All Things Are
Yours
Therefore let no one boast in men.
For all things are yours: whether Paul
or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things
to come-all are yours. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22
Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of
God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible. Hebrews 11:1-3
It
doesn’t matter what negative men or circumstances say about us it isn’t true.
What is true is what God’s word says about us. And God’s word says about us we
are healed, we are filled, we are free and we have the victory. The worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of
things which are visible. And the same word of God says two things about our
bodies and our needs that are unchanging:
who Himself bore our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for
righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:19
The Lord
delights in the prosperity of His servants (Psalm 35:27) and He desires that
we prosper in all things and be in
health, just as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). Hence no matter what negative
circumstance we find ourselves in we can open our mouths and make a confession
of faith and say:
Father, I thank You that no
weapon formed against me shall prosper. Thank You for sending Your Word to heal
me!" I thank you for meeting and supplying all my needs according to your riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. I thank you that you are my Savior, Healer, Defender
and Provider and everything that I need!
Father, I don't care what my
body feels like - I'm returning Your
Word to You. I thank You that Jesus took my sicknesses and bore my pains. You are the God who heals
me! I don't care what my circumstances looks like I am blessed, rich, healthy,
wealthy, prosperous and succesful in Jesus name. I thank you for divine health,
divine wealth, divine prosperity, divine success and divine victory. Amen and
amen.
We get in life what we believe and
confess. And true believers confess the word of God and that it’s true. All of
it! They confess that all things are theirs: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come-all are
theirs. They confess that faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. And they receive what they confess! God’s word is
unchanging:
A man will be satisifed with good
by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man's hands will be rendered
to him. Proverbs 12:14
And God is able to make all grace
(every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may
always {and} under all circumstances {and} whatever the need be self-sufficient
[possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for
every good work and charitable donation].
2 Corinthians 9:8-11 Amplified Bible
In conclusion, be strong in the
Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him
[that strength which His boundless might provides]. Ephesians 6:10
For this reason we also, from the
day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray {and} make [special] request for
you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of
His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and
purposes of God] and in understanding {and} discernment of spiritual things--
That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to Him {and} desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit
in every good work and steadily growing {and} increasing in {and} by the
knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and
recognition]. [We pray] that you may be
invigorated {and} strengthened with all power according to the might of His
glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and
forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified {and} made
us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy
people) in the Light. [The Father] has
delivered {and} drawn us to Himself out of the control {and} the dominion of
darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In Whom
we have our redemption {through His blood,} [which means] the forgiveness of our
sins. Colossions 1:9-14 Amplified
Because God has transferred us
out of the control and dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His dead Son of
love, we can be be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the
might of His glory, to exercise every
kind of endurance and patience with joy. Yes, in Christ dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily; and we can draw from that power that is in Him. We are
complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him the whole
fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving
complete expression of the divine nature]. And we are in Him, made full and
having come to fullness of life [in Christ we too are filled with the
Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and reach full spiritual stature
(Colossians 2:9-10 Amplified).
Because of Jesus we have clothed
ourselves with the new spiritual self, which is ever in the process of being
renewed and remolded into fuller and more perfect knowledge upon knowledge after
the image the likeness of Him Who created it (Colossians 3:10 Amplified). We are
being changed daily from glory to glory. God’s word is unchanging:
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). And all of us, as with
unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His {very
own} image in ever increasing splendor {and} from one degree of glory to
another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. 2 Corinthians
3:17-18 Amplified
Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless,
exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is
[progressively] decaying {and} wasting away, yet our inner self is being
[progressively] renewed day after day.
For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing
hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing {and} producing {and} achieving
for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively
surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory
and blessedness never to cease!], Since we consider {and} look not to the things
that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible
are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are
deathless {and} everlasting. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Amplified
The good news is that the Lord
revives His work among the people in the midst of the years of adversity and
trials. Our God is a God of Mercy and in His wrath He remembers to give mercy to
His trusting one who flee to Him for refuge and rely only upon Him. Everything that we go through is seasonal and
subject to change by God who still makes His trusting ones more than conquerors
even when the vines and the fig trees are destroyed. When all is gone, God is not gone and His
miracle working power never ceases. His word is unchanging:
Fear not, O land; Be glad and
rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of
the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of
Zion
Though the fig tree may not
blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the
flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- Yet I
will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation The LORD God is my strength; He will make my
feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. Habakkuk
3:17-19
Yes, we can be glad and rejoice in
the Lord our God! The LORD God is our strength; He will make our feet like
deer's feet, And He will make us walk on our high hills. It doesn't matter what
we face, because our circumstances are subject to change by the power of God as
we put our trust in God! God is not short of anything and neither should His
children be. The Bible tells us, " Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). Today we can believe God to take
us into the Promised Land of plenty and prosperity and to defeat all our foes
including poverty, lack, sickness, disease and unbelief! We can refuse to be comfortable with defeat,
penury, lack and demons! God’s word is unchanging:
Trust in the LORD with all your
heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Honor the LORD with your possessions, And
with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:5-10
But this I say: He who sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or
of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may
have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the
poor; His righteousness endures
forever." Now may He who supplies seed
to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and
increase the fruits of your righteousness,
while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes
thanksgiving through us to God. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Seed that we sow is not just money
which represents our toil, labor and efforts but can be other things. There are
many different kinds of seeds that we can sow for the poor including loving
kindness, good deeds, prayers, giving of alms, understanding, compassionate and
the gifts of the Spirit. We honor God will all that he has blessed us including
money, time and talents and use it in the service of others to bless them as God
has blessed us! We sanctify not only our finances but our lives and words as
well.
Being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we
stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Hope of all that God will do for
us, in us and through us no matter what great affliction, trial, distress or
suffering we must go through! We rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ Jesus has
power to redeem and change our life today and everything is temporal and subject
to change by God’s great and wonderful power. As we endure with patience
standing on our faith we not be disappointed or put to shame for putting out
trust in God. That is unless we have not made restitution? God’s word is
unchanging:
What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute
of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and
filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what
does it profit? Thus also faith by
itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have
faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show
you my faith by my works. You believe
that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble! But do
you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? James
2:14-20
And when Jesus came to the place,
He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down,
for today I must stay at your house." So
he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it,
they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a
sinner." Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of
my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false
accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, Luke 19:5-10
Zacchaeus a chief tax collector, who became rich through
robbing people demonstrated his faith by making four fold restitution to his
victims and giving half of his goods to the poor. As a result Jesus said of him,
"Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Many
Christians believe there is such a thing
as repentance without restitution. But that is a lie from the pits of hell
because justice demands restitution and
Jesus stated:
"Do not think that I came to
destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Matthew 5:17
"Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have
neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These
you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Matthew 23:23
We are not to neglect the weightier
matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. When Abimelech stole Sarah, he
needed not only Abraham's prayers but also to make restoration. The bible
records for our profit and instruction:
"Now therefore, restore the man's
wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if
you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are
yours." Genesis 20:7
Then Abimelech took sheep,
oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored
Sarah his wife to him. Genuine 20:14
"You have heard that it was said
to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of
the judgment.' "But I say to you that
whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the
council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your
brother has something against you,
"leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be
reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you
are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge
hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no
means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. Matthew
5:21-26
Repentance is only genuine when there
is restoration because faith with out works is dead. And that is why many
Christians are not blessed by God and don't know His salvation because they have
done any restoration! Justice demands restoration! As a result God puts them
into a prison of sickness, suffering, poverty or lack because they disobeyed the
Word of God and didn’t make restitution. God’s word is unchanging:
"If a man steals an ox or a sheep,
and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four
sheep for a sheep. Exodus 22:1
Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay
your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me
in the day of trouble; I will deliver
you, and you shall glorify Me." Psalm 50:14-15
And Jesus went about all
Galilee , teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all
kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all
Syria
Then Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew
9:35
The Gospel of the Kingdom includes
healing every sickness and every disease among the people. When they brought to
Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and
those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, He healed them. And
this is the gospel that Jesus commissioned Christians to preach and
obey:
"Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8
"And these signs will follow those
who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues; "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will
by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will
recover." So then, after the Lord had
spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand
of God. And they went out and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the
accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:17-20
The gospel of the kingdom doesn’t
mean that Christians are to embrace sickness, disease, poverty and lack as their
friends but rather as their enemies and to deal with them accordingly by the
power of God. Without the power of God there cannot be any changes, healing,
deliverance or blessing! But the good news is “For the kingdom of God 4:20 ). "But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria
"If you then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:13
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
And I, brethren, when I came to
you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the
testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much
trembling. And my speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians
2:1-5
Jesus expects us to do the works that
He did and greater works than these because of the Holy Spirit who is given to
us. Our faith is not to be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Our
speech and our preaching are not to be persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Christians are supposed to be people
of power. And if their power is too
small they are to ask God to increase the power. And through the outpouring of
the Spirit God will increase the power. Increased power will bring about
increased results. The bigger the power from God the bigger the mountains can be
moved. Just for the asking every good thing comes from God including power,
victory, riches, glory and honor. God’s word is true:
God is my strength and power, And
He makes my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven
and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head
over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your
hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength
to all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12
God has spoken once, Twice I have
heard this: That power belongs to God. Psalm 62:11
Great is our Lord, and mighty in
power; His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5
But thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
God has as much power as we need and
more besides! His power, just like His love, has no limits or measure known unto
men! His love has no limit; His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary
known unto men; for out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He gives, and gives,
and gives again! And we get that power how? Through faith, prayer and waiting
upon God! God’s word is unchanging:
Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up,
eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face
between his knees, and said to his
servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said,
"There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again." Then it came to pass the seventh time, that
he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So
he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain
stops you.' " Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with
clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to
Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:41 -45
Prophet Elijah prayed until the rains
came. And we are to pray until the rains of the Spirit come and we get the power
that we need just like Apostle Paul did. He prayed that that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to us the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him, the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that we may know what is the hope
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He
raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
(Ephesians 1:17-21). The exceeding greatness of God’s power towards us who
believe is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to
come.
And apostle Paul also prayed that God
would grant us, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with
might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts
through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and
height- to know the love of Christ which
passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. He told us
God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:17 -20).
Yes, God wants us to be filled with
all the fullness of God and to increase our capacity to carry and contain the
power of God in our bodies! Yes, the size of power in us important. The greater
the power or anointing in us, the greater results and victories we will have!
And we release that power by our faith, will and compassion. God’s word is
unchanging:
And when Jesus went out He saw a
great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their
sick. Matthew 14:14
Now a leper came to Him, imploring
Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make
me clean." Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched
him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." As soon as He had spoken,
immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:40-42
But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no
prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?" So one of the
servants of the king of Israel Israel Edom Israel Israel Moab Judah
Victory comes by hearing and acting
the voice of God for any given situation, not by perspiration (Deuteronomy
28:1-14). And the voice of God becomes a reality when we pray and sing to Him in
spirit and in truth (1 Corinthians 14:15 ). Praise brings God right into our situation. God has
to deal directly with praise while angels run the errand of prayers. Praise gets
us right into God’s presence. God’s word is unchanging:
Enter into His gates with
thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His
name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
I will bless the LORD who has
given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. …You will
show me the path of life; In Your
presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm
16:7- 11
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God,
our own God, shall bless us. God shall
bless us, And all the ends of the earth
shall fear Him. Psalm 67:5-7
"But on Mount Zion
In God’s presence there is counsel,
fulness of joy and on His right hand are pleasures forevermore. When God’s
people praise the Lord the earth yields her increase and God blesses them. Praise gets them across to
Mount
Zion Mount Zion
The bible puts no limit to what God
will do to give us the victory. We cannot number how many people, nations and
kingdoms God killed to bring victory to the physical Israel Israel Israel Judah
Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."Psalm 50:15
"Because he has set his love upon
Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known
My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in
trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation." Psalm 91:14-16
It is good to give thanks to the
LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your
lovingkindness in the morning, And Your
faithfulness every night, On an
instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works
of Your hands. Psalm 92:1-4
It is a fact that praise gets the
devil out of the scene and brings God there. No devil can stand the force of
genuine praise and worship. Such place is exclusively reserved for God. God has
the monopoly of praise centers. If we
are a praise-filled believer we will keep the devil constantly at a distance
from our environment. The year of jubilee is the year of restoration is because
when there is jubilation, praise and worship, God is ever set to perform wonders
(Leviticus 25). When we bring out praise from our heart we will get God to go
full- length in performing for us. Clouds get lifted up at praise. Hence Elisha
the Prophet said, "But now bring me a musician." Then it happened, when the
musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him." The hand of God will
be upon us and give us the wisdom to get victory just like He gave Elisha the
word of knowledge. Praise brings God on the scene and where God is there is
victory, peace, joy, blessing and His Goodness!
Through praise and the blood Jesus we
can enter boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help in time
of need. We can present our case before
God and He will surely justify us. There is no way He can deny Himself. He is
keeping watch over His word to perform it. We have an account in heaven for us
overflowing with the riches of God in Christ Jesus. The riches are
inexhaustible, and the variety unlimited. They are made available upon request
to sons and daughters of the King which we are. We can make a demand on this
account in the name of Jesus with a firm assurance that whatever we ask, we
receive of Him. God’s word is unchanging:
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "Or
what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a
stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? "If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew
7:7-11
Beloved, if our heart does not
condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from
Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in
His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of
His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 1 John
3:21-23
Chapter
4
My people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from
being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will
forget your children. Hosea 4:6
Not with the blood of goats and
calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all,
having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:12
When Jesus hung on the cross, great
things began to happen in the realm of the spirit. He took the place of man in
sin, sickness, poverty, death, and every evil thing in the world. He was God’s
sacrificial lamb for man’s redemption from the hands of the chief slave master,
the devil. Jesus did not only carry our sins on Himself, He also carried the
whole world’s diseases and sicknesses, He carried all pains and afflictions.
Every evil thing in this world was laid on Him (Isaiah 53:4-5).
When Jesus said "It is finished" in
John 19:30 , He finished our
battles against sin, difficulties and every evil. And when Jesus went to hell it was in there
that He cemented our victory and sealed the devil’s
doom of defeat. He took the keys to hell and death and rose victoriously!
(Revelation 1:18). There He spoilt, defeated and stripped principalities and
powers of all their power. Before this time, the devil had the power (key) of
death. But when Jesus entered hell, He fixed the devil for good and destroyed
all his powers! (Hebrews 2:14). "And having spoiled principalities and powers,
He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15).
Jesus finished everything as is
written of Him and rose triumphantly. This is the springboard for our victory
over Satan. Jesus fixed Satan! He took us out of the house of bondage and
brought us into life (John 10:10b). He restored us as God’s man on the earth.
Jesus restored everything that man lost in the Garden of Eden. He has put all
things into our hand. The victory is total - spirit, soul and body. It was a
perfect job (Hebrews 10:12 ,14).
Jesus now has the key of David that
opens and no man can shut, and shuts and no man can open (Revelation 3:8).
Having thus lost every bit of power to our Lord Jesus Christ through the drama
at Calvary , Satan is now left with nothing! No
power is left for the devil. As a result we are more than conquerors through
Jesus Christ is we will believe and accept it.
But because the Church is not hearing
God's Word on divine healing, many in the Church are a natural victim of
disease. The church is full of prayer requests and always praying for sick
people, asking and thanking God for the lessons He had taught them through
sickness. (Since they couldn't learn it when they were well, perhaps they'd know
it better in sickness? What a joke?) Because the Church is not hearing teachings
on prosperity, many in Church are wallowing in poverty. Many are "As poor as church mouse!" Because the light of God's Word has not
dawned on the people, they cannot begin to walk their way out of poverty into
plenty! But perfect health, great wealth and long life are their covenant right.
All they need is an understanding of its terms. When that happens, then they are
set to enjoy all its benefits for God is not a man that He should lie (Num.
23:19 ). His word is
unchanging:
Because you have made the LORD,
who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall
you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways. In their
hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall
tread upon the lion and the cobra, The
young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. "Because he has set his
love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon
Me, and I will answer him; I will be
with him in trouble; I will deliver him
and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." Psalm
91:9-16
Then Jesus said to those Jews who
believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free." John 8:31-32
Power, authority, healing,
deliverance, blessings, prosperity and long life are the benefits for all those
who have made the Lord their refuge and savior. The truth of God’s word sets
God’s people free and enables them to truly live life and have it more
abundantly with perfect health, great wealth and lots of power and not in
sickness, penury and destitution! God’s word is unchanging:
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:10
And God is able to make all grace
(every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may
always {and} under all circumstances {and} whatever the need be self-sufficient
[possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for
every good work and charitable donation].
2 Corinthians 9:8-11 Amplified Bible
Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I
rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you,
just as you walk in the truth. 3 John 1:2-3
It’s only what you believe God for
can you receive. As a result unbelief is not only dangerous but devastating
because it robs God’s people of their Abrahamic Covenant blessings and birth
right for being of the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, who owns all things and
has overcome all things including the devil! God’s word is
unchanging:
"So ought not this woman, being a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be
loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" Luke 13:16
Therefore I also, after I heard of
your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers: that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above
all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things
under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who
fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23
Every manner of affliction is one
kind of imprisonment or the other. Disease, infirmity, poverty, sin, etc. fall
into this category. Most of God’s people are blind to the fact that is the devil
holding such victims hostages just like he bound the daughter of Abraham for
eighteen years. Many of God’s people
don’t have a a spirit of wisdom and revelation of insight into mysteries and
secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of God and how rich is His glorious
inheritance in the saints, His set-apart ones. They don’t know and understand
what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in
and for those who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty
strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated
Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion and every name that is named above every title
that can be conferred, not only in this age {and} in this world, but also in the
age and the world which are to come (Amplified bible).
Whatever is under Jesus feet who is
supreme Head of the church is also underneath the feet of His bride, blood
bought and blood washed believers of the church of Jesus
Christ
THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon
me, because the Lord has anointed {and} qualified me to preach the Gospel {of}
good tidings to the meek, the poor, {and} afflicted; He has sent me to bind up
{and} heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and
spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison {and} of the eyes to those who
are bound, To proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to
comfort all who mourn, To grant
[consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a
garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of
mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, {and}
failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong,
and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with
God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild
the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the
ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Aliens shall stand [ready] and feed your
flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you
shall be called the priests of the Lord; people will speak of you as the
ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations, and the glory
[once that of your captors] shall be yours.
Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense;
instead of dishonor {and} reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited];
everlasting joy shall be theirs. Isaiah 61:1-7 Amplified Bible
Jesus came through the anointing of the Spirit
of the Lord God and the preaching of the gospel so that defeat can become
victory, crooked be made straight, injustice can become justice, wrong can
become right, poverty can become plenty, lack can become abundance, negative
things can become positive things, sickness can become health, weakness can
become strength, curses can become blessings, sadness can become joy, despair
can become hope, depression can become praise, unbelief can become faith, loss can
become restoration, bondage can become redemption, wealth and riches can
become a reality and mountains can be moved into the sea and be no more for
those who believe the good news!' God’s word is true:
Who has believed our report? And
to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? Isaiah 53:1
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that
was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John
1:1-5
He came to His own, and His own
did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John
1:11-13
Satan is defeated and Jesus is the
Victor. God’s people are no longer in the kingdom of darkness but in the kingdom
of light where they rule and reign with Jesus. As a result they don’t have to
remain sick, frustrated, in reproach or shame. They have been called unto glory
and virtue. Their name is glory. Their
name is virtue. Not shame, reproach or pity. Sickness, barrenness, failure and
poverty should no longer be identified with them. Everyone that sees them should
know they are the seed which the Lord has blessed. No mark of the enemy is to
remain in their life anymore! There’s nothing too difficult for God (Jeremiah
32:27). Their mountains shall be leveled, their valleys shall be filled, the
plagues in their life shall be destroyed, all curses in their lives shall be
destroyed, all sickness shall be healed and they shall be set free indeed as
they open the door to their covenant blessings.
Some people are even deceived
into believing that God is the cause of their problems and misfortunes! The
reason people have so many problems is because they are not conscious of the
indwelling power of God in them. So the enemy takes advantage of this, and
everyone keeps begging and binding Satan. God is not their enemy. If they are
born again, God is their Father, and His thoughts for them are thoughts of good,
never of evil (Jeremiah 29:11). God is always programming good and success for
them.
The devil is the enemy. He
perpetuates his evils through his agents whom the Bible calls "principalities
and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in
high places" (Ephesians 6:13 ). He keeps accusing them before God. He has sworn that
nothing will go well with them. He does not want to see them progress. He wants
to ruin their business. He is always mounting pressures on them, just to keep
them away from God. He is not interested in anything good coming their way. His
thoughts towards them are completely and continually evil!
Satan is the unseen hand behind every
evil thing. Any time we’re attacked by sickness, he has come to steal our
health, joy, peace, comfort, money and even our life. He is desperate about
this. His ultimate aim being to destroy us. He is the enemy, not people, things
or lack! But Jesus defeated our enemy and we share in His victory. God’s word is
unchanging:
And I will put enmity Between you
and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel." Genesis 3:15
And the God of peace will crush
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Amen. Romans 16:20
But thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17
By this you have become accepted
in the beloved - the Family of the Father God. God declares you righteous. He
becomes your real Father, and you become His real son (John 1:12 ). He comes into you with all His strength,
glory and majesty, and makes you strong in Him.
We are God’s offspring. We are His
loved children. We occupy a special place in His heart. We have His nature, His
life, His Spirit, His faith, His love (Ezekiel 36:26). Everything God is and
has, is now made available to us (Ephesians 2:4-6). We have become one with
Christ. We are joined with Him. What we lost in Adam in the beginning, we have
regained in Christ. We are now restored to our former place of authority and
dominion. We can now hold sway over every situation in life, by virtue of our
new class of being. We are as invincible, as indestructible as God. No devil can
defeat us as we stand in our proper position in God. The nature of God is now
ours personally. We have been declared more than a conqueror.
God took us out of the powers and
kingdom of the devil, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
This is a mystery. But it is the truth and is real. We are no longer that person
whom it was so easy for the devil to cheat, oppress and afflict. Now we can
boldly say to him, "Satan, get lost!" God’s word is unchanging:
But He gives more grace. Therefore
He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil
and he will flee from you. James 4:6-7
For whatever is born of God
overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our
faith. 1 John 5:4
(Becky Fender)
Whose report will you believe?
We shall believe the report of the
Lord
(repeat 3 times)
His report says I am healed
His report says I am filled
His report says I am free
His report says victory
Leader: Are you healed?
All: Yes!
Leader: Are you filled?
All: Yes!
Leader: Are you free?
All:
Yes!
Leader: Do you have the
victory?
All: Yes!
