This month, we were blessed greatly. From the inception of service till finish, the presence of God was so mighty that words are not enough to describe it. However, we will proceed to recount some great and wonderful moments in service. To begin is the testimony of Sis. Victory Simeon from Sand-field Church 2 Borikiri, who had been experiencing pain at the right side of her breast since October 2017 but was miraculously healed at the visit of God’s servant, the International Director, Pastor Isaac Olori.  The second testimony was that of Bro. Emmanuel Pepple from 52 Hospital Road Church, who narrated how he constantly suffered from typhoid and malaria. To God’s glory, he was healed after the communion service during a program in his local church. Dr. Ali Hassan from Kogi church, testified of God’s sustenance, as she celebrated God’s deliverance from Islam for thirty years. Finally, Dr. Nwaekare Dubo from Mile 1 church, testified how God delivered his entire family from the hands of a wicked family member. For details of the testimonies please click here. 

God’s word was brought to us by the International Director, Pastor Isaac V. Olori. The title of the sermon was “The Power of Dwelling in God’s Secret Place”, while Psalm 91 was the main text. Introducing his sermon, God’s servant stated that God had a secret place and only those who were intimate with Him, were qualified to enter. He further stated that one of the things that will take us inside God’s inner chamber is devoted prayers according to Matthew 6:6.

He illustrated the dwelling place of the Lord using the tabernacle in the Old Testament, which was classified as:

1. The Outer Court
2. Holy Place
3. Holy of Holies

The Outer Court was characterised thus:

• It is possible to hear the voice of God when He speaks from the Holy of holies but the manifestation of His presence cannot be felt.
• It is impossible to know the deep things of God and experience God’s presence.
• The outer court in the Old Testament was dominated by those who came for sacrifices of sin, transgressions etc.
• The outer court was filled with so much needs from people as well as prayer requests.
• Those who fall into sin go to the Outer Court to renew their consecration.
• The Outer Court was symbolic of the world and everything outside the presence of God.
• At the Outer Court, one cannot know the depth and mysteries of God.
• The altar in the Outer Court was brazen – made of bronze not gold.

The following are a few characteristics of the Holy Place:

• The Holy place is a step above the Outer place but not the Holy of holies.
• When we are cleansed from our sins at the outer place, we can enter the Holy place

The Holy of holies has the following characteristics

• Everything here is made of gold
• Usually entered into, once in a year in the Old Testament.
• There you find the ark that represents God’s presence as well as the mercy seat.
• One’s commitment must be real to enter the holy of holies
• In the holy of holies, there is no sacrifice
• When you enter into the secret place, there is abundant supply of one’s need (John 8:12). 
• You get to a point of relationship where Jesus becomes your intercessor
• There are chariots that cover the mercy seat signifying the Shekinah glory. So when you enter there, it is symbolic of what you will experience – glory.

He further explained that, to access the Holy of holies, we must embark on a serious mission of prayer. This mission will however, receive obstacles but we must not deter or quickly summarise our prayer before entering into God’s presence. The Holy of holies is not for casual people as everything that has a good result has a condition. Using Luke 2:36-38 as a reference, he pointed that Anna’s prayer was serving the need of the kingdom.

Explaining the relevance of “Shadow” in Psalm 91:2, he stated that a shadow serves as a shield, a covering from danger or a defense from assault or injury. Hence, the shadow here was not one that man could provide. He also said that there is a relationship between a shadow and the person projecting the shadow, and so, for the Almighty (which means boundless sufficiency) who is unlimited in might, then His shadow will be the same as He is. The Almighty indeed is a way maker and is boundless in might. Whenever He introduces Himself as Almighty then it means He wants to do something - Genesis 17:1.

Other relevant points from this sermon includes:

• When you dwell in the shadow of the Lord, you will testify... “I will say of the Lord…”
• In Acts, Peter’s shadow cured sicknesses of people, talk more of the shadow of the Lord.
• For a shadow to be over you, you must be close to the source -that is the person projecting the shadow.
• If you are not born again, you are outside the gate.
• Sin keeps people outside the gate.
• Enjoying benefits from God does not make you born again.
• If God provides Himself as our shadow, it means there are dangers that are coming that man and the efforts of man cannot handle.

Finally, we must realize that the enemy is constantly attacking us but God will cover us (Isaiah 25:4). So to stay in His shadow, we must be fully committed to the Lord by staying away from sin.