Let us start by saying the following prayer points:
1. Every closed door of blessing, open, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every pillar of witchcraft in my family, die, in Jesus’ name.
3. Every dark power that has ever visited me at night, what are you waiting for? Die, in Jesus’ name.
4. O God, arise and let my enemy know that you are my God, in Jesus’ name.
5. Satanic conspiracy against my destiny, scatter, in Jesus’ name.
Psalm 16:11: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
There are times that our joy is not full, but in God’s presence, there is fullness of joy. Sometimes ago, a white man who is a psychiatric doctor and a Christian shared with me that one man often came to him complaining that he was unhappy, depressed, and could not go out to see other people, that his world was upside down, everything was very bad for him and he wondered why God was so unfair. But in that city, where the psychiatric doctor was working, this man called Dong Alex had an amusement centre where youths spent time for music, fun, pleasure and amusement. The Christian doctor once said to Dong Alex: “But many young Christians came to your amusement center to cool off, and I find that in all your complaint you have never mentioned that place at all.” So, Alex’s amusement center could not help him.
The world is a terrible place full of suicide and other kinds of terrible things. The Bible says that as the end of the age is getting close, evil men shall wax stronger and stronger. Any time I read that Scripture I am scared. For the Bible to say that evil men will get stronger means that you and I should get stronger too. Today, there is famine, war, depression, divorce, bitterness and hatred all over the world. Now, many marriages are marriages of conveniences.
Things like happiness, joy and contentment are becoming scarce commodities, even among Christians. Therefore many people are constantly seeking after happiness, contentment and joy. Look around you: the majority of people you see have never really found true and lasting happiness. Some even believe that there is no such thing as happiness and they believe that the only thing is to go to heaven where there is happiness. But the fellow who wants to go to heaven is still keeping malice. Is there any such a thing as true happiness? The Bible says, “Yes.” As a Christian, you are supposed to be happy. God expects it; He commands that His people must be happy. Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God are not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Philippians 3: 1: “Finally my brethen, rejoice in the Lord.”
Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice.” I Thessalonians 5:16: “Rejoice Evermore,” it does not say, “Rejoice for sometime." Acts 13:52: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.” John 16: 22: “And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no man taketh from you.” Verse 33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Nehemiah 8:10: “Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” These scriptures are to show you that God commands and expects that His people should always rejoice. There are many other Scriptures that tell us our position.
2 Corinthians 6:10: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” 2 Corinthians 7: 4: “Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” That is supposed to be the state of the Christian. We as Christians should have happiness and joy in our hearts.
Biblical or divine joy is different from earthly joy. When you say earthly joy. Earthly joy is when somebody’s team or group was in a contest and the person is rejoicing. But the same person becomes sad when his team loses.
Somebody carried his wares to the market on Monday and sold very well, he was happy and went home rejoicing. The next day, the mobile police and the council workers came and scattered and carried away most of his wares. The same person who was happy on Monday was now sad. That was earthly joy.
Somebody won a contract and was rejoicing and thanking God. He borrowed money and executed the contract and then asked for payment, and they told him that the man to sign the cheque just died. So, the man who was rejoicing for winning a contract becomes a debtor and is now sad. Somebody had a baby and was rejoicing. After four years that child he was rejoicing over now said, “I am a witch.” The joy vanishes.
Somebody found a wife and they came to the altar on the wedding day and were smiling. Soon after, the same man started kicking the woman and beating her. The other day, a sister came, drew up her skirt and showed me where her husband beat her with a belt. But there was a day they came to the altar to exchange marital vows, on that day, they were very happy. That was earthly joy. Now, the situation is different.
Luke 10: 17-20: “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld satan as lighting fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” The disciples were very happy. But Jesus told them that if the demon accepted to leave and their names were not in the book of life, it was disaster.
Note these important statements:
1. Earthly joy is different from divine joy.
2. Happiness is not something you stumble upon by accident.
3. Happiness cannot be bought, sold or traded. Money can buy medicine but not health.
4. Happiness does not depend on money. Some very rich men died miserable men.
5. Happiness is a state of the mind and you are entitled to it as a Christian.
6. Being reasonable is a choice.
7. Happiness and joy are keys to receiving from the Lord.
8. Without joy you cannot draw water out of the well of salvation. Isaiah 12:3: “Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” And verse 6: “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitants of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” So the shouting side is the winning side.
9. Sad things happen to sad people.
10. The devil hates believers who laugh him to scorn and refuse to get depressed. Anybody who is rejoicing and praising God everyday, the day he is depressed and is not singing the enemy will notice and say, “What is happening? He is not praising God today.” And he may use that day as an opportunity to attack the person.
11. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that all believers must sow (Galatians 5:22). So, if you do not have joy, you are a fruitless Christian.
12. Happiness will give health and long life to your body. Proverbs 15:13: “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
13. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
14. A sad and confused heart is evidence of unbelief. John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
15. Happiness is not found in what you have but in who you are. It is an internal thing. You can be rich and be sad. I read the story of Wigglesworth. He was invited to do plumbing work in the house of a very rich woman. Wigglesworth was singing and praising God as he was working. He noticed from the corner of his eyes that this woman was looking at him with all seriousness. After sometime Wigglesworth looked at her and their eyes met, and the woman told him that she could give all her money for the kind of joy that was on his face. He said that it was Jesus.
16. The root of most unhappiness is comparing yourself to others.
17. The secret of happiness is to make someone else to be happy.
18. Bitterness is wasting the precious moment of a life that is too short already.
19. To change anything, simply change your attitude. When you say that someone has good manners it means that he is able to put up with other people’s bad manners. Change of attitude will change many things. For example, when somebody abuses you, you can decide not to allow him work you up.
20. In the Old Testament, there are 27 different words for joy. This shows how important it is.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO LIVING A HAPPY LIFE?
1. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NOT YOUR TROUBLES: Other people don’t need to hear your troubles; they have enough of theirs too. God has promised to bless His children abundantly. The Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you.” The same Bible says, “Bring ye all the tithe unto the storehouse, so that there should be food in the house, try me if I will not open the windows of heaven and rain blessings and there is no room enough to receive it.” God has promised us all these things. If you count your blessings, you will find that the blessings that God gives to you far out-weighs those troubles you have. If you listen to the song writer who says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one and you will be healthy and happier,” it will surprise you what the Lord has done. The Bible says, “Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Yet many people are complaining and grumbling all over the place. If you are grumbling against God, He would not answer your prayer, because you are an ingrate. When you count your blessings without counting your problems and troubles, you are on your way to divine happiness. Matthew 6 33:"Seek ye first the kingdom of God...” Sure, a man could have a problem and the problem would not have him. It is only useless people that do not have problems. It is better to count your blessings and not your problems. To say the truth, many of us who say we have problems, when we see some people with real problems we will be rolling on the floor to thank the Lord.
Look at the case they brought to me sometime ago. A husband was buying plenty of rice to feed his wife and yet the woman was complaining of hunger. This was because any time they gave her food she would feel the food inside her mouth but the food would not get into her stomach. Some one else was eating the food. Out of desperation the man brought the woman here. It was then the man discovered that there was a spirit beside the woman that was collecting the food. Sometimes, when we see people with problems we should thank God. When a baby is born it will cry and everybody will be happy that it cries. But when a person dies everybody will be crying and will not be happy. However, when a person dies everybody should be crying but he should be happy that he is going to heaven. Is that going to happen to you? This is a personal question. But if that is going to happen to you, the happiness must start here. And that is the joy we are talking. It is an internal thing. It is the feeling that you are grieving or laughing inside. Count your blessings not problems.
2. LIVE YOUR LIFE DAY BY DAY: We can conquer any problem if we learn to live day by day. Most of the fears of tomorrow that people have never come to pass. Most of the things we suppose to enjoy, we sometimes miss because we are busy looking for problem. There will be few cases of nervous breakdown if people can just live day by day. You take any day as it comes. James 14:13-15: “Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go unto such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeared for a little time, and then vanished away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” Live your life one day at a time. Tomorrow is too early to worry about, and yesterday is gone? Don’t carry satanic advance into your future. Many people are so scared about tomorrow and keep wondering endlessly about what is going to happen. You do not have to worry about tomorrow as long as you know the Fellow who holds tomorrow in His hand.
3. LEARN TO BE A GIVER: Most people are not getting things out of life because they are not giving. They are like the Dead Sea, which receives but does not give. Do not live the life of a beggar. Some live the life of always receiving but never giving. Those people in the Bible who saw outstanding breakthroughs were men and women who went out of their ways to give to others. Look at the widow of Zarephath. Jesus discussed and analyzed the widow very well. He said there were many widows in Israel at that time, but this particular widow was blessed. Many of the widows died of hunger, but that one did not die of hunger, because the last bit that she had, she gave it out. So, if you are a giver, you will also become a receiver. As you are giving, you will be receiving.