For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast
saying: "This is Zion
Be glad then, you children of
Zion
God has promised to restore
everything that has been stolen from us. It does not matter how many years we
spent going through or what we've been through. If we come back into His
restoration day, He will give back to us what was stolen plus what would have
been ours should we have been living in a good land. Everything that has been
stolen through the years He will restore to us. God's restoration is not only
giving us what we had, but also giving to us what we would have had should all
the bad years we went through be counted as prosperous years. His word is
true:
"If a man steals an ox or a sheep,
and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four
sheep for a sheep. Exodus 22:1"
The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Trust in the LORD with all your
heart, And lean not on your own
understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your
paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.It will be health to your flesh, And strength
to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8
We can take this word from God. It
does not matter what has been stolen from us or what we may have got back in a
ruined condition. God's word declares that restoration of seven, five or four
fold is promised to us. We can trust in the LORD with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding; In all
our ways we acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths. He shall restore to
us more abundantly what has been stolen from us. God's restoration means He is
going to give back what we had, what we were supposed to have if nothing was
stolen and all the good things that would have come with it plus more
abundantly. Yes, every time we've been sick, whether it was a headache, the flu
or cancer, time has been stolen from us. Each time there has been sickness in
our life, time has been stolen from us. In those periods we have not been what
we were supposed to be or what God intended for us to be. In times of sickness
we were unable function the way we're supposed to function, we could not live
the way we were supposed to and we could not be what we were supposed to be.
God has no problem restoring things
multiple times. He has no problem to give health to our flesh and strength to
our bones, if we turn away from evil
ways, if we walk in the ways of the Lord
and we do not lean on our own insight and understanding. If we honor the LORD
with our possessions, and with the firstfruits of all our increase, our barns
will be filled with plenty, and our vats will overflow with new wine (Proverbs
3:9-10). Yes if we will do as He tells us, we shall be healthy and our
storehouses shall be filled with plenty and will be overflowing. And if our
storehouse is not filled with plenty but
is empty, it will be restored! God’s word is unchanging:
"And the LORD will grant you
plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock,
and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your
fathers to give you. "The LORD will open
to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its
season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations,
but you shall not borrow. Deuteronomy
28:11
God has said that He will give us a
surplus of prosperity in our body and in all our property, which means we will
be healthy and we'll have more things than we can ever use or be in need of! He
will command the blessing on us in our storehouses and in all that we undertake.
And our store house is our body, our possessions and things and ground as
well.
Because of Calvary our body is filled with health, because by His
stripes we were healed. However, if a portion of our health has been stolen,
what we need is RESTORATION in that portion of our body. We need to be RESTORED!
If something is wrong with my heart, then it's not sickness that's come upon me,
but rather health that has gone away from me. It needs to be RESTORED! And God
has promised to restore all things. His word is true:
Now when Jesus had come into
Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left
her. And she arose and served them. When
evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast
out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our
sicknesses." Matthew 8:14-16
Then He said to the man, "Stretch
out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the
other. Matthew 12:13
Those who were demon possessed needed
to be restored. Those who were sick needed to be restored. There was a man who
had a withered hand and Jesus restored it as whole as the other! Restored means
everything that is out of the store will be put back. And there will also be overflow. There will be a surplus because our
God is a God of abundance, a God of Health, a God of Wealth, a God who has
everything that we need. He wants us to have restoration in our life. Just think of all that has been stolen from
us in health, in our home, in our finances, in our time, in our joy, in our
love, in our marriage, in our work. Just think of all that has been stolen from
us. God says, "I have come to restore".
So, lets open up our storehouse wide
today and say, "Lord, please fill it up". IF we are willing to give to the
ministry of God? Are willing to bless the Lord's work out of our finances?
Are willing to give out of our
storehouse for the work of God? We can do it and God will restore our storehouse
to overflowing! God’s word is unchanging:
"Remember, I pray, the word that
You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter
you among the nations; 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do
them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet
I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen
as a dwelling for My name. Neheiah 1:8-9
The bible tells us that the king of
Babylon Jerusalem Babylon Jerusalem Judah
1.
WEALTH. The enemy had taken it;
God restored it. The bible tells
us:
And all those who were around them
encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and
with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. King Cyrus also brought out the articles of
the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem Persia Judah Babylon Jerusalem
Now these are the people of the
province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away,
whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who
returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city. Ezra 2:1
2. Their FAMILIES were returned. Ezra 2 and Ezra 8 stresses the fact that the
people returned in families. The
genealogy of those who returned was carefully noted. Isn’t it exciting that God favors the home;
the family?
3.
Their WORSHIP to God was restored. Ezra 3 covers the rebuilding of the
altar. This was the first thing the
people did upon returning to Jerusalem
4.
PERSONAL HOLINESS WAS RESTORED.
God’s word tells us:
Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was
confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large
assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people
wept very bitterly. Ezra 10:1
They had a number of evil practices
which they had picked up from the pagans.
These were renounced and dealt with.
5. The WORD OF GOD was restored to
it’s rightful place. The bible tells us
And Ezra opened the book in the
sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he
opened it, all the people stood up. And
Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen,
Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped
the LORD with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:5-6
6.
The TEMPLE
7.
THE CITY AND IT’S WALLS were restored and their sense of security also. The bible tells us :
"For we were slaves. Yet our God
did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of
the kings of Persia Judah Jerusalem
8.
He restored their JOY. Captives
don’t know the sound of laughter. They
only weep and moan. The bible tells us
Also that day they offered great
sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the
women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem
9. Their SERVICE to the Lord was restored.
10.
Their TESTIMONY was restored.
They were again known as a people of God. God was also known for who and what He was –
the provider and savior of His people.
The Word of God tells us abut Satan, "The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly. ( John 10:10). In the life of Job we clearly saw that it was
Satan- the devil who caused Job his problems incluidng great financial losses
and physical sickness. But it was the
Lord who healed, delivered, blessed and prospered him and made his end better
than his beginning. God’s word is true:
And the LORD restored Job's losses when he
prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his
acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they
consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought
upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand
camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had
seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the
name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the
land were found no women so beautiful as the
daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their
brothers. After this Job lived one
hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four
generations. So Job died, old and full
of days. Job 42:10-17
Job didn’t die prematurely living a
life of defeat and poverty? He got back all that the devil had stolen from him
and lived an additional one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and
grandchildren for four generations. He
died, old and full of days as well as rich and prosperous? And what God has done
for Job, He can and will do for us because though we walk in the flesh, we do
not war according to the flesh. For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).
Yes, through the use of Jesus name,
the strength and power of the Holy Spirit and our faith, we have divine power to
demolish strong-holds that have stolen things from us or are keeping things from
us. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). "It is the
Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). We come against
Satan not in our power or name but in God’s power and the name of Jesus and He
has to restore everything that he has stolen from us. We step out from our limited abilities and
resources to God’s unlimited abilities and resources through the use of the name
of Jesus which give us, Salvation: Acts
4:12 , Justification: 1 Corinthians
6:11, Healing: Acts 3:6; proclamation: Acts 8:12, Deliverance from demons: Mark 16:17,
Worship: Ephesians 5:20, Prayer:
John 14:13-14, the Holy
Spirit: John 14:26.
A check without a signature is not
worth the paper it is printed on. What
makes the paper of value is that name at the bottom right-hand corner. That signature or name represents that
person’s financial resources. It is as
if Jesus left behind a check book full of blank checks which He has signed with
His name. The believer fills in the
amount as the will of God is revealed, and once the check is presented it is
backed up by the inexhaustible riches of Christ. God’s word is
unchanging:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. "And whatever you ask in My name,
that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask
anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:12-14
"Therefore you now have sorrow;
but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will
take from you. "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say
to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. "Until now you
have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be
full. John 16:22-24
"And I commanded Joshua at that
time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these
two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 'You
must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.' Deuteronomy
3:21-22
I will love You, O LORD, my
strength. The LORD is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer; My God, my
strength, in whom I will trust; My
shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD,
who is worthy to be praised; So shall I
be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3
The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out
His arrows and scattered the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. Psalm 18:13 -14
King David, whom God took from
following the sheep be ruler over God’s people, over Israel, knew from first
hand experience that the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the
majesty belongs to the LORD and all that is in heaven and in earth is His
including the kingdom, and He is exalted as head over all. He knew from
experience that both riches and honor come from the Lord who reigns over all.
And in whose hand is power and might; in His hand it is to make great and to
give strength to all. Hence David the anointed one, before he became king, told
cowardly and fearful king Saul about the mighty Goliath "Let no man's heart fail
because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
King Saul said to him, "You are not
able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and
he a man of war from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to
keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of
the flock, I went out after it and
struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me,
I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. "Your servant has killed both lion and bear;
and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied
the armies of the living God." Moreover
David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the
paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul
said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" (1 Kings 17:33 -35). David made his confession of faith
and put his faith in God and went and took on the Philistine in the name of the
LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel
And the Philistine said to David,
"Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts
of the field!" Then David said to the
Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But
I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel Israel
So it was, when the Philistine
arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward
the army to meet the Philistine. Then
David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck
the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he
fell on his face to the earth. So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the
Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the
Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut
off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead,
they fled. 1 Samuel 17:44-51
Victory comes from the LORD through
the method of His choosing for those who confess and stand on His word. David
used one stone, not a sword, and brought the mighty enemy down. He then had to
take Philistine’s sword to kill him and cut off his head with it. David’s vanquish over Goliath was only one of
many battles that he was to fight in his life until the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies
all around (2 Samuel 7:1); as well Saul's house and Saul's wives into his
keeping, and gave him the house of Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 12:8). David
discovered the secret of victory for himself. The bible records:
Then the Philistines went
and made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim
Then the Philistines once again made a raid on
the valley. Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, "You
shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of
the mulberry trees. "And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the
tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone
out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines." So David did as God
commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer
David secret was that in time
of trouble he would inquire of God what to do. And God would tell him what to do
to have the victory. As a result of his obedience and faith, something
supernatural happened on that battlefield. David described it as the power of
God or the anointing of God coming on the scene like the breaking forth of
waters. It was like a flood that could not be contained.
And similarly if we will inquire of
God what to do in the time of trouble and distress, He will tell us and He will
be for us the “God of Breakthrough” for just like Jesus was for others. Jesus
told the blind man "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" and to his Simon, Launch out
into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" and they received their needed
breakthrough. The bible records for our profit and instruction:
When He had said these things, He
spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of
the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of
Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back
seeing. John 9:6-7
So it was, as the multitude
pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret
My brethren, count it all joy when
you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For
let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:3-8
Chapter
7
Have you not known?
Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the
ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases
strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, And the young men shall
utterly fall, But those who wait on the
LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like
eagles, They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:19
The poor and needy always have a
friend in Jesus, whose understanding is unsearchable. Having lived as a man and
was in all points tempted as they are, yet without sin they have some one who
sympathize with their weaknesses, and understands all that they are going through. And being God the everlasting God, the LORD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth, He has more than enough power to move and
act on their behalf. He who walked the shores of the sea of Galilee is still the
same healing and miracle working Jesus. God’s word is unchanging:
And He was preaching in their
synagogues throughout all Galilee , and casting
out demons. Now a leper came to Him,
imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You
can make me clean." Then Jesus, moved
with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am
willing; be cleansed." As soon as He had
spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly
warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing
to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your
cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." testimony
to them." However, he went out and began
to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer
openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him
from every direction. Mark 1:39-45
Therefore the LORD will wait, that
He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have
mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait
for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no
more. He will be very gracious to you at
the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. Isaiah 30:18-19
For those who come to Jesus Christ
and touch Him by faith He is able to do for them exceedingly abundantly above
all that they ask think or pray just like Jesus promised, "If you can believe,
all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). "Therefore I say to
you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and
you will have them (Mark 11:24 ).
But for some people the whole process
is a complete waste of time because they don't mix the word of God with faith
and it doesn't profit them. God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore, since a promise remains
of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of
it. For indeed the gospel was preached
to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not
being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore
in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:1-3
"Now the parable is this: The seed
is the word of God. "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil
comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and
be saved. "But the ones on the rock are
those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root,
who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. "Now the ones that fell among thorns are
those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and
pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. "But the ones that fell on
the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good
heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Luke 8:11-15
Yes there are those by the wayside
are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be saved or healed or delivered. Then there
are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no
root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Then there
are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches,
and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But then there are those
who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit
with patience. Faith is our friend and unbelief is our enemy.
Unbelief if unchecked robs us of all
the things that God has for us just like it robbed the children of
Israel Egypt
For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have
all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13
Just because the Holy Spirit
has been poured out on all flesh doesn't mean that everybody is saved or healed
or delivered. And the number of deceived fools that we have in the world is
proof of this!
There are two sides to this issue:
the legal and the experiential. Legally, by one Spirit are we all baptized into
one body. Experientially, most people have not entered into the experience. In
faith, we must appropriate in experience all that is already ours by legal right
through our faith in Christ. The same is
true with salvation. Derek Prince in his book “BLESSING OR CURSE YOU CAN
CHOOSE!” brings out the following truths:
In John 1:12—13 the apostle says,
concerning those who have been born again through receiving Jesus, that God has
given them “the right to become children of God.” The Greek word translated
“right” is exousia, usually translated “authority.” That is what a person
actually receives at the new birth: authority to become a child of
God.
Authority is effective, however,
only insofar as it is exercised. The potential of the new birth is unlimited,
but the actual results depend on the exercise of the authority that goes with
it. What a person will become through the new birth is determined by the extent
to which he exercises his God-given authority.
There is a close parallel between
the experience of believers entering into the blessings of God in the New
Covenant and that of the Israelites entering into Canaan under the Old Covenant. In the first covenant,
under a leader named Joshua, God brought His people into a promised land. In the
second covenant, under a leader named Jesus (which is another form of Joshua),
God brings His people into a land of promises. Just as the land of Canaan Israel
In Joshua 1:2—3 God gave Joshua
instructions on how the Israelites were to take possession of their
inheritance:
“Moses My servant is dead. Now
therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and this entire people, to the land
which I am giving to them—the children of Israel
There is precisely the same
contrast of tenses here as in Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those
who are being sanctified.. In verse 2, the Lord uses the continuing present: “I
am giving” summed up in Revelation 21:7:
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things.”
To further strengthen and
encourage us, God has also set before us the example of Abraham, who is called
“the father of us all.” Through Abraham, God did not merely establish the
measure of the blessing He has prepared for each of us, which is “in all
things.” He also marked out ahead the path that leads to that blessing. The life
of Abraham is both an example and a challenge in three main areas: his prompt
obedience, his complete confidence in God’s word and his stead- fast
endurance.
In Hebrews 11:8 the writer
emphasizes Abraham’s prompt, unquestioning obedience: “By faith Abraham obeyed
when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an
inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Abraham did not ask for any
explanation of why he should go, or any description of the place he was going
to. He simply did what God told him to do, promptly, without questioning. The
same kind of obedience characterized his entire life: for instance, when God
required him and all his household to be circumcised (Genesis 17:9—14, 23—27);
and even when God asked him to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice (Genesis
22:1—14). At no time did Abraham ever hesitate in his obedience or question God
concerning what he was asked to do.
In Romans 4:16—21 Paul points out
that when God called Abraham “a father of many nations,” he had only one son by
Hagar, a slave woman, while Sarah, his wife, had been barren for many years. Yet
he reckoned God’s description of him as true from the moment it was spoken.
Because he thus accepted God’s word without questioning, even against the
evidence of his own senses, ultimately there came a physical fulfillment that
was confirmed by his senses.
Actually, about 25 years passed
from the time God first promised Abraham that his descendants would be as
numerous as the stars, until the birth of the son who was the promised heir.
Through all those years he had nothing to hold onto but God’s promise. He must
have faced endless temptations to discouragement. Yet he never gave up or
abandoned his faith. Finally, the reward of his steadfastness is summed up in
Hebrews 6:15: “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the
promise.”
In Romans 4:11—12 Paul tells us
that we are children of Abraham “if we walk in the steps of Abraham’s faith.”
This is the scriptural requirement for entering into “the blessing of Abraham,”
promised in Galatians 3:14. Like Abraham, we must accept God’s Word as the one
sure, unchanging element in our experience. All the variable opinions of men,
and all the fluctuating impressions of our senses, are just “grass that
withers.” “But the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
Our acceptance of God’s Word,
however, must not be purely intellectual or theoretical. We must demonstrate it
in our actions just as Abraham did: by prompt, unquestioning obedience and by
steadfast endurance in the face of all discouragement. In this way, we shall
find that God’s Word will ultimately be proved true in our experience. We shall
come to know God’s blessing—just as Abraham did—”in all things.”
Satan will continually oppose us
with mental and emotional pressures: doubts, fear, guilt, confusion and so on.
He may also assail our bodies with various forms of physical infirmity. Against
all this God has provided us with one supremely effective weapon: His Word. In
Ephesians 6:17 Paul directs
us: “Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
This requires the interplay of the
human and the divine. The sword is the sword of the Holy Spirit, but it is our
responsibility to “take” it. If we take it, the Holy Spirit will wield it. But
if we do not take it, the Holy Spirit has nothing to wield.
…Faith …reckons God’s promises as effective from the
moment they are apprehended. We do not wait for confirmation from the senses. By
prompt, unquestioning obedience and patient endurance, we move from our legal
rights in Christ into the full, experiential enjoyment of them. We meet all
satanic opposition with “the sword of the Spirit”: the spoken Word of
God.
And it will be said in that day:
"Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We
will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
Isaiah 25:9
The bible has many examples of what
expectantly waiting on the Lord and hoping in His word for His plenteous
redemption and deliverance will do and what it shall accomplish. One of my
favorite stories is about when Elisha and the children of Judah Syria Samaria Samaria
"Hear the word of the LORD. Thus
says the LORD: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for
a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria
God does nothing on earth unless He
reveals it to His prophets. But God has also stated that those who despise the
word of His prophets, He will require of them. So the officer who was the right
hand man of the king put his life in jeopardy when he despised Elisha’s
prophetic words. (It’s true that some foolish men just do not learn and accept
God’s word on some matters and they pay for their deeds even with their
lives.) God’s word goes on to
state:
Now there were four leprous men at
the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here
until we die? "If we say, 'We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city,
and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come,
let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall
live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." And they rose at twilight to go
to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the
Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.
For the LORD had caused the army
of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses-the noise
of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has
hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to
attack us!" Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp
intact-their tents, their horses, and their donkeys-and they fled for their
lives.
And when these lepers came to the
outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried
from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back
and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.
2 Kings 7:3-8
The lepers had enough of their
circumstance and situation and decided they were going to act and do something
even if it would cost them their lives.
(Yes, many times God’s bring His people to a place where they must walk
on the water or sink. It is in such times that they find the miracle working
power of God to be true and see that the Lord is the Lord and that He does what
He has said He would do to bless, protect and preserve His own. For after all He is the Lord and He loves to
bless and prosper His own even miraculously with the spoils of war from their
enemies, just like He did for these lepers.) God’s word records:
Then they said to one another, "We
are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we
wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore,
come, let us go and tell the king's household." So they went and called to the
gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, "We went to the Syrian camp, and
surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound-only horses and donkeys tied,
and the tents intact."
And the gatekeepers called out,
and they told it to the king's household inside. So the king arose in the night
and said to his servants, "Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us.
They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide
themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we shall catch
them alive, and get into the city.' "
And one of his servants answered and said,
"Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the
city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel Israel
And they went after them to the
Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the
Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the
king. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah
of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel,
according to the word of the LORD. 2 Samuel 7:9-16
Men are not accustomed to believing
God, walking by faith and not by sight and trusting His word and those of His
true prophets, even though Elisha had said that God would provide a miraculous
deliverance. So they would not believe the words of the Lepers until they could
see things for themselves with their natural eyes instead of their spiritual
eyes. But the fact of the matter remains
that the officer who scorned Elisha’s words paid with his life for his foolish
actions. It doesn’t pay to be arrogant and proud and a respecter of persons
for God’s word records:
Now the king had appointed the
officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people
trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who
spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had
spoken to the king, saying, "Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of
fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of
Samaria
Then that officer had answered the
man of God, and said, "Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could
such a thing be?" And he had said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes,
but you shall not eat of it." And so it happened to him, for the people trampled
him in the gate, and he died.
Men have a lot of foolish ideas which
they make as doctrines but God’s word does not lie and God has not changed. We
see from the Word of God that God weighed and judged the actions of the lepers
and the arrogant officer. The lepers were blessed and the officer was
cursed! So who is to say that God does
not do such things today? For after all He is the Lord, the Judge of the whole
earth and His eyes are on each and every one to render to each one according to
his work. For God’s word is true:
'Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me; I kill
and I make alive; I wound and I
heal; Nor is there any who can deliver
from My hand. For I raise My hand to
heaven, And say, "As I live forever, If
I whet My glittering sword, And My hand
takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. I will make My
arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the
captives, From the heads of the leaders
of the enemy." ' "Rejoice, O Gentiles,
with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render
vengeance to His adversaries; He will
provide atonement for His land and His people."
Deuteronomy 32:39-41
For since the beginning of the
world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God
besides You, Who acts for the one who
waits for Him. Isaiah 64:4
Blessed is the man Who walks not
in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by
the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also
shall not wither; And whatever he does
shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3
For unto us a Child is born, Unto
us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name
will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Because Jesus Christ, the Word, was
given to us we can be prosperous and successful in all things as we abide in Him
and in His word and do whatever He commands us. He is a God who desires that we
prosper in all things and be in health, just as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2).
The wealth of the heavens and universe is in the Word and the Word dwells within
us as God’s children. Everything we need and desire, for it is our Father’s good
pleasure to give us the kingdom and to shower on us all of His goodness and
mercy. His word is
unchanging:
Praise the LORD! Blessed is the
man who fears the LORD, Who delights
greatly in His commandments. His
descendants will be mighty on earth; The
generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever. Psalm 112:1-3
The American Heritage Dictionary defines
‘prosperity’ and ‘prosper’ as:
pros·per·i·ty n. The
condition of being prosperous.
pros·per v. To be fortunate or successful, especially in
terms of one's finances; thrive.
Biblical prosperity means great
riches, honor, silver and gold in the current time of life. We have an example
of biblical prosperity in the life of Hezekiah:
Now it came to pass in the third
year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel Judah Jerusalem Israel Israel Judah Assyria and did not serve him. 2 Kings 18:1-7
Thus Hezekiah did throughout all
Judah
Hezekiah had very great riches and
honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones,
for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine,
and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks. Moreover he provided cities for himself, and
possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much
property. 2 Chronicles 32:27-29
As a result of his God given
prosperity, King Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. He made himself
treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields,
and for all kinds of desirable items;
storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all
kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks.
Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and
herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property. So true prosperity
is not just our soul being prosperous but also our whole man body, soul and
spirit?
