The LORD Will Hear

The LORD Will Hear

Introduction

But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him. Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:3-5

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

God is a prayer answering God who desires Shalom for His people. In Hebrews Shalom is defined as completeness, wholeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, fullness, perfectness, harmony, the absence of agitation and the absence of discord. Shalom means completeness and wholeness in all areas. The definition of shalom breaks down even further into peace and health. Some think shalom just means peace, but it means so much more. There is a certain kind of peace you can have by getting your bills paid, having a car, having payments caught up on the house and enough food to eat. There is a certain kind of peace that the world has, but Jesus said, “I have come to give you peace (shalom), different than what the world has.” The peace from Jesus is completeness, wholeness, health and prosperity.

Yes, God wants His people to live in Peace and be made whole body, soul and spirit as well as financially. And God has the power to make it all so. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace or Shalom! God’s word is true:

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 3:7-8

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

Many of God’s people forget that we are in a constant conflict with an enemy, the devil, who comes and takes the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved, healed, delivered, blessed and prospered. God created heaven and earth by the spoken word. And it’s the spoken word of God when it falls on good ground on those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. So if the ground is not good or is not receiving the spoken word of God there will be no fruit. Yet God's word is unchanging:

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

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

Chapter 1
He Will Save Us

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. Psalm 33:18-22

(For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us); Isaiah 33:22

Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with a mighty God who is a Savior and everything that His trusting ones need! As a result God’s true children don’t have to accept any negative thing in their bodies, lives or circumstances be it sickness, disease, infirmity, poverty, bondage, lack, oppression or depression. God is more than enough to be all that they need and to deal with each one of their enemies. His word is unchanging:

"Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Exodus 6:6

O LORD, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of trouble. … The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure. Isaiah 33:2-5

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

Sooner or later trouble comes to everyone! But for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and are filled with the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) the Lord is their salvation also in the time of trouble as well as the strength of salvation. The LORD who is our Judge, the LORD who is our Lawgiver, the LORD who is our King, the Lord who is our all; He will save us. 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. Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:1-10

Yes, the Lord who makes the desert rejoice and blossom abundantly as the rose, even with joy and singing, will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save His trusting ones! They have His word on it. The Word of God of a God who doesn’t and cannot lie! Yes, He who opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped the ears of the deaf, made the lame leap like a dear and the tongue of the dumb sing, has not changed and is the same yesterday today and forever. He is still the great and powerful and wonderful miracle working God who can do anything but fail His trusting ones! As a result the ransomed of the LORD shall return with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isaiah 35:10, Ephesians 3:20-21).

We are to remember that poverty is not the will of God for any believer. Despite this truth, some people have taken a "vow of poverty." Some Christians believe that poverty is part of being holy and righteous. This is far from the truth. Poverty has nothing to do with godliness. To be poor or impoverished means, "to be without; in lack; deprived." You and I don't serve a God of lack and insufficiency. He's the God of the exceeding and abundant who wants to lavish us with His goodness. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible proves that poverty goes against everything God desires for believers. Poverty is a spirit designed to keep believers in financial bondage. The devil uses this spirit to hinder Christians from prospering and ultimately fulfilling their destiny of being a blessing to the entire world (Genesis 12:2-3). God favors prosperity. According to Psalm 35:27 and 3 John 2, He is pleased when we prosper in our spirit, soul and body. His desire is that we prosper economically, socially, emotionally, mentally and physically.

God sent Jesus and anointed Him to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised. Jesus ordained and sent disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out devils. The works of God continue on today. Help and healing are always available to those who believe. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father," John 14:12.

What God has done for others, He can certainly do for His true ones. His works have not ceased, so they can ask what they will in faith believing and let God move for them and theirs. They are to let God's promises be living reality to them daily. They are to claim them by faith and hold to them at all times. There isn't anything as trustworthy as the promises of the living God. He is still on the throne, and His works are mighty toward men.

But the other side of the coin, unfortunately for them, many Christians accept debt, financial hardship, substandard living, sickness and troubled relationships as a part of life. They settle for less than God's best, unaware of their covenant rights with Him. As Christians and as King’s kids we have the right to prosper or succeed in every area of life-financially, emotionally, socially, mentally and physically. We have the right to total life prosperity! We can increase our knowledge base of what our covenant rights are by studying what the Bible has to say concerning God's people. From finances to owning a successful corporation, we can learn how to lay hold of our inheritance of a life of prosperity now! We can overcome the devil through our testimony and confession as greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. We can tell the devil:

Satan, our Jesus is bigger than any disease or problem you might give us. You are overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony! (Rev. 12:11). We are washed clean by the blood of Jesus and by His stripes we are healed, and we refuse to accept the curse of sin and sickness and poverty and lack. We bind you right now by the Spirit of God in Jesus' name. You foul devil of cancer, liver or diabetes or any other incurable disease, we command you to take your hands off our family and us right now in the name of Jesus. We curse the seed and we curse the root of every cancer, liver, diabetes and bad cell in our bodies and we command them to die in the name of Jesus. We speak a new immune system or any other system into our being and we speak a new blood system into our bodies, a blood system that will not accept cancer or foul cells. And in the mighty name of Jesus which is above every name, we command all of the electrical and chemical frequencies in every cell in our body to be in harmony and in balance and to digest the bad cells. We command everything in our bodies to be healed and made whole and to function properly for the reason it was created and to stay functioning until Jesus returns. In Jesus name we come against and rebuke anything evil, wicked, wrong, sick or negative thing in our bodies, hearts, circumstances and lives and command it to go away and never come back, in Jesus name. Amen and amen!

We are redeemed from the curse as Jesus had become a curse for us, Galatians 3:13, and His blood is flowing in our blood stream. It flows to every cell of our body, restoring life and health. (Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6.) The life of First Peter 2:24 is a reality in our flesh, restoring every cell of our body for by Jesus stripes we were healed. We have presented our body to God for it is the temple of the LIVING GOD. And God now dwells in us and His LIFE permeates our SPIRIT, SOUL and BODY so that we are filled with the fullness of God daily and preach the whole counsel of God. (Rom.12: 1,2; John 14:20, Acts 20:27.) Our body is the temple of the HOLY GHOST and not our own. In Jesus name we make a demand on our body to release the right chemicals, to be in perfect chemical balance and for our pancreas to secrete the proper amount of insulin for life and health. (1 Corinthians. 6:19.)

Satan we speak to you and in the authority of Jesus' Name and we say to all your principalities and powers, your master spirits that rule this present darkness, and your spiritual wickedness in high places they are all totally and completely bound here as they are already bound in Heaven. We are loosed from all your power according to Colossians 1:13, as God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of the Son of His love which is above every thrones or dominions or principalities or power, past, present or future. We are saved, healed, delivered and filled with the Spirit of God through the name and blood of Jesus. We command that you take your hands off all that touches and concerns us especially our finances and to restore in Jesus name seven fold everything that you have stolen from us for we are God’s property!

We also can use our angels and release them to make real our blessings:

Man was created a little lower than God, and angels were created lower than man. In Christ, we have a right to all that is God's and all that is at His disposal, including angels. Angels are ministering spirits assigned to minister to and for the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:13-14). As a born-again believers, that means us!

The terms of our covenant with God are administered, managed, supplied, executed, superintended, dispensed, distributed and furnished through the ministry of angels.

Praying in the name (authority) of Jesus. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:14).

Declaring that we are heirs of salvation and God. (ROM 8:17, GAL 3:29, EPH 3:6, 2TM 3:9, TI 3:7 HEB 6:17, HEB 11:9, JMS 2:5)

Declaring that they have been sent to minister to our needs. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14).

As long as we remain in the will of God, angels are charged with our protection and deliverance (Psalm 91:11, AMP; 34:7; Daniel 3:28-29; 6:22; Acts 12:7-9; 27:22-23).

For God's promises to be established in our life, we must decree them (You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28). We also decree that have a covenant with God and the anointing to get wealth. "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)

Angels only respond to the voice of God's Word that we decree (Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. Psalm 103:20-21). Then, they can carry out His pleasure in our life--our prosperity (Psalm 35:27). We can command them to hearken to the voice of God's Word that we speak. We can commanding them to go to the north, south, east and west to divinely clear the path to our wealthy place. We can rejoice, knowing that our covenant is established with God. Concentrating on circumstances rather than on God's promises causes many people to struggle. Our situation may seem impossible, but we focus on our covenant instead. Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

We rejoice in the fact that angels are available even when things seem impossible. Example: The prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the enemy's army but were delivered through the ministry of angels. God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:14-18

Chapter 2
Christ Lives In Me

"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

God’s solution to lost and hurting humanity was absolutely unique. He not only gave His only begotten Son as an appropriation for our sins on Calvary, where Jesus shed His blood and gave up His life, but through the Holy Spirit He gave us His son to live His live in us. God took the world’s sins and put them on Jesus who was righteous. And then He put Jesus righteousness on us. We became new creations in Christ Jesus without our own merits. Hence Apostle Paul stated:

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption- that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." 1 Corinthians 1:30-31

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

"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. Galatians 2:20

Christ Jesus became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption! As result we now accept it by faith and trust the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus Christ and raised Him from the dead to work all things out for us including our sanctification. We cannot do it on our own because flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit of life in Christ gives us life. So whenever we have a need we confess Jesus Christ is our wisdom, our Redemption, our Salvation, our righteousness, our victory, our very present help in trouble and everything that we need. We trust in God and rest on Jesus Christ, and what He has done on Calvary for us. It doesn’t depend on us - it depends on Him. We look at His finished work at Calvary where He made the great exchange:

Jesus Christ has substituted all things on the cross for us and exchanged it there for us. Our death, defeat and poverty and curses have been nailed to the Cross. On the Cross Jesus Christ not only won real victory and redemption over sin and death and the world, but also over the wicked arch enemy Satan and all his angels who had made the Cross necessary by what he did to Adam and Eve.

The enemy had deceived and entrapped Adam and Eve to sin against God and live a life that was cursed and full of toil and trouble. But on the Cross Jesus Christ did the great exchange. He exchanged His sinlessness for our sins, His righteousness for our unrighteousness, His strength for our weakness, His boundless supply for our needs, His stripes for our healing, His riches for our poverty, His victories for our defeats, His glory for our shame, His triumphs for our disappointments, His Honor for our nothingness, His prosperity for our lacks, His joy for our sadness, and His fullness for our emptiness. But all of this is also something that must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit before we can understand and partake of it fully. Yet it is all our birthright and the blessing of the fullness of the gospel of Christ.

The message of the cross and the Gospel is not only that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. He is now is seated at the right hand of the Father with all power given unto Him in heaven and earth waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. But the message of the cross and the Gospel is also that as a result of the victories Jesus won on the cross, He has now given and shared all that He has with us (John 16:14) and He is also with and for us continually (Matthew 28:18-20).

God in Christ Jesus has literally become our inheritance and great reward; as well as everything else which we need, including our healer and deliverer. As result of the Cross, God said about Jesus and of us who have become strong and overcomers:

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12

As a result of the cross, in Christ Jesus, we are rich, victorious and have a new life in Christ Jesus, as we walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. The empty Cross now also stands as a reminder and says to the world and to all the demons of Hell “You did your worst, but God gave His best.” Now things are no longer the same, because Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father waiting for His enemies to be submitted to Him. He has also now given us the power to subdue all His and our enemies through the use of His name and Word and dependence of the Spirit. Hence the Cross is also a real testimony of what God’s power can do no matter what the Hell or injustice that the world or the devil will throw at us. For Jesus’ resurrection after a cruel and awful death signifies the real possibility of total and complete victory in our lives, hearts and circumstances as well in the current time of life as we trust in God just like Jesus did.

The empty Cross of Christ at Calvary now says to you and I, that for every defeat there is victory in its place, for every failure there is success, for every endeavor there is prosperity, for every weakness there is grace, for every sickness there is healing, for every hatred there is love, for every injustice there is justice and for every poverty there is riches. All of this and much, much more belongs to each child of God because of what Jesus did and won on the Cross. Hence we can by the Holy Spirit understand what the Lord said to Apostle Paul:

“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 12:9-10)

Our strength and victory comes from God Himself and all the victories He had won for us on the Cross of Calvary. Although in the annuals of time and history, our Creator God died on the Cross-on Calvary, but He didn’t stay there. He arose triumphant and victorious over everything, over the worst that the devil or others could throw at or do to Him and to us. Because of the cross of Christ, God has reconciled all things to Himself whether things on earth or things in heaven for Jesus having wiped out all the enemies of His people and especially the requirements that were against them, He has taken it out of the way having nailed to the cross.

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords with His unlimited and unimaginable power and riches was never poor or debased. But He chose, because of us, to leave behind his infinite power and riches become a man and identify and relate to humanity in all its sufferings and ways. God in Christ Jesus stripped Himself of His royalty and Kingship. He then became an ordinary man and walked with men doing by faith and dependence on the Holy Spirit the impossible such as healing the sick, raising the dead and cast out demons. He did it all to show that we can do it also. Then the innocent Son of man and Son of God went to a Cross-on a hill called Calvary where He bled and died for all of humanity.

But the Cross-was not the end of Jesus Christ or life, it was the beginning of something new, a New Covenant or New Testament. It was the beginning of a new life and a new man and a new Spirit for those who would accept what Jesus had done for them. It was the beginning of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. As a result God’s word was now true:

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’ Joel 2:16-21

Now all flesh can be saved, healed and delivered and walk in the newness of life in the power of the Holy Spirit. All men can prophesy, speak in tongues and be filled with the fullness of God. The good news of the Cross-is that the different victories that Jesus won there, and the resulting New Covenant with all its rights and privileges, is now ours to be claimed and accepted by faith. They will be true if we will only believe, accept, confess and act on it and then allow the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead to change us. Jesus won for us, on the Cross, such a victory with such power and might that it made hell tremble and Heaven sing with joy as the Triumph of Victory resounded from one part of Heaven to another. Our ears will tingle and our hearts will sing, as the faithful and mighty Holy Spirit reveals this victory to us.

The fact remains that Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God, ready to use His power on behalf of the good of His true children; to make them more than conquerors in all things that the world, the flesh and the devil would throw at them. For His word is unchanging:

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24

“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

In the world lack of strength and dependence on others is considered weakness, but in the kingdom of God weakness that causes us to depend on and trust in the Lord is great strength and blessings. For it is when the power of Christ rest upon us, because of our weakness, that we are truly strong. As it is then that we rest upon the Lord and walk in the power of His might and Spirit and not our own. As we by faith tap into all the riches and resources of heaven which are now ours by Christ Jesus because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross two thousand years ago we become more than conquerors. It is when the power of Christ rest upon us, because of our weakness, that we are truly strong. For it is then that we rest upon the Lord and walk in the power of His might and Spirit and not our own.

Yes, as a result of the victories Jesus won on the cross we are now delivered from the hand of our enemies, and are able to serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. Just like Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit stated about God and us:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. Luke 1:68-75

“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. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” 1 Thessalonians5:23–24

“May the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” Hebrew 13:20–21

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work” 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen” Jude 24–25

Chapter 3
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

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. Job 42:12

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:1-6

We have many in Christendom who spiritualize the promises of God that they become useless and of no avail including “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” by 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 (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)! The comfort of God is not just something spiritual but has physical aspects attached to it just like Job could testify when LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning by restoring to him double all his real losses!

To say they there are not real physical benefits in serving and being faithful to God is to deny they truth of the word of God that the Lord is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Many anointed ones in the bible including Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses, Joshua, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat and Joseph can testify how God blessed them in wealth and richest! God’s word is true:

'I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.' Joshua 24:13

Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Psalm 112:1-3

The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, "behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. "And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 1 Kings 3:10-13

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

God has clearly stated “The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house!” The blessings of God include wealth and riches for the upright! To deny this truth is to deny the word of God and to add or remove things from it which is a very foolish thing to do!

Mind you there are those so called Christians who claim and confess God’s word in Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” And since the bible doesn’t state how they wealth is acquired they steal it from the elderly and God’s people by means of a ponzi scheme or through “love offerings” that are freely given by God’s people.”

The Lakeland Ledger reported on June 16, 2006 Daniel Strader To Stay In Prison - Son of religious leader is serving a 45-year sentence for stealing $3 million from investors[i] By Jason Geary:

BARTOW -- A bid for clemency by Daniel Strader, a former insurance agent and son of a prominent Lakeland religious leader who is in prison for stealing more than $3 million from investors, has been denied. Strader, 48, has been searching for mercy since his 1995 conviction on 238 criminal charges.

He is serving a 45-year prison sentence with a scheduled release date in 2033.

