JUICY JULY 2023
DAY 21
THEME: THE FLYING ARROWS OF THE ENEMIES
TEXT: GENESIS 49:22-24.
BIBLE READING: PHILIPPIANS 2.
What a beautiful day to be alive and in His Presence again!
I know the Devil will try to throw darts of weaknesses, tiredness and discouragements at you but hey, don’t give in. Don’t allow those darts to sink in! Block them off!
If you know this song, sing it over and over:
Awon to duro d’Oluwa (They that wait upon the Lord)
A o tun agbara won se o (Shall renew their strengths)
Won a fi iye goke bii idi (They shall mount up with wings as eagles)
Won a sare ki yoo si re won (They shall run and not be weary)
Won a Rin are ki yoo mu won (They shall walk and not faint)
Now, personalize the song and sing it four times, your hands on your chest:
Emi to duro d’Oluwa (I who wait on the Lord)
Ao tun agbara mi se o (Shall renew my strength)
N o fi ye goke bii idi (I shall mount up with wings as eagles)
N o sare ki yoo si re mi (I shall run and not be weary)
N o sin are ki yoo mu mi (I shall walk and not faint)
The Bible knows that it is possible for us to get tired. The Bible knows that it is possible for us to get weary. This is why the Bible gives this particular verse in the Bible to encourage us when the weariness tries to knock. When tiredness tries to knock.
Fasting for a whole month is a very big deal. And this is why you can imagine what Jesus Christ actually went through fasting for 40 days and nights. Not eating anything, not drinking anything.
Good things don’t come easily. You have to knock. You have to seek. You have to ask. And this is why prayer is very important. Don’t give up. Keep on the firing line! Keep investing!
Before we look at the subject before us today, let’s take our first song.
ARROWS (I WILL BE WITH YOU) by Bethel Music
Lift up your eyes, child
Don’t be afraid
I hold the world in the palm of My hand
Lift up your eyes, child
I’m calling your name
My love for you is greater than the grains of sand
I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
Wherever you go
I will be there
When all you see is arrows
I’ll be your shield
I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
Come, come away, child
I’ll keep you safe
I’ll cover you with peace like a riverbed
If you feel like you’re sinking
Sink into My grace
Come find yourself in the love that will never end
Oh, I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
Wherever you go
I will be there
When all you see is arrows
I’ll be your shield
I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
Oh, there’s nothing to fear
(Yeah, there’s nothing to fear)
Turn your eyes to Jesus
There’s nothing to fear
Lay down in the green, green pasture
I will restore your soul
Lay down where the still waters flow
Lay down in the green, green pasture
I will restore your soul
Lay down where the still waters flow
Lay down in the green, green pasture
I will restore your soul
Lay down where the still waters flow
Lay down in the green, green pasture
I will restore your soul
Lay down where the still waters flow
Yes, I will be with you
Oh, there’s nothing to fear
Wherever you go
Oh, I will be there
When all you see is arrows
I’ll be your shield
Yes, I will be with you
Oh, there’s nothing to fear
Oh, I will be with you
There’s nothing to fear
When you’re walking through the midnight hour
Darkness all around you
I’m right there where you are
Even if you don’t see it
Even if you can’t feel it
I am with you, My child
So cast your burdens onto Me
Cast your cares onto Me
Because I care for you
Everything you do
Oh, how I love you, child
Oh, how I love you, child
Singing oh
How I love you, child
Singing over you, oh
How I love you, child
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Welcome back!
Today, we are contending against one of the powers the enemies uses to:
-Limit men
-Wound men
-Cause sorrows
-Kill glories
It is known as the FLYING ARROWS!
Psalm 91:5 says: Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
So, the Bible agrees with the notion that flying arrows exist!
They fly about during the day and at night!
And they are not toys!
They are weapons!
Weapons of destruction!
Let me share a personal example with you of my experience with a flying arrow. Oh, no! Three of them actually!
I was in bed just a few days after graduation from secondary school. It was a day to resume at the university.
I was on one of those popular ‘xtra-cool’ calls when suddenly I felt that strange painful entrance into my leg.
It was an arrow.
Yorubas call it ‘ofa’
One!
Two!
Three!
The same spot, three good times!
I don’t need to bore you with my details but the leg was almost totally destroyed.
I let out a deep, low cry as I struggled to catch my breath and yet not wake neighbors.
It was in the middle of the night!
That was the beginning of an experience of a lifetime for me.
I had to be admitted to the hospital for weeks.
Different diagnosis were given yet nothing could unravel what had happened.
I had been hit!
To cut the Lord story short, God came through for me!
After many weeks, prayers raised me up.
Physiotherapy had to start so I could learn how to walk again!
The area where the arrows came in left a spot. Oh yes! It happened in the spiritual but reflected in the physical!
Ayayayyayayaya….what a world of wickedness we live in.
It was not possible to go to the university that year because of the issue. The admission had to be deferred for two good years.
But for His mercies that delivered and saved me!
Not everyone with this kind of experience lives to share this kind of testimony though!
Sisters, these things aren’t fables. They are real!
Haven’t you heard of things like this before?
Children that’d cry out from sleep suddenly and die?
Someone on her way to the convocation ceremony who suddenly feels an entrance in her head, and starts to manifest? Starts to display maniacally?
You haven’t heard things like these before?
If you do not believe in warfare, you are simply deceiving yourself.
This world is very wicked and the Bible makes no mistake to warn us about this.
Of course, flying arrows do not bring joy to its victims. It comes with great contention.
A great fight!
It comes with an aim to wound!
Or to kill!
Some are intentionally targeted at the victims!
Others are straying arrows that penetrate into undiscerning victims.
Maybe they are targeted at the husband, they hit the wife!
Or targeted at a person and they hit their friend.
The Bible recognizes the flying arrows as real and that was why it says in Ephesians 6:16 that:
Above all, lift up the (protective) shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
We are admonished here to appear before any battle with our protective weapon; the shield of faith!
Why?
Why do we need a shield?
We need it against the flying, flaming arrows of the wicked ones.
Not only are the arrows flying!
They are flaming!
They are fiery!
It would be a defeat for us to launch into this battle without our protective weapon that would shiled us from the attacks of the enemies.
What are flying arrows?
Flying arrows are injurious weapons IN MOTION that have the capacity to cause a damage or death on a living person.
Motion here is emphasized because arrows still in their bows or sheaths are not in motion. Those ones are not aimed at any individual- at least, yet!
But flying arrows are planned and targeted arrows shot to an individual, family, bloodline or generation aimed at achieving a particular purpose.
We could have said just arrows, but we say flying arrows because they are working arrows relaesed by archers- spiritual hunters of destinies!
Ephesians 6:12 says: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against:
- principalities and powers…
- Rulers of darkness of this world
- Spiritual wickedness in high places
And these enemies actually make use of different types of weapons.
Spiritual arrows are invisible attacks from the kingdom of darkness to specific or unspecified targets.
Specific targets are those that the enemy intended to harm with their arrows, while the unspecified are those that were not intended by the enemy but the arrow got to them by accident or by coincident.
As I mentioned already, those are straying arrows!
Whether you are a specified target or unspecified, if you are washed by the Blood of Jesus, you have a promised to be protected from flying arrows.
Let’s look at the account of Joseph in relations to destiny archers from our text; Gen. 49.22-24 (AMPC):
Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well (spring or fountain), whose branches run over the wall.
Skilled archers have bitterly attacked and sorely worried him; they have shot at him and persecuted him.
But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him, for the arms of his hands were made strong and active by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
Wow, glory!!!
There are the key terms we can see here:
-Fruitful bough,
-Skilled archers,
-Shot at him,
-Rested in the strength that does not fail him.
The devil don’t just attack. He shoots his arrows at individuals with colourful destinies.
It would be so naive of you to say that you don’t have an enemy.
You are Jesus’ side, you have successfully won to yourself a renewed enmity of the Devil!
Not only that, you have shiny dreams and glory?
Ahhhh, how can the devil love you?
The devil has no capacity actually to love anyone. He is wickedness personified. He is full of evil. This is why he is the devil.
In his activities of destructions however, he’d use fellow humans from wherever who would say to him, like we consecrated Believers would say to Christ- ‘Here am I, send me!’
The devil has fervent servants !
Servants who can never say ‘No’ to him.
He’d enter into those to fight you!
Joseph in our context today was a target of archers because he was a fruitful tree. That was why the devil shot at him.
The Bible called him a Fruitful Bough!
You think about it.
Who bothers a fruitless tree?
Nothing!
No one!
Except maybe people that take shade underneath it.
But immediately you see people throw stones and sticks at a tree, check well, it is because of the juicy fruits it has!
The ants would visit.
The birds of the air would fly in.
The fruitful tree attracts a whole lot to herself!
Because of the fruits!
Because of her potentials!
That was Joseph.
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An archer is a person who shoots with an arrow and a bow.
Spiritual archers are wicked personalities that fire spiritual arrows at beautiful destinies.
They are highly trained and skilled to use an arrow.
Archers don’t fire at random.
They carefully select their targets before they launch their attacks.
And they shoot in secret so as to cover their identities.
They shot at Joseph indeed but he prevailed and was protected from the flying arrows of the archers as seen in verse 24 because he abode in the strength of the Lord!
Halleluyah!
Ephesians 6:16 confirms that for those that are in Christ Jesus, they possess with them the protective weapons. And one main one is the Shield. The Shield of faith.
Joseph had a very strong, unchallengeable faith in His God and with that, the arrows could not penetrate!
Another example is given of another character in the Bible who the flying arrows of the enemies were shot at but who became a wounded victim and never survived the ordeal.
Let’s see it in II Chronicles 35:20-24(AMPC):
After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went out to fight against Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.
But [Neco] sent ambassadors to [Josiah], saying, What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war; and God has commanded me to make haste.
Refrain from opposing God, Who is with me, lest He destroy you. Yet Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him.
He did not heed the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight with him in the valley of Megiddo.
And the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.
He disguised himself.
Yet the archers shot at him!
He was wounded!
And he died!
The aftermath of flying arrows being shot comes with wounds!
Or death!
Physical death!
Spiritual death!
Mental death!
Social death!
Marital death!
Health death!
Financial death!
Josiah was the one who became a king at the age of eight.
He was the one who did the great reformation for the house of God.
What a great destiny he had!
Alas, he became a victim of flying arrows!
May we not be victims of flying arrows in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
HOW TO BE SHIELDED FROM FLYING ARROWS:
RIGHTEOUS LIVING
Only the righteous one would be delivered out of trouble.
If you are not born again or there still lies secret sins in your life, better get rid of them!
If I was kitted up spiritually that day, the arrows would have hit the strong iron shield and turned back to destroy the senders!
But I wasn’t. And I was still very young and naive.
Flying arrows don’t fear age or regard experience.
They look for a loophole, they find one and launch attacks!
But for my mum’s prayers, three arrows were potent enough to finish me forever.
But her prayers and the prayers of many others afterwards by His mercies preserved me. Halleluyah!
You can come to the Lord today, sisters. The door is still open. Ask for His purging and cleansing today so you can be on His side.
When you are on His side, when the enemies arrive, they will be defeated!
Notice that I use the word ‘when’. Oh yes! Because it is a matter of time!
As long as your destiny is shiny, the archers of destinies would be attracted and try to stop you!
But you must prevail!
Don’t allow those arrows into your marriage!
Don’t allow them in your children!
Or in your business!
Or in your body!
Or prayer life!
Or ministry!
Come to the Lord’s side today and leave the arena of sins!
PRAYER:
Prayerlessness in a Christian’s life also gives access for the flying arrows of the devil to penetrate.
Prayer creates a covering.
A hedge!
Around the one who prays.
But the person who doesn’t pray is exposed.
Even the arrow meant for someone in your hostel, if it backfires, might mistakenly hit you.
It is not enough to say I am immuned against the flying arrows of the devil because I am born again. You need to be prayerful also!
PUTTING ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
Not putting on the whole armor of God also exposes us to the attacks of the enemies. It is not enough to just engage in prayer, but to engage with wisdom.
These spiritual armours grant us wisdom and strategies to war. Ephesians 6:10-13.
God, who understands the nature of our battles, and our inability to fight these battles with our own power, has made available unto us suitable armors, and He is instructing us to put on the whole armor at all times.
Failure to put this armor on or putting on alternative armors would result in defeat and total downfall.
KNOWLEDGE OVER IGNORANCE
Being ignorant of Satan’s devices and of our spiritual authority can also make us susceptible to the devil’s Wiles.
When we are ignorant of satanic devices and strategies, the devil can take advantage of us, and he will succeed at launching several attacks against us and our breakthroughs.
God has given us the Holy Spirit who knows every deep and hidden thing and can reveal them to us. Before the arrow is even wielded, the Holy Spirit would have quickly revealed it to us. He wouldn’t keep us in the dark.
Another area we could be ignorant is in the area of spiritual authority that God has given us over the devil and all his agents.
In Luke 10:18-19, the Bible says:
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
DESTROYING LEGAL GROUNDS:
Another thing that can give the flying arrows access into our lives is uncleared legal grounds.
Sometimes, the devil claims a legal ground and uses that to carry out his evil plans against us. This is because certain areas where we cooperate with him or give him a chance either consciously or unconsciously make us lose divine protection and make us liable to his attacks.
The Bible says whoever breaks a hedge, the serpent shall bite him.
For us to overcome attacks by flying arrows, we need to destroy all the legal grounds the Devil has over us.
All the grounds we have yielded to the enemy for which he can accuse us. Maybe the sins of our forefathers, or our own sins. Whatever it is, we must clear them off and give the Devil no reason to laugh at us! No reason for his arrows to have dominion over us.
Revelation 12:11 also give us another secret: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death. .
This reveals two things that can give us victory:
THE WORD OF GOD:
The Word of the Lord in our mouths! Do you remember that that was how the Lord conquered the devil? ‘It is written!’
Be so versed in the knowledge of the Word of the Lord that even in your dreams, you are quoting them and winning victories with them!
THE BLOOD OF JESUS
Another thing is the Blood!
The Blood works!
As you wake up, you soak yourself in the Blood. You soak your properties and family members in the Blood.
One day, I was stepping out of my room to go to my clap when the Holy Spirit quickly whispered to me to pray.
Oh, really?
‘Cover your brain with the Blood of Jesus’
It felt like a weird prayer but I retreated back into the room and prayed.
I got to the class that day and one of my colleagues that used to behave as if she didn’t like me suddenly became friendly. She started talking to me, coming close, until she got a hold of my head.
Isn’t that weird?
Then she said ‘Oh effico!’ (The intelligent one)
I felt a shudder down my spine at once, looked into her face and she withdrew. Then, I realized why the Lord asked me to pray.
Maybe something would have started going wrong with my grades or whatever evil it was that was planned. The Lord averted all of them!
The Blood works.
Cover your food and water with the Blood. When you want to sleep, cover yourself with the Blood. Before your children go to school, soak them in the Blood. And when you have a bad dream, use the Blood of Jesus to destroy all the effects.
When the angel of destruction sees the Blood of Jesus, it becomes a must for it to pass over!
Halleluyah!
Isaiah 54:17 says ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.’
Amen??
Psalm 64:7 says “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded”
Amen???
All the enemies of our lives and progress, the Lord shall shoot them with an arrow, and they will be wounded for our sakes in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
Doubt, disappointments, discouragement, fears, depressions, mental illnesses, sicknesses, diseases, attacks, losses, unfruitfulness, hatred etc are a few of the different types of arrows that can be targeted at God’s children.
They fly around at day and even at night.
We need to be clad up against these arrows so when they arrive, they’d meet an arrow-proof target!
Halleluyah!
Amen!
Let’s take this prayer song before we pray:
EVIL ARROWS GO BACK TO YOUR SENDERS
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Begin to thank the Lord. Worship Him for who He is and how powerful He is.