The devil, who is a liar and a thief
and is jealous of man, doesn’t want man to be prosperous, rich and wealthy but
poor and sick. Through a religious spirit he has lied to many of God’s people
that abundant prosperity is not God’s will because he knows that whatever a
person believes for he or she shall receive. And as long as person believes a
lie he will not know the truth. The devil doesn’t want God’s people to know that
Jesus endured absolute poverty and degradation for their sakes. Imagine if they
believed that it’s their divine call and destiny to have abundance in all things
and to be blessed in spirit, soul, mind and body? Imagine if they prayed and
believed God that the healing and restoring power of God will come upon every
area of their life, upon their spirit, upon their soul, upon their body and upon
their finances? Imagine if they would break every curse and command every evil
thing and every bad circumstance to flee from them? Imagine if they prayed that
every attack spiritual emotional physical and financial would turn into victory
right now? Imagine if they prayed and received an anointing that would break
every yoke and destroy every bondage and wile of the devil? Why God’s people by
grace and faith would be living and walking in divine health and prosperity here
on earth and no demon would want this to happen?
But the truth is that all that
belongs to God belongs to Jesus and all that belongs to Jesus belongs to God’s
people, heirs of salvation and brothers and sisters of Jesus. The truth is that all good things of heaven,
including salvation, the baptism of the Spirit, divine health and abundant
prosperity, come by faith from a God whose thoughts towards His children are
good and not evil. From a God who made His sons and daughters to be royalty,
kings and priests, who are reigning with Him (Revelation 1:6 & 5:10 )!
Which normal parent delights in
seeing his children poor, destitute, naked and sick? None! And neither does God.
He delights in seeing His children blessed, be made perfectly whole, and
minister like Jesus in the power of the Spirit with miracles, signs and wonders.
Now all this is something that must be made real and true by the Holy Spirit or
the carnal mind will not accept it. But
God’s word is unchanging:
All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3
For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that
you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9
Jesus Christ, who made all things,
became a man for our sakes that we through His poverty might become rich,
spiritually and financially. But Jesus Christ was not financially poor on earth
just because He was born in a manger. The three wise man had given His parents
expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11 ) which was at their disposal. Later during
His ministry Jesus had his own house. The Bible records:
Then Jesus turned, and seeing them
following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is
to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them,
"Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him
that day (now it was about the tenth hour). John 1:38-39
Now it came to pass, afterward,
that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad
tidings of the kingdom of God
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have
holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His
head." Luke 9:58
Yes, Jesus had many of donors who gave to His ministry
and He had no place to stay in a local area
problem, for the Samaritans cancelled His meeting and He was not welcome
in the city as they did not receive him . (Luke 9:52-53) But Jesus who sometimes
have as many as 120 people traveling with him bought food for the disciples
(John 4:8) and had a treasurer Judas, who was a thief (John 12:6). And Jesus was also extremely rich as God had
anointed Him with the Spirit in unlimited measure and angels miraculously
ministered to Him whenever needed (Matthew 4:11 ).
When Jesus was betrayed and arrested
according to the plan of God, Jesus could have asked His Father, and He would
have provided Him with more than twelve legions of angels, but then the
Scriptures would not be fulfilled. Jesus didn’t have a problem turning the water
into wine at the wedding (John 2:6-9)or giving Peter and friends net breaking
boat sinking loads of fish (Luke 5:4-7).
Yes, the disciples of Jesus, Peter
and Andrew, James and John, and Matthew,
were not poor. A study of
Caperanum, the home of Jesus Christ during His Galilean ministry after He left
Nazareth Capernaum Bethsaida Capernaum Capernaum
Matthew, as the tax collector,
certainly had accumulated assets from his duty of tax collection, particularly
along the busy Via Maris which brought a great deal of trade to Capernaum
The home of Peter has been
excavated and is relatively unquestioned. It was a multi-roomed home with two
courts, probably two stories with 14 rooms opening onto the two courts. Peter
and Andrew, James and John were fishermen, and fish was a productive product on
the busy market where caravans transversed from Damascus Mediterranean Sea . Dried fish was sold to be
delivered all over the area.
Jesus Christ definitely was not
anemic, impotent, and poor like many of God’s people who are bound by religious
spirits and in a Satanic cycle of poverty rather than God’s cycle of prosperity
unable to get or perform miracles! Yet God’s word is unchanging:
The LORD makes poor and makes
rich; He brings low and lifts up. He
raises the poor from the dust And lifts
the beggar from the ash heap, To set
them among princes And make them inherit
the throne of glory. "For the pillars of
the earth are the LORD'S, 1 Samuel 2:7-8
Yes, the LORD makes poor and makes
rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the
beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the
throne of glory. God doesn’t have a
problem in making His people rich and prosperous. Jesus Christ suffered on the
cross intense pain and shame to set us free from sickness and poverty. By His
stripes we were healed in every sense of the word. Jesus was made manifest to destroy the works
of the devil (1 John 3:8) including sickness and poverty. He is still the great
Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider and Miracle Worker. It’s Satan, our arch
enemy, who wants God’s people to suffer spiritual, physical and financial
insufficiency and be sick and weak for he is a thief, a murderer and a
destroyer (John 10:10). God’s word is
unchanging:
Now He was teaching in one of the
synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold,
there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent
over and could in no way raise herself up.
But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you
are loosed from your infirmity." And He
laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified
God.
But the ruler of the synagogue
answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said
to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and
be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."
The Lord then answered him and
said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey
from the stall, and lead it away to water it? "So ought not this woman, being a
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be
loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"
And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and
all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
Luke 13:10-17
Yes, the devil kept this woman
sick for eighteen years and Jesus delivered her from her bondage. And because He
is the same yesterday, today, and forever He can and will deliver any one from
any bondage. There are many forms of bondage besides sickness. A person could be
physically well but be bondage in his finances. However for a true believer God
who owns the cattle on the thousand hills and all the silver and gold will
deliver him from his or her bondage (Isaiah 61:1-5). Yes, the lack of money is a
great bondage but Jesus delivers from all forms of bondage. Contrary to what
some people believe money is not the root of all evil. The LOVE of money is the
root of all evil! Money is just a means of payment. It’s is neutral. What a person does with
money makes it either good or evil. What
is important is does a person possess money or does money possess the
person?
Now the devil wants God’s people to
be blind and ignorant about God’s desires for them to be healthy and wealthy and
powerful. The devil is not stupid and he knows that whatever part of the Word of
God is rejected by God’s people it will not become a reality in their lives. So
he causes many religious folks to believe that sickness and poverty are the will
of God and that prosperity and wealth and prosperity are from the devil. But all
this is nothing but a lie from the father of all lies – the devil. Poverty is like an infectious disease. It is
like a virus Satan brings upon the Body of Christ. He has infected many
individuals, families and whole churches with the "poverty virus". As a result for them poverty and sickness
have literally become a way of life.
But the truth of the matter is that
Jesus had died on the cross to give us 100% victory over all things including to
set us free from sickness and disease and poverty. He doesn't want us to be even
1% sick or poor. He gave His blood for us. He purchased us. We are His own and
all that belongs to Jesus belongs to us- all of it! That is the reason why Jesus wants us to live
a 100% healthy life. Every sickness in our life and poverty is defeated by the
blood of Jesus. Jesus gave His blood -- He died naked on the cross -- to set us
free from sickness or poverty. Every financial lack in our life is defeated by
the blood of Jesus. He wants us to live 100% wealthy and healthy lives. And All
we have to do is to receive and confess God's Word concerning our health,
healing, blessings and prosperity and to
act according to it. God’s word is unchanging:
"And you shall remember the LORD
your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish
His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy
8:18
"If you then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in
heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11
Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
And to Joseph were born two sons
before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah
priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:
"For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim:
"For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." Genesis
41:50-52
Joseph, the psalmist and Apostle Paul
testified that ‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers
him out of them all.’ God’s word is true:
"And the patriarchs, becoming
envious, sold Joseph into Egypt
But you have carefully followed my
doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love,
perseverance, persecutions, afflictions,
which happened to me at Antioch
Yes, God remains the great Deliverer
who delivered the children of Israel Egypt Egypt
And the LORD had given the people
favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they
requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Exodus 12:36
It wasn’t the first or last time that
God would enable His people to plunder their enemies. Under the reign of King
Asa who cried out to God when an army of a million men came against them God
turned the battled around and they plundered their enemies:
Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out
against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he
came to Mareshah. So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle
array in the Valley of Zephathah
So the LORD struck the Ethiopians
before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the
Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken
before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil. Then they defeated all the cities around
Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the
cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them. They also attacked the livestock enclosures,
and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem
Mind you the reverse also happened,
when the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the
Baals; and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out
of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the
people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked
the LORD to anger, He allowed their enemies to plunder them. The bible
records:
They forsook the LORD and served
Baal and the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the LORD was hot against
Israel
Yet they would not listen to their
judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They
turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the
commandments of the LORD; they did not do so.
And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge
and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge;
for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed
them and harassed them. And it came to
pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly
than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them.
They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
Then the anger of the LORD was hot against
Israel; and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I
commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, "I also will no longer
drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, "so
that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the
LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not." Therefore the LORD
left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver
them into the hand of Joshua. Judges 2:13-23
The moral of the story is that the
Battle
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the
assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court
and said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not
rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power
and might, so that no one is able to withstand You "Are You not our God, who
drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to
the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? "And they dwell in it, and have
built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us-sword, judgment,
pestilence, or famine-we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for
Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will
hear and save.'
"And now, here are the people of
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir-whom You would not let Israel invade when they came
out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy
them- "here they are, rewarding us by
coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to
inherit. "O our God, will You not judge
them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against
us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." 2 Chronicles
20:5-12
"These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:13
The Good News is that for those who
trust in and call upon the Lord, the battle is the Lord’s and He will fight all
their battles for them and give them the victory. Hence they are not be afraid nor dismayed for
the LORD is with them. And if God is for them who can be against them as King
Jehoshaphat could testify when the LORD fought against their enemies:
Now when they began to sing and to
praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir,
who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and
Moab Mount
Seir Judah
When Jehoshaphat and his people
came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables
on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for
themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering
the spoil because there was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled in the
Valley of
Berachah
Then they returned, every man of
Judah Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
And the fear of God was on all the
kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the
enemies of Israel
No matter what the affliction or who
is the cause of the affliction, for we do have an enemy who walks about like a
roaring lion seeking whom he might devour, the LORD remains to His trusting ones
their strength and their fortress, their refuge in the day of affliction. His
word is unchanging:
You who fear the LORD, praise
Him! All you descendants of Jacob,
glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel 22:23 -24
Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19
And that very hour He cured many
of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.
Luke 7:21
Yes, Joy comes in the morning, Yes
many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them
all. God’s word did not say half or most
of them. God always makes a way
out. God always rescues. God always has an escape route and is
faithful to bring us out. The word
"afflictions" means: adversity, distress, tribulation, persecution, depression,
misery, trouble, and pressure. God never
guarantees us that we will be exempt from adversity. He does guarantee to always bring us out. His
word is true:
...weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning. Psalm
30:5
Yes, the sun comes up on a new day,
Joy comes in the morning. It may seem
like a long night, but the night cannot last forever. The sun is coming up on our new day. The Sun of Righteousness is rising with
healing in His wings (beams) and we shall go forth and grow up as calves
released from the stall (Malachi 4:2).
As sure as the sun comes up every morning, our deliverance is on the
way. The earth is constantly turning on
its axis. Even when we cannot feel it,
the earth is moving, rotating, and turning.
Even though we may not feel like it, our situation is turning right
now. It may seem dark now, but something
is happening, things are turning, the morning is certain, the sun is
rising... JOY COMETH!! HEALING COMETH!! BLESSING COMETH!! MONEY COMETH!! FAITH COMETH!! YES THERE IS A TURNING POINT.
God’s word is true:
You have turned for me my mourning
into dancing; You have put off my
sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
Psalm 30:11
We are at a turning point. It may seem difficult, but things are turning
around for us. God is turning our
depression into a celebration, our defeat into victory, our sickness into
health, our poverty into prosperity, our lack into abundance and our sorrows
into joy. It is time to change
clothes. It is time to dance and
rejoice. God wants to dress us up in
joy. We are to put on our shouting
clothes! God’s word is true:
To appoint unto them that mourn in
Zion
Yes, God has appointed this
deliverance for us. We have a destined
date with the blessing of the Lord. What
seemed to be burned and ruined, God is turning into something beautiful. He is anointing us with joy. The anointing breaks every yoke and lifts
every burden and makes us laugh at the enemy.
We can count it all joy. God is
giving us a garment of praise. There is
great deliverance in the garment of praise.
We can put it on right now. Keep
it on. Praise God. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. He never fails to plan the best things for
us. His word is true:
For the LORD God is a sun and
shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O LORD
of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts
in You! Psalm 84:11-12
"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of
all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27
Finally, all of you be of one
mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be
courteous; not returning evil for evil
or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were
called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For "He who would love life And see good
days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For
the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their
prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." 1 Peter
3:8-12
God is yet to meet a problem that He
cannot solve, an enemy that He cannot defeat or a mountain He cannot move!
However He can do nothing if His people do not give to Him their problems,
enemies or mountains and let Him deal with them? Mind you sometimes we need
wisdom and discernment from God on how to solve the problems, deal with our
enemies or move the mountains ourselves because God’s word is
unchanging:
And when they had come to the
multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy
on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into
the fire and often into the water. "So I brought him to Your disciples, but they
could not cure him." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse
generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring
him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the
child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately
and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" So Jesus said to them, "Because of
your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and
nothing will be impossible for you.
"However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
Matthew 17:14-21
God has given to each one of His born
again children mountain moving faith that enables them to say to a particular
mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be
impossible for you.’ However some mountains are moved only a piece at a time.
Nevertheless faith in God can do the impossible when properly placed and used.
But faith placed in men will only bring a curse from God. God’s word is
unchanging:
"For My people have committed two
evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves
cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13
Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who
trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:5
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all
that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And
forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals
all your diseases, Who redeems your life
from destruction, Who crowns you with
lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who
satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:1-5
Then they cried out to the LORD in
their trouble, And He saved them out of
their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from
their destructions. Psalm 107:19-20
Yes, the Word of God tells us
that the benefits of putting our trust in the Lord includes forgiveness of all
our iniquities, healing of all our diseases, redemption of our life from destruction, being crowned with loving-kindness and tender
mercies, satisfied with good things, So that our youth is renewed like the eagle's
(Psalm 103:1-5). But each one of us must understand how to receive healing and
keep it. Mind you unbelievers don’t
believe and accept God’s word or the fact that when we understand God's word on
healing and act upon it, it brings forth a manifestation of healing in our
physical bodies that gives our heavenly Father the glory for what Jesus has done
for us. They don’t believe that sickness
is the result of an oppression of the devil. Acts 10:38 says, "...and Jesus went about doing
good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him."
Yes, the devil inflicts people with
sickness and doesn't like it when God's Word brings healing and destroys his
work. The devil, using people like the critics of the Word Faith Movement,
reestablishes his infliction by stealing the truth of the Word from God’s people
as demonstrated in Matthew 13:19 where it says, "When anyone hears the Word of
the kingdom, and does not understand that the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside
the road."
As a result many people from dead
Christian churches receive the Word on healing and are prayed for and a healing
takes place, and they receive it with joy, but due to lack of proper teaching
don’t allow it to become firmly rooted in them and are not prepared to resist
the devil who inflict them with the very same symptoms to change their minds.
Matthew 13:21 tells us because of the Word, this affliction will be
brought against them once again to cause them to fall away. The devil will once
again bring the symptoms of the sickness to try and convince them that they are
not healed. This is a lying vanity. The root meaning of a lying vanity is
something that comes against us to change our mind. For if the devil can cause us to look at
symptoms instead of God's promise, he can convince us to believe his lie. When
we focus on the symptoms, pain or whatever it is, doubt and unbelief come to our
mind and this gives entrance for fear to re-establish the sickness. Hence we
must keep our heart and mind fixed upon God and His promise. Isaiah 26:3 says,
"I will keep him in perfect peace who's mind is stayed upon me."
We need to hold fast to that which is
good. We must allow the Word to take root so that it can complete the
manifestation of healing. Jonah is an example of this. He was swallowed by the
whale and was in the whale's belly for three days and nights, yet he did not
give up on God and His promise. He said in Jonah 2:8-9 "Those who regard lying
vanities forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrifice to thee with the voice
of thanksgiving." Jonah decided not to believe a lying vanity, but to trust God
and God delivered him out of his circumstance. Had Jonah believed the lie, he
would have lost his faith and not received deliverance. How can we expect God to
deliver us if we go by what the devil does rather than trust God? So when the
symptoms return, we must set our faith in God and His Word and tell the enemy,
no matter what, we are not going to believe his lies. James 4:7, "Submit
therefore to God. Resist the devil and He will flee from you." [i]
We know that not all are saved (even
though God is not willing that any should perish) because not all appropriate
the blessing of Salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ. In the same light, not
all appropriate the blessing of Divine Healing and Divine Prosperity because not
all HAVE ABSOLUTE FAITH that Jesus desires to heal them and prosper them NOW!
Yet God’s word is unchanging about
faith:
Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. By faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen
were not made of things which are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did
not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was
taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please
Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him Hebrews 11:1-6
The Bible says that NOW Faith is and
God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If a person had absolute
faith that Jesus is his Healer NOW, then his healing would manifest NOW. Yes, we
need to pray for God to help us in our weak faith so that we can be able to
receive every blessing that God has promised us in His Word in this lifetime as
well as the one to come for God’s word is unchanging about faith:
By faith they passed through the
Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians,
attempting to do so, were drowned. By
faith the walls of Jericho
You can live FREE from sickness and
diseases if you’re are a child of GOD. Once we understand where sickness comes
from, we can understand why we are able to get rid of it! God's word clearly
reveals that death, disease and sickness originated with sin and now are being
spread by Satan (Rom 5:12 -21; Job 2:6-7; Luke 13:16 ). Think of all those Jesus healed. The Gospels say
they were all "oppressed of the Devil" (Acts 10:38 ). Only when sin is taken out of the human race, will
there be no more sickness. Until then we pray for the sick to be
healed!
The Bible teaches that forgiveness of
sins and healing of the body goes hand in hand. Healing is just as easy to
receive from God as forgiveness of sins. If you have need of healing, it is only
right that you surrender your life to God if you expect Him to heal you. Healing
is one of the benefits of being in right relationship with God. "Praise the
LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits he forgives all your sins and
heals all your diseases." (Ps. 103:2-3). God calls Himself in Scripture "Jehovah
Rapha", meaning "I am the LORD who is your healer" (Ex. 15:26 )
When Believers agree together things
begin to happen. Join with others in agreeing upon your condition, pray one for
another, and get anointed with oil. (Mark 6:13 , James 5:14-16). Jesus exercised no power in His
ministry which every true believer cannot have today. True believers can heal
the sick and cast out devils! They can perform miracles and even raise the dead.
Many will say these things were only for the Apostles, just to get the church
started. Not true my friend, this is for today and what true disciples were
meant to do!
SATAN'S OBJECTIVE
Satan's primary objective is to
discredit God. Spoiling our bodies is one way he operates. Created in the image
of God, we are caught in the middle of this spiritual battleground. Satan "as your enemy prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He will devour you with disease and sickness
if you let him. Our great advantage is
that God sent His Son to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:3). God through Jesus Christ will destroy Satan's
evil work in your body!
Our failures come because of an
imperfect understanding of God's word.
God's word declares that, "you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free" (John 8:32 ). Satan your
adversary knows the truth better than you do.
Until you discover and start claiming what is legally yours, Satan will
continue his harassment and assault on your life. He knows your weak areas.
CHRIST THE HEALER
The Bible clearly reveals that God
wills to be the "healer" of His people and declares His will to heal all those
that obey Him. Christ's works of healing
were not only to prove His divinity but were a part of His complete mission of
fulfilling the will of God. "Here I am,
I have come to do your will." (Heb 10:9).
"Many followed Jesus, and he healed all their sick" (Matthew 12:15 ). Jesus Himself is a revelation of the will of
God. He did the will of God; He healed
all who came to Him. He has an
unchanging priesthood; "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever." (Hebrew 13:8).[ii]
Yes, Our God is strong and mighty
indeed. He is our shield and buckler. The Lord has promised to go with us.
Joshua 1:9 tells us we do not need to be afraid or dismayed. No matter what the devil brings our way.
There is complete victory through the divine blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus has
all power, and His promise is, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the
world." We can trust Him with all of our heart; lean not to our own
understanding, and He will move for us and work all things out for our good.
God’s word is unchanging:
Likewise the Spirit also helps in
our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. Now He who searches the hearts
knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God. And
we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover
whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also
justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If
God is for us, who can be against us? He
who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:26-32
'And it shall be that if you
earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your
God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 'then I will give you the rain for your land
in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your
grain, your new wine, and your oil. 'And
I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be
filled.' Deuteronomy 11:13-15
Ask the LORD for rain In the time
of the latter rain. The LORD will make
flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone. For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false
dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like
sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd. Zechariah
10:1-2
What God’s people need most of all is
the rain of the Spirit on their lives and land to change all things including
their wilderness and desserts. They do not need more pastors and teachings and
doctrine but showers of the Spirit from above, the early and latter rain that
will change all things. For God’s word is unchanging:
Until the Spirit is poured upon us
from on high, And the wilderness becomes
a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My
people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet
resting places, Though hail comes down
on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey. Isaiah
32:15-20
Come, and let us return to the
LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established
as the morning; He will come to us like
the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. Hosea 6:1-3
Just like in the natural a good rain
makes quite a difference to the land, so does a good rain of the Spirit makes a
great difference to the land of God
The Lord is the Mighty River River of Life
And he showed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the
Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree
of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
Revelation 22:1-3
The River of God
The streams in the desert are for the
hurt, lonely and lost. They are for all who thirst and desire a drink by quiet
meadows. They are refreshment for the soul. They are renewal for the mind. They
are strengthening for the body. The streams are for all who want more of God.
The pastures are for the retired. The meadows are for the weary. The streams are
for the thirsty. But, the mighty River is for the brave and the free! The River
brings real abundant life. It brings the streams of the desert into one roaring
torrent. The River sustains the Body and heals the deeply wounded. It sets the
captives free from bondage and tradition. It shakes the very foundations of
men's beliefs and turns them upside down. O yes, the mighty River changes the
course of history and rewrites men's theology. For the River is the Source of
Life and Truth. When the waves flow over
the banks of the river and the banks swell beyond their boundary lines, it is
then that the greatest destruction occurs to the farms and outlying lands. The
River of life is just like this. It flows beyond the boundaries of men's limited
thinking and controlling ways--beyond the hold of man.
Destruction comes to all who refuse
to change their thinking with the River. They will not bend. They will not yield
to the rushing beauty before them. They would rather "fight than switch" to
their own demise. God has not desired their defeat or destruction but they have
refused to comply. So, the River will do
her work. She will over flow her banks and bring the truth rushing into every
stronghold and bastion of men's devises.
He has the final say on everything that comes their way. The LORD is in
the flood. He is in the Tornado. He is
in the hurricane. He is in the firestorm. He is in everything that brings their
destruction. Suddenly and swiftly they are swept away. One moment there, the
next moment gone, as simply as a flick of God’s Hand. For they have chose to stand against God.
