for your growth. It might have killed others but it will make you stronger

Imagine a man of the Spirit looking into his future. He has concluded that if I ever go through any trying time, it is because God allowed it.

In the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me, so I will fear no evil

If God allowed it, there is a way out. If God allowed it, it is meant to turn out for my good.

If I ever find myself in trouble, it means God wants to get glory from it

This is something to brag about, not something to mutter. Devil, throw your best shot

I fear no evil. You are with me. Your rod and staff comfort me

Psalm 23:5

When you are a man with the anointing, don't be afraid of confrontation. Don't be afraid that people are against you

The same people who expect you to be crying will find you feasting

Those who are waiting for your downfall will wait in vain. They are checking every two weeks to see your Instagram, to see if things have changed

Proverbs 4:18

You will never have a better yesterday

Your biggest miracle is the next one. Your biggest breakthrough is the next one. Your biggest song is the next one

I have joy in chaos and peace that makes no sense

Psalm 23:6

Look at your future and release these utterances.

When all the things you have been praying and dreaming about have happened, you will still have the decency to kneel, because those looking at you don't know where you are coming from.

You know it is the hand of God that brought you this far

• The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
• Thank You, my good Shepherd. I like the way You lead me. I can trust You. You are my compass, my navigation
• The devil will never have the final say over my life

Why I shall not want

This is a feasibility study. David is looking at why his future is sorted

Some trust in other things. Some say my tomorrow is settled because my parents have money. Some say my tomorrow is settled because I am intelligent Psalm 20:7

David said, the Lord is my shepherd

Because of who is guiding me, I shall not want. Because I have divine guidance, tomorrow is settled

I don't really know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow

I don't have the plan figured out, but I know a God who can send an individual out and give him a whole nation Genesis 12:1

The vision He has given me, I don't know where the money will come from, but I shall not want. It will be done because of my Shepherd

This was a song David used to sing to himself. Make this your conviction and your obsession

I never lack divine guidance

Begin to say it regularly: in my own life I never lack divine guidance. Somehow I always know what to do

God will find a way to make clear what His plan is.

Either through dreams, or a confirmation, or sometimes I just come to church and it is as if the pastor is reading my mail, preaching exactly what I am going through

I can't choose how He chooses to guide me. But one thing is sure, I will never lack guidance in my life

This wasn't just the bragging of some church fellow. You could read David's life, see his pedigree, and know it was true. He always depended on God for everything. Develop that culture too

Build a culture of seeking the Lord

Don't take any major decision without praying. Familiarize yourself with telling people, let me pray about it, give me 3 days, I will get back to you

The moment you know you have heard from God, do it instantly. Establish it as a pattern in the realm of the spirit

Be a doer, so that God can brag about you. Genesis 18:19. When you are a doer, it registers in the realm of the spirit

When the Lord speaks to me I listen, no matter through whom.

At least three notable times God has used my 9 year old daughter to talk to me. She has a gift of dreams

The last time, I called my wife to come and hear what our daughter was saying. Because she is 9, she didn't understand the gravity of what she was saying.

But my wife and I, our knees were buckling. It was clear and sharp. There was something we were supposed to do as a family

We had already spent millions. As soon as she was done talking, I told my wife, call them, tell them we are not doing it again, destroy it instantly

Develop this heart for divine guidance. Should I pursue? Should I overtake? Don't allow your intelligence to put you in trouble Proverbs 14:12

All the major decisions in your life, who to marry, where to settle, which nation to go to, even if half the nation has left, don't go without hearing from God

If you pray and you don't have any clear restraint, then you can take the intelligent choice. But always establish the pattern of at least asking first

Establish the pattern like the prophet Habakkuk 2:1. If possible, build a place and a time.

God knows where to find you if He wants to talk

Jeremiah 10:23

There are a lot of things we do very well but we are not self-sufficient.

If you allow your intelligence to deceive you, at some point in your life you will discover it Ecclesiastes 9:11

Learn it now and establish a culture of seeking the Lord. Establish it as a family culture. Tell your children, I am still praying about it

The missing thing may be a prophetic word

There are many people who are not broke because they are lazy

Illustration: Peter's nets Luke 5:4-5

He had toiled all night. What was lacking was not effort.

There was nothing wrong with the nets, the boat or the time of day. It was not a skill problem. He was a trained fisherman

Then Jesus came on the scene. It is possible to have gotten everything right and the only thing missing is a prophetic word. Peter responded at His word

Is it possible to walk in such prophetic precision that it turns everything around and compensates you for all the years of futile labor?

In the days of Joseph, by dreams and interpretation he saw the prophetic economic template for the next 14 years Genesis 41

Testimony: the dollar

I was in a small prayer meeting of five people. At that time the dollar had never crossed 400 naira.

A young pastor said, the Lord just told me the dollar will be 500 to one in the next two weeks. Tell everybody you know to plan

Two weeks later it happened. This is not something they told me. I was in the meeting

I have a pastor friend who dreamt that his bureau de change man told him the rates would soon rise.