O Lord my Father, thank You for being my God, thank you for the privilege of knowing you, thank you for always being there for me and with me.
O God my Father, thank you for the great and mighty things that you are doing in my life, thank you for your provision and protection over me and my household, thank you for always answering my prayers.
Continue to worship Him. When you are done, move on.
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REPENT AND CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD
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Say: I cover myself in the Blood of Jesus (14x)
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Oh yes arrows stored up in any organ of my body, I command you to jump out and go back to the sender, in the name of Jesus.
Bullets of darkness, in my body, backfire, in the name of Jesus.
(Lay your right hand on your head) Arrows of untimely death, fired into my head, backfire, in the name of Jesus.
Arrows of repeated problems, fired into my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
Thou finger of God, enter into my life and foundation. Uproot every effect of evil arrows, in Jesus’ name.
Evil deposits in my lineage, meant to cause me unrest; physically, mentally, maritally….die in Jesus’ name.
Owners of evil loads in my body. As I clap my hands now, carry your loads, in Jesus’ name. (Say ‘Carry your loads 7x, clapping each time)
Satanic prophet(s), hired to fire evil arrows at me, my husband, children, parents, siblings, you and your senders, receive the judgment of the Lord, in Jesus’ name.
Lay your hands on your hand and say 14x: Ori mi, oo ni gbabode Loruko Jesu! (My head, you will not cooperate with evil doers in the Mighty Name of Jesus)
Evil arrows of untimely death, terminal diseases, failures, oppression, fruitless efforts and evil dreams (mention all), your time is up! Jump out by fire, in Jesus’ name.
Go back to your senders, in Jesus’ mighty name!
Oh Lord, let every arrow diverting my blessings, glory, etc to someone else wherever, be broken to pieces, in Jesus name.
Blood of Jesus (7x) wash out every spiritual arrow in any part of my body and destroy them completely, in Jesus name.
O Lord, let every evil arrow fired against me from my Father’s or mother’s side programmed against me, my career, family, etc be diverted and backfire in Jesus name.
The power in the Blood of Jesus, cleanse me from the evil effects of every evil arrow fired against me, my children, my husband…..while I was asleep or unaware, in Jesus name.
By the power of the Holy Ghost, I fire back to the sender 100 fold all the arrows of failure, arrows of sickness and diseases fired against my health, career, business, etc, in Jesus name.
Power of the Holy Ghost, let my prayer become arrows and let them shoot down every satanic representation at work against my life, my career, family etc in the name of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, conduct a total ruthless sanitation in my life, body , family, health right now. Let everything contrary to you be burnt to ashes in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!
Every arrow waiting for me at the edge of my success, you lie! I break you to pieces now in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!
Holy Ghost Fire, shield me when I am awake. Shield me when I am asleep. Shield me from attacks of the enemy and make me a conqueror in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!
Flying arrows, go back to your senders! Destroy your senders!
Terrible wounds I have sustained in the battles of life, oh Lord, heal me of them all in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!
Omnipotent Father, help me never to stray from your protection. Help me to stay put underneath your everlasting arms in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ.
Continue to pray as you are led.
When you are done, take this song of total dependence on God.
Thou art O Lord art my shield- -Byron Cage
VERSE 1:
Lord how are they increased that trouble me
Many are they that rise up against me
Many there be that say of my soul
There is no help for him in God
CHORUS:
But thou oh Lord are a shield for me
My glory, you lift my head
But thou oh Lord are a shield for me
You’re my glory, the lifter up of my head.
VERSE 2:
I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And he heard me out of his Holy hill.
I laid me down and I slept
I awaked for the Lord sustained me
CHORUS
I will not be afraid
Of ten thousands of people
That set themselves against me
Round about (x 2)
CHORUS x 2
Tab:
Thank you for lifting (x3) my head
Thank you for lifting my head
Thank you for lifting (x3) my head
CHORUS:
Tab:
End:
You Lord, are my glory, you lift my head.
One response to “THE FLYING ARROWS OF THE ENEMIES”
I am glad I came across this article. God bless all hands put together in this. Amen