Sacred truths : Blessed To Be A Blessing

Blessed To Be A Blessing

Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:1-4

God gave us precious faith not to be admired or to be shown on Sunday but rather to be used every day to see needs met and things changed even in the storms of life. When a shipwright builds a vessel, does he build it to keep it in stock? No, he builds it for the sea and the storm. When he was making it, he thought of tempests and hurricanes; if he did not, he was a poor shipbuilder. When God made a believer, He meant to try him; and when He gave him exceedingly great and precious promises, and told him to trust them, He gave such promises as are suitable for times of tempest and tossing. His Word of promise is meant to be tried and proved. God’s covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use when whenever our time of need comes:

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:11-15

Chapter 1
I Have Heard Your Prayer

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' " Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. "I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city." Isaiah 38:1-6

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15

God loves to hear and answer prayer and He has demonstrated in Christ Jesus what His will is 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; and He healed them. Many Christians improperly believe that sickness and poverty are God’s will for them but they hypocritically go to a doctor to get better when they are sick and try to earn more money so that they can live better; which doesn’t make sense at all!

There is a very common evangelical worldview is that “the earth is the devils, and the fullness thereof” In other words that the world belongs to Satan, and that Christians can expect only defeat until the Lord returns. And that is exactly the lie that Satan wants Christians to believe. If God’s people think the devil is winning, it makes his job just that much easier. What would he do if Christians stopped retreating and started advancing against him? But the scriptures tell us the complete opposite of the evangelical worldview:

The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 24:1-4

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. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:6-10

Those who humble themselves before God and accept His redemption and salvation and resist the devil will obtain the blessings and righteousness comes from the God of our salvation? What blessings are we talking about? Well the word of God’s tells us clearly what they are:

"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:1-8

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

Although God’s word says the benefit of God include forgiveness of all your iniquities, healing of all your diseases and redemption of your life from destruction, some even say they are afflicted like Job was and are being tried and tested by God! But Job didn’t stay afflicted and he passed the test and God healed him, restored double his real losses and gave him seven sons and daughters! So when is it their turn to be victorious and blessed like Job? And the bible tells us:

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

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. 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, 2 Corinthians 1:3-10

Apostle Paul tells us about the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. He tells us 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. In other words we are to trust in a God who doesn’t keep us in sickness, poverty, loss, defeat or depression but brings us through to the other side of plenty, prosperity and victory just like He did for the children of Israel when He miraculous delivered them out of their oppressors and brought them into the Promised Land of plenty! Mind you they were delayed for 40 year due to some rebels and unbelievers!

The bible tells us “But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Prov. 13:22). I love the word “but.” We see it used in the bible for Joseph who was promoted instantly from a prison to a palace:

"And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him "and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Acts 7:9-10

And that is the basic pattern of history as God saves His people and gives them dominion. This is what God did with Israel: in saving them, He brought them into already-settled lands, and they inherited cities that had already been built (Ps. 105:43-45).

In a way God does bless the heathen, in a sense – just so they can work out their own damnation, in the meantime building up an inheritance for the godly (Gen. 15:16; Ex. 4:21; Josh. 11:19-20). Then God smashes them and gives the fruit of their labor to His people. This is why the bible tells us that we need not fret over evildoers, for we shall inherit the earth (Ps. 37). The Hebrew word for salvation is yasha, meaning to bring into a large, wide, open space – and in salvation God does just that: He gives us the world, and turns it into the Garden of Eden. God’s word is true:

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 1:3

Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." Psalm 35:27

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret-it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (prosperity). Psalm 37:8-11

The word of God, especially the Psalms, are full of conquest, victory, prosperity and the dominion of the saints when they walk in obedience to God’s voice and His command! When they disobey well then sickness, poverty, lack, oppression and other vegetative things are their possession.

Speaking of dominion, true spirituality does not mean retreat and withdrawal from life; it means dominion. The basic Christian confession of faith is that Jesus is Lord (Rem. 10:9-10) – Lord of all things, in heaven and on earth. As Lord, He is to be glorified in every area (Rom. 11:36). And there is no glory for God in a person being sick, poor or defeated when He has made provisions for plenty, health, wealth, victory and abundance and that is part of the salvation package of benefits!

In Christ Jesus through salvation God restored man to his original purpose. In the beginning God created man in His own image, in order that man would have dominion (Gen. 1:26-28). That task of dominion began in the Garden of Eden, but it was not supposed to end there, for man was ordered to have dominion over the whole earth: Adam and Eve (and their children) were to extend the blessings of Paradise throughout the entire world. But when man rebelled, he lost the ability to have godly dominion, because he lost fellowship with his Creator. While fallen man is still the image of God (Gen. 9:6), he is now a naked image (Gen. 3:7), for he has lost his original covering – the glory of God (Rem. 3:23).

The image of God remains, to some extent, in all men — but the image has become twisted, marred, disfigured, and broken as a result of sin. And the earth, which was planned to become God’s Garden-Temple, has instead become a wilderness of thorns, thistles, sweat, scarcity, pollution, and death (Gen. 3:17-19; Isa. 24:1-6; Rem. 5:12). Man was banished from the Garden, and forbidden to enter it again.

But that isn’t the end of the story. A redeemer came in Christ Jesus who crushed the Serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). Accordingly, the Apostle John tells us that “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Christ came as the Second Adam, in order to undo the damage brought through the First Adam (1 Cor. 15:22, 45; Rem. 5:15-19). God had breathed into Adam the breath (in Hebrew, the Spirit) of Life, but Adam’s rebellion brought death into the world.

In salvation, Christ again breathes into His people the Spirit of Life (John 20:22)–Eternal Life, which sets us free from the Curse of sin and death (Rom. 8:2), and which will ultimately result in the restoration of the entire creation (Rem. 8:19-21). In salvation God gave us a complete and great work of redemption, which is defined as the act of getting back or regaining, reclamation, recouping, recovery, repossession, rescue, retrieval, salvage! We have been restored to being the second Adam! As a result blessing (ALL KINDS) and righteousness comes to those who have clear hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up their soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully, because they have put their trust in God and are a new creation. God’s word is true:

The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.( IT IS NOT THE DEVIL’S!) For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah Psalm 24:1-10

And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45

In Christ we really are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), because we have been recreated in God’s image (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10), and are clothed again with the glory of God (Rem. 8:29-30). And, this time, the security of the restored image of God is guaranteed, because our standing is in the Christ who can never fail. In Him we have Eternal Life and salvation as man is restored to his original calling and purpose, and to exercise dominion under God over the whole earth (Ps.8:5-8 , Heb. 2:6-9).

Thus, when God saved His people, thus the effect of the Curse began to be reversed. And the bible tells us: Christ has redeemed us from every curse of the law (Gal.3:13-14), so none can have a hold on us any longer. We are now longer in the domain where curses have a legal right over us. That was why Jesus not only shed His blood, but hung on a tree as well — to secure our redemption from the curses of the law. Therefore the cross of Christ crushed the curse of the law. When sickness or poverty is not a function of sin in a man's life or of ignorance, it can also operate freely under the guise of the curse of the law. God’s word is unchanging:

"If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, "then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues-great and prolonged plagues-and serious and prolonged sicknesses. "Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. "Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed. "You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. "And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. Deuteronomy 28:58-63

The truth is that God has done everything on His own part. He has completed His own part of the contract. He has purchased our health at the expense of His Son's blood. But He expects us to enter into it and make it a reality in our individual life. Every sickness in our life now is due for a curse. We are to use our mouth to curse it and rebuke it just like Elisha did to his antagonizers and Jesus did to the fig tree and to the fever Peter’s mother had. God’s word is unchanging:

Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 2 Kings 2:23-24

And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:19-22

Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. Acts 4:38-39

God’s word tells believers, Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2). God wants believers to prosper and be comfortable as well as healthy. He saw them in discomfort and sent Jesus Christ to come and give them the abundant life. Man's discomfort was a result of Adam fall from grace and being driven out of the Garden of Eden where he did not lack anything, he was super comfortable.

When Adam fell he was driven out of the Garden of Eden into the wilderness and the gates were shut. Thus, no one could gain access into the garden until Jesus came out of the grave and the gates of life flung open (Psalm 24:7). Among those gates was the gate that led back to Eden. That is to say that God is bringing His people back into their Eden of abundance. Therefore, financial signs are a part of believer’s redemptive rights in God and their Abrahamic blessing.

Most of God’s people are deceived into thinking that because they still live in our physical bodies they are human; but nothing could be farther from that! Jesus, who is their example and life was born of the Spirit, yet He arrived the earth very much human. But there was no denying the fact that He was also the Son of God. The same is true concerning believers. When they are born again, they are a spirit being, even though they have a mind and live in a physical temple called the body.

Adam, before the fall, operated in the class of God. His mind functioned in the same frequency as God's. He was a man of authority, a man in dominion. One day, however, he ate the forbidden fruit, and in accordance with God's warning, he died. Adam's death was, however, spiritual, not physical. He was still physically alive, but his spirit was disconnected from God. At that very instance Adam went from the realm of the supernatural to the natural. He descended from the spirit world to the physical world. He also became a victim of what he used to have dominion over.

But God was undaunted, and as in a relay race, He picked up the baton that Adam had dropped and passed it unto Jesus, who did not fail Him. Jesus came primarily to recreate what had died in Adam — his spirit. He came to restore to humanity what had been lost in Adam. He was called the second Adam, because like the first Adam, He was a representative of all mankind. With this restoration, as many as receive Jesus into their hearts can operate in the same class as the first Adam before the fall. God’s word is unchanging:

"The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.1 Corinthians 15:45-47

Satan could not prevail in heaven, so he was cast down to the earth. Two kingdoms are brought to light here. The earthly and the heavenly. Only those who reside in the earthly kingdom are under the wrath of Satan. Those who are born again have been translated from the earthly to the heavenly kingdom. And in the heavenly kingdom there is rejoicing, because there is no place found for Satan there anymore.

As a new creature in Christ, we can safely conclude that Satan has no right to be anywhere around us. In our heavenly citizen status therefore, we should be able to display "the riches of His glory" in the face of the devil, not suffering as those in earthly places do. Just like Enoch who was translated so that he did not see death, we have been translated too, so that we do not experience the same buffeting as the world.

The fact that we have been redeemed guarantees us absolute liberty from all forms of oppression of the devil. We are no longer his captive, so he cannot plague our body or tamper with the works of our hand. This knowledge should spur us into reacting against the gimmicks of hell in all areas of our life. Everybody may be complaining about the devil, but God is complaining about the ignorance of His people! There is no mountain anywhere; every man's ignorance is his mountain.

Once we know where we belong, we should be able to confront the devil and secure our victory. Case in point sickness is not our portion in God. So, if we sense an attack of sickness coming, we are to react against it based on the light of God's Word. We are not to nurse or accept it, just fight it off, and enjoy liberty. The advantage Satan has over believers is ignorance. He plays on the ignorance of the saints to buffet, oppress and punish them. The bible tells us: Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2:11. But Satan has been stripped of all his powers and is left with only wiles and devices (Eph. 6:11). By being conscious of our superiority over Satan, we can "take him for a ride." Instead of living at his mercy, we can turn the tables on him, compelling him to take to his heels at the mention of our name! Redemption guarantees our total liberty. With this understanding, we hold in our hands the master key to rest in all spheres of life.

Jesus took the place of man in sin, sickness, poverty, death, and every evil thing in the world. He was made sin on the cross, identifying with man in the fallen state. He became sin for us. We were in Christ in every stage of it. We were legally present there, defeating the devil when Jesus died. We took part in His suffering (His passion), in His crucifixion, burial and resurrection. He became identified with us on the cross and we with Him. When Jesus was made alive by the Spirit, we were also there. We were raised up from the dead together with Him. And when God raised Him up and exalted Him far above principalities and powers, we were there with Him, exalted as well.

As a result of this mystery of identification, all principalities and powers are under our feet. Through Christ Jesus we are now one with the Father as Jesus was one with Him. As a result we have the same nature with God the Father. Therefore, whatever God can handle, by virtue of identification with christ, we can too! What we carry now is eternal life. We have the life of God inside us, as a gift from heaven. That life cannot be terminated by any ploy of hell. Rather, it is quite capable of swallowing up disease, failure, stagnation, frustration and even death.

The eternal life we carry on our inside is real, not theoretical. It is the exact type in Jesus that made Him immune to sickness and disease. That same life guaranteed His rest even in adverse situations. In it lay all He would ever require to live the abundant life. This same life is what we carry inside us! Once we become conscious of it, sickness cannot survive in our body. Failure itself cannot come near where we are. The Bible says whatsoever is born of God (a carrier of eternal life) overcomes all the hurdles of life (1 John 5:4). This truth will establish us as sons of God licensed of God to displace the devil in any environment we step into. Not guessing, but quite sure of who we are in Christ and what God has done in us when we entered the kingdom of God. God’s word is unchanging:

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:5-6

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.. John 3:31

Chapter 2
The Garden of Eden

"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

God didn’t create the Wilderness of Eden but the Garden of Eden? And when God first created the Garden of Eden and put man there, there was no poverty or sickness there at all. It was a beautiful lush rich place abounding with every good thing. It was a fertile, well-cultivated region, not a desert or wateland? Contrary to what many religious leaders teach and preach there is no value in poverty or in the fear of being rich. God, who supplied miraculously Adam’s every need in the Garden of Eden and has freely given us all things, delights in the prosperity of His servants. It’s the jealous devil who is against God’s people having money and being prosperous. It is also true when people are poor God is robbed of pleasure and when people do not have enough to give, God is denied pleasure. God’s word is true:

Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me. Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." Psalm 35:26-27

Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. Philippians 4:18

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

There are those religious fools who believe that poverty and sickness are the will of God and use Apostle Paul as an example to prove their case! But they never ask for God to give them more of poverty and sickness and they use the services of a doctor to try and get delivered or ask strangers for money to support them in their so called work of the Lord! If God’s will wasn’t prosperity for man He would not have created the Garden of Eden and put man in charge there. He would have created a barren wasteland and wilderness and put man to suffer there? But God cannot stand wastelands and wilderness and He gets glory by changing them into fruitful fields and forests. God’s word is unchanging:

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

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

Prosperity and Healing is God’s will for man and it’s a good transition from a negative circumstance to a positive one, especially because of Jesus being wounded for our transgression and being bruised for our iniquities. As a result the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. The word "peace" in the Bible includes the idea of our well-being in every area of life not just our bodies. Jesus became poor, not to set an example -- but that we might become rich! The price has been paid for our prosperity for poverty is a curse, not a blessing, and God’s word is unchanging:

"But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. "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 28:15-20

Now there are those religious fools who love sickness and poverty and like to point out the Apostle Paul prayed for healing and was never healed? What a lie from the pits of hell because the bible never says that Paul wasn’t healed in due season. It also says that his sickness was directly caused due to receiving a revelation and to prevent pride. It was an indirect chastisement to prevent Paul from going off the deep end. It was something need temporarily in Paul’s life. God’s word is unchanging:

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelation, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Acts 19:11-12

It is amazing these foolish ones who quote Paul concerning his infirmities don’t quote him concerning his miracles because they have a form of godliness and deny its power! It takes the power of God to get wealth and to heal the sick which they don’t have and have not received for 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

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

God didn’t keep innocent Joseph a slave or prisoner indefinitely but delivered and promoted him to being governor over Egypt and all his house? And God’s power to promote His trusting ones hasn’t diminished one bit! He still has a covenant with His trusting ones to establish them and give them wealth. It’s the jealous and envious devil who lost it all who fights God’s people from having wealth and being prosperous because he hates anything to do with God’s power that brings glory to God’s name, just like God received glory in making Abraham extremely rich and prosperous. It’s was the devil who made healthy and wealthy Job sick and poor by robbing him of his health and possession, not God? It was God who healed Job and restored all things to him and has promised to do the same for all who trust him. God’s word is unchanging:

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, prosperity is part of the Gospel of Christ that He commanded us to "preach the gospel to every creature." God’s word is true:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed," Luke 4:18

The Body of Christ on earth has many needs. It usually has been hindered and limited in its outreach to help people because of a lack of funds. With more money, they can help more people. They can print more literature, send out more missionaries, build more churches, etc. It is not God's will for them to be hampered in outreach to the people Jesus loved so much He died in their place? It is a fact that more people have financial needs than any other kind. Millions suffer and die from malnutrition. Millions live without adequate shelter or clothing. But God is great enough to take care of everyone. Men do not have the resources to care for the world directly without God's help. All the people of the world need to walk in God's blessings themselves and be productive. The God who had compassion on the multitude and fed them has not changed and is still a miracle working God who loves to bring about miraculous change and miraculously meet the needs of people, just like He did in the Garden of Eden. God’s word is unchanging:

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Matthew 15:32-37

Chapter 3
Jesus Christ is the Way Maker

But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. Proverbs 4:18-19

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. Proverbs 5:21

God in Christ Jesus is the only Way-maker. The enemy would have many people on many and varied tangents except the place God wants them most to be in. That place He has ordained would fulfill His greatest purpose for their lives. This place is where most people are not. They have continued in their own path and agenda forgetting to ask Him what He wants them to do. Every decision of life should be discussed with Him before it’s clear where or what people should be doing. He should be the desire of their heart. He should be the one they want to please and not themselves. Financial success goes to many people’s heads because they have not asked Him what they should do with it or with it in relation to their lives. Then, they would be truly successful in Him and walk in Him purpose for them and they would find their deepest happiness there.

A close personal relationship with God is possible for everyone who knows Him, if they understand the great importance of such an involvement with Him. He has all the answers they need to live life successfully. Live as He desires them to live it not as the world dictates. They need to be discerning between His voice and their own desires or the voices of demons. They can do this with practice and experience. Then they will be free to flow in Him and walk by His statutes and commandments. They will do it naturally. It will come out of them easily.

Those who flow in Him begin to glow in Him and everyone around them will want what they have and ask how they can have it for themselves. This is the better way to serve Him and walk in Him. Then witnessing will flow like a river out of them because the love and discernment will be there. Right attitudes of forgiveness and discretion will be there. The best approach to each person will be there and easily accomplished. God’s children must flow with Him. He has all the answers. They are to go to Him and ask Him and He will give them the Kingdom. For His word is true:

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:29-34

What a different world we would have if all of God’s people were really working and exercising themselves to real change in their spirits through the power of the Presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s possible by the Blood of the Lamb and a sold out commitment on their part to face their worst fears and carry on in His service no matter what. The road may be froth with pitfalls but the Spirit of the Lord is their anchor and defense against the enemies they face.

