43rd National Prayer Conference Highlights

Highlights from the 43^rd Intercessors for Nigeria National Prayer conference which held at Good Tidings Bible Church International, Utako Abuja, Nigeria from 4^th to 7^th September 2019.

Dr. Steve Ogan – LEADERSHIP WITH A PROPHETIC AND REDEMPTIVE MANDATE

Theme: Hosea 12:13: By a Prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt and by a Prophet he was preserved

• He defines leadership as “the acts of guiding, motivating and empowering people to clearly achieve defined goals”

• He spoke extensively from ISA 51:18-19 “There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up”. These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? Desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the Sword; by whom shall I comfort thee?” He concluded on these verses that desolation, destruction, famine and all kinds of evil come upon a people and nations when there is not one to provide leadership. For Nigeria, there are no leaders who can use biblical principles to guide the nation.

• Every leader must learn how to hear God. In 24 God had to call Moses to come to the mountain.

• After the call, every leader has to be trained like Moses was trained by God after he was called.

• The leader has to be prophetic in dealing with the problems of the people and nation.

• Our work as leaders has to be according to heavenly pattern. 25:14. God wants to use the ministry of the Prophet to deliver and preserve our nation.

• One of the major works of the Prophet is redemption. There is a redemptive ideology for Africa beginning from Nigeria. This concept of redemption must be engraved in our hearts.  Redemption is the act of buying back what was sold. It involves price and ransom.  It entails recovery. To save Africa we need a redemptive ideology.

• The minister outlined the following 20 redemptive models and prophesied that they will become a reality in Nigeria.

1. Restoration of stolen Properties.
2. Redemption of the land
3. Rescuing of the captives.
4. Return of those in exile
5. Redress of wrongs
6. Rebirth of life
7. Reparation of damage
8. Retrieval of the missing
9. Ransom for iniquity
10. Release from bondage
11. Recoupment of loses
12. Repurchase of the sold
13. Repayment of debt
14. Recompense of Righteousness
15. Regaining of Hope
16. Regeneration of Nation
17. Revival of the spirit
18. Remission of sins
19. Remembrance of the forgotten
20. Resurrection of the Dead

• The above are the twenty prophetic mandate that God has given to us as prophetic leaders. It is a compulsory mandate we must carry. Nehemiah is a scriptural example of one who carried and executed his prophetic redemptive mandates: He deployed a redemptive ideology. NEH 1:1-4. He was a thinker. He acted professionally. He engaged in practical building of the walls of Jerusalem.  For as leaders, we must bring God and our knowledge of him to the practical dimension. We must really think beyond religious observations. Abraham and Isaac were holy herdsmen. Even God planted a garden called Eden and also in 1, God was a communicator.  There are three Prophets that motivated Nehemiah namely, Moses, Isaiah and Jeremiah.

(NEH 1:8; ISA 58:12 & JER 29:4-7.) As prophetic leaders we need to build the House of Prayer.  We need to plant gardens and be fruitful. People must see our fruitfulness.  We are cities set on a hill that cannot be hidden. We must increase and not diminish. Nehemiah was also a watchman. We also must be watchmen as we build the nations.

• The year 2020 to 2030 is a decade of redemption and we must prepare leaders for the period and to ensure that the season will not be a waste. These are leaders who will execute the twenty redemptive mandates the Lord has given us. God wants to recover lost grounds between 2020 and 2030 and He needs prophetic leaders who shall help Him to do it. The period will be all about redeeming people, rebuilding places, reconciling people, restoring principles, reviving purposes, renewing patterns, rekindling purity and realigning positions.
• Finally, Nehemiah committed the land into the hands of faithful men who feared God and this we must do at all levels as Intercessors for Nigeria.

 

Barr. Emeka Nwankpa – BY A PROPHET GOD PRESERVED ISRAEL

God preserved the people of Israel by a Prophet and so also we have been given a prophetic mandate to liberate the Nation through proper Leadership. HOS 12:13

• From 11:16-17 he defined leadership in three ways:

1. Leadership is bearing the burden of the people – It is not about position, power and perquisites (benefits).
2. Leadership is having access to God – God always wants to speak to leaders. There is no point being a leader if God cannot speak to you and you cannot hear God.
3. Leadership involves you having the Holy Spirit – Moses had so much of the Holy Spirit that God had to take some and distributed to others and he did not feel the deduction. God was able to raise helpers for Moses through the Holy Spirit he carried. As leaders we can always ask God for help through the Holy Spirit.

• The leader must be a guide. To be a guide he must know where he is going in the first place.

• The Leader must have compassion, mercy, relationships, putting yourself in the position of another. It involves taking others by the hand to help them. 78:70-72

• Every leader must understand that God chose him. This should give every leader a sense of humility and responsibility. It is God that brought you to the place of position. He is the one that preserved your life as a leader.