They thought they could withstand Him. They thought they were right and they
wrong. They thought but it was wrong. Thinking is wrong. It brings nothing but
destruction and tribulation to men who claim to "Know the LORD."
Knowing Lord is more than speaking
His Name on occasion or even raising their hands to Him. Knowing Him is
recognizing His Voice when He calls them. It means changing their plans because
He asked them. It means surrendering their will to the LORD in spirit and truth.
For God’s word is unchanging:
The woman said to Him, "Sir, I
perceive that You are a prophet. "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and
you Jews say that in Jerusalem
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the
hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem
"God is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:19-24
Never so blind are those who chose
not to "See!" They have chosen not to see God. They have chosen the lies men
have told them. They have accepted as truth what was not truth. They have walked
in their ways and expected Him to sanction them? But they are not to assume that
God’s silence means acceptance. It does not! God refuses to accept what men have
made of His church and His body. He has chosen to rearrange it with the Power of
His Mighty Hand through His Holy Spirit and they will see it but never enjoy it.
They will remain in their own desert by their own choice and He will help them
to it. When cancer comes they are not to ask why for the answer is in their own
disobedience. For God’s word is
unchanging:
Then Samuel said to Saul,
"Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said
to him, "Speak on."
So Samuel said, "When you were little in your
own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel Israel
And Saul said to Samuel, "But I
have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD
sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the
things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your
God in Gilgal."
Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying
the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, And to heed
than the fat of rams. For rebellion is
as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the
LORD, He also has rejected you from
being king." 1 Samuel 15:16-23
Where the River is flowing so is the
LORD. There men will find Him immersed in the deeps of the Holiest of Rivers and
deep within themselves if they will find Him flowing through the depths of their
being in that River. But the LORD never goes where He is not invited or remains
where He is not wanted. He has come and gone in many people's lives. They have
felt His passing but they continued on their way without Him and wonder where He
had gone? He went where He was wanted
and received and loved. He went where He was heeded. For He is in the River and
He brings life everlasting to all who desire the purity of His Presence. This is
a promise of One who does not lie. When the River is flowing it calls deep to
deep and brings the healing Presence of the Lord down into men's hearts. It
heals the broken heart and sets the captives free. Such is the Presence of the
Lord!
by Darrell Evans
Let the poor man say, "I am rich in
Him"
Let the lost man say, "I am found in
Him"
Oh let the river flow
Let the blind man say, "I can see
again"
Let the dead man say, "I am born
again"
Oh let the river flow, oh let the river
flow
Let the river flow, let the river
flow
Holy Spirit come, move in power
Let the river flow, let the river
flow
Holy Spirit come, move in power
Let the river flow, let the river
flow
Let the river flow
A foolish woman is clamorous; She
is simple, and knows nothing. Proverbs 9:13
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered
and said: "How long will you speak these
things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? Does God subvert
judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert
justice? If your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away for their transgression. If you would earnestly
seek God And make your supplication to
the Almighty, If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling
place. Job 8:1-6
The word of God shows us that Job’s
so called friend and comforters were fools who didn’t have a clue what they were
talking about even though their words were very lofty, intellectual and sounded
right. They were clamorous and didn’t understand what Job’s trial was all about;
although they thought they knew all things, but in reality knew nothing. As a
matter of fact the Lord said to them, "My wrath is aroused against you and your
two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job
has.” Consequentially they had to repent and offer a costly burnt offering.
They were instructed by God to take seven bulls and seven rams and to go to
God’s servant Job, and offer up for themselves a burnt offering; lest God would
deal with them according to their folly; because they had not spoken of Him what
was right, as His servant Job had. And then God would hear and accept His
servant Job prayers for them. And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed
for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job
42:7-10). Yet God’s word is unchanging:
The way of a fool is right in his
own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. Proverbs 12:15
In the mouth of a fool is a rod of
pride, But the lips of the wise will preserve them. Proverbs 14:3
Go from the presence of a foolish
man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. Proverbs
14:7
A wise man fears and departs from
evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident. Proverbs 14:16
Even a fool is counted wise when
he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
Proverbs 17:28
Unfortunately in life and even in the
house of God there are many clamorous fools who would do well to keep their
mouths shut and avoid the judgment of God upon them. But “A fool has no delight
in understanding, But in expressing his own heart” (Proverbs 18:2). “A fool's
mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul” (Proverbs
18:7). There are fools who are in trouble all the time and blame their troubles
on the devil. They have never figured out that it’s their big mouth that gave
room to the devil to bring trouble to them! “As a dog returns to his own vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). “A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back” (Proverbs 29:11). God’s word is
unchanging:
The wicked is ensnared by the
transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble. Proverbs
12:13
Whoever guards his mouth and
tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. Proverbs 21:23
My brethren, let not many of you
become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone
does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole
body. James 3:1-2
And the tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole
body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For
every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and
has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil,
full of deadly poison. James 3:6-8
Yes, he who has learned to keep
his mouth shut keeps his soul from a multitude of trouble. The tongue is an
unruly evil, full of deadly poison. It is a powerful weapon that can be used
positively or negatively depending on whether is is under the control of the
Spirit or the flesh! The word of God
admonishes us to keep our tongue from evil,
and our lips from speaking deceit (Psalm 34:13). It tells us that God
desires to give His children the tongue of the learned:
"The Lord GOD has given Me The
tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him
who is weary. He awakens Me morning by
morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. The Lord GOD has
opened My ear; And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away. Isaiah 50:4-5
God is on line to all who care to
listen to Him in the early hours of the morning. For those who are attune to the
Spirit and walk in God’s ways the Lord gives them the tongue of the learned that
they may know how to speak a word in season to him who is wary. He opens their
ears to hear as the learned of all that He has to speak to them morning by
morning before the bustle, cares, worries and anxiety of life drown things
out. He also desires that they give
their tongue over to the Holy Spirit and let Him use it. God’s word is
true:
Pursue love, and desire spiritual
gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no
one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and
exhortation and comfort to men. He who
speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the
church. I wish you all spoke with
tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater
than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church
may receive edification. 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
I thank my God I speak with
tongues more than you all; 1 Corinthians 14:18
Many people have not learnt yet that
soulish prayers are useless but prayers prayed in the Spirit are always answered
by God because they originate with God.
God the Father knew we would not know how to pray as we ought, that is
why he filled us with the Holy Ghost and gave us a prayer language, (Romans
8:26-27). Some of our prayers are not answered because we ask improperly, but
when we pray in tongues we know that we are praying according to the will of
God. God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore I remind you to stir up
the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:6-7
Even so you, since you are zealous
for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek
to excel. Therefore let him who speaks
in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit
prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also
pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing
with the understanding. 1 Corinthians 14:12-15
But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word
of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds
of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 1 Corinthians
12:7-10
God has called His people to walk in
love and understanding. He wants them to be
unified and in agreement because that is when they are most effective for
the kingdom. But the enemy stirs up strife and confusion through foolish words
from an uncontrolled tongue. God’s word is unchanging:
An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning
fire. A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of
friends. Proverbs 16:27-28
Out of the same mouth
proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and
bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a
grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let
him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But
if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie
against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly,
sensual, demonic. For where envy and
self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:10-18
Husbands, likewise, dwell with
them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and
as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be
hindered. 1 Peter 3:7
Yes divisions including between a man
and wife hinder our prayers when we don’t walk in love and understanding. Our
prayers are answered when we walk in the power of agreement and unity. We are
called to walk worthy of our calling
with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another
in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We
are called to balance the gift of the Spirit with the fruit of the Spirit in our
lives. God’s word is unchanging:
Now the works of the flesh are
evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,
murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand,
just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God. But the
fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there
is no law. And those who are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking
one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:19-26
Yes, the works of the flesh are
evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,
murders, drunkenness, revelries. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, And those who are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, we must also walk
in the Spirit, not in the flesh!
God has never planned nor intended
that the gifts and fruit of the Spirit lay dormant in the lives of His people.
When He gave them His only begotten Son, Jesus, and His wonderful counselor the
Holy Spirit, He had planned that they would walk in love and adorn their lives
with the single fruit of the Spirit including love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. He had willed that
they should be 'filled with the fruits of righteousness' (Philippians 1:11 ). They should be 'neither barren
nor unfruitful' (2 Peter 1:8). "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness,
righteousness, and truth." (Ephesians 5:9)
God has given His people the fruits
of the Spirit only with a view to fill us with the qualities of goodness,
righteousness and truth. The gifts of the Spirit and the fruits are to go hand
in hand together with love being the unifying force because God’s word is
unchanging:
"There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has
not been made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
"Just as He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love." Ephesians 1:4
"Let love be without hypocrisy."
Romans 12:9
"Now the purpose of the
commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere
faith."1 Timothy 1:5
Yes, the fruits of the Spirit come
from love born out of a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. That
is why God works on us to develop in us a pure heart, a good conscience and a
sincere faith so that the great fountain of Love will spring in us, only if Love
is genuinely born in our hearts, the fruits of the Spirit will emerge in us. A
man with mere 'Gifts' is not an effective man. Only with two wings can a bird
fly; the loss of even a single wing will hamper its flight.[iii]
We are not perfect if Gifts and
Fruits don’t work together in unison in our Spiritual life. We need to allow
'love' to flow from our minds by the power and anointing of the Spirit. We need
to continually walk and live in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Yes we need for God to fill us with His
Spiritual 'Gifts' and decorate us with the 'Fruits' so we can minister by the
Spirit to a lost, hurt, and dying humanity that is need of the demonstration of
God’s power. God’s word is unchanging:
Then Philip went down to the city
of Samaria
And I, brethren, when I came to
you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the
testimony of God. For I determined not
to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians
2:1-5
“So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall
I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for
you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." I Samuel
30:8
There is a
principle in the bible and in heaven in that when an adversary wrongful attacks
God’s children, a man of God has the right to pursue, conquer and recover all
and more and even through the same systems and methods that were used against
him. Especially because God is with him and no matter what his adversaries or
others say! As the word of God is true:
Now when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained
servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night,
and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is
north of Damascus Lot and his
goods, as well as the women and the people. Genesis 14:14-15
Abraham, just like Jesus, went to war
to recover his brother who was taken captive. He pursued the enemy and recovered
all. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
The bible also records of how the
Amalekites had invaded the South and had taken captive the women and those who
were there, from small to great. When David and his men came to the city, and
there it was, burned with fire. Their wives, their sons, and their daughters had
been taken captive. So David as a true
man of God asked of the Lord if he was to purse his aggressors. The Lord
answered Him and said:
"Pursue, for you shall surely
overtake them and without fail recover all."
So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David
rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great,
sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David
recovered all. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before
those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."
The Lord who had raised up
Moses and Joshua and gave them victories over their enemies told David to pursue
and recover all. And David did just that. David pursing the Amalekites who
raided his camp, kidnapping his family and the families of all of his men, along
with their possessions and recovering all that the Amalekites had taken
including his two wives was a sign of things to come. For each victory in life won leads to greater
victories to come.
King David a man of war was actually
the one who conquered all of the land which had been promised to the Children of
Israel but was not completed by Joshua. The bottom line is that we are not to
allow any enemy, be they men or demons, steal anything from us including the
freedom of speech, press, religion and worship in America
The enemy is defeated because
of the power God has given His anointed ones against them. As they use the power
the enemy will be destroyed and the way for them will be opened to greater
victories and greater conquests than have ever known. Hence His anointed ones
must go onward as good Christian soldiers. Onward to war! For true men of God
are to be led by God alone through the Holy Spirit and not by fearful or
paranoid ones or pacifists, even if they are so called Christians. As in due
season God will give His true ones greater victories as He has promised that
their end will be greater than their beginning if they remain faithful to Him.
All in God’s perfect timing and due season.
Many religionists who are not men of war but false ones would
have many of us wait on the Lord in cowardice and fear and do nothing
when attacked by the enemy be they spiritual or physical or dispense with things
which God has not dispensed with.
But God’s true children must look
beyond their fear to their Father in Heaven and the Faith they have in Him. He
is greater than all their fear. He is greater than all their lack. He is able to
provide and heal and change all of their circumstances. He has already done a
lot and he will continue to do much more. They can expect many miracles. The Great I AM is greater than all the
universes out there. He is greater than all the people out there. He is the only God in the entire
universe. He is their great defender,
redeemer and friend. He is their defense and high tower. There is none like, nor
ever will be in the entirety of eternity! He is it.
The ways of men are not God’s ways.
He has a plan they have never dreamt of. He is greater than any problem the
planet may offer. Man is limited by his upbringing and wounds. God is not so
limited. He has all the power of the universe at His disposal and He will give
His anointed and true children they victory. So His true children must keep on
praying and trusting to see the mountains moved out and cast into the sea. His
word is true:
Therefore he sent horses and
chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the
city. And when the servant of the man of
God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with
horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall
we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear,
for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
And Elisha prayed, and said,
"LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of
the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha
prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And
He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:14-18
God is always with and not against
His one. Greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world. The world
is defeated because of what was done on the Cross. So the enemies and giants are
under you’re their feet. But they must trample them down. They must go out and
fight against them. For all the true men
of God in the bible such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Jesus and Mordecai
did not give up their God given rights went to war with their enemies and
recovered all.
In the book of Esther there is a
story also about an adversary Haman and a man of God Mordecai. It is a truthful
record of how Mordecai helped the king who told Queen Esther, and Esther
informed the king in Mordecai's name that two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and
Teresh, sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. As a result when an inquiry was
made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both men were hanged on the gallows.
The bible later records of Haman, the
evil and wicked prime minister who told
his friends and family everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he
had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. But to him it was
worth nothing as long as he saw Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's
gate. Then his wife Zeresh and all his
friends suggested to him, that a gallows me made and Mordecai be hanged on
it. Well Haman took the matter as step
further when he learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he orchestrated an edict which
the king approved and signed that the Jews be destroyed and that Haman would
hang Mordecai on the gallows.
But Mordecai the foolish one,
never expected the things would be reversed and he would hang on those some
gallows instead. For Queen Esther
revealed to day King Ahasuerus how she was a Jew and Haman had contrived her
death and that of her people. As a
result the bible records: Then the king said, "Hang him on it!": So they hanged
Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai and in chapter 8 of
Esther that
On that day King Ahasuerus gave
Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, and Mordecai came before
the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her.
So the king took off his signet ring, which he
had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai
over the house of Haman. So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in
royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of
fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
The Jews had light and gladness, joy
and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and
decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. God’s word
records:
Now all the acts of his power and
his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king
advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Media and Persia: For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was
great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking
the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
The story of Esther and of how the
Jews overcame and destroyed their enemies is one of the most celebrated events
in the lives of the Jewish people. How Mordecai and Esther turned the table on
their enemies specifically Haman who, himself, was hung on the gallows he had
prepared for Mordecai. Later Haman’s own
sons would be hung on the gallows also.
The house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews and all his power and authority
became the right of Mordecai to posses and use how he wanted. Mordecai the Jew
became second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received
by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking
peace to all his countrymen.
So being a man of God and going to
war using all means to defend and recover what the enemy has stolen is the will
of God and is in the pattern of the nature and character of Jesus Christ. As
God’s word is true:
"These will make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of
kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." Revelations
17:14
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white
horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
He judges and makes war. His eyes were
like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written
that no one knew except Himself. He was
clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of
God. And the armies in heaven, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that
with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod
of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS. Revelations 19:11-16
Jesus Christ Himself who is a man of
War and the Judge of all the earth went to war with those who made war with Him
and overcame them for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are
with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. Although some religionists and pagans
by choice are pacifists it should be no surprise to men that God in Jesus Christ
is a man of War who goes to war to fight for His people just like He did for the
Children of Israel at the Red Sea . Hence God’s
word states:
"I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt
Him.
The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast
into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the
Red Sea . The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone. "Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious
in power;
Your right hand, O LORD, has
dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against
You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.' You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty
waters.
"Who is like You, O LORD, among
the gods? Who is like You, glorious in
holiness, Fearful in praises, doing
wonders? You stretched out Your right
hand; The earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation. Exodus
15:1-13
The enemy and former captor, the
greatest nation and military power, the Pharaoh and the nation of
Egypt Israel
Jesus Christ is the destruction of
every yoke men and demons have laid on His people. He is the ointment that
breaks the yoke. He is the anointing that heals every wound. He is the King of
all the earth. The world’s system may be under the devil’s control but the earth
and the kingdoms of the earth are His through rightful acts of conquest. Hence
He gives the victory to His true ones. The devil is conquered and defeated and
he has only the power that men give to him.
Hence Because of Calvary and
through Calvary God raised Jesus Christ
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. He also put all things under Jesus’ feet, and
gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the
fullness of Him who fills all in all.
So after Calvary the devil was not the victor but a loser who
became a captive of Jesus Christ in a triumphant procession through the streets
of glory. As a result of his stupid
mistake of going to war with Jesus about which God’s word states:
which none of the rulers of this
age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory. 1 Corinthians 2:8
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all. But to
each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." (Now this, "He ascended"-what does it mean but
that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended
far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work
of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ; that
we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting, but, speaking the truth in
love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ- Ephesians 4:4-15
Jesus Christ who had over come the
world is now the head of all things and the Lord of all and not the devil. Hence
He, the stronger and greater one stated
to His disciples
"But if I cast out demons with the
finger of God, surely the kingdom of God
"These things I have spoken to
you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16;33
God has ordained that His people go
to war against their enemies and to defeat and dismay them as His word is
true:
"And I commanded Joshua at that
time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these
two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass.
Deuteronomy 3:21
"When you go out to battle against
your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do
not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up
from the land of
Egypt
We should ask ourselves the question
why does not our King of Kings and Lord
of Lords do the same things today where we live and exist in the now and gives
us victories over all our enemies? The
real truth is that God, who is no respecter of persons, does not show partiality
nor takes a bribe but rather loves mercy and justice, because of our faith and
prayer. He will do the same and more for
us and for all His people. His word can become a reality for us today where we
live in our present circumstances especially:
The LORD gave them rest all
around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. and not a man of
all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into
their hand. Joshua 21:44
"No one sews a piece of unshrunk
cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the
tear is made worse. "And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is
spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new
wineskins." Mark 2:21-22
Pursue peace with all people, and
holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone
fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause
trouble, and by this many become defiled;
lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one
morsel of food sold his birthright.
For you know that afterward, when
he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for
repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews
12:14-17
God wills that men do His perfect
will rather than their will. He desires
they do His will rather than their will.
Yet, men say, “How can we do your will, O Lord, for we are merely lowly men. We
can’t possibly know your perfect will.” For they are a stiff-necked people full
of dead men’s bones and false knowledge. As they desire the knowledge and wisdom
of this earth rather than the one that comes from above. Then, they wonder why God doesn’t answer
them? Why God could possibly upset with them? Yet, they say, God is not judging
it is the devil out to destroy them or using others for their harm. Never do
they look to themselves and their ways before God. They think they can do no
wrong because God accepts all of their ways as perfect and acceptable.
But God does not accept all of
their ways or all of their thinking. He doesn’t accept the corruption of their
minds or their bodies. He doesn’t accept their high minded philosophies and
theologies. He doesn’t accept their rules and regulations for living. He doesn’t
accept them. Something they can’t understand that God would reject them directly
for what they sincerely believe to be His desire but they don’t hear Him when He
tries to speak to them. They don’t
listen when He calls them. They can’t hear in the spiritual realm because they
have not developed listening spiritual ears.
What they call spiritual is not
spiritual at all. It is carnal fleshly religious hogwash. They call it deep
spiritual understanding. They expect God to endorse their philosophies but He
doesn’t accept any of it, nor will He ever accept it. They must accept what He
desires them to see and hear. They must stop having itching ears full of their
desires and passions and flesh. But,
they don’t see their flesh because they are so close to it. They don’t see and
therefore they are spiritually blind and devoid of God purposes for their lives and the lives they
lead to hell with them. They think they will escape God's judgments and His
anger but they will escape nothing.
God has set a place for them where
they will rot forever in the halls of their own passion. They will cry everyday
for what they never saw and totally missed. As God has sent His prophets to them
and they would not receive the truth from their hand. He will send no other to
them. They have rejected the truth. The truth that would have set them free if
they had only seen it for what it was—the real honest to goodness
truth!
Yet God is moving in a miraculous way
to destroy the enemies of His truth and bring about a new church full of real
truth. He is bringing spiritual healing and awakening to His land and His body.
He is moving to bring change to a decadent and decaying church. He is destroying
those who have exploited His people in His Name. Any who used God's Name to
bring such abuse and misuse of His sheep will now pay with their very lives and
their livelihood as Eli and his two thieving and raping sons did. Even now God's
armies are marching to tread down the strongholds of men’s vain philosophy from
one end of the earth to the other.
No, idol worship, philosophy,
technology, financial empire, government institution or any other man made
structure or system of thought will withstand the advance of God’s great and
powerful army. His vanguard will both in prayer and in teaching tear down all
these vain strongholds and bring to not their influence. For great is the
influence of God's true ones. They are beyond the world and they will bring
great deliverance to His hurting multitudes.
Yes, multitudes are about to
enter into a new relationship with God, full of the Spirit and real truth. They
are mounting a fresh attack in the spiritual realm and great is the destruction
of the enemies’ fortresses. He thinks they will not fall but they are already
falling. They are coming to a new place of destruction. The oil refineries and
the pagan nations and the denominations and the governments and the institutions
and the medical professions and the vain systems of thought and subject matter
are coming to their proper end. God reigns sovereign above all. They cannot
withstand His great army of truth and power vested in His great servants and
prayer warriors. This battle has not even begun. What is now seen is only a
glimmer of the great destruction and harvest that is coming.
God protects His own! He defends His
true ones. He magnifies and uplifts His beloved children. He blesses and
glorifies His own pure ones. He is delivering them out of harm’s way because
they are His true servants and He is their God!
There is no one who can take them from Him and there is no one who can
stop what is about to take place. The weapons they carry are spiritual and very
destructive. Their tongues are a shape two edged sword carrying the Word to many
nations. Their hearts are full of the Spirit of the Lord and His truth. Their
hands wield the sword of the Spirit and bring the plans of mice and men to their
fitting destruction. Let all men be liars and God be true for there is on other
on earth who is greater than He.
For God is the great I Am and the
enemy is coming to his end. He thinks because he is clever and appears smarter
than God's people that he has somehow won but he has not won at all. He is
defeated and a simpleton who is deceived and thinks that he has won what he has
not won. He thinks he possesses what he does not possess for the possessions of
the heathen are stored up for the righteous and the cattle on a thousand hills
are God's !
And now, the hour of their
destruction and calamity is at hand. Men will run to and fro but find no place
to find shelter from the storms He is setting against them. As they set a snare
from God's true Ones now they will suffer the same fate. They will experience
first hand the destruction they have desired to see set upon God's people as
Haman desired for Mordecai. But Mordecai became second only to the Emperor and
Haman hung on the gallows he made for Mordecai. If men think destruction is not
eminent they don’t know God at all. But what is that to God, after all, He is
the great I Am and none may stand before Him.
