Felix Ngunjiri Gichuri

DAILY DEVOTIONALS BASED ON THE BOOK OF JOB 22:21-28:

“Acquaint yourself now with the Lord, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto you. Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, you shall put away iniquity far from your tabernacles. Then shall you lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be your defence, and you shall have plenty of silver. For then shall you have your delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face unto God. You shall make your prayer unto him, and he shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows. You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.” (Job 22:21-28)

The book of Job chapter 22 verses 21-28 gives us the seven steps that we humans should devote ourselves to on daily basis if we want to decree a thing and it shall be established unto us. Devote yourself to be reading each of the seven verses, one verse for each day, as spiritual food for your soul and you will be given power by the Almighty God to decree a thing and it shall be established unto you. The first scripture for your first day devotion (quiet time with God reading and meditating on His word) should reveal to you how to learn to acquaint yourself with the Lord. The next five verses are your devotionals (a devotional is a short inspirational piece of Christian scripture for each day) for the next five days of the week and they will reveal to you what you should do for each of those days so to maintain an intimate acquaintance with the Lord. The seventh verse for the seventh day should be the climax of the week as the Lord will give you power to become “a son of God” (John 1:12) and “a king and priest unto God.” (Rev. 1:5-6)

The daily devotions from the scripture reading above are listed here below: learning how to acquaint yourself with the Lord, receiving the word from the Lord and hiding it in your heart, returning to the Lord and He will build you up, throwing your gold in the dust and making the Almighty to be your defense, delighting yourself in the Lord, calling upon the Lord and He will answer you and decreeing a thing and it shall be established unto you.

DAY 1 – LEARN HOW TO ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH THE LORD

“Acquaint now yourself with the Lord, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto you.” (Job 22:21)

What Is Acquainting Yourself with The Lord?

Eliphaz, Job’s self-righteous friend, challenged Job to make himself right with God, ironically advising him to make himself right with God by acquainting himself with the Lord and he will be at peace and that the goodness of the Lord shall come upon him.  The word acquaint is derived from the Hebrew word ‘sawcan’ which is translated as “becoming familiar with,” “yield” or “submit.” Acquaint means familiarize yourself with, be conversant with, get to know somebody so as to make him or her your friend, be a friend to, get into talking terms with or to be in agreement with somebody and enjoying his or her company.

To Acquaint Yourself with The Lord Jesus, You Have to Turn Away from The Old Life of Sin to A New Life in Jesus Christ

To acquaint yourself with the Lord Jesus, you have to turn away from your old life of sin to a new life in Him by being ‘a born again believer.’ God’s ringing edict issued from heaven through Jesus Christ the Son of God says, ‘you must be born again’ (John 3:7 [KJV]), not of flesh that you were born of, but your human spirit must be born of the Spirit of God. For “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6 [KJV]) To be born again of the Spirit is to be born again by the power that created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:2, Psalm 33:6, Job 26:13) One gets born again by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 8:11), by the same power Jesus used to perform miracles here on earth with. To be born again is to be regenerated in newness of life in Jesus Christ and you become a new creature. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

When you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour in your heart, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and that is how you will be born again, not of the flesh, but born again of the Spirit. Peter is saying to you now, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission/forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

When you “receive the word of God, in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; and if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-9) That is how you get saved and born again after being baptized with the Holy Spirit who empowers you to share the good news of the kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ Baptizes His Acquaintances with The Holy Spirit

Salvation alone is not enough as the saved person is still tied to his or her old nature: the nature of sin. You must be born again and then be delivered from all traces of your old nature. Christ will baptize you (fill and immerse your human spirit into His Holy Spirit) if you befriend Him and become His acquaintance so that you will be full of Himself.  John the Baptist baptized with water only, but Jesus Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist had said that God the Father had told him that “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33 NKJV). That is why John the Baptist said of Jesus, “I indeed baptize you with water, but He (Christ) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8 NKJV) so that you will be full of Christ, the Anointed One of God. “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 [ESV2011])

John Baptized the Body but Christ Baptizes the Soul

John baptized/immersed the body only, cleansing the physical body. Christ baptizes the soul, cleansing and transforming your mind, emotions and will with the power of the Holy Spirit. Once your human soul is saved, your soul will be connected with the regenerated/rejuvenated human spirit so that Jesus Christ is enthroned in your heart (spirit) as Lord of your whole being, set apart for His purpose and your spirit, soul and body is preserved blameless at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. “May your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

Repent and Dethrone The Old Man in You

To be baptized with the Holy Spirit, you should repent of all your sins and dethrone the sinful self, that old sinful man in you, that is reigning in your heart. Once you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ in your heart as your Lord, the Holy Spirit will be poured upon you. Being filled/baptized/immersed in the Holy Spirit turns you from the old life of sin to a new life in Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit confirms/seals you as ‘born again.’