In December, Karl Strader, the founder of the Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland and father of Daniel Strader, and other supporters made their plea to aides to the state Clemency Board. They suggested Daniel Strader should be released from prison to begin repaying his victims.

But the State Attorney's Office in Bartow received a letter Tuesday from the Office of Executive Clemency in Tallahassee with news that Strader's request to waive the clemency rules to allow his case to proceed had been denied.

The Florida State prosecutors proved their case and convinced the jurors that Dan Strader devised an elaborate scheme to attract cash in real-estate and mortgage investments. He was selling the securities without a license and that the securities were unregistered. This was done in an organized method amounting to Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act.

As a result Daniel Strader, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in August 1995. He was convicted of 238 felony counts for bilking 57 mostly elderly investors, some members of the church, out of $2.3 million by selling investments in properties that didn't exist or already had liens against them.

Crime didn’t pay for Dan or Karl Strader who had to sell his beloved Carpenter’s Home Church to another scoundrel Pastor Randy White. Speaking of Randy White the St. Petersburg Times reported on July 11, 2009 Without Walls gets new pastor [ii] By Sherri Day:

TAMPA — One week after her ex-husband resigned as senior pastor of Without Walls International Church, Paula White plans to take the pulpit Sunday as the church's new leader, the Whites said in separate interviews late Friday.

...Word of Paula White's new post seeped out Sunday when Randy White preached his last sermon as senior pastor at the church and resigned. White, 51, said he was stepping aside because of health concerns. He declined to elaborate on his condition, although he said he had been ill and in and out of the hospital for much of the last seven months.

"I have some serious health issues right now," White said in an interview Friday. "I've had six different doctors say that I had to take the stress, the pressure out of my life. So I've resigned, and Paula's taking over."

Although she had made periodic visits, Paula White, 43, has been away from full-time pastoring at Without Walls for more than two years. She left Tampa following a 2007 divorce from her husband. Since then, she said, she has ministered mostly in New York, Texas and abroad.

…Once a powerhouse couple in charismatic Christian circles, the Whites started the ministry that would become Without Walls in a South Tampa storefront. Its present sanctuary seats 4,000, Randy White said. The ministry was hit hard in recent years by the couple's divorce, the death of White's daughter from brain cancer and the hint of scandals, including a federal inquiry into the church's finances by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

But crime does pay for David Cerullo C.E.O of Inspiration Network and the son of Morris Cerrullo, a prominent TV and healing Evangelist from San Diego California. The Charlotte Observer reported on June 29, 2009 CEO of ministry building $4 million lakefront home Inspiration Networks' Cerullo is constructing one of the priciest houses in western S.C[iii] By Ames Alexander:

At a time when Inspiration Networks has been cutting jobs, freezing wages and even adjusting the office thermostat to save money, the chief executive of the Charlotte-area broadcaster has invested about $4million in a lakefront home under construction in South Carolina.

CEO David Cerullo's new house includes more than 9,000 heated square feet, along with a 2,000-square-foot screened porch, records show. It sits on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains west of Greenville in a gated community that overlooks Lake Keowee.

And it's shaping up to be one of the priciest houses in western South Carolina. On Realtor.com, just two homes in the greater Greenville area are on the market for more than $4 million.

Cerullo's fast-growing religious network, meanwhile, is drawing scrutiny for the money it collects from donors and the incentives it won from the state of South Carolina to move from Charlotte.

The broadcaster has raised tens of millions, largely by telling viewers that God brings financial favor to those who donate.

As the nonprofit network has grown – with revenues expected to approach $100 million this year – so has Cerullo's salary.

With compensation exceeding $1.5 million a year, Cerullo is the best-paid leader of any religious charity tracked by watchdog groups, the Observer reported last month.

… In 2006, Cerullo and his wife, Barbara, paid $950,000 for the one-acre lot along Lake Keowee, real estate records show. Two years later, they took out a $3.15 million construction loan for the custom-built house.

The couple now lives in a 12,000-square foot home in south Charlotte valued at $1.7 million.

Today people are very disillusioned with Christianity and the church! They see Catholic priests violate young parishioners. They see televangelists have affairs and steal money from their ministries. On the ground level, they see their neighbors hosting raucous parties, cheating in business and cheating on their spouses and then going to church every Sunday morning and pretending to be pious. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on July 2, 2009 100 Huntley Street hosts suspended during Ponzi scheme probe[iv] by CBC News:

David Mainse … remains on 100 Huntley Street, but his sons have been asked to leave the evangelical television program. (Canadian Press)

Ron and Reynold Mainse have been relieved of their duties as hosts of Christian program 100 Huntley Street after allegedly becoming involved in a $14.1-million Ponzi scheme.

Crossroads Christian Communications, the Canadian ministry behind 100 Huntley Street, has issued a statement saying ministry funds were not used in the scheme and that the brothers had made a private investment.

Crossroads founder David Mainse remains on the show, but his two sons were suspended in early June after it was learned their investments were being investigated by the U.S. Security Exchange Commission.

They had invested money with Gordon Driver, a neighbour of Ron Mainse in Freelton, Ont., whose company is called Axcess Automation.

The SEC alleges Driver was running a Ponzi scheme that drew $14.1 million US from more than 100 Canadian and U.S. investors.

Driver was promising weekly returns on investment as high as five per cent, based on special software he said he developed to trade futures.

The Ontario Securities Commission has ordered Driver and Axcess Automation to cease all trading and the SEC is seeking to seize its assets.

According to SEC court filings, Driver testified that he had worked for 100 Huntley Street as a teenager.

In a May 14 filing in California, the SEC accuses Ron and Reynold Mainse, who were hosts on 100 Huntley Street, of helping Driver recruit new investors.

The hypocrisy of prominent TV Evangelists and Pastors is very evident in the fact that most of them ask the viewerss to either step out in faith and make a super large gift or to give sacrificially while they themselves don’t do it!

Look at Richard Roberts and how he was forced to resign as President of ORU because of his love for a very comfortable luxurious living? Look at Jim and Tammy Bakker and their luxurious life style at the expense of the donors? And look at what brought down the downfall of Rex Humbard?

In 1973 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and West Virginia Securities Division issued cease-and-desist orders on $12 million worth of gospel bonds sold by TV evangelist Rex Humbard of Akron. The authorities warned that — despite his $4 million cathedral, $250,000 mansion, private jet, $10 million office tower, church-owned girdle factory, and other holdings — Humbard lacked enough assets to back up the bonds. Humbard begged emergency donations and reaped enough millions to lift the government freezes. (He also sold the unprofitable girdle factory because “panty hose killed us.”) And in June, Humbard and his sons bought a $650,000 vacation home complex, in addition to their mansions in Akron from the emergency donations.

And when the news media went public about the Humbard’s vacation home complex that was the end of Rex ministry! So in away the arrogant Mainses who have circled the wagons have something to fear or they would be honest with everybody?

Note: Have you noticed that many preachers are a broken record and their preaching is very narrow minded especially concerning giving that it’s all about money? They ignore the word of god that tells us that our giving is to be tempered according to what one has and not according to what one does not have! And we are to give ourselves first to God and then everything else! The bible tells us:

And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 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. And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack-that there may be equality. 2 Corinthians 8:5-13

Chapter 4
Health And Healing

'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, '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 33:6-13

Where the was dearth and desolation in the land, health, healing, abundance of peace and truth, joy, gladness, goodness, and prosperity were words that God Himself had used and had promised to give to His people who were captives in a strange land! And of course, God keeps His promises all of them. And these are words He has and promised for His people even in this day and age that we live in no matter what is going around them. And God has the power to make it so for the LORD is good, for His mercy endures forever to those who will bring the sacrifice of praise to Him! The bible tells us great is our Lord, and mighty in power:

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. Psalm 147:1-6

However the other side of the coin that the dearth and desolation of God’s people Israel was brought upon by themselves! God Himself stated in Jeremiah 2:13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water, 3:1 But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD and 4:22 "For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge."

God’s people who once were loyal to the Lord and a holy people turned their back on Him. They had perverted their way; they had forgotten the LORD their God. They had sinned against the LORD their God, and had not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. They didn't put away their abominations out of God's sight and return to Him! They became harlots and adulterers! As a result destruction upon destruction was cried, the whole land was plundered and those who were not destroyed went into Babylonian captivity for seventy years. God’s word is unchanging:

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

…They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. 2:15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 2 Peter 2:14

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:1-4

Even today most of God’s people don’t understand that “whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” and God calls them adulterers and adulteresses? Because they live and do exactly as the world does, and they are not different! They divorce, lie, steal, cheat, do all kinds of evil and wicked things. They run after money and have a heart trained in covetous practices. They are accursed children, who have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. And God word to idolaters and adulterers has not changed:

"Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: 'Return, backsliding Israel,' says the LORD; 'I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,' says the LORD; 'I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,' says the LORD. Return, O backsliding children," says the LORD; "for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. "And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:12

The book of Hosea is a powerful image of how God loves His bride even though she has become an adulteress. God calls Hosea, a prophet, to take a wife who is and will be an adulteress. A cycle ensues: faithfulness, adultery, repentance and redemption, faithfulness, adultery, etc. But God isn't just telling the story of one husband and wife. He's using their story to point his people to the fact that we do the exact same thing to Him. God has given us salvation, hope, and freedom. And yet we often turn away from him and turn to other gods. Money, career, vanity, success, people's perceptions and acceptance of us. God reminds us that we have become idolaters and adulterers.

God had told Hosea to marry a bad woman, Gomer, she was a prostitute (Hosea 1:2). I kind of think Hosea had already had his eyes on this Jezebel, but Hosea knew Gomer was not the proper kind of woman to marry. God told Hosea to go ahead and marry Gomer. Oh how happy Hosea must have been on their wedding day. He said "Hot dog! I've got me a beautiful wife." She was probably beautiful on the outward appearance like Britney Spears or Christian Aguilera. I'm sure she was a hot-dancer and probably wore a few tattoos. Her captivating eyes probably cut right through Hosea with striking beauty. I'm sure she was gorgeous. Little did Hosea realize that his new love would break his heart. Gomer cheated on Hosea left and right, she was a two-time loser.

Poor Hosea, his heart was broken. Gomer slept with one man after another and eventually didn't bother to come home anymore. To make a long story short...at the end of Hosea we find Gomer being sold as a slave. Isn't that where sin always takes people? Sin will enslave you (John 8:34). Hosea hadn't seen Gomer for years and had done his best to raise the kids on his own. Gomer had abandoned her family in pursuit of pleasure and wickedness...but only for a season. Hosea had every right to divorce Gomer and never speak to her again.

Time after time, Hosea pleads with his wife to just come home, but she will not return. Hosea tells her he loves her and wants to forget the past. Gomer laughs at Hosea and goes her own way again. She is having a good time and could care less about Hosea or her children. There are MANY women in the world today just like Gomer, women like Jennifer Lopez, who one day just walked out the door on her husband...never to return. Hosea was a tenderhearted man married to a coldhearted woman.

Hosea just so happened to be walking by the market one day where the slaves are sold. As Hosea is walking by, he looks up and notices an old battered woman with a familiar face. It is his wife, Gomer. Hosea cries when he sees Gomer and cannot believe how she has changed. Her beauty is faded and her shapely body withered. She is so ashamed of what she has done...wasted years living in sin...why would Hosea want her back when no one else does? Hosea's heart breaks and he buys Gomer back. Hosea pays cash to buy his wayward wife back from off the slave market.

What a great picture of God's unfeigned love, not the type of synthetic love that the world offers. Hosea NEVER gave up on his wife and God has not given up on His people.

Chapter 5
Be Strong In The Power of His Might

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 3:16-21

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

There are those Christian preachers who blame all the problems in the lives of Christians on their carnality and on the words they speak! While Apostle Paul prayed for the individual Christians in Ephesus that God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man and told them to 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!

To wrestle not only implies force but physical contact otherwise there is no wrestling match. Hence to beat our opponent the devil we must be have strength and power that comes from the LORD, otherwise we will be defeated and even deceived as the devil plays games with our minds, wills and emotions including to cause us to walk by sight instead of by faith trusting and believing God and His word no matter what!

Speaking of deception which is a very common wile of the devil which he used on Eve, Dr. Larry Ollison in his article Self-Deception Can Be Deadly states:

Sometimes we are deceived and it is not Satan who deceives us.

First Corinthians 3:18 says, “Let no one deceive himself.” And in 1 John 1:8 it says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We can see clearly from these two verses that it is possible to deceive ourselves.

But how do we deceive ourselves anyway? Once again let’s go to the Word. James 1:22-25 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

So, according to the Bible, a man who hears the Word and does not do it deceives himself. Because he hears the Word of God, he has convinced himself that everything is okay. The reality however is that everything is not okay. He just thinks it is. Therefore he has deceived himself.

In Matthew 7:24, Jesus tells the story of two men who built houses. One man, a wise man, built his house on the rock and when the storms came, his house withstood the storms.

The other man, a foolish man, built his house on the sand. When the storms came, his house was destroyed. Jesus said the man who built his house on the rock was like someone who hears His sayings and does them. He compared the foolish man who built his house on the sand to a man who heard His sayings and did not do them.

Both men built houses and probably both houses looked good. Both men heard the sayings of Jesus and that’s good. But when the storms came, only the house built on the rock, only the man who acted on what he heard, survived. Acting on the Word of God is what we call FAITH.

We must not deceive ourselves. Hearing the Word of God without acting on the Word can be deadly. God didn’t give us His Word just so we would be highly educated. Education is good. It’s a good thing to read and study God’s Word, but without action it profits us nothing. That’s what the scribes and Pharisees did at the time of Jesus and Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy.

So, we have a choice to make. Do we hear the Word and sit back and say, “That sounds pretty good” and do nothing? Or, do we hear the Word and then act on what we hear?

A doer of the Word is someone who prays for the sick. A doer of the Word is someone who forgives. A doer of the Word is someone who loves those who don’t love in return. A doer of the Word is someone who casts out demons. A doer of the Word is someone who has not deceived himself.

Both Jesus and Apostle Paul taught us that we are not to let no one deceive us especially false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing. The bible tells us:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:15-23

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." Ephesians 5:6-14

If deception of Christians by empty words of deceivers were not possible then Apostle Paul would not warn Christians about it or that because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience and also tells us do not be partakers with them.

And scriptures doesn’t tell us that exposing the unfruitful works of darkness which are done by the sons of disobedience is wrong but rather children of light are to become aware of them, expose them and to have no fellowship with the perpetrators of evil, lies, deception and wickedness many of whom are goats not sheep! And God’s word is true:

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:41-46

Jesus taught that the goats who did not give him food when He was hungry, give him drink when He was thirsty, take Him in when He was a stranger, clothe Him when He was naked, visit Him when He was sick and in prison would go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Yes, all those who did not minister to the least of one of these are unrighteous. And since Jesus wrote the rules and enforces them, they are in deep trouble.

Yes, Jesus taught that all His words were not to be ignored or there would be serious consequences. He also told us to beware of men who would come as wolves in sheep’s clothing and would teach the doctrine of men as commandments of God (Matthew 16:9). He also taught:

· 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.' "

· 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "

· 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "

Yes, these are the keys to proper ministry and Christian living for God’s word is unchanging:

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.' "

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,' "and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 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 6:6-12

The enemy and men are great liars and deceivers and love to appeal to the lusts of men including mouthing words that sound nice and appear to true but have no basis in fact. In order to ensnare those who are gullible, even the righteous, the eloquent words that men speak about something must appear to be true and must have an element of truth in them. It’s a well known fact that if something appears too good to be true, then it’s not true. Even though many pastors and preachers have promised a hundred fold returns for money sowed into their ministries, very few, if any, of the sheep can testify that they have had a consistent hundred return fold from their giving into a particular ministry. Yet God’s word is unchanging:

"I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' "How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, "who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. "The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD. "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

"Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who steal My words every one from his neighbor. "Behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use their tongues and say, 'He says.' "Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the LORD, "and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all," says the LORD. "So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, 'What is the oracle of the LORD?' you shall then say to them, 'What oracle?' I will even forsake you," says the LORD. "And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' I will even punish that man and his house. Jeremiah 23:25-34

Even though quite a few pastors and preachers prophecy false dreams and vision and cause God’s people to err by their lies and by their recklessness, God did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit the people at all. And God will in due season punish those are false and those who listen to their lies.

We are to check everything that we hear about God and His word with His written word, the bible, and with the Holy Spirit. If it is really His word then there must be a confirmation with two witnesses and with miracles, signs and wonders - otherwise it not from God but from man or the devil.