Yes, God loves deeply and profoundly! but He only
loves those who truly desire to serve Him
with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength. He does not desire
men’s lip service but their true surrender to His perfect will for their lives.
But men, even religious ones, have gone each to their own way and refused to do
what He has commanded them to do directly. He spoke to them and they could not
hear. But that is no consequence to God.
If they choose not to hear that was their choice. He gave them only one choice
and one option. He commanded them to hear His
voice and they would not. So, now is their destruction about to come upon
them and for some it has already begun. This is not God's choice but theirs. God
is only doing what He must do as a Great and Sovereign Lord. He cannot deny Who
He is. He cannot deny His purity of heart and Spirit. He cannot deny His Own
true Nature.
Men can’t believe God's true Nature.
They think God exists only as they see Him. They think He, somehow, fits into
their mold for Him. But they think wrong! God doesn’t fit their mold. He doesn’t
fit their theology. He doesn’t fit into their logic. He just doesn’t fit into
their religious thinking. He fit His own thinking and He will not change. It is men who must change and mold their
lives by yielding to God's will, not He to theirs. This is something few
understand. True obedience is true yieldedness and teachableness. It is not a
verbal surrender. It transcends the mind and the body into the Spiritual realm
and brings man’s nature into a new dimension where few have gone before.
Now, is the hour of their
transfiguration. Men may be transformed into God's image in only a way He can
do. They cannot accomplish this spiritual union. Only a surrendered humble
vessel can possibly hope to achieve this ultimate relationship with God in the
spiritual realm. Only the humble pure vessel can hold the New Wine! For after
all it is the New Wine!
And Abraham called the name
of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of
The LORD it shall be provided."
Then the Angel of the LORD called
to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says
the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your
only son- "blessing I will bless you,
and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and
as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the
gate of their enemies. "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:14-18
Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How
long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over
Israel
God has never lost His ability to provide
for the needs of His people nor for Himself. This is something which He proved
when He brought the children of Israel Egypt
The children of Ephraim, being
armed and carrying bows, Turned back in
the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their
fathers, In the land of Egypt
Over and over again God demonstrated
to His people His ability to provide for all their needs physical and spiritual.
He made a way where there is no way in the Red
Sea and destroyed their enemies for them in the same sea. He led
them with a cloud by day and a fire by night. He brought streams out of the
rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet they sinned even more
against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. They tested
God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. The bible
records:
Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the
wilderness? Behold, He struck the
rock, So that the waters gushed
out, And the streams overflowed. Can He
give bread also? Can He provide meat for
His people?" Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained
down manna on them to eat, And given
them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the
heavens; And by His power He brought in
the south wind. He also rained meat on
them like the dust, Feathered fowl like
the sand of the seas; And He let them
fall in the midst of their camp, All
around their dwellings.
So they ate and were well
filled, For He gave them their own
desire. They were not deprived of their
craving; But while their food was still
in their mouths, The wrath of God came
against them, And slew the stoutest of
them, And struck down the choice men of
Israel
God is able to provide but will they
believe and trust God to provide? Or
will they work out their own solutions and answers and only add sin to sin. For
men believe what they want to believe and they do what they want to do. But
God's word remains true:
"Woe to the rebellious children,"
says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but
not of Me, And who devise plans, but not
of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;
Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of
Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of
Egypt! Therefore the strength of
Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. Isaiah
30:1-3
Those who take counsel but not of God
and who devise plans but not of His Spirit are rebellious children who only add
sin to sin. As a result they shall be ashamed and humiliated when God moves
against them as He has promised to do. For His word is true:
Woe to those who go down to Egypt
for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are
many, And in horsemen because they are
very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is wise and
will bring disaster, And will not call
back His words, But will arise against
the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work
iniquity.
Now the Egyptians are men, and not
God; And their horses are flesh, and not
spirit. When the LORD stretches out His
hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together. Isaiah
31:1-3
This is greatest hour in earth's
history. For never in the history of mankind has circumstance so come together
for victory or for freedom. The army of heaven is being marshaled and the battle
is pending but before the battle will be great rejoicing and celebrating. The
children will be given a time and a season of respite from the storm and the
harmony of the Lord will descend upon all and bring healing, miracles and
change. For supernatural change is far
more important than any other change. It is a change from the heart. It is a
change from the Spirit. It is a change from the carnal. It is a permanent and
total change. This change will raise up vast numbers in the army of the LORD and
bring the battle to a head. It will unify the LORD’s forces and sanctify them
for the battle.
Sweeping vast changes are on its way.
Like the whirlwinds be it, it will devastate the status quo and rock the earth
to its very foundations. Time is of no importance to God. Time is a thing God
has created for man to live by but time
is irrelevant to God . Nevertheless He
is moving across the earth an mobilizing His great army. It is rising from the
ashes of what once was. He is changing the land and the people. New faces are
rising up from the ashes. Rising as from a great inferno. Rising to greet the
new day for it has dawned. For never in the history of men has there ever been
such a move upon the earth. Never from the beginning or ever will be again. This
is the move of the final hour.
The warriors will be great and have
much to do. The battle lines are drawing up and the war is about to begin but
not before the church is purged and sanctified and glorified. It must walk where
Jesus walked. It must do what He did. It must see what He sees. It must know
what He knows. And when it is all finished, the bride must be reunited with the
bridegroom. And those who are ready, with their lamps trimmed, will enter into
the holy of holies with Jesus.
by Job Anbalagan[iv]
He would not tolerate the tendency of
these pastors that condemn their sheep from pulpits instead of praying for them
and teaching them with tears.
Paul's personal care and love for a single person!
Though Paul wrote epistles to many churches, he wrote epistles to individuals like Timothy, Titus and Philemon. This shows the apostle Paul cared for individuals in the same manner as he cared for the churches of God.
These days, we find that many evangelists and other ministers did not care for individuals because they have had their big establishments where they engaged staff to scan their letters, emails, etc. The staff would decide for themselves which letters or emails should be put up to their boss. If they received letters enclosing cheques or offerings for their ministries, the staff would immediately acknowledge such communications and inform their bosses; then their bosses would sign the replies to such donors. If the staff received letters seeking financial help or any other prayer request, they dispose of such communications at their level because probably they have received such instructions from their boss. Then the staff on their own send out printed letters with some standard messages to those who have sent merely prayer requests.
In his epistle to Philemon, Paul reveals his love for this single person who had refreshed the bowels of the saints including himself. Philemon ministered to many saints of God including Paul for which Paul acknowledged with gratitude the ministry of Philemon "toward all the saints"(Vs.4&7).
Paul in his epistle commends his son in Christ, Onesimus, whom he had begotten in his bonds. Onesimus, a servant of Philemon, had defrauded the latter and forsaken him. Then Onesimus was saved through the ministry of Paul. Paul now sends him to Philemon beseeching the latter to accept his spiritual son, "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord?" (Vs.16). Paul asks Philemon to count "me therefore a partner" and to "receive him as myself" (Vs.17). According to Paul, Philemon must receive Onesimum in the same manner as he received Paul. In other words, there should not a different yardstick of treatment for a person who had defrauded a minister of God like Philemon.
Paul tells Philemon that he was prepared to restore to him whatever was defrauded by Onesimus. "I will repay it; albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides" (Vs.19). According to Paul, Philemon was dearer to him than his money.
How much Paul loved Philemon and Onesimus! Paul, though in his prison, chose to write a personal letter of comfort and of edification to Philemon, a single person by his own hand.
Today, the establishments of various ministers stand in the way of their reaching out to the individual sheep whom they are supposed to tend for. In fact, the establishments with all its modern communications have not brought these ministers very close to their sheep but have separated them from their fellowship. The establishments of such ministers have become corrupt these days because the Babylonian system has pervaded their establishments. They are more interested in selling their products to their sheep.
The ministry of the Holy Ghost is perfect but the establishments through which they perform their ministries have become corrupt.
If Paul were to live today, he would have raised up many Ephaphras's, Timothys, Philemons, Titus's, etc. Paul would have thus raised up an army of soldiers of Christ in every town, in every nation, in every continent, by making use of the modern transport and communication facilities. Paul or his fellow laborers (and not any "subordinate staff")would have been always available to the people they ministered. They would not be needing any staff to dispose off the communications they received from the people to whom they ministered. Each communication would be read and personally attended to. No standard reply would be sent to them. Thesedays, we find the T.V. ministers place their hands on the bunch of letters received from the people and pray without opening these precious letters sent to them.
Paul in his epistle to the church of the Thessalonians firstly reminds them of the afflictions through which they received the gospel and of the spread of the gospel through them to the other places likeMacedonia Macedonia church of Thessalonians
If Paul were to visit our churches and to inspect our ministries today, he would find our churches and ministries as money making business establishments; he would call our ministers as hypocrites because they quote from his epistles but do not follow the same. The churches of today are not witnessing churches because these churches are not involved in evangelism. Where are the ministers of God like Apostle Paul who would transform these churches into the likes of thechurch of Thessalonians
In I Thes.2:4-6, he tells them that he and his co-workers were "allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness: God is witness;
Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ".
God has to allow a person to be put in trust with the gospel. God tries a person for His ministry and then entrusts him with the gospel. It may take years for God to entrust that person with His ministry.
Paul preached the gospel to the Thessalonians not "in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance...." (I Thes.1:5).
Preachers preach the gospel in flowery languages and exhibit their oratory but not in the power of God. Oratory takes the place of the power of God. Gospel is preached from the church pulpits as a matter of routine, at times, mostly from texts already prepared. The power to convict the hearers of their sins and iniquities is missing. Flattering words are used just to please the parishioners. Fear of losing pulpits makes the preachers dilute the gospel. Gospel should proceed from the heart of the preachers, and not from their heads. Preachers come to the pulpit to seek recognition from men. They do not have a burden in their hearts for the lost souls.
Preachers use the cloak of covetousness. They covet offerings from the sheep they are supposed to serve and tend for. Evangelists expect offerings of those people that have been blessed by their ministries. Paul made God a witness to his apostolic ministry. If we conduct an evangelistic meeting in a town, the servants of God in that town covet the chief places on the dais and want to be honoured by the organizers. They expect praises of men before preaching the gospel. They make elaborate advertisements for their products but do not allow other servants of God to sell their products.
Paul never sought the glory of men, including the Thessalonians to whom he was ministering. All the people whom he served were equal in his eyes. He never preferred a particular person to another person. In the churches of today, the glory of men rules the roost. Men with good family background or rich men are honored when commonplace people are shown the backseats. The churches do not call "poor saints" or evangelists with poor financial background for giving messages but prefer only "renowned" evangelists.
Paul did not want to burden the church of the Thessalonians for ministering to him. He said in I Thes.2:9 that he and his team laboured and travailed night and day so that they "would not be chargeable unto any of you" for preaching the gospel of God. This is the true sign of a minister of God. These days, we find the ministers of God covet "service" from the people whom they are supposed to serve. They boast that they had resigned from their secular jobs to serve God but expect offerings from the people whom they serve. They do not work with their own hands even in their own offices established by them for running their ministries. They want "service" from the staff working in their offices.
Paul boldly told the church of the Thessalonians, "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe...."(I Thes.2:10). He behaved himself as a nurse that cherished her children and as a father that cared for his children.
Oh, how Paul loved them! He wanted to see their "face with great desire" (I Thes.2:17). He knew their sufferings and persecutions for the gospel of Christ. A minister of God or an apostle should know the sufferings and the persecutions of the people to whom he is supposed to minister. What happens to day? The minister of God concerned does not want to know the sufferings and the persecutions of the sheep under him but wants to tell them about his own sufferings and persecutions in order to earn their sympathy. Paul and his co-workers desired to see the faces of Thessalonians whereas the modern ministers expect their sheep to see their faces.
According to Paul, "ye are our glory and joy" (I Thes.2:20). For Paul and his team, Thessalonians were not merely believers or supporters but were their glory and joy. In other words, Paul's glory was not his ministry or his spiritual gifts but was the very sheep he was serving. Paul's joy did not emanate from the offerings and the love he received from Thessalonians. His very joy was Thessalonians.
In the 3rd Chapter of I Thessalonians, we find that Paul was worried about thechurch of Thessalonians
While preaching the gospel to Thessalonians, Paul did not promise a life of comfort and ease to them. He told them in unambiguous terms that they had to suffer much afflictions for the sake of the gospel. Nowadays, preachers while preaching the glorious gospel hesitate to tell the audience about the afflictions that they have to endure because, according to these preachers, the audience may not accept the gospel if a mention is made about the afflictions. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It is the power of God and not the oratory that saves the people. We should exhort the audience to bear their crosses, deny themselves and follow Christ.
Recently, I watched a T.V. Evangelist in theUSA
Evangelists mainly preach on healing and miracles and not on cross-bearing and discipleship. The apostles during the New Testament period preached the gospel to the people with the result that the sick and the demon-possessed were delivered. They did not focus on healing and miracle ministries. But, miracles and signs followed them. They did not follow miracles and signs.
Paul did not rest in his couch when he heard about the afflictions of Thessalonians. Neither did he rest in the couch after giving a message of comfort through his epistles. In addition, he deputed Timothy, "Our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ", to establish them and to comfort them concerning their faith. Timothy visited them and brought good tidings of their faith to Paul. After receipt of the report of Timothy, Paul and his team were comforted.
If Paul were to visit our churches today, he would find our ministers give long sermons to their congregations and lead them in long worship services on Sundays. According to these ministers, ministry means giving messages, conducting worship services, extracting tithes and offerings, and praying for the sick in their churches. But, according to Paul, ministry means taking care of the sheep, ministering to the poor saints and widows and edifying the faith of the weak sheep during their trials and tribulations.
If Paul were to visit our churches today, he would hardly find these ministers establish their sheep in their faith when the latter have passed through afflictions. Paul would be surprised to see the pastors who are mostly concerned about the coffers of their churches. He would not tolerate the tendency of these pastors that condemn their sheep from pulpits instead of praying for them and teaching them with tears.
Paul's personal care and love for a single person!
Though Paul wrote epistles to many churches, he wrote epistles to individuals like Timothy, Titus and Philemon. This shows the apostle Paul cared for individuals in the same manner as he cared for the churches of God.
These days, we find that many evangelists and other ministers did not care for individuals because they have had their big establishments where they engaged staff to scan their letters, emails, etc. The staff would decide for themselves which letters or emails should be put up to their boss. If they received letters enclosing cheques or offerings for their ministries, the staff would immediately acknowledge such communications and inform their bosses; then their bosses would sign the replies to such donors. If the staff received letters seeking financial help or any other prayer request, they dispose of such communications at their level because probably they have received such instructions from their boss. Then the staff on their own send out printed letters with some standard messages to those who have sent merely prayer requests.
In his epistle to Philemon, Paul reveals his love for this single person who had refreshed the bowels of the saints including himself. Philemon ministered to many saints of God including Paul for which Paul acknowledged with gratitude the ministry of Philemon "toward all the saints"(Vs.4&7).
Paul in his epistle commends his son in Christ, Onesimus, whom he had begotten in his bonds. Onesimus, a servant of Philemon, had defrauded the latter and forsaken him. Then Onesimus was saved through the ministry of Paul. Paul now sends him to Philemon beseeching the latter to accept his spiritual son, "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord?" (Vs.16). Paul asks Philemon to count "me therefore a partner" and to "receive him as myself" (Vs.17). According to Paul, Philemon must receive Onesimum in the same manner as he received Paul. In other words, there should not a different yardstick of treatment for a person who had defrauded a minister of God like Philemon.
Paul tells Philemon that he was prepared to restore to him whatever was defrauded by Onesimus. "I will repay it; albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides" (Vs.19). According to Paul, Philemon was dearer to him than his money.
How much Paul loved Philemon and Onesimus! Paul, though in his prison, chose to write a personal letter of comfort and of edification to Philemon, a single person by his own hand.
Today, the establishments of various ministers stand in the way of their reaching out to the individual sheep whom they are supposed to tend for. In fact, the establishments with all its modern communications have not brought these ministers very close to their sheep but have separated them from their fellowship. The establishments of such ministers have become corrupt these days because the Babylonian system has pervaded their establishments. They are more interested in selling their products to their sheep.
The ministry of the Holy Ghost is perfect but the establishments through which they perform their ministries have become corrupt.
If Paul were to live today, he would have raised up many Ephaphras's, Timothys, Philemons, Titus's, etc. Paul would have thus raised up an army of soldiers of Christ in every town, in every nation, in every continent, by making use of the modern transport and communication facilities. Paul or his fellow laborers (and not any "subordinate staff")would have been always available to the people they ministered. They would not be needing any staff to dispose off the communications they received from the people to whom they ministered. Each communication would be read and personally attended to. No standard reply would be sent to them. Thesedays, we find the T.V. ministers place their hands on the bunch of letters received from the people and pray without opening these precious letters sent to them.
Paul in his epistle to the church of the Thessalonians firstly reminds them of the afflictions through which they received the gospel and of the spread of the gospel through them to the other places like
If Paul were to visit our churches and to inspect our ministries today, he would find our churches and ministries as money making business establishments; he would call our ministers as hypocrites because they quote from his epistles but do not follow the same. The churches of today are not witnessing churches because these churches are not involved in evangelism. Where are the ministers of God like Apostle Paul who would transform these churches into the likes of the
In I Thes.2:4-6, he tells them that he and his co-workers were "allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness: God is witness;
Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ".
God has to allow a person to be put in trust with the gospel. God tries a person for His ministry and then entrusts him with the gospel. It may take years for God to entrust that person with His ministry.
Paul preached the gospel to the Thessalonians not "in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance...." (I Thes.1:5).
Preachers preach the gospel in flowery languages and exhibit their oratory but not in the power of God. Oratory takes the place of the power of God. Gospel is preached from the church pulpits as a matter of routine, at times, mostly from texts already prepared. The power to convict the hearers of their sins and iniquities is missing. Flattering words are used just to please the parishioners. Fear of losing pulpits makes the preachers dilute the gospel. Gospel should proceed from the heart of the preachers, and not from their heads. Preachers come to the pulpit to seek recognition from men. They do not have a burden in their hearts for the lost souls.
Preachers use the cloak of covetousness. They covet offerings from the sheep they are supposed to serve and tend for. Evangelists expect offerings of those people that have been blessed by their ministries. Paul made God a witness to his apostolic ministry. If we conduct an evangelistic meeting in a town, the servants of God in that town covet the chief places on the dais and want to be honoured by the organizers. They expect praises of men before preaching the gospel. They make elaborate advertisements for their products but do not allow other servants of God to sell their products.
Paul never sought the glory of men, including the Thessalonians to whom he was ministering. All the people whom he served were equal in his eyes. He never preferred a particular person to another person. In the churches of today, the glory of men rules the roost. Men with good family background or rich men are honored when commonplace people are shown the backseats. The churches do not call "poor saints" or evangelists with poor financial background for giving messages but prefer only "renowned" evangelists.
Paul did not want to burden the church of the Thessalonians for ministering to him. He said in I Thes.2:9 that he and his team laboured and travailed night and day so that they "would not be chargeable unto any of you" for preaching the gospel of God. This is the true sign of a minister of God. These days, we find the ministers of God covet "service" from the people whom they are supposed to serve. They boast that they had resigned from their secular jobs to serve God but expect offerings from the people whom they serve. They do not work with their own hands even in their own offices established by them for running their ministries. They want "service" from the staff working in their offices.
Paul boldly told the church of the Thessalonians, "Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe...."(I Thes.2:10). He behaved himself as a nurse that cherished her children and as a father that cared for his children.
Oh, how Paul loved them! He wanted to see their "face with great desire" (I Thes.2:17). He knew their sufferings and persecutions for the gospel of Christ. A minister of God or an apostle should know the sufferings and the persecutions of the people to whom he is supposed to minister. What happens to day? The minister of God concerned does not want to know the sufferings and the persecutions of the sheep under him but wants to tell them about his own sufferings and persecutions in order to earn their sympathy. Paul and his co-workers desired to see the faces of Thessalonians whereas the modern ministers expect their sheep to see their faces.
According to Paul, "ye are our glory and joy" (I Thes.2:20). For Paul and his team, Thessalonians were not merely believers or supporters but were their glory and joy. In other words, Paul's glory was not his ministry or his spiritual gifts but was the very sheep he was serving. Paul's joy did not emanate from the offerings and the love he received from Thessalonians. His very joy was Thessalonians.
In the 3rd Chapter of I Thessalonians, we find that Paul was worried about the
While preaching the gospel to Thessalonians, Paul did not promise a life of comfort and ease to them. He told them in unambiguous terms that they had to suffer much afflictions for the sake of the gospel. Nowadays, preachers while preaching the glorious gospel hesitate to tell the audience about the afflictions that they have to endure because, according to these preachers, the audience may not accept the gospel if a mention is made about the afflictions. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It is the power of God and not the oratory that saves the people. We should exhort the audience to bear their crosses, deny themselves and follow Christ.
Recently, I watched a T.V. Evangelist in the
Evangelists mainly preach on healing and miracles and not on cross-bearing and discipleship. The apostles during the New Testament period preached the gospel to the people with the result that the sick and the demon-possessed were delivered. They did not focus on healing and miracle ministries. But, miracles and signs followed them. They did not follow miracles and signs.
Paul did not rest in his couch when he heard about the afflictions of Thessalonians. Neither did he rest in the couch after giving a message of comfort through his epistles. In addition, he deputed Timothy, "Our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ", to establish them and to comfort them concerning their faith. Timothy visited them and brought good tidings of their faith to Paul. After receipt of the report of Timothy, Paul and his team were comforted.
If Paul were to visit our churches today, he would find our ministers give long sermons to their congregations and lead them in long worship services on Sundays. According to these ministers, ministry means giving messages, conducting worship services, extracting tithes and offerings, and praying for the sick in their churches. But, according to Paul, ministry means taking care of the sheep, ministering to the poor saints and widows and edifying the faith of the weak sheep during their trials and tribulations.
If Paul were to visit our churches today, he would hardly find these ministers establish their sheep in their faith when the latter have passed through afflictions. Paul would be surprised to see the pastors who are mostly concerned about the coffers of their churches. He would not tolerate the tendency of these pastors that condemn their sheep from pulpits instead of praying for them and teaching them with tears.
So it was, when they came, that he
looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him." But the
LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his
stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass
before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said,
"Neither has the LORD chosen this one."
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to
Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these."
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said,
"There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel
said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes
here." So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and
good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed
him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David
from that day forward.
