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WHY “PERSONAL PROPHECY” DELAYS IN MANIFESTING 

                                                                                     (Part 6) 

WHY

 “And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2: 2-3) 

I hope you enjoyed our previous discussion. Today, we shall discuss a very important tool we can employ to destroy every attack the enemy launches against the fulfilment of the prophecy we have received. That was the very tool the parents of our Lord Jesus Christ used to overcome the warfare Satan launched against the fulfilment of the prophecy which declared their Son the Saviour of the world. That tool is called “obedience”. 

Obedience

The ultimate plan of God was to use his begotten son to save the world from sin. Prophecies concerning his work were given hundreds of years before he was born. In one of his prophecies concerning the Messiah, Prophet Isaiah described him as the one who would bear our grief, carry our sorrow and will be wounded because of our sins. He also said that he will bear our iniquities, will be chastised for our peace, and by his stripes, we will be healed.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53: 4-6) 

The prophet Isaiah further prophesied that the Messiah is one who will bear the sin of many. He is also the person to intercede for those who have sinned against God.

“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)   

When he was still in the womb, the Lord sent an angel to reveal to Joseph, his earthly father, that the child in Mary’s womb shall be called Jesus because his mission is to save his people from sin.

“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1: 19 – 21)

We can see from the above scriptures that the birth and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ was prophesied before he was born. And that was hundreds of years before the virgin birth took place. The angel who spoke to Joseph concerning Baby Jesus indicated that Mary’s pregnancy was a manifestation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah.

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1: 22 -23) 

The above scripture is a confirmation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah: 

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7: 14) 

All of the above tells us that there were several prophecies concerning the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ before he was born. Satan knew about those prophecies and was not willing to allow them to manifest. In order to stop it, he launched a warfare against the prophecy.

Once Baby Jesus was born, the warfare began. He wanted the child dead when he was young and helpless. However, God did not allow that to happen. Since the child was helpless, the Lord used his earthly parents to do warfare on his behalf. 

For instance, when the enemy tried to use Herod to destroy the child, God told Joseph to take the child to Egypt for safety, and he did. Herod’s plan to kill the child and Joseph’s flight to Egypt was a physical manifestation of the spiritual warfare which took place concerning the prophecy about Baby Jesus being the Messiah.

Can you imagine what would have happened if God had not told Joseph to take the child away to a safe place?

Can you also imagine what would have happened if Joseph did not take his dreams seriously and did as God directed? 

The story is that when the Lord Jesus Christ was born, three wise men visited the land of birth to honour him with gifts. Unfortunately, they did not know exactly where the child was. Their search for Baby Jesus led them into the palace of Herod, who was King of Judea at that time. When Herod heard that a new King had been born, he was troubled. So, he asked the wise men to bring him word after they had found the location of the child. His plan was to kill the child. Below is what the scripture says concerning the incident. 

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. (Matthew 2: 1-8)

Note that it was Satan who planted it in the heart of Herod to kill Baby Jesus. He was his human agent at that particular time. However, God knew about the plan of the enemy. Consequently, he sent his angel to warn the wise men not to go back to Herod. 

“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” (Matthew 2:11-12)

When Satan realized that the wise men did not return to his human agent, that is, Herod, he devised another means to execute his plan of terminating the prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. As long as he was alive, the prophecy will manifest. The only way to stop it was to kill the child. In order to achieve that, he used Herod to carry out a mass slaughter of children in Bethlehem.

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” (Matthew 2:16) 

Unfortunately for him, that, too, failed. Before the slaughter took place, God had already asked Joseph to take the child away to Egypt.

“And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.” (Matthew 2: 13 -15) 

Again, Satan lost the battle. That was because God is always ahead of the enemy. If we are in total submission to God, he will always reveal the plans of the enemy to us, including what we should do to avert it. That was exactly what happened concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan knew the prophecy about him being the Messiah and was determined to stop it by all means. However, God did not allow the enemy’s plan to work out. Each time Satan planned, God revealed and advised on how to counter it.

From the above narrative, it is evident that Satan’s effort to destroy the prophecy was always aborted because the people involved worked hand in hand with God.