Chapter 6
Supplication In The Spirit

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- and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:14-20

Evangelical Christians of most persuasions don’t pray in the Spirit (in tongues) and many so called Pentecostals don’t pray in tongues on a daily bases even though all of the New Testament was written by tongue speakers. Then they wonder why they have no power and why there are no manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit. Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 14:5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, 14:18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all, and 14:39 do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Speaking in tongues is not a sign of spirituality, holiness or righteousness but an important way of getting into the Spirit and allowing the gifts of the Spirit to manifest themselves in the life of a believer so that they can do the greater works that Jesus promised:

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:17-20

Those who reject praying in the Spirit, in tongues, or don’t understand its importance do themselves and others much harm! And if they are in error about praying, living and walking in the Spirit, they are in error about many other things especially since they cannot hear or discern the voice of God on a daily basis!

God who is no respecter of persons and loves all His children equally desires to use them in the ministry of the gifts of the Spirit and so they can see the down trodden lifted up by the healing and miracle gifts. He desires that they bear much fruit and walk as the original apostle lead by His Spirit. But He cannot do this if they reject praying in the Spirit or praying in tongues!

Evangelist/Pastor Gordon Williams http://gordwilliams.com/ writes

In fact, tongues and all of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are signs of spirituality, holiness and righteousness. The Greek word for spirituality is pneumatikos which means the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit brings the “Holiness of God into our physical bodies and begins the process of “sanctification” or to frame another word the process of holy-ization which is the process of being “transformed” (Rom. 12: 2). The Greek word translated as transformed is the word from which we get the word “metamorphosis” which is a process which changes a lower level of life into a higher level which is to develop the character of Jesus in us called “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5: 22 – 23). This process of sanctification proceeds every time we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 3 – 8). The result is that we become and are “the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5: 21; Eph. 4: 24) which means that we have a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The “signs following” and Gifts of the Holy Spirit are public proof of the right kind of spirituality (there is another so-called bad or wrong form spirituality (psyckikos whose source is our human spirit/soul created by sin and having fellowship with demons or worshipping other gods). Every time we pray in tongues it is proof that the Holy Spirit is working in us and changing us and changing us through the process of sanctification. Whenever we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in witnessing and doing ministry by using the Gifts of the Holy Spirit we are living proof that of the right kind spirituality, God’s Holiness and righteousness.

Whenever people talk about spirituality, holiness and righteousness, we have to insist upon defining exactly what they mean. Most often, they are describing the wrong spirituality which is the result of the “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5: 19 – 20) and explain to them about the right spirituality which requires salvation and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We can see the wrong kind of spirituality in people like Todd Bentley and others who are dishonest and excuse their works of the flesh. Praise the Lord we are not like those! We enjoy all that the Holy Spirit wants to do in us we can do the same works as Jesus (Jn. 14: 12). Isn’t it exciting!

Now it’s true that we, our family and our friends by the stripes that wounded Jesus all are healed, healthy, and whole both physically and emotionally. But prayer, especially praying in the Spirit makes a legal truth become an experiential reality in the current time of life including complete restoration in every area of life in Jesus name. Through prayer we can see every single cell in the body is operating properly the way God created it to and that every single cell would bless the Lord. Through prayer we can see the life of Jesus rising up big on the inside of everyone and that they shall live and proclaim the works of the Lord. Through prayer we can cast all our cares upon the Lord, knowing that it is safe in His loving hands and that He loves all of us so much and He always has our best interest at heart and He is the God of all grace! His word is unchanging:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' " And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:10-17

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. John 6:1-2

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 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 5:2-11

There is nothing that Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, cannot do for those who trust Him including healing a diseased body, a broken heart, a broken relationship or broken homes! Cancer or some terminal sickness, depression, fears, demons, physical infirmities, or financial shortages are not greater than God who has created all things by His word and sustains everything by His word! The One, Who took five barley loaves and two small fish, gave thanks and distributed them to the disciples who then to five thousand men besides women and children, is still a great and wonderful Miracle Worker! And "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Luke 18:27)." He is still a God of victory who gives victory and good things to His trusting ones. His word is unchanging:

"My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. "No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God. "Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.

"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed." Samuel 2:1-10

'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.' Jeremiah 33:9

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 4:2-3

Chapter 7
You Shall Put Ten Thousand To Flight

'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 'For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. Leviticus 26:5-12

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

How can you walk in the victories and blessings of God if you don’t walk in His statues and keep His commandments and perform them by the Spirit of the Lord? You cannot, especially if you are possessed or influenced by doctrine of demons or men! God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that His people ask, pray or think. If He is not doing it for them it is not His fault but theirs. It’s they who have to change since God doesn’t change as with Him there is no variation or shadow of turning. His 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

Men don’t consider the fact that if their thinking doesn’t line of with God’s thinking, then He is not responsible for what they think or whatever they will reap as a result of faulty thinking. God’s honors His word to them only if they obey His word and walk in it. His word is unchanging:

"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. "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:1-9

Yes, if anyone does not abide in Christ, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. But if anyone abides in Him, and His words abide in them, they will ask what they desire, and it shall be done for them. By this the Father is glorified, when they bear much fruit and prove to be Jesus’ disciples. God’s word is unchanging:

"For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:50

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:34

"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. John 5:30

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:37-38

Being a religionist and not doing the will of the Father is a complete waste of time, effort and live. To be a Christian is to be like Jesus. And to be like Jesus is to seek and do the will of the Father above all things. God’s word is unchanging:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:21-23

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. Deuteronomy 26:13-20

Jesus Christ, not Apostle Paul, the Pope, Pastor, Preacher or others, is the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world and the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. He became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the message while others are only messengers. While other bear witness of Light which gives light to every man coming into the world, He is Life Himself and is the One who gives water to the thirsty ones! His word is unchanging:

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39

And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

God never intended for men to elevate the words of men including Apostle Paul's, the Pope, Pastor or Preacher above the words and teachings of Jesus or to be cultishly followed and obeyed. God had intended and does intend only the Holy Spirit to be the Chief Guide, Spirit of Truth, Counselor, Teacher and everything that any person needs and not others whoever they might be! God intended for man to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God or is made real by Him, the Rhema word, and not the Logos word.

The Logos word is yesterday's manna and cannot be applicable for a specific need or situation while the Rhema word can because it's given and made real by the Holy Spirit who is the other Christ, the Helper, the Guide, the Spirit of Truth, and all that Christ was to His disciples. Men are saved not based on the words of mortal men but on the word of Jesus who told all:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." Matthew 7:21-27

It is those who do the will of the Father in heaven are the saved one and not the presumptuous ones who are hearers only. Those who hear the sayings of Jesus and do them are wise men who build their house on the rock and it doesn’t fall in the storms of life because it was founded on the Rock, Christ. All others are foolish ones who build their house on the sand of nothing and the storms of life will cause it to fall and great will be its fall!

The Holy Spirit who inspired and wrote the bible is still alive today and He can and does inspire anybody with His truths, His knowledge and His ways. We don't need men but we do need the Holy Spirit and God the Father and God the Son. Christians should stop being carnal and talking and thinking about mere mortal men, even dead men, but should talk and think about and have the fellowship of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Men come and go but God is alive and well and His word is unchanging:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 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 2:1-11

The bible doesn’t say Let this mind be in you which was also in Apostle James? No, it says “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. At the name of Jesus, not others, every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Christ alone is to be worship and no others. We are to have no other gods be it Apostle Paul, the Pope, the Pastor or the Preacher. God’s word is unchanging:

And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:6-8

"He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:11-17

Chapter 8
Christ The Power Of God

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 1 Corinthians 3:8-11

Christianity is a religion of the power of God through Christ Jesus and not of dead anemic impotent words preached by most Christian preachers. Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, demonstrated power over storms, demons, sickness, disease and money changers and so should each child of God because the same Christ lives in them! Jesus Christ didn’t promise His disciples words or even the bible, as wonderful as it is but power. God’s word is true:

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

"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 14:12-114

"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

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

If we neglect the Holy Spirit or regulate Him to some small corner of our life we will never have power! No! We need to be not only taught by the Holy Spirit but also led by Him! We need to live and walk in the wisdom and discernment that He provides! We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be full of faith, wisdom and power and to demonstrate power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons! For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20)! And we need to be emptied of ourselves and be full of God and preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord. God’s word is unchanging:

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 2 Corinthians 4:5-14

But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:4-10

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10

And yes we must not only demonstrate the power of God by the Holy Spirit, but purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, sincere love, the word of truth, and patience! We must be strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Colossians 1:11-13)! And we are complete in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power and in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; (Colossians 2:9-10). He has disarmed principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it and is there to help us overcome and conquer all things! He is with us to fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power as we tap into His power especially by praying in the Spirit and standing on His word. God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come-all are yours. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:14-17

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1John 4:4

It’s never too late to repent of lack of power and to ask for power just like Samson did! God’s word is true:

Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. "Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. "For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." Judges 13:1-5

An angel of the LORD came to a barren woman and told her that she would conceive and bear a son! So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him. One day a young lion came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. Another time the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. Another time the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him and Samson found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand Philistines with it!

But then Samson loved a woman named Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines enticed her to find out the secret of Samson’s strength! The bible tells us:

And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man." When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 0 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. 1 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: "Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!" When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead." So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may perform for us." So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, "Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them." Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there-about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed. Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!" And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. And his brothers and all his father's household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years. Judges 16:16-31

Chapter 9
The Power of the Word

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

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Matthew 13:19-23

If there wasn’t great value in the word of the kingdom then the devil would not come and steal it from people? Words have great power especially words from God. They have the power 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. Words spoken by Jesus not only had life in them but they raised people from the dead, healed sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and delivered those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics. Yes those who trusted in Jesus words were not put to shame while the others were. God’s word is true:

"Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. Isaiah 30:1-3

But Israel shall be saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever. Isaiah 45:17

"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13

O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters." Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. Jeremiah 17:13-14

God has promised not only help and victory but deliverance for all those who have known His name and put their trust in Him and call upon Him. He has promised to be with them in trouble, deliver and honor them, satisfy them with long life and show them His salvation. And God unlike others doesn’t lie and He keeps His promises all of them! However many do not know what the fullness of salvation is.

“Salvation” here is the Greek word soteria which means “everything that the soter or ‘savior’ provided.” “It means all my needs provided for like a little baby.” The verb of soteria is sozo. This Greek word is translated “saved” when speaking of salvation of the soul (Lk.7:50). It is translated “made whole” when speaking of healing (Lk.8:48; Jas.5:15) and deliverance from demon possession (Lk.8:36). It is translated “save” when speaking of salvation from adverse circumstances (Mt.8:25; Jude 1:5). Salvation covers all of the benefits that Christ paid for.

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. Each person must work out his or her own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:14). But due to the complexities of man each person is not always established in “protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance”. Nevertheless God is able to ensure that spirit and soul and body preserved sound and complete. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) especially as the brethren pray one for another (COL 1:9, 1THES 5:25, 2THES 3:1, HEB 13:18, JMS 5:16) and help one another (ACTS 4:34, 1COR 16:17, PHIL 2:30).

Yes, the whole body of Christ has a responsibility to help and heal those in the body who are weaker in faith, spirit and body (1 Corinthians 12:12-28, 1 John 3:16-19). We all are our brother’s keepers and must support each other through prayer, financial giving and encouraging works.

…"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." Exodus 15:26

"And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. Deuteronomy 7:15

God has created man in His image and that includes the right to make choices, to think freely, to rule freely. And even though the LORD is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and forever and a great and wonderful healing God, man has the right to choose and remain sick. And God will not go against this right! But it doesn’t change the fact that God is able to take away from His trusting ones all sickness and heal them of all diseases. His word is unchanging:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; 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 4:23-24

Yes, using our faith we can be healed of anything and everything! Faith is used not only to obtain good and marvelous things from God but to keep our adversary, Satan, when he comes in like a flood and tries to overwhelm us by his onslaughts, at bay. As a result through faith we can not only have great victories over Satan but great victories from God from standing on His promises and quoting His word.

Our feelings and inadequacies have nothing to do with God. He doesn’t look at or consider them but only at our faith. Even though there are many hindrances to faith, but when we are tempted, or a delay has come, we and still and wait upon God who is faithful and true and has promised to deliver us and answer our prayers. His word is true:

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

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

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 11:31-34

Yes, we are of little faith and we do limit God as to what He cannot or will not do. But a child doesn’t stop trying to learn to walk because he falls and stumbles many times? No he will keep on trying until he is able to walk and walk for quite a while. There are times in my life where God has answered some prayers instantly and others prayers He did not answer. There have been times where God healed a sickness and diseases miraculously and other times I have had to rely on medical doctors and medicine. So just because God doesn’t heal miraculously or within our set time frame doesn’t mean that God isn’t in the healing business? And it doesn’t mean that our faith is perfect. But Jesus did say:

"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. James 14:12

God has more than enough for anything we need - be it salvation healing, salvation, baptism with the Holy Ghost, deliverances from bondages, miracle ministries, or anything else. And through faith kingdoms are subdued, righteousness worked, promises obtained, the mouths of lions stopped, the violence of fire quenched, the edge of the sword escaped, strength comes to weakness, become valiant in battle, and turn to flight the armies of the aliens.

So we are not to take our faith or the use of our faith lightly as prayer and faith accomplish things which are impossible with men but not impossible with God. And Satan knows all this and he does everything to try to prevent God’s miracles and answers from becoming a reality from using sin, discouragement, persecution, oppression, sickness, diseases and other negative things to stop the Christian from believing and trusting God. Secret sins can and do destroy faith and hinder a person from receiving healing and other deliverances as well.

The devil also knows that if a person becomes self righteous or hurts other people that will prevent God from keeping His promises to him. Many people are quick to see the faults of others, but are blind to any faults of their own. With this spirit, one cannot have faith for healing, for deliverances of any kind --- God will not give faith to a self-righteous person. Many people pass through many healing lines and are not healed not because of lack of faith, but because they have not confessed their faults to God. They have not been honest to find out what was the root cause of their sickness even though God’s word tells them:

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:21-26

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:30-32

Fools, because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107:17-20

Yes, people, fools, get sick because of their transgression and because of their iniquities and when they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, He saves them out of their distresses. He sent His word and heals them, and delivers them from their destructions. Hence the Word of God states:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 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 5:14-16

Those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (1 Timothy 3:5) are wonderful ground for the doctrines of men and demons to take root in their lives and for the devil to bring all kinds of negative things in their lives and pretend that it is the will of God when it’s all from the pit of hell including poverty, loss, sickness, diseases, sorrow and grief.

Those who do not believe in the miracle-working power of God and deny that there is any such power cannot be true sons and daughters of God because He always was and is a miracle working God. Such unbelievers who are full of erroneous teaching and do not possess the power of God in their own lives, make excuses for themselves by adjusting the teaching of the scriptures to their own thinking. Peter tells us these kind of wicked people wrest the scriptures to their own destruction. God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation-as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:15-18.

He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men-the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' "But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"-' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, "making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." Mark 7:6-13

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5

Sickness, destruction, and dearth ARE NOT the will of God for His people. IT IS THE WORK OF THE DEVIL. Not once in all His earthly ministry did Jesus ever command any person be to sick, although He commanded many to be well, and healed them with His Word. Not once did a sick person come to Him asking to be healed and received the answer, “It is God’s will for you to remain sick for His glory.” There is no place in the Word of God where sickness is declared to be an evidence of God’s favor. The God who healed and delivered Job and restored all his real losses has not and doesn’t change. And He will do the same for all those who trust Him for it. The reward of obedience and faith is health and healing for God’s word is unchanging:

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 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." Exodus 15:24-26

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.

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

A note on healing:

"All things are possible to him that believes."
We aren't waiting for God, God is waiting for us. (God never has 'doubt' )
What would it take for you to believe that God would heal you ?
For some,... just knowing that God is NOT the author of pain is a big enough step.
If Jesus ALWAYS did the will of his Father - then why did Jesus heal ANYONE ? (Unless, of course, it IS the will of God ).
You see,... if 'god' made people sick, then Jesus was 'undoing' God's work.
And still,... why didn't Jesus make ANYONE forcibly ill - and say stuff like "... oh, you need to be more humble, so I will make you ill - and somehow, you will come back to God."
JESUS NEVER DID THAT.
In fact, this is what scripture says repeatedly,...
"He went about healing ALL that were oppressed of the devil" ( not 'oppressed of God', but the devil
It also says "He healed ALL manner of sickness and disease."
The only places in scripture where people did not get healed, was because 'they' did not believe. And it is the ONLY thing required to receive from God.
Make no mistake about it,... it is the absolute will of God that you be healed of ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease.
Now, the real question is,... do you BELIEVE that, or not?