God has promised and given His authority and power in the midst of the storms. The enemy is defeated because they will never admit defeat. For Jesus Christ has an only conqueror in His army. They will not be defeated if they will hear what the Spirit says to them: For His word is true:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." ' Revelation 2:17

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' Revelation 3:5-6

Those who over come will not have their name blotted out from the book of life and Jesus Christ will confess their name before His Father and before His angels. But to many the Lord will say even this day:

These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked- "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' " Revelation 3:15-22

Rebuke, chastening and repentance are words that are missing in the lives of many of God’s people. God is not asking for perfection but for change and faithfulness to Him and His word... If a person expects perfection in him or her self they will never find it. Only God in Christ Jesus is their perfection and beauty and protection and provision. Only He is capable of moving every mountain in their way out of the road and bringing true prosperity, even in a way they never expected for He is their Heavenly Father. He is their Creator and Provider. He is the Way-Maker in the midst of the storm. He is in the boat with them as He was with many servants before them He is with them. As they listen to Him, the things that are contrary to Him or His word He will show it to them. They can count on it. But He will also fulfill His word and give them many things as promised in His word:

'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. For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.' Isaiah 45:2-7

The road of life for God true ones is protected by many angelic hosts--legions of angels meant to protect His true remnant soldiers. They do not march alone or to their own tune. They march to His tune and serve Him in spirit and in truth. They desire all of His truth and hunger for it as one hunger for real food. The health His truth brings runs true to all He promises to His children. His life is health to their very bones. It is healing and covenant blessings. It is strength in the midst of the storm. It is victory in battle. It is courage in the face of the enemy--mainly man. It is wisdom in the hour of debate or moment of truth. For God loves them and is in charge of their life. Even when they are walking through some fires and going through some storms, they are to be happy He is with them and for them and not against them.

God true ones must walk in His path He has laid out for them to go in. Expect Him to lead and guide and uplift them. They are to turn to Him and He will give them rest in the storm so they could sleep during its passing as Jesus did. So that they can step out on the water and remain in faith and trust. So that they could face life with boldness and assurance and peace. So that they could fight in the battles of life with confidence and wisdom. For as Apostle Paul had stated:

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13

As they keep on trusting Him and walking in Him, He will heal them and give them strength and more wisdom and more of His gifts and more of His person and more of His power and more of His courage and boldness. God is more able to supply all their needs from all the riches in Glory through which they have in Christ Jesus. He is able to meet their needs and supply them and provide an over abundance. This God loves to do for those who care about righteousness, truth and true justice. For those who want what is right and want what He wants. For those who care about Him their God and care about what He cares about. Such as these will have all the desires of their hearts.

The way sometimes will be difficult and precarious. The road will be rocky and uncertain before them. The road seems never-ending in front of them. But it does have a turn off and get off here sign for them. It does end in promise like the Rainbow with Jesus being the pot of Gold. It does have all the riches and provisions God has promised to those who have started the long and tedious journey with Him. Nothing is without risk and pain. All that is worthwhile bears the marks of pain and suffering in them. It is not to be desired but it is to be expected. The way may be long and hard but the results are written in eternity. They will have a great reward for all their sacrifices. God will repay them generously for their hardship on His behalf even in the current time of life. He will not let them go without proper rewards.

God is on the Move! He is marching against the forces of darkness and His army is right along side Him. The enemy is in full retreat though he thinks otherwise. He is trying to regroup but he is not very successful. The battle is the Lord’s and great is His Victory! He is defeating the enemy. His brave soldiers are to keep on and are not to forget that He Himself is with them in every battle of life and every storm of adversity. He has never lost an ounce of His power or might. His own presence and person is with them and one day their struggles will be over. But the reward they will have will be very great! For God’s word is true:

"Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, "who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time-houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions-and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:29-30

But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds": eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness-indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:5-11

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Chapter 4
Use Your Faith To Get Victory

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 fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Hebrews 11:29-34

Under an inferior old covenant or Old Testament Elisha had no problem using His anointing and faith in God to get miracles be it parting the river Jordan, healing the salted water or getting his adversaries destroyed. The bible records for our profit and instruction of the miracles Elijah and Elisha did:

Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."

So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."

Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone." But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren." And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' " So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

Elijah and Elisha had no problems using their anointing and faith to have their needs met, including parting the river Jordan so that they can walk to the other side without getting wet? Elisha healed the water so shall be no more death or barrenness. Just like Jesus cursed a fig tree and commanded it to die, Elisha pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD on the forty two youths who mocked him for being bald. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled them. Yes the Word of God is full of examples of God’s people who used their faith to subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, out of weakness be made strong, become valiant in battle, turn to flight the armies of the aliens. Jesus who used His faith to bring heaven on earth taught His disciples that "According to your faith let it be to you." (Mark 9:29). God’s word is unchanging:

"Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:53

And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:3

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

Jesus didn’t have a problem with angels ministering to Him in His hour of need. The only reason He didn’t pray to the Father to provide Him with more than twelve legions of angels was because the will of the Father was to be fulfilled in this particular circumstance. Otherwise He would have asked for the angels who are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation. Many of God’s people are not blessed and are defeated in different situations is because they have not availed of the angels that are available to help them in their hour of need like Abraham did when he needed a wife for Isaac. The bible records:

So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. "The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. "And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. "Now my master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 'but you shall go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.' "And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' "But he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house. Genesis 24:34-40

Yes, God send His angel with Abraham’s servant to prosper his ways to find a wife for Isaac and angels are available today to help each child of God including defeating their enemies. The bible records of what angels can do:

And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses-all dead. 2 Kings 19:35

An angel of the Lord saved King Hezekiah who had cried to the Lord about his enemies and said:

… "O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. "Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. "Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, "and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands-wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. "Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone." 2 Chronicles 19:15-19

Now God, who is no respecter of persons and shows partiality to no one, will do for His trusting ones even this day whatever is required to save, heal, deliver, bless and prosper them if they will use their faith, call upon the Lord and put no restrictions upon Him. He will do for them what He did for Peter who was thrown into prison by King Herod:

Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life." Acts 5:17-20

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands.

Then the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals"; and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 0 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people." Acts 12:5-11

Twice Peter was put into prison by King Herod and twice the angel of the Lord delivered him miraculously out of prison. God who is the God of the supernatural has no problems using His angels to bring miracles and victories to His trusting ones. He will do whatever is required to help and heal them because they are His servants. It’s was ironic but God who used an angel to deliver Peter from Herod also used an angel to kill Herod. God’s word is unchanging:

Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. Acts 12:23

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. 1 Peter 3:22

Chapter 5
God Is A Good God

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Psalm23:6

The Word of God tells that the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and His goodness and mercy are with us. His loving kindness goes before us. As a Good God, He gives us good and perfect gifts. Sickness and disease is part of the curse of the law, and Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse. His plan is to bless us and not cause us harm. Hence in the name of Jesus Christ, we repent of sin and close the door to the devils' gifts and accept God’s goodness. In the name of Jesus Christ we can come against the enemies of fear, debt, poverty, and greed. Galatians 5:28 - 29 says, "There is [now no distinction] neither Jew, nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ [are in Him, Who is Abraham's seed], then you are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to promise. (Amp.) As a seed of Abraham, in the mighty name of Jesus, we can thank almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth, for the abundant blessing that He is giving us. His word is unchanging:

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8

For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:5

The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:9

Yes, the Lord is good to all who call upon Him and put their trust in Him. He loves to give miracles, breakthroughs and victories to all those who trust Him. 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? (Psalm 84:11). 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 8:32). God is loving, faithful, just, and righteous. He will defend us and protect us and provide for us as we live for Him. His word is unchanging:

Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:22-26

Yes, the LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. The bible records king David having lost everything, strengthened himself in the LORD and looked unto HIM for comfort. As a result, the LORD did deliver him from all troubles and made him recover all that he lost (I Samuel 30:19). The Lord who blessed and gave Abraham unlimited riches and delivered and promoted David hasn’t changed and He will do the same for those who trust only in Him! Yes, we are called to:

(a) to do the Lord's ministry with power and compassion of the Lord Jesus followed by signs, wonders and miracles and bring God's comfort and His transforming power to multitudes;

(b) to walk with God and talk with God face to face as Enoch, Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ Himself to intercede for the people who have no hope and to make them receive God's direction to organize their life;

(c) to be filled with the 9 Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit, in order to be transformed into the image of Christ and to reflect Him to the world in one's daily life.

We are a needy people with a great and wonderful Savior who has promised to meet and supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We need for God to assign His Warrior Angels with swords of light, to surround us everywhere we go and protect, defend, and preserve them from the enemy. We need him to heal and protect us from sickness and disease and infirmity and for every curse to be broken from our lives! We need for God to place a hedge of protection around us and restore all things thirty fold this day! We need for the Lord today to deliver us; heal our land; change our circumstances; bless and prosper us in all things. We need all the miracles and things that God can do and give today for us and be a blessing to others! And God is more than able to do all this and more. His word is unchanging:

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

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, 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 you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

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, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

One of the misunderstood phrases in the bible is to “wait on the Lord” which is not something passive because it’s to expect earnestly, to watch with neck outstretched, to persevere, to remain around for, to wait on or towards something to happen that God will do. And yes, God, who worked on and provided total salvation for man in Jesus Christ will bring real salvation for His trusting ones because He has promised that none who wait for Him shall be ashamed. And those who have trusted in His Holy name shall rejoice in Him because of all that He will do for them. No matter what the negative circumstances that we might find ourselves in, we can wait upon God to save, heal and deliver us because He is our shield, our exceeding great reward, our defense, our friend and our God. We can wait only upon Him for our expectation is only from him. None other can do what He can do. He is after all a miracle worker and a mountain mover. He inclines His hear to us and hears our cries. He brings us out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay and sets our feet upon a rock and establishes our steps. He exalts us to inherit the land when the wicked are cut off for with the Lord there is mercy and abundant redemption. His word is true:

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities. Psalms 130:5-8

Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you. Proverbs 20:22

The bible has many examples of what expectantly waiting on the Lord and hope in His word for His plenteous redemption and deliverance and what it shall accomplish. One of my favorite stories is about when Elisha and the children of Judah were besieged by the enemy and were starving. Ben-Hadad king of Syria had gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. As a result there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver. However Elisha the prophet said:

"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.' " So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." 2 Kings 7:1-2

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 that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see." Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, "Go and see."

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

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

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

Chapter 6
The God Of My Salvation

…"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. Exodus 15:1-3

But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6

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 word Salvation-soteria is defined in the bible as being established in "protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance and the ministry of angels." But salvation is a personal thing. It comes as we put our trust in the name of the person who is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, our Lord, and receive the new birth and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. As we receive not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God we become a spiritual being where we now have the mind of Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, the other Helper, the Guide, the Counselor, we receive and begin to know the things that have been freely given to us by God. We are now led and guided in all things - trusting the Holy Spirit just like Jesus did.

As a result we are not only born of the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, but have the Spirit of the Lord resting upon us - the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Our delight now is in the fear of the LORD, and we do not judge by the sight of our eyes, nor decide by the hearing of our ears; But with righteousness we judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; we strike the earth with the rod of our mouths, and with the breath of His lips we slay the wicked for there is great power in our spoken words; the same power that created heaven and earth when God spoke and caused all things to come forth; the same power of the Holy Spirit that is now in us and upon us and is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask, think or pray as we yield to that power, just like Jesus did. The Bible says, “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 61:9). The Lord Jesus Christ has every good thing in abundance in store for us. He knows when to give good things to us at the right time. We are blessed and not cursed and the blessings of Abraham will come down upon us.! God’s word is true:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14

Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am." So He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes." Genesis 46:2-4

C. H. Spurgeon wrote:

Jacob must have shuddered at the thought of leaving the land of his father's sojourning, and dwelling among heathen strangers. It was a new scene, and likely to be a trying one: who shall venture among couriers of a foreign monarch without anxiety? Yet the way was evidently appointed for him, and therefore he resolved to go. This is frequently the position of believers now--they are called to perils and temptations altogether untried: at such seasons let them imitate Jacob's example by offering sacrifices of prayer unto God, and seeking His direction; let them not take a step until they have waited upon the Lord for His blessing: then they will have Jacob's companion to be their friend and helper. How blessed to feel assured that the Lord is with us in all our ways, and condescends to go down into our humiliations and banishments with us! Even beyond the ocean our Father's love beams like the sun in its strength. We cannot hesitate to go where Jehovah promises His presence; even the valley of death shade grows bright with the radiance of this assurance. Marching onwards with faith in their God, believers shall have Jacob's promise. They shall be brought up again, whether it be from the troubles of life or the chambers of death. Jacob's seed came out of Egypt in due time, and so shall all the faithful pass unscathed through the tribulation of life, and the terror of death. Let us exercise Jacob's confidence. "Fear not," is the Lord's command and His divine encouragement to those who at His bidding are launching upon new seas; the divine presence and preservation forbid so much as one unbelieving fear. Without our God we should fear to move; but when He bids us to, it would be dangerous to tarry. Reader, go forward, and fear not.

Yes! Marching onwards with faith in their God, believers shall have Jacob's promise. They shall be brought up again, whether it be from the troubles of life or the chambers of death because God is good and He is faithful! His word is true:

And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 2 Chronicles 20:15

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Galatians 3:18

True believers live and walk through the battles and storms of life claiming and standing on the promises of God in the word of God that are appropriate to their situation. And 2 Peter 1:4 tells us that we have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises! And Hebrews 11:33-34 tells us of those who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. For true believers the promises of God activate the miracles of God without which there is no victory! And God’s word is unchanging:

"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD! Ezekiel 36:1

The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Ezekiel 37:1-4

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:50

Today we have all kinds of prophets in the church of the flesh who prophesy things which God didn’t tell them to prophesy! And that is not only hogwash but it leads to destruction and even death, spiritual and physical! True prophesy must be made by the prompting of the Spirit of God and by the flesh!

Then we have those who find a particular passage of scripture they like and apply it to every situation which is also nonsense. God told the children of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho for seven days only one. He didn’t repeat this word again for victory against their enemies?

So we cannot march around things in Jesus name to gave victory over different enemies like many Pentecostal and Faith churches I know have done and are doing!

Jesus didn’t always use the same method to bring healing or miracle to people and He never asked for money as a condition for prayer which many false ones have done and do?

The one shoe fits all approach is very dangerous and destructive when applied to scriptures which we see in many churches of the flesh. We must not only have the Spirit of God in all things but we must know the Scriptures from cover to cover and to know what other scriptures say on the same subject before we formulate our doctrine or plan of action concerning anything including dealing with enemies or serious problems!

The word of God clearly tells us that presumption can be very hurtful and even deadly as the Children of Israel found out after they rebelled to go into the Promised Land:

And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!" And Moses said, "Now why do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. "Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. "For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you." But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop; nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah. Numbers 14:40-45

Dr. Larry Ollison in his article Believing a Lie Can Be Deadly writes:

All truth originates with God. The Bible says in Titus 1:2, "It is impossible for God to lie." Again in Hebrews 6:18, it says the same thing, "It is impossible for God to lie." In contrast, Satan is a liar. Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan "does not stand in the truth" and that "there is no truth in him."

The fact that Satan is a liar would not present much of a problem if the lies of Satan were clearly identified as lies. But, unfortunately, they are not. He is the master of deception.

From the time of his fall from heaven until now, Satan has deceived many. He convinced one third of the heavenly hosts that he could rise up and be like God. Like most liars, he began to believe his own lie. He told himself that he had the power to overthrow God and His Kingdom and make it his own.

His lie was so convincing that one third of all the created heavenly beings united with him and attempted to overthrow God and his Kingdom. They attempted to place Satan on a throne in heaven.

For the angels to stand against God, they must have truly believed they had a good chance of defeating Him. After all, Satan, their leader, was sure of himself. He was beautiful. He was powerful.

However, when the battle was over, Satan and one third of the angels were cast out of heaven. Even though they believed they could defeat God as Satan had told them, they still lost the battle. Just believing a lie is true and acting on the lie as if it were the truth, does not make it true. The angels acted on what they thought was truth, but they were still cast out of heaven. Acting on a lie is deadly.

Today the devil still cannot produce truth because there is "none in him." He is a liar. With hate in his heart, Satan still believes that he can somehow defeat God. With his ability to make a lie look like the truth, he plans daily to destroy God's creation, man. Destroying man gives him great pleasure.

Satan's method of attack is still through his mouth. First, he lies, disguising the lie in beauty and the appearance of truth. He then convinces man to believe that the lie is truth. Then man acts on what he thinks is truth and is destroyed.

As Christians we should be able to recognize his lies. A banker once told me that the best training for discovering a counterfeit bill is to study the real thing. He said he would have his employees sit and study real money closely for hours. He wanted them to know the bills so well that when a counterfeit bill came along, they would immediately notice something was wrong.

This is the way we are to be concerning the truths of God. We are to study His Word daily. We are to meditate upon it and let it sink deeply into our hearts. We need the Word to become so alive within us that we know God's nature instinctively. Then when we hear a whisper we know is not God, we can say as Jesus did, "Get thee behind me, Satan."

Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice." We must be able to recognize His voice without question and obey it without hesitation.

Have you ever thought something was true and then found out later it wasn't? Everything you did from the time you believed the lie until the time you discovered the truth was in vain. The only things that count are the things you do that are based on truth.

Chapter 7
The Fullness Of Christ

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:16-21

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:14

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; Ephesians 4:13

If we discovered who we truly are in Christ Jesus we would see ourselves in the role of the one with the anointing of the Holy Ghost of Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 freely giving what God had given us. We would be believers who, instead of begging for a little touch from Jesus, are letting His very life flow out to others. God’s word is unchanging:

Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138:6-8

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

Yes, if we discovered who we could be we would pray and say Loving Heavenly Father, I surrender myself at Your holy feet and plead You to lead me according to Your will. Let not what pleases me happen in my life, but let Your will be done in my life. You be my shelter. Let my deed, speech, and everything I do on this earth be ever pleasing at Your sight. Take away all the problems from my life that gives pain to my heart. Make me a living testimony so that I can glorify Your name. I surrender my life into Your hands. Father, I cast all my burdens onto You and give me victory over them. Keep me in perfect peace and fill my life with joy and lovingkindness. Perfect all the things that concern me and bless me. Teach me to abide in you. Guide me in Your Everlasting Way. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Of course to be who we truly need to be we will need miracles! But then our God is a God of miracles who loves to give miracles to people especially the poor and needy! He loves to pour out His Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and make the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be a forest. So that 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. Then His people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32:15-18). And God has no problem take the vineyard from others and lease it to those who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus told all:

"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

"Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. "Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. "And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. "Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. "Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' "But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' "So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." Matthew 21:33-41

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

In Christ Jesus God has already not only given us His best but has performed His greatest miracles. So all the others miracles that we need in life are just pocket change freely given to us from a God of love! Jesus told us in John 14:13-14 "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. He has promised to meet each and every need in our life (John 14: 14). He has promised to make all the crooked paths straight and perfect everything for us all (Psalm 138:8). We can rejoice in the fact that our gracious God will never withhold any good thing from us. He will open doors for us, to meet all our needs whatever they might be and make us happy (Psalm 121:1,2).