Some of us have lots of money in the bank, but the work of God is suffering. When you give, you get. That which belongs to God and that which you are hiding and sitting upon will only remove more from you with a useless venture. Men may even dupe you, because the one that belongs to the Almighty, you did not bring it out. Some are giving God tips, as if He were a houseboy cleaning plates. You can even give prayer. You can say, “This ministry has blessed me. I would have loved to give money, but I do not have. Therefore, I will devote 10 minutes every day to be praying for the work of God it does." Some people will say, “Well, since I cannot give anything, I will be cleaning the bench and the floor.” In this way they are giving something to God. When you are a giver, you are a happy person. When you are always getting and not giving, you increase your sadness.
4. PRAY EVERYDAY: I Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” Every Christian must devote time during the day to thank God and to pray. When you see a husband and a wife that are not communicating, you know that something is wrong. When God’s children do not communicate with Him, something is wrong. Prayer is a vital ingredient in God’s recipe for happiness. Anybody who knows how to pray has no problem. No problem can defeat a prayer warrior.
5. LEARN TO PRIORITIZE YOUR ACTIVITY: To use the Bible language, learn to number your days. Everything has a place in life. Certain things are more important than others. We must learn to keep the important things in the first place. Our Lord stresses priority in Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you.” The work that is keeping you too busy that you do not have time for God and prayer is not the type of job you should be doing. Because, God forbid if the person falls down and dies: somebody else will continue that work. One cannot be truly happy until he tries to learn the true value of things and put first things first: put God first in everything.
6. LET NOTHING BOTHER YOU: Very often little things bother us very much and we allow them to rob us of happiness. Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Little things sometimes turn some people completely upside down, little things that can be solved in a matter of seconds. If you are a fellow that little things bother a lot, happiness will be very far from you.
7. FILL YOUR MIND WITH GOOD THOUGHTS: Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” God’s children should fill their minds with good thoughts and good ideas. There should be no room in your heart for thinking rubbish things. Evil thoughts may be bombarding you day and night, but you have the power to become the immigration officer by the door of your life and decide what to think about, so that you can eliminate some and can allow some. The choice is yours. Anybody who gives chance to his heart to think evil will never be happy.
8. HAVE A MERRY HEART: Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bone.” If you always have sadness within, you will be sick.
9. REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS: Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say rejoice.” Do not allow anyone to say, “rejoice.” That is what the Bible is telling you now.
10. DO NOT FEAR: Fear will crowd out our faith. The Bible says, “Fear not thou which kill the body.” It says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The Psalmist also says, “The Lord is my strength and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” Fearful people are always unhappy people. Every small thing and they are already turned upside down.
11. SURRENDER TO GOD COMPLETELY: You let go and let God take over. Very many people want to run their lives without the gospel. No. We must let God have full control of our lives. This is the only way to find true peace and happiness. There cannot be two persons in the driving seat of our lives. It should only be Jesus. Hand it over to Him.
12. STOP BLAMING OTHERS FOR YOUR MISTAKES: Do not make lame excuses. Tell the Lord to forgive you where you have opened the door to the enemy to steal your joy.
13. ADMIT WHEN YOU HAVE MADE A MISTAKE: Do not argue blindly.
14. LISTEN MORE AND TALK LESS: This means that you should know when to keep your mouth shut. The Bible says, “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life.”
15. STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING: Work hard in whatever God has committed to your hands to do.
16. BE PUNCTUAL: Always come on time. Late comers are unhappy people.
17. BE ORGANISED: Organize your time for Bible study, prayer and for work:
18. BE HUMBLE: Humble people are always happy people. Proud people are always unhappy people; somebody is always upsetting them.
19. BE KIND TO OTHERS.
20. LEARN THE PRINCIPLE OF PRAISE: Praise God at all times. When you praise Him you are exalting Him for what He has done and what He is doing for you. Recount your past victories in Christ and thank Him for them. Those praises will turn your enemies against one another. They will remove your attention from your problems. Somebody who knows how to praise the Lord will defeat the enemy and activate the power of God. When you become a praise addict, and you begin to shout praises unto the Lord, your spiritual Jericho will fall flat. This is why it is important that you participate in our praise worship and at home sing the hymns. Learn the choruses and sing them as you are working and you will find that good things will begin to happen to you. Those who are praise addicts are happy people.
21. LEARN SPIRITUAL WARFARE: This is the last key. Unfortunately, many churches are not teaching this. Most of the time the apostles were fighting spiritual war and as they did that they brought joy to themselves and sorrow to the enemy who does not want man to be joyful. Until you wage war, the enemy will continue to steal your joy and happiness.
The world is not a playing ground. It is a battlefield where no one can be neutral. It is life or death, heaven or hell, fight or perish affair. Spiritual warfare is as real as any battle you can see on earth. This means that the age of apologetic or ice-cream prayers is gone. Satan has a highly organized kingdom and knows the weaknesses of everybody. He knows what to do to steal the joy of A or B. He knows how to make a person depressed for a whole week. He knows the kind of words he will allow a person to hear and that person will not sleep. He has everybody’s data. So, if you are not prepared for war, it will be difficult for you to be happy.
Any power in the universe that is not subject to Christ voluntarily is your enemy as a Christian. If you do not fight, you perish. In that battle, there is casualty and decamping. People change camp, and the worst entry point is through the enemy closer to you. The enemy does not want anyone to have joy. When you learn to confront the enemy of your joy, you will have joy but if you do not confront him, he will steal your joy.
I wish that everybody that comes to our services would listen to the word of God. I know that many are interested only in the prayer points, deliverance and healing. They don’t care about the holy news that would bring them constant happiness. They wallow in sin. I feel sorry for such people. Some would arrive by 9 am. or 8.30 am. and sit where there are no people that know them. Why? The women they come with are strange women. God have mercy on them.
Beloved, the bottom line is this: happiness is a situation that can be found. It is not in drug, alcohol or material wealth. True happiness can be found only in obedience to God or submission to God’s word. You have to pray against every enemy of your joy. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you if there is any way you are fighting against yourself. What a foolish thing to be waging war against yourself. Say: “Lord, forgive me in whatever way I have helped the enemy to steal my happiness." Perhaps, it was a prophet or a friend that pushed you into sin. Ask the Lord to forgive you.” You must possess your possession. Examine your heart. Are you truly happy?
POWERS THAT STEAL JOY
There are certain powers that can steal people’s joy. One of them is called ‘the power of the emptiers.” The emptiers allow a fellow to fill the cup and they pour it out and waste it. Everyday they celebrate wasted life at the cemetery. There are people walking about now and if you ask them: “How are you, sir?” They would say, “All is not well.” And when you say, “Why?” They would say that they told them that they were HIV positive. That is, they told them that they were going to die. If you ask: “Did you commit fornication?” They would say, “No, I went for blood transfusion sometime ago.” They were sick and went for healing but are now killed. That is how emptiers waste people’s lives. Please, take these prayer points aggressively.
PRAYER POINTS
1. O God, arise and let every emptier die, in Jesus’ name.
2. Every power stealing my joy, I bind you, in the name of Jesus.
3. Every hiding sickness, die, in Jesus’ name.
4. Every spiritual loss of blood in my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every circle of affliction, die, in Jesus’ name.
6. Affliction shall not arise again in my life the second time, in Jesus’ name. (3ce).
7. Every power of satanic information, die, in Jesus’ name.
8. You powers that activate poverty, what are you waiting for? Die, in Jesus’ name.
9. Every breeze of the enemy targeted against my life, die, in Jesus’ name.
10. You, the spirit of paralysis, what are you waiting for? Go back to your sender, in Jesus’ name.
11. Every power working against my breakthrough, die, in Jesus’ name.
12. You dream criminals attacking my destiny, die, in Jesus’ name.
13. Every power that replaces my good with evil, clear away, in Jesus’ name.
14. Wherever I appear, serpents and scorpions must die, in Jesus’ name.
15. Evil conspiracy against my destiny, scatter, in Jesus’ name.
16. Let the voice of the blood of Jesus speak over my life, in Jesus’ name.
17. Let the voice of the blood of Jesus speak against any curse issued against my life, in Jesus’ name.
18. Every internal enemy caging my life, die, in Jesus’ name.
19. Every internal killer of destiny, die, in Jesus’ name.
20. Every internal cage sponsored by household witchcraft, die, in Jesus’ name.
21. Satanic limitations, die, in Jesus’ name.
22. Marine spirit limitations, die, in Jesus’ name.
23. Familiar spirit limitations, die, in Jesus’ name.
24. Unfriendly friend’s limitations, die, in Jesus’ name.
25. Every enemy of my joy, loose your hold, in Jesus’ name.
26. Every enemy of my joy, what are you waiting for? Die, in Jesus’ name.
27. My God shall arise and my enemies shall scatter, in Jesus’ name.
28. Every witchcraft Pharaoh that has refused to let me go, what are you waiting for? Die, in Jesus’ name.
