Last week we dealt with the spirit of flesh
in our life. We called upon God together
last week to deliver us from our self, to break and to mould us. We also asked God for his Holy Spirit to possess
us completely. Those were some of the
prayers we prayed last week.
MESSAGE: This week’s message is called “Abiding under the Canopy of God.”
By Sister
Nimota Kelani
¨ A canopy is a protective covering. Therefore abiding under the canopy of God is
to be
obedient to
the law while under the protective covering of the almighty God.
Text:
Numbers 9:15-23
15And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the
cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even
there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the
morning. 16So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day,
and the appearance of fire by night. 17And when
the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of
¨The bible says a pillar of
cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night guided and protected
the Israelites as they traveled across the
wilderness.
¨The cloud we are talking
about is not just an ordinary phenomenon; they were the
vehicle of God’s presence and the visible
evidence of his moving and directing the
children of
They traveled and camped as God directed to
do. They never move
without the
direction of God.
¨ When flesh is destroyed in the life of a believer,
such life, abide under the canopy of
God.
The life of such believer is no longer controlled by them, it now ruled
by the
Holy Spirit of God for direction and
guidance. The person will follow God’s guidance;
you will know where God wants you and where
he doesn’t want you. You will be able
to ask such question as what do you want me
to do where I am right now? And not
what do you want me to do next?
Sometimes where you are right now may not
be favorable to you but that is where God
had you for the moment. Abiding under the canopy of God is not just
for favorable
times, it
is not just for your next big move.
Its about you being obedient and
submissive right where you are.
It is for you to understand his purpose for
your life right were you are at that moment.
While
abiding under the canopy of God, sometimes things would not make sense but you
have to obey and follow the leading of God for your life. In Exodus
3:2 the bible says “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in
a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the
bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
That
was how God choose to get Moses attention to come to him so He could reveal his
purpose in life to him, yours may not be the same as Moses but when you abide
under his canopy he will make provision for you. Whenever God leads or give you a direction he
gives you provision for the mission.
That is why in this MFM Denver Branch, we will not burn the fire that
God has not commanded less we be consume like Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron
and die. We are going to abide 100%
under the canopy of God.
Many
at times we know are sure we are abiding under the canopy of God and we are
following his direction but nothing seems to happen. I mean we are not seeing instant result of
what God had spoken to us. The bible
says the vision is yet for an appointed time, even though it tarries, it shall
surely come to pass. Abiding under the
canopy of God sometimes does not give you an instant result.
HOW DO
YOU RECEIVE FROM GOD WHEN ABIDING UNDER HIS CANOPY?
1. Seek
God’s Way: Psalm 25:4: Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
David was the author of this psalm. The
first step David took was to express his desire for God’s guidance. God would not force you to abide under his
canopy that is why we have free will. It
must be a choice you made for yourself every morning when you wake up from bed.
The second step he took was to want to
be thought and to learn from God. Your desire
to want to be guided and your willingness to seek God, learn from his word and
obey his commandment will make you to hear wondrous things from him; it will
give you the opportunity to do exploit in his kingdom.
2. Allow
God to Guide You Even If It Means Death: Psalm 48:14: “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he
will be our guide even unto death.” As
you abide under the canopy of God He will guide you through difficult
times. What you need is the guidance and
guide. The bible is the guidance, it is your map; the Holy Spirit will be the
constant companion and guide. As you are
abiding under his canopy use both the bible and the Holy Spirit for you guidance.
3. You
must trust in Him: Psalm
118:8: “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in
man.” To abide under the canopy of God means to put all your trust in him to
guide you here on earth and to your eternal destination.
4. Recognize
God’s leading in your life: John
12:16: These things understood not his disciples at the first: but
when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of
him, and that they had done these things unto him.