The Bible says that Jesus healed all who were oppressed by the devil. He was moved with compassion at their helpless state and did a miracle for them and so will He do a miracle for us. However we must do our part first including seeking first the kingdom of God and submitting to God. The bible clearly tells us:

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. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? 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. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:4-10

I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138:1-8

And when we think of God and the work of His hands we must not forget the following facts:

1) God blessed Abraham in all things. and he had become great; and God has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

2) God gave David victory over all his enemies as well as the wealth of his enemies

3) God restored to Job double his losses and added 140 years to his life

4) God supernaturally made Solomon one of the richest persons in the universe

5) Jesus Christ not only lived in the Spirit at all times but operated in all the gifts of the Spirit including the gift of miracles as well as demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit and drove money changers out of the House of God

6) God gave to Hezekiah, Elisha and Jehoshaphat supernatural victory over all their enemies as well as great spoils of War

7) Jesus Christ who is God and a man of War is the same yesterday today and forever and is ready to do the same for those who believe see Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 11:33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 11:34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Sis. Evangeline Paul Dhinakaran of Jesus Calls Ministry tells us of how good Jesus Christ is and how He loves to perform miracles:

The Lord Jesus Christ will be like a mother and provide all good things for us. The Bible says that God provides us richly with everything for us to enjoy. When Lord Jesus was in this world people thronged Him for a miracle. He did their desired miracle and made them happy.

Once, Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples and His mother were invited to a wedding at Cana. The hosts ran out of wine and Mary, mother of Lord Jesus told Him the situation and expressed their concern. The Lord told the servants to fill the huge water pots that were there with water. He then turned the water into wine. When the master of feast was offered the newly made wine, he exclaimed that it tasted the best and wondered as how the best wine was saved to the end (John 2:1-10).

The Lord performed many more miracles and the Bible says that the books of the world would not be enough to record the miracles that were performed by Him. The Lord not only gives us material blessings but also healing. The Bible says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Matthew 8:17 says He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sickness. So whatever may be the sickness and however grave it maybe, the Lord will heal it. He shed His spotless blood on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Further, He became poor for our sakes so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Dear friend, God restored all the good things through Lord Jesus Christ to mankind. Do you suffer problems physically, materially or in any other form? Seek the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be like a mother to you and promises to grant you all the blessings you desire when you ask in His name. The Lord says, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Ask whatever blessing you need and receive it so that your sorrow will be turned into joy.

Chapter 8
Believe It, Accept It, Confess It

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. Matthew 19:29

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6;12

God has done everything for us and all we have to do is to believe it, accept it, confess it and enter into all that He has for us!

The Blessing

Thank You, Lord, that the blessing is working in me, on me and around me. I declare that I am blessed when I come in and blessed when I come out. Jesus came to the earth to restore the blessing that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden when he sinned and because I am a child of God, I have a covenant right to the blessing! I declare that like Abraham, I am blessed to be a blessing until all families of the earth are blessed. Because of the blessing of God on my life, I am empowered to prosper in every endeavor that I take on and every project that I begin. I am blessed on my job and all my relationships are blessed. Like Joseph, those in authority over me see the blessing of God on my life and I have favor as a result. Thank You, Lord, for blessing me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. I am powerful, wealthy, influential and blessed! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Deliverance From Trouble Declaration

In the name of Jesus, I will not neglect my great salvation-soteria. I declare that I am established in "protection, preservation, prosperity, soundness, healing, deliverance and the ministry of angels." I will not fear. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Every tongue that rises up against me, I will condemn, for it is my heritage.

Thank You, Lord, for being my help in the time of trouble. When I call, You answer me. You are always with me. You deliver and honor me. No evil ever comes near my dwelling. With a long and prosperous life You will show me Your salvation.

I am established in Your Word. I declare that I am preserved from trouble. I overcome trouble by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. I am established in righteousness through Jesus. As the redeemed of the Lord, I declare this to be so right now.

In Jesus' name, I command Your angels to go forth now and bring this confession to pass in my life. I believe and I have received the manifestation of these promises.

Angel Power Confession

Because I am the righteousness of God, angels have been sent to minister to me. They respond to the Word of God which I speak. Therefore, I loose angels with the words of my mouth.

I say today, let the Lord be magnified who takes pleasure in my prosperity. In the name of Jesus, I command the angels to bring to me prosperity in my spirit, in my home, in my body, in my family life, and in my finances.

I declare promotion and command the angels to bring promotion into my life. I have a blood-bought covenant promise from God Almighty to multiply exceedingly. Therefore, I confess I am exceedingly fruitful and blessed, right now, in Jesus’ name! I command the angels of God to go and bring this covenant to pass in my life now! I have the power to get wealth, and release the angels to bring wealth into my life.

I declare right now that I am healthy, healed, delivered, and freed from the bondage of sin. I am the head always, and never the tail. I am above only, and never beneath. I lend, not borrow, and everything I put my hands to prospers.

I walk in the favor of God and my favor is increased even as I am speaking. I have more than enough money to pay every bill that comes in, and I declare I am totally debt-free now! I have the authority of Heaven and in the name of Jesus, I declare that whatever I bind on the Earth, is bound in Heaven, and whatever I loose on the Earth, is loosed in Heaven.

I am free from unforgiveness and I set my will to forgive anybody for anything, no matter what! I walk in the love of God toward everyone, no exceptions! I send my angels forth right now, to do God’s pleasure and bring these words to pass. Angels, go now, and minister prosperity unto me, in Jesus’ name!

Father, I thank You in advance for all You have done on my behalf. Like You, I’ve declared what will be and am committed to calling those things that be not as though they are. Right now I rejoice, and I’m exceedingly glad that you have granted to me the petitions I have requested, while I am yet speaking. My total life prosperity is settled now, and with great expectation, I will continuously speak faith-filled words, and allow my every word and thought to confirm what I believe I have received, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Answered Prayer

In the name of Jesus, I declare that I have a blood-bought right to answered prayer. The Word of God is my guarantee. Father, by prayer, supplication and with thanksgiving, I can make my requests known to You. You hear the prayer of the righteous and answer them. Your eyes are on me and Your ears are open to hear my prayers.

I am connected to Christ Jesus, and I am anointed. In everything I do I am more than a conqueror. Because I abide in You, and Your Word abides in me, I see the manifestation of answered prayer. When I speak Your Word, it does not return without accomplishing what it was sent to do.

Lord, I thank You that I walk in favor with man and with You. Wherever I go and whatever I do, Your favor goes before me. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. Therefore, I believe I receive what I pray for right now. In Jesus' name, Amen!

My Right to Answered Prayer

As the righteousness of God, we don't have to beg God to hear and answer our prayers. We have a right to stand boldly in His presence and get all the answers you need. Begging does not motivate Him.

Many believers have a case of "mistaken identity." They mistake their relationship with God as a Master-to-slave, rather than a Father-to-child, relationship. They relate to Him like a slave relates to his owner. A slave begs and accepts whatever crumbs fall off of his master's table. A child, on the other hand, knows he has every right to live well, just like his father.

God can't and doesn't find pleasure in faithless prayer. Your prosperity and faith please Him (Psalm 35:27; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). Therefore, go into His presence with confidence knowing that you are His child and have every right to the best in life. As the righteousness of God, you deserve all He has to offer. You have a divine inheritance of good health, wealth and total life prosperity!

Discipline and Healthy Living

In the name of Jesus, I declare that my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and I glorify God with it. I present a healthy body to God and discipline myself not to overeat. I only eat food that promotes health. The life of God flows through my spirit, soul and body, and brings healing to every fiber of my being. I am redeemed from the curse of the law, and no weapon of sickness or disease formed against me will prosper. Amen!

Declaring War on Lust and Greed

In the name of Jesus, I declare right now that I am free from lust and addiction to pornography and form greed. Lord, Your Word says that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. I am led by Your Spirit; therefore, I do not fulfill the evil desires of the flesh. I will never again be entangled in lustful thoughts or actions or pursue any form of Greed.

Your anointing-Your burden-removing, yoke-destroying power-has released me from these sins for good. I declare that no weapon formed against me will prosper or keep me from fulfilling my divine destiny. You began a good work in me and are faithful to complete it. As the redeemed of the Lord and as the righteousness of God, whatever I say in faith is so. Lord, be it unto me according to Your Word. Amen!

Receiving the Wealth of the Wicked

In the name of Jesus, I'm out of debt, my needs are met and I have plenty more to put in store. I walk in abundance and good health daily. Lord, Your Word says that it is Your will for me to prosper and excel in every area of my life.

Because I am a faithful and wise steward over my finances, the wealth of the wicked is being transferred into my hands. I know what to do with it because I place You first in all things. You direct my path and give me wisdom to manage what You have placed in my hands. As a believer, I am blessed to be a blessing until all families of the earth have been blessed.

I am a distribution center. I am a money magnet. Money cometh to me now! I command unexpected and expected income to come my way. Lord, I receive Your blessing-Your power to get wealth-right now. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Developing Confidence in God

In the name of Jesus, I declare that my prayers are earnest and heartfelt. They connect me to the supernatural power of God. I seek after Him and experience His power in my life. In faith I humble myself, pray continually and turn from wickedness. I am confident that when I pray according to God's Word, I am praying in line with His will and that He hears me. I believe I receive the manifestation of my confessions now!

Taking Authority over Emotions

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me healthy emotions. I declare that negative emotions will not impact my decisions, neither will they dictate my responses to difficult circumstances. I will submit my feelings to You in every situation that I encounter in life. You have given me authority over the power of the enemy, and I declare that nothing shall by any means hurt me, including people and situations that try to negatively influence my emotions. When I feel overwhelmed by life, or troubled by negative emotions, like Jesus, I will pray and keep moving forward. I bind depression, anxiety, worry, fear, doubt, anger, rejection and any other negative emotion that tries to attack my mind. I possess power, love and a sound mind. I thank You, Father, that I walk in peace, joy and the comfort of the Holy Ghost. I have the mind of Christ and my emotions are controlled by the Word of God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The Inner Image of the Covenant Confessions

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I make a decision today to refuse to allow my life to be governed by Satan and his negative images. I take authority over my imagination, and purposefully use it as my architectural center. With it, I draw the blueprint for my life as it is outlined in Your Word. Today, I spoil, disrupt, uproot, and utterly abolish negative images. In the name of Jesus I declare that I see myself exactly how You see me. I have a prosperous inner image that mirrors your Word, and I only see what Your Word says. Never again will I imagine death, corruption, lack, poverty, or anything else that contradicts Your Word.

Because You’ve given me hope through Your Word, I am now using that hope to draw a blueprint for success. And because I’ve seen it, I’ve conceived it; because I’ve conceived it, it shall be born.

Power and authority have been given unto me, and I step into it, now! In Jesus’ name, I declare that I am not an ignorant Christian, for people have been destroyed for lack of knowledge. What I’ve obtained today, I will now use against Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

Lord, from this day forward, I operate in my authority. Satan, I bind you. You are bound in the name of Jesus Christ! Your ploys against me are useless. I am a child of the Most High, and you can’t touch me!

With boldness and confidence I declare I will not be defeated, and I will not quit. For with patience and earnest expectation, I am apprehending my destiny! I am victorious, and declare victory in all that I do!

The days of failure, lack, insufficiency, sickness, and depression are over! This is the day that the Lord has made, and marvelous things happen on the day of the Lord. Send now prosperity! Send now victory! Send now blessings! Send now success! Send now miracles, healing and deliverance! I receive it all, and I see myself having it all, now! Everything the Word of God says I have, is mine, and has been since the day Jesus died for me! I am blessed, prosperous, healthy, and rich! And that’s exactly how I see myself!

Chapter 9
Return, O LORD

Return, O LORD! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:1-17

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Corinthians 15:50

Sincerity and presumption are not a guarantee of anything including salvation! And works done in the flesh by the flesh are only wood, stubble and hay to be burned by fire and leave nothing at the end of any value! Unfortunately for them, there are many in “the church of the flesh” who don’t live and walk in the Spirit but in the flesh and as a result demonstrate the works of the flesh, including adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like ! God’s word is unchanging:

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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. Galatians 5:15-22

Just because you sing lustily in the flesh for an hour in the church doesn’t mean the power of God will come down, no more than masses of people singing in a local bar! For the anointing to come down in any place, someone must be in tune with God and open to the anointing. Then God can express Himself the manifestation of the gifts of the Sprit. This is something that doesn’t happen in the church of the flesh even though God’s word clearly states for the order for His people when they come together:

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:27-28

How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:26-33

God’s word doesn’t lie though others do! Churches that are devoid of miracles that can be tested and validated are not part of the true church of Jesus Christ for God has appointed in the church miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. They are only churches of the flesh and not of the Spirit! They have failed to understanding and appreciate that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and is a friend of the poor and needy! God’s word is unchanging:

Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all 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

"Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31

"The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ-He is Lord of all- "that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:36-38

Yes, 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 someone 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 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). God’s word is unchanging:

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

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Galatians 6:15

Yes if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Yes, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law including sickness, poverty and lack so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us. Yes we are new creature.. We are born again... there is no condemnation in Jesus Christ. Today we are a new person...We carry none of the baggage from yesterday. The old man is dead. Our prayers are answered by believing God loves me enough to tell us the truth. The truth is, if it's His will, it's ours (and ours childrens').

Few of us receive miracles from God because we believe the old baggage. We believe we deserve what our pasts tell us we deserve... we find it hard to break away from the treatment we've received all our lives. But Jesus died to remove all that sludge... the old curses.... we live in blessings and God wants us to walk into them. We have to walk into it alone, hopefully with the help of other Christians... but it's between us and God... no one else. When we look at all the people around us who suffer from this and that.. and it continues from one generation to the next. But we have the ability to stop it and live a healthy, prosperous, happy life. We must choose life. No death! No curse! Live... victory... exaltation.. favor. There is no room for Satan and his lies when we are filled with these things but only miracles and God’s blessings!

There is no one or nothing like Jesus who is unlimited in power, love and grace. He is greater than Mammon who whose power is limited. It will only buy so much. It will only go so far. Yes, if we need healing from an incurable disease, money won't help us at all. If our family is falling apart, money won't mend it. But God can and will do what others cannot do and He desires that they have the best on this earth, just as they desire the best for their children. His plan is for them to have all of their needs met according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Chapter 10
Who Has Bewitched You?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain-if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?- just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Galatians 3:1-9

According to the scriptures it’s possible for Christians to be bewitched, to suffer so many things in vain and to fail to understand and appreciate that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham and are blessed with believing Abraham. Now it’s a fact that Abraham’s blessings where both spiritual, financial and other! And in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love and a new creation.

Those who walk in the Spirit, do not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And 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; and 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 (Galatians 5:19-23).

Yes according to the word of God Christians cannot only be bewitched but be deceived. God’s word is unchanging:

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:7-10

But the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that nothing is impossible with God, no situation is too hopeless that He cannot fix or heal or even revive something that is dead! He is the God of the impossible and a great and wonderful miracle worker and victory is His middle name which He shares with all His children. His word is unchanging for His trusting ones even in their prisons or bondages:

"Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Genesis 18:14

'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. Jeremiah 32:17

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27

Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, "Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' "For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword: 'They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city. 'Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 'And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. 'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. 'Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.' "Thus says the LORD: 'Again there shall be heard in this place-of which you say, "It is desolate, without man and without beast"-in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 1 'the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: "Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever"- and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,' says the LORD. "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 'In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,' says the LORD. Jeremiah 33:1-13

Yes there is nothing too hard for God, Who made the heavens and the earth by His great power and outstretched arm, to do. He can heal a sick body, restore a broken marriage, make financial miracles, provide goodness and prosperity, bring the prodigal son or daughter back home, etc. He can do everything but fail His trusting ones! His word is true:

The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob. Isaiah 41:17-21

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

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

Yes, God is a good God who can be trusted no matter what is going on in the world. He is not like the others. He is good, faithful, true and compassionate! He is the salvation of the righteous and their strength in the time of trouble. He shall help them and deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him. He desires and wills that His children have total and complete victory in all the battles of life and be more than conquerors and overcomers. He doesn’t want them to just get by but to live in victory and prosperity and abundance. His wants to fight for them and to triumph gloriously on their behalf against all their enemies. His word is unchanging:

Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, "Ah, so we would have it!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me. Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long. Psalm 35:23-28

God’s seasons are not at the command of mortal men. Just because at the first stroke of the flint does not bring forth the fire, doesn’t mean there will not be a fire? God’s delays are not His denials. For His trusting true ones God always hears their prayers and will answer them in due season. Hence they have need of perseverance and endurance for the miracle answer will come from the God of miracles. They need not fear but are to let their hands be strong for God will save them and they shall be a blessing. As God’s power and resources are unlimited and not dependent on their limited power and resources. His word is unchanging:

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Psalm 20:1-6

My soul still remembers And sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:20-26

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 'for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; "and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'? "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, 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. Luke 11:5-10

Chapter 11
If You? Then I?

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. John 8:31

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7

God has loved to refer to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus, who descended from Abraham lineage, had strong argumentative discussions with the religionists of His day about abiding in His word, knowing the truth and being free indeed and who their true father was. Jesus said it was not Abraham but the devil. God’s Word is unchanging:

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

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." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?"

Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. "And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

"I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father-God."

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:28-45

Abraham was the father of faith, not only because He believed God, but because He was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac with out question. Just like our Father God did with Jesus. Abraham also had a quality of faith and works that God Himself brought out in His words to him:

And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, "since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."