Chapter 10
His Enemies His Footstool

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 4:3

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Hebrews 10:12-13

Our God is a God of victory and success, not defeat and failure. And there is nothing too big for our mighty God to handle. As His children we can now have victory and success in everything (Psalm 1)! The Bible says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Jesus did not just sit down after His sacrifice, His death on the cross, He sat down expecting!

We need to position ourselves with an expectant heart under an atmosphere of thanksgiving! Expect is the thing within us that tells us that every problem will eventually be solved. The problem we are facing now has an expiration date. We are to expect it! There are enemies who have afflicted us with sickness and afflicted our life with disfavor. We can expect God to make all our enemies our footstool as He has promised. We are to be expectant! A farmer who has toiled in the ground and planted seeds expects a bountiful harvest and so should we! God’s word is unchanging:

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, "which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, "and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. "For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. "But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:26-29

How do we bring God into our situation to put our enemies under our footstool, under our feet? It’s “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving”. God’s word is true:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; Philippians 4:6

The Bible is full of examples of God magnificently caring for His people, even in the most difficult circumstances. Paul tells of a time when he was being held in the stocks in the innermost cell of a prison. Though the situation seemed hopeless, Paul still boldly lifted up songs of praise to the Lord. Then, "Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!" (Acts 16:26, NLT). Amazingly, God blessed Paul's faithfulness by sending a miracle to break the chains that bound him, and He can do the same for us now!

We can rejoice in the goodness of the Lord today. In the Book of Psalms it says, "He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:3, NLT.) We can proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ! His name is lifted on high, for His ability to perform miracles in our lives is great! God’s word is unchanging:

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. 1 Corinthians 1:8-11

We don’t deny trouble, sickness, weakness, desperation, enemies and other curses that affect people but we confess that our God is bigger than them all and He is a miracle worker! We confess we are secure in Jesus. We have God Almighty living in us who can come against Him and succeed. If we are children of God we are not under a curse. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:13-14).

Both Jesus and Peter walked on the water when the boat was in the middle of the sea tossed by the waves through a strong wind. The bible tells us:

And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Matthew 14:28-32

We are to let faith in Jesus, not fear, dominate and control our lives and circumstances and walk on the waters of trouble in our lives until we come safely to the other side of plenty and prosperity! Until we have our success and victory we are to stand on God’s word:

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

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 6:10-18

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

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 8 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Jesus freed us we have a right to be free. We have a right to know Jesus in the fullness and wholeness of His salvation to be free and stay free in Jesus mighty name. We have the right to walk in glory and the Spirit of the LORD! Because Christ is in us we can according to the riches of His glory, be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, be rooted and grounded in love, 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; so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Yes, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in and abides with us. And as we yield to the power we will see the fruits and works of Christ in us!

Because of Christ in us we not only have hope and glory but power and miracles for our God is a miracle working God and a life giver. Jesus came to destroy all the works of the devil and remove all curses from us including sickness, poverty and lack. Jesus, the Life-Giver, gives us spiritual life, physical life, life everlasting. For those who are in Christ it is written, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, . . . because of His great love. . . 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 2:1, 4-6; Colossians 2:13; John 5:24-25). God’s word is unchanging:

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 103:2-5

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11

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

Chapter 11
Ask, Seek, Knock

"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! "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:7-14

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

"According to Jesus Christ, if we lack things in our life it’s our fault because we don’t ask. Our Father God has everything that we need and more than enough of it. And He delights to give good things to those who ask Him especially the Holy Spirit and “The Kingdom.” Of course our enemy, the devil, will try to do everything to stop us from asking, including showing how unworthy we are of anything. And then he will even try to steal from us what God has given to us. And many people, even God’s people, just freely let him steal their health, their riches, their good name and other gifts that God has given them. Nevertheless God’s word is unchanging:

"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! "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:13

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

The kingdom of God is not only righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit but is also divine health, divine favor, divine blessings, divine prosperity, divine health and divine victory! And it’s all wrapped up in Jesus Christ who became poor so that we might be rich. It’s a fact that we are immensely rich because we have Jesus Christ and He is priceless. He is our all our, our brother, our friend, our Lord, our reward and our all. He is the best thing that we ever have or will have! And there is no one like Him or greater than He is. God’s word is unchanging:

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

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

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

But the other side of the coin about lack is that we cannot treat what God has given us freely unwisely and be unfaithful with the different gifts. One day we will give an account to God for all the gifts and giftings that He has given us. So we need to ask the Father for wisdom and discernment to handle the wealth and gifts that He give us and to use them all wisely. God’s word is unchanging:

And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. "You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, "Bow the knee!" So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Genesis 41:38-44

And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. Exodus 23:8

For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:8-11

We must be filled with the Spirit of the LORD and be discerning and wise just like Joseph was if we want God to promote us and to use us greatly. We must discern good and evil and not be perverted and corrupted by others including the enemy. We must have an understanding heart to judge God’s people and to understand to discern justice and the unsavory. Yes, we must cry out for discernment, and lift up our voice for understanding. God’s word is unchanging:

Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly. Proverbs 15:21

Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge. Proverbs 19:25

"And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:23

Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him. Malachi 3:18

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 1 Corinthians 11:29

Yes, we must discern between the unclean and the clean, between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. Otherwise we will find ourselves in the judgments of God for supporting the unclean and wicked ones. We must discern the times we live in as well as God’s seasons and timings in life. And we must not be undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful or we will find ourselves in places we never expected to be. Yet God’s word is unchanging:

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 Corinthians 2:12-16

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

Chapter 12
Woe To?

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

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. MT 23:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:13-14

“Woe to you” which results in deep distress, misery, grief, wretchedness. misfortune, sorrow, dismay calamity and hell is promised by God who doesn’t lie to those who trust in men, in chariots, in horsemen, in evil doers, in those who work iniquity and in anything but God! God has not promised to bless those who walk in the flesh but has cursed them for “woe to you” doesn’t mean something good is going to happen to you when spoken by God? You would think that people would have more sense and trust God in all things so that woe will not come to them! But unfortunately that is not the case! Yet God’s word is unchanging:

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:1-4

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

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

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

Chapter 13
But The LORD Delivers

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. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Psalm 34:17-20

And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Luke 7:21

Through Job’s testing and trial we know that afflictions come from Satan who is jealous of God’s righteous people and not from God! Job was wealthy, famous and respected (with the power and influence that go with it) had a large family to care for him in old age and he stood right before God (He worshipped God in spirit and truth and dealt fairly in business. He cared for the widow and orphan and helped his neighbor in need.) Truly this man was rich in every way that mattered.

We find in Job 1: 4 that Job’s children were close to one another and often dined together. Through all the activities of his children he closely monitored them and cared for them and performed worship that they could not for themselves. He was careful that his children be right before God. In every way we find in Job an exemplary and exceptional life. In word and deed he was right before God. In his finances he was stable yet he was no stingy man. The tragedy that came suddenly was a shock to everyone he knew.

Satan had accused God of placing a “hedge” (of blessing) around Job so that Job can’t help but praise and honor God. He told God to remove all of these blessings and Job would curse God. It’s to be noted that Satan had to ask for God’s permission before unleashing his sorties of afflictions against Job because God’s predisposition toward his children is to bless and protect. And God gave Satan permission to go ahead and test Job in the way that Satan desired with one restriction: Satan was not allowed to touch Job’s person in any way. However, everything else that Job had, God placed in Satan’s hand to do as Satan desired.

Satan using people, the Sabeans, they raided Job’s oxen and donkeys and took them away and killed the servants with the edge of the sword. And using supernatural elements Satan caused a fire to fall from heaven and burn up the sheep and the servants, and consume them. And then he used the Chaldeans who raided the camels and took them away and killed the servants with the edge of the sword. And finally Satan caused a great wind to come from across the wilderness and strike the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they died including all of Job’s children. The bible tells us:

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Job 1:20-22

Later Satan unleashed his second terrible sortie against Job. He afflicted Job with a terrible disease. From the various descriptions of Job’s condition in the book (Job 2:8; 7:4-5; 13:14; 13:28; 16:16; 16:8; 17:1; 19:20; 19:26; 30:17; 30:30), it has been strongly suggested that this was not “boils” as the Authorized Version renders it, but rather a case of Black Leprosy. The disease produces swelling in the limbs, itching, flaking of the skin, a change in color of the skin and intense pain. Those who have it are described as appearing like Elephants or Lions; hence another name for the disease is Elephantiasis or Leontiasis. We know that this disease changed Job’s physical appearance because his friends were not able to recognize him (Job 2:12). Not a single part of Job’s body was unaffected by this disease. Not a single part of him could find rest from this disease (Job 3:26; 30:17).

Job then took a piece of broken pottery (also acting as an instrument for scratching), to scrape away the epidermal remnants of the diseased and infected skin. Job 7:5 describes the condition as a continual cycle of the skins decay, hardening, and then breaking out once again. Sitting in ashes was a common method of mourning whether for others or for one’s self (see 2 Samuel 13:9; Ezekiel 27:30; Jonah 3:6).

And in Job 2:9-10 – Job’s wife entered the picture and did a little work for Satan. Instead of offering comforts to her husband as a good wife would do, she questioned whether he ought to remain faithful and suggest that he simply “curse God and die” instead of enduring through such grief. This, of course, was exactly what Satan wanted Job to do (1:11) and we know that even unwitting people are often tools of Satan’s evil.

Her question was in regard to Job’s integrity, particularly, the statement that Job had made in 1:21, “blessed be the name of the Lord.” Evidently Job’s wife doesn’t believe that after this second round of affliction that Job need hold fast to such a statement. Her conclusion was that Job should simply curse God and then die.

But in spite of everything Job held on to his faith in God and he was not disappointed or put to shame! The Word of God tells us about Satan, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10). In the life of Job we clearly saw that it was Satan- the devil who caused Job his afflictions including great financial losses and physical sickness. But it was the Lord who healed, delivered, blessed and prospered him and made his end better than his beginning. God’s word is true:

And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. Job 42:10-17

Job didn’t die prematurely living a life of defeat and poverty? He got back all that the devil had stolen from him and lived an additional one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. He died, old and full of days as well as rich and prosperous? And what God has done for Job, He can and will do for us because though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

Chapter 14
I Will Restore

For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her." 'Jeremiah 30:17

Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Joel 2:23-26

God has promised to restore everything that has been stolen from us. It does not matter how many years we spent going through what we've been through. If we come back into His restoration day, He will give back to us what was stolen plus what would have been ours should we have been living in a good land. Everything that has been stolen through the years He will restore to us. God's restoration is not only giving us what we had, but also giving to us what we would have had should all the bad years we went through be counted as prosperous years. His word is true:

"If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. Exodus 22:1"

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

We can take this word from God. It does not matter what has been stolen from us or what we may have got back in a ruined condition. God's word declares that restoration of seven, five or four fold is promised to us. We can trust in the LORD with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding; In all our ways we acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths. He shall restore to us more abundantly what has been stolen from us.

God's restoration means He is going to give back what we had, what we were supposed to have if nothing was stolen and all the good things that would have come with it plus more abundantly. Yes, every time we've been sick, whether it was a headache, the flu or cancer, time has been stolen from us. Each time there has been sickness in our life, time has been stolen from us. In those periods we have not been what we were supposed to be or what God intended for us to be. In times of sickness we were unable function the way we're supposed to function, we could not live the way we were supposed to and we could not be what we were supposed to be.

God has no problem restoring things multiple times. He has no problem to give health to our flesh and strength to our bones, if we turn away from evil ways, if we walk in the ways of the Lord and we do not lean on our own insight and understanding. If we honor the LORD with our possessions, and with the firstfruits of all our increase, our barns will be filled with plenty, and our vats will overflow with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10). Yes if we will do as He tells us, we shall be healthy and our storehouses shall be filled with plenty and will be overflowing. And if our storehouse is not filled with plenty but is empty, it will be restored! God’s word is unchanging:

"And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. "The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. Deuteronomy 28:11

God has said that He will give us a surplus of prosperity in our body and in all our property, which means we will be healthy and we'll have more things than we can ever use or be in need of! He will command the blessing on us in our storehouses and in all that we undertake.And our store house is our body, our possessions and things and ground as well.

Because of Calvary our body is filled with health, because by His stripes we were healed. However, if a portion of our health has been stolen, what we need is RESTORATION in that portion of our body. We need to be RESTORED! If something is wrong with my heart, then it's not sickness that's come upon me, but rather health that has gone away from me. It needs to be RESTORED! And God has promised to restore all things. His word is true:

Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses." Matthew 8:14-16

Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Matthew 12:13

Those who were demon possessed needed to be restored. Those who were sick needed to be restored. There was a man who had a withered hand and Jesus restored it as whole as the other! Restored means everything that is out of the store will be put back. And there will also be overflow. There will be a surplus because our God is a God of abundance, a God of Health, a God of Wealth, a God who has everything that we need. He wants us to have restoration in our life. Just think of all that has been stolen from us in health, in our home, in our finances, in our time, in our joy, in our love, in our marriage, in our work. Just think of all that has been stolen from us. God says, "I have come to restore".

So, lets open up our storehouse wide today and say, "Lord, please fill it up". IF we are willing to give to the ministry of God? Are willing to bless the Lord's work out of our finances? Are willing to give out of our storehouse for the work of God? We can do it and God will restore our storehouse to overflowing! God’s word is unchanging:

"Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name. Nehemiah 1:8-9

The bible tells us that the king of Babylon had besieged Jerusalem city, destroyed it, and carried off to Babylon everything that was of value including the people because of the sins of God’s people. As a result the enemy had literally taken the ground, lock stock and barrel. And then God raised up Ezra and Nehemiah to restore things to God’s people. Ezra went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken down temple while Nehemiah returned to rebuild the broken down and burned walls of the city. Pastor Michael Jackson in his sermon “Take It Back!” brought out ten different areas that the God’s people in Judah repossessed from their enemy:.

1. WEALTH. The enemy had taken it; God restored it. The bible tells us:

And all those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods; and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra 1:6-11

Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city. Ezra 2:1

2. Their FAMILIES were returned. Ezra 2 and Ezra 8 stresses the fact that the people returned in families. The genealogy of those who returned was carefully noted. Isn’t it exciting that God favors the home; the family?

3. Their WORSHIP to God was restored. Ezra 3 covers the rebuilding of the altar. This was the first thing the people did upon returning to Jerusalem. The altar actually came before the temple. With the building of the altar came the sacrifices and the offerings of self-dedication unto God.

4. PERSONAL HOLINESS WAS RESTORED. God’s word tells us:

Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. Ezra 10:1

They had a number of evil practices which they had picked up from the pagans. These were renounced and dealt with.

5. The WORD OF GOD was restored to it’s rightful place. The bible tells us

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:5-6

6. The TEMPLE was restored. They had been away from their temple for years. Now they had it back. What rejoicing; what victory.

7. THE CITY AND IT’S WALLS were restored and their sense of security also. The bible tells us :

"For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. Ezra 9:9

8. He restored their JOY. Captives don’t know the sound of laughter. They only weep and moan. The bible tells us

Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. Nehemiah 12:43

9. Their SERVICE to the Lord was restored.

10. Their TESTIMONY was restored. They were again known as a people of God. God was also known for who and what He was – the provider and savior of His people.

Yes, through the use of Jesus name, the strength and power of the Holy Spirit and our faith, we have divine power to demolish strong-holds that have stolen things from us or are keeping things from us. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). We come against Satan not in our power or name but in God’s power and the name of Jesus and He has to restore everything that he has stolen from us. We step out from our limited abilities and resources to God’s unlimited abilities and resources through the use of the name of Jesus which give us, Salvation: Acts 4:12 , Justification: 1 Corinthians 6:11, Healing: Acts 3:6; proclamation: Acts 8:12, Deliverance from demons: Mark 16:17, Worship: Ephesians 5:20, Prayer: John 14:13-14, the Holy Spirit: John 14:26.

A check without a signature is not worth the paper it is printed on. What makes the paper of value is that name at the bottom right-hand corner. That signature or name represents that person’s financial resources. It is as if Jesus left behind a check book full of blank checks which He has signed with His name. The believer fills in the amount as the will of God is revealed, and once the check is presented it is backed up by the inexhaustible riches of Christ. God’s word is unchanging:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:12-14

"Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:22-24

Chapter 15
My Cup Runs Over

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. John 8:31-36

Those who are Christians abide in God’s Word and they know what God in Christ has wrought for them. They enjoy and walk in what God through the Word and the Spirit has wrought in them. They know what they are to the Father in Christ and what power and authority they have in Christ including the power of their words. They confess the Lordship of Jesus and that they have become the righteousness of God and are saved. God’s word is unchanging:

You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 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 21:18-22

Yes, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will say to a mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive because you know who you are in Christ, a son of god. Yes, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is a new creation created in Christ Jesus with the life of God, the nature of God, and the ability of God in him. In Christ we have our redemption through His blood, the remission of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. (Ephesians 1:7-8).

Satan’s dominion has been broken. He lost his dominion over our life the moment we became a new creation. We received a new Lord, Jesus Christ, to reign over us. Satan’s dominion ended and Jesus’ dominion began. Disease and sickness can no longer lord it over us. The old habits can no longer lord it over us. We are a new creation created in Christ. Yes, He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. God’s word is unchanging:

"But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' "Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them- Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.' Isaiah 41:8-13

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

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:2-4

Yes, if God be for us, who can be against us? God is in us now; the Master of creation is in us! Greater is He that is in us than all the forces that can be arrayed against us including poverty, lack, bills, sickness, disease, demons, and frail mortal men. We can with boldness proclaim “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. (Psalm 23:5)! For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

Yes, we are filled with joy and victory because God has taken us over; He is fighting all our battles.” We are not afraid of negative circumstances because we can do all things in Him who strengthens us. And He is not only our strength but He is at our right hand. He is our salvation, our shield, our defender, our rewarder, our all. He gives us light in the dark and songs in the night. He is our present help in trouble, our salvation, our deliverance from every trap the enemy sets for us, from, every snare in which he would enslave us. God is the strength of our life, of whom shall we be afraid?” We are not afraid of anything! We have no fear because this God of Omnipotence is on our side.

We have a redemption that God planned and wrought in Christ. We are a new creation of which God, Himself, is the Author and the Finisher. We have a righteousness that permits us to stand in His presence as though sin had never been done. We have not only have righteousness reckoned to us we have righteousness imparted to us in the new nature that we have received from Him. We have received His nature His life. And in this life and nature is-the Life of God. This makes us righteous even as He is righteous. God’s word is unchanging:

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 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. 1 John 4:12-18

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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 11:1-5

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:11-18

God abides in us and we abide in God. As He is, so are we in this world. We are fearless and righteous and bold as a lion and do greater works than Jesus did. We are not hemmed in by limitations because we are united with the Limitless One. He is the Vine and we are the branch. As a branch we bear His fruit because the Vine is imparting to us the fullness of His life. We love because He has shed abroad His love in our heart through the Holy Spirit. God’s very nature in us is love. His love ability has gained the mastery for now we can love in whatever circumstances we are placed especially the brethren.

We have not only God’s life in us and the great Holy Spirit who rose up Jesus from the dead in us to give us wisdom, discernment, knowledge, understanding and power but we have the use of Jesus' name. Jesus has given to us a legal right to use it. Hence whatever we ask of the Father in His Name, He gives to us. He has given to us the power of attorney. And we can use that that power to help men. We can let Jesus working His own work through us and live His own life in us. Our hands and mouths become the medium through which His life pours out through us. Our words are His words. His words ‘broke the power of death, of demons, and healed the sick.’ They do the same things in our lips. God’s word is unchanging:

"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." 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. Isaiah 61:1-6

Chapter 16
Jesus Christ, The Bright And Morning Star

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelations 22:13-17

Jesus Christ, Who is same, yesterday, today and forever, is the all sufficient one for whatever we need! However those who are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie cannot have fellowship with Him or expect anything from Him unless they repent! But the good news of the gospel is that at one time we were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus we who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to us who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father whose love and care for us is unchanging (Ephesians 2:13-18). And God’s word is unchanging:

But from those who seemed to be something-whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man-for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. Galatians 2:6

"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. Galatians 2:20

God shows personal favoritism to no man and on the cross of Calvary Jesus Christ accomplished and won the victory for any negative situation or need that we have in our lives and as a result we can be more than conquerors as we put out trust in God through Christ Jesus! It’s to be noted problems are temporary, or subject to change, but God and His Word of victory are never subject to change! By the hearing of faith for those who believe God supplies the Spirit to us and works miracles among us. Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham including total redemption from all curses for 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 3:9-13).

The promise by faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe who are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus and are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise and through faith and patience inherit the promises. God’s word is unchanging:

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

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. Hebrews 12:14-17

One of the reasons people fail to obtain the promised blessings in the current time of life is that they have not pursued peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord; have fallen short of the grace of God; have allowed any root of bitterness to spring up causing trouble, and by this many have become defiled; have become a fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. And 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.

So it’s never failure on God’s fault to bless His people as promised but of man to do his part including believing, being loving and holy and devoid of covetousness! Yes, covetousness can be deceitful and deadly to those who pursue it no matter who they are or who they think they are. God’s word is true:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17

"You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 7:25

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 1 Timothy 3:1-6

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 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. 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Anybody who claims to be a man of God, be it an Apostle or preacher, must be must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well including Todd Bentley and those who supported him at the Lakeland Revival of liars and perjurers.

The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And these false prophets especially in the “Third Wave” such as Todd Bentley and Rick Joyner don’t demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit but rather the works of the flesh including adultery, sorcery, contentions, selfish ambitions, dissensions, and heresies. God’s word is unchanging:

Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:12-18

James Jacob Prasch in his article “The Delusional World Of Mark Stibbe & St Andrews Chorleywood[v] “give us a sordid glimpse of the deception and demonization in the Third Wave:

Welcome to St. Andrew’s Chorleywood, The UK Platform For The Promotion Of Sexually Perverted Deceivers From Paul Cain To Todd Bentley.

After Its Latest Fad The Question Must Be Asked: Is St. Andrews Merely A Spiritually And Doctrinally Deranged Church Or A Lunatic Asylum With A Cross On The Roof?

It was the predecessor of Mark Stibbe, Anglican vicar at St. Andrew’s Chorley Wood , David Pytches, who promoted the ‘Kansas City Prophets’, (now proven by scripture and history to be false prophets), with his wild book ‘Some Said It Thundered’ in which he lauded Bob Jones and Paul Cain.

The fanciful false prophetic predictions of a great British revival for October of that year made in the Name of The Lord by Jones, Cain and their pastor Mike Bickel and the late John Wimber made in August of 1990 came to nothing. More mosques have been built in Britain than churches in the last 18 years since their promised ‘latter day rain’ and as with the failed Alpha courses the UK has only witnessed steadily increasing moral and spiritual decline including a Church of England headed by a member of a Druid sect and favoring same sex marriages and the lesbian and homosexual ordination urged by Desmond Tutu.

Pytches, Sandy Miller, Nicky Gumbel, Terry Virgo, Gerald Coates, and RT Kendall all quickly jumped on the ‘Kansas City’ bandwagon, but the assured revival never materialized; the diametric opposite transpired instead. Lakeland meetings were also mimicked in Dudley, England and predictably endorsed by Gerald Coates who tried to copy the failed Pensacola revival in London.

Lakeland is the most recent sequel but Kansas City was the prequel. Indeed, the gross distortion of The Book of Joel by the Kansas City false prophets, by means of abandoning biblical exegesis and embracing pure Gnosticism in the mystical subjectivist interpretation of Joel, saw the Babylonian invaders whom God will destroy retro-identified as ‘The Triumphant Church’. The participants at the Docklands fiasco saw the locusts of Joel’s apocalyptic vision identified as the demon cohorts of hell in Revelation chapter 9 , re-identified as the ‘Kingdom Now’/ Manifest sons participants in the conference. The mishandling and distortion of scripture was religious madness that set the stage for the next failed revival from Toronto, Canada led by John & Carol Arnott. This was likewise followed by the demise of its American clone at Brownsville Assemblies of God that ended in a massive church split and public financial scandal, but likewise no revival despite an avalanche of big talk and hollow promises.

Indeed, as one who himself believes in the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit when practiced scripturally, the consecutive failure of these counterfeit moves of Gods to deliver what they falsely promised was predictable, and in fact inevitable. Abject theology leads to abject spirituality. Doctrinal bankruptcy equates to spiritual bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City False Prophets hyped and promulgated by St. Andrew’s Chorleywood to no end have publicly fallen from grace. Bob Jones was debunked as a sexual predator with vulnerable women while Paul Cain was publicly disclosed to be a drunken pervert with a life long history of alcoholism and homosexuality.

Well David Pytches - Thunder indeed!

Elim's Ian Bilby, and his worship leader, the cheer leaders of the Toronto deception in New Zealand were likewise found in publicly exposed serial adultery with as many as 20 women.

No revival ever materialized from Kansas City, which was the first link of the twisted chain of carnal and demonically inspired folly that has so discredited, damaged, and divided the church courtesy of St. Andrews Chorleywood who championed these false prophets with David Pytches and his ludicrous book.

Neither did any revival emerge from Toronto or Pensacola. Those freak shows are long over as is their attempted UK imitations in Sunderland and Marsham Street, London. Despite this, just as the Elim denomination continues to try to resuscitate the Toronto failure in its magazine, under the leadership of Mark Stibbe, St. Andrews Chorleywood continues promote John & Carol Arnott at their “School of International Ministry”. They seem to teach everything from “dream interpretation” to biblical groundless nonsense that is essentially New Age practice absurdly put into Christian jargon.

Now Mark Stibbe has promoted the ‘Third Wave’ sequel of Toronto and Pensacola in Lakeland, Florida . Lakeland pastor Stephen Strader admits it is the continuation of the Toronto and Pensacola phenomena.

According to various news reports, The Florida District Attorney believed Pastor Stephen Strader to be as guilty as his brother Daniel, but obtained a RICO conviction on his brother Daniel, now in prison until 2036 after defrauding elderly Christians out of $3 million dollars. Strader was convicted as a professional racketeer under RICO laws. RICO anti racketeering legislation is used in the prosecution and sentencing of professional gangsters engaged in various forms of organized criminal activity. These are the Strader brothers.

Strader brought in a criminally convicted Canadian homosexual pedophile named Todd Bentley to conduct his counterfeit revival. Bentley was imprisoned for the homosexual molestation of a seven year old before being commissioned to lead the Lakeland pandemonium. Bentley has meanwhile filed for a separation from his wife which by Canadian law is the first step to divorce. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Bentley has a history of adultery excluding him from ministry that has been covered up and has once again become involved in a yet another improper extra marital relationship. Yet it is this same Bentley that Wendy Alec of the so called 'God Channel' has defended labeling those critical of him and his carnal antics as being of the devil, and it is this same Lakeland hoax that Mark Stibbe and St. Andrews Chorleywood promulgated aggressively.

Bentley was exposed on national TV in the USA on the ABC Nightline broadcast for being unable to medically document a single claimed healing. Some of those pronounced healed at Lakeland have however since been medically documented as deceased, and a statement by Arnold Palmer hospital likewise contradicts claims of a resurrection from the dead as bogus.

That the ‘Fruit of The Holy Spirit’ according to Galatians is ‘ekreitei’ “Self Control” not the lack of, never mattered to proponents of Toronto or Pensacola. That such Fruit is also ‘gentleness’ does not matter either as Bentley kicks old ladies in the stomach and baptizes people in the name of ‘Bam’. Christ’s own clear and unambiguous warning to avoid those like Bentley who claim His physical return before the ‘parousia’ and revelatory visitations from a healing angel named ‘Emma’ (there are no manifestations of angelic beings as women or as agents of healing in God’s Word) could hardly matter to someone like Mark Stibbe.

It is well know by police and social services that pedophiles frequently profess a religious conversion in prison as a parole stunt and then seek work in scout groups, schools, youth camps and churches in order to get near children. Although Bentley fits this profile, we do not have any evidence of any recent homosexual pedophilia by this self-disfigured heretical freak, however current verified information certainly exists in the public media about his taking his wife to court for a separation and his more recent history of adultery.

But even if he did undergo an authentic regeneration and become a Christian, many ask why he would then say The Lord led him to cover his body with an array of disfiguring tattoos that give him the appearance of a rather freakish goon? Even if his sexual perversion was prior to becoming a Christian as he claims, that is not true of his openly confessed mentor, sexual predator Bob Jones, whom Bentley lauds and endorses. Jones preyed upon women sexually in lewd acts as a ‘prophet’. Why would anyone serving Jesus endorse the ministry of a sexually immoral preacher who misused Christian ministry to perpetrate his perversions and who according to The New Testament has no biblical right to be in ministry as he is not above reproach?

These are the deranged antics of Lakeland we are speaking of and these are the kinds of people we are talking about; an assortment of perverts, swindlers, drunks, homosexuals, demonstrable false prophets, and even a tattooed criminally convicted pedophile child molester turned adulterer filing separation procedures against his wife. This is the whacky world of Mark Stibbe.

It’s evident from their agenda, their words, and their deception the leaders of the Third Wave don’t have the best interests of the sheep at hand. They are happily filled with greed, pride, lies, and false doctrine. Those who follow these Svengalis…those who have been preyed upon and duped with lies are the ones, are also under the influence of demons. The leaders of these insidious movements such as The Third Wave are tools of the Devil. They have an evil nature and possess extreme craftiness. Whether delusional or just plain evil, whether they believe their own lies or see no lies, just profit and power…they are the masterminds. These hypocritical liars spread demons, to those vulnerable enough to believe them. The bible tells us about them:

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Corinthians 2:24-26

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 1 Timothy 4:1-2

For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. Titus 1:10-16

Chapter 17
In Faith And Love

"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

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 2 Timothy 1:13-14

Jesus Christ paid on the cross the price for all the blessings that are now ours in Christ Jesus including grace which can be defined at God’s riches at Christ’s expense! Therefore we 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 until we see the manifestation of victory, blessings and long life.

Yes God has promised for those who fear His 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." And this is quite an all inclusive promise from a God who doesn’t lie! God’s word is true:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

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

In the Bible we see that Joseph faced many trials and tribulations in his young age. But in the end God blessed him abundantly (Genesis 41:41-43). Similarly, all the sorrows and struggles of Job were changed dramatically and he was blessed with twice as much as he had in the beginning (Job 42:10).

When we made Jesus Lord of our lives we came into a Covenant relationship with Jesus we became part of His family and we have a right to all the privileges in that family. We have become one with Him, all He has is ours and all we have is His. We have become a joint heir with Jesus we are heir to all the Father has. We have also been given authority to overcome every attack of the enemy and have victory. Jesus defeated Satan and took away his power to harm us but he will still try to deceive us and if we believe the deception of the devil instead of the Word of God we will be defeated.

Knowing Jesus and who He is in us and who we are in Him will give us victory every time. Instead of fearing a situation we take the Word of God and apply it and watch the situation turn out for good. Fear will take our mind off God and His word and leave us with the problem; faith will keep God’s Word on our mind and see victory. Faith comes through fellowship with Jesus, talking to Him, reading His Word, hearing His Word. We have victory now in Jesus. God’s promises are for us today. When we ask God for something it should not be hoping He will hear and answer it should be knowing He will answer. Prayer is for God’s glory, prayer is to accomplish God’s will in a situation in our lives or the lives of others. And God’s word is unchanging:

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin. The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death. The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice. The way of a guilty man is perverse; But as for the pure, his work is right. Proverbs 21:2-4

It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead. Proverbs 21:15-16

He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness and honor. A wise man scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold. Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. A proud and haughty man-"Scoffer" is his name; He acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:21-24

Now the word of God doesn’t have nice things to say about fools especially those who ignore doing justice and righteousness and are arrogant and proud! Fools who ignore that it is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity including those who don’t guard their mouth and tongue! Yes, a man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead in spite of the doctrine of demons of “once saved always saved” or that he had worked miracles. His portion will be appointed with unbelievers for Jesus Who doesn’t lie told all:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:15-23

"But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:45-48

"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. John 15:4-6

Yes in 1 Timothy 4:1 Apostle Paul told us “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints is a personal choice which men make and God doesn’t stop them if they have become cold hearted, callous and belligerent! The LORD never goes where He is not invited or remains where He is not wanted. He has come and gone in many people's lives. They have felt His passing but they continued on their way without Him and wonder where He had gone? He went where He was wanted and received and loved. He went where He was heeded. God’s word is unchanging:

For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. Isaiah 28:11-13

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

Chapter 18
"Woman, Why Are You Weeping?"

Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." John 20:10-15

Both the angel and Jesus asked Mary what appeared to be a foolish question in her time of great distress and grief, "Woman, why are you weeping?" The Messiah, the Savior of the world, the most kindness and loving gentleman, who went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil, was beaten, tortured and murdered by evil and wicked men and now somebody had taken his body, is what preoccupied Mary Magdalene’s mind. Mary loved Jesus and she had much to be grateful for she had seven demons which Jesus had cast out of her miraculously. And this was the reason she was crying?