So Samuel arose and went to
Ramah. But the Spirit of the LORD
departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said to him, "Surely, a
distressing spirit from God is troubling you. "Let our master now command your
servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the
harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing
spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well." 1 Samuel
16:6-16
King Saul who wasn’t a bad king and
was loved by the people forgot who put him on the throne even though prophet
Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over
Israel
Saul was not seeking to serve God, he
was only concerned about lost donkeys. So when he received the spirit of God and
was anointed as king, he was not inwardly prepared. Because of this, he soon
lost both. King Saul, even though God have him another heart and prophesied
among the prophets, had disobeyed God in not listening to the voice of the Lord
as given by God’s friend and true man of God Samuel. Saul did not do exactly
what the Lord instructed him to do in destroying all of God’s enemies per His
instructions. Saul in his egotism, selfishness and greed spared the King and the
best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and
was unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless was
utterly destroyed. So the Lord told Samuel:
"I greatly regret that I have set
up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed
My commandments." 1 Samuel
15:11
It also grieved Samuel, and he
cried out to the LORD all night. Now some will find it strange and surprising
that God wants to and speaks to people
about what is on His heart. But God who created the universe and
everything in it including all its emotions, words, and vocabulary created the
word friendship and trust. True men of God not only have the ear of God they
also listen to His voice and know what is on God’s heart just like Samuel
did.
Now King Saul, also an anointed one
who prophesied with the prophets and had a change of heart given by God, did not
know what was on God’s heart or else he would have done things He had done.
Typical of egotistical man even when Saul was wrong he was still right. God’s
word recorded:
Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul
said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of
the LORD." But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears,
and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" And Saul said, "They have brought them
from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen,
to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." 1
Samuel 15;13-15
But a prophet plus God is greater and
carries more power and weight with God than any earthly King. So Samuel said to
Saul words he never expected to hear. For those who reject God’s words will find
themselves rejected:
"Be quiet! And I will tell you
what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on." So Samuel
said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of
Israel Israel
Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying
the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey
is better than sacrifice, And to heed
than the fat of rams. For rebellion is
as the sin of witchcraft, And
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." 1
Samuel 15:16-23
Saul had the favor of his people
until he died even though the Lord was upset with him and had turned his face
from him. Yes, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
iniquity and idolatry. And those who reject the word of the LORD, will be
rejected by Him also. It does not pay to argue with God or a true man of God and
to ignore God’s word which says:
This is the message which we have
heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie
and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His
word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10
Those who do things in secret and not
out in the light are walking in darkness. They have sinned and have by not
obeying the word of the Lord and being accountable, honest and true men full of
integrity and truth. They do not fool God nor His true servants. For Saul also
told Samuel something that didn’t fool God because He looks at and knows
the heart:
"I have sinned, for I have transgressed the
commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed
their voice. "Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I
may worship the LORD." But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for
you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being
king over Israel
Then King Saul not only sinned in
rejecting the word of the Lord, but he
made another foolish mistake. He put his hand onto a real man of God who was
God’s friend and prophet. This is something that even Kings can not do. God word
records:
And as Samuel turned around to go
away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, "The
LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel Israel
Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king
of the Amalekites here to me." So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said,
"Surely the bitterness of death is past." But Samuel said, "As your sword has
made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel
hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah, and
Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel went no more to see Saul
until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD
regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel
Samuel did the job that King Saul did
not do and he hacked King Agag before the Lord.
Samuel and the Lord had turned their face from Saul until the day of his
death. God was sorry that he made Saul King over Israel
"How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I
have rejected him from reigning over Israel
So Samuel did what the LORD
instructed him to do and went to Bethlehem
"Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
"Salt is good; but if the salt has
lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
"It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it
out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Luke 14:34-35
"If anyone does not abide in Me,
he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them
into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:6
For He knows our frame; He
remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:14
"Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not
break, And smoking flax He will not
quench; He will bring forth justice for
truth. He will not fail nor be
discouraged, Till He has established
justice in the earth; And the coastlands
shall wait for His law." Isaiah 42:1-4
Men can be and are some times cold,
callous, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; but Jesus Christ is not like
that at all. He is compassionate, kind, loving, forgiving, merciful, discerning,
gentle, warm and there is no searching of His understanding about all that God’s
hurt and afflicted ones like Hannah are going through. Barren, embittered and hurt Hannah was an
ordinary person with whom Eli by a prayer of agreement had made possible for a
great miracle to happen. And because God
is no respecter of persons and shows partiality to no one, He will hear the
prayers of his hurt and embittered ones and do great things for them just like
He did for Hannah!
Although, Elkanah, the husband of
Hannah, loved her very much, Peninnah his second wife, who had children, made
Hannah’s life miserable because she had no children. So whenever, Elkanah traveled from his city
yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh , where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
the priests of the LORD were, Hannah would weep and not eat. In the bitterness
of her soul, she prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish, making a vow and
saying:
"O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on
the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your
maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him
to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his
head." (1 Samuel 1:11)
It’s amazing to see the Bible is a
real book and it tells things as they are good or bad and the truth is not held
back. So nothing is covered concerning Hannah and her problems and Eli and his
problems. As Hannah continued praying before the LORD, Eli watched her and
thought she was drunk. He told her to put away her wine but Hannah answered him
and said:
"No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful
spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my
soul before the LORD. "Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out
of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now."
Then Eli answered and said, "Go in
peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of
Him." And she said, "Let your
maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and
her face was no longer sad. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped
before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew
Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. (1 Samuel 1:15-19)
Hannah conceived and bore a
son, and called his name Samuel, meaning "Because I have asked for him from the
LORD.” So Hannah nursed Samuel and when she had weaned him, she took him up with
her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour and a skin of wine and brought him to
the house of the LORD in Shiloh . Then, she and
her husband slaughtered a bull before the Lord and presented the child to Eli
saying:
"O my lord! As your soul lives, my
lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD. "For this child I prayed, and the LORD has
granted me my petition which I asked of Him.
"Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall
be lent to the LORD." So they worshiped the LORD there. (1 Samuel
1:26-28)
Then joyfully and tearfully Hannah
prayed and said by the Spirit one of the most beautiful words in the Bible, that
came from the heart of one who was at the uttermost part of hell and there the
Lord saved and delivered her. She spoke truths that most of God’s people still
don’t fully understand the importance of:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD; my
horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your
salvation. "No one is holy like the LORD,
For there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God. "Talk
no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is
the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. "The bows of the mighty
men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out
for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne
seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.
"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings
down to the grave and brings up. The
LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor
from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes
and make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the
LORD'S, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His
saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man
shall prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; from
heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed." (1
Samuel 2:1-10)
There is none like the Lord who gives
victories over real enemies. Who is a God of knowledge and by Him actions and
not just words are weighted. He breaks the bows of mighty men. He kills and
makes alive. He makes poor and makes rich. He sets the beggars among princes to
inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth, righteousness,
justice and truth are the LORD'S. He guards the feet of His saints and makes the
wicked silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail as the Lord will
thunder against them. The Lord will judge the earth and exalt His anointed.
Therefore, Hannah and her son Samuel were exalted in a time when the Word of God
says:
Then the boy Samuel ministered to
the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was
no widespread revelation. (1 Samuel 3:1)
As a result, Samuel didn’t sleep all
night thinking of the vision the Lord gave him about Eli and he was afraid to
tell him. However, in the morning Eli said to Samuel:
"What is the word that the
Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more
also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." Then
Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the
LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
So Samuel grew, and the LORD was
with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all
Israel Beersheba Shiloh . For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel
in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. (1 Samuel
3:17-20)
The real deeds and wickedness of the
sons of Eli had caused the Word of the Lord to dry up. For Eli was very old and
he heard everything his sons did to all Israel
"Why do you do such things? For I
hear of your evil dealings from all the people. "No, my sons! For it is not a
good report that I hear. You make the LORD'S people transgress. "If one man sins
against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who
will intercede for him?" Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their
father, because the LORD desired to kill them. (1 Samuel 2:23-25)
God was waiting on His prophet Samuel
who grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men. He then sent a man
of God who came to Eli and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: 'Did I
not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in
Egypt Israel Israel
"Therefore the LORD God of
Israel
'Behold, the days are coming
that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that there
will not be an old man in your house.
'And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good
which God does for Israel
'Now this shall be a sign to you
that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall
die, both of them. 'Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall
do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure
house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever. (1 Samuel
2:27-35)
It’s amazing, how even
prominent servants of God, failed to do what God has required of them to do in
raising up their children properly. They didn’t teach them to walk in the ways
of the Lord and avoid stealing from God’s people. God doesn’t forget nor does he
forgive such evil behavior, unless those who did it repent and make restitution.
Though, God in His wisdom and patience He delays His judgments, nevertheless, He
will require man to pay for all he does wrong.
God who blesses some and destroys
others blessed and prospered Samuel but then He destroyed Eli, the anointed High
priest and his family. God who doesn’t change does the same things today as He
did for Hannah and Samuel. He answered their prayers and gave them real
victories over their enemies, who were also God’s people. What an amazing, powerful, mighty and wise
God that we serve who doesn’t do things by man’s understanding but by His own
wisdom. Hannah was the fighter who overcame and Eli was the high priest and the
loser who was overcome. Their ending was so different from their beginnings and
yet they both worshipped the Lord. God‘s Word states:
So the people sent to Shiloh , that they might bring from there the ark of the
covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons
of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (1
Samuel 4:4)
Also the ark of God was captured;
and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. (1 Samuel 4:11)
Eli was sitting on a seat by the
wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God and a man said to
him:
"I am he who came from the battle. And I fled
today from the battle line." And he said, "What happened, my son?" So the
messenger answered and said, "Israel Israel
It doesn’t pay to become an enemy of
God, for God will not honor those who dishonor him and those who despise Him.
They shall be lightly esteemed even if they are a high priest like Eli or a king
like Saul. They shall be cut off like Eli and his sons were--totally and
completely. For God’s Word states:
So Solomon removed Abiathar from
being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He
spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh . (1
Kings 2:27 )
The foolish religious ones who
created the doctrines of fundamentalism, dispensationalism, redemptionalism and
other ‘schisms’ say this cannot happen today- that ‘He will not judge the false
ones in the house of God?’ Why? Has God changed? Has His method of dealing with
the wicked ones changed? Does He condone sin and is now tolerant of wrongs and
injustices in the House of God? Obviously, the answer is No! So God’s people should be very careful what
they do in the house of God, especially to His children or else their fate is
guaranteed. Just like Eli’s they will
end up in a place they never expected. In a place where unfaithful and wicked
servants God are as Jesus told us:
"But if that evil servant says in
his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'
"and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the
drunkards, "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking
for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, "and will cut him in two and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. (Matthew 24:48-51)
In the days of the high priest Eli,
the real Word of the LORD was rare in those days and; there was no widespread
revelation of the heart and mind of God just like in America
It was a time period when the gospel
of half-truths, especially about prosperity and giving was preached but not the
gospel of whole truths, such as responsibility, accountability, integrity and of
seeking justice, righteousness and truth. A gospel that did away with Apostles
and Prophets and replaced them with false ones or none at all. A Gospel that did away with judging and
judgments and only preached the half-truth of a God of love, redemption and compassion. However, they didn’t preach a
God of anger, judgment and vengeance. As every true believer will agree there
has to be a balance struck between both sides of God’s truth presented in His
Word. The balance between God’s blessings and provisions and God’s judgment upon
disobedience.
It was a Gospel, with great emphasis
on money but little emphasis on doing things for the least. A Gospel of sissies
who ‘tiptoed through the tulips’ so not to offend anyone, while God’s people
were being robbed, raped and even murdered by wolves in sheep’s clothing. These
prominent ones who preached to others forget the Word of God that spoke about
them stating:
The LORD will send on you cursing,
confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are
destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings
in which you have forsaken Me. (Deuteronomy 28:20)
God who never had changed had his
Hannah’s, Samuel’s and men of God who had integrity and listened to the voice of
the Lord and didn’t do what others did. They spoke the Word of the Lord without
the niceties and corruption’s that many false ones had done. Hence, God had no
choice but to move on their behalf against those who did such evil and wicked
things in the house of God and caused the rains of revival to be held back. And
move He did!
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me. Psalm 30:2
Fools, because of their
transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And
they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out
of their distresses. He sent His word
and healed them, And delivered them from
their destructions. Psalm
107:17-20
Yes, God saved, healed and delivered His
afflicted people from their destructions under the Old Testament and under the
New Testament. Yes, the cross of Christ shows how earnestly God desires to heal
us. Yes, it’s true that healing of the
body is linked with forgiveness of sins and a covenant relationship with God.
Yes, we need to realize that Jesus redeemed us from all effects of the sin and
fall of man, and that as a result we can be healed if we acknowledge Christ as
our Savior and Lord. Physical death and sickness entered the world through sin,
the cure is salvation in Jesus. By coming to Christ in sincere repentance, we
can know Him as Savior, Healer, and Deliverer. His word is
unchanging:
I will love You, O LORD, my
strength. The LORD is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield
and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be
saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3
It is a fact that the Old Testament
types and prophesies, and the New Testament fulfillment of those types and
prophecies, prove that through the atonement of Jesus we can be saved and
healed. It is also a wonderful fact that the lovely God of love died to redeem
us from all the effects of sin. The cross of Jesus causes us to confidently
expect miracles, healing and deliverance from God. The God who gave His Son for
us will also with Him freely give us all things. The redeeming work of Jesus is
the basis of every blessing the Christian receives. Christ's death was the
foundation of creation, of redemption and all the blessing of the new covenant
and makes us complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
God’s word is unchanging:
As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the
world, and not according to Christ. For
in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in
Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:6-10
But now He has obtained a more
excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which
was established on better promises. For
if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought
for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are
coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah- "not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not
continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.
"For this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel
Jesus said that His delivering love
and power in the age of grace was to be likened to "the acceptable year of the
Lord," that is, the year of Jubilee. Well every fiftieth year, or more
precisely, on the tenth day of the seventh month of the 49th. year, on the great
day of atonement, the sounding of the trumpets proclaimed the year of release
and redemption. Every inheritance throughout Israel
However God’s word, 'Then you shall
cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month;
on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your
land, 'And you shall consecrate the
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its
inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his
possession, and each of you shall return to his family,’ Leviticus 25:9-10,
tells us that no blessing of the year of Jubilee was to be announced by the
sounding of the trumpet, until the blood of the bullock slain as a sin offering
was sprinkled upon the mercy seat on the day of atonement.
And now through the death and shed
blood of Christ, the slaves and prisoners of sin, sickness and Satan can know
complete release and deliverance, rejoicing in the forgiveness of their sin.
Through Christ's atoning death salvation and healing can be ours. So we come to
Jesus for salvation and healing and He will give it to us on the grounds of His
atoning death. Throughout the Scriptures we see that it was the blood of the
atonement that was the grounds of healing. In Leviticus 14:18,19, we read that
atonement was made for the lepers cleansing, and we read in Numbers 16:45 -50., and 2 Samuel 24:10-25., of
plagues being stayed because of the atonement. God’s word is true:
And the people spoke against God
and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt Israel
Therefore the people came to
Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and
against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses
prayed for the people.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make
a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is
bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
So Moses made a bronze serpent,
and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:5-9
The Word of God tells us that the
bronze serpent was a type of Christ's atonement, and the Israelites were healed
through looking at it. If forgiveness and healing came to all who looked at the
brazen serpent, the type of Christ's atonement, then, surely, by looking to the
fulfillment of that type, our dear Lord Jesus, we can expect greater blessings
than the Israelites experienced through the type of Christ’s atonement? God’s
word is unchanging:
"And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, "that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life "For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:14-16
"And I, if I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." John 12:32
This proved true in the ministry of
Jesus, He healed all that came to Him of every disease and sickness. Christ's
death is now the basis of every blessing that we receive as Christians for Jesus
is the Savior who forgives ALL our in iniquities and heals ALL our diseases.
In Exodus 15:26, God promised to be
"God the healer," and though it is a conditional promise, like all the promises
of God, it reveals God as the healer of His people. Also similar promise is in
Exodus 23:25,26, where God promises His obedient children, "I will take sickness
from the midst of thee and the number of thy days I will fulfill," and again
Psalm 91:6, promises those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High long
life. (Psalm 90:10.) These promises are
conditional upon the keeping of the moral law, and law of health laid down in
the law.
Some would say that we cannot claim
these Old Testament promises, however, Jesus showed by His ministry that these
promises are to be extended even to the Gentiles in this new dispensation. Many
such lovely promises as Deuteronomy 33:25,27. Joshua 1:5,9. Isaiah 40:31. Psalm
23 etc., given originally to Israel 15:26 , 23:25 , Psalm 103:3. These promises are "Yea and Amen" in
Christ, when we fulfill the conditions that God laid down with them. God’s word
is unchanging:
Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do
it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me
there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No?
But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us-by me, Silvanus, and
Timothy-was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes.
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us.
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ
and has anointed us is God, who also has
sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians
1:17-22
We read in the Gospels that Jesus
healed all the sick in the multitudes that came to Him. The inspired exposition
of Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew.8:16-17., informs us that Jesus healed all in the
light of His atonement. Like the scapegoat, Christ has borne away the sins and
sicknesses of all who trust in Him and His redeeming blood (Leviticus 16:22 ). It is foolish and
unscriptural to say that healing is not in the atonement. Jesus died to deliver
us from our sicknesses and pains as well as our transgressions and iniquities.
He comes to give us peace of body as well as peace of soul.
The truth is indisputable, Christ's
substitutionary death extends to healing of the body as well as the soul.
Delitzsch, one of the greatest Hebrew scholars of all time, states there is a
substitutionary and "mediatorial sense" in the words of Isaiah 53:4. In Isaiah
53:4, the same two verbs, "nasa," borne, and "sabal," carried, which are used to
tell us that Jesus "bore our sicknesses and carried our pains," are the
identical verbs that are used in Isaiah 53:11,12., to state that Jesus bore our
sins and iniquities for us as our substitute. This proves that healing is one of
the "all things" that are given to us through our Lord's atonement.
In Isaiah 53:4., "surely," is "aken,"
which means, surely, indeed, certainly, and truly. It is worthy of note that the
only "surely" in the redemptive chapter of Isaiah53, is before the promise of
healing for the body, so we can "surely" expect healing for our bodies as well
as for our souls. This "surely" is emphasized in Matthew 8:17 , when Matthew says that the prophesy of
Isaiah 53:4. was "fulfilled", it means that it was "filled full," that is, the
full extent of its promise was revealed. The full extent of the promise of
Isaiah 53:4, is healing for ALL who come to God for healing.
The Christ of the cross is the
perfect remedy for all our needs, both spiritual and physical. Through the
shedding of Christ's blood, all who believe are redeemed from the curse of the
law. Galatians 3:13. We can claim healing on the grounds of Christ's atonement,
just as we can claim salvation from our sins, it is part of our salvation, it is
a privilege for all who believe in Jesus. Jesus said that most people will not
believe that God wants to heal them, so He did miracles to confirm that it is
God's will to heal those who come to Him for healing (John 4:48).
When the angels came to the
shepherds, they brought the best tidings possible, "good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of
David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord". (Lk.2v10,11.) The angelic choirs
told of the intense desire of God to bring peace to mankind because of His
goodwill and love. They proclaimed the greatest event of all history, God
manifested in flesh to save mankind. When Jesus came to show His goodwill and to
give His peace and salvation, what did He do? The gospels reveal that Jesus
saved and healed all who came to Him in faith, confessing their need, He showed
the wonderful goodwill of God, we never read of one needy person being refused,
the only stipulation that Jesus made was that people came to Him in repentance
and faith.
When Jesus preached the sermon at
Nazareth
When Jesus read these Scriptures in
the synagogue at Nazareth
The tragedy was that they did not
receive the promised blessings offered to them by Jesus, because of their
prejudice, contemptuous familiarity, unspiritual carnal outlook, and rank
unbelief, and we can miss enjoying the promises of God and the blessings of
Christ by the same unbelief, ignorance, and unspiritual carnality. God’s word is
unchanging:
Then He went out from there and
came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath
had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were
astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is
this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!
"Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas,
and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at
Him.
But Jesus said to them, "A prophet
is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in
his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His
hands on a few sick people and healed them.
And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the
villages in a circuit, teaching. Mark 6:1-6
And do not be drunk with wine, in
which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:18-21
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again
I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at
hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
Apostle Paul through the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit gives us a few of the keys to having victory in our lives
over all things including giving thanks always for all things to God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of
God, rejoice in the Lord always and be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Now Apostle Paul was not talking
through his hat but about something that he practiced daily and proved to be
real in his life and negative circumstances. He gave thanks always for all
things and praised God in all circumstances. And God’s word tells us what
Apostle Paul went through:
For we do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia : that we were burdened beyond measure, above
strength, so that we despaired even of life.
Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust
in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a
death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you
also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons
on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. 2 Corinthians
1:8-11
From the Jews five times I
received forty stripes minus one. Three
times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked;
a night and a day I have been in the deep;
in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils
of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in
perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren; in weariness and toil, in
sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and
nakedness- besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern
for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Yes, we praise God not because
of the trouble that comes to us thereby making us burdened beyond measure, above
strength, so that we despair even of life, but because we have the sentence of
death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises
the dead, who delivered us and does deliver us and will continue to do so. It
was naturally that when the disciples saw that their boat was filling with water
their minds perceived danger and they were fearful and ran to Jesus. But what did Jesus say when He woke up? And he said unto them, Why are ye
fearful? Have ye not yet faith?
(Mark.4:40)
If Jesus was in the boat, what were
they worried about? Jesus is always in
the boat with us. What are we worried
about? We are just to have faith and give thanks always for all
things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for He will perfect all that
concerns us as in Christ we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who
works all things according to the counsel of His will, (Ephesians1:11).
Everything that God is doing, He is doing according to the counsel of His own
will. Yes, God rules over all and we can trust His way and His word. His word is unchanging:
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven; He is a
shield to all who trust in Him. "For who
is God, except the LORD? And who is a
rock, except our God? God is my strength
and power, And He makes my way perfect.
2 Samuel 22:31-33
Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." Psalm 50:15
"Because he has set his love upon
Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will
set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will
answer him; I will be with him in
trouble; I will deliver him and honor
him. With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation." Psalm 91:14-16
Those who disagree with God’s
word or add or remove things from it are not going to prosper in God just as
sure as the sun rises each day! God’s word is true no matter what anybody thinks
about it. The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings
up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up. He raises
the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among
princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.
Yes it’s God, not Satan or men, who
wounds and kills. The latter are only vessels but it’s God who has all authority
in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18) and who does all these things because He is
the righteous judge. It is God who
promotes and demotes. It is God who works on us from both directions. He sent the curse to turn us from sin, and He
sent our Savior to deliver those that do. And He tell us, “I kill, and I make
alive; I wound, and I heal.” So if we
cooperate with Him, we shall be saved, healed, delivered, blessed and prospered
but if we don’t we shall become sick and die for God’s word is
unchanging:
Therefore we also, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that
is set before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. For consider Him who
endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls. You have not
yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which
speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do
not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves
He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
If you endure chastening, God deals with you
as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you
are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are
illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore,
we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we
not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For
they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our
profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Now no chastening seems to be
joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the
peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang
down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what
is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord:
looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any
root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of
food sold his birthright. For you know
that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears Hebrews
12:1-17
One of the primary reasons God’s
people are chastised and miss the blessings of God is because of unrepentance
and unbelief. All of God’s blessings are conditional on our repentance and
believing. God’s meets us at the point of our need when we meet His conditions,
and not before! God’s ministers who are in agreement with God administer His
gifts of healing, deliverance, and provision to the ones who are in line for
God’s blessings through repentance, faith, and justification. And that is why many don’t get healed because
they have not meet God’s conditions. God’s word is unchanging:
Then Peter said to them,
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts
2:38
"Repent therefore and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may
come from the presence of the Lord, Acts 3:19
"Truly, these times of
ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, Acts
17:30
Physically we are what we
eat. Spiritually we are what we
spiritually eat. By consuming and
digesting and obeying the Word of God, we are delivered from the curse and
manifest our sonship and blessings! When God makes a condition in the Word for
His benefits, we must meet that condition.
The gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who repents and
believes (Romans 1:16 ). We
cannot expect God’s provisions without believing His Word!
Many unbelieving “Christians” endure
much hardship because they have not met the condition of “Go your way; and as
you have believed, so let it be done for you.”; “your faith has made you well.”;
and “According to your faith let it be to you.” Unbelief robs many of God’s
people of many blessings. In His own home town, Jesus could not do many mighty
works because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58 ; Mark 6:5).
So if we have a problem, we should blame ourselves first, not the devil
or others, for God’s word is unchanging:
Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians
6:7
"Judge not, and you shall not be
judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be
forgiven. "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same
measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:37-38
God is God, and there is no other; He
is God, and there is none like Him,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel
shall stand, And I will do all My
pleasure,' Calling a bird of prey from
the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:9-11). God is actively involved in everything to do
His pleasure and He does it by the words that He puts into the mouth of His
servants. God’s word is unchanging:
Then the LORD put forth His hand
and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:
"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the
nations and over the kingdoms, To root
out and to pull down, To destroy and to
throw down, To build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:9
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
And when Simon saw that through
the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them
money, saying, "Give me this power also,
that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "Your money perish
with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with
money! "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not
right in the sight of God. "Repent
therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your
heart may be forgiven you. "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and
bound by iniquity." Acts 8:18-23
Pursue peace with all people, and
holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone
fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause
trouble, and by this many become defiled; Hebrews 12:14-15
Without proper protection any
computer can be speedily infected with viruses that will not only damage the
compter and not allow it to work properly but will damage some components in it.
Similarly it doesn’t take much for some one to fall short of the grace of God;
to have a root of bitterness spring up causing trouble and by this many become
defiled. And then their body is plagued with sicknesses both physical and mental
(depressions) and they are poisoned by bitterness and bound by
iniquity.
We are admonished in God’s word to
live and walk in the Spirit and to make no room for the flesh and for all that
is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life. We are warned about the wisdom that is earthly, sensusal and demonic and
not to walk in it. God’s word is unchanging:
Does a spring send forth fresh
water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear
olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and
fresh. Who is wise and understanding
among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness
of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not
boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is
earthly, sensual, demonic. For where
envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to
yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without
hypocrisy. Now the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:11-18
Where do wars and fights come from among you?
Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and
covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do
not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend
it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that
friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a
friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.James 4:1-4
We become enemies of God, not His
friends, through our friendship with the world. The love of money is the root of
all evil. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires
for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful (Mark
4:19 ). As a result many of
God’s people go astray by corrupting and perverting the prosperity teaching that
says “we’re to get rich so that we can help the poor” and not so we can spend
things on our own lusts. As a result Christians become full of bitterness,
anger, rebellion, against God and others
because they ask amiss that they may spend it on their pleasures. They end up having real issues of the heart
that need to be dealt with. Here is a prayer to break issues of the heart and
need to be confessed outloud:
"Father GOD, I forgive all those
who have done wrong to my family and myself which may have caused unforgiveness,
anger, guilt, rejection, fear, murder, hatred of men, self- hatred, coveting,
vengeance, abandonment, fear of abandonment, fear of rejection, jealousy and
bitterness in my heart. I forgive all those who may have intentionally or
un-intentionally caused me, my family or anyone I care about... pain, hurt,
rejection, fear... or that may have gossiped about us, stolen from us, used us,
abused us, lied about us or in any way wronged us.
I refuse to hold those sins in my
heart and to let the pain destroy me. As I forgive all those people for
everything they did to me and those I love... just like JESUS did... I release
the bad memories and the pain to GOD. I refuse to hold bitterness, unforgivness,
anger, rejection or any other ungodly feelings against these people. I now
release all unforgiveness, bitterness, rejection, vengance and anger out of my
heart and ask GOD to fill those places with LOVE for those people. I ask you
LORD to deal with their hearts and bring them into YOUR kingdom.
I ask YOU, FATHER GOD, in JESUS'
name, to forgive those who did wrong to my family... those I love.... and to me.
I ask YOU to convict them of all sins that seperate them from you.
Now, I ask all those people who I
have held unforgiveness and bad feelings against, alive and dead, to forgive me.
I am sorry and repent. I forgive them... I ask them to forgive me. I also ask
them to forgive me for things I have said or done to them in the past... out of
my bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, rejection, self-pity or vegenance.
I repent... and ask you to please
forgive me FATHER, in JESUS' name... for any cursing I may have done... and for
allowing bitterness, anger, rejection, unforgiveness, jealousy, vengence... and
any other sin into my heart and to manifest in my life.
FATHER GOD please forgive me, in
JESUS name, for SELF-HATRED, UNFORGIVENESS and GUILT I have held against MYSELF!
I now forgive MYSELF for the things I have done in my life that has made
myself.. or those that I love suffer. I am not perfect and have made mistakes.
GOD will forgive me so WHO AM I ...to hold self-hatred, unforgiveness and anger
against myself? IF GOD FORGIVESS ME... who can condemn me???
Please forgive me FATHER GOD, in
JESUS' name for anger I may have held in my heart towards YOU when I felt
abandoned, used or cheated. IT was not your fault for the pain and suffering
I... or my loved ones went through. IT WAS NOT YOUR PLAN and it was NOT YOUR
FAULT! Please forgive me FATHER GOD, in JESUS name for allowing Anger At GOD,
Defiance, rebellion, stubbornness, fear of rejection, lies, fear of rejection by
GOD, self-pity, guilt, doubt, fear profanity, using your name in vain, blaspheme
or any other sin against YOU when I blamed YOU for suffering and pain. Unlike
the Old Testament covenant of LAW and WRATH... the NEW COVENANT is one of GRACE.
Unmerited forgiveness and LOVE... through faith in CHRIST. Thank you JESUS!
YOU are not a GOD of vengence but
of LOVE, PATIENCE and LONG-SUFFERING. YOUR new covenant is one of GRACE. Pain,
death and suffering come from the enemy.
As promised in YOUR word... I now
receive that UNMERRITED FAVOR and FORGIVENESS for my sins of the heart... as I
FORGIVE YOU and those who hurt me ... and those that I love.
I now break all legal rights for
demons to stay based on bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, vengeance or any other
sins held in my heart against other people... based on Anger At GOD... and based
on self-hatred, guilt and anger at myself. I now, in JESUS' name, bind all the
spirits that I named...as well as those allowed in though my sins... and command
them to leave me and go to GOD's chosen waste place... as GOD wants to send
them... until the judgment seat of CHRIST! AMEN!!!"
GO IN JESUS NAME!!!"
Here's a prayer to pray IN THE
FUTURE for those who hurt you...AFTER YOU ASK FORGIVENESS:
"FATHER GOD, I forgive those who
have hurt, abused, lied about, cheated, stolen from, attacked or cursed...
myself, my family or anyone I care about....knowingly or unknowingly.
I ask you to BLESS THEM and pour
YOUR Shekinah glory over all those people ... and convict their hearts of their
sins which separate them from YOU... and drawl them by YOUR HOLY SPIRIT into
YOUR kingdom from the darkness that holds them. If they refuse YOUR love and
gift of eternal salvation... and choose to serve darkness... I ask you bring to
light and expose ... the evil works done in secret... to those who they are
going to use or hurt next. AMEN"
I will make your pinnacles of
rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the
LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall
be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near
you. Indeed they shall surely assemble,
but not because of Me.
The promises of God are true for
those who believe and accept them and are not true for those who don’t believe
and reject them. It’s that simple! You don’t need to graduate with five Phd’s
from a seminary to claim the promises of God but just have simple childlike
faith. Promises such as:
Fear not, for I am with you; Be
not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I
will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' "Behold, all those who were
incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find
them- Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as
nothing, As a nonexistent thing. Isaiah 41:10-12
'I will go before you And make the
crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the
bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of
secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am
the God of Israel. Isaiah 45:1-3
But you shall be named the priests
of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the
riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double
honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore
in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. "For
I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct
their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant. Their
descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the
people. All who see them shall
acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed." Isaiah
61:7-9
The God, the King of kings and the
LORD of lords, who had given David him rest from all his enemies all around (2
Samuel 7:1) as well Saul's house and Saul's wives into his keeping, and gave him
the house of Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 12:8), has not and doesn’t change.
Whatever He has done for one He can and will do for another. He is no respecter
of persons and shows partiality to no one. The words of prophets such as Isaiah
never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit. And the manifestations of a prophecy is given for the profit of
all (1 Corinthians 12:7, 2 Timothy 3:16 ).
Yes, God has promised double honor
and great blessings including financial for those who trust Him, obey His voice
and walk in His ways! In all
circumstances we can look up to the Lord and hold on to Him. He will be beside
us and be very close to us. Whatever we have lost, He will give us in double
measure and bless us exceedingly. We are
not strangers and foreigners. We belong to the household of God. The Lord is
dwelling amongst us. He dwells amongst
in our loneliness. We can cast our burdens and cares on Him. He will sustain us.
He will be with us in moments of trials and tribulations. He will deliver us
from all afflictions as promised. He will dwell amongst us when we pass through
days of hardship. He will strengthen and make us rejoice many times more than
our period of distress and misery. He will dwell amongst us always and will
continue to bless us more and more.
Because of Jesus death and resurrection and
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the unsearchable riches of Christ, which from
the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through
Jesus Christ, are now made available to us who have become the sons and
daughters of God, kings and priests unto God. All that belongs to God now
belongs to Jesus and hence belongs to us who walk not after the flesh or after
our senses but after the Spirit. God’s word is unchanging:
There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
things? Romans 8:31-32
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Yes, God is unchanging and is a
miracle working God who not only supplies the Spirit to us but works miracles
amongst us by the hearing of faith! So if people are not seeing and receiving
miracles it’s obviously they don’t have faith or have the wrong kind of faith?
They don’t have faith that through faith in Jesus name gives men perfect
soundness including physical and emotional healing.
Because Jesus Christ is alive and
well and has overcome the world including sin, demons and death and has won the
victory, He gives the victory to His trusting children to achieve great things
for His honor and glory. The size of
their mountain or enemies is not a problem because their God, friend, provider
and Lord, is bigger than anything that they face or will face. He is still in
the mountain moving and miracle working business and none can stand against Him
and the power of Jesus name. Everything must bow at the name of Jesus including
sickness, poverty, disease, demons, loss and governments. God’s word is
true:
Let this mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the
form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself
of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also
has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians
2:5-11
So the Lord said, "If you have
faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the
roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. Luke 17:6
For whatever is born of God
overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our
faith. 1 John 5:4
In the Name of Jesus:
I bind my mind to THE MIND OF
CHRIST AND THE POWER OF GOD.
I bind my will and desire to GOD’S
WILL & PURPOSE for my life.
I bind myself to the TRUTH OF GOD and
LOVE OF GOD.
I bind my finances to GOD’S UNLIMITED
RESOURCES.
I bind my future to GOD’S INFINITE
WISDOM and ORCHESTRATION for my life.
I bind my body ( and all parts) to
the RESURRECTION LIFE of Jesus and the BLOOD OF JESUS.
I loose and break off from my life
any devices of the enemy to hinder, deceive, steal, kill & destroy.
I loose the POWER AND EFFECTS of any
damaging WORDS spoken ABOUT ME, TO ME, or BY ME.
I loose and break off from my life
EVERY WRONG AGREEMENT I’ve ever entered into (with persons, spirits or ideas).
I loose and break off from me – EVERY
WRONG BELIEF that I’ve ever had (about God & His will; about me and others).
I loose and break off any BONDAGE
HIDDEN within my soul including, alcoholism, bad habits, anger, fear, physical
illness, battles, etc.
I bind my families feet to the
paths of righteousness that their steps would be steady and sure.
I bind them to the work of the cross
with all of its mercy, grace, love, forgiveness and dying of self.
I loose every old belief,
motivation, habit and behavior from my family and loved ones. I tear down, crush, smash and destroy every
stronghold associated with these things.
I loose any stronghold in their life
that has been justifying and protecting harmful
feelings against anyone. I loose
the strongholds of unforgiveness, fear
and distrust from them.
I loose the power and effects
of deceptions and lies from them.
I loose the confusion and
blindness of the god of this world from their mind that has kept them from
seeing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I call forth every precious word of
scripture that has every entered into their mind and heart that it would rise up
in power within them.
In the Name of Jesus, I loose
the power and effects of any harsh or hard words (word curses) spoken to, about
or by me and my family.
I loose all generational bondages
from me and my family that may have been caused by mistakes I made.
Father, in the
name of Jesus, I crush, smash
and destroy general bondages of any kind from mistakes made at
any point between generations. I destroy
them right here, right now. They will
not bind and curse any more members of this family.
I bind the strong man, Satan,
that I may spoil his house, taking back every material and spiritual possession
he has wrongfully taken from me and my family.
I loose the enemies’ influence
over every part of our body, soul and spirit.
I loose, crush, smash and destroy
every evil device he may try to bring into our sphere of influence during this
day.
I bind and loose these things in
Jesus’ name. He has given me the keys
and the authority to do so.
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more
then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the
death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life. Romans 5:8-10
While were still sinners Christ died
for us. When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His
Son, Jesus, and now we are saved (being saved) through His ressurection life
that lives in us. Yes, God now dwells in us and His LIFE permeates our SPIRIT,
SOUL and BODY so that we are filled with the fullness of God daily and preach
the whole counsel of God. (Romans 12:1,2; John 14:20 , Acts 20:27 .) Our body is
the temple of the HOLY GHOST and not our own.
Yes, if we confess with our mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, we
will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. The word "Saved" and "Salvation," in the New Testament is the word
"sozo" in the Greek language and has the meaning of: to save, i.e. deliver or
protect, to heal, preserve, be (make) whole. Jesus used this very word every
time He healed someone saying: "Your faith has made you whole." Or "be made
whole."
Yes, God created His children for
victory and through the cross of Christ He has given them victory and the power
over all things (Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Isaiah 51:1-3,61:1-11,65:13-16, John
14:12-14,16:7-14, Romans 12;6, 1 Corinthians 3:21-22, 2 Corinthians 8:9,
Ephesians 4:8, Galatians 3:3, James 2:5).
Through Christ Jesus, we who once
were poor have became rich in faith for through the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we
through His poverty might become rich and inherit the blessings of Abraham,
spiritual and physical. And as a result whatever we bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever we loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven and
whatever things we ask when we pray, believe that we receive them, and we will
have them.
Christ has "redeemed," "brought out,"
or purchased out us from underneath the weight of the oppression of the curse of
the law so that we, being free from the curse would enjoy the blessings – the
blessings of the Abrahamic covenant and the promise of the Spirit of God through
faith! We have been bought out from
underneath the curse of the law. Therefore, according to the Scripture,
sickness, disease, poverty or lack have no legal right to live in us or affect
our life. It is illegal, for we have been redeemed. We can now take authority
over the devil by commanding him to get out of our life and out of our affairs.
We command sickness and disease and poverty and lack to go! Rebuke it in the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can set our will against it, and refuse to
accept it - it doesn't belong to us. We are a child of God! We can command it all to be gone according to
the Word of God. We can pick up the Sword of the Spirit and begin to slash our
way to victory, proclaiming the Word of God regarding our healing and prosperity
for all that God is and has is ours. God’s word is unchanging:
"However, when He, the Spirit of
truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His
own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things
to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to
you. "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will
take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15
Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the
possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the
surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord {and}
of progressively becoming more deeply {and} intimately acquainted with Him [of
perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For
His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse,
dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One), And that I may
[actually] be found {and} known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved]
righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law's
demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus
acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith
in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes
from God by [saving] faith. [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him
[that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him,
perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more
strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the
power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and
that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit
into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] That if possible I may attain to the
[spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even
while in the body]. Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already
been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) {and} make my own, that
for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me {and} made me His own.
Philippians 3:8-12
Now if God is dwelling in us as
Christians how come we are sick and have physical Infirmities? Many diseases and physical infirmities are
due to spirits of infirmity, unclean spirits or evil spirits to torment. "The
thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy." (John 10:10) All
stealing, killing, and destruction in our life have been from the devil. "Be
sober, be vigilant, because your adversary walketh about seeking whom he may
devour." (1 Peter 5:8) When they brought to Jesus sick people who were afflicted
with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed,
epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them (Matthew 4:24 ). And Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever (Hebrews 1:12 , 13:8). So if the enemy has devoured us in any way,
Jesus wants us to be restored and made
whole.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus
destroyed the works of the devil as He cast out demons and healed the sick. "He
who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also." (John. 14:12) Jesus
has delegated His authority over the devil to His body, Christians, believers.
It is now the responsibility of all believers to do the same works that He did
and cast out demons to set the captives free!
Who is deliverance for? Unbelievers
or believers? This question is important because many Christians have believed
that Christians cannot have demons in them. Jesus said to the Greek woman who
desired deliverance for her daughter, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep
of Israel 7:27 .
We further see that deliverance is
for Christians because when demons are cast out, one can only stay free of the
demons by walking in line with the Word of God. Those who walk in line with the
Word are Christians. Thus, we see that deliverance could only be for believers
in Christ. If demons were cast out of unbelievers, they would let the demons
back in, since they would not walk according to the Word of God.
There are many Christians who have
reasoned that there could not be any demons in them because the Holy Spirit is
in them. They have concluded that no demons could be inside their soul or body
because God's presence dwells in them. That is logic from man and not from God.
"Jesus went into the temple and began to cast out them that sold and bought in
the temple . . . ." (Mk. 11:15) The Old Testament temple had three parts: the
Holy of Holies, the Holy place, and the outer court. The New Testament
temple of
God
How do demons enter a person? They
come in through sin. Sin gives place to the devil so that demons can legally
come and reside in us. Sin brings a curse, and curses are enforced by demons.
Demons could not get into Jesus because He did not sin. We have all sinned and
opened the door for demons to come in.
The number one way demons come into a
person is from inheritance. "The iniquity of the fathers is visited upon the
children to the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18 ) Every person is affected by inherited
generational curses due to the sins of your fathers in the past generations. You
probably have problem areas in your life which are like those your parents had.
Demons could have come into you while
in the womb because of the actions of your parents. If you were not wanted,
spirits of rejection probably came into you. Demons could have come in you
throughout your childhood during times of fear, rebellion, rejection, abuse, or
other traumatic events. During your adult life, demons could have come into you
because of sin or any destructive events you have gone through. Any involvement
in occult activity opens the door for demonic entrance.
Curses are the opposite of blessings.
"The curse causeless shall not come." (Prov. 26:2) In other words, there is
always a cause for every curse, and that cause is sin. Curses are enforced by
demon spirits. To get free, we need to get delivered from the demonic spirits
which are the spiritual roots of our problems.
Jesus was made a curse for us that
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we
might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith. Jesus was made a
curse that we might receive the blessing. In other words, we might not receive
the blessing if we do not do something to receive the promise of God. The same
distinction is spoken by the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 5:21: How that “Jesus
was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him..”
How do we receive deliverance in our
life? First, we bind all demons in and around us. Next, we deal with all sin in
our life. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) Fellowship with
God is restored when our sins are confessed. This breaks any legal hold for
demons to stay in us or affect our life any further. Then, we break curses from our sins or sins
against us, and from the sins of our ancestors. We do this by declaring the
remission of our sins and remitting the sins of our ancestors in all previous
generations influencing our life. Now we are ready to cast out the demons.
Jesus has given us authority to cast
out demons. This authority is in the name of Jesus. With authority, we command
the demons to come out in Jesus' name! In the Old Testament, the Israelites took
the physical land by driving out all the physical inhabitants. We take our
spiritual land (the promises of God) by driving out all the spiritual
inhabitants (demons). We continue to cast out demons in area after area of our
life to possess our freedom. "By little and little, I will drive them out from
before thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land." (Ex. 23:30)
Deliverance is a progressive walk, not an event.
As we cast out demons, we must fill
ourselves with the Word of God in order to maintain our deliverance. The demons
would like to come back into us, but they cannot as long as we walk in the ways
of God and stay clear of sin. "Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee."
(John 5:14)
We fill ourselves with the Word when
we hear and do it. We need to pray in tongues and pray with our understanding.
We need to take our thoughts captive to the Word and think on good things. We
must know our legal spiritual rights in Christ through study of the Word. We
need to speak the Word of God and receive the promises. We need to praise and
worship the Lord to fill ourselves with the Spirit. We need to be in church
regularly. We must choose to forgive all those who have hurt us. We must repent
from all sinful ways. We must walk in love toward everyone. As we do these
things and follow the ways of the Lord, we will stay free of demons and maintain
our deliverance.
Jesus daily preached the gospel of
the kingdom, cast out demons, and healed the sick. We are to do the same. We all
have demons to cast out because of sin. We also need to cast them out from our
fellow believers to help them get free, also. If we pursue our enemies (demons)
and destroy their works by aggressively casting them out, then the Lord "shall
bruise Satan under [our] feet shortly (Ro. 16:20 )," and we will be set free!
Jesus came for this very purpose that
he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The word might mean that
the Lord has put a “condition” on whether it happens or not. Without a doubt,
Jesus himself defeated Satan at Calvary , hands
down. He made an open show of him triumphing over him in it and stripping him of
all power and weaponry. Jesus put the devil in his place, and we are to keep him
there, where he belongs — under our feet. We are to tread on serpents and
scorpions, which means to walk on them. But most Christians have no idea how
much power is available for them. They are so ignorant that they do not yet know
how to use it effectively against the enemy. May the spirit of revelation
knowledge and wisdom come upon every believer, that we may know all that has
made available to them. God’s word is unchanging:
But one testified in a certain
place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that
You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have
crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. You
have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in
subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do
not yet see all things put under him. Hebrews 2:6-8
For these twenty-three years--from the thirteenth year of Josiah son
of Amon king of Judah
Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense;
instead of dishonor {and} reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double [what they had forfeited];
everlasting joy shall be theirs. Isaiah 61:7 Amplified
The American Heritage Dictionary
defines forfeit as:
for·feit n. 1. Something surrendered or subject to
surrender as punishment for a crime, an offense, an error, or a breach of
contract.