After being born again, Jesus has redeemed you and reconciled you to God and He becomes Lord of your life. You are no longer your own, for you were bought with a price. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1Cor 6:19-20 [ESV2011]) after you are born again and counted as saved, that does not shield you from temptations of the devil. The Holy Spirit in you should take charge of your spirit and deliver your spirit by empowering you to ‘put down the old man of sin and his decay engendered by fleshly lusts’ and ‘put on the new man whose mind has been renewed,’ (that is, “your mind has been made young in the spiritual nature of the inner man, that is the spirit of man, who is sustained by the Spirit of God). God is commanding each one of us to “Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which is now created in the likeness of God in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph 4:22-24 [KJV])

The “old man” you were born with and inherited is dead in Adam and the “new man that is now you” is alive in Christ. Put on the new man Jesus Christ inside and outside of you every moment of your life so that you remain the new man, which is now created in the likeness of God in righteousness and true holiness all the way to the Second Coming of the Lord. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the desires of the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:14, King James Bible)

To Acquaint Yourself with The Lord, Make Him Your King

To acquaint yourself with the Lord Jesus, accept him as your King and as your Lord. To acquaint yourself with the Lord Jesus is to be in agreement with Him by having a daily walk with Him as your friend. The Bible says that two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3) You acquaint yourself with the Lord by “walking with the Lord in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), by talking to Him and worshipping Him always. Jesus Christ will cover you with Himself and come into your heart as the Holy Spirit and dwell in your spirit as your Lord so that you testify that “Christ is in you, your hope of glory.” (Col 1:27) You will then start knowing Him personally because He will be your Resident Tutor (Teacher, Lord or JEHOVAH or YAHWEH or the I AM in John 13:13), teaching you His ways, His commandments, and then He will help you to obey and worship the Father in heaven through Jesus Christ your Lord. True worshippers are required to “worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. For God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 [KJV])

 You acquaint yourself with the Lord by going where He wants you to go, seeing what He wants you to see, hearing what He wants you to hear, feeling His presence in your spirit and obeying the voice of the Lord your God that commands you to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind” (Matthew 22:37). Jesus told His disciples that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,” ((John 14:15-16 [ESV2011]) When you accept Jesus in your heart as your Lord and your Saviour, submit your self unto Him by surrendering your life to His sovereign rule and ownership. When you surrender your life to the Lordship and sovereignty of Jesus, He becomes your sovereign King, Lord, ruler, Master, boss, controller, governor and sustainer of your life. Let the Holy Spirit given to us by our Lord Jesus control your whole body, soul and spirit in Jesus’ name on what you should see, do, hear, love, decide, choose think, reason, remember and believe so that you look only unto Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2)

Let The Holy Spirit Control Your Whole Body, Soul and Spirit

 When Jesus abides in you as your Lord and Saviour, you and the Holy Spirit become connected together because you abide in Him and He abides in you. When you have the Holy Spirit, Christ abides in you as you abide in Him. Jesus Christ said, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5 [KJV]) “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 [HCSB])

When the Lord is in you and you in Him, He will control your whole life. Let the Holy Spirit control what you lay your hands on so that you only touch that which will glorify the Lord, laying your hands on the sick and they get healed (Mark 16:18, Acts 28:8). Let Holy Spirit to be lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (Eph 6:15 [ESV2011]) “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Rom 10:15 [KJV])

Let the Holy Spirit help your body to “flee youthful lusts” (2 Tim2:22) by putting to death your members. “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire/lust, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5, New American Standard Bible). Let the Holy Spirit direct you to solely rely on hearing the word of God and hiding the word of God in your heart. Let the Holy Spirit control your soul in Jesus’ name to cleanse, transform and renewing your mind so that you may prove for yourselves the good and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). Let the Holy Spirit cleanse your memories so that whatever is not true is sieved and cast out. “Whatsoever things are true,… think only on those things.” (Phil 4:8) Let the Holy Spirit under guard your emotions/desires/lusts/urges and will so that you do only that which will please the Lord by like Paul keeping your body under control. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away.” (1 Cor. 9:27, Webster’s Bible Translation )

Let the Holy Spirit be in union with your human spirit so that Him and your spirit take charge of your whole being: spirit, soul and body. In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul said, “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” So when we call on the Lord’s name, we’re in His Spirit, and your human spirit enjoys union with Him, our human spirit calling upon the Holy Spirit. To call on the Lord is to call on His name, crying out to Him from deep within, calling out to the name of the Lord Jesus audibly. It is connecting the human spirit with the Spirit of God so that God dwells in the human spirit taking charge of your spirit, soul and body.

