Day 1 Evening Session I

The concept of relationship originated from the core of the Godhead. Through relationships, God orchestrates avenues to bring man into the fulfilment of His original intention which is image and likeness. God established in the beginning that man ought not to be alone. Thus, He places the solitary in families; every man ought to have a healthy family relationship. In relationships, we get help. (Genesis 2:18, Acts 17:26, Psalm 68:6).

There is a divine intent God has for establishing marriage. The institution of marriage between Adam and Eve was the beginning of this divine intent of bringing forth families after His image and likeness. God's intent for every man is healthy singlehood, marriage and family life. Satan is the major adversary to this intent of God ordained from the beginning. He blinds man from seeing and comprehending the program of intent and likeness. (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12).  

By eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, natures contrary to the life of God were sown in man. The real works of Satan are the natures he worked in man; these natures are inherent in the gene. These natures showed forth in men such as Cain, Ham, Nimrod, Joseph’s siblings (who plotted against him). Some women in scripture also showed through their conversations the evil work that Satan did in men such as Jezebel, Vashti (who was unable to submit to her husband). In the New Testament,  we see Judas who though a disciple of the Lord, betrayed Him.

Man is of great worth in the sight of God but the adversary has planted thoughts of worthlessness in many men, making them bound in sin and death. Satan wants to bring every man to a place where the imaginations of his heart are continually wicked. Man fell from a place where his thoughts were aligned to the conformity to the image and likeness of God till he become flesh. (Genesis 6:5).

Before a man gets to a place where the nature of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil are expressed, there are transactions of thoughts and exercises of disobedience that he must have exercised himself in. The end of the works of the enemy is to make men children of wrath. A believer through the use of unrighteousness and ungodliness can become a candidate for the wrath of God. The intention of Satan is for us to become the enemies of God just like himself. (Ephesians 2:2, Romans 1:18).

As believers, we must know that we have an adversary who not only hates God but us. There is a discernment we must therefore come into of who our adversary is and his works in us for us to receive strength to relinquish them. At the new birth, we received a call to begin the process of relinquishing our ways. One essence of the horns which animals have is for warfare; a horn signifies strength. God has an intention for everyone who is born again; He intends that all would receive strength to war against the adversary.

Hannah’s horn was exalted because she came to a place where she was willing to part with the very thing which she desired. This was an exercise of faith that resulted in her horn being exalted. There is a process our Lord Jesus had to go through to become the Horn of Salvation. It was a process that seemed foolish but is the wisdom of God. (1 Samuel 2:1, Luke 1:70-71, Isaiah 53).

The preaching of the gospel is foolishness to man. Likewise the horn of strength is the foolishness of God to save man.  Hence Christ as the horn of salvation came in a likeness of one who appears to be weak. The gospel of Christ is power which delivers man from the works of the enemy. It contains substances of spirit and life needed to raise us above sin and death. No man would be delivered from the hands of the enemy outside the preaching of the gospel. (1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24).

Satan did not only kill man in the garden, he also blinded man’s eyes. His eyes were closed to the reality of God and opened to another reality when he fell. Hence, one of the things the gospel comes to deliver is sight. The death and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus was an offering for sin. The price of the redemption of man was the blood of a sinless man and our Lord paid it. The giving of His blood redeemed us, but His journey did not end there.

Jesus descended into hell for three days and He was raised by the grace of God. This raising was for Him to be offered again so as to access the Throne. Thus, a Man is on the Throne and our ascension to the throne was made possible by this. Satan hates us but God loves us much more. His love is deep and it is from this love that His salvation agenda streams from. No matter what we have gone through up till now, the good news of the gospel is able to address our problems and also raise us into the image and likeness of God.

The Lord wants to bring us to a state where our horns will bud. The horn of salvation empowers us to live. One way to live is by the program of faith. Faith is not just a belief in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the living out of a conversation patterned after the life of Jesus. Man can be raised above anything that holds him back. Satan does not want any of us to produce horns so that we would be without strength. Because of this, man has been kept in the bondage of flesh for so long. Therefore, God wants to communicate strength to us in this conference through speaking and hearing. (Romans 1:18).

There is a mind which was in Christ Jesus, and any man who would end up like Him must also have this mind. God wants us to have peace in our homes and relationships, else we would not be able to focus on the agenda of image and likeness. It is good that a man finds God early so that He can guide our choices. In making the decision of marriage, we must be careful to consider God.

In this meeting, we will lay hold on a faith that we can live by. The instructions that bring about a change of nature come from the hearing of the Word of God. The Word of God can get to the very source of our wrong natures, seen or unseen. God is coming to us through His word because He is mindful of us. (Hebrews 4:12).