• Leadership involves shepherding the people. As a shepherd, you bear with the people on what they are going through.

• As leaders we must deal with the people with respect, dignity and honour. God called the people as His inheritance.

• Leadership involves integrity. Integrity is the sum total of the life of a leader. You must keep promises. PSA 78:72

• Leadership involves doing things with skillfulness of hands. PSA 78:72

• Reasons why God chose Moses:

1. Moses could keep records.
2. He was educated.

God gave him all that heaven had in mind for the world in the first five books of the bible and he was able to write them down.  He was given 430 laws and he diligently documented them. As a leader, you must be able to keep records.

• How Moses brought out Israel:

1. Through his personality. ACTS 7:22

He was learned, He had wisdom. He was mighty in words.  He was mighty in deeds (Character). In leadership, how you approach the business that God gives you matters. Your understanding about your assignment is equally very important.  The attitude and response of the people can cost your extra years of training before God.  For Moses he had to go to the wilderness for forty years to learn how to lead the sheep.

2. Moses had to go for Postgraduate training with God. God trained him thus:

• In the use of his hands. God asked him what is in your hands?
• Obedience: God said to him, throw the rod down and he did. As leaders, God will test your obedience.
• God also said to him pick the snake by the tail and he did. For restoration to take place it has to involve God releasing his power and Moses doing the work.

• God also tested his heart when he said to him “Put your hand in your bosom” when he brought out his hands it became leprous. As leaders our heart will always need to be cleansed.
• God also trained him in the use of his mouth. EXD 7:1-2. As leaders, our mouths should only speak what God ask us to say. God must also set controls over our mouths. In training his mouth God said to him at the Red Sea, tell the children of Israel to go forward. God also told Moses to hit the Rock and at another time he said “Speak to the Rock”. These are all training in the use of his mouth. The mouth is very important in prophetic work.

1. God raised Moses as a prophet. ACTS 7:37-38. In Egypt he contested with the magicians. He used his authority to deal with the magicians and delivered the people. You cannot bring out the people without the power of God. And you cannot have the relevant delivering power unless you are trained.

God wants to do something practical by the revelation and power he has given to us. When He told Moses to build the tent of meeting, he gave him the pattern. So we must build according to pattern given by God as leaders and prophets. God will also raise men of wisdom and skill for us like in the days of Moses.  God will raise men in our times who will build and do the extraordinary.

 

Engr. Ntiense Ubon-Israel     –           PROPHETS AND THE KINGDOM MANDATE

• He began by recounting and reminding the participants about the following prophecies the Lord has given to us over the year: “My church in Nigeria is my hope for the continent of Africa” CSSM 1984 Conference in Ibadan. “I have given Nigeria the missionary spirit. But now I have given you the anointing to change your nation.” Cindy Jacobs. “There is an anointing upon African for the supernatural to fix problem and to fix what is wrong” 2018 “To the church in Nigeria I give you the keys to take back the nation, the key to operate in your authority,  when you open it is open, when you close it closes. I see for many that are here the Lord is changing your garments and he says you will shine”

 

• From the above prophecies it is very clear that the church in Nigeria is a prophetic church that will fulfil the mandate of God and his kingdom.

• He went on to say:

1. Jesus has declared that he will build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it and as the Lord lives this will be fulfilled.
2. The church is not a religious assembly but a governing assembly.
3. That it is as the church progressively uses the keys of the kingdom that the gates of hell shall not prevail.
4. The church is given the authority to legislate what heaven wants.
5. God wants to have a church that will declare his will.

The Prophetic and Timing: speaking of this he said:

1. This is the appointed time for the fulfilment of the prophecies we have received over the years. 2:13
2. It is the Kairos time of God’s promise. ACTS 7:17 & 20.
3. Deliverers, Saviours and kingdom builders will emerge in this time. OBED 1:17 & 21
4. We must build according to heavenly template and we must not build as we like. 8:5
5. Our mandate is one mountain mandate that will be above every other mountain of society. ISA 2:2-5

The Priesthood of Believers:

1. The effectiveness of your priesthood is related to your consecration. LEV 8:9-10
2. You are royal priesthood. 1 PET 2:9, ISA 1:5
3. The priesthood has to do with law and order. MAL 2:5-9.

The Nehemiah Template:

1. Nehemiah understood the difference between the fact and the truth.
2. That the truth will surely prevail with time.
3. He understood that it is time for intercession as well as to build.
4. He understood the scope of the work and what he needed to accomplish the work.
5. He motivated and encouraged others to join the work.
6. That the priesthood had the rebuilding process plan
7. He developed a way to deal with the enemy without distraction from the work.