The disciples of Jesus Christ understood for
the first time after his resurrection many of the prophesy that was spoken
concerning Jesus. Jesus’ word and
actions took on new meaning and they began to make more sense. They now understood how he had led them to a
deeper and better truth. Many things
would not make sense when you are abiding under the canopy of God but as you are
obedient and follow the leading they will all come together one day.
5. Follow
the leading even if it seems like demotion: Acts 8:26: “And the angel of the Lord spake unto
Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down
from
Brother Philip had a successful ministry to
multitudes in
WHAT ARE THE
THINGS THAT EXCLUDE ONE FROM ABIDING UNDER THE CANOPY OF GOD?
1. Stubbornness:
will exclude you from abiding under the canopy of God. Exodus 11:9-10 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh
shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the
Pharaoh was so stubborn that with all the
miraculous things happening right under his nose he still would not listen to
Moses. He had his mind made up that
there could never be a person greater than him.
His stubbornness led to a heart so hard that major calamity could not
soften his heart until the greatest of all calamities came upon him – the loss
of his son. Brothers and sisters let us
not wait until a major disaster come upon us before we listen to God.
Stubbornness caused King Saul to loss his
throne, 1 Samuel 15:23: “For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and
idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also
rejected thee from being king.”
There was a person named “Asahel” in the
bible who lost his life as result of his own stubbornness, II Samuel 2:21-23 21
“And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy
left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But
Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. 22And
Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should
I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy
brother? 23Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore
Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the
spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place:
and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down
and died stood still.
Your doubt can lead to stubbornness and it is
a sin against God. Thomas in the books
of John chapter 20 verses 25-28 was so doubtful of Jesus’ resurrection that he
demanded to see the hole on his hand and feet before he could believe. You cannot abide under the canopy of God and
allow doubt to rule your life.
2. An Unprepared Heart: God only
speaks and guide those whose hearts are prepared to receive from him. If your heart is not prepare you cannot abide
under the canopy of God. Matthew 2:13:
“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.”
There
will be times you will have to go into hiding for the glory of God to manifest
through you. Not because God could not
protect you right there where you are but because He knows the right way all
the time and he chooses the route and method He feels is right at a given
time. Regardless of what method He
chooses you must have a prepared heart to receive instructions at any time.
Through
out the Old Testament we saw how the hand of the Lord was upon the children of
We
are now living under the grace of God and many times it looks as if we are
going to get away with our rebellion attitude.
God is still the same yesterday, today and for ever more. He would not protect anyone that refuses his
canopy. He would not guide anyone
walking in sin.
Learn
to abide under the shadow of the almighty.
Learn to listen to His voice.
Learn to have quiet time with him everyday and learn to take
accountability of your deeds every single day.
Let
us rise up for prayer, but before we go into prayer we would like to offer you
an invitation of salvation. If there is
anyone here today who do not know the Lord or has not receive Christ as his or
her personal Lord and savior. This is
the time, all eyes close. Please show by
hands if you want to accept Christ into your life today.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Thank God for the Holy Spirit.
2. Holy Spirit,
reveal deep and the secret things to me about myself in the name of Jesus.
3. Lord, forgive me for every false motive or thought that has
ever been formed in my
heart since the day I
was born.
4. Lord, forgive me for any lie that I have ever told against any
person, system or
organization.
5. Lord, deliver me from the bondage and sin of spiritual laziness.
6. Lord, reveal to me every secret behind any problem that I have.
7. Divine wisdom of God; begin to operate in my life in the name
of Jesus.
8. I receive power to operate with sharp spiritual eyes that
cannot be deceived in the
name of Jesus.
9. Lord, bring to the light every thing planned against me in
darkness.
10. Lord, open up my understanding.
11. Lord, teach me deep and secret things.
12. Lord, give unto me the Spirit of revelation and wisdom in the
knowledge of Yourself.
13. O Lord, remove spiritual cataract from my eyes.
14. Divine revelations, spiritual visions, dreams and information
will not become scarce
commodity in my life
in the name of Jesus.