Victory in the Valley of the Shadow of Death by Pastor D.K. Olukoya
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Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Valley
Deep hollow between mountains; a low land flanked on both sides by high lands.
It always has deep waters, streams, and wells flowing through. Shepherds love valleys because of the green grass growing there that can be good food for their flocks. The fact that it is flanked by mountains on both sides shades if from direct sunlight; covered by the shadow of the mountains. The height of the mountains could impose darkness on the valley; at day time and the prevailing temperature will be very cool. As cool and good as the valley, it is a place where terrible animals are found. Animals like bears, wolves, serpents, etc. because they like the atmosphere of the valley. It could be in a valley that David fought with bears and lions and he won because the Lord was with him.
In the valley, there could be thunderstorms and flood and rocking’s falling from the mountains. As cool as the valley is, it could be very dangerous.
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
A person could be passing through the valley of sickness, financial loss, frustration, marital turbulence and disgrace, dishonour and the most dangerous one is the valley of the shadow of death.
Shadow
A figure produced from the blockage of light by another figure. It is not the real thing, it is a representation of it. The shadow of a dog cannot bite because it is not the real animal. The shadow of a serpent cannot bite. The shadow of a gun cannot kill. No matter how dark a shadow could be, it reminds one of the presence of light because it is when light is shielded, that a shadow is produced.
Thanks to the Lord for the preservation of your life. Many of the places you have passed through, are valleys of the shadow of death. You passed through those places because the Lord is with you.
VICTORY IN THE VALLEY
INHABITANTS OF THE VALLEY OF DEATH
There are different creatures in the valley. The first and most prominent which must be dealt with, is fear.
1) Fear: Men run away from dangerous animals, electricity, accidents etc, because they fear death. People go about looking for charms from herbalists because they fear death.
People carry out sacrifices and join cults and lodges because of the fear of failure and death.
When the fear of death grips you, you die before your time. When the fear of poverty grips you, you die before your time. It is a tragedy for a poor man to refer to you as a poor man.
There was a man who said “NO” to poverty. He was provoked to rebel against the spirit of poverty because, one day, someone came to look for him at the school and a student helped them out. They went to the church and the student found the teacher’s sandals amongst others at the entrance of the church. It was a tattered pair of sandals, which the teacher had always worn and was identified with. He was surprised that they knew where he was. When he asked them, the boy said he saw his sandals and recognized them. It was that day that the teacher started war against the spirit of poverty.
Also Read: Evil Tenant By Pastor D. K. Olukoya
When fear gets hold of a person, it opens the door to other demons. Fear is something that gets hold of people and no one else can deliver them from it except the Lord, through prayers and the word of God. Fear distracts people from the Lord, on whom they should focus. If it were said that the Lord Jesus would appear in the room where you are and that He would be there for just one second, your focus would be on the door; so that you will not miss Him. Suddenly, you hear someone shout; “snake, snake” your attention will be shifted from the door to the direction of the cry. This is fear. However some people will be undaunted; because they know what it means for them to see Jesus at the moment He arrives they will not shake, even though the snake is creeping all over them.
Fear paralyses faith. David says; “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
There is a saying that “thousands die before their death”.
Fear buries spiritual growth. It announces your location to destructive agents. It is a terrible thing and most common demon in the world.
One day at the Chemistry laboratory when I was a student. We were asked to carry out some experiments but a student decided to fabricate an explosive, which was used during the civil war. Suddenly, there was an exposition and the supervisor, a professor, dived out the laboratory through the window. He fell flat on the ground and almost broke his legs. When asked why he ran away without knowing what it was, he told us that it was safer that way because if it were a dangerous thing, he would have escaped death. This is a clear demonstration of fear.
I was travelling one day in a commercial vehicle and it ran off the road. Thank God, nothing happened and the journey continued. Suddenly we saw smoke oozing out of the engine and the driver stopped the vehicle. Then, people started screaming and jumping out through the windows, in the process, many got themselves seriously wounded and some almost ran into the way of other vehicles passing. The real thing that happened could not have killed but people almost got killed in the process of escape because of the fear of death.
Is there fear in your life? Some people fear heights, some fear marriage. Many lives are ruined by fear. If you want to obtain victory in the valley of the shadow of death, fear must get out of your life.
Call your name and ask yourself what you are scared of. Command fear to get out off your life right now. Identify the area where the enemy wants to get hold of you.
The opposite of fear in English is courage or boldness, but according to the Bible, faith is the opposite of fear.
2) Sting of Death: 1 Corinthians 15:54-56
“54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”
Sin is the sting of death. If you play with sin, it will sting you to death. The Bible says: “The wages of sin is death”. This means that sin pays salary and the currency in which it pays it is death.
Sin is the greatest instrument of death. When a sinner dies, he dies; but when a Christian dies, he has been called home by God; to him, death is a special sleep or rest very soon, the trumpet will sound and Christians will be taken up in rapture.
Death was already in the Garden of Eden. It was tied to a tree and Adam and Eve were warned not to eat the fruit because the day that they did, they shall die. This was the first introduction to the word “death”. It came forth because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve to God’s word. God’s pronouncement now came upon Adam; that because he had done it he shall die and return to dust, because he is dust himself.
The devil is the author of sin and he gave a share of it to Adam. Since Satan is the author of sin and sin brought death, Satan now becomes the controller of death. Although God has the power to say yes or no, Satan controls the department of death when you go to sin.
– My name is not in that department of death in the Name of Jesus.
