Although Jonah only writes a short account of his life experiences, his experiences are profound enough for him to be quoted by Jesus(Matt 16:4). He typifies the history of humanity. God puts out the call and they respond. They then seek to go their own way and forget God who called them in the first place. They then get themselves in serious trouble and whilst in the throes of death, they call out to God for clemency. Because Yahweh is a gracious and merciful God he responds to the desperate call of humanity. Isaiah puts it like this, “come let us reason together even though your sins are red like scarlet they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). When Jesus pointed his hearers to the story of Jonah, he was pointing towards his own advent and the fact that he would be killed, buried in a borrowed grave for three days and then rise from the dead to bring salvation for all those who put their faith in him. Jonah was sacrificed to save all those who were on the ship. They put their trust in him and believed him that they would be saved if he died. Similarly, when the man Jesus died, many people were saved, are being saved and will be saved. However, unlike Jonah, Jesus is more than a prophet, he is more than someone who warns people about the impending destruction that is coming, he is God and will save his people (all who put their faith in him) from their sins. Today as we reflect on the sign of Jonah, remember it is more than just him dying to self but giving access to life for all.
as we reflect on the meaning sign of Jonah, Matthew 16:1-4
as we stick to the plan
Jonah preached the word, the people repented and God saved them. This is the formulae that still work today. You preach the word, the Holy Spirit convicts people and God saves them through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. However we must be very careful when we are engaged in the business of leading people to Christ. It is easy to become depressed especially when things don’t turn out as we expected. For Jonah this led to severe depression and a desire to die. Always remember that God’s remit is to bring life to those who put their trust in him not death. To avoid these and other pit falls, it is imperative that we stick to the plan that God devised in the first place and remember that since God devised the plan, it is his prerogative to change it as and when he wills. This is the beauty about following God, he has a great sense of humour, and as Jonah reminds us, he is merciful and gracious and abounding in steadfast love. That’s my God, a merciful forgiving God who always gives us a second chance. Today, don’t get depressed trust in the Lord! Don’t give up on the vision that God gave you, stay focussed and it will come to pass. It may take a different turn from what you envisaged, but remember that with God all things are possible.
Read the whole book of Jonah again.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Depression, Plans, Purpose, The word, Timing
as we keep in step with what God has done ans is doing now!
When the people of Nineveh heard the news about their impending destruction from God through the prophet Jonah, 
they heeded his warning and repented. This action did not please Jonah in the slightest. He quotes from psalm 145:8 that the Lord is gracious and merciful and abounding in steadfast love and added that the Lord is ready to relent from punishing (Jonah 4:2). Knowing this it is surprising that Jonah was so upset that Nineveh was not destroyed. And this is where there is a desperate need to keep in step with the Spirit of God. If we were unsure about the experiences of Jonah, he tells us that God responds to prayer and fasting. We don’t know how it works all we know is that when we pray and are earnest in our prayers, God hears, understands and will act. Our God is a personal caring God who is cognisant of how we feel.
However, Jonah’s reaction was typical of most people. Having gone through that entire struggle, spending three nights and three days in the uncomfortable belly of a smelly fish, bathing in its vomit and spending three days walking across the city to deliver the message, he was not happy that God decided to spare them. And sometimes we want the Lord to respond and react how we would. However, let us remember that the never changing everlasting God, Yahweh, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow always acts with compassion and always shows mercy. Unlike other gods our God is a merciful God who is slow to ANGER and ABOUNDING IN STEADFAST LOVE. It was at the cross that mercy there was great and grace was free, and it was there my pardoned soul found liberty, right there at Calvary. His grace is sufficient for all our needs today. Read Jonah 4.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Anger, Dependency, Grace, Healing, Mercy, Repentance, Restoration, Retribution, Steadfastness
as we encounter the God of the second chance
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time saying, get up, go to Nineveh and tell them that in 40 days they shall 
be destroyed if they do not repent. This time Jonah got up and went to do what God commanded him to do (Jonah 3:4). However, as the people heard the message their hearts melted and from the king to all the animals, they fasted and prayed and sought God for clemency. The king decreed that all the inhabitants of Nineveh should humble themselves, repent, turn from their wicked ways, pray and seek God about the message of destruction. Although the king was not an Israelite, i.e. he was not follower of the king of kings, there is placed in every single human being a realisation that there is a greater power than them. On the 26th May 1940 at a time when Britain was facing certain defeat at the hand of the German army, King George VI called for the nation to observe a national day of prayer for deliverance. The Prime minister, Winston Churchill reported to the House of Commons that “The whole core and brain of the British Army, on which and around which we were to build, and are to build, the great British Armies in the later years of the war, seemed about to perish upon the fields or to be led into an ignominious and starving captivity.” A service was held at Westminster Abbey and a few days later the weather changed over Dunkirk and the miracle of Dunkirk occurred and the Armies of Britain prevailed.[1]
The fervent effectual payer of the righteous is powerful and effective (James 5:16b). However, for this prayer to be effective it must be preceded by repentance. We are instructed by James to confess our sins to one another so that healing can occur. The king of Nineveh compelled all the inhabitants to fast and pray and God changed his mind. King George and the people of Great Britain confessed their sins and prayed to God when faced with certain defeat, God heard their cry and averted destruction. Today we too can fast and pray to change the spiritual dynamics over this country or our own country. We are the gatekeepers who have the keys to open up the heavens to allow the blessings of God to flow down upon our great nations. So let us join together in corporate prayer and fasting to allow God’s favour to distil upon the nations of the world who acknowledge his name and call upon him.
Read Jonah 3.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Corporate Prayer, Fervent Prayer, Judgement, Justice, Prayer, Renewal, Repentance
as we die to self and respond to the prophetic call
When Jonah ran away from the commands of the Lord he ended up in the belly of a large fish. For all intense and purposes he was dead. It is from here that he prayed in the spirit since the human spirit is eternal. It is not clear whether he was conscious or unconscious, however it is recorded that Jonah said that it was while his life was ebbing away that he prayed 2:7. When we go in the opposite direction from God’s original, it is obvious that we will die and for many, unlike Jonah, they do not get a second chance to be redeemed. It is also interesting that Jonah’s last recoded words from the belly of the fish is one of thanksgiving. Here he is, in the throes of anguish and at the point of death and he proclaims that he remembers the Lord. He doesn’t curse God or complain about his position. He remembers the Lord, gives him thanks and reverts to his original calling. “I will pay my vows”, he says 2v.9. For some of us it is at the point of no return that we confess our faults and try to make amends for our past wrongs. It is from this watery grave that Jonah is given a second chance to fulfil the calling on his life; God commands the fish to vomit him out. Today when the word of the Lord comes to us, let us test and confirm it before making rash decisions. Let us also be aware that God always has someone to do his bidding. So if the Lord has called you, do not run in the opposite direction or dismiss the calling. It could have dire consequences for you and those whom you associate with. In our busyness let us make time to listen to the voice of the Lord. Read Jonah 2.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Belief, consciousness, Despair, disobedience, Opposite, Throes of death
as we moderate our diet of the word
A prophet is always called to a specific people and locale. No prophet apart from Jesus has a universal ministry. In giving gifts to his church Jesus clearly sets out the gifts to the body in order to establish a fully functioning church. The apostle plants and establishes the ministry while the prophets confirms the spiritual direction and keeps the fellowship in the touch with the original plan of God. Prophets were placed in strategic positions since it is in these specific locations that satan weaves his spirit if deception to cause confusion and derail God’s plan for that locality or region. Prophets who were placed in ‘high places’ were placed there to give direction and correction to the kings they ministered to. People like Isaiah who was placed in the palace of kings to speak the word of God to them, whereas Amos was placed among the ordinary people to speak directly to them. Neither of these propjets was more important than the other, they had a job to do and had to do it to the best of their ability. Whenever God places you in an area and gives you the prophetic anointing it is for a particular purpose with a desired outcome in the long run. The whole intention of God is to restore his order that was destroyed because of the sin of disobedience. The apostle Paul says this; “for since death came through one man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through one man. For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ”, (1cor 15:21-22). Disobedience brought the curse of death to humanity. Adam had a prophetic mandate and was enticed away from it by the lure of food. Similarly the prophets of the Lord were lured away from speaking the word from the Lord by eating at Jezebel’s table. Today prophets are being lured away by satan appealing to their egos. Let all who are called to speak the word from God to a particular area do so with humility and without compromise, in spite of the table you have been invited to sit around. Read Jonah 1
as we redefine the prophetic anointing
Your anointing can be circumvented by the sin of disobedience. We must remember that a prophet is called to bring 
clarity and revelation to their community. However, acting in a selfish manner will nullify the anointing of God in your life. This was indeed the case with Jonah. He was anointed and appointed by God to call his community to repent and to return to the Lord. He disobeyed the command and went on a journey in the opposite direction to which he was sent. Disobedience activates the curses outlined by God in your life (see Deut. 28:15ff). Although in our modern world some folks dismiss the notion of curses, it is there in scripture for all to see. Disobedience activate the curses whereas obedience actives blessings.
For Jonah the curse was to spend three nights and days dead in the belly of a whale. For us as modern day prophets we may not be so fortunate, so guard your anointing and learn to obey the voice of the Lord and his prophetic word that comes to you.
Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and 15-45.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Aural, disobedience, Hearing, Listening, Obedience, Sin
as our God execute judgement on our behalf since we don’t know what to do!
As a prophet of God one of the main thing one need to watch out for are those who want to kill your gifting and stunt 
your growth. These are people who operate under the spirit of Jezebel. Jezebel was the main opponent to Elijah so much so that because of her he nearly had a nervous breakdown. However the way to defeat the Jezebelic spirit is to confront it. Running and hiding is not an option. The spirit of Jezebel will try to mock what you do and will try to divert the plan of God for your life. The mocking spirit was also apparent in the life of Elisha, he confronted it and God acted against the mockers (2kings 2:23). Today the mocking spirit will rise up against you to try to divert you from the plans that God has for you. Like Elijah and Elisha after him, conform that mocking spirit and pray to God the father to deal with it. The prophets of Baal who ate at Jezebel’s table were humiliated and destroyed. The boys who mocked Elisha were destroyed. Those who mocked you will also be destroyed in Jesus’ name.
We are in a season of intense warfare now and we need to be prepared for the onslaught of the enemy. As we open our spiritual eyes we will see the mockers, the liars and the haters who are sent to cause confusion in our lives. Be assured that they will not succeed as the Holy Spirit alerts us and goes ahead of us to subdue all the mockers.
Read 2Chronicles 20:12
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Intimacy with God, Jezebelic spirit, Opposition, Spiritual Warefare
as we associate with those who can minister into the areas where we are lacking
Every prophet must remember that their gifting is not their own benefit but for those they serve. From the biblical 
characters we have been studying, we see that the benefits of association far outweigh those of working in isolation. Once Elisha took the mantle from Elijah he gathered to himself people who were teachable and who could develop their gifting to serve their respective communities. However being a part of the company of prophets does not exempt you from poor decision making. Essentially, having the gift in one area of your life does not cover all the bases. One of Elisha’s charges had this problem. He ran up a huge debt for his family and then he died, possibly from his own efforts of trying to make ends meet (2Kings 4:1). You can be successful in one area of your life but a total failure in another. As the leader of the company of prophets, it was to Elisha that the prophet’s widow went. When she met up with Elisha she held nothing back. She told him everything because of the threat of her children being taken and sold into slavery. The miracle of the oil that seems to be the focus of the story is the result of the prophetic word not the point that the redactor is making. Getting into unmanageable debt is a problem for everyone, dealing with debt is a serious problem today particularly in the current financial climate. However, as you associate with the Holy Spirit and a company of people who have the mind of God the oil of gladness in our lives will flow continuously and give us the necessary tools to manage the areas of our lives where we have lack. Read 2Kings 4:1-7.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Association, Bad Decisions, Company, gifting, Judgement, Miracles, Threat
as we make the gift subject to us rather than define who we are!
Prophets, Priests and Kings are subject to God’s laws, no one is exempt. Often an experienced operator can rely on 
their experience and forget about the grace of God. This is when pride and the other vices associated with pride raises its head. To develop and hone the prophetic anointing the individual must spend copious time in prayer, fasting and careful study of the word. However there must be a mentor or someone to challenge our perception. Since someone with the prophetic anointing can easily become puffed up and arrogant. Elijah modelled for us the downside of challenging the unholy alliance (1Kings 19). As we expose ourselves more and more to God so we also expose ourselves more and more the attack from demonic forces. The prophet must be one who seeks out and reveal the plans of the enemy to God for him to destroy them. Because we have authority on the Earth we have a say in who operates here. And so as followers of Jesus who live in the kingdom of light, we must dispel the darkness so that the light of the gospel may come to all. A skewed worldview will cause someone with the prophetic anointing to subvert God’s plan for a particular location. Consider Daniel and how he operated. He was a prophet of his time, and although he was in exile he did not defile himself or compromise his understanding of who God is, like many of his contemporaries. He took the hard decision to listen to God and reveal what he said with a spirit of humility. Today all those with the gift must remember that it is for the benefit of others and not a trophy to display. Read Daniel 2 and then pray like Daniel.
Posted in The Prophetic | Tags: Defintion, discipline, Gift, Giver, Prayer, Respect
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 