And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." Genesis 18:17-21

Abraham, who was a wealthy person, commanded his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice. But many religionists of our day with their hedonistic and humanistic gospel and feministic Jesus have not understood how important justice is to God. Injustice brings God Himself to walk here on earth to deal with the outcries that have come to Him about it. God blessed Abraham for loving justice and righteousness but destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because there was no justice or righteousness in it. Many religionist of this century have missed a very important aspect of the purposes of the Holy Spirit and as well as God’s character, nature and ways about Justice. God’s Word is unchanging about the Holy Spirit that was on Jesus and is on God’s true anointed servants the following:

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. Isaiah 11:2-5

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." Isaiah 61:2-3

Justice is a very important aspect to God and His Holy Spirit and should be to His people in the confessions of their faith. God has called all His people 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. He 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 has called them to step out of their shells and secure places and bring hope to a dying nation. He has given them the tools to do the job. They have all the love and gifts they need to do what He has commanded them. They must simply step out and do it. If they did it in their masses, how great the change would be to the nation.

But God’s people have not obeyed Him. They have not listened to Him or the words that He spoke to Abraham their father of Faith. Instead God’s people have walked in their fears and insecurities. They have not allowed God to stretch them to do much more than they are doing. They had not listened to God voice calling them to action. Actions which they said spoke louder than words. They did not prove that they love Him, by obeying His Words to them.

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 1:16-20

They did not serve God by their action and He did not bless them for it and sent judgment instead. They were afraid that He would not also protect them. They did not understand that they had His authoritative word, Name and power. They had nothing to fear but fear itself for they had Him. They did not trust Him and His Word to accomplish the things He have called them to do to bring justice. He desired them to come forth and do justice for justice is very important to God. Although the harvest was vast and needy the laborers did not go out into the harvest to bring justice to the dry and this vast and needy land. Hence what prophet Isaiah wrote was true in America:

How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them. Isaiah 1:21-23

The church of Jesus Christ in America had no real leaders, just followers. It has no real Presence of God Person but a dead form and a lot of rhetoric. Even God was so tired of that hocus-pocus they call their worship of Him. He wanted the real thing - the true love and deep love of His real people. He was tired of dead traditions and outward form. God, the fountain of youth, wants the river of love of His children flow to Him from their outpoured hearts of love. For many their praise was genuine and He received it that way because all who teach them were not necessarily pure before Him. Yet, He forgives all for their genuine caring and openness with Him. But God’s word was going to be fulfilled even in America:

Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. Isaiah 1:24-28

God’s people did not understand that if they did their part He would do His part. This is a principle that God has instituted with His people and operates with them. Hence His word states:

"When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. "For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

"As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, "then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.'

"But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, "then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 2 Chronicles 7:13-20

The choices and resulting consequences belong to God’s people. If they walked before Him did according to all that He had commanded them and kept His statutes and His judgments, then He would have established the throne of their kingdom, as He had covenanted with them. But if they turned away and forsook His statutes and His commandments which He had set before them and served and worshiped other gods such as the god of mammon. Then He would uproot them from His land which He had given them and He would cast them of His sight.

Some would say that this can not be. But they fail to heed the words of Jesus who said about them and their confessions:

"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-"I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' " Revelation 3:15-22

Chapter 12
God Will Crush Satan Shortly

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen Romans 16:17-20

Divisions, strife, contention, deception, discord, disunity, strife, anger, wrath, murder, criticism, condemnation, pride, envy, jealously, gossip, slander, evil speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and wonders, poverty and sickness all come in one way or another Satan and his cohorts who must be crushed in our lives and not just endured! These are things and demons which must be overcome by Christ who strengthen us and have given us the power over all the power of the enemy!

Being born again opened up a whole new world to believers! It meant that we’re not just supposed to experience life on the earth with our natural senses and it all ends there. No! But as a spirit being born from above and born again, we’re to experience the heavenly realm with our spiritual senses. To live in that heavenly realm and to walk in the spirit is to live and believe as it is in heaven so let it be done on earth (Matt. 6:10). It is a fact that the whole ministry of Jesus Christ was a demonstration, picture, and manifestation of the kingdom of God. His whole ministry of the kingdom of God involved bringing creative power out of the heavens to override the natural and the impossible in the earth and to release the supernatural of God. The kingdom of God in our hearts and lives is to destroy or change all other kingdoms that are part of us!

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are God's property. By our declaration of faith Satan is to be bound from our family, our mind, our body, our home, and our finances! We are redeemed from the curse of the law including a whole slew of negative things that affects unbelievers. As a result we are to confess until it becomes a reality that we are healed and whole. We flourish, we have long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, full of peace, patience and love. Whatsoever we set our hands to do prosper for God supplies all of our needs. We have all authority over Satan, all demons and beasts of the field. God’s word is true:

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19

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 1:9-10

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Hebrews 11:32-34

Through faith, we are to claim a hedge of protection around ourselves, spouse and children and other family members throughout this day and night. We are to ask God, in the Name of Jesus, that He dispatches angels to surround ourselves, spouse and children and other family members today and put them throughout our house, and around our cars, souls and bodies. We are to pray in the Name of Jesus that God sends angels to protect our house and other possessions from intrusion and our family from demonic harm or other physical and mental attacks because we wrestle not against flesh and blood. God’s word is true:

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. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints- Ephesians 6:11-18

Every time we pray, if we do so correctly, God’s mighty power is released and made available to bring victory and breakthrough into even seemingly impossible situations. We do not need to overcome God’s reluctance when we pray. That is not the problem. Everything we need is already paid for and created by the work of the cross. But we must take hold of it through the heart of faith and the voice of prayer and make God’s power available in the earth. We have an active part in the Kingdom of God coming to earth as it is in heaven. Who is going to do this praying? Every believer is called to prayer. It is a gift that Jesus has given us.

Our position is one of victory. Because of our position in Christ, we pray boldly and with great confidence. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we are actually seated in heavenly places with Him. We have a position in the spirit realm, and we pray from that spiritual position – seated with Christ! We don’t pray from defeat, circumstances, or because we’re under attack. We pray out of our position of who we are in Christ, seated in heavenly places, redeemed by the blood, a child of God; we pray because of what Jesus has done for us.

As a result we can break curses and attacks sent against us in Jesus’ name, such as, sickness, disease, strokes, heart attacks, tumors, cancers, alzhiemers, or even a simple flu getting out of control. These can be natural because sin or they can be persistent, perpetrated, organized attacks against us. Because of jealousy and hatred, Satan and his demonic forces want to destroy people. His human servants or agents want to destroy Christians as well. And they will work together to cause all these ailments listed above and more.

Satan’s wimps such as witches and wizards and even so called Christian pastors will send curses at believers. They can astral project as demonically trained or remote viewers can come to see them. They can see believers but believers are not spiritual enough to see them. As a matter of fact most believers are blind when it comes to the spiritual realm, so they are at a spiritual disadvantage. Their unbelief works for their cause against them to break their body down and cause these ailments to take effect against them through demonic power. It’s the most effective and subtle form of assassination tactic the enemy has.

Many pastors or Christian have been complete deceived if not demonized as they cannot tell the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and the works of the devil. Demons give people a religious experience that causes them to throw aside everything Biblical. They possess people who are not Baptized with the Holy Spirit and they will torment those who have been Baptized with the Holy Spirit. In many “Third Wave” or “Vineyard” churches the leadership there cannot tell the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and demons and demons have to be cast out of God fearing people who received them by transference of spirits in those meetings.

The victimized people have the symptoms of possession which people seem to be unable to recognize. They have no control over their physical bodies and since demons will imitate the symptoms of various physical, mental and emotion disorders. Most of them look like they are suffering from epilepsy with uncontrollable shaking and twitching, constantly doubling over. They do not speak in tongues but make strange noises which mimic the gift of tongues: barking like dogs and making other animalistic sounds. The so-called prophecy is unscriptural and false when examined by Scripture. The violence of belly bumping is not ministry. The kicking people as a method of healing is not done by the encouragement of the Holy Spirit but rather from the one of whom Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they might have life , and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10: 10). What is being portrayed by these deceived demonized ones is NOT ABUNDANT LIFE. God’s word is unchanging:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1

Jesus warned these deceived ones that He will “blot his name out of the book of life” (Rev. 3: 5). This is what Judson Cornwall wrote about in his book, “Let Us Praise” , which he called “the worship of demons” (1 Cor. 10: 20; Rev. 9: 20). This is what is called a “familiar spirit” or plainly a demon. I have cast these kinds of demons into the abyss who have come to people’s home pretending to be the spirits of the dead relatives says Dr. Pat Holiday.

It is not God’s fault that most of God’s people are spiritually blinded. It is theirs. He has given His people the Word of God and spiritual leaders that can help them but they choose to follow those who are spiritually blind and materialistic. These so called spiritual people that walk in darkness lead them to have doubts about Jesus Christ and His Word. This causes them to become spiritually weak. Jesus said in (Matt 15:13-14), “But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

The present day church is apostate and it has come to enjoy wild fire of the demonic powers and cannot react to the true anointing of God. There is only “one anointing” and that “anointing” is Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 2: 27). To seek other so-called anointings is to open the door to evil spirits (demons) who will possess and harass and cause sickness and death. Jesus warned, “False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect” (Mk. 13: 22). And, it is happening today.

“How can so many Christians be deceived?” Most churches & pastors have rebelled against the necessity to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 4), the authentic “signs” of a real believer (Mk. 16: 17- 20) and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 6-8; 1 Cor. 12: 8- 10) and, therefore, church members have absolutely no way to tell the difference between the authentic “gifts from heaven” and the devil’s counterfeits (Thess. 2: 9). There is only one “order of worship” in the New Testament (1 Cor. 14: 26- 40). If followed, our worship is “done decently and in order”. If it is not followed, our worship services are “indecent and out of order”.

Many people try to suggest that they would rather have the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5: 22-23). There is no such choice. No gifts means no fruit. Paul commanded~ “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12: 2) which is done by using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit so people can have their needs met (Rom. 12: 6- 8). Because most Christians have rejected the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, they are easily deceived because they cannot tell the difference between the authentic gifts of the Holy Spirit and Satan’s counterfeits (2 Thess. 2: 9).

As believers the Lord will protect us. But He also expects us to learn how to recognize the false prophets the attacks from them and Satan and his cohorts and break them off ourselves through His Name. In John 16:24, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” It is through the power of His name that we are able to overcome the wiles of the Devil. God’s word is unchanging:

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. "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 16:15-20

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

Chapter 13
All Authority In Heaven And On Earth

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

It is a fact of life that anyone who embarks upon going all the way with the LORD will be rejected and falsely accused, attacked and cut off (financially) by the antichrist spirit operating in the organized church world (See Matt. 10:22; Jn. 16:1-3; Matt. 5:10). And they will be ousted by those professing to know Christ, namely those in positions of leadership. Jesus was! Paul was! The Jewish prophets were!

Scripture tells us that "ALL" authority has been given unto our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ and He only gives it to those who obey Him (Matt. 28:18-20; Jn. 14:21,23; 2 Cor. 10:6; etc.). The unchanging Son of God, in whom "ALL" authority is vested, never grants His divine authority to any person who holds a position of leadership in a corporate setting - unless that individual is abiding fully in Him which is rare For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10). Yes power and greed corrupts people including pastors and preachers.

How much power/authority has been given to the Son of God? "ALL power!" What/Where is the sphere of this power specifically? “Heaven and in earth." Where do we live? On us on “earth?” And if we are living in fervent obedience to the Master of the Universe in Whom all authority abides we can have much of God’s power entrusted to us for God’s word is true:

"For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. John 3:34-35

"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

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Ephesians 3:20

It’s to be noted that while on earth, Jesus walked a life flawlessly committed to His Father and purposely did not commit Himself to mere men. Unlimited authority was invested in Him (Jn. 2:24-25; 3:34; 5:30, etc.). And God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) As a result God can anoint His true ones with the Holy Ghost and with power to go about doing good, and healing all that are oppressed of the devil!

However there are the 5 sins listed here that kept God's people out of His blessings. We all need to L.I.F.T.M. up to the LORD in repentance and for His perfect forgiveness and cleansing. God the Holy Spirit warns us here through Paul's pen (1 Cor. 10:1-13), that Israel and these sins are "examples" (v6,11) to all NT believers. God destroys those who go back on Him after knowing Him (transgressors - Ps 68:21, 73:28, 125:5, etc.). If not ridded out of our lives, any one of these 5 sins WILL keep us out of our promised land. God is holy (Heb. 12:14). As taken in order from 1 Cor. 10:6-10, here are those 5 sins:

• Lust

• Idolatry

• Fornication

• Tempting Christ

• Murmuring

This simple acronym should help us to remember these sins and remain separate from them as we grow today to know and love our Savior more fervently. "Keep thyself pure." (1 Timothy 5:22)

If the Holy Spirit has quickened any offences of our heart, we are simply L.I.F.T.M. up to Christ the Redeemer, Forgiver, Cleanser, and Transformer of lives. And we are to note the words of Jesus who told His disciples that men always ought to pray and not lose heart:

"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

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8

But for some people the whole process of touching Jesus 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, who 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 who were miraculously delivered from their Egyptian captors and spoils with the wealth and riches of Egypt from going into the promised land. Only Joshua and Caleb who had a different spirit in them and has followed the LORD fully, did He bring into the land where they went, and their descendants inherited it. God’s word is unchanging:

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 was the physical inheritance appointed for Israel, so the promises of God, offered through Jesus, are the spiritual inheritance appointed for Christians in this dispensation. The same principles that applied to Israelites then apply to Christians now.

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. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”

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.

Chapter 14
The Battle Is The Lord’s?

'The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 'and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.' Deuteronomy 1:30-31

Victory is given in battle, not outside of battle, for those who trust solely in the Lord like a shepherd boy David did when he came up against Goliath and stated “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, whom you have defied. "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:45-46) Mind you fearful cowardly ones like King Saul never go into battle but run away from it! But God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:9-12

It is true that for each battle that we’re engaged in and all the conflicts that we’ll face in the future we can be encouraged by an ancient promise the Lord made through King Jehoshaphat when Judah was facing the possibility of an enemy attack. “Thus says the LORD to you: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Yes, the Bible is filled with life-giving promises about how God comes to our defense against the enemy. Paul (the apostle) said, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies . . . . Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:33-34).

But there are a few battles in the realm of the flesh and spirit that are insidious which we must fight ourselves or we will be taken captive by the enemy and even destroyed by Him for lack of knowledge about the filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

Demons or fallen spirits inhabit bodies of people even Christians especially spirit of lusts, infirmity, pride, arrogance, lying etc. These fallen spirits cause people whom they have in bondage to react in a certain way such as being puffed up with pride or continually telling lies. Christ saves and redeems our spirit but we rule over our emotions and our minds which are the play ground of the devil and results in strongholds. A stronghold in the life of a Christian is not a demon. A stronghold gives demon a place to live in a body. Demons can only access a person if he gives him room. A stronghold is a house of wrong thinking. But through Christ the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled. A stronghold is a thinking pattern, a stronghold of error that gives the enemy a place to reside in our lives. And one of the easy ways for a Christian to create a stronghold in his or her life is not to walk in righteousness and holiness. God’s word is unchanging:

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:20-32

Wrong and improper words and actions or the lack of them, produce strongholds in our lives that give room to the devil and then demons come in and create havoc in our lives that is even destructive. It’s a fact that not all wrong and improper words or actions are intentional. Many times they just happen because of the enemy who walks about like a roaring lion looks for whom he may devour. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. (John 10:10).

In a day of computers that we live in, even the most expensive and powerful computer can end up being full of unwanted viruses and junk. But there are programs that will get rid of them and keep them out? Similarly Jesus Christ, Himself, the Lion of Judah, who is in us, is greater than the devil who is in the world. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and that we may have life and have it more abundantly. He is more than able break every chain and gives us the victory again and again and enables us to pull down every stronghold. God’s word is unchanging:

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:5-11

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Matthew 10:1

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

A paradox of modern day Christianity is that it has become a religion of words by men who have a form of godliness and deny its power rather than a demonstration of power by a mighty God! Yet God’s word is unchanging:

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

We see in these passages of scriptures that sickness and diseases are oppressions by the devil whom anointed ones like Philip and Jesus healed! And modern day Christianity knows very little about demons and casting them out? God’s word is unchanging:

'Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:31

'And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. Leviticus 20:16

“Familiar spirits”[i] is the designation of a specific type of evil spirit. It is so classified because of its chief characteristic: namely, familiarity. It is a relationship, a familiarity, with a person or personality. For example, a woman, whom Paul encountered in Macedonia, had a familiar spirit which gave her powers of divination and Paul dealt with it. God’s word is true:

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour. Acts 16:16-18

Familiar spirits are common amid the practices of spiritism and witchcraft, but their activity is by no means limited to persons and practices so obviously occult. Evil spirits are personalities. They can reason, decide, express emotions and communicate. Personalities have the capacity to relate to one another. Two human personalities can form a relationship; and, through communication and communion, that relationship can be enhanced. Likewise, a person can form and develop a close relationship with an evil spirit. When a person forms a relationship with an evil spirit (which can be done either willfully or through ignorance), he then has a familiar spirit.

Satan assigns one of these spirits to an individual or family. The basic idea is to determine whether or not a particular party is susceptible to spiritual things. If the person is the least bit susceptible, the demon spirit starts watching the individual closely from the outside spiritual realm. The spirit "starts a file", you might say, and watches the intimate things that an individual does, making notes on everything. The spirit may not have the legal right to demonize the individual, but it accumulates detailed information as to everything personal and intimate that takes place in their life and their family. After a while, the demon spirit learns exactly how the victim will respond to various stimuli. The spirit can actually determine patterns of thought by using the power of suggestion.

In this file the familiar spirit collects details of things like: the person's talents, habits, neighbors, resources, friends, enemies, mental abilities, educational abilities, responses to many varied situations, etc... He becomes "familiar" with everything in that individuals life, without being noticed, because he is in the spiritual realm. Once the familiar spirit becomes very familiar with the "do's" and "don'ts" of a person, he works the best he can to manipulate that person and to influence him in certain situations.

Communication is the chief characteristic of a familiar spirit. The spirit responds quickly to the summons of the medium. A medium, such as the witch of Endor whom Saul consulted (I Sam. 28:7), is a go-between which forms a communication link between the earthly world and the demonic realm. Thus, anyone who becomes a channel of communication for an evil spirit is a medium. He has a familiar spirit.

