The Inspired Word by Pastor Sam Adeyemi: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

There Is Creative Power in God's Word

There is creative power in information that originates from God — and the information that originates from God is what we call revelation. John 6:63 in the Message Bible says: The spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen. Every word I've spoken to you is a spirit word and so it is life-making.

The Search for Capital — A Personal Journey

In those early years of our church, we did a research asking who lives within 5 kilometres of our church, what is the age distribution, what are their needs — and poverty came out at number one. The question became: how are we solving the poverty problem? Looking at our messages, all we had been teaching on finances was giving — which was scriptural, everything from the Bible. But the only thing missing was that we were teaching giving to people who did not have it. So I said, "Lord, is there anything in the Bible that can teach them how to get money in the first place?"

The Holy Spirit led me to 2 Kings 4:1-7 — the story of the widow whose husband died, the creditors were coming for her sons, and she ran to the prophet. The prophet gave her instructions, and the situation turned around. The widow thought she had nothing, but she had a small jar of oil — and that was the connection to her breakthrough. The Holy Spirit said: He will never allow you to get to the point where there is nothing around you that He can use to create your next level of breakthrough.

Start with what you have, not what you don't have.

What struck me further in that passage was that after the miracle — after barrels were filled with oil — the prophet said: "Go sell the oil." Selling. Business. In the Bible. That opened my eyes. Abraham was a businessman. Isaac sold crops. Jacob sold livestock. Business is all over the Bible.

So the encouragement became: start a business. But soon people came back and said, "Pastor, there's one problem — capital. Where do we get capital from?"

I went back to Genesis chapters 1 and 2 — the two perfect chapters of the Bible. No devil. No sin. The first principles are there. And I asked: how much capital did God have when He created the heavens and the earth? There was no mention of money. Yet you cannot call God poor. So it is not the absence of money that makes a person poor.

What did I find? And God said. And God said. And God said.

Hebrews 11:3 tied everything together: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made from things which are visible.

The original capital God used to create everything was invisible capital — intangible capital. It was the word.

Manifestation Begins with Revelation

There is creative power in information that originates from God. This is where manifestation begins.

Isaiah 55:8-11 in the Message Bible: I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work. For as the sky soars high above the earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth — doing the work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry — so will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They will do the work I sent them to do. They will complete the assignment I gave them.

As rain and snow cause things that have never existed before to come out of the earth — that is exactly how God's word works. The inspired word of God does not know how to fail. It has active power.

The call is to place the highest value possible on the inspired word of God.

Why the Word Is Supreme

• It originates from eternity. The word of God comes from the eternity dimension — the spiritual dimension, God's own dimension — which gave birth to this natural dimension. Because the word carries what is called eternal life — the quality of life that flows in God — the introduction of the word into our sphere is the introduction of God into our sphere. It is automatically superior to anything in this material world.
• It reshapes the world. In Genesis 1, the earth was without form, void, darkness covered the deep. And God said. And God said. Mountains erupted. Plants came forth. The word of God making contact with the material world, reshaping it into something beautiful. This is what the word does: it shapes and reshapes our world, and brings into existence things that have never existed before.
• It defines your identity. God changed people's lives in the Bible by changing their names. God renamed Abraham — "father of many nations" — and then he became that. At 100 years old, when his physical body was dead, the physical had to obey the spiritual. The word of God cannot return empty. The greatest fight between man and Satan always revolves around identity, and Satan must go after what God has said about you to disempower you.

This was the whole scenario in the Garden. The devil said: "Did God say…?" Then he got them to shift their sense of identity away from God's word. Adam and Eve lost it. Jesus Christ won it back. At the river Jordan, God spoke: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Satan's first temptation was: "If you are the Son of God…" — directly attacking the God-said. Jesus replied: "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." It is the word of God that defines your identity.

Recalling and Pursuing Revelation

This is the year to recall the things God spoke to you before. What He said 15 years ago. What He said when you were on campus. When you were single. When you had no job. Those words have not died. God's word has eternal life.

And this is the year to press in for new revelations. There is no manifestation without revelation.

Jeremiah 33:3: Call to me. I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you do not know.

Quit religion when it comes to prayer. Prayer is communication — and communication is not a monologue. It is a dialogue. When you talk nothing may happen, but when God talks, power flows and the world changes. Listening is part of communication. Invest time in reflection. Invest time in meditation. Let God speak. So much information in the world, but little revelation.

The Battle Between Physical Reality and Spiritual Reality

In John 6:60-66, many of Jesus' disciples were struggling to place revelation over their physical realities. Jesus said: "The spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don't make anything happen. Every word I've spoken to you is a spirit word and it is life-making. But some of you are resisting."

Man is a two-part being. The material part, shaped by not just one sense but five — is very strong. That is why Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." This is the struggle of the average person — it is risky to sacrifice what you can see and touch in order to gain the spiritual.

Judas struggled. He could not value the intangible over the physical — and sold the Master for 30 pieces of silver. The wealthy man in Mark 10 who came to Jesus went away sorrowful when asked to sell all he had.

But after many disciples left, Peter replied: "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We've already committed ourselves, confident that you are the holy one of God." The eleven prioritised revelation — and we are still talking about them today.

Joseph: The Model of Prioritising Revelation

Joseph took delivery of a revelation — a dream — and he prioritised what God said over his situations and circumstances. Most of us have not endured anything near what Joseph endured. He did not give up on the word. He did not take his attention off it. He served with excellence wherever he was — not because his circumstances were good, but because his focus was on the word. He rose beyond the level of the material.

Lord, in the name of Jesus, I commit to prioritising revelation over natural reality — and therefore to experience the manifestation this year of your divine plans and purposes for my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we are grateful for Jesus because he is our access to revelation. The sin nature blocked us from you before, but we are restored. Human nature is strong. Our five senses are powerful. They want to displace revelation. But today we receive the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Whatever obstructs our capacity to receive revelation — we declare them destroyed in the mighty name of Jesus. Every voice that seeks to supersede the voice of God in our lives — we shut them down in Jesus' name. Amen.

Your eyes are open. Your inner ears are open. Revelation comes to you with ease. Confusion is banished. Struggling is banished. Wherever you struggled before, this year heaven makes life easy for you. Revelation will guide you in the mighty name of Jesus. Where the whole world is experiencing anxiety, it is peace you will enjoy. Where there is sadness, it is joy you will receive. In Jesus' name.