Now, let us examine how the war against the prophecy concerning the Messiah was fought when the Lord Jesus Christ was still a baby. The main people involved were Herod, Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. In reality, Baby Jesus did not play any part at that time. His parents had to fight on his behalf. His survival of the war Satan had launched against him depended on them. This shows that destinies of children can be aborted by the enemy if their parents are not spiritually minded. 

Many years ago, a Prophet asked me if my mother was alive. I replied in the affirmative. The man of God told me to ask my mother what she suffered when she had me in her womb. 

“Satan wanted to end your life whilst you were still in your mother’s womb. That is because of the call of God upon your life,” said the man of God. That was sometime in 2006 in a place called Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Just three weeks ago, during our church service, the Lord used a prophetess in our church to say the same thing to me.

“The enemy did not want you to be born alive. He did everything to terminate your life whilst you were still in the womb. But I did not allow it because I have a great assignment for you. The enemy knows it. That’s why he keeps fighting to destroy you,” said the Lord. 

What the Lord said that day was a confirmation of the same prophecy I received sixteen years ago in Nigeria. This time around it happened in Accra, Ghana, where I currently reside. If we take things for granted, the enemy will finish us. 

Like we know, both God and Satan use human agents to accomplish their works among humans. That is why we have Satanic agents carrying out the works of Satan. Spiritually, God and Satan were at war concerning Baby Jesus. Physically, Herod represented Satan. Mary and Joseph were the agents God used to fight for Baby Jesus. Herod worked for Satan to kill baby Jesus. God used Joseph and Mary to preserve his life. The success of the prophecy he carried depended on them. This takes us back to the reality that prophecy can delay or can even be aborted if we fail to play our role. I will make it clearer in the following paragraphs.

In order to preserve Baby Jesus from destruction by the enemy, God’s role was to reveal the plans of the enemy and give directions on how to prevent it. On the other hand, the role of Joseph and Mary was to carry out every instruction the Lord gave to them concerning the child. This was a warfare because in carrying out that assignment, Joseph and Mary were in battle with Satan through Herod, his human agent.

It was a warfare because if Joseph and Mary had been caught by Herod’s soldiers, they would have been killed by the King. On the other hand, if they did not play their role in preserving Baby Jesus by taking him to Egypt as the Lord had directed, they would have exposed him to the plans of the enemy. The result would have been death. That would have destroyed the prophecy that he is the Messiah. 

Bear in mind that when the slaughter of babies under two years were carried out in Bethlehem, Baby Jesus was the target. However, they missed him because Joseph and Mary did not neglect their role in the battle concerning God’s prophecy about their child. The secret of their success over Satan was their obedience to God. 

Now, in order to avoid Satan’s plan to kill the child and destroy what God said about him, Joseph and Mary would have to stay in Egypt until God asked them to go back to Israel.  That would be after the enemies of God who wanted the child dead were no more. 

“But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.” (Matthew 1: 19-21) 

Again, this shows that when a prophecy is released, God is interested in seeing that it comes to pass. However, we too must play our role effectively by making sure that we follow and obey every instruction we receive from God. If we want to see our prophecy fulfilled or not delayed, we must be ready to do as God says. Any disobedience to God’s instruction will spell doom for us. 

In summary, Satan did not want the prophecy given about the Messiah to manifest. So, he launched a warfare to destroy Baby Jesus through King Herod. However, God did not allow it to happen. He used human agents in the person of Joseph and Mary to counter the enemies’ plans. This of course would not have been possible if the human agents involved were not ready to engage in the warfare. It was their obedience to God’s commandment that stopped the enemy from either delaying the prophecy or aborting completely.

On that premise, we need to understand that if we are obedient to God, he will always reveal the enemy’s plan to us and what we should do to overcome it. Therefore, if we don’t want a prophecy we have received to delay or be aborted by the enemy, we must always be ready to obey God’s instructions. That is the only way we can win in the warfare between us and the enemy. 

We have discussed the warfare which took place when our Lord Jesus Christ was a baby. We have seen clearly how the Lord used Joseph and Mary to fight on behalf of their child. In our next discussion, which is the last part of this series, we shall discuss how to fight our own battle as adults. Again, we shall use our Lord Jesus Christ as our example. God bless you.   

Source:  “Truth be told (TBT) series” 

Author:    Apostle Frank B. Ogbu
                 Head Pastor/Overseer

                Champion Grace Eternal Ministries

                Ayikai Doblo, Amasaman 

                Accra, Ghana