A familiar spirit is something that a person has, because it is a personality identified with a certain individual. Most people are blind to the existence of spirits such as Fear, Stupidity, Rebellion, Epilepsy, Superstition, Blasphemy, Bitterness, Murder, Anger, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Death, Infirmity, Bipolar Disorder and more! Additional topics include: Mind Control, Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), Hearing Voices, Dissociate Identity Disorder, False Memory Syndrome, unclean sexual-spirit manifestations. In the same sense that one has a book, a friend or a cold, one can be personally identified with a demon spirit. God’s word is unchanging:

In the same sense that one has a book, a friend or a cold, one can be personally identified with a demon spirit. God’s word is unchanging:

These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19:

These seven abominations in a person life are usually inspired by familiar or unclean spirits. A particular evil spirit carries an attitude of superiority, haughtiness, boasting, and arrogance and tries to draw believers into these negative attitudes. He targets individual believers as well as groups with the temptation to be prideful. Although the bible says not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to (Romans 12:3) this promotes self and self-serving agendas. Those who don’t watch out for a false confidence and keep a humble trust in the Lord when God uses them can fall prey to this spirit and puff up their pride and deceive them into placing their worth and identity on what they think they are rather than who they are in Christ.

As a result many Christians are seduced by familiar spirits and depend more on their giftings, charisma, finances, traditions, programs, or favor with their denomination, than on the Holy Spirit. They forge ahead by their natural talents and abilities, losing sight of Jesus. Rather than depending and trusting the Voice of God they are operating in the flesh doing things by the flesh, not by the Spirit. As a result all their works are just empty devoid of love and are just wood stubble and hay that will be burnt in the big bon fire in the sky. God’s word is unchanging:

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15

Chapter 15
If You Can Believe?

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19

"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:19-20

It’s God people who have the power and authority over all the power of the enemy and not vice a versa! Through the name of Jesus they can subdue and change all things. They can bind at will the enemy and all His works and they can speak the word and command things to come forth. For God’s word is true:

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. Matthew 17:20

Jesus Christ, the author and founder of the Christian faith, doesn’t lie and His words are true. 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. God’s people can speak to their mountains, what every they might be, and command them to be and even become a nonexistent thing and it will happen. Nothing will be impossible if they believe God. For God’s word is unchanging:

Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 'Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD." ' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." ' "

So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.' " Ezekiel 37:1-14

To prophesy is to speak the Word of God and call things forth to life, even from the dead, just like Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And his friend Lazarus, who had died, came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." For God’s word is unchanging:

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Matthew 8:13

When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes were opened…" Matthew 9:27-30

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Mark 9:23

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:23-24

Yes, according to your faith things will be done. "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Whoever says to a mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

The LORD remains always to His true ones THE GREAT I AM! God has given them the Kingdom when He had given them His only Son and His wonderful counselor the Holy Spirit. All of the Kingdoms great resources and power and Persons are at their disposal because of the name, which is above every name. The name of Jesus that is above every principality, power, diseases, sickness, lack, shortage, mountain, lack, enemy, need and thing under the sun or in the darkness.

Though, little they are not small. Though, weak they are not without resources. Though, helpless they are not without wisdom. Though, defenseless they are not without a defender. Their answer is always their Savior. He is their source of total supply. He is their friend and defender. They are to look to Him and not to the world, their friends, their family or themselves. There is no other who can deliver them but He Himself. He has not deserted them and has only begun His fight for He is their Lord and Savior.

God will provide for His true ones as well as all the things that the gentiles seek. That is for those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. As their Heavenly Father He has an obligation to provide for His true and trusting children, to those who look to Him the author and finisher of their faith. He will provide everything, even miraculously and give peace from the storm of lack of things. He has already given them His beloved Rainbow Jesus and all the riches and spiritual provisions that go along with it.

God is not limited at all. He has all the power of the universe at His disposal and He will not leave His anointed and true children desolate or destitute in any way. Because they are the friends of Jesus they are His friends also and they are all friends together. His word is true:

"The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob. Isaiah 41:17-22

"Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him." For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:1-3

God has not and He will not change! He Who has done something once before can and will do it again for His true ones. Just like He took impossible circumstances and situations and turned them around completely for Joseph, Job and Jesus. The bible records that these innocent men found themselves in very difficult and unusual circumstances and troubles. Yet through it all God delivered them and made them more than conquerors. Since Jesus Christ is the Miracle Working God and the same yesterday, today and forever He still able to save from the uttermost all those who come to Him. Hence the psalmist testified and said:

I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:4-10

God, unlike many others, is not a respecter of persons and shows partiality to no one. When the poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. So why are not people calling upon the Lord to be saved out of all their troubles? Or do they love their troubles so much that they want to remain in them?

You definitely cannot taste and see that the Lord is good and blessed is the man who trusts in Him until you have troubles? Then it’s a good time to find out how merciful, gracious, powerful and compassionate God truly is! For there is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing including deliverance from trouble and evil and wicked men.

Chapter 16
Behold, This Is Our God

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:3-10

I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalm 138:2

We don’t live by our feelings or negative circumstances whatever they might be but by the Word of God which has created and sustains heaven and earth and has promised us “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” The name of Jesus is above any name that is mentioned in heaven or in earth yet God has magnified His word above all His name. And God’s word has promised the believer many things including:

1) They can call upon God in the day of trouble; He will answer them. He will deliver them and honor them (Psalm 50:15, 91:15, Malachi 4:1-3)

2) God will give them victory over all their enemies whomever or whatever they might be (Exodus 23:22, Deuteronomy 20:1-4, Psalm 44:5-7, 60:12, 108:13, 1 Corinthians 15:7)

3) God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in them (Ephesians 3:20)

4) God will heal and deliver them (Psalm 91:14-16, Malachi 4:1-3)

5) God will perfect, establish, prosper, strengthen, and settle them (Psalm 35:27, 138:8, 1 Peter 5:10)

6) They can cast their burden on God, and He shall sustain them; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:6-7)

7) God can and will open windows in heaven but scoffers and unbelievers will see them but not enjoy them (2 Kings 7:2)

The LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. He can and will do signs, wonders, great works and mighty deeds for those who believe! Signs and wonders that will bless some and destroy others! Yes skeptics and scoffers don’t believe that faith in God will open up windows in heaven and as a result they don’t see the impossible. But the bible has many examples of what expectantly waiting on the Lord and hoping in His word for His plenteous redemption and deliverance and what it shall accomplish. One of my favorite stories is about when Elisha and the children of Judah were besieged by the enemy and were starving. Ben-Hadad king of Syria had gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. As a result there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver. However Elisha the prophet said:

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

Chapter 17
God Is A Sun And Shield

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. Psalm 84:11

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. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:2-4

God and His word doesn’t promise blessings to those who are rebellious children who take counsel, but not of Him and who devise plans, but not of His Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; and walk in the way of the world and have not asked His advice to trust in the world and it’s kingdoms including doctors, lawyers, stock brokers, politicians, etc. Rather it promises them shame and humiliation for doing this especially when God arises against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity. God’s word is unchanging:

"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,

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

It’s true that it’s never been God’s plan for His children to live in need of anything but to be prosperous, walk in health, be filled with the Spirit and be full of faith, hope and love for God is complete in all things. He has no lack and He has no need. However it’s God they must look to first and serve Him first and no other. His word is unchanging:

"You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:3-6

Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."Mark 12:29-31

Yes we are to be like God, walking in completeness. Our lives are to be shalom. Everything is be whole, peaceful, healthy, safe, sound, tranquil, prosperous, perfect, full, restful, and in harmony. There is be no agitation and to be no discord. We are to be complete in Him and we are to look to no other but Him. Otherwise we will find ourselves in place we never expected to be and our needs will not be met! Yet God’s word is unchanging:

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. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Through the power of Jesus resurrection, we have a living hope of all that Jesus paid for. Jesus paid the price for our total redemption. What the enemy took from man when Adam sinned, Jesus (the second Adam) bought back when He became our sacrificial Lamb. Yes, He was sacrificed us, but thank God, He arose. He won over death, hell and the grave. He did it all for us.

Through the power of His resurrection and the use of our faith, we can have divine overcoming power against all the powers of the enemy. We can have divine peace and contentment every day of our life as well as healing, blessings and prosperity. Healing is the children's bread; it's on the table all the time. God is able to move for us and supply all things needed today. He has all power so we can trust Him and receive daily that which is needed. God’s word is unchanging:

In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor. Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work. Psalm 62:7-12

Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. Exodus 15:23-27

Jesus Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh, demonstrated God’s will for us by healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of 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 (Matthew 4:24). Sickness, disease, demons, poverty or lack are not our friends but our enemies and Jesus came to destroy these things!

Yes, God who is the same yesterday, today and forever wants to give His people the victory over all this enemies just like He gave the children of Israel victory over the Egyptian enemies, spoiled them with the wealth of Egypt and brought the out of all their bondage and afflictions. God’s word is true:

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "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. Exodus 15:1-7

"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

Yes, for those who obey His voice and walk in His ways, Jesus Christ causes their enemies to be defeated. He blesses them coming in and going out! He is the God of all and unlimited power and resources who has overcome the world for them! God’s word is true:

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

On the cross of Calvary when Jesus said, "It is finished!" He had achieved everything that we need for our redemption and salvation, be it spiritual, physical, and financial. He has removed from us all the curses the Adam and Eve had brought upon us by their transgression as outlined in Deuteronomy 28:15-66. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:13-14). By our works we cannot add or remove on thing that Jesus had done for us, except to enter into the rest God’s has prepared for us since the foundation of the world by mixing with faith the good news of the gospel (Hebrews 4:1-12).

Because of Jesus death and resurrection we now enjoy great benefits. Jesus was punished in our place, because of that, we are forgiven. Jesus became a sin offering; we are made righteous. Jesus became a curse; we are blessed, Jesus was beaten and whipped; we are healed. Jesus died in our place; we have been given life eternal. Jesus was rejected by man and was also rejected by God; we have been accepted in the Beloved and we will never be forsaken by God. Jesus suffered unbearable trauma; we have been given peace. Jesus was resurrected; we were made a new creature. Jesus became poor with our poverty and we have become rich with His riches. Jesus bore our shame and we now share His glory. Jesus endured our rejection and we now have His acceptance as children of God. .

The good news is that the stone at Jesus’ grave site was miraculously rolled away for us as we now serve a resurrected glorious Christ whose power and glory and riches and victory has been restored to Him. God’s word is unchanging:

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away-for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. "But go, tell His disciples-and Peter-that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. Mark 16:16-8

When Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons, went and told those who had been with Jesus, who mourned and wept. But when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. And Jesus Himself had to appear to His disciples and friends to prove that He was no longer dead. Similarly we need for God by the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and understanding to see and understand the truth of magnitude of the victories of the cross and the great exchange Jesus did there. God’s word is unchanging:

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46

It’s just like God to take the useless and worthless things of our lives and to replace it with something priceless. We get from God in return for what we give up:

Christ's Righteousness for Our sin

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:21

Peace with God for Wrath of God

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom. 5:1

Father's House (Heaven) for Condemnation (Hell)

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, Eph. 2:,19

Life for Death

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20

The New Man for The Old Man

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor. 5:17

Grace for Law

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another- to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Rom. 7:4-6

His Strength for Our weakness

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:9-10

His Purity for Our Impurity

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Heb. 10:19-22

Every Spiritual Blessing for Being His Children

God's Power for Weakness and Self strength

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

Wisdom and Redemption for Hopelessness and Despair

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption- 1 Cor. 1:30

Good Cheer for Tribulation

"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

Victory for Defeat

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Cor. 15:57

Joy for Sorrow

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11

Hope for Despair

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Col. 1:27-28

Fullness for Emptiness

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. Col. 2:9-10

Goodness for Evil And Self Control for the Flesh

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. Gal. 5:19-24

Love for Fear

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 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. I John 4:16-18

Rest for Busyness

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Heb. 4:9-10

Freedom for Bondage

"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36

Deliverance for Darkness

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, Col. 1:13

Truth for Lies

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

Riches for Poverty

For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col. 2:2

Spiritual mind for Carnal mind

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:12-16

Boldness for Fear of Judgment

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 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 4:17

Abundance For Lack

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

Healing for Sickness

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

Chapter 18
Favor From The LORD

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, "and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; "but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac." And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?" But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. "The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. Genesis 24:1-7

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22

God blessed Abraham because he listened to and obeyed the voice of God and Abraham believed that God would provide his son Isaac a wife from his country and his family! As a result Abraham told his servant go to his country and to his family, and take a wife for his son Isaac and that God would send His angel before him. And the servant obeyed Abraham! As a result the bible tells us:

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. "Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink'-let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master." And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.

Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?" So she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor." Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge." Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. And he said, "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." Genesis 24:10-27

Abraham’s servant was not disappointed for praying to the LORD God of his master Abraham, to give him success that day, and showing kindness to his master Abraham. Rebekah, a young beautiful virgin who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder gave him water to drink and drew water for his camels.

The Bible tell us that it is God’s heart’s desire for us to be well in every area of our life and every good gift comes from our Father, including a wife. And it’s important for God to bless us with the right life partner who fears Him and loves Him with all of his/her heart. The Bible says that nothing is impossible with God and those who sought Him never lacked any good thing in life. So if we will seek the LORD He will cause every effort toward a marriage to be fruitful. He will meet all the monetary needs supernaturally and remove the obstacles that hinder a marriage and perfect everything for His trusting ones. God’s word is unchanging:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. Jeremiah 29:11-14

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:27-32

Thanks be unto God for His holy Word! The Word of God is our safety and it is nourishment to a hungry soul. His Word gives such strength and comfort as we walk this path of life. It gives surety and peace to troubled hearts. The Word is as strong as God Himself because it came from God, and in Him is no variableness nor shadow of turning. Without the Word of God, we would have nothing to base our faith upon. With the Word of God as our road map, we can find our way to receiving all that He has to offer for soul, mind and body. It's an open book to all who will receive it. no matter how dark the night, God's Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto your path. We can let His Word light up all the promises of God for our needs to be supplied. We can pray and believe God for Him to move in all ways needed. He is a good God, and nothing is impossible with Him.

However we must guard ourselves and our hearts from deception and idolatry which doesn’t happen overnight. Just as the Word of God warns us how one sin can lead to another sin (it is also true that one error can lead us into another error. One wrong belief can cause us to believe many wrong things. And then we find ourselves deceived by deceiving spirits. It has been said that deception finds a doorway in the idolatry of our hearts.[ii]

The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). If that’s true, and it is, then none of us are above deception. If we think we are, then we’re deceived already. But the good news is Jesus sent the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us into all truth; truth that is readily confirmed in the canon of Scripture. If we follow His Spirit and His written Word instead of the idolatry of our hearts we’ll walk in the light.

Idolatry is always a danger. The Apostle Paul lists it as a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:20). But the same apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, also told us to flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14). The Word of God never instructs us to do something the grace of God won’t empower us to do if we simply get into agreement.

Noteworthy is a comparison between two Scriptures that deal with fleeing. The Bible implores us to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). The Bible doesn’t say idolatry will flee from you. Rather, it says we have to flee from idolatry. Why? Because idolatry allows the Tempter to get a foothold if we don’t turn our hearts toward God’s will instead of our own. Consider Paul’s warning:

“God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

“Therefore, my dearly beloved, shun (keep clear away from, avoid by flight if need be) any sort of idolatry (of loving or venerating anything more than God). I am speaking as to intelligent (sensible) men. Think over and make up your minds [for yourselves] about what I say. [I appeal to your reason and your discernment in these matters.]” (1 Corinthians 10:13-15 AMP).

So we can’t blame all this deception business on the devil. Nor can we be ignorant to his devices. Part of his ministry is to find the idolatry in our hearts: the deceitfulness of riches, the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, or something else that causes us to give God’s place to another. Once Satan finds that idolatry he’ll tempt you with it. At that point we have a clear choice: destroy the idol or walk into darkness.

We must partner with the Lord in guarding our hearts with all diligence from deception in these last days. Again, most of us wouldn’t consider looking at Hebrew symbols, numbers, letters and words – or even the accents on words – to discover hidden meanings in the name of prophecy. Yet some have fallen into this snare. Likewise, most of us wouldn’t exalt angels to a place they don’t deserve – or even want. And most of us wouldn’t offer strange fire in the name of Jesus. Yet, we see these things happening in the Body of Christ even now.

Again, deception is progressive. It starts with those little foxes. Guarding our hearts from deception means being humble enough to acknowledge that we are capable of being deceived. It also means setting our minds on Christ and putting first the Kingdom. As far as the world is concerned we have died, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Guarding ourselves from deception, then, means taking the Apostle Paul’s advice:

“Kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God)” (Colossians 3:15 AMP).

Chapter 19
Stir Up Yourself

Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah Psalm 3:7

Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, "Ah, so we would have it!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me. Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." Psalm 35:23-27

There comes a time in life when we have to grab hold of the horns of the altar of God and ask Him to stir up Himself and to arise for our help, and redeem us for His mercies' sake (Psalm 44:26); just like the Psalmist did on many occasions when he was beset by his enemies. We are not to let Him go until He blesses and changes us and deal with our enemies; just like He did with Jacob who wrestled with God. The bible records for our profit and instruction:

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Genesis 32:24-30

Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother." And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. "Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone." So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. Genesis 35:1-7

God is more than willing to bless His sons and daughters with all kinds of blessings, spiritual, physical, material and ministerial and with Himself; but they must stir themselves up to seek and go to God and not let Him go until He blesses them. The bible encourages us to stir ourselves up and seek God and be greatly rewarded by Him:

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:10

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. Psalm 84:11

Therefore he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.2 Chronicles 14:7

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

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 11:6

Yes there is a rest and prosperity for the people of God who will seek the Lord their God and take by force all that He has for them in His word. God has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants and wants to bless them greatly. He wants to take care of all their needs, fight all their battles, and give them victories over all their enemies whoever or whatever they might be. He wants them to serve Him so that He could bless their bread and their water. And He will take sickness from their midst and fulfill the number of their days. His word is unchanging:

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. "Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. "For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. "You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. "I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. Exodus 23:20-27

God by giving the fullness of His blessing to His reconciled enemies proves His perfect and unlimited love for us and we can respond by trusting Him at all times. Yes, Jesus is our redeeming God, “The Lord our righteousness,” and that those who accept Him as Lord and Savior can know forgiveness of sins and peace with God and be healed and made perfect, whole and complete. And our Redeeming Lord will baptize us in the Holy Spirit and gives the gifts of the Spirit so that we can see others become redeemed believers made complete in Christ who is all that they need for body, soul and spirit for Christ is unlimited in power and richest.

