June 2020 – Fullness of Time – Recovery & Restoration

TEXTS: “And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:46); “And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And He answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:8); “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4)

Welcome to the sixth month of the year of the Great Turnaround. A month after instructions for dwelling upon Mount Zion were given, God is saying, “Now is the fullness of time for recovery and restoration.” Fullness of time means all the wait is over. Everything you’ve being aspiring, waiting, fasting, and praying for, God is saying, “I am going to fulfill it now.” God is about to bring to a conclusion the things you have been wondering about in your life. He will bring answers and solutions to all outstanding and lingering issues of your life.

There are three cardinal things you must know in dealing with God as you engage in the warfare of recovery and restoration: divine timing, waiting, and God fights for His people.  

UNDERSTAND GOD’S TIMING: God’s timing is not something unfamiliar to those who have a real and personal relationship with Christ. Corrie ten Boom talked of her experiences during World War II (WW2). In which, she stated that in all her years of trusting God, she had never known God to show up early neither had she ever known Him to be late; rather, God is always right on time. There have been some times in my own life that God absolutely scared me to death!

WAITING: A foundational part of God’s plan for every life is the discipline of waiting, to build patience into the character. However, there is a fullness of time that must come when all the desires of our hearts are fulfilled. Why? Look at the Word. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NLT) says, “There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.” There is a fullness of time that, according to God, has a beginning, and then a point of implementation, followed by an end. This verse says there is a time and a season for everything under heaven.  Everything means everything.

• Look at Abraham and Sarah. They had a promise from God. Genesis 21:1-2 (NLT) says, “The LORD kept His word and did for Sarah exactly what He had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.” 

GOD WILL HELP YOU FIGHT: God fights our battles usually by helping us to fight the battle. He typically will not take over the battle while we sit with ice cream and salad, waiting for Him to finish the job and hand us the trophy. In Deuteronomy 20:1 it says, “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies….”; So, you are responsible for confronting your enemies, and you do that by ‘going out’ against them – in ‘battle.’

Satan wants a man’s life to be a journey of emptiness, vanity, meaninglessness, and non-achievement. He will sponsor forces, powers and circumstances that will deny, dispossess, and disinherit a man of what God has packaged and programmed for him on earth. Potent praying will divinely empower a man to pursue his pursuers, overtake them, and recover all that has been stolen or taken away from his life.

Now, is the fullness of time to pursue by warfare. You must not give up until you overtake and recover all that you have lost. If you can persevere in prayer, you will take over. If you can pursue, you will definitely overtake those who have gone ahead of you in the past years.

12 ITEMS FOR YOUR DAILY CHECKLIST:

1. You must be born again – This is the first component of recovering and possessing your possession. It is non-negotiable. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  Old things must die if the King of Glory resides in your heart. Examine yourself daily to ensure you are remaining in Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10-11). Only those who endure and stay true to faith in Christ Jesus will be welcomed into heaven (Matthew 24:12-13; Mark 13:13).
2. Never speak or think negatively about yourself again – Negative confessions and thinking are anti-God. He said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” As a man thinks in his heart, so is he; think like Jesus.
3. You must have a divine encounter – Study the Bible well. Every man or woman that God used to make impact had divine encounters. Jacob, Isaac, Isaiah, Job, etc. This is your month to start having divine encounters, in Jesus’ Name.
4. Let your flesh die – Your flesh is your enemy. Trading insult for insult is because your flesh is still active. There’s the story of a pianist that performed and wowed the crowd, yet he look dejected. Eventually, when he was asked why, he looked up at the gallery and said, “My eyes are on my coach. If he is not pleased, it means I’ve not followed his instructions.” You must perform only for the audience of one – Jesus!
5. Be filled with the Holy Ghost – Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” It is important to learn to pray in the Holy Ghost for a minimum of one hour a day, no matter how busy your schedule (Jude 1:20).
6. Be a prayer addict – 1 Thess. 5:17,” Pray without ceasing.” Prayer is standing in His Presence like Elijah (James 5:16-17). It is the railroad which God conveys His blessings.  It unlocks the gates of heaven and closes the gates of hell. Prayer is the master key. A praying man will stop sinning and a sinning man will stop praying! Mark 1:35-38
   1. Because the devil does not bow to a prayer-less saint.
   2. It is on the kneels that every spiritual abortion of dreams is resisted, it is there all miscarriage of visions are appropriately dealt with
   3. The man that will find God is the man who will seek Him. God is not found where he is not sought.  He reveals Himself to the longing soul
7. Be Word-saturated – Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Read the Word, hear the Word, study the Word, memorize the Word, and meditate on the Word daily.
8. Engage in purposeful fasting – Fasting restrains our physical pleasure, but it enhances our spiritual pleasure. Our greatest pleasure comes by feasting on the person of Jesus. Fasting reduces the influence of our self-will and invites the Holy Spirit to do more intense work in us. “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21
9. Do not compare yourself to anybody – “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12). Stop the comparison game because you are created for a purpose and an assignment (Acts 13:36).
10. Live a holy life! – Why? To continue to enjoy His love and mercy, to carry His nature, and to enjoy the earthly and heavenly good in life. Holiness attracts the blessing of the LORD, favor, and uncommon overflowing blessing (1 Peter 1:15-16; Genesis 17:1-3). A holy man or woman of God is also humble!
11. Choose right relationships – Relationships are the currency of the Kingdom. Therefore, you must choose the right relationships. 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB) says, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”” Pray before you marry and pray before you make friends.
12. Conquer your fears – In times of crises, fear kills more and faster than the actual factors of each crisis. Fear paralyzes, intimidates, and binds you.  When Jairus was told not to bother waiting on Jesus, the first thing Jesus told him was “Fear not, only believe” (Mark 5:36). “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 1:6).

This month you will overtake those ahead of you, those who are more gifted than you, more connected than you, more intelligent than you, far superior to you. Never envy or compare yourself to anyone. That they are ahead of you now does not mean they will finish ahead of you. The good news is:

• John the Baptist arrived very late, but when he arrived, he shocked the whole of Israel. Your God will fight for you. Stop beating yourself, you will overpower every lion in your den; you will conquer by fire, in the Name of Jesus.
• If Elijah with his two legs overtook Ahab on a horse, this is your fullness of time to outsmart and overtake all your competitors.

PRAYERS:

• Heavenly Father, I thank You for what You are doing in my life right now and for the greater things You plan to do. Thank You for sending Your Son to be my Savior and for adopting me as Your child.
• I confess and renounce any sin that is enforcing any satanic embargo on my life. I receive total forgiveness through the blood of Jesus.
• Let the thunder of God strike the foundation of every embargo placed on my destiny, in Jesus’ Name.
• Lay your hand on your head and declare; I will pursue, overtake and recover all that the enemy has stolen from my life, my marriage, my business, and my relationships. For when the thief be caught, he shall restore double (Exodus 22:4), by the Blood of Jesus.
• Any power challenging God’s peace, laughter, and joy in my life, or any power assigned to kill me before my time, I command that they be arrested by the Holy Ghost’s fire. Let them be arrested (7x), in Jesus’ mighty Name!
• I receive the anointing of Elijah to outrun every chariot of Ahab to my Jezreel, in Jesus’ Name.
• PRAISE THE LORD, THE GOD OF ELIJAH IS STILL ALIVE…
• Holy Ghost shatter every satanic mirror assigned to monitor my life, my destiny and my progress in life. Scatter by fire (7x)!
• Let every veil blinding the eyes of souls to the knowledge of Christ be torn to pieces, in Jesus’ Name.
• Thank you, Father, for the fullness of time for my recovery and restoration has finally come.