The dream was so vivid that he called the man. The man said, me, when?

He checked his call log and there was no call

He knew it was from God. He changed all his money to dollars, kept it and waited, according to the word of the Lord

No civilization was built on human intelligence alone

There is no king in the Bible who built a civilization just with intelligence.

All of them had astrologers and magicians. It is still the same till date. They are just not public with it

There is no civilization in the history of humanity that was built with just human intelligence

When some ignorant people say we pray a lot in this country and other countries are so developed because they are not spiritual, go and do your research

Nine out of 10 nursery rhymes we sing to our children are dark.

Allegedly, when they were building London Bridge they offered child sacrifices. Go and verify. Many nations have deep, dark spiritual heritages

Testimony: the mining business

During the 20 days of prophetic prayer and meditation I gave a word of knowledge: there is someone with a nudge to go into mining but unsure because it will cost a lot of money.

God said, He is with you, go

It was spot on. He and his co-founder had had company meetings about it and were discussing whether to devote so many company resources.

They received the word and went confidently to the north

The man they went to see had a prophet too, not a real one.

The prophet had told him two young boys would come and propose a mining business, do business with them and don't look down on them

You receive a word in church. Others receive a word somewhere else.

Some of your colleagues, you don't know where they have been or what they are doing. They receive word day to day

Illustration: Jonah and the sailors Jonah 1

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. He entered a boat going to Tarshish and because of that there was a storm

The people who owned the boat, who were not churchgoers and didn't know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, knew the storm was not ordinary.

They knew it was occasioned by the disobedience of someone on that boat

Even many churchgoers cannot tell when the storm in their life is not ordinary. Step one: they had enough spiritual discernment. Step two: they knew what to do about it.

They cast lots and it fell on Jonah

Some of you have been playing church too long. When you dream, you dream foolish things. Has God ever told you something even once?

The moment they threw him out, the storm ceased

There are some of you who need to throw people out of your problem.

What you are facing is caused by proximity to some people. Where is your discernment? You are calling enemies your friends

Even these people knew there was someone in the boat that, if we don't throw him out, we will all die

Illustration: the wise men Matthew 2:1-2

They were magicians and astrologers. They saw from the stars that a king was born, and they had enough conviction to devote resources to journey for months to find that king

You have to be sure to devote your time and money to something. They carried gold, frankincense and myrrh so they would not meet him empty-handed

They went confidently to Herod and asked where is he that is born king of the Jews. Herod asked how they heard. They said the stars told us. No map, no GPS.

They followed the star and they were right

The Bible did not hide that story. It put it there so you would understand: just in case you choose to be unserious with God, there are some people practicing negative spirituality

Even in your field. I read building engineering. They didn't tell us that for some bridges you want to design in this country, you must first make oblation

Some of you saw the viral videos last year. There was a bridge they wanted to renovate in Lagos and they had to slaughter rams first

Some professionals have a side hustle. When you see people in your office with money, that is where you take your prayer life more seriously. They have checked you out.

They know how spiritual you are. They know the energy level in your life

Testimonies that third parties can verify

There was a time we were praying in our house and none of us had cars. We were going to preach so we all entered bikes.

When we dropped off, one of the bikemen looked at me and said, your eyes look like a spirit, like the Holy Ghost

In London I went into McDonald's with Pastor Peter and sat down.

A white man came to Pastor Peter while he was buying food and asked, is that man a pastor? How do you know?

When he entered, a cloud came in with him

There are people who see you spiritually. There are some people you cannot deceive

Do not be ignorant of spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1

We are talking about divine leading and divine guidance. Through dreams, through visions, through an audible voice, the Lord can guide you

You have the tendency to relegate this to senior men of God, to apostles and prophets.

Now God is telling the entire body of Christ not to be ignorant about this. It is your heritage

Open your heart to it. Start singing about it. Start declaring and prophesying it daily like David: I never lack guidance

The word translated ignorant does not just mean to lack information. It means to lack interest. It is not a denominational preference. It is the will of God

1 Corinthians 12:2

Maybe before you got born again you were an idol worshipper.

Maybe not you, maybe your father or grandfather had an idol in some corner of the house that had a mouth but never spoke

Here we have a God who is alive and well. So it must be normal for you to hear Him. Be open to spiritual gifts

We don't serve a dumb God. He talks to us. He guides us. He leads us

Dumb here is in the sense of not having a personal relationship with their people, not in terms of power

Negative spirituality always comes at a cost

Always at a heavy cost. Baba will say, we will give you 50 million, but your left hand will not work again

Many of them are in bondage in their house. You must not wear certain colors. You cannot eat beans. There are rooms you must enter with your back

As educated as you are, they tell you every 3 months at night you must go to the market and carry something on your head, singing.

All of that just to afford a car

Proverbs 10:22

A man told me his brother was into internet fraud and had to do juju. Where is he now? Hiding in one village, he can't come out, the police are looking for him.