The doctrine of Christ's unlimited ability has a very practical application to us in our daily lives. Jesus is omnipotent; He can save, deliver and keep us. Jesus is our omniscient and all-wise Lord, He knows all about us, and can guide us in all our problems. Jesus is omnipresent; He is with us in every situation. Christ is the Great I Am; He knows and is in control of our future. Jesus is the Lord of unlimited love, He really cares for us. What a comfort these Divine attributes of Jesus give to those who love and serve Him. God’s word is unchanging:

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

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit. You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And call His servants by another name; So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. Isaiah 65:13-16

Yes, in times when a great tempest comes against God’s trusting ones, it’s wonderful to know that a vessel with Jesus in it cannot sink for even the winds and the sea obey Him as well as everything else, including demons. Jesus will bring them safely to the other side of plenty and prosperity and victory. But this is something that some of God’s people do not seem to understand that no matter what is going on the miracle working God of all power and unlimited riches and resources is on their side. He is for them and with them and not against them and wants to see them get safely through to the other side. His trusting ones must not be fearful but are to faithful to stand against all the wiles of the enemy who seeks to destroy them by any means. For the enemy walks about like a roaring lions seeking whom he may devour by any means.

God has not and doesn’t change one single bit. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! He is the living God, steadfast forever and a great miracle working God as well as the Judge of all the earth and a man of war. His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He still delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. Signs and wonders which bless some and destroy other. There are no sickness, famine, pestilence, poverty, suffering and lack in heaven and should not be on earth. The LORD who IS A GREAT MAN OF WAR AND UNCHANGING will bring His trusting ones into abundance of prosperity and give them every victory. His word is unchanging:

"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. "So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. "And he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 'for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you' (to give you victory, KJV). Deuteronomy 20:1-4

The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. "I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. Isaiah 42:13-16

"For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3

My Jesus is a Man of War

(Exodus 15:3, . Revelation 19:11, Author Unknown)

Some think of Jesus calm and shy

And quite as a mouse.

But I see Jesus as my Lord

And guard of all my house.

Some say He’s tender, meek and mild

And doesn’t raise His voice.

But I can see Him charge through Hell

To give to man his choice.

Some say His hands are always clean

He won’t let His feelings show.

But I can see Him roll His sleeves

And fight off every foe.

My Jesus walks through Hell itself

To set the captives free.

My Jesus upturned the table tops

To gain His victory.

He bore my sins upon a cross

My sorrows in His hand.

My whipping for unrighteousness

My pain He did withstand.

He took my stripes to make me well

My crown of thorns He wore.

And all my fears He crucified

And all my shame He bore.

My Jesus is a Man of men,

A Warrior brave and bold.

My King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Yes, He all Victory gives and holds.

Chapter 20
Good Tidings To The Poor

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

Poor 1. Having little or no wealth and few or no possessions. 2. Lacking in a specified resource or quality. 3. Not adequate in quality; inferior. 4.a. Lacking in value; insufficient. b. Lacking in quantity. 5. Lacking fertility. 6. Undernourished; lean. 7. Humble. 8. Eliciting or deserving pity; pitiable. --poor n. People with little or no wealth and possessions considered as a group. --poor“ness n.

It’s very important what you believe about God’s word because it determines what you receive from God! If being poor and living in poverty is only spiritual we will have to rewrite the bible because it clearly states that the poor shall eat the riches of the Gentiles:

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 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 61:4-9

"For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Matthew 13:12

"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

It’s a fact that our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes never became poor, so that we through His poverty might become spiritually rich? It is a fact that Jesus Christ when He was on the earth as the son of man and the son of God was continually spiritual rich! His wisdom and mighty works testify how spiritually rich He was. The bible tells us of Jesus:

And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Matthew 13:54

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. John 21:15

"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

Even though Jesus promised that His supposed spiritually rich disciples would do greater works than He did, most of the so called spiritual Christians today make Jesus Christ to be a liar but their lack of greater works!

Yes, we have to take the word of God literally Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. Rich in every sense of the word spiritually, physically, and financially lacking nothing! God wants us to move from the area of being in need, and move through the area of enough and beyond that into the area of true prosperity. He wants us to press through to where we can pray and believe for our dream. Beyond that, He wants us to press through to where we can live in divine health, divine prosperity and live walking in the glory of God – the place where we give no thought to our needs.

We are never to seek to just get by, but always press in for all that God has for us. We are not to be like the children of Israel who believed and acted on a bad report given by others and never went into the Promised Land of plenty and prosperity even though they lived in divine health and divine provision (Psalm 78:24, 95:8-11 & 105:37) although Joshua and Caleb did!

We are to believe the word of the Lord 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. … All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.

He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night. The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant. He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations, That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. Praise the LORD! Psalm 105:37-45

Yes we were called to be blessed and to be a blessing just like Abraham was and the Children of Israel were:

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

"You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' ACTS 3:25

So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:9-14

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. James 2:23

It’s only when the children of Israel were rebellious and disobedient that they were cursed, not blessed! We are to be open to the voice of God and the word of God and be obedient so that we can be blessed like Abraham was! We are to pray and say:

Loving Heavenly Father, My heart overflows with gratitude when I think of Your love and care for me. Make me Your own and teach me Your ways. Help me to live a life that pleases You bringing glory to You. Father, as You are the source of every good thing, fill my life with Your goodness in abundance. Let there be no lack in my life. Bless me and make me a blessing to others. I surrender my life and my family to You. Father, lead us and make us Your people who bring glory to Your name. Protect us from the snares of the enemy and surround us with Your grace. I thank You for the promise that You will bless me as in Isaiah 61:9 and bless us. Fill our lives with Your goodness and bless us. In Jesus’ name I pray, men.

Chapter 21
The God Of Comfort or Trouble?

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. 1 Samuel 16:13-15

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. "Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. "Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Matthew 12:43-45

There is not only two sides to a coin but there is an unpleasant reality in life that we by our own choices reap what we have sown and it’s not a pleasant thing sometimes. Many sincere and even naïve Christians run around the country looking for a blessings or an anointing from a so called man of God or a church that is in revival. But they don’t consider the reality of the evil spirits that surround a particular church, ministry or preacher and the need to test them before opening up to them. Many people have found themselves troubled by evil distressing spirits when they had laid on them by false ministers like Todd Bentley and others linked to C Peter Wagner, and as a consequence in soaking in Toronto Blessing type manifestations.

Jacob Prasch of Moriel Ministries in his article “False Prophet Rick Joyner & Todd Bentley’s Adulterous Re-Marriage” wrote:

Todd Bentley, the criminally convicted homosexual pedophile turned drunken heretic and adulterer who kicked old ladies in the face and stomach on YouTube at the failed Lakeland, Florida counterfeit revival has entered into a biblically adulterous re- marriage while under a “process of restoration” led by biblically proven false prophet Rick Joyner.

Bentley was ring master at a debacle of lunacy and false healing debunked on national TV orchestrated by the infamous Strader family, whom the District Attorney implicated in financial scandals defrauding elderly Christians of millions of dollars. While the Florida District Attorney publicly names Pastor Steve Strader as complicit in the swindling, his brother was sent to prison for over 30 years as a professional gangster under American anti racketeering RICO statutes.

Despite its unbiblical doctrines and practices, Wendy Alec of the so-called “God Channel” denounced opponents of the madness and heresy as being of Satan. Lunatic fringe figures such John Arnett, Rick Joyner, Che An, Bill Johnson, and C. Peter Wagner decided this fiasco was a revival in the character of the similarly failed counterfeit revivals in Toronto and Pensacola.

Led by Wagner, Johnson, and Joyner they prophetically predicted tremendous blessing over Bentley on television and YouTube as a leader of a great, coming revival. Instead, almost immediately afterward Bentley abandoned his wife and children and took off with a woman whom he has just married while under a process of “restoration” by Rick Joyner, who is demonstrably notorious for his failed false prophetic predictions. Indeed, such men are the very manner of demonstrable false prophets Jesus warned that Satan would send in the Last Days with the aim of deceiving the elect.

As with the carnal and demonically inspired hoaxes of Toronto and Pensacola which it attempted to clone, Lakeland was denounced by biblical Charismatics and Pentecostal moderates. As with other fellow biblical Pentecostals and Charismatics, Moriel maintains that biblical “Charismata” is a good thing, but “charismania” is bad.

According to God’s Word, there can of course be no true restoration without repentance (not that God’s Word appears to mean anything to proven false prophets). Yet while supposedly under the restoration of Joyner, Bentley has now entered an unscriptural marriage which Jesus condemned as adultery. Joyner’s “restoration” of Bentley continues. Predictably, the reaction of Rick Joyner and his spiritually perverted, twisted ilk has not been biblical. But what is to be expected from those Jesus warned us against?

As the restoration has plainly not restored Bentley to a repentant relationship with Christ, or to a godly marriage and family with his biblically proper wife and children, what exactly has Joyner, Johnson, and Wagner “restored” this kicker of elderly ladies in the face to? A “life of adultery in the eyes of Christ”? If this is their idea of “restoration” where there is no repentance but a worsening of the moral condition, we must wonder why Joyner and Wagner simply do not go all the way and restore Bentley’s homosexual pedophilia as when Bentley was sent to prison for molesting a seven year old little boy?

On March 23, 2009 Richard posted his testimony of what happened to him as a result of becoming involved in the “Third Wave” Movement. It goes without saying that Richard must renounce and repent of this, the spiritual source and any impartation he has received then he will find the real way to freedom.

A Desperate Plea For Help: Deliverance & Healing

Dec 2007 when I lost the job and came under some demonic attack that these weird things that I have been sharing with you happened. I was accused of sexual harassment which was a lie and terminated. I lost my reputation and all the respect I had earned in an instance seemingly. I came home an expected to get a job after the holidays. I started experiencing burning sensation in my arms like fire that I could not exhaust. I went to the doctor but got no relief. I went home for Christmas but I was completely miserable.

I returned to DC after Christmas 2007 and that’s when the dark spiritual encounters began again. I was at home applying for jobs over the internet, I felt so alone and empty, I could not feel God’s presence but I kept praying and reading my bible. I continued to go to church where I have been for some 20 years, where I was an ordained elder and teacher as well. Then this happened, I was at home on a Saturday and I began to pray and hear voices cursing God. I became afraid, I did not know what to do, I was reading my bible and nothing made sense, I called my cousin Steve and asked him to rush over after work – he came as soon as he could. I heard this voice kept telling me that I would die.

I began to pace the floors uncontrollably and could not sleep, for days (13) I could not sleep, eventually I snapped – I told my cousin that I needed help, I told him everything about the prior 23 years especially the diagnosis. I told him that I never sought help because I trusted God to heal me. I told him that I placed all my confidence in God and I was sure that He healed me. That night as I went to bed I was awakened by something that chased me out of my house; it was a shadow like image and it had a voice. It told me that I would die for the death of Christ. It told me that the hounds of hell would eat my flesh and that I would never die. I ran through the streets at 130am with no shoes until i could run no more. I ran about two miles until I turned back towards home. I was stopped by the police at gun point and forced to the ground.

I knew they were going to kill me. They forced me to go to the hospital. When I arrived there I heard dogs growling and it was awful, it was so loud and piercing that I fell to the ground. At that moment I realized that my life had changed. I had no mental issues prior and this was so unusual. It was like there was some evil forces controlling my life and I was powerless. After examination, I was taken to the back and given fluids and medications. They told me that they were going to put me to sleep. I asked for prayer prior to just in case I didn’t wake up. I was told by the nurse that my heart was dead – and that I had to believe God in my heart – I was paralyzed in fear. There was a bruise on my chest and back at the location of my heart I could not explain. The voices had told me earlier that I had messed around and missed salvation. I knew it was over. I prayed anyway, she administered the meds in the IV and I slow drifted away.

I woke later in the day in a bed in the hall way and was later released. I was afraid to go outside because of the dogs I heard earlier in the night but I took courage and did. I went home with my cousin who agreed to stay with me for the day. I had to complete some student exams and get them to the office. We ate I promised to get better, but I heard this voice say – every time you call the name of Jesus I will punish you. It was a long hard day – as night approached I got restless, I had these thoughts that the dogs were coming to get me – I did not understand what brought all this on me. I finished the papers and carried them to church. When I got to church, dropped off the papers and started to leave, i looked in the sanctuary and I saw gray smoke and could smell burning flesh of some sort. I ran out of the church got in the car and went home. I tried to explain it to my cousin but he didn’t believe me.

When I got home I called a Pastor friend and asked her to come over, she did and another preacher just to be with me and my cousin. As night approached I became more and more restless, I began to pace the floor like an animal under some influence that I could not explain and I could not hear or feel God’s presence. Then the pain began – pain in my stomach, chest, legs, and feet. It was faint at first but it was there. I became so out of it that my friends called 911. I went to the hospital and it started all over again. I felt so alone and misunderstood.

I heard the hounds, I saw fire, and I heard a voice tell me that all of my bones would hurt at once, i would have a heart attack, a stroke, and a seizure at once, FEAR like never before came upon me. Yet the hospital could not find any medical reason for my situation. Frustrated they put me on the psych unit and gave me all these drugs. There they tormented me more, they put me in a locked room turned up the heat and shut off the lights, i slept on the floor after I passed out. After seven days of trauma there they let me come home, they could not find any reason why I was experiencing this situation.

I came home, became isolated, and my life did not get any better – it got worse. Days became weeks, weeks became months and here we are. Anger set in, I felt betrayed, I could not believe that this could happen to me. I called every prayer line, I called every deliverance ministry, and no better.

I eventually decided to go to where God is – I went to Lakeland for prayer for the pain and got no results, I went to Detroit and got nothing, I went to California and got nothing, getting weaker and weaker and weaker, I got nothing….It wasn’t until I spoke with Peter Wagner’s ministry that they told me that I was under the influence of a witchcraft demonic attack determined to kill me. I was told that a someone made a covenant with witches to kill me and had placed a snake, spikes, pins, and spiders in and on me – the pain has become more intense. I tried to kill myself although I want to live – I have had people praying all over the world and nothing has changed for the good it only got worse.

Then I got your response and spoke to you, here I am; once a great giant in the faith, a teacher, a preacher, a respected health care professional, highly sought after for work and engagements and all of a sudden everything seems to be on the brink of failure. As I write this email the pain is so great – I need help.

I went to the hospital and doctors some 18 times and they say there is no medical reason for why my body is acting like this even with the present diagnosis – yet it feels like death is working a work in me. My physical features have changed and I’m ashamed. There is an unclean spirit living in me and I can sense it from the foul smell and the dirty environment that it has caused – its demonic and it needs to be evicted – I want to live, the only way I can explain this is that it is the works of the enemy and he wants to Kill me. please help me!

I know that this email is exhaustive but I want to tell you everything I could – its been 15 months with this pain and torment – has God told you anything about me, will God deliver me, will God heal me, does God love me, why is this happening – what’s going to happen to me? Why has no one been able to help me – have I been written off by God?

Chapter 22
Do You Believe?

And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it." But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country. Matthew 9:28-31

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

God is always on the throne but when we as Christians are hit or attacked by negative things such as incurable sickness, a dissolution of a marriage, a bankruptcy of a business, a wayward son or daughter, do we believe God and His word and that He can change or turn everything around?

Sadly the honest answer for most of us is no even though Jesus told us that persecution would come because of the Word of God:

"The sower sows the word. "And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; "and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, "and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. "But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." Mark 4:14-14

Yes, there are those when they hear the word, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. And then there are those who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. And then there are those who allow the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things to enter in and choke the Word, which is Jesus, and it becomes unfruitful. And finally there are those who endure the sifting or testing and bear much fruit!

Although most of us don’t like the words patience and endurance my bible tells us these we must put them into our lives and circumstance and we also have to truly appreciate what God did for Job after his endurance and what He will do for us:

And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "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. "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job. 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 42:7-17

Most so called Christians believe that God did great things for His people yesterday and will do great things for them tomorrow but they have the Martha syndrome in that they don’t believe that God will do great things for them today!

We see this clearly in John 11 and the death of Lazarus and Martha’s reaction to Jesus words to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha believed God would do something great tomorrow but not today! Her faith was not in the now! But Jesus is a now God who is alive and well in the now and does miracles in the now! Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and when He heard about it He said This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

So Jesus waited until Lazarus was death and all hope was gone so that He could do a great miracle in bringing His friend back from the dead and do it for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Yes God’s delays are not His denials but He wants to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask pray or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20) God’s word is true:

11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

11:2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

11:3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

11:6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

11:7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

11:8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"

11:9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

11:10 "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

11:11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."

11:12 Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."

11:13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

11:14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.

11:15 "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."

11:16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

11:18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

11:19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

11:21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

11:22 "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

11:23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

11:24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

11:26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

11:27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

11:28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."

11:29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

11:30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.

11:31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."

11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

11:33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

11:34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."

11:35 Jesus wept.

11:36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

11:37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."

11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

11:42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."

11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"

11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

11:45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

11:46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

11:47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.

11:48 "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."

11:49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,

11:50 "nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."

11:51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

11:52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

11:53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

11:54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

11:55 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.

11:56 Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think-that He will not come to the feast?"

11:57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him. John 11:1-57

Chapter 23
The Lord Will Deliver Me

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19

Like birds flying about, So will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it." Isaiah 31:5.

Surely the Lord, Who doesn’t lie (Titus 1:2), will cover His trusting ones under His mighty wings. He will do for them what He did for a woman called Ruth who lost everything in her life. She caught hold of the living Lord whom her mother- in- law worshipped. And when she came under the shelter of God, she was blessed. We can cling on to the Lord like Ruth did and a full reward will be given us by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings we have come for refuge."

Ruth turned out to be a blessed woman in the latter part of her life. A rich man called Boaz married her and the people in the town loved her. She gave birth to Obed. She found a place in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Since she loved the Lord with all her heart and came under His shelter, God blessed her abundantly. And since there is nothing impossible for God, if we believe, we shall see the glory of God and His great and wonderful miracle working power. God’s word is unchanging:

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered? But thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Isaiah 49:24-26

Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 2 Timothy 4:14-18

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:

He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them. Job 5:12-13

He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Revelations 13:10

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:15-17

Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the LORD. Jeremiah 1:8

They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you," says the LORD, "to deliver you."Jeremiah 1:19

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 manifesitations 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

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

'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ' "Zechariah 4:7

Chapter 24
The God Of Miracles

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. "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. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:4-8

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know- Acts 2:22

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

Christianity is not an intellectual religion built on perspiration but a relationship with a miracle working Jesus built on inspiration and His unchanging words If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. And there is no miracle that Jesus Christ cannot do or will not do for the abiding ones!