Holy Spirit is Given to Believers to Empower Them Preach Christ to the Nations

Jesus promised to give the Holy Spirit to those who shall repent of their sins and accept Him in their hearts as Lord (Acts 1:3-5 [ESV2011]). He promised His disciples that “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 [ESV2011])

And on the day of Pentecost, Christ kept His promise and sent His Holy Spirit down here on earth. What followed after that was too marvellous for the disciples to imagine. Speaking in tongues, witnessing boldly that Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ to thousands who believed and repented for remission of their sins, attending crusades and keshas, having hilarious fellowships with other believers punctuated by holy hugs, laying hands on the sick and the sick getting healed in Jesus’ name. The new experience of living Holy Ghost filled life was the best the apostles had ever lived since they were born. It was too good to be true for some of them. The new spiritual life had turned the apostles into instant crowd pulling heroes, and celebrities, and crowd pullers, being followed by miracle seeking multitudes some watching them from rooftops and others from tops of trees. But God was not happy with the way the apostles were enjoying themselves with the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon them. Jesus in heaven looked down and noted that they had become so spiritual that they had forgotten the commission that He had given them to be His witnesses in Judaea, Samaria and in the whole world. He had told them to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15 ESV)

God was fed up with their complacency, contentment and procrastination and had to look for an arrangement that would get them out of Jerusalem to go and preach to the outside world. God’s judgement was instant and it came fast and furious upon them in form of whippings, stoning, jailings and persecutions to force them to move out of Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the region of Judaea, Samaria and Asia. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad (by the persecutions) went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:4-8 [KJV])

Holy Spirit is given to believers to accompany them in bringing joy to the whole world by preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with power and authority.

DAY 2 – RECEIVE THE LAW FROM HIS MOUTH AND STORE UP HIS WORDS IN YOUR HEART

“Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart” (Job 22:22)

Take the rules and commandments from God, from His word and hide them in your heart. David, assumed to have written Psalm 119, says that “​With my whole heart I seek you O Lord; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (Ps 119:10-16 [ESV2011])

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut 6:1-5 [KJV]) For the word of God is sweeter than honey. “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.” (Ps 119:103-106 [KJV])

“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, MSG)

God is telling you right now that “it shall come to pass that, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake you, if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deut 28:1-2 [KJV])

Hiding the Word in our hearts is part of getting closer to God. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) The word ‘hid’ means to hide away as a great treasure. One of the ways ancients would protect possession of precious value was to hide them away. Many times burying them where no one could find them. They had no security systems or safety deposit boxes to stow their treasures away. They hid them. God is telling us to hide His word away in our hearts. His precious limitless valuable words and promises should be considered great treasures, and hidden away in our hearts! Our hearts are the center of our being. The part that cannot be seen. The heart contains our mind, intellect, emotion, memory and will. God is telling us to keep His words hidden in our hearts but not forgotten.

There is a reason the psalmist is encouraging us to hide God’s word in our hearts. Having the treasure of God’s word hidden in a safe in our hearts will help us fight against sin for we battle against sin and against powers of darkness. “Take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17) When we hide God’s word within our hearts, we can draw it out like a double-edged sword from its sheath and use it to fight evil in our lives. “And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” (Rev 12:11 [KJV]) And according to the Bible, the power of the shed blood of Jesus and the word of God are the only offensive weapons we have against the devil.

DAY 3 –RETURN TO THE ALMIGHTY AND YOU SHALL BE BUILT UP/RESTORED

“If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up and restored or re-established: you shall put away iniquity far from your tabernacles.” (Job 22:23)

Eliphaz accuses Job of having fallen away from God, urging him to turn to God, repent of his misdoings, and he will be received again y the Lord with favour. Eliphaz is assuring Job that if he returns to God, he shall be built up; i.e. “restored, re-established! Job shall be required to ‘put away iniquity far from his tabernacles (booths, dwellings, temporary shelters or tents, possesssions), if he wants to be restored and re-established, for God is holy. (Compare Job 11:14, where Zophar implies that Job’s tents have ill-gotten gains concealed in them).