But Jesus told her and all His disciples and others, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19)? He told them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day" (Mark 9:31)? So the angel’s and Jesus’ question "Woman, why are you weeping?" was a valid one? And God’s word is unchanging:

Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' " Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. John 26:10-18

Jesus cared so much that Mary was troubled that He was murdered and His body taken away that He delayed His ascent to His Father and to His God and personally came to comfort her and said to her, "Mary!" And she turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). Her beloved Teacher was alive and well and everything was alright!

Now the good news is that Jesus Christ is asking us, His believers who are going through our own turmoil about our negative circumstance the same question, "Why are you weeping?" God’s has given us His word that everything in our lives will work out for our good because He will in no wise leave, fail or forsake us but will use His great and wonderful miracle working power on our behalf. The same miracle working Jesus to whom has been restored all power and authority in heaven and earth is on our side and is fighting all our battles to give us the victory.

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 others. There are no sickness, famine, pestilence, poverty, suffering and lack in heaven and should not be on earth. He has promised and so it will be He will bring His trusting ones into abundance of prosperity and give them every victory. His word is unchanging:

"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. '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 1:29-31

"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

A mature and complete Christian faith is undaunted by the storms of life, the powers of darkness and any mountain in its way. Faith in God is not just an acknowledgement of truth and a personal relationship with the God of Truth hearing His voice speaking, and feeling His guiding Presence, but something that has works including loving one another and seeing mountains removed and cast into the sea. God’s word is unchanging:

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. Matthew 21:21

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 11:30-34

Faith is not just believing in a pie in the sky but is in making that pie real here on earth where we can eat and enjoy it. There is no sickness, poverty, lack, or defeat in heaven and there should none on earth for those who are the sons and daughters of God, those who are of the household of faith. Faith in God brings real miraculous change to a negative situation just like Elisha did to the prophet’s widow who was left destitute. God’s word is unchanging:

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves."

So Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil."

Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors-empty vessels; do not gather just a few. "And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones."

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest." 2 Kings 4:1-7

And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Luke 13:11-13

Yes, God wants His people to be free, unfettered, from any confinement or imprisonment be it physical, spiritual or financial. But He doesn’t want them lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility or conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior. He wants them to be holy just like He is Holy and to be filled with the fullness of God. Yes, He wants them to be healthy, wealthy and prosperous and in Christ Jesus He has made provision for it to be so. His word is unchanging:

"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

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

Chapter 19
Trust In The LORD

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

Many Christian marriages fail because the spouses look to each other for support instead of looking to Jesus who is the Third Party in every marriage and the glue that holds it together! Jesus Christ alone is your source of total supply, your healing, your wealth and your success. He is the sum total of every blessing and no other! You were created to know and fellowship with Jesus above all others! You were created to walk, live and talk with Jesus about everything. He is your first love! God’s word is unchanging:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

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

"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ' These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; "and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent. "But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." ' Revelation 2:1-7

Victory in and over all things comes from Jesus Christ who is Victory, Health, Healing, Blessings, Prosperity and every good thing that we need! The greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty and all that is in heaven and in earth is the LORD’s. His is the kingdom, O LORD, and He is exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Him, and He reigns over all. In His hand is power and might; in His hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. In His hand is the ability to heal the sick, and to do and give great and wonderful miracles! And the truth of the matter is that God is still with us as strongly as He was with His disciples in the Holy Land and that every single area of the world should expect the same miracles from God today that we read about in the Bible from so long ago. He is God and there is no other. God’s word is true:

"My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. "No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God. "Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.

"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed." 1 Samuel 2:6-10

In every situation and circumstance our help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." When a real need arises and there seems to be no one around that can help, we lift up our eyes to heaven where real guidance and wisdom come from. We look to the One who spoke this world into existence and hung the earth upon nothing. God's ears are open to the cry of the righteous, and He hears, He understands and He knows just what to do. We are to have faith in God; hold to His hand. Our every care He understands. And God is not a man. He does not have the limitations of a man. Ephesians 1:19 says, "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power!

Hence we can look to God through Christ Jesus for our complete healing and restoration, spirit, soul and body as well as for our loved ones and the restoration of all our losses. We can pray according to Paul's prayers in Eph. 1: 17-19; Eph. 3: 17-20; Col. 1: 9-12. We can rejoice in the fact that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3) and that Jesus became a curse for us so that we can walk in total freedom and wholeness (Galatians 3:13-14). And God is a compassionate God. His word is true:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:35-38

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. Matthew 20:29-34

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:40-42

Jesus Christ Who is the same yesterday today and forever doesn’t have a problem healing every sickness and every disease or responding to cries of "Have mercy on us” or "If You are willing, You can make me clean."He is still the compassionate One! And He is able to give victory, salvation, healing, deliverance, and prosperity no matter what the situation. God’s word is true:

This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 118:24-29

Jesus Christ alone is and remains the only answer the men will ever need! Evangelist Peter Capil Hansen of Gospel Miracle Ministries http://www.gospelmiracle.org/ writes in his article “WHERE DID the GOSPEL GO??”:

A Desperate World in Need of the Pure Gospel!

The world is in deep trouble!

Billions of people are living in poverty around the world. About 2.8 billion people are living on less than two dollars a day. Millions are dying from starvation and diseases in the Third World. The global financial crisis has caused millions to lose their home and the world has probably just seen the beginning of a major global crisis that not even the financial experts could have foretold. The threat of nuclear war is hanging in the air and the most powerful nations of the globe are fighting for the last reserves of oil.

While some families can’t even afford a single meal on the table each day, others are addicted to drugs, gambling and alcohol.

Millions in the west are so mentally depressed that they try to escape this world of loneliness in alcohol, drugs, perversions and suicide. The world is screaming for help and solutions for a messed up society that has nothing to offer but endless talk shows and online entertainment.

People are seriously desperate for finding a deeper meaning, hope and inner peace. This world seems to have everything to offer, but in reality is more out of control morally and spiritually than ever. I can boldly say that this world needs the full gospel message of Jesus Christ. Not another sermon or conference about self happiness, but the pure full gospel of salvation. That is the one and only thing that can bring peace to the mind and restore the soul.

But how sad it is that the preaching of the full gospel has been downgraded to some cultural light gospel show with fancy stage performance and blinking lights! Where are the full gospel preachers who dare to stand up for the truth, who dare to preach salvation, hope, hell, holiness and grace. Where are those who proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven?

The problem is that millions of people have been deceived and blinded with a feel good gospel, a light lukewarm message that only talks about happiness, prosperity, self-development and “me, me and me” instead of “Him, Him and Him!”

Where did the gospel go?

Is today’s modern church really afraid of teaching the full living gospel? Is it afraid of being politically incorrect and offending the masses? Many churches are on a very dangerous path. A path that will only lead to possible destruction. Let me point out, that if there is no gospel message of sin, grace, repentance and salvation there is zero!

And while thousands of churches are playing “seeker sensitive churches” and being politically correct, millions of non-believers are screaming for spiritual truth that can give them real hope and reality based on the word of God. The truth of the gospel will set them free, but if there is no one preaching the truth of the gospel, many will go to hell, believing in a different gospel (2 Corinthians 11:3-4) (Galatians 1:6-7) . That is the hard facts. A very good place to read and study what Jesus is saying is in Matthew chapter 24. Jesus mentions here in chapter 24 that many will be deceived by false prophets and teachers.

It is so easy for self-proclaimed prophets to make up weird crazy doctrines and get thousands of followers, because in many churches there is a great lack of Christian discipleship based on the word of God. The focus on Jesus and his teaching and discipleship has been replaced with “feel-good teachings” that totally lacks the important teachings about repentance, sin, hell, grace and holiness.

On a five week mission trip to Ethiopia recently I was scheduled to speak in different churches. In my sermon preparation I felt a deep conviction to preach and focus more on the gospel that Jesus taught and His life, more than I had ever done before. And the pastors and local evangelists were amazed and almost shocked by the clear gospel teaching, because they were not used to that!

We have to remember that the gospel is what sets us free. We need to bring the full gospel back in our churches, mission fields and to a desperate seeking world. There is only one hope and that is Jesus Christ. We have to renew our passion for being in the presence of Jesus. We must take up our cross and lay down our lives and follow Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must renew our minds daily in God’s presence. We must study the life of Jesus and the Word of God and let it become part of us, inside out.

The living word of God will change your life and you will see its powerful effects, and not only will you be empowered by his Word, the world around you will experience the saving and healing power of Jesus Christ. Make the gospel the focus of your life and ministry and tell others as well.

Peter Capili Hansen testifies he has as seen several thousand people healed from various afflictions and diseases. We have prayed in the name of Jesus Christ and seen people being healed and claimed being healed from:

Chronic Back Pain Healed, Healed Of Diabetes, Heart Condition Healed, Leg Lengthened, Sinus And Emotional Problems healed, diabetes healed, osteoporosis healed, arthritis healed, deafness healed, cancer healed, blindness healed (left eye) , bad backs, crippled legs and arms stretch out, lupus recovery, allergies healed and eased, asthma healed, colds and flu totally healed, lame in left side healed, stroke healed, severe migraine healed, anxiety attacks healed, and other physical and mental traumas healed, inner healing, spiritual deliverance/ exorcism, finding mission people, personal prophecy, healing of cyst, healing of low energy, knee pain problems healed, shoulder problem healed, neck pain healed, inner peace. Some have claimed they were healed from HIV. The greatest miracle is spiritual, when someone becomes a believer in Jesus Christ and receives eternal life..

Chapter 20
God Hates Divorce

"For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one's garment with violence," Says the LORD of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously." Malachi 2:16

Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:10-14

God Who is a God of peace, health and prosperity, hates divorce for many reasons including the real damages and hurts it causes to many people and that it denies His Lordship and Miracle working power to fix and change all things. God’s word is unchanging:

"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

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. John 5:5-9

God is and always will be God, a great and wonderful Miracle Worker, and the Healer. He stands ready to save, heal, deliver and make whole anybody and everybody who calls upon His name. Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, immediately healed the man who had an infirmity thirty-eight years after he answered Jesus’ question "Do you want to be made well?" with a yes!

The problem with seeing healing and miracles in the current time of life in our lives is never on God’s side but on man’s. Jesus later told this instantly healed man, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (John 5:14). In this particular case the sickness was a result of sin and the man would have to change his ways lest a worse thing come upon him. He had to take responsibility for his actions or the lack there of.

It’s a fact that some people love being sick because they receive attention and care and they don’t have to be responsible any more to do things like work. Being sick is an easy way to escape things they don’t like. While they say they want to be healed in reality they do not! And that is why the question "Do you want to be made well?" is very important be answered truthful by each individual for God’s word is unchanging:

…"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." Exodus 15:26

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Psalm 103:3

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 4:2-3

God has given men a free will and freedom to have the desires of their hearts including being sick even though He has made provision for their total and complete healing and deliverance. And some of His people do choose sickness over health and others become sick because they have disobeyed God’s word. His word is true:

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ' These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Revelations 2:18-23

Yes, the word of God teaches that unrepentant sins brings sickness and even death, even though God’s word tells us that by Jesus stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2:24 ). Besides faith in God repentance is a very useful thing in receiving healing from God. God’s word is unchanging:

"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. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:14-15

Yes, the LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. God doesn’t have a problem in making His people rich and prosperous. Jesus Christ suffered on the cross intense pain and shame to set us free from sickness and poverty. By His stripes we were healed in every sense of the word. Jesus was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) including sickness and poverty. He is still the great Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider and Miracle Worker. It’s Satan, our arch enemy, who wants God’s people to suffer spiritual, physical and financial insufficiency and be sick and weak for he is a thief, a murderer and a destroyer (John 10:10). God’s word is unchanging:

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."

The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. Luke 13:10-17

Yes, the devil kept this woman sick for eighteen years and Jesus delivered her from her bondage. And because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever He can and will deliver any one from any bondage. There are many forms of bondage besides sickness. A person could be physically well but be bondage in his finances. But God who owns the cattle on the thousand hills and all the silver and gold will deliver him from his or her bondage (Isaiah 51:1-3, 61:1-5). The lack of money is a great bondage but Jesus delivers from all forms of bondage.

Contrary to what some people believe money is not the root of all evil. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil! Money is just a means of payment. It’s is neutral. What a person does with money makes it either good or evil. What is important is does a person possess money or does money possess the person?

Now the devil wants God’s people to be blind and ignorant about God’s desires for them to be healthy and wealthy and powerful. The devil is not stupid and he knows that whatever part of the Word of God is rejected by God’s people it will not become a reality in their lives. So he causes many religious folks to believe that sickness and poverty are the will of God and that prosperity and wealth and prosperity are from the devil. But all this is nothing but a lie from the father of all lies – the devil.

Poverty is like an infectious disease. It is like a virus Satan brings upon the Body of Christ. He has infected many individuals, families and whole churches with the "poverty virus". As a result for them poverty and sickness have literally become a way of life.

But the truth of the matter is that Jesus had died on the cross to give us 100% victory over all things including setting us free from sickness and disease and poverty. He doesn't want us to be even 1% sick or poor. He gave His blood for us. He purchased us. We are His own and all that belongs to Jesus belongs to us- all of it! That is the reason why Jesus wants us to live a 100% healthy life. Every sickness in our life and poverty is defeated by the blood of Jesus. Jesus gave His blood -- He died naked on the cross -- to set us free from sickness or poverty. Every financial lack in our life is defeated by the blood of Jesus. He wants us to live 100% wealthy and healthy lives. and All we have to do is to receive and confess God's Word concerning our health, healing, blessings and prosperity and to act according to it. God’s word is unchanging:

"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18

The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. Psalm 118:15-16

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

Chapter 21
Dispensationalists Dispense

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ' These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 'Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. Revelation 2:13-16

The Word of God tells us that God hates man made doctrines such as the doctrine of Nicolaitans and the doctrine of dispensationalism. One of the main problems with dispensationalism is that it permits its adherents to interpret the writings of Paul in opposition to the commandments of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, for the Gospels only apply to the Kingdom, and the writings of Paul "the Gospel of Grace" apply to the Church. This is why when you try to discuss the Scriptures with those in the modern sects, they are either bewildered by the commandments of Jesus Christ in the Gospels or they simply dismiss them as irrelevant.

This rejection of the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ in the Gospels as irrelevant to the church permits the dispensationalist to claim that apostles, prophets, gifts of the Spirit including miracles and tongues have ceased to exist. Many have rejected the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements on dispensational grounds. That is, they believed that the gifts of the Holy Spirit passed away in the first century, during that dispensation of time after all the original apostles were gone. Pentecostals and charismatics have battled this dispensational theology, saying that the gifts were not just for an early dispensation in the church, but for us today. However, having their own form of dispensational theology, many of these same Pentecostals and charismatics reject preterism (covenant theology) and the understanding that we are living in the kingdom of God today. They say that the kingdom is for a future dispensation and not now. Their current form of dispensationalism places us in a parenthetical church age that will end when Jesus returns and brings in the kingdom.

We’ve been empowered by the Holy Spirit to experience His supernatural transformation of people’s lives, cultures, and nations. The gifts of the Spirit (tongues, prophesy, divine healing, etc.) have been given to us for practical victorious living in Christ. Preterists and dispensationalists need to open up to the Holy Spirit’s supernatural working and His giftings for people today in order to practically live out the kingdom we preach and change our culture. Only by the supernatural direction and experience of God’s Holy Spirit can we fulfill our calling in this “world without end.”

The dispensational teaching in the Left Behind books has made many rich. Most television and radio preachers today are proclaiming some form of dispensationalism but many are breaking free from this erroneous doctrine. While there are many different versions of Dispensationalism, it generally proposes the work of God is divided into "dispensations" with respect to time and claiming that God changed something in dealing with men. To quote the New Scofield Reference Bible, a Bible version whose erroneous translation promotes dispensationalism:

The purpose of each dispensation, then, is to place man under a specific rule of conduct, but such stewardship is not a condition of salvation. In every past dispensation unregenerate man has failed, and he has failed in this present dispensation and will in the future. But salvation has been and will continue to be available to him by God's grace through faith.

Dr. C. I. Scofield, one of the most influential proponents of dispensationalism, defined a dispensation as “a period of time during which man is tested in respect to obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God.” Scofield categorized the dispensations as Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, Grace, and Kingdom. He claimed that we are presently in the church age of Grace, and we will go into the Kingdom age after the second coming of Christ. Dispensationalism denies that the spiritual identity of Israel is the Church, and it tends to set “Grace” and “Law” against each other as mutually exclusive principles. It was a very erroneous system of Bible interpretation. The dispensations that supposedly applied to our time were:

The Kingdom. This dispensation begins with Christ's public ministry and ends with either His Resurrection or Pentecost. The rule of conduct in the kingdom dispensation is defined as the "Gospel of the Kingdom."

The Church. This dispensation begins with Pentecost and ends with an event that the dispensationalists refer to as "the rapture" The rule of conduct for the church dispensation is defined as another gospel - "the gospel of grace."

The Kingdom Restored. This dispensation is a continuation of the kingdom dispensation. It begins with "the rapture" and after the second coming of Jesus Christ; he will establish an earthly kingdom, which will be eternal. Apparently, this return of the kingdom dispensation is necessary to keep the dispensationalism teachings even remotely consistent with the Sacred Scriptures.

With the establishment of Israel as a nation on May 14, 1948, dispensationalists taught that there would be only one more generation of the Church. God would rapture it out and the tribulation would begin, according to their view of Matthew 24:34. All this was to occur within one forty year "generation." While dispensationalists have never agreed among themselves as to whether the rapture was to be partial, pre-tribulational, mid-trib, or post-trib, time has proven them all to be wrong. The year 1988 ended with an awkward silence from their scholars. If Israel was "God's prophetic clock," then dispensationalists did not know how to tell time. Yet God’s word is unchanging:

As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved." "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God." Romans 9:25-26

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: Behold…I will make a new covenant…(Heb. 8:7-8).

The culmination of God’s divorce with old covenant Israel as a nation was prophesied again by Jesus in Matthew chapters 21-24. He stated His generation would see the finalization of the divorce in the destruction of the Jewish temple forever and the end of its old covenant ways (Matt. 24:2, 14, 34). That prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman army took Jerusalem, destroyed its temple, and ended the Jewish religion of sacrifices and offerings. Simply said, the significance of the old covenant nation of Israel was destroyed forever, and the nation that currently exists in the Middle East is a non-biblical nation. It is no longer connected to Bible prophecy!

The good news is that God has remarried the new covenant spiritual Israel, His church. (Rev. 19:7, 9, 22:17). The church is the nation that is fulfilling Bible prophecy today as a “holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). She is the bride of Christ and has the laws of God written in her heart and mind. She has inherited all the promises that God made to Israel. God’s Holy Spirit dwells in her to cause her to always be faithful to Him (Ezek. 36:25-27). To all who are in the Middle East, and to all who are not in the Middle East, “the Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come! God’s word is unchanging:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. Titus 2:11-15

Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:8-17

Chapter 22
Sow Your Seed?

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, "which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32

"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

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

Carl Giordano in his article “Sow Your Seed To Meet Your -- Greed!” has brought out very well the false teachings by many prominent ministries about sowing a money seed to get victory or see your need met when Jesus Christ won it all for us on Calvary and we don’t have to pay a penny or do anything but just believe and trust God!

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" ---1st Timothy 6:10

Do you remember the "good ol' days", when amongst Christians who knew their Bibles, the "Seed" used to be--The Word of God ?

Well, lo and behold, while nobody was looking, all of a sudden somebody changed the "Seed" into---MONEY !

It seems in our modern day church, especially the "Charismatic" version ( of which I am one, so to speak ), it does not matter so much what The Word of Almighty God says, as much as what the slick talking Evangelist / Bible Teacher says. In other words, the Holy Bible teaches that the Seed to be sown is---The Word of God. But, if you have watched "Christian TV" any time, in the last few years, you may have noticed that the slick talkers --who call themselves "Minister" "Reverend" "Doctor" "Bishop" "Evangelist" "Pastor" "Teacher"-- have now changed the Seed from the Word of God into ---Money ! And, boy oh boy, they want you to sow a whole lot of this new seed into their "ministry" ( pockets ) .

It's kind of a neat little Magic Trick! You know, where the magician turns his empty hand upside down, and then back again, and now there is a coin in it ! Abra-Cadabra ! Bingo ! "Now there is nothing in my hand, as you so plainly see....but, a little 'slight of hand' ( slick talking ) and now my hand is full of -- Money-- Your Money ! " And "God's People" keep on being ignorant enough to say---" That's neat ! Let's see that trick again, and again, and again "....

In the book of Exodus Pharaoh had a lot magicians in his court... and we have a whole lot of them in our churches, and on "Christian TV" . They say, so to speak,---"You thought these Bible verse meant this -- but I have had a 'new revelation' and Wallah!--now they mean something altogether different--and if you're smart, you will get in on the action ! "

Now, hopefully, I'm going to make this present message of mine short. Basically, what I want to get across to you, the reader, is this---Beware! Wolves still do dress up in sheep's clothing! You may have heard the old saying--"If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck and flies like a duck--that's because --It's a DUCK! " I'd like to warn you, today, that if it looks like a False Teacher, acts like a False Teacher, lives like a False Teacher, talks like a False Teacher, and TWISTS SCRIPTURE like a False Teacher --that's because--It's a FALSE TEACHER !

Study. I said Study. Study the Bible for yourself. Stop being lazy wanting somebody else (the Reverend, Doctor, Bishop, Pastor, Teacher etc. ) to do it for you. The SCRIPTURE TWISTERS are counting on you being ignorant of the Bible; because, if you are not ignorant of the Bible, they will not be able to CON you.

Now, the worst part of all this is not so much that the seed is now money, whereas it used to be The Word of God--this is sure enough blasphemous enough--but, along with the "Sow your Seed" ( Money ) teaching is the grandiose, as well as blasphemous promises made to you--"That if you will just sow that One Thousand Dollar seed, my friend, then God will surely bring salvation your way and all your kids, grand kids, and your grandma will surely be swept into the kingdom ! Yes Sir ! My Brother and My Sister, go to that phone right now! Call i ! Don't Doubt! Get that seed sown into 'good ground' ( MY POCKET ) and God will save everybody you know... and don't know; and then, guess what, ---God will make you RICH! "..... ( and then you can send in some BIGGER seeds )

Let's go to the BIBLE. What a novel idea. The BIBLE? Well, ok...guess it can't hurt.

Now, when we open our Bibles, rather than turn on Christian TV, we see that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST says that the SOWER SOWS the SEED and that the SEED is---THE WORD OF GOD!

So, put your check book away. Get out a PACK OF GOSPEL TRACTS , instead, and start SOWING! Go over to your neighbor's house, hand them a TRACT, then open your BIBLE, and get to SOWING! Go to a street corner, open your Bible and let er' rip! Throw those SEEDS all up and down the streets, on your job, at your neighbors! Throw some SEEDS at your friends! Chuck a bunch of them at your enemies! SEEDS ! SEEDS! SEEDS! Go and show "Johnny Apple Seed " that he ain't got nothin' on you! He threw his seed, everywhere, and grew trees. You go and throw your SEED, everywhere, and GROW DISCIPLES for JESUS!

Amen !!! If I have to shout it myself ! Glory !!!!!!!!

Now, let's calm down, Brother Carl, and actually quote some SCRIPTURE here. Ok ? Ok.

Jesus said--- " A sower went out to sow his seed "....Luke 8:5 ( later, during your study time, read the rest down to verse 11 )

In verse 11 of Luke 8 we see that Jesus says--- " Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God."

"But, brother Carl ?! Evangelists Slick Sam, Brother Twister the Teacher, and Dr. Dumbbell, all said that the SEED is-- my LOVE OFFERING --sent in to them...and that if I would just 'have enough faith to obey ( them ), then God would get my son and daughter off of drugs, and all, and everything else I ever wanted will be mine. "

..... " I sent my thousand dollar seed in...my kids are still on drugs...I'm still broke....but, maybe, it will take a LARGER SEED ...ok...ok...ok...Where's my Check Book !? "

Do you want your loved ones saved? ASK JESUS to SAVE THEM. He doesn't NEED your SEED---It's only HIS SEED that will get the job done-- and His SEED is---FREE OF CHARGE! So, don't send any "seeds" to Jesus...( or those who pretend to work for Him)...rather, ASK JESUS to send HIS SEED ( the Word of God ) to your loved ones.

Again, what a novel idea. Jesus IS the seed and HAS the seed? Yes, a thousand times--Yes!

Do you or your loved ones need a healing in body. I've got GOOD NEWS! You can keep your money in the bank and your pocket. Don't send any SEEDS to anybody. Don't send for your lucky handkerchief, or rabbit's foot ( it's almost become this bad ) but rather just KEEP ON sending UP your PRAYERS to---THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!!! HE IS WHAT HE IS!!! He said- "I AM". Brother ! Sister !---He ( JESUS ) is---the SAVIOR, the HEALER, the BAPTIZER with THE HOLY GHOST and FIRE, and THE SOON COMING KING of all kings, and LORD of all lords !

Now, in closing, let's be fair and balanced. ( "But, brother Carl all these CAPITAL LETTERS and EXCLAMATION POINTS--- !!!!!! ---Brother Carl, you don't write, nor act like one who is very--'BALANCED' ?! " )

Yeah, Yeah, I know. I get a little carried away...I even bounce up and down, sometimes, as I sit on my chair, while I type here at the computer. But, still, we will now briefly mention something, in the name of balance.... so that, hopefully, we ( me ) will not become a Scripture Twister ourselves---

In God's Word ( Bible ), we DO find reference to money--a LOVE OFFERING--being SEED SOWN. But these are the very Scriptures that the SCRIPTURE TWISTERS--TWIST--in order to line their OWN POCKETS.

Because I'm tired of typing, I'll let you STUDY it out for yourself. In 2nd Corinthians chapters 8 & 9, we find the Apostle Paul lifting a Love Offering and he does refer to it as-- SEED SOWN. See Chapter 9 verse 6 etc. etc.. But, Paul was NOT lifting this offering for himself nor to enrich himself . He WAS taking this offering from one particular church group to HELP OTHER POOR CHRISTIANS who were SUFFERING because of their faith in The Lord Jesus.

Now, again, let's be fair and balanced. Should we SUPPORT true Ministers of The Gospel with our MONEY ??? Of course !!! That's also BIBLE. Study it out. "The laborer is worthy of his reward" etc. etc. etc.. All over the BIBLE we are taught to GIVE to help the TRUE man or woman of God. But, a REAL man or woman of God will not suck you dry like some sort of foul leech! They will feed you ALL THE COUNSEL OF GOD, and they will NOT major on LOVE OFFERINGS, TITHES, etc. BUT, rather they will FEED YOU GOD'S WORD, AS HE GIVES IT TO THEM, AS THEY FAITHFULLY STUDY HIS WORD AND SEEK HIS FACE IN PRAYER.

If these "preachers" and "teachers" would REPENT of their CON GAMES, and get on TV and in their pulpits, and PREACH and TEACH so as to get PRECIOUS SOULS delivered, saved, healed and ready for the soon coming KING---Then I believe ALL THE MONEY--that they would ever NEED-- would come FLOWING IN like a MIGHTY STREAM.

Let's stop all the BEGGING. Let's stop giving to all the Beggars.

Let's stop PLAYING CON GAMES. Let's stop being CONNED.

Chapter 23
He Knelt Down And Prayed

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:41-44

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. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:16-18

Jesus prayed just before Calvary where He was tempted to quit and an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. The devil wanted Jesus to die a premature death but the bible tells us in Hebrews 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear. As a result of Jesus agonizing emotional prayers, He went on to fulfill the plan and purposes of God and bring full gospel Salvation to all who believe and receive!

Our captain in life is Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His life for us and defeated Satan and his hosts on the cross. Today God will transform us into the image of Christ and bless us (2 Corinthians 6:18). Whatever may be our problems, we are to hold onto the Lord diligently. He will deliver us from them and bless us abundantly as God is always for and with us. He is on our side and wants us to succeed in everything. In His darkest hour Jesus prayed and so should we especially when all hell breaks loose and a man's enemies are even the men of his own household! God’s word is true:

Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man's enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. Micah 7:5-9

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 6:18

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7

Prayer should not be our last resort but our first resort in everything bringing the power of God into everything and making everything line up with the will of God which includes divine salvation, divine health, divine prosperity, divine strength, divine victory and divine wealth in all circumstances! To appreciate what prayer and praise will do in the life of a true believer we must look into the life of King Solomon. The bible tells us:

Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. "Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. "And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, "behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. "And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. "So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 1 Kings 3:4-14

At Gibeon Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. Immediately at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" Solomon replied "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" God was so pleased with Solomon request he had asked for himself understanding to discern justice, that God gave him a wise and understanding heart. And He has also given Solomon both riches and honor, so that there was no one like him among the kings all his days.

As a result King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And since God has not changed and is the same yesterday, today and forever and is no respecter of persons, who is to say what He can or will not do in response to prayer except He always does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask pray or think!

God made Solomon extremely wise and wealthy but Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. He built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. As a result the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him that he should not go after other gods. But Solomon did not keep what the LORD had commanded and the LORD raised up adversaries against Solomon who caused much trouble and God didn’t lengthen Solomon’s days!

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 commands! When they disobey well then sickness, poverty, lack, oppression and other vegetative things are their possession. God’s word is unchanging:

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

Chapter 24
God’s Sovereignty and Miracles

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. Matthew 9:20-22

“I thank God for His sovereignty, that He is completely in control of the situation and that He knew about all these things long before they began to happen!” Theresa

What does God’s sovereignty have to do with anything including miracles or salvation? Nothing! a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years said to herself, "If only I may touch His (Jesus’) garment, I shall be made well." And Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. So any believer who believes and trusts in Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday today and forever, can be healed by touching Jesus in faith and it has nothing to do with the sovereignty of God?

And the same is true with salvation? The bible tells us:

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Romans 8-13

The LORD, Who is over all and is Sovereign, is rich to all who call upon Him. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

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. Each person must work out his or her own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:14). But due to the complexities of man each person is not always established in “protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance”. Nevertheless God is able to ensure that spirit and soul and body preserved sound and complete. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) especially as the brethren pray one for another (COL 1:9, 1THES 5:25, 2THES 3:1, HEB 13:18, JMS 5:16) and help one another (ACTS 4:34, 1COR 16:17, PHIL 2:30).

The same principle of believing and confession is true about getting a miracle which is part of salvation. We believe it, confess it and receive it! When we made Jesus the Lord of our life, we believed, confessed and received the greatest miracle in the universe, the miracle of a reborn spirit! Every other miracle we receive comes in exactly the same way. We simply believe in our heart, not our head, what God's Word says concerning any area of need, and say with our mouths that we receive. That's what the woman did who had the issue of blood. She believed in her heart that Jesus would heal her. Then she spoke her faith out loud. Then she acted on that faith--and she received her miracle. It wasn't Jesus' decision. It was hers. She took her faith and drew on the power of God. God's power is always present everywhere and available to those who believe. Our faith will bring it into our life, body or circumstances. So we can at any time reach out to Jesus. Believe, confess and receive our miracle! Mind you if your heart is impure all the believing and confession will achieve nothing. God’s word is unchanging:

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. ! Timothy 1:5-7

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25

Being lustful and greedy, ignoring justice, righteousness and truth, being a respecter of persons and showing partiality to the mighty, and being unloving, unkind, unforgiving immoral and unrighteous definitely not only nullify any confession but also hinder answered prayers! God’s word is unchanging:

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:11-18

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:15

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10

You cannot do and say things that are contrary to God’s word and expect Him to bless you! You must confess and repent of all your sins and be cleansed from all unrigtheousness!

Chapter 25
A New Better Covenant

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24

In the New Covenant that Jesus bought with His own blood it doesn't depend on our ability. It depends on Him and what He has already done. He has done it all! All we have to do is believe it and receive it. As a new creation in Christ Jesus, we can accept the gift of righteousness and all that gift includes: health, prosperity, peace, joy and life abundant. We can put aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us and now look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. And according to His Word, we can now reign in this life as a king. The power of sin and death in our life has been overcome. No longer are we ruled by the forces of evil but by the God above all gods. And we are more than a conqueror not through our own abilities and strengths but through Him who loves us. And we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.

We are of the seed of Abraham and Abraham’s covenant belongs to us and a better covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus. And the blessings of Abraham are all ours as heir to the promise – all of it! The covenant we now have cannot be broken. God is bound to give me the victory always. Whatever God did for Israel or others kings He will do more for us. And nobody can take advantage of us and go free for that touch not statement is a command, a decree. It carries certain penalties if broken.