The other fact of the matter is that Christianity is a miracle religion and everything about it is miraculous including the virgin birth, the ministry of Jesus and His resurrection, the indwelling Christ, and the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. And yes we are to abide in a stream of miracles that flow from God to us and from us to others!

Miracles validate true Christianity but there are no miracles unless we abide in Jesus for without him we can do nothing! And abiding in Jesus is not hard work or stressful but an easy thing out of which miracles become a natural thing!

If we don’t have miracles we are not abiding in Jesus! And any method of confession including Word of faith or doctrine is not abiding in the vine and having His words abide in us! And the reality is that there is a natural outflow of miracles and love from us of a natural inflow when we are abiding in Jesus! The mighty Holy Spirit moves in us and upon us and rivers of living water flow out of us! And when we cut off the inflow from God by not abiding in Jesus and having His words abide in us miracle cease! It’s that simple!

It is a fact there is no miracle that our Miracle Working Jesus cannot do and no enemy that He has not defeated or cannot defeat including that we presently have. And God loves to use ordinary men full of the Holy Spirit, full of faith, and full of power just like Philip and Stephen the first martyr of the church. The bible records:

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Acts 6:8-10

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Acts 8:5-13

Jesus came to give us life and more abundantly and that includes miracles, signs, wonders, healing, deliverance and good things, and not destruction or death! The Living God, Creator of Heaven and Earth came to live within man and to be to him all that he needs including Savior, healer, deliverer and friend! The LORD came to be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know His name will put their trust in Him; For You, He has not forsaken and doesn’t forsake those who seek Him. For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever (Psalm 9:18)

Unfortunately for them many Christians don't understand or appreciate but the new birth or restoration has done for them! Restoration is to be brought back to our position and condition before the foundation of the world when we were chosen. At our spiritual birth into the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ, we were immediately made the righteousness of God in Christ. We were justified, cleansed and redeemed from the curse of the Law of sin and death. We were purchased with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, made His Own and adopted into His family. We are given the mind of Christ as we were reconciled to God and given the Ministry of Reconciliation as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. We have been by grace justified and made whole. And now we have available to us all the riches and resources of heaven because of our inheritance through Jesus Christ. All that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus and also now belongs to us. God’s word is unchanging:

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "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 16:7-15

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 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, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6

Yes, we are heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ Jesus. We are now the sons of God and are seated in the Heavenly Places with the Lord. We can be still, and know that He is God, He is in control. We are not to fret, nor squirm, nor not get up out of our protected Heavenly position and get back into the “Adam” mind set trying to figure things out, that is Adam thinking. We are to possess and have the mind of Christ! The devil is defeated! We are to let God arise and defeat our enemies and heal us. The Word of the Lord says to Call upon the Lord. We are to let God be God, so we can be healed, made whole, and restored in all areas. Whatever ails us we can take it to God in prayer, confessing God’s Word believing! We are to stop the Adamic mind set (Galatians. 5:1)! Jesus shed His Blood for us in the first place, for restoration the Heavenly Father! That is whole, that is complete in spirit, soul, and body!

We are to be restored and stay restored and not let any one rob us of our inheritance! We are to rejoice and walk in the truth that God of all creation is our creator and the lover of our soul and He does not know how to hurt and He is more desirous and willing to answer than we are to pray. We are to look to Him, seek His face and not His hand and He will meet us at the intersection of any need we have and any desire our heart longs for. We are to rejoice and walk in the truth that the eternal God is our shield, buckler, strength, high tower, fortress, deliverer and exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1, Psalm 91:4, Psalm 144:2). We are not blessed to be a blessing. God’s word is true:

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

Jesus was sent to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We are to do the same. We have the power and authority through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is live in the promise of the Word of God and to use His precious Name. The most powerful weapons we have are the Name of Jesus Christ and God’s Holy Word against Satan and his foul wicked demons. No power of darkness can stand against the Word of God in the Name of Jesus Christ, and through the Blood of Jesus Christ.

In Christ Jesus can have liberty and free of illness and affliction, free of lack and poverty, and free of all oppression and have the strength of the Almighty expressed through our weakness as was Paul’s, in 2 Corinthians 12 where God said that His strength and power are made perfect and show themselves most effective in our weakness. However it’s to be noted that sin, unforgiveness, unbelief, curses, pride, fear, embarrassment, lack of desire, lack of knowledge, passivity, occultism, and ungodly soul ties could hinder our healing, deliverance or answered prayers. It’s also to be noted Demons through our sins can obtain legal, biblical grounds to rob, kill, steal, and destroy. We do it to ourselves. Demons have a right to remain if we have given them any type of legal ground. Once they have legal ground there will always be a fight because they want us under them in one way or another. They will try to make us feel that things are hopeless, why even care! Those are total lies and tricks of the enemy.

Through Christ Jesus we can kick out the demons, take back what is rightfully ours that we have been robbed of, and walk in a victorious life in Jesus! Our Heavenly Father wants us to realize as His daughters and sons that we all can have healing, forgiveness, restored relationships, and walk in a glorious relationship with Him, here on His Earth. He has promised this to us, His dear children through Jesus Christ, in His Word. And it is time to take back what is rightfully ours through Christ, in prayer!

We should never be given over to the whims of any devil due to ignorance. We are not going to sit down and give up. We are not going to take that as children of God and just perish. We are children of the Most High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth and we, His children through Jesus Christ, have been given authority and power over the enemy (Luke 10:19). We have chosen to obey and have a life that is victorious in Christ. We are an over comer in Jesus and through His help, power and guidance we can live a life that is Victorious in Jesus Christ and to help our brothers and sisters to walk in that Light too! Amen.

Chapter 25
Apostolic Covering

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

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:9-11

We have in our midst today false Apostles who claim to be apostles of Christ and even chief ones who are teaching many weird and false things including the worship of angels, apostolic covering, Jezebel spirits, multiple anointings and transference of anointing. One of these false Apostles stated:

Likewise, New Testament prophets who start off walking in God’s will but take a detour into rebellion, stubbornness, pride, lust or any other sinful lifestyle, are apt to fall prey to demonic guards that oppose the building of the glorious Church of Jesus Christ. True apostles are spiritual fathers with the prophets’ best interests at heart. Remember what the Apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth: “I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up” (1 Corinthians 4:14-15 MSG).

By speaking the truth in love, however uncomfortable it may be to receive, apostolic fathers are helping to protect New Testament prophets from spirits like Jezebel and witchcraft. An apostolic covering and some fatherly correction may have saved Jonah’s ministry, but the last we read of him he was sitting outside Nineveh wishing he was dead.

These deceivers cannot say what apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:12 truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. They cannot tell us how many dead people did they raise from the dead or real cripples did they physically heal because in reality it was problem none!

And according to Colossians 2:6-10 there is no such thing as apostolic covering or the covering of any ministry in the life of a true Christian - Jesus Christ Himself is our covering, Lord and all that we need. Apostolic covering is a demonic theology which allows wolves in sheep’s clothing to prey on the sheep. it’s no different than the old shepherd movement of Bob Mumford of Christian growth ministries of Fort Lauderdale Florida which was from hell!

The bible teaches us that we are to grow up into Christ who is the head not into apostles and each joint is important and does it’s part and not just some claimed apostle. God’s word is unchanging:

(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- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:9-16

The New Testament bible also teaches us there are no special anointing but only gifts of the Spirit that we can have and operate in. When we receive the Holy Spirit with the proof (Mk. 16: 17 – 20), the anointing of the Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 2: 20 ,27) stays with us.

Steve Lumbley of Apostasy Watch www.apostasywatch.com in his article “Who is Your Covering?” tells us:

There is a popular teaching coming from the pulpits of many apostate churches today which claims that Christians must have a “spiritual covering”. This teaching as it is presented in today’s church is a far cry from what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 11.

The covering taught by most pastors today is the idea that a Christian must be a member of a church and must be spiritually submitted to a particular pastor. Many will tell you that if you are not submitted to a church hierarchy you are out of the will of God and are under the influence of Satan. All of this is evidence of the Nicolaitan’s error Jesus spoke of in Revelation 2:6

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1Cor 11:3

Notice that Paul does not say the head of every man is his pastor, or an apostle, or any other church official. The head of every man is Christ. Period!

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 1 Cor 11:4-5

Paul is not talking here about wearing a hat or a prayer shawl or the length of ones hair. What he is saying is this. Every man who covers his head by submitting himself to another man dishonors his true head which is Christ. And any woman who worships without the covering of her husband dishonors her husband.

There is no higher authority in the body of Christ than the individual believer. All Christians are seen by God as kings and priests. All are called saints. All who do the will of God are counted as sons of God. Every man will be accountable by himself for his own actions or inactions vis-à-vis his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Your pastor or apostle to whom you’ve submitted yourself will not be there to speak for you.

Some will point to Hebrews 13:17 as a reason we should spiritually submit to men.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Heb 13:17

The Greek word which is translated them that have the rule is the word hegeomai {hayg-eh'-om-ahee} which means to lead or to go before. Our misunderstanding of this principle stems from our conformity to the world and the way leadership is exercised in this earthly realm.

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Mat 20:25-27

We see here that leadership in the Kingdom of God consists of servanthood. Those who God has called to the five fold ministry are placed there to be your servant not your master. You are not called to serve them. So those who have rule over us must be those who give of themselves to see that we are conformed to the image of Christ. What they will give account of is how well they performed their role as servant.

Unfortunately, just as Paul prophesied in Acts 20:29, grievous wolves have entered into the church intent on drawing away disciples unto themselves. One way they do this is to intimidate people into following them. It is amazing the amount of fear and guilt these supposed shepherds put on the unsuspecting sheep.

I’ve heard one pastor tell his congregation that all their prosperity is due to his faith. He talks often about people who have left his church and are now poor and sick. The people who sit under him are afraid to leave.

I listened once to Clarence McClendon tell a congregation that God put them under their pastor and that if they ever left that pastor they were in rebellion to God. People were whoopin and hollerin and cheering him on. He went on and on getting all worked up until he finally said;

“I know you have Jesus but Jesus is not enough!”

A stunned silence filled the auditorium. McClendon got a funny look on his face as if he himself was surprised that those words had come out of his mouth. After a moment he composed himself and began to tap dance and back track trying to explain what he really meant. But I knew what he meant. Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). That was the spirit of antichrist (in place of Christ) talking out of that mans mouth. What is really sad is that not one person got up and left. After a couple of awkward minutes they were back whoopin and hollerin for this wolf in sheep’s clothing.

I know that there are rebellious people in the body of Christ who refuse to submit to any authority. This is not what I am counseling. I have no problem submitting to Godly authority when I see it. I must say that Godly authority is a rare thing in the church today but it does exist.

The people to whom you should submit are those who have gone before you. Those who know more than you do. No single individual, be it pastor, teacher, apostle prophet, or evangelist has all the answers for every situation you will face in life. We are all only parts of the body. No single person is the complete body except Christ. That is why you should submit to Him. If Christ leads you to an individual for a time of instruction then sit and learn from that person. But understand that it is the gift in them to which Christ has led you, not the person.

So, the lesson here is this. Submit yourself to Christ. He is your head. Allow him to be your teacher. If he sends you to a person for a season fine, learn from that servant . But you should never allow that person to exercise rulership over you in the earthly sense. If you are born again and filled with the Holy Ghost, you are perfectly capable of hearing from God yourself. You are perfectly capable of understanding the bible yourself. You are perfectly capable of obeying God yourself.

And Pastor Bola Olivia Ogedengbe, ABBA HOUSE church, Paris, in her article “The rape of the church - the Todd Bentley quagmire” http://bolaoged.com/?p=743 bring out some very interesting truths about these false Apostles:

As the Todd Bentley story unfolded, many of us chose to err on the side of mercy, to hope and pray for repentance and restoration, we withheld sharp criticism, in the belief that there must be somehow, somewhere a spark of righteousness left that would eventually triumph and birth genuine repentance. Those hopes have now been dashed by the recent news published on Rick Joyner’s web page and echoed by Charisma that Todd Bentley has now divorced his wife, married his mistress and is going to begin a process of restoration (after the fact) with a view to returning to ministry.

We are left astonished, dumbfounded, incredulous and altogether pained by the current turn of events, and worse, by the attitude of the ‘leaders’ who surround him. Since we received many visits to this blog to read our previous article on this scandal, we are duty bound to comment on the latest happenings. Rick Joyner is leading the restoration team which includes leaders who had vouched for Bentley’s good character in the past even as he was deceiving us all, and has posted a letter on his web page. We are informed that ‘Even so, they are married now and are resolved to make the most of their marriage, their lives, and to continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can. ‘

My first reaction is have these leaders lost their minds, is Todd Bentley living on another planet, or are we all suffering from corporate insanity? Has anyone read the Bible lately? Does the fear of God mean anything to these people, do they care about the damage this has done to hundreds of thousands of believers worldwide and to the credibility of the church increasingly seen as moralistic and hypocritical? The assertion that they are married now is shocking and begs the question.

Their being married far from making it right has in my view made matters even worse and totally disqualified Todd Bentley from any reinstatement in ministry in the foreseeable future. It means there is no repentance. He has simply gone into outright rebellion by marrying his mistress. Even if his wife had chosen to divorce him, which does not seem to be the case, a more judicious, moral and righteous course of action would have been to break off this adulterous relationship and stay celibate before God Instead, he remarries quickly. And we are put before the fait accompli. Is there a recent translation of the New Testament that decrees that the solution to adultery is to quickly divorce the offended party and marry the mistress?

And this is meant to placate the church, soothe our ruffled feathers and make it all right? Shall we for the sake of one man, though gifted throw righteousness to the wind and send out the message that it is okay to consummate your sin, we will restore you? Pastors hold the average believer to a higher standard than these ‘men of God’ hold themselves to. When a man has behaved as disgracefully as this, some leaders still in the name of grace want to foist them on the body of Christ, it beggars belief! What of the millions of young men and women struggling to stay sane and sanctified? What message are we sending them when we pat leaders on the back who do such heinous things simply because they are gifted. Are those who teach not meant to be held to a higher standard?

Furthermore, the video posted on facebook, in exceedingly poor taste, fully demonstrates the lack of repentance. He talks about his ex-wife and himself and how they have moved on, how they communicate better now than when they were married; and they expect the rest of us to move on as well. One is aghast, the man does not have a clue, and is apparently oblivious to the gravity of what has transpired. Indeed my question is, was this the restoration team’s solution to Todd’s sin, that he remarry, or was this a persistence of rebellion on Todd’s part who chose to do what he wanted despite what the leaders’ said, and they are simply now trying to make the best out of a bad situation?

And if so, why? Grace? I fear we have ill defined grace. I fear these leaders who had misstepped by endorsing him in the midst of his shenanigans, are being taken for a ride again and us with them if we choose to follow. It gets worse, at the end of Joyner’s letter, he goes so far as to ask for contributions to Todd Bentley’s new ministry in the US, his erstwhile Canadian associates having dissociated themselves from him and changed the name of the ministry. Any sane person would do a double take. Truly the church has sunk very low. That anyone would mention ministry and Todd Bentley in the same breath is preposterous, that they would call for money to be sent to a man who has violated the trust of millions and shamed the church is beyond the pale. It is a rape of the church, an abuse of authority and the sad thing is that many feckless Christians will fall for it. Some are already expressing their approval.

Another issue no one seems to be raising, is that there is an increasing erosion of confidence in Christian men. When i got saved we all wanted to marry Christian men because they were so different from the guys we had been dating in the world. Today the difference has thinned, many are just as likely to insist on sex before marriage, to father children outside wedlock, just as likely to cheat on their wives after marriage; all worsened by the fact that all they get from the church and its male leaders is a slight tap on the wrist, while the woman is pressured to forgive and submit.

Pastors deal with this daily and as a woman pastor I am particularly sensitive to the rampant abuse of women by ‘Christian’ men. And condoning bad behaviour at this level only adds ammunition to the ‘brothers’ contention that it cannot be helped, it’s the male libido. I guess the blood of Jesus is powerless against the male libido. Brothers this is wrong. How would any of these men feel were Shonnah Bentley to be their sister or daughter? And who is restoring her, and her children? Todd assures us that they are fine, we have only his word for it.

The prophetic and charismatic movements are digging their own graves. They will not explode from without but implode from within. Coupled with the lack of repentance is the absolute shamelessness and lack of propriety exhibited in this situation and in others. Common decency requires stepping back from the limelight and dealing with some issues in private. But that is not the way of the charismatic superstars. They must be seen to exist. Leaders involved in high profile divorces, involved in messy marital and other situations, promptly show up on TV, and are quick to hold press conferences.

They wash their dirty linen in public, wear us out with their tales of woe, seek our compassion for their afflicted lives, and continue preaching to us without missing a beat, rather than hang their heads in shame and retire from public view so as not to bring opprobrium on the body of Christ. And now we are to be treated to regular video updates of Todd Bentley’s progress, possibly be required to shed a tear for the poor man so sorely ill used by the Christian media while sending in a donation, of course.

All this is altogether gross. I must conclude that the charismatic movement is orphaned, the fathers are silent, and it is being hijacked by shysters and morally dubious individuals. These are strong words but they do not express half of the indignation that i feel at the moral relativism that has gangrened our movement. Mr Bentley will bless the body of Christ by withdrawing from public view and taking a job somewhere, selling cars perhaps, whatever, but can we for once put the interest of the church and the honour of Christ and of His gospel ahead of personal ambition and ‘gifting’?

When Paul rebuked Peter, not only did he do it publicly, he also wrote about it in the New Testament for all to see; when Peter rebuked Ananias and Sapphira and they fell dead, for lying, no one said Jesus did not die for them. The fact that Jesus died for us is precisely the reason why we must honour Him with our lives, not stifle criticism of our lifestyle. We cannot for fear of backsliding refuse to speak out against unrighteousness. This is not about Todd Bentley, it is about the CHURCH, millions of men and women who have been left confused, disoriented, and drawn to compromise, because what is good for the goose is good for the gander. The church is very vocal about criticising people outside the church it now has to start dealing with wrongdoing within its own ranks.

