RAISING THE BANNER

Text: Psalm 60:4-5

“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.” The banner is a standard, it is a symbol of authority; a symbol of territorial dominion and also a symbol of victory. The banner is effective only as long as it is displayed. A banner demarcates boundaries. We need to be people who are enforcing righteousness in our domain and places of influence. The Lord has given us the world as a territory to display his banner. Rom. 8:9 (TLB) says, “But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all.)” The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of truth. Truth is so fundamental.

As a parent, if you can successfully train your child to be truthful, that child will go places. Anything you display without the truth is nonsense. If truth is used as a test, how many Christians will stand? The banner can only be displayed by those who have the spirit of truth. According to John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” There are spiritual terrorists all over the place looking for whom to attack; the only weapon you can use is to raise a standard against them.

God has given us a banner that we may display it because of truth and the essence of the display is as stated in verse 5 “that thy beloved may be delivered”. I like to look at deliverance as nothing but spiritual healing; I like to look at deliverance as nothing but setting the captives free. Everyone is supposed to be free in the world but everywhere you go, you will find people in bondages although some are self-imposed. No one who habours the spirit of deception is free, it is only the truth that will make you free indeed. Whoever has issues with the truth is not upright. Anytime you tell a lie, you cut yourself short. If a giant tells a lie, he becomes a Lilliputian. Your true size is your truth size! You have nothing to display if you are not truthful. It is a banner of truth, a banner of victory, a banner of restoration, a banner of total liberation and a banner of dominion.

Pray – Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, search my heart, if there be any residual deception in me, let it dissolve and disappear and let the spirit of truth take over my life. Let the spirit of truth take over my destiny, let Him take over every facet of my life and guide me unto fruitfulness in the name of Jesus. Thank you, faithful God, in Jesus name.

It is deception that makes people cover what they should display and display what they should cover. You cannot win the world by learning their ways; you can never change a system by becoming one with it. God has called us to display his banner; to display his spirit, Christ is the spirit of truth “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17. Truth sanctifies. You cannot be truthful and be frolicking with crooked things. Remember the blessing of uprightness – no good thing will be withheld from you; the Lord himself will be your sun and shield, according to Psa. 84:11.

When you are truthful, you will appear like a glass; as clear as crystal; the glory of God will be reflected through you. That is how to display the banner. What are you hiding from being displayed? Anything that is hidden is dark. You cannot give what you don’t have; you cannot be in bondage and be setting people free. Anyone who has encounter with Christ knows that He is dazzling, full of glory, a light of  indescribable intensity. To be a Christian is to be an ambassador of Christ; ambassadors display the banner of their countries wherever they are.

The banner of our Lord Jesus Christ is going to be flown all over nations of the world before his return and you have a part to play in it. This is part of what will determine your reward in heaven. What God purpose are you serving in your generation? Abundant life is not just about food, drinks or possessions, it is much more than that. How much of Christ are you manifesting? Are you an enforcer of righteousness in your sphere of influence? If the banner is not displayed, the kingdom of darkness will take over. God forbid! But that is what is happening in the world literally. Why? Because those whose responsibility it is to show forth the banner of the Lord are shirking from their responsibility.

Isa. 59:15, “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.” Those who say the truth are classified as judgmental today; the world now celebrates liars. They talk about love but they don’t know anything about love because love minus truth is nothing but lust; crisis, Babylon and perversion. A lot of parents have lost their children because they find it difficult to correct them. Every philosophy of life that you adopt will be tested by life itself, that is why you need to be very careful in your lifetime. The fruit of lie has sent a lot of parents to untimely grave. The Living Bible puts this scripture this way, “Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries a better life is soon attacked.” Whoever tries to live a better life where truth is missing will be attacked. Why? Because there is no Judgment. God expects you to judge evil even at the risk of being misunderstood. Today, there are some pastors that cannot take you beyond the outer court; the outer court is where the crowd gathers. It is only the high priest that can get to the holy of holies. But that is where the glory is.

Verse 16 – “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.” An intercessor is one who comes against the forces of defilement; the forces of darkness and the forces that oppose truth. An intercessor is an enforcer of righteousness. One of the ways to display the banner of the Lord is to raise a standard; to be an intercessor. When God wants to bless your family, he will raise an intercessor from there because most foundations are upside down in need of repairs.

Verse 17 – “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.” Pray – Father, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, put upon me the garment of righteousness as a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation upon my head. Put on me the garment of vengeance for clothing. This year, please clothe me with zeal in Jesus name. The zeal of the Lord will drive you to some dangerous assignments but God will protect you because of the garment of righteousness and because he is you sun and shield. The greatest shield is the glory shield.

Verse 18-19 – “According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay … when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” The Spirit of the Lord is the spirit of truth, it is the spirit of dominion, the spirit of righteousness, the Spirit of the Lord is the Holy Spirit – a standard lifter.

My desire for you is that throughout the rest of your life, you will be a banner lifting Christian everywhere you go. If the banner of the Lord is flying over your head, there is no power that can stop you, nobody will be able to bounce you. Truth is consistent, truth is simple, truth is clear, truth explains all. The word of God is truth.

Pray – Lord, please help me, I want to live the rest of my life lifting your banner everywhere I go in every area of my life in the name of Jesus, let your banner fly, let your glory show forth in the name of Jesus. Help me O God to be a worthy ambassador of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you, faithful God.

• Jesus, I re-dedicate my life to you, I re-dedicate my body, soul and spirit to you, I re-dedicate my mind, my will, my emotion, my initiative, my personality, everything that concerns me I hand over to you. I lift up your name, I raise your banner, I lift up your banner. Thank you so much, Jesus. Please establish me in holiness, in righteousness and in wisdom and let your glory flow through me in Jesus name.

Matt. 18:18, “Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This is a scripture that enables us raise the banner of the Lord. The banner establishes boundaries. Whatever you allow on earth will be allowed in heaven and whatever you disallow on earth shall be disallowed in heaven. If things are not working well in your life, get angry in spirit because you cannot change what you tolerate. There is a place for positive channeling of anger. TRUTH DOES NOT CONDONE NONSENSE. The world is upside down today because there are few enforcers of righteousness. Truth does not submit to error, it is error that submits to truth.

Prayer

1. Father, I thank you for your word in Matthew 18:18, I thank you for your word is truth. Thank you for the banner you have given me that I may display it because of truth. Lord, I bless and magnify your name, thank you, faithful God.
2. I now stand on the authority of your word, I stand on the authority of the name of Jesus, I stand on the authority of the blood of Jesus and I plead the blood of Jesus against you spirits of untimely death, failure, poverty, stagnation, idolatry, recession, deception, demotion, spirits responsible for carelessness, sudden loss of wealth, sudden loss of health, accident, disappointment, scarcity, kidnapping, delay, impurity, delusion, fear, obstruction, discouragement, disease, barrenness, lack, corruption, retrogression, error, destruction, blockade and satanic embargo. I overcome you by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony, I bind you today and cast you into the abyss, I destroy your works and terminate your operation in Jesus name.
3. I raise the blood of Jesus against each and every one of you spirits that I have overcome in my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Father, thank you. Holy Spirit divine, raise your standard against every demonic incursion and any demonic programme against my life this year in the name of Jesus and deprogramme every programme of hell concerning my destiny. Frustrate every token of hell in the name of Jesus. I ask that you send your ministering angels to level the mountains, to fill up the valleys and to make the crooked paths straight in the name of Jesus.
4. I call forth into manifestation the blessings of God that make rich and do not add any sorrow, I call forth showers of blessing, fruitfulness, favour, protection, provision, signs and wonders, testimonies, promotion, massive salvation of souls, great restoration, supernatural abundance, sweatless victories in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.