The word of God tells us that many
times God’s people forfeited the right to dwell in the land the Lord gave to
them and their fathers of old and forevermore because the people had not
listened and obeyed or even inclined their ear to hear what the Lord was saying
by His prophets. So God sent for all the
tribes of the north and for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
For if we sin willfully after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies
without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse
punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son
of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a
common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said,
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will
judge His people." It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31
Beloved, while I was very diligent
to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write
to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all
delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago
were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our
God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once
knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:3-5
Yes, real judgment including
forfeiture of all rights, privileges and possession comes to those who sin
willfully after they have received the knowledge of truth. And judgment delay is
not judgment denied. The Lord rejected King Saul instantly for his rebellion and
disobedience but nevertheless King Saul ruled for many years after David was
anointed to be king in his place. Jesus wept at Jerusalem
Jesus as the Chief Apostle and
Prophet, judged the false ones of His day and He publicly did not say nice
things about them but told them that their end would be worse than their
beginning. He told them they were hypocrites, blind guides, serpents, brood of
vipers, and lawless ones, who would not escape the condemnation of hell and
there would be a day of judgment for them. He told them,"Therefore, indeed, I send you
prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and
some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to
city, "that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23:34)
And because God was with Jesus, God
would honor His words and they would not fall to the ground. The Jewish
religious and political leaders of Jesus day along with their followers would
not escape the condemnation of hell in the speedy ensuring judgments that
followed in 70 AD for whatsoever a man sows so shall He reap! Flavius Josephus
in writing about “The Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70” testified:
Throughout the city people were
dying of hunger in large numbers, and enduring unspeakable sufferings. In every
house the merest hint of food sparked violence, and close relatives fell to
blows, snatching from one another the pitiful supports of life. No respect was
paid even to the dying; the ruffians [anti-Roman zealots] searched them, in case
they were concealing food somewhere in their clothes, or just pretending to be
near death. Gaping with hunger, like mad dogs, lawless gangs went staggering and
reeling through the streets, battering upon the doors like drunkards, and so
bewildered that they broke into the same house two or three times in an hour.
Need drove the starving to gnaw at anything. Refuse which even animals would
reject was collected and turned into food. In the end they were eating belts and
shoes, and the leather stripped off their shields. Tufts of withered grass were
devoured, and sold in little bundles for four drachmas. http://www.loyno.edu/~rspipes/chicken/seige.htm
There is a real price to be paid for
rejecting truth and doing injustice, even in the current time of life, as the
people of Jerusalem Jerusalem
Then in 70 AD Titus marched against
the city with four legions of the Roman army.
They laid siege to Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
TITUS now promised that the
Temple Temple Temple Temple
The slaughter was continued while
the fire raged. Soon no part was left but a small portion of the outer
cloisters, where 6,000 people had taken refuge, led by a false prophet who had
there promised that God would deliver His people in His Temple. The soldiers set
the building on fire and all perished. Titus next spent eighteen days in
preparations for the attack on the upper city, which was then speedily captured.
And now the Romans were not disposed to display any mercy, night alone putting
an end to the carnage. During the whole of this siege of Jerusalem
If we examine the Jewish people and
their religious leaders, they were sincere and arrogant in that they were right
to crucify Jesus. After all Jesus was in their opinion and according to their
theology a false prophet and their leaders told them so. As a matter of fact
their leaders told them that Jesus was a Samaritan and had a demon. They were God’s chosen people who thought
they had surrendered to Him but in reality denied Him. They refused to see the
plain truth that surrender is more than lies. It is a deep desire to surrender
all the lies. Most men look how they can carry on without surrendering their
will to God. They seek a sign rather than the truth. That is why Jesus told
them:
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees
came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said to them, "When it is
evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; "and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather
today, for the sky is red and threatening.'
Hypocrites! You know how to
discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks
after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet
Jonah." And He left them and departed. Matthew 16:1-4
Jesus called them hypocrites and a
wicked and adulterous generation. They thought they could see what they cannot
see at all. They heard what they desired to and refused to surrender all. They
thought and therefore god has spoken. They thought it went that way. They forgot
the lilies of the valleys were created before them. They could not see the winds
of change were blowing and sweeping across their land. They thought they were
secure and continued in their traditional ways not know that the strong winds
would be blowing and devastating the land. It was coming nearer and nearer to
the hour of their demise. They mindlessly went on in life thinking themselves
very spiritual and assuming that sincerity and presumption where a guarantee of
salvation. They did not tune their heart and mind and spirit to God’s s still
small Voice. They did not take action in their limps and heart toward God's
intentions and not theirs. They assumed they knew everything and did not turn it
all to the Lord. They were proud of what they had achieved. After all, it was
theirs? They never anticipated that the word of the prophets would come to pass
just as Jesus prophesied and there were real consequences to their sin,
rebellion and deeds. As a result of the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem Jerusalem
It did not pay to reject and murderer
God’s true prophet and Son. A whole nation and its capital were destroyed in the
ensuing judgment of God that followed. As God’s word is true even this
day:
'I will raise up for them a
Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth,
and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 'And it shall be that whoever will not hear
My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Genesis
18:18-19
Now to Him who is able to keep you
from stumbling, And to present you
faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our
Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.
Amen. Jude 1:24-25
What God has done before He can and
will do again! And not all His miracles are positive ones! By doing nothing and
not heeding to the voice of God people incur in due season the judgments of God
and forfeit all their normal blessings no matter who they are or who they think
they are!
"And to the angel of the church in
Thyatira write, ' These things says the
Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: "I
know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works,
the last are more than the first. "Nevertheless I have a few things against you,
because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach
and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to
idols. "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not
repent. "Indeed I will cast her into a
sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless
they repent of their deeds. "I will kill her children with death, and all the
churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will
give to each one of you according to your works. Revelation 2:18-23
The LORD knows the days of the
upright, And their inheritance shall be
forever. They shall not be ashamed in
the evil time, And in the days of famine
they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall
vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish
away. The wicked borrows and does not
repay, But the righteous shows mercy and
gives. For those blessed by Him shall
inherit the earth, But those cursed by
Him shall be cut off. Psalm 37:18-22
Because the LORD loves justice, He
does not forsake His saints; they are
preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The
righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever for the mouth of the
righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is
in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
It pays to be righteous for God’s word is unchanging:
Wait on the LORD, And keep His
way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off,
you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself
like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be
found. Mark the blameless man, and
observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors
shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the
salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them
and deliver them; He shall deliver them
from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him. Psalm
37:34-40
Then He spoke to them a parable:
"Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. "When they are already budding, you
see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. "So you also, when you see
these things happening, know that the kingdom of God
Men claim to know what Jesus Christ
Himself does not know and neither does the Holy Spirit. But only our heavenly
Father - the hour of the return of Jesus Christ back to the earth as the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. So how can men
say that they know what the author and finisher of their faith, Jesus Christ,
does not know? They can not unless they are liars and false ones? Many have made
wrong predictions about when Jesus would return and they well and will be all
wrong. For Jesus told His own not to be deceived by anyone. God’s word
states:
And He said: "Take heed that you
not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The
time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them. "But when you hear of wars
and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first,
but the end will not come immediately."
Then He said to them, "Nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”And there will be great
earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be
fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
"But before all these things, they
will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My
name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
"Therefore settle it in your
hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; "for I will give you
a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or
resist. "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and
friends; and they will put some of you to death. "And you will be hated by all
for My name's sake. "But not a hair of your head shall be lost. "By your
patience possess your souls. Luke 21:8-19
Wars, commotions, earthquakes, and
famines and pestilence will come and go but the end will not come immediately
according to Jesus. First persecution must come and a witness in the power of
the Holy Spirit by God’s true ones to kings and rulers, as well as the days of
vengeance that all things which were written may be fulfilled. There must be
things which we have not seen yet such as:
"And there will be signs in the
sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; "men's hearts failing them from fear
and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the
powers of heaven will be shaken. "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory.
"Now when these things begin to
happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. "When
they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now
near. "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the
kingdom of
God
Jesus talked about the fig tree and
many have related it automatically to nation of Israel
He also spoke this parable: "A
certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on
it and found none. "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three
years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why
does it use up the ground?'
"But he answered and said to him,
'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 'And
if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.' " Luke
13:6-9
Well the church of Jesus Christ church of Jesus
Christ
The false teaching and predictions of
the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ has caused many people to waste their
lives just waiting on the Lord. Instead of doing what He commanded them to do -
to be busy about the master’s business with the talents that He had given them.
And when He comes, whenever that will be, He will bless them for their
fruitfulness and stewardship. Jesus was
very clear and explicit in His parable about being profitable servants. God’s
word records:
"For the kingdom of heaven is like
a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his
goods to them. "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another
one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
"Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made
another five talents. "And likewise he who had received two gained two more
also. "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his
lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of
those servants came and settled accounts with them. "So he who had received five
talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me
five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' "His lord
said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few
things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your
lord.'
"He also who had received
two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have
gained two more talents besides them.' "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good
and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you
ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
"Then he who had received the one
talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have
not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.' And I was afraid,
and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'
"But his lord answered and said to
him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown,
and gather where I have not scattered seed. 'So you ought to have deposited my
money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with
interest. 'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten
talents.
'For to everyone who has, more
will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even
what he has will be taken away. 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the
outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew 25:14-30
The master returned and He judged all
His servants and found that the servant who was given only one talent did
nothing with it. The master was so infuriated that He called him a wicked and
lazy and unprofitable servant and cast him into the outer darkness where there
was wailing and gnashing of teeth. God, who does not think nor act like man,
took the talent from the unprofitable servant and gave it to the one who already
had ten. Interesting concept?
Jesus Christ, unlike men, also taught to him that has more shall be
given but to him that has not even what he has shall be taken away. The other
fact of the matter is that these men were all servants of the master of the
kingdom and not strangers. Yet one would end up being a stranger and cast out of
the kingdom. Many do not consider
possible that some Christians will be rejected by God. Even though Jesus taught
that the goats and sheep will be separated by their deeds and not by their
confession of faith:
"When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory. "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. "And He will
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
"Then the King will say to those
on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me
food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison
and you came to Me.'
"Then the righteous will answer
Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give
You drink? 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe
You? 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King
will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to
one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on the left
hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty
and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked
and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
"Then they also will answer Him,
saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or
sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' "Then He will answer them,
saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew
25:31-46
As a result of the dismal failure of
the last generation, the Lord is now moving on His people and raising up a new
enlightened generation for He has much He desire to teach and provide them in
spiritual gifts. They need only stop
judging others and second-guessing Him. They need only do what He has called
them to do with a pure heart. Then we will all see what the current Church as a
whole can do in His service and purposes.
The last generation has been one of
vipers and snakes who have eaten God’s
people up with their lies and desire for wealth. They thought by grabbing
their prosperity promised in His Word they had the real thing. But, this is not true. They didn’t have His
real prosperity if they are working things out for themselves. They didn’t have
His real prosperity if they were not doing the right works He had called them to
do - works of justice, righteousness, truth and caring for the widows, homeless,
helpless, demon-possessed and oppressed. Those who have had justice and security
removed from them by the devil of lies.
God has put His people upon the earth
to return justice to the land, to set the captives free, to bring healing to the
lonely and oppressed. He had called them to step out of their shells and secure
places and bring hope to a dying nation. He had given them the tools to do the
job. They had all the love and gifts they need to do what He had commanded them.
They had to simply step out and do it and how great the change would have been
to the nation. But no they did obey Him
nor listened to Him. Instead just like the children of Israel Egypt
As a result we have seen in
America
He had given them all the love they
needed. He had sent them to love all humanity into His Kingdom. He had asked
them to embrace the worldly to bring them to Him. Yet, His people had separated
themselves from world and placed them above them. As a result the others could
not be healed and brought out of the miry clay. They couldn’t without God’s
Spirit. Some came, but many more would have with their help. This was their sin.
They left Jesus Christ their first love and turned to worship the idol of wealth
and power. As a result they were going
to pay the price for their disobedience. If others had to suffer because of
their incompetence, so would they suffer also? No one would escape God’s wrath
and judgment for He had pronounced it as their Lord and King!
The ways of men are not God’s ways.
He is a jealous and angry God. His church had not done as He had commanded them.
They had done unwise things and provoked Him to much displeasure. They were a
desolate people, full of themselves and their own doings. God has turned His
face from them and their leaders. He had turned from them because they don’t do
my perfect will. They did their own selfish wills and ways. He was furious with
them.
God was changing the circumstances
and landscape of the America
God true anointed ones will never
forsake the fundamental truth of the Word for their own agendas and personal
gain. They will walk in deep fear and love of the Father and they will never
turn their back on the needy. Their desire will continually be toward their
Heavenly Father and to please Him only in the positions He has called them to.
They will never serve man or do what men do in order to receive the praise and
power of earth. Their entire heart is filled with the desire to serve only the
Lord.
But for the others self love and self
preservation is their agenda. For they have not understood God’s word which
stated:
"For whoever desires to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew
16:25
"Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will by no means pass away. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your
hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and
that Day come on you unexpectedly. "For it will come as a snare on all those who
dwell on the face of the whole earth.
"Watch therefore, and pray always
that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 21:33-36
They forgot that no man knows the
hour when the son of man will return. It could be fifty, one hundred and even
one thousand years from now. There are still many people that need to be touched
and changed by the power of God. The laborers have been unfaithful and few and
God's word is still true:
Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest
truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. "Therefore pray the Lord of the
harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew
9:37-38
So it was, when I heard these
words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and
praying before the God of heaven. And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O
great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love
You and observe Your commandments, "please let Your ear be attentive and Your
eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You
now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the
sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my
father's house and I have sinned. "We have acted very corruptly against You, and
have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You
commanded Your servant Moses. "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded
Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the
nations; 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though
some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather
them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling
for My name.' Nehemiah 1:4-10
Nehemiah who was the king's cupbearer
didn’t just pray for a few minutes Jerusalem Jerusalem Judah
Once he was in Jerusalem Jerusalem
Nehemiah had every reason to be
discouraged, intimidated and to back out of his goal of seeing the walls of
Jerusalem Jerusalem 2:20 ). We
need to say things to our enemies who are in opposition to what we want
to rebuild, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His
servants will arise and build." We need
to have an understanding that the Lord God of heaven is on our side and is for
us and not against us and He will cause us to prosper. His word is
unchanging:
Why do you say, O Jacob, And
speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed
over by my God"? Have you not known?
Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of
the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He
gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up
with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not
faint. Isaiah 40:27-31
each one of us must walk humbly
before God as all we receive is from Him and we must give Him all the glory. We
must not be impatient about anything but trust God in and for all things. When we have poured out complaints and
requests before God, we can trust God to provide us an answer in due
season. He will not disappoint the
believing expectations of those who wait upon Him to see what He will do. Though
the promised blessings might be deferred for a season, they will come at last,
and abundantly recompense the humble, broken-hearted, saint who waited upon
God. Those who are just and live by
faith and persevere to the end shall tread the high places of their enemies.
While those who distrust or despise God's all-sufficiency will find themselves
in place they never expected to be. Yes, What God has done before He can and
will do again. And doom always comes to proud and oppressive ones especially
those who touch or hurt His servants.
The sins of men do destroy them as
they sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. What is gotten by
violence from others, others shall take away by violence. Covetousness will
bring disquiet and uneasiness into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles
his own house and it brings the curse of God upon all the affairs of it. Yes, there is a lawful gain, which, by the
blessing of God, may be a comfort to a house; but what is got by fraud and
injustice, will bring poverty and ruin upon a family. God’s word is
unchanging:
"Woe to him who gives drink to his
neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look
on his nakedness! You are filled with
shame instead of glory. You
also-drink! And be exposed as
uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD'S
right hand will be turned against you,
And utter shame will be on your glory. For the violence done to
Lebanon
The good news is that the Lord
revives His work among the people in the midst of the years of adversity and
trials. Our God is a God of Mercy and in His wrath He remembers to give mercy to
His trusting one who flee to Him for refuge and rely only upon Him. Everything that we go through is seasonal and
subject to change by God who still makes His trusting ones more than conquerors
even when the vines and the fig trees are destroyed. When all is gone, God is not gone and His
miracle working power never ceases. His word is unchanging:
"And the patriarchs, becoming
envious, sold Joseph into Egypt
Indeed we count them blessed who
endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by
the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11
Yes, we might have seasons when we
meet with losses and crosses in the world, but the joy of the Lord is still our
strength. And He will make our feet like deer's feet, and He will make us walk
on our high hills. The great redemptive work of our Lord covers the complete
person—body, soul and spirit. It reaches even into the realm of physical
necessities. Jesus said to his disciples, “Take no anxious thought, saying, What
shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, How shall we be clothed? For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the
kingdom of
God 6:31 –34).
We don’t live by bread alone but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and God is our source of our
total supply, our provision, our exceeding great reward and all that we need.
Through God's grace and Spirit we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might and stand until the victory and our breakthrough is manifested proving
the faithfulness of our God. In the midst of all our troubles Jesus is still a
balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. He is still a friend who sticks
closer than a brother!
Joseph M. Scriven,
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our
sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to
God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what
needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to
God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there
trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to
the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will
all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to
the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with
a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it
to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take
it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you
will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou
wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee
in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will
be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will
be our sweet portion there.
Chapter
28
Make a joyful shout to God, all
the earth! Sing out the honor of His
name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your
enemies shall submit themselves to You. ." Psalm 66:1-3
"But you shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria
As Christians and believers we were
created to be vessels of power. The God of all power, resources and unlimited
might and riches lives in us and we are to demonstrate it and cause all our
enemies to submit to this power. God’s
word is unchanging:
And with great power the
apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was
upon them all. Acts 4:33
And Stephen, full of faith and
power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Acts 6:8
And my speech and my preaching
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in
the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
For the kingdom of God
There is no excuse if we don’t have
power we are to repent and pray to God until we get power. And not just some
power but great power just like the Apostles had. Christianity is a religion of
power and without power it is nothing!
No matter how religious we are, Pharaoh
won’t let us go without a demonstration of God’s power. Our grammar, our
education or our money makes no difference. It is impossible to triumph without
power! The word triumph here simply means a walkover, where our opponent becomes
afraid to even enter the ring with us. We become too much for the enemy. This
takes power! And God has this kind of power and He will give it to us just for
the asking.
Every enemy of ours is to suffer
devastation before our presence! Jesus Christ was never defeated or dismayed by
any power or anybody or anything. As a son of man and son of God He demonstrated
power over everything. And so should we! The power that made heaven and earth
and raised Jesus Christ is in us and as we yield to and release that power God
will do great and wonderful things. His word is unchanging:
and what is the exceeding
greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His
mighty power Ephesians 1:19
Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works in us, Ephesians 3:20
We are to come out of religion and
step into power and authority! It’s time to walk into our liberty! It’s time to
get into our Canaan , into our land flowing with
milk and honey. It’s time to be set free every form of captivity, through the
instrumentality of power. When God’s power is in place, we’re in charge. When
His power is at work in us, we keep reigning! We were created to be a creature
of power and to demonstrate it. The
kingdom of
God
Enemies don’t submit through
the greatness of tears! Our liberty is a function of the degree of God’s power at work in our life. Darkness has no
respect for position, status or possessions. Our enemies will not submit because
of anything in the natural realm but because the greatness of God’s power is manifesting through our life. God’s
power is mighty! God’s power is superior to every other power!
Why should we live without power when
w e are in the day of God’s power! It is time to say to failure, "Go!" and it
goes; to say to abundance, "Come!", and it comes. It takes power to do this.
Power that we can have just for the asking. We need to ask the Lord to show us
His right hand. His hand and arm will provoke favor on our behalf and bring us
into our liberty. Power is released when we talk to God from our heart. God’s
word is true:
We have heard with our ears, O
God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds
You did in their days, In days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted; You afflicted the
peoples, and cast them out. For they did
not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the
light of Your countenance, Because You
favored them. You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who
rise up against us. Psalm 44:1-5
"Behold, I give unto you power..."
Luke 10:19
"But as many as received him, to
them gave he power..." John 1:12
We enter into God’s kingdom with a power gift
package. Until we receive Jesus as the Son of God, we don’t have access to the
power of God. We are a child of power. Power is the foundation of our new life
in Christ Jesus. The new birth is an initiation into the realm of power. Just as
people are initiated into a cult, the new birth initiates us into another
world—the world of power. The day we receive Jesus, we become initiated into the
realm of covenant power. It is the day natural life gives way to eternal life.
Everything about us becomes new! Our citizenship changes—we are no more earthly,
but now heavenly. We are guarded and surrounded by heavenly immunities, as we
walk in earthly places. Christ is the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthian
1:24 ).
When Christ dwells in us, then the
power of God is resident on our inside. Once we are saved, we become a
power-loaded personality! Salvation brings you from the realm of weakness into
the realm of power. God’s word is true:
"And hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians
2:6
We must operate from the heavenly
places where we are seated. Satan is not permitted to prevail in this realm. So,
by destiny, all heavenly citizens are more than conquerors! Dwelling anywhere in the earthly places is
dangerous. We were not created to seek
after fortune, fame or wealth of the world but to have and demonstrate the power
of God. We need the power of God today. It is the answer to all the harassments
of the devil (Luke 10:19 ).
It is time for a heart-connection
with heaven for a release of power. The time has come for God to hear our voice.
We are to ask the Lord to cause us to
see the reality of His power as recorded in His Word. And to tell Him we want to
experience this power in our everyday life and we want more of the anointing.
But the anointing of the Holy Spirit cannot come our way without prayer. The
rains of the Spirit will only respond to effectual fervent prayer. This is the
only switch that will turn the rain on—the kind of prayer that comes from the
heart, not the head. A thirst that is
genuine, established and acknowledged by the Lord, will open you up for the
rain. God’s word is true:
"Ask of the Lord rain in the time
of the latter rain..." Zechariah 10:1
"And when they had prayed,
the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." Acts
4:31
We don’t get power by wishing, we get
it by praying. Not modern day prayer, but divinely approved ones. The kind we
stay on at until the answer comes. No one picks power by the roadside. Every one
that operates in the realm of power today went all-out for it. God’s word is
unchanging:
"He sent his word, and healed
them, and delivered them from their destructions." Psalm 107:20
"If you can believe, all
things are possible to him who believes." Mark 9:23
"For we walk by faith, not by
sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
We can do all things through Christ
because He strengthens us to do the impossible. God’s Word is His Spirit in
written form, and when it is absorbed into your spirit, you encounter power.
There is enough power in the Word to heal, to bless, to prosper, to save, to
deliver and to do whatever we need. We are to continue to believe God's Word and
continue to confess His promise in the face of what we see and what we feel.
As believers it is disastrous to react
on what we see, hear or feel. Instead of reacting to the senses produced by the
world, we must act according to the Word spoken by God. His Word brings
deliverance and the words of the world bring destruction. When we feel like giving up, we must quit going by
what we feel. We must stand in faith and keep standing until the victory is
manifested. God’s word is unchanging:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians
6:10-13
All Things Are Yours
Walter
Kambulow
November 1,
2009
All rights
reserved
Burlington,
Ontario
Mail to
walthope@mail.com
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