Activating The Prophecies And The Promises Of God

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Introduction: To activate means to make something active or function. Prophecy means foretelling or predicting what is to come. It is something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation. A promise is a declaration that something will or will not be done or given. The prophet and his people both have responsibilities. The duty of a prophet is to proclaim God’s message faithfully; and the people’s duty is to receive and apply it to their lives. Prov. 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” In Lk. 1:29 - 37 the word of the Lord came to Mary.

(II Kings 7: 1 – 10)

She received God’s word with humility and faith and said to the angel – let it be unto me according to your word. In the same way as we hear the word of God this year through His prophets, we should let our confession be – let it be unto me according to your word. This year has been declared as the year of Exceeding Overflow, the year of Signs and Wonders, the year of Exceeding Grace and Strange Acts, it is the year of No Limits and the year of Greatness. God will embarrass us with His blessings this year (Deut. 28:1-14). God made Joseph to prosper in the house of Potiphar and he was a blessing in spite of the challenges he faced. Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fishes. Esther found favor in the presence of the king and she became the queen, even though she was a slave. God will make strange things happen in your life this year. The God of miracles will make impossible things happen for you. This is also our year of no limits. Our God does wonders without limits. Zaccheus was limited by his height but he did not allow his challenge to limit him. He met Jesus and received the Savior in his house. The woman with the issue of blood overcame her limitation when she met Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus overcame his limitation; he received his healing from Jesus.
Reasons why people cannot activate the promises of God:

1. Doubt and unbelief: This happens when people fail to see or believe God’s promises. The king’s officer in II Kings 7:2 failed to believe Elisha’s prophecy and he died because of unbelief.               
2. Focusing on past failures: God’s word tells us to forget the former things because God will do a new thing (Isa. 43: 18-19). 
3. Unconfessed sin: To receive the promises of God we need to confess our sins and lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus today.                
How to activate and receive the prophecies of God

1. Conceive it: To conceive means to be pregnant with something. We have to allow the seed of God’s word to be rooted in us by the help of the Holy Spirit.
2. Believe it by faith by confessing and claiming it (II Chr. 20:20). Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. (Hab. 2:2).
3. Receive it: Believing leads to receiving. The Bible says in Mk. 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” The promises of God cannot fail. Whatever He said to us He will surely do.      

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