The word of God for you today is telling you that “If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up and restored/re-established.” “If you return to the Almighty, you shall be given power to put away iniquity far from your tabernacles.” If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up again, by your former prosperity being again raised from its ruins. Come back to God Almighty and he’ll rebuild your life. Word of God tells you and I to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8, NASB) We draw near to God through prayer and worship. When we come before him with a humble heart, in submission to His will, and with a desire to glorify Him as Lord over our lives, we are able to experience the closeness of God and all the blessings that follow. God commands us to make the first move of seeking Him and He promises to draw near to us in a wonderful reconciliation.

Isaiah proclaimed, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7 NIV). God called out, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you” (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

Jesus taught that coming close to God is life’s top priority—the one thing that undergirds everything else: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), God yearns to be reunited with His wayward children.

DAY 4 – THROW YOUR GOLD IN THE DUST

“Throw your gold in the dust – your gold of Ophir among the rocks in the ravines. “Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver” (Job 22:24-25)

Eliphaz is exhorting Job to treat gold like dust, and consider the gold of Ophir (that gold that you have hidden in an offshore account in that faraway country Eliphaz called Ophir) as the stones of the brook. Consider the best things as worthless in comparison with God. Do not be excited with your gold. We must renounce our gold in order that we may attain Him who is much greater than gold. Lose your treasures to find them.

Lose your life to save it. Luke 9:23-24 explains the necessity of self-denial for those who would follow him: “And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Jesus requires a radical condition for his followers: to enjoy the crown of life, we must first endure the cross of death.

It important that we understand the economy of God. His economy does not operate by the same principles that the world’s economy does. The Lord’s economy operates according to His divine precepts. While many fail to understand, in God’s economy, gain often comes through loss. Those who are willing to lose what they consider precious and valuable actually gain much from the Lord.

Paul said that for you to gain Christ, you have to lose the worldly treasures. He said, “Furthermore I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord (the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”); for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8, Douay-Rheims Bible) Lose to gain.

His blessings and benefits exceed any this world can provide. “As it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1Cor 2:9 [ESV2011]) Once you lose the worldly for Christ’s sake, you gain the godly.

 “And I say this, brothers: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.” (1Cor 7:29-31 [HCSB])

Christ has an interesting way of dealing with our losses. Our weaknesses become His strength.

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10) God prefers to intervene in our lives when we are empty by filling our emptiness with Himself. Jesus emptied Himself of the glory He had in heaven to redeem (gain back) fallen man for God. Paul told the Philippian church that “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

Job on the other hand lost everything to gain all he desired. The prodigal son was emptied of all he had in wild living and that was when he came to himself and went back to the father who had all he required (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus Christ Himself lost His earthly life to gain eternal life for all who believe in Him and He wants you to empty your heart of all that which you consider important so that He comes in to be your Lord and Saviour and Redeemer. Empty yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, being God, and is jealous and will not share the seat of God in your spirit with any other spirit. Paul exhorted the Ephesian church “That you put off concerning the former conversation with the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Eph 4:22-23 [KJV])

 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” (Col 3:9-10 [KJV])

Throw away your treasures to receive them. Then the Almighty himself will be your gold, and the choicest silver for you. Plant your gold in the dust so that it germinates and it will grow into a big golden tree that will bless you and others. Throw your bread into the sea and in due time it will come back to you. “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

If you make God your protector, he shall be treasures of silver unto you. Yea, the Almighty shall be your defense; rather, your treasure. The general meaning of the passage seems to be, “However rich you may be in the precious metals, your true treasure – that which you will value most – should be the Almighty God Himself.” It is either you shall have plenty of silver; or He shall be precious silver unto you. “The Almighty God shall be treasures of silver unto you;” that is, He shall be better to you than an abundance of the precious metals. The Hebrew is literally, “And silver of treasures unto you.” Then the Almighty will be your gold and choice silver to you. Make the Lord your defense and your protection, surrounding you to protect you. If you make the Almighty your treasure, He will build a hedge around you the same way God had formed a protective hedge around Job. The devil complained to God how Job was mightily protected. “Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:10 [HCSB]) “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” (Ps 125:2 [ESV2011])

DAY 5 – DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD

“Delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face toward God” (Job 22:26)

Delight yourself in the Lord. How can we expect to delight in God if we don’t know Him, and how can we expect to know Him if we never spend time with Him? Prayers of all kinds at all times, in-depth Bible study, Scripture memorization, fellowship with other people who know God well, and being in His presence to worship Him will help us to delight ourselves in the Lord. In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. David said that he will praise the Lord who counsels him, adoringly telling Him that “you reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forever more.” (Ps 16:11 [HCSB])

To spend time with God is to get to know Him, and once you know Him, you enjoy His goodness, loving kindness, mercies that endure for ever. To enjoy God is to be so caught up in enjoying His excellences, the wonders of His creation and His tender mercies that little else matters.

God created us with a body that longs to admire and delight in knowledge of who God is, His worthiness to receive our praise, as we get mesmerized at the wonders of His excellent greatness. As the body longs, our soul thirsts and our spirit seeks God. True delight in Him causes us to take our sights off of what we want in order to long for what He expects of us. God expects us to walk in His ways pleasing Him always, exhorting us to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:10 [ESV2011]) “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7) When we rejoice in the Lord, Christ will come in and dwell in our hearts and when the Prince of Peace prophesied in Isaiah 9:6 is in us, all our worries and fears will become His to sort out on our behalf so that we experience peace and hope in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 37 gives a promise that if we “delight ourselves in God, He will give us the desires of our hearts.” (Psalm 37:4-7) When you rejoice in the Lord, He promises to “bless you and keep you; the Lord will make his face shine upon you and He will be gracious to you; the Lord will turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) Job was being told, and we are also being told right now, that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart and He will be gracious to us as He gives us His peace. Not the peace that the world gives but the peace of God that surpasses human understanding. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

DAY 6 –  CALL UPON THE LORD AND HE WILL ANSWER YOU

 “You will pray to him and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him” (Job 22:27)

You will pray to the Lord, and He will hear you. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. God is telling you to “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jer 33:3 [ESV2011])

 “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24 King James Version KJV) The God of the universe invites you to speak to Him—at any time. Talk to the King of kings and Lord of lords now.

“Call to me…”

It is an astounding and undervalued fact that the creator of the whole universe knows you personally. It is even more astounding that he wants to hear from you. And if that were not incredible enough, he promises to answer you when you call on him. God is asking you, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27 Amplified Bible). JESUS said unto the father of a boy with an unclean spirit, and He is telling you today, that “If you can believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE to him THAT BELIEVES.” (Mark 9:23)

 “…and I will answer you…”

When we call on the Lord, let us set our minds on seeking the truth. It is understandable to call on God for a certain answer that we want, but let us learn to seek Him for His best answer. If at first you do not like the answer that God gives when you call, stay in His presence and ask Him to help you conform to His. Let Him teach you to love what He loves, to think as He thinks, and to do what He does.

You cannot ask too much or too often. God’s only rebuke is that we do not ask. “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3 [ESV2011])

For God is so loving to them who call upon His name. “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” (Psalm 86:5, English Standard Version)

The Lord says that “He who shall call upon Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” (Psalm 91.15-16) 

 Jesus said, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, THAT WILL I DO, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I WILL DO IT” John 14:13, 14. We ask and God acts. That is the way prayer works.

Then, Eliphaz adds, thou shalt pay thy vows. After God answers your prayers, He expects you to fulfill your vows to him as a form of thanksgiving. God will give you wealth enough, and strength enough, to pay any vows that you have made to the Lord, which now in your afflicted state you cannot do. The performance of vows, which was strictly enjoined in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 23:21), must at all times have been felt as obligatory by the natural conscience. In making requests in prayer it was customary to make a vow to sacrifice or offer unto the Lord if the prayer was granted.

The sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving which he promised to offer up to God, should He grant him the desires of his heart; and these being granted, he would be laid under obligation to perform his promises and pay his vows. In the Old Testament, a vow was a promise to worship God with a certain offering in the future, motivated by gratitude for God’s grace in the life of the offerer. The reason for the delay in making the offering was that the offerer was not able, at that moment to make the offering. The vow was made, promising to offer something to God if God would intervene on behalf of the individual. In the New Testament, Christ clarified that the important thing was for people to keep their promise truthfully. “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matt 5:37 [ESV2011]) On the same note, the Lord tells us to be thankful always for all things. “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1Thess 5:18 [KJV]) “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5:20 [KJV])

DAY 7 – DECREE A THING AND IT SHALL BE ESTABLISHED UNTO YOU

” Thou shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.” (Job 22:28)

After familiarizing yourself with the Lord Jesus, then accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. Then start working with Him as your partner in the ministry of preaching Christ to others. As you listen to the voice of the Lord your God, obeying His commandments, statutes, promises and your intentional desire to be in fellowship with Him, and you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your life, God promised to give you power to be called sons of God.

When You Believe in Jesus and Make Him Your Lord, He Will Give You Power to be Called Sons of God

Those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord of their life will be given power to become sons of God because “as many as received Him (including those who have receive Him now), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12 [KJV]) To be given the power to be called sons of God is to be next in line as an heir to inherit all what God has in His Kingdom including His power and His authority. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is the natural “heir” of the Father. “God said to him, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father” (Hebrews 5:5; cf. Psalm 2:7). Christ’s inheritance is the whole universe, all that is in existence: Hebrews 1:2 says that the Son has been “appointed heir of all things” in the kingdom of God. Paul exclaims that all the promises that God made to Abraham are fulfilled by Jesus and given to us. We are first of all heirs of the promise. God told Abraham that, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). “And if ye be Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:29 [KJV]) “That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6 [KJV]).

Being a co-heir with Christ means that we, as heirs we will share in the inheritance of Jesus. What belongs to Jesus will also belong to whoever believes in Him and accepts Him as Lord and Saviour of his/her life.

The Lord Jesus Will Make You a Priest If You Make Him High Priest in Your Heart

Secondly the Lord Jesus will make you a priest to be offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Just as the priests of the Old Covenant brought the animals before God to be offered as sacrifices which had to be acceptable to God, we who have been made priests by “the Lord Jesus Our Great High Priest” (Heb 7:27) are required to offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God. God commands us to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1) Offer to God all of your human faculties: your feet, your hands, your mind, your eyes, your mouth, your ears. God wants it all for His glory. As a priest, offer unto God your praise as spiritual sacrifice. “Through Jesus Christ, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name.” (Hebrews 13:15) Other spiritual sacrifices we should offer unto God include prayerful life (Rev. 8:3), doing good (Hebrews 13:16), offering the souls of those “you have been privileged to lead to Christ” (Romans 15:16), “walking in love (let your life be characterized by love), just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma, so should you.” (Ephesians 5:2)

The Lord Jesus Will Make You a King if You Make Him King in Your Life

When you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, He will come into your heart and help you to dethrone your sinful self, that old sinful man in you (mentioned in Ephesians 8:3), and you will be renewed in the spirit of your mind to have the mind of Christ, and you will be required to put on the new man, “the new creature” (mentioned in 2 Cor. 5:17) who “has put on Christ” (Rom. 13:14, Gal. 3:27), because you will have been re-created in God’s image, [godlike] in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

 After believing in Jesus Christ and making Him your Lord, “God will give you power to be called a son of God” (John 1:12), and “make you a king and priest unto God our Father” (Rev. 1:5-6), and your regenerated human spirit will connect with the Spirit of Christ and you will surrender to the rulership of Christ. Surrendering your life to the sovereign rulership of Jesus Christ enthrones Him in your heart (spirit) as your Lord and King. That tells you that Jesus Christ, the King of kings (Rev. 17:14) comes into your heart (spirit) and He will be enthroned there inside your heart’s throne room. When Christ is enthroned in your heart (spirit), He comes bringing a new throne, the Throne of the Kingdom of God in your heart. Christ, ruling in you from this throne will produce a new, radical rulership of righteousness and true holiness. Even though you are still alive, it’s really not you living but Christ living in your heart. All that has changed; there is a new “boss” in you; Christ lives in you. You can then confess that “Christ is in you, your hope of glory.” (Col 1:27) The devil who had teamed up with the old man of sin in your heart has been dethroned. You can then confess like Paul that “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Having been made a king in the Kingdom of God here on earth, you will be making decrees as king about a thing and it shall be stablished unto you if you decree it in Jesus’ name. Because of receiving Jesus in your heart and making Him Lord of your life, royal power will have been crowned on you and you shall have power and authority delegated to you as a king in the Kingdom of God here on earth. Power will be delegated to you as long as Christ is in you, where Holy Spirit in you gives you power to make a decree about a thing and it shall be established unto you because kings rule by decrees.

 Believers are made kings and priests unto God and the Father in Jesus name for having accepted Jesus Christ Himself as our Lord and Saviour where He washed us from our sins in His own blood. As one of the royals who are being trained in the church (the Royal Academy for princes) for the rest of your life (unless you quit school), you will be taught by preachers how to carry yourself as a priest and a king in the Kingdom of God. As you grow into maturity in the royal academy, the Holy Spirit in you will allow you to exercise the power and authority delegated to you by Jesus Christ the King of kings and the Lord of lords in form of issuing decrees about a thing in His name and it shall be established unto you. A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state such as the president of a republic or a monarch/king and it becomes a royal decree backed by the full force of the law from the moment it is proclaimed.

Believers have power to decree a thing and it is established unto them because they are kings and priests and princes in the kingdom of God and have been given power and authority to issue decrees about a thing and it shall be established unto them, only if you proclaim it in Jesus name because “greater is He in you, (the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14, Rev. 19:16) than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4, Col 1:27).

Decree What You Want in The Name of Jesus and You Will Get It

Believers with royal power delegated to them after Christ makes them kings can decree what they want in the name of Jesus and they will get it but there is a disclaimer. Before you decree what you want, be warned that if you decree what you do not want (like “I would rather die,” “this disease is killing me”), you will get it because the more you say it, the more your heart works to make it happen. Furthermore, God always gives us the desires of our hearts.

“And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be you cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:22-24 [KJV])

Jesus told His disciples, “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt 17:20 [HCSB])

Jesus told His disciples that if only you have faith in God as small as a mustard seed, you can speak what you want. You can speak the answer to your question. You can speak the solution to your problem. You can speak to a fig tree/problem/negative word spoken against you and command it to dry and “it will dry that same hour just like Jesus said.” (Matt 21:21 [HCSB], Mark 11:22 [HCSB])

 You can command your problem to dry up from the roots up and it will disappear. Command the storm to be still and it will obey your command. Tell the disease that has been planted in your body by the devil to be removed and cast into the sea and if you shall not doubt in your heart, but shall believe that those things which you say shall come to pass; you shall have whatsoever you say. Command it to be removed and be cast into the sea and never come back to you in Jesus’ name and it shall be done according to what you shall have said.

Command your day by prophesying over your day on you want done for you by Our Father in heaven. Every day is like a blank cheque. If you don’t fill it in, the devil will, because life abhors vacuum. There are things that should not happen to us, and we can command the day not to allow those things to happen. Like God, we can, with our words, create what we want to see in the day, week, month and years ahead. Open your mouth and command the things you want to see today in Jesus’ name. Start decreeing a thing about you with your mouth in Jesus’ name to command your day.

I DECREE AND DECLARE THAT TODAY:

“No weapon formed against me will succeed today, and every tongue that rise against me today, I condemn/cancel/silence/declare of no effect.” (Isaiah 54:17) BECAUSE  “Greater is He who is in me that he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4) AND “I have authority to trample on serpents and scorpions (mountains, storms in the sea, the devil, demons), and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me.” (Luke 10:19)

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.” (Psalm 125:2-3, King James Version)

“When I pass through the waters, the Lord will be with me; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm me; when I walk through fire I shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume me. For He is the LORD my God, the Holy One of Israel, my Savior. He give Egypt as my ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for me.” (Isa 43:2-3 [ESV2011])

I DECREE AND DECLARE THAT TODAY: “We (my family and I) shall prosper and we shall be in good health TODAY, even as our souls prosper.” (3 John 1:2) BECAUSE “By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24)

THE WORD OF GOD ALSO COMMANDS THAT:

“I shall not die (or be sick) but I shall live to declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17) AND

 “Death and life are in the power of my tongue” (Proverbs18:21) “Because I am precious in His eyes, and honored, and He loves me, He give men in return for me, peoples in exchange for my life.” (Isa 43:4 [ESV2011])

GOD HAS GIVEN ME POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD:

“I shall also decree a thing today, and it shall be established unto me: and the light shall shine upon my ways.” (Job 22:21-28)

AND TODAY:

“I have been given power to say unto every mountain/problem/challenge/ storm/disease, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and I SHALL HAVE WHATSOEVER I SAY.” (Mark 11:23, Luke 10:19)

AND:

“Whatsoever I shall ask in the name of JESUS, that will YOU do O LORD, that YOU OUR FATHER may be glorified in your SON.” (John 14:13[KJV])

Amen.