Since we are born of God and are His sons and daughters He is interested in our winning always. If the physical Israel can win all their battles with impunity, we can do much more than that because pf the new better covenant. We can overcome always. The greater one is in us. He is at work in us now. He is greater than all our life battles, so He can win them all. He is working His good pleasure in us. We are born winner. And how much we receive from God depends on how much we believe Him for. Personal faith is the answer. Another person’s faith cannot offer us lasting victory over our personal issues. Brethren can only help us up to a point by their faith. But we have to be able to stand on our own feet and fight our own battles.

And prosperity, wealth and riches are part of this new covenant for God’s word tell us;

But you shall earnestly remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers as at this day. (Duet 8:18)

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children and the wealth of the sinner finds its way into the hands of the righteous for whom it was laid up. (Prov. 13:22)

For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering up, that he may give to one who pleases God. (Ecc. 2:26 )

And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name. (Isa. 45:3)

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous. Do good O'Lord to those who are good and to those who are righteous in their hearts. (Psalm 125:3-4)

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. (Psalm 85:12)

And my God will liberally supply (fill to the fullest) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)

For You would that we prosper and be in good health even as our souls prosper. (3 John 2)

Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad, and say continually, let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. (Psalm 35:27)

The young lions lack food and suffer hunger, but they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on authority of His Word] none of them shall lack any beneficial thing. (Psalms 34:10)

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. (Psalm 68:19)

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows present grace and favor and future glory, honor, splendor and heavenly bliss! NO GOOD THING WILL HE WITHOLD FROM THOSE WHO WALK UPRIGHTLY. (Psalm 84:11)

Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:12)

I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me, Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them. (Psalm 57:2)

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. (Psalm 138:8)

What we believe and say about God, His word and His promises does matter for we establish things upon ourselves in the spirit realm and that eventually they will be evident in the material realm. We acknowledge that God has have brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light and that we are now a child of God by faith in Jesus. We are an heir of all the promises you gave to his r servant, Abraham; Abraham's blessings are ours and 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

As we walk in the Spirit of the LORD, we have and demonstrate the newness of life that is in Christ Jesus including clean hands and a pure heart by faith in His atoning work on the cross. We can now come boldly before His throne of grace because we are clean, we are pure, we are holy, we are forgiven, we are justified, we are sanctified by the blood of Jesus. He now is our Savior, Healer, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Deliverer, Friend, and everything that we need. In Christ, we have all things that pertain to life and godliness.. And there is nothing too hard for God to do and there is nothing impossible to those who believe. God’s word is unchanging:

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." Psalm 91:9-16

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. The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. Psalm 103:1-6

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 1:4

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

And what does it mean to make God's Word the final authority? It means believing what He says instead of believing what people say. It means believing what He says instead of what Satan says. It means believing what He says instead of what the circumstances say. Hence we can say:

1. I can have what I say, because Jesus said in Mark 11:23, ... That whosoever ... shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. I choose to be justified, and not condemned or snared by the words of my mouth. I speak truth. I say what God says about me. (Matthew 12:37, Proverbs 6:2 & Proverbs 8:7)

2. I’m no longer unrighteous. I’m a new creature in Christ Jesus. I have been made the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17 & 21)

3. I’m no longer unworthy. God has accepted me in Jesus. He has made me a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. (Ephesians 1:6 & Colossians 1:12)

4. I’m no longer poor. Jesus became poor, that I, through His poverty might be rich. Wealth and riches are in my house. (2 Corinthians 8:9 & Psalm 112:3 )

5. I’m the longer living in lack. I’m a child of God, an heir of God, a joint heir with Christ, and an heir of Abraham’s blessing. My father is the Mighty God, Who is always more than enough! (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:14 & Genesis 17:1)

6. I do not want for any good thing. The Lord is my Shepherd. My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly before Him. (Psalm 23:1, Philippians 4:19 & Psalm 84:11)

7. I’m no longer living in debt. The Lord is blessing me. I shall lend unto many nations, and I shall not borrow. The borrower is a servant to the lender. I choose to serve the Lord, and Him only! I owe no man anything but love. (Deuteronomy 28:12, Proverbs 22:7 & Romans 13:8)

8. I’m no longer subject to sickness. Jesus, Himself, took my infirmities and bare my sicknesses. By His stripes I was healed. God sent His Word and healed me. (Matthew 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24 & Psalm 107: 20)

9. I’m no longer fearful. God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I’m being made perfect in love. Perfect love casts out all fear. The Greater One lives in me, and greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! I’m strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:4, 18 & Ephesians 6:10)

10. I’m no longer afraid of what other people say about me. The Lord is on my side. It is written that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against me in judgment Thou shalt condemn. If God is for me, who can be against me? (Psalm 118:6, Isaiah 54:17 & Romans 8:31)

11. I’m no longer afraid of deadly diseases. I have been redeemed from the curse of law. Jesus has already borne my griefs (sicknesses) and carried my sorrows (pains). With His stripes I’m healed! (Galatians 3:13 & Isaiah 53:4, 5)

12. I’m no longer afraid of premature death, because I dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. With long life, He will satisfy me. I have received of the Word of God, and the years of my life shall be many! I’m serving the Lord, and He will fulfil the number of my days. (Psalm 91:1 & 16, Proverbs 4:10, Exodus 23:25, 26 & Psalm 90:10)

13. I’m no longer afraid of disaster, because the Lord is with me. He protects me and He has given His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways. I dwell in safety by Him. Terrorism and violence shall not come near me. No evil shall befall me, neither shall any plague come nigh my dwelling. (Proverbs 3:25, 26 TLB, Deuteronomy 33:12 & Psalm 91:5, 6, 10, 11)

14. I’m no longer in bondage to the fear of death. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. I have been delivered from the fear of death. Whom the Son has set free is free indeed! (2 Corinthians 3:17, Hebrews 2:15 & John 8:36)

15. I’m no longer depressed, for the joy of the Lord is my strength! I have been given the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that He might be glorified. My heart will rejoice in Him! (Nehemiah 8:10, Isaiah 61:3, & Psalm 33:21)

16. I’m no longer allowing myself to discouraged, for I’m determined to forget those things which are behind. I’m pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. God is filling me with all joy and peace in believing, that I may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Philippians 3:13,14 & Romans 15:13)

17. I’m no longer weak, because the Lord is the strength of my life. I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me. I know my God; I’m strong in the Lord and shall do great exploits. (Psalm 27:1, Philippians 4:13 & Daniel 11:32)

18. I’m no longer defeated, because God always causes me to triumph in Christ Jesus. I’m more than a conqueror through Him. I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. (2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:37 & Rev. 12:11)

19. I’m no longer worried, because I have cast all my cares upon the Lord, Who cares for me. Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life! (1 Peter 5:7 & Psalm 23:6)

20. I’m no longer fretful, because I let my requests be made known unto God in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keeps my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)

21. I’m no longer doubtful. God has given me the measure of faith. I’m a believer and not a doubter. I believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Romans 12:3 & Hebrews 11:6)

22. I’m no longer selfish, because the love of God has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost. I’m not only concerned for my own interests, but also for the interests of others. I am not weary in well doing. By love, I live to serve others! (Romans 5:5, Philippians 2: 4 AMP, Galatians 6:9 & 5:13)

23. I’m no longer confused, because God is the author of peace, and not of confusion. The Spirit of God abides within me to lead me and guide me into all Truth. (1 Corinthians 14:33 & John 16:13)

24. I’m no longer ignorant, because I have the mind of Christ, and I increase daily in the knowledge of God! He is made unto me wisdom. (2 Corinthians 2:16, Colossians 1:10 & 1 Corinthians 1:30)

25. I’m no longer condemned, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. There’s no condemnation to those who are in Him, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1, 2)

26. I’m no longer frustrated. I have been delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God. Now my life has eternal purpose in Christ Jesus, and my steps are ordered by the Lord. With confidence, I boldly approach the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Colossians 1:13, Psalm 37:23 & Hebrews 4:16)

Chapter 26
That Your Joy May Be Full

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 103:4-5

"And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24

Our crucified and risen Christ is alive today! He is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. When Jesus took upon Himself the suffering of the cross and willingly became our sacrificial Lamb, He won for us. He became our High Priest, and we can ask what we will through His name. Hebrews 7:25 says, "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.." What a wonderful Jesus we serve! Yes, Jesus is alive, and He hears the cry of the righteous. We can take our burdens to Him and leave them there and believe for God to move and answer prayer. The Lord knows just what we need and when we need it. He is always on time. And God is faithful and just. Where would we be today if it were not for Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary, His death and His resurrection? He is truly our High Tower, and our everything.

Sis. Evangeline Paul Dhinakaran of Jesus Calls Ministries in an article "God Who Cares" writes:

God is love. He cares for us because He loves us. The Almighty God came down to earth as Jesus Christ to deliver mankind from sin and give them eternal life. During His days on earth, there lived a man who was invalid for thirty eight years near the pool of water called Bethesda in Jerusalem. The pool had five porches and a great number of people with various sicknesses lay in them. They waited for an angel to come down and stir the water and whoever stepped into the pool first was healed of his sickness. When Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem to attend a Jewish Festival, He saw the invalid man and had compassion on him. He asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” The man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Immediately, Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed and walk" (John 5:1-9).

Dear Friend, the Lord loves you and cares for you too. He looks at the heart of every one of you. The compassionate Lord shall perfect everything concerning you.. As He asked the invalid man, “Do you want to get well?” He asks you, “My child what do you want Me to do for you?” He will perform the desired miracle in your life however worse the situation may be because there is nothing impossible with God. Our God is the One Who “calls out things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17). The Bible encourages you to cast all your burdens onto Him. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). The Lord will certainly grant all the blessings you desire and make you happy.

According to Jesus Christ, if we lack things in our life it’s our fault because we don’t ask. Our Father God has everything that we need and more than enough of it. And He delights to give good things to those who ask Him especially the Holy Spirit and “The Kingdom.” Of course our enemy, the devil, will try to do everything to stop us from asking, including showing how unworthy we are of anything. And then he will even try to steal from us what God has given to us. And many people, even God’s people, just freely let him steal their health, their riches, their good name and other gifts that God has given them. Nevertheless God’s word is unchanging:

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:7-11

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

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

"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! "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Luke 11:13

The kingdom of God is not only righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit but is also divine health, divine favor, divine blessings, divine prosperity, divine health and divine victory! And it’s all wrapped up in Jesus Christ who became poor so that we might be rich. It’s a fact that we are immensely rich because we have Jesus Christ and He is priceless. He is our all our, our brother, our friend, our Lord, our reward and our all. He is the best thing that we ever have or will have! And there is no one like Him or greater than He is. God’s word is unchanging:

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

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

But the other side of the coin about lack is that we cannot treat what God has given us freely unwisely and be unfaithful with the different gifts. One day we will give an account to God for all the gifts and giftings that He has given us. So we need to ask the Father for wisdom and discernment to handle the wealth and gifts that He give us and to use them all wisely. God’s word is unchanging:

And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. "You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, "Bow the knee!" So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Genesis 41:38-44

And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. Exodus 23:8

For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:8-11

We must be filled with the Spirit of the LORD and be discerning and wise just like Joseph was if we want God to promote us and to use us greatly. We must discern good and evil and not be perverted and corrupted by others including the enemy. We must have an understanding heart to judge God’s people and to understand to discern justice and the unsavory. Yes, we must cry out for discernment, and lift up our voice for understanding. God’s word is unchanging:

Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly. Proverbs 15:21

Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge. Proverbs 19:25

"And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:23

Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him. Malachi 3:18

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 1 Corinthians 11:29

Yes, we must discern between the unclean and the clean, between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. Otherwise we will find ourselves in the judgments of God for supporting the unclean and wicked ones. We must discern the times we live in as well as God’s seasons and timings in life. And we must not be undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful or we will find ourselves in places we never expected to be. Yet God’s word is unchanging:

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 Corinthians 2:12-16

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

Chapter 27
God’s Divine Power

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

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 1:2-4

Any power that doesn’t exalt God and Jesus our Lord is not of God but is demonic or witchcraft! True Christianity is centered around Jesus Christ and a living vibrant relationship with Him and no other! True power comes from the life of Christ in a believer who is abiding in Christ and not from any other source!

A.B. Simpson in article “ CHRIST OUR HEALER” talks about Divine healing as the supernatural Divine power of God infused into human bodies, renewing their strength and replacing the weakness of suffering human frames by the life and power of God. And he makes a great diction about WHAT DIVINE HEALING IS NOT including:

· Divine healing is not medical healing.. It does not come to us through medicines, nor is it God's especial blessing on remedies and means. It is the direct power of the Almighty hand of God Himself. "HIMSELF took our infirmities," and He is able to carry them without man's help.

· Divine healing is not metaphysical healing. It is not a system of rationalism, which is taking on so many forms in the world today, like the chameleon, assuming the hue of the surrounding foliage, according to the class of people it comes in contact with. What is commonly known as mind cure or Christian Science, is one of the most familiar forms of metaphysical healing.

· Divine healing is not magnetic healing. It is not a mysterious current which flows into one body from another. It is a serious question whether there is such a force in nature as animal magnetism, and whether what this seems to be, is not rather an influence to which one person's mind is subject from causes within itself. Divine healing is not spiritualism. It cannot be denied that Satan has a certain power over the human body. Certainly he must have if he is able to possess it with disease. And, if he has power to inflict ill health upon the body, I see no reason why he should not, if he please, open the back door and get out and leave the body well.

· Divine healing is not prayer cure. There are many Christians who greatly desire others to pray for them. If they can secure a certain quantity of prayer there will come a corresponding influence for good upon them, and if all the Christians in the world were to pray for them, they would expect to be healed. … There is no power in prayer unless it is the prayer of God Himself. Unless you are in contact with Christ the living Healer, there is no healing. Christ's healing is by His own Divine touch. It is not prayer cure, but Christ-healing.

· Divine healing is not faith cure… If you get to looking at your faith, you will lose the faith itself. It is God who heals always. The less we dwell on the prayers, the faith, or any of the means through which it comes, the more likely we will be to receive the blessing.

· Divine healing is not will power. No person can grapple with his own helplessness and turn it over into strength. It is a principle of mechanics that no body can move itself. There must be some power outside of itself to do this.

· Divine healing is not defiance of God's will. It is not saying, "I will have this blessing whether He wills it or not." It is seeing that in having it we have His highest purpose for us.

· Divine healing is not a mercenary medical profession that men adopt as they would adopt a trade or profession in order to make something out of it. If you find the mercenary idea appearing in it for a moment, discountenance and repudiate it. All the gifts of God are as free as the blood of Calvary.

A.B. Simpson goes on to state WHAT DIVINE HEALING IS:

· It is the supernatural Divine power of God infused into human bodies, renewing their strength and replacing the weakness of suffering human frames by the life and power of God. It is a touch of the Divine omnipotence, and nothing short of it. It is the same power that raised Jairus' daughter from the dead or converted your soul. Is it strange that God should show such power? More power is required to regenerate a lost soul than to raise the dead.

· Divine healing is part of the redemption work of Jesus Christ. It is one of the things He came to bring. Its foundation stone is the cross of Calvary. "He redeemeth thy life from destruction." "Deliver him from going down to death, I have found a ransom." Surely that healing comes from Himself alone. "By His stripes we are healed." That is the redemption work of Christ. You have a right to it, beloved, for His body bore all the liability of your body on the cross. Take it and love Him better, because it came from His stripes.

· Divine healing comes to us through the life of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead in His own body. He has gone up to heaven with His living body. You can see Him there this morning, with hands and feet of living flesh and bones, which you could handle. He could sit with you at the table and eat today as He did of old. He is no shadowy cloud-like form, but He has flesh and bones as we have. That is our Christ, a living physical Christ, and He is able and willing to share His physical life with you, by breathing into you His strength. We are healed by the life of Christ in our body. It is a tender union with Him; nearer than the bond of connubial oneness; so near that the very life of His veins is transfused into yours. That is Divine healing.

· Divine healing comes by the grace of God, not through the work of man. It cannot be bought, neither can it be worked for. We cannot help God out in it. We must take it as a gift. It comes to us as pardon does, a free gift from Him. It comes to us by faith. It is not the faith that heals. God heals, but faith receives it. We believe that God is healing before any evidence is given. It is to be believed as a present reality, and then ventured on. We are to act as if it were already true. God wants us to lean on Him, and trust Him, and then rejoice and praise Him for what He has given, with no doubt or fear.

HOW IS JESUS OUR HEALER.

· Because He has bought healing for us with His stripes. It is a part of His purchased redemption on Calvary. "Surely, He hath borne our sicknesses and carried our pains."

· Because it is in His risen life in us. We have healing not only from Jesus, but in Jesus. It is in His living body, and we receive