Man through sin has given the devil ample opportunity to kill men as he likes and carts them to hell fire.
3) Sickness (the spirit of infirmity). It renders medical science powerless. It could turn an adult to a baby. This serpent of sickness crawls about in the valley of the shadow of death and manipulates all sorts of terrible things.
4) Drinkers of blood and eaters of flesh. They kill the careless and unprotected. They dig deep into the person’s background to see if there are open doors through which they can move in and also look for seats, and install themselves.
5) Spirit of family destruction. Some families die in horrible and mysterious ways. This spirit kills according to pattern or at random. Sometimes it is the male children that will be dying; sometimes, it is a chosen age group.
6) Lack of knowledge – ignorance, through ignorance, many Christians have become a prey to Satan. Some people collect demonic clinical prophesies and sanctions which lead to their death.
If you don’t know anything about spiritual warfare or sending back evil arrows to their senders or you don’t know the activities of the amputators, wasters, emptiers, and you don’t know how to plead the Blood of Jesus upon yourself and your situations, you may be heading for a premature death.
Many Christians die this way. They walk through the valley of the shadow of death in ignorance. The battle between David and the bear and the lion must have been fought in that valley. If you walk in this valley and you want to come out victorious, you must have the spirit of a fighter.
A man went fishing one day and he found out that he did not catch anything. Suddenly, a serpent came out of the river in great fury and his canoe capsized. He found himself in the bottom of the river and saw strange faces, including a dead uncle. This uncle asked him what he came to do there and he told him the story. The uncle warned him never to fish in that river anymore. This uncle went into his room and brought out fresh fish and gave to this man. He took it and cooked at home, for his family. Within 6 months, they were all dead. If the man had knowledge of spiritual things, he would have known that the dead uncle living in a house under the waters, was a spirit, he would also have known that the fish he gave him was not ordinary and he would either not have taken it or would have thrown it away.
Death did not overcome Jesus. Jesus conquered the devil and took the keys of hell and death from Satan and Jesus was victorious over the devil so, believers should not be afraid of anything; even death.
I want you to ask yourself the following questions;
1 Do you have the spirit of fear tormenting you constantly?
2 Do you sometimes feel lifeless and sick of living?
3 How long do members of your family live before they die?
4 Do you have a family altar or shrine
5 Have you ever participated in rituals and sacrifices before?
6 Do you have an illness that defies medicine?
7 Have you gone through surgical operations that have proven abortive?
8 Has anyone ever told you that you look like a dead relative?
9 Were you named after a dead relative?
Know for sure that you have been caged in that valley, if your answers to these questions are in affirmative.
10 Have you ever been to uniformed churches and have used charms, prayer soaps, perfumes, sponge, etc.
11 Were you always ill as a child and you have incisions all over your body?
12 As a young bride, were you put in a fattening room?
13 Do you see strange things, hear voices that others don’t see nor hear?
14 Are you excessively stubborn?
15 Are you addicted to alcohol, tobacco, and hard drugs?
16 Do you experience terrible menstrual pains?
17 Do you have sleepless nights?
18 Do you suddenly become dizzy? You get sad and moody without cause?
19 Do you feel things moving all over your body?
20 Do you feel pressed down or strangulated?
21 Do you wake up in the morning and find scratches on your body?
WAY OUT
1 Fear must go.
2 Depart from sin
3 Adopt the heart of the fighter.
Beloved, if you are reading this bulletin and you had never surrendered your life to Christ, I would advise you to do so now. See yourself as a sinner and know that you cannot approach God in your sinful state. Repent of these sins, name them and ask God to forgive you. Ask him to cleanse you with the precious Blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross at Calvary for your sake.
Ask the Lord Jesus to come into your life and be your personal Lord and Saviour. Submit your totality to him and promise not to go back to the world any more.
Say goodbye to the devil and sin in the name of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER POINTS
1 Command the spirit of fear to depart from you in the Name of Jesus
2 Mention the type of fear (death, failure, rejection, etc.) and command it to leave.
3 Call on the Almighty God, the One who is mightier than the mightiest, higher than the highest, greater than the greatest, stronger than the strongest. The One whose power cannot be challenged.
4 Every inherited fear, from my mother- side, release me in the Name of Jesus
– From my father – side
– Inherited bondages break in the Name of Jesus
5 Every witchcraft attack in my dream die in the Name of Jesus
6 Holy Ghost fire; deliver me now in the Name of Jesus.
7 Every witchcraft power manipulating my destiny, die in the Name of Jesus
8 Wicked animal spirits come out of my body, in the Name of Jesus.
9 Every weapon of bewitchment in my life, break away in the Name of Jesus.
10 Your destiny quenchers, I bury you today, in the Name of Jesus.
11 Every spirit of tragedy, gather yourselves, go back to your sender
12 Every spirit of sorrow
– Untimely death
– Backsliding
– Frustration
– Failure
– Disappointment
– Poverty
– Arrow of witchcraft
– Arrow of familiar spirits
– Marine spirits
– Arrow of sickness
– Arrow from the heavenliness
– Arrow from the forest
– Arrow from my place of birth
– Foolishness
– Spiritual failure
– Financial loss
– Marital disturbance
– Insanity
… gather yourselves , go back to sender in the Name of Jesus .
13 Failure, disappear; breakthroughs, appear in the Name of Jesus.
14 Every poverty pursuing me from my father- side, die in the Name of Jesus.
– From my mother –side; die in the Name of Jesus.
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Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
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