And so when we rebuke Todd and other ministers for bad behaviour it is not biblical, but pharisaical because he’s your friend and you love him. Awesome! Be a real friend to Todd and speak truth to him rather than seeking to ridicule, lampoon and pillory those who do. Amazing that you are willing to ‘throw rocks’ and launch a tirade against me and the others here over one article but you want us to be silent over Todd’s conduct. Double standards perhaps! And these ones and I took flak here in France for supporting Todd when the story first broke (read my french blog) last year and asking that we pray for him. But it is time to speak out, it has gone too far. Read 1 Corinthians again brother : Paul requires us to judge sin in the church not cover up. You care about my flock being led astray by my one article but not the millions of people who watched the Lakeland Revival daily on God Tv, the world over who have been sorely affected by this. I pray that you will honour the gospel of Christ above your emotions. Since when did holiness become legalism, and requiring ministers to set an example become self righteousness. If we love Jesus, we will obey him. So please enough of bad behaviour in the pulpit, where the rest of us are expected to just sit back and accept it.

Chapter 26
Wait On The LORD

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:13-14

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 Psalm 37:34

Since victory, salvation, riches, wealth, wisdom, healing, deliverance, blessings, prosperity and every good thing comes from God, the bible encourages us to Wait on the LORD, and keep His way. Yes 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 37:39-40). God’s word is unchanging:

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:15-19

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. Psalm 123:2

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm 145:15

As believers we can learn and trust that our God is always on time. He was on time for Lazarus, though it seemed too late to others. He was on time for Daniel in the lion's den and for the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. Notice that to the human mind it looked too late for all of these, but it wasn't.

We must look beyond our natural thinking and know that God works through divinity. His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are higher! He is a miracle-working God, and to those who believe, they will see His glory. As we trust in the Lord and in His timing, we know that He will work all things out for our good and in His time. Hebrews 11:6 says, "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

God has given to every man a measure of faith to trust Him to be on time. Though it may look too late in the natural, faith tells us that His ways are perfect and that He is on time. We can rejoice in the fact that our dear LORD is a prayer answering GOD. His word is true:

"Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3.

HE Himself has said in Jeremiah 32:27 "Behold I am the LORD, the GOD of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?"). HE will never despise our request for HIS help because HIS love for us is everlasting. HE is our loving Father! Therefore we can be encouraged and expect a positive answer from HIM soon!

The Lord Jesus Christ shall bless us with goodness in abundance because we are precious to Him. The Lord is a mother Who will bless us and He will build our family life. When we seek God, blessings shall follow you. The Lord is concerned about the lonely and sets them in families. The Bible says, “God sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:6).

When we seek the Lord, He shall provide everything and there shall be no lack in our life. God’s word promises us “Your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:10). If we are frustrated in life and say we don’t have anybody to love us and care for us? The Lord Jesus Christ says, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

We are to be of good cheer for the Lord will love us like a mother loves her child because we are precious to Him. We are to hold onto the Lord and He will wipe away all our tears and bless us. We are not to be discouraged or alarmed about anything because God’s word is unchanging:

And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? "Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." Exodus 14:8-14

The battle is still the LORD’s and the magnitude of the need, problem or enemy doesn’t matter to our miracle working God who is still in the salvation-soteria business which is defined in the bible as being established in "protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance and the ministry of angels." The LORD is still a man of war Who cast into the sea Pharaoh's chariots and his army where they drowned. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone. His right hand, O LORD, had become glorious in power and had dashed the enemy in pieces. And God will do the same for His trusting ones and always lead them to triumph in Christ,. His word is unchanging:

"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

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14

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. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:15

Chapter 27
Perseverance and Endurance

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Hebrews 10:35-39

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. Hebrews 12:1-2

The Word of God is clear that the just shall live by faith and if anyone draws back God has no pleasure in Him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Speaking of the saving of the soul, when we are born again, our spirit was regenerated but our mind was not renewed. Our mind, this souls of ours need to be taught to be re-educated to obey and confess the Word of God and nothing else. When we believe to the saving of the soul, we are not talking about being lost in hell, because when we were born again, we were saved and going to heaven. Saving of the soul refers to the renewal of our mind and to be made perfect, whole, complete lacking nothing. God’s word is true:

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Colossians 4:12

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Yes, God has provided us with a great and complete salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed, to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4). Yes, God wants us to become complete, stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, be perfect and complete lacking nothing and He is able to sanctify us completely so that our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word “save” comes from the Greek word “sozo,” which means the complete salvation for the spirit, soul and body. The Word of God affects all three parts of the human being. As a result our soul needs to be renewed, to be re-adjusted to think like the Word, to feel like the Word. When our soul is renewed we will have the full assurance of faith and not only partial assurance, half assurance, quarter assurance. When the Word of God has its perfect work in us, we will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. We will have a perfect and complete answer to all our prayers, all the things that we want. Our soul will be lined up with our human spirit, which is born again. God will come forth to overcome the circumstances in our life when we have the Word of God rooted in our soul.

Wise King Solomon told us in the book of Proverb says the Word of God will become flesh to our bones. But it had to flow through our soul. It has to become a part of our thinking life, the way we think, act and talk. It has to be predominating in our lives and then we will be prosperous and successful just like Jesus told us:

But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' “Matthew 4:4

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. "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. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:1-8

The fruit that we bear has to do with the character of Jesus in our lives, and the character of Jesus will result in the power of God and prosperity and healing in our life. These things flow from that fruit that is developed in our life. It’s according to the strength of our inner man that the outward man can function. And the strength of our inner man is determined by the amount of change or the transformation of the character of Jesus in our inner man.

Jesus Christ is the word made flesh. To abide in Christ is not only to walk and live in His Spirit but to walk and live in accordance to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. When the Word of God becomes predominate factor in our life, the resulting words that we speak by the Spirit of the LORD will conquer and overcome all things. When we receive the Word of God we digest it until it becomes a part of us. We allow it to be to be digested by our spirit and to renew our soul until our soul is steadily held by the Word of God. Then the Word of God produces faith in our human spirit and confidence in the Word of God. And then we speak forth those things which we desire based on the Word of God and it becomes a reality!

Yes, when the word is the Word and is already on our inside and we can make a decree to any mountain. And what we decree we believe that our words will come to pass. And so when we tell the mountain, move from hence forth to yonder it will obey because God’s word shall not return void but will accomplish that for which it is sent. God’s word is unchanging:

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? "It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; "but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade." Mark 4:30-32

Since the fall of man the soul of human being has been wavering. Doubts come from our soul, distress come from our soul and emotions, and all the wrong things that is coming from our soul. Hence the human soul needs to be girded with the Word of God to be stabilized. An unstable soul will not receive the promises of God for one tiny doubt will cancel the whole process. Doubt is the quality of the fallen soul. That is why we need the renewal of the mind and the Word of God to stabilize our soul. The more Word we have in our life, the more we are stabilized in our soul. We need patience which is not an attribute of your human spirit. It’s an attribute of a renewed soul and renewed mind. Patience is an attribute of our human soul according to the Word of God. Hence we count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience and if we let patience have its perfect work, we will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Tribulation works patience, and patience develops character in us. Tribulation works character in our lives. But it may not be good character. Whether its good character or bad character is determined by how we react to the tribulation. If in the tribulation or difficulty, we react wrongly and keep on reacting wrongly, it becomes a part of our life and character. Whether we are changed in the wrong character or changed in the good character is determined by how we react. How we react is determined by our understanding of choices that are available for us. There are always many ways we can choose to react in response. Now we may have natural feelings and emotions being human in all kind of tribulations. But we are old enough in life to know that we don’t need to yield to our emotions or to react with our emotions.

It’s to be noted that between tribulations and character is an important word called perseverance. The word perseverance also means patience. As we abide in Christ and in His word and His word abides in us, He gives us perseverance or patience. In other words we get power of God in our life and the character of Jesus from abiding in Christ and His word. The developing of character comes by experiencing tribulation and tribulation comes from being on this planet earth. Jesus said in the world you shall receive tribulations but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.

It’s also to be noted that Temptation is not from God but it is more our own internal inclination and weaknesses that need to be overcome. Temptation is not found in our spirit. Temptation is found in our soul and our flesh. When those areas are renewed by the Word of God, our human spirit now works together with our soul. The Holy Spirit becomes available. He is the free gift of grace and promise of God to our lives. But He is limited according to what we ask or think, limited according to the limitations of our soul. Our human soul is a conduit by which the Holy Spirit flows. Therefore we need to develop our soul in the Word of God. Then we will be a real man or woman of God who is like Jesus, all our r thoughts are always in line with the Word of God. The closer we are with Jesus the more our thought conforms to His image.

If we walk with Jesus we are in perfect will of God. And we’re doing God’s perfect will. And as a result the power of God will flow in us and through us and God will grant us all our desires. We can cry out to God for His supernatural help now and the supernatural help comes. It flows forth from our abiding in Christ our abiding covers all our beings. Our abiding is so strong and the character of Jesus is so strong that we can be poked left, right and center and it doesn’t change our life. We know how to abide in and have patience in tribulation; we stand like the rock of Gibraltar, against the storm and until we see our desired result. God’s word is unchanging:

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 and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 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!

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

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
The Work Of Faith With Power

"While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease." Genesis 8:22

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Before anything good and wonderful happens in life to men, it is always preceded by prayer, even fervent prayer, just like Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. Hence the word of God encourages us to “confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16-18). There has to be seasons of prayer before God miracles are manifested upon the sons of men. God’s word is true:

'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. Zechariah 10:1

Yes prayer makes the impossible possible because we serve the God of the impossible and there is nothing too hard for Him! Through prayer in Jesus name, we can say 'Let the river of God flow amongst us. Holy Spirit come, move in power and let defeat become victory, crooked be made straight, injustice become justice, wrong become right, poverty become plenty, lack become abundance, negative things become positive things, sickness become health, weakness become strength, curses become blessings, sadness become joy, despair become hope, depression become praise, unbelief become faith, loss become restoration, bondage become redemption, wealth and riches become a reality and mountains be moved into the sea and be no more!' Yes, because of the name of Jesus and that our faith is not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God we can speak to all the mountains in our lives and tell them to be moved into the sea.

Faith or authority in the name that is not used produces nothing? Many of God’s people have no one to blame but themselves for not believing and acting on God’s word to see real circumstantial changes in the lives and their land. They don’t appreciate that Jesus took their infirmities and bore their sicknesses, therefore they can refuse to allow sickness to dominate their body for the Life of God flows within them bringing healing to every fiber of their being (Matthew 8:17; John 6:63). They don’t appreciate that they are redeemed from all the curse, as Jesus had become a curse for them (Galatians 3:13). But Jesus blood is flowing in their blood stream to every cell of their body, restoring life and health as they activate it and claim it by faith (Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6). The life of Jesus is a reality in their flesh, restoring every cell of their body for by Jesus stripes they were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

Since they have presented their body to God, for it is the temple of the HOLY GHOST and not their own, they can make a demand on their body in Jesus name to release the right chemicals, to be in perfect chemical balance and their pancreas to secrete the proper amount of insulin for life and health (1 Corinthians. 6:19.). Through the Word, God has imparted His life to them and they can speak life to restore their body for it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. (John 6:63; Mark 11:23). Because their heart beats with the rhythm of life, carrying the Life of God throughout their body they can decree LIFE AND HEALTH ABUNDANTLY (John 17:23, Ephesians 2:22, Ex. 23:25; Mark 11:23). They can command in Jesus name all blood cells to destroy every disease, germ and virus that tries to inhabit their' body. They can command in Jesus name every cell of my body to be normal (Romans 5:17; Luke 17:6.). In other words they can command divine health and life for God’s word is unchanging:

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:20-23.

The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made them free from the law of sin and death; therefore, they don’t have to allow sin, sickness or death to lord it over them. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is our Teacher and Guide, not sickness and disease. Believers have the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. They can confess that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them permeating God’s life through their veins, sending healing through-out their body. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them and gives life to their mortal body. (Romans 8:11.) They are free from the control of men and from the law of sin and death. Christ has set them free from the curse of the law having become a curse for them (Galatians 3:13).

Hence in Jesus' Name they can forbid their body, their soul and their spirit to be deceived in any manner. They can speak the Word of Faith and demand that every internal organ of their body perform a perfect work, for they are the temple of the Holy Ghost. They can charge the body in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the authority of His Holy WORD to be healed and made whole for the tongue of the wise promotes health. (Proverbs 12:18). They can resist the enemy in every form that he comes against them. They can require their body to be strong and healthy, and enforce it with God’s Word. They can reject the curse, and enforce life in their body for God has forgiven all their iniquities; He has healed all their diseases; He has redeemed their life from destruction. (Psalm 103:2-6) They can confess that because they obey God’s voice and do all that He speaks, He has blessed their food and water and has taken sickness away from them and will fulfill the number of their days in health. His word is unchanging:

"So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days Exodus 23:25-26

They are able to live in DIVINE HEALTH AND PROSPERITY continually because God says in His Word:

" Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 1:2

They can speak to Satan in the authority of Jesus' Name and say to all his principalities and powers, his master spirits that rule this present darkness, and his spiritual wickedness in high places they are all totally and completely bound here as they are already bound in Heaven. They are loosed from all his power according to Colossians 1:13, as God has delivered them from the power of darkness and has conveyed them into the kingdom of the Son of His love, which is above every thrones or dominions or principalities or power, past, present or future. They can tell Satan that he has no authority to operate against their family and them in this or any realm for they are the property of Almighty God and that He lives within them. He who is in them is greater than he that is in the world as 1 John 4:4 declares. And finally because they diligently obey the voice of the LORD their God, to observe carefully all His commandments which He has commanded them, all the blessings God had spoken to Moses shall come upon them and overtake them and they will be blessed and prospered in all things because God’s words says so. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) His word is true:

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want!" Psalm 23:1

"Thus says the Lord your redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: I am the Lord your God who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go." Isaiah 48:1

Chapter 29
Peace Be Still

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" Mark 4:35-41

Many of God’s people are still to learn that the different type of storms that they face, be it physical, financial, spiritual and relationships, doesn't matter to God who is LORD and ruler over all. We are to trust Him, not ourselves, not our spouses, not our friends, not our ministers, not our bodies, not our circumstances, nothing but God to bring us through to the other side of plenty, prosperity and victory in spite of everything that we are going through! We need to remember that in the midst of all storms the devil is a liar, tempter and a deceiver! And God’s word remains unchanging about what God can and will do for us:

Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off- Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words. Isaiah 29:17-21

On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city; Because the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks- 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 32:13-20

"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

God is a God of abundance and He loves that word. Jesus used it when He told us I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Yes God desires for peace to be within our walls and prosperity within our palaces. His miracle working power hasn’t and doesn’t change. He can easily meet all our needs and make our life whole. The Bible says the person who trusts in the Lord, his horn will be exalted in honor (Psalm 112:9). We are to follow the God’s ways and receive His abundant blessings. God’s word is true:

"Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death." Proverbs 8:32-36

"For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3

Yes, God will bless and increase them. He will comfort all their waste places. He will release health and healing over them. He will make their wilderness like Eden, and their desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. For those who fear His name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and they shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. They shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of their feet. God’s word is true:

Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds. The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!' Then Israel shall dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places." Deuteronomy 33:25-29

"Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. "From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Johsua 1:3-9

"Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:30

Those who choose to obey God and His word and honor Him in all they do, He will honor them and give them the gifts of abundant life and peace and joy and contentment. He will cause them to grow strong and mature, and will place a greater measure of His anointing on their life. And when the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19) For God is a God of promise who keeps all His promises and performs His word for those who do their part including trust God and taking Him at His word. They need to trust Him with all their heart and believe the promises that He gives them for then they will be success and prosperous. 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. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Psalm 112:1-4

The Lord’s chastening comes to all of God’s true children to purify them, to refine away the impurities from their life and to remove the pollution of their carnal nature, where God purge away the lusts of the flesh and the sinful attitudes and thinking patterns that so easily beset them. In the fires of tribulation by His Spirit God builds and forms His character and His nature within them as they look only to Him and walk by faith, not by sight. God’s word is unchanging:

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 12:11-17

God takes all of His servants through His refining process to cause them to grow and mature. He teaches them in the storms and troubles of life to walk by faith and not by sight and to look only to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of their faith. Even the very hairs of their head are numbered and it’s their Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom- all of it. God’s word is unchanging:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:6-11

Chapter 30
He Is Also Able

Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126:5-6

by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:22-25

No matter what the problem or mess a person might be in, Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. His word is unchanging:

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-The sure mercies of David. Isaiah 55:1-3

God has nothing but blessings and the best of all things for His people in abundance. He desires that they incline their ear and come to Him. Hear and their soul shall live and He will make an everlasting covenant with them, a covenant of peace and prosperity and to do better do better for them than at their beginnings. His word is unchanging:

"I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 36:11

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

"I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. "And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Ezekiel 36:25-30

There is no one who will do for them what God will do for them including cleansing them from all their filthiness and from all their idols; giving them a new heart and putting a new spirit within them; taking the heart of stone out of their flesh and giving them heart of flesh; putting His Spirit within them and causing them to walk in His statutes, and keeping His judgments and doing them; delivering them and prospering them; taking all famine away from them and rebuilding and restoring all things. No one can bless and prosper them like the Lord who riches and resources are unlimited. His word is unchanging:

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 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 61:4-9

God wants His people to dream big dreams and He will fulfill those dreams for He is God, not man! He who has already given them His best, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and His wonderful Counselor, the Holy Spirit, desires to give them the rest and do exceedingly abundantly above all that they ask or think, according to the power that works in them, the same power that created heaven and earth and raised Jesus Christ from the dead. His word is unchanging:

"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7-8

Because God is a great and wonderful miracle working God there is nothing that He cannot or will not do for those who believe. Nothing is too big or too small for Him to look after and nothing is impossible with God. His word is unchanging:

Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 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." 1 Samuel 30:17-20

And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. 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. Esther 10:1-3

Yes, the God who took nobodies like Joseph, David and Mordecai and made them into somebody’s is alive and well and able to do the same for anyone who trusts in Him and walk with Him no matter what the negative situation and circumstance. God’s word is unchanging:

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

Chapter 31
He Vanquished Them

"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

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 firsthand 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 included 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, whom he had defied. The bible records:

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, whom you have defied. "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."

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. And David inquired of God, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand." So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water." Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim. And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

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. Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. 1 Chronicles 14:9-17

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, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:1-7

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 32
You Have A Friend In Jesus

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 someone 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:

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!

In Joshua 1:2—3 God gave Joshua instructions on how the Israelites were to take possession of their inheritance: