#WEC2021 Day 5: Bishop Mike Okonkwo Charges Believers to Possess Their Possessions

The well-respected presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, was the guest minister on the fifth day of the 2021 Word Explosion Conference. While delivering his opening remarks, the clergy encouraged and prayed for all his listeners who were affected in any way by the impacts of Covid-19.

Taking his opening scriptures from 1 Samuel 17:8-9, 48-54 and John 19:30 to create a background for his message, Bishop Mike spoke on the conference theme, Possessing Your Possession. He noted that believers already have their possession in Jesus Christ, but many do not possess their possession because they lack knowledge of what belongs to them and how to take what God has given them.

The TREM Overseer reminded his listeners that the world would not give them what belongs to them except they decisively and boldly take possession of it. He further admonished them that it is their responsibility to know what belongs to them and take what God has made available for them.

He explained that Possessing Your Possession means:

1. It is already yours.
2. It is already paid for.
3. All you need are already made available for you.

Delving deeper into his message, Bishop Mike quoted John 19:30 saying that when Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant the job is “perfectly perfect” and “completely complete”. The Greek word for the phrase “It is finished” is “Teleo”. Another root word that comes from the phrase is “Tetelestai”. To fully understand what our Lord Jesus Christ meant when He said, “It is finished”, the clergy examined three perspectives as follow:

1. In commerce or business, the word means “no more debt”. It implies that the goods or products have been fully paid for, and they should be released entirely and should no longer be kept in store.

2. In the legal dimension, it means “your death sentence has been fully served”. That the criminal was sentenced, went to jail, and served his whole jail term. If you have fully done time for an offence, you cannot be rearrested for the same crime. This implies that you are discharged, acquitted and your case is closed forever. There cannot be any appeal because you have been discharged and released to be free of the criminal charges forever.

3. In warfare, it means “the battle is won”. Jesus Christ fought your battles and won. He rose triumphantly with all powers with Him. Thus, no matter what the devil brings your way – be it sickness, death, fear, agony, pains, discouragement, failure, challenges, and so on; you must exercise your dominion and assert your victory over him in Christ Jesus.

Bishop Mike Okonkwo then charged the attendees to have a mindset of victory because of the finished work on Calvary. He also explained that the nature of the warfare against the devil is such that only One person needed to fight, and Jesus has fought and won the battle for everyone who receives Him. He reiterated that “You don’t need to fight any battle”.

Reading from Ephesians 1:17-23, the clergy mentioned that God’s people are destroyed not because the devil is powerful but for a lack of knowledge. He emphasized that when you know all that Jesus Christ has done and that He has won the battle, you will successfully live victoriously above the devil, and he will always bow to you.

Going back to 1 Samuel 17, the man of God stated that Saul and his army are examples of churches without divine revelation. They do not understand the working knowledge of the covenant rights they have in Jesus Christ. Bishop Mike said that as believers in Christ, we have covenant rights, heritages, and privileges in Him in all areas of life. He instructed believers to come out of their trenches and hiding places. “The devil is a defeated foe, and he will remain so forever. But if you are ignorant of this, he will always roar and threaten you”, he said.

The clergy stated that the only thing that is preventing people from doing great exploits is ignorance. “When you know your God and know all He has done for you, you will do great exploits”, he said. He then assured listeners that once you know that the price has been paid and the battle has been won, there is nothing the devil can successfully do against you; he cannot harm you.

Bishop went on to say that some may be hearing the voices of defeat, discouragement, failure, pains, shame, dishonour, and poverty because they are ignorant of what Jesus Christ has done for them. He admonished them to begin to hear the voice of Jesus. To hear God’s voice, Bishop encouraged them to spend more time in the word of God. “When you have an understanding of what God has made available, no battle will threaten you”, he said.

He likened David to the church that has understanding and divine revelation. This type of church has a working knowledge of the covenant that God has made for them. David understood that he had a relationship with God and that God was with him. He learnt to constantly speak of the Lord in all situations and not of the devil and made his boast only in the Lord. David’s confessions were consistent with God’s words and promises for his life. “This is what we must do to ensure we live a daily victorious life in Christ,” Bishop Mike said, adding that that the more of God believers know, the stronger they would become as is written in Daniel 11:32.

Still using David as his case study, Bishop Mike admonished the church not to compromise and cede victory to the devil. He emphasized that believers should boldly and courageously confront the devil, fears, challenges, and troubles in the same way David faced Goliath with the knowledge of God and gained divine victory.

He challenged Fountaineers to arise and take their possessions just like the men of Israel and Judah did after David defeated Goliath. The clergy then explained how Jesus Christ defeated the boastful devil and set free the captives that the devil had kept in bondage and fear. Bringing his sermon to an end, Bishop Mike said believers have been called to reign with Christ and not run from the devil. According to 1 John 5:4, he noted that Christians are overcomers and victorious in all areas of life because Jesus has given the victory.

Reported by Gbolahan Pearl Oyelakin 

To watch the complete sermon, visit Fountain TV.