Since he started, how much money has he made? When he mentioned it, there are Jesus boys in this church making that every month

People with pure hustle still make more money than some who sold their souls. Did they not cheat you?

Some of them you marry and that is when you discover they say, I can't, I have donated it. For money to rise, other things must go down

Never make cheap bargains with the devil

Just know your God

You will be led, whether you want to or not

Leading is not a choice. Man was created as a springboard for prophetic and spiritual instructions

God created man to be a moon, so that the light from man will be from whatever spiritual influence is animating him. God created you to be His envoy on the earth.

If you don't have that divine backing, another spirit will take that position

1 Corinthians 12:2 again. You were led

There are some people who are animated by demon spirits, doing the biddings of Satan, and they don't even know it Ephesians 2:1-2

There is a spirit that animates children of disobedience. There is a reason some people act the way they act

It is like computer programs. When the system is getting too hot, shut down.

There are spiritual programs, and some people have been programmed so that when you are close to a big financial turnaround, everything must scatter

When you are close to establishing relationships with people who genuinely love and care about you, you must jeopardize it. These are spiritual programs

Not every betrayal is ordinary. The Bible gives us the behind the scenes in Luke 22:3. There is a reason Judas did what he did

When we say don't let the devil use you, it is a real thing. There are people that the devil uses

You are either led by the devil or led by the flesh. People blame everything on the devil, but some people are led by the flesh.

Whether you are led by the Spirit or by the flesh Galatians 5:17 Romans 8:14

Some people choose their spouses in the flesh. He is tall, dark, handsome, what else? She is beautiful, what else?

It is the Lot syndrome, looking at Sodom and seeing a lot of green areas Genesis 13:10-11

Don't judge by the flesh

Even if we are not influenced by demon spirits, we allow people who are influenced by demon spirits to control our lives. We listen to people we shouldn't listen to

Two types of witchcraft

One uses satanic powers and incantations

When Paul asked the Galatians about being bewitched Galatians 3:1, he was not talking about witchcraft power or voodoo.

Anybody who can control you with words can have the same effect of a witch in your life

Anybody whose words are able to alter your behavior. That is how witchcraft works

When you listen to people and because of the things they say you are no longer into church, or you are not sure anymore, that is witchcraft

Some of you had relationships that were good, but friends kept telling you, how do you know this guy, he might cheat on you. That is witchcraft

Don't be nicer than Jesus Matthew 16:23. Anywhere you feel led to rebuke it, do so

Even people in close proximity to you can be hijacked by Satan to try to make you deviate from the plan of God. Discern it when it is happening

Illustration: the course I was failed in

I wrote a course in the university and saw an F on the board. I knew I could not fail that course.

I knew there was a mistake, and sure enough more people started complaining about the same thing

Every time I entered that lecturer's office he said, get out of my office.

I don't know what he was going through, how his childhood was, the trauma he had, or what his wife told him. He would not even hear me out

I came three times. The third time I saw other people outside he had also told to get out. I thought, maybe he is going through a lot, let me come again

The fourth time, as I opened the door he said, get out. I am a polite and respectful person. It was nothing I said

I came out frustrated and paced and prayed for maybe 10 minutes. All of a sudden some holy anger welled up in me.

I pointed at his door, called his name and said, I am entering this door again and in the name of Jesus you will favor me

As I opened the door he said, how are you, what can I do for you? I said, my score. He asked my name and said, you are from my hometown.

The scripts are there, go and bring yours. I was not supposed to see my script. I saw it and I had a distinction

Some of you will not believe what I am about to say, and that is fine. I don't judge you.

But the realm of the spirit is deep, and not everybody who is hostile to you is hostile with their own understanding

Free will is a real thing, but there are some people the devil is dancing on their head. On top of your matter, feel free to cast them out

You have a good shepherd you can trust

All we wanted to establish is that you have a good shepherd that you can trust

Some of the people you are doing business with are practicing negative spirituality.

Unless you rise in the consciousness of who you are, you become a pawn for people playing at a higher level of spiritual interaction

• The Lord restores all the years that the locust has stolen

The wind of divine guidance is blowing in your house.

The angel of the Lord's presence is visiting your home and aligning everything in your life in obedience to the timing and purposes of God

There will be such speed and compensation that in months from now the experience of your life will line up with God's divine calendar for your life. No more delay, no more denial

Every plan of the enemy against your life is exposed. You see trouble afar off and you hide yourself

Those plotting for your downfall will plot in vain. Those waiting for your downfall will wait in vain. Continue to shine brighter. Continue to go forward

The Lord says to someone here, I have given you another chance. Go again

That thing that should have destroyed your destiny will become a message and a ministry on your lips, by the angels of the Lord and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit

The anointing for restoration has rested upon you. Your fire is back. Your mantle is back

In the same region where you were despised because of your errors and mistakes, the Lord has restored you, and your voice is amplified again