The Manifestation of Sons:

1. We must mature from children into sons and walk as heirs of the kingdom. GAL 4:1-7
2. Creation is groaning and waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. ROM 8:14 &
3. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. We are sent by God and he knows our name. JOHN 1:1-6
4. In Christ was life and the life, was the light of men. Therefore, the life we have must shine as light to the nations.
5. Our influence must not limited to church buildings but how many lives we are influencing and changing for the kingdom as prophets.

 

 

Barr. Emeka Nwankpa                      –           LEADERSHIP THAT PRESERVES A NATION

• To preserve means:

1. To keep something at a particular quality.
2. To prevent something from decay
3. To present something in its original state.
4. To prevent something from being destroyed.

• In PSA 106:9-23, the leadership that preserves a nation came to play. 23 is key here as the bible says “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them” This was unlike Aaron who in EXD. 32:10-11 made a golden calf and said to Israel this is the god that brought you out of Egypt. He attracted the anger of God to destroy the people.

Moses in Intercession:

1. He appealed to God’s personality.
2. He challenged God with what his enemy the Egyptians will say if he destroyed the people.
3. He reminded God of his covenant and promises.
4. He reasoned with God.
5. He made God to relent or reverse his decision.

• As leaders when interceding we must make God part of the matter by highlighting His interest. Remind God that opportunity must not be given for the enemy to castigate his name.

The sins of the children of Israel:

1. They rejected God
2. The people put God to test. 11
3. There was evil communication in their mouth.
4. There was the sin of infidelity.
5. Gathering together against God.
6. They turned away from the Lord.

• To all these we must bring repentance in preserving the people. Sometimes you need to write down your prayers when you are standing in the gap for a nation or a people.  This is to ensure that your prayer is coherent. David prayers were written down for us and today after many years we can still read them unto God.

Leaders who shall preserve a nation:

ISA 32:1-2

1. Your walk with God must be in righteousness. Joseph did his work in righteousness in the way he dealt with his brothers. Righteousness is doing the right thing. Contemporary example is the way Singapore became what it is today. The leader began by educating the people. He aimed at excellence. Changed the mind set of his ministers by asking them to wear white shirts, trousers and coats.

2. You have to pursue Justice in the land. Justice in any nation is key to preservation. Righteousness and Justice go hand in hand. They are the two pillars on which the throne of God is established. The bible says that God is with you in judgement. Judges play the role of God and therefore every judge is expected to be righteous. Justice and unrighteousness do not go together. ACTS 24:22-27.

3. As a leader that shall preserve a nation you must be constructive. In addition to righteousness and justice, you must provide constructive leadership. The leader must provide shelter for his people in the storms of trouble. You have to figure out how you must provide for the people. ISA 32:1-2

4. The leader must have foresight. ISA 32:3. His eyes must not be dim. A visionary leader needs to see fifty years ahead. For example, Singapore had 25 years plan all written down clearly. Plans have to be written down.

5. The heart of the leader must be able to acquire and preserve knowledge. Leaders who make correct policies that benefit their people are leaders who make such policies based on research and knowledge. We must make policies that are creative, constructive, protective, reduces poverty, builds capacity, pulls people out of poverty and develops the nation. Leaders through technological development and good health policies and systems can preserve the life of a nation.

 

Dr. Kole Akinboboye             –           PREPARING LEADERS FOR THE KINGDOM

• We are all leaders in our own right.
• The bible makes us to understand that God reigns – present continuous reigning.
• Therefore, the big question we must answer as leaders is “if God reigns in the present, why is our situation like this?”

Kinds of Kingdoms

1. The Kingdom of God. This is made up of all that God has created.
2. The Kingdom of Heaven. This is the domain where God lives and reigns. It is the order by which God does things. When we pray that thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth we are asking that the order by which God operates by done.  This is a process and we are not yet there.
3. The kingdom of darkness. This is spoken about in LUKE 11:17-18 and 6.
4. The Kingdom of this world. Ruled by Presidents and other rulers.

The fourth above is supposed to be under the Kingdom of heaven but unfortunately, it has aligned to the kingdom of darkness. PSA 117 says that the heavens of heaven belong to God but the earth he has given to the children of men. We are to ensure that the kingdom of this earth becomes the kingdom of our God and His Christ.

• When a strong man keeps his house, it takes a stronger man to release whoever is kept in prison. We must remind ourselves that the devil has but a short time and he will like to do as much evil as he can.

• We need to also understand there are events of the last days but there are wicked happenings that mankind has brought upon itself.

• The Lord began to deal with the problems man brought upon himself by the seed. We also must continue to plant the seed of God which is the word of God on earth in order to change the world for good. The bible says that the kingdom of God is like a man who planted a vineyard and while men slept the enemy came and planted tears.

• The good seed are the children of the kingdom. As children of God we must invade the culture of the world to bring in the culture of righteousness. Daniel invaded the culture of Babylon and set a righteous standard. He was able to do this because:

1. Daniel was educated. Education is a good seed in our lives. Education must be proper and the personality ready. The environment must also be conducive. For proper education there must be the following pre-qualifications:

• They must be Jews – People of God with covenant.
• They must be Princes – Talks of Royalty
• They must be blemish free
• They must be well endowed
• They must be skillful.
• They must have capacity to stand before the king.
• They must be people on special nutrition. Good nourishing of the soul and spirit. Good Christian books can give you good nutrition.

2. Daniel had a change of name. The change of name gives new perspectives.
   

3. Training: The object of training is to produce change. Change of mind.  Moses spent eighty years training and learning in order to bring out the people from bondage. Jesus spent thirty years for a ministry of three and half years. Apart from your training, you need to also train others. We must step down what we have learnt.

4. Friendship: We must build friendship. Raise a company that will work with you.

5. God Factor: Daniel prayed to God to get the answer to the king’s dream. We must not loose the God factor for successful leadership.

6. Daniel did not forget his friends who labored with him when things turned good. We must not be selfish and individualistic.

7. Testing: Anytime you are to be promoted, testing will come. Testing is a form of quality control because God will not want to be disgraced when you begin to manifest. Testing makes us rugged.

• Daniel maintained good attitude even when he was promoted.
• Daniel also faced persecutions and yet he maintained his stand.
• Daniel related to prophecy. As leaders we must be guided by the prophetic word of God. By reading and following prophecies he became a prophet himself.
• Finally, we must begin to ask God what his prophetic agenda is for our nation and ensure that we follow it through. In our dealings at all levels of society we must be prophetic.

 

Engr. Steve Olumuyiwa        –           HOW TO BECOME GODS SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS OF THE NATION

• As priests and leaders, we must seek to influence our society.

• There are seven mountains of society and God want us to influence our nation on every mountain. The seven mountains are:

1. Family
2. Education
3. Religion
4. Sports and Entertainment
5. The Media
6. Economy or Business
7. Politics and Governance

• Today Politics and governance have become so pronounced that people see it as more important. Every mountain recognizes governance. As priests we must operate and influence at every level of society. In fact, by God’s design, the mountain of the house of the Lord should govern all other mountains. ISA 2:2. The church is key to solving the problems of the society.

• There are five levels of Government:

1. Personal Government
2. Family Government
3. Church Government
4. Institutional Government
5. Political Government

• Personal Government is the ability to do what is right in the society. This is dependent on your background, culture and world view. Anyone who can get you to do what is right has a strong personal governance.  The more self-government you have the less of external governance you require.

• Good leaders are people who have strong internal self-government. They have strong personal conviction of morality that is right.

• Leaders need to have high level values.

• Today Politics and governance have become so pronounced that people see it as more important. Every mountain recognizes governance. As priests we must operate and influence at every level of society. In fact, by God’s design, the mountain of the house of the Lord should govern all other mountains. ISA 2:2. The church is key to solving the problems of the society.

• There are five levels of Government:

1. Personal Government
2. Family Government
3. Church Government
4. Institutional Government
5. Political Government

• Personal Government is the ability to do what is right in the society. This is dependent on your background, culture and world view. Anyone who can get you to do what is right has a strong personal governance.  The more self-government you have the less of external governance you require.

• Good leaders are people who have strong internal self-government. They have strong personal conviction of morality that is right.

• Leaders need to have high level values

• Leaders must also have strong and clear vision. They must see clearly in their area of influence. Vision is the end attainment that a leader sees of the people he is leading. When a leader’s vision is personal survival, then it is a problem.

• When people develop a rulership mentality rather than a servant leadership, it results in governance failure.

• The first key role of government is the safety of the people. JUDGES 10:1-2. & 11

• The leader must understand where the people are coming from in other to chart where they are going.

• Leaders must have a covenant relationship with God. Example:

• JUDGES 10:3-4; JUDGES 12:8-9 & JUDGES 12:13-14. Leaders just amass wealth just for their children. Closing the economy to settle themselves. They forsook the Lord.  When there is decay in leadership, the leaders will begin to take the common wealth of the nation for themselves only.  This also ends up in rulership mentality syndrome.

• Laws: Laws are guidelines for order. Freedom is not the lack of laws.

• Correction: We must read the whole scripture in order to apply them as God’s prescription for the good of our society. 119:128. The word of God is the rule and guide for all things.  It is also the guide for the evolution of strong leadership.

• Strong Spirituality: We need strong spirituality to produce strong leadership.

          EZEKIEL 19:1-4, 10, 11-14.

• Finally, we must understand that we are God’s Rod company and therefore we must:
  – Build Biblical character
  – Build competence
  – Engage in capacity development.
  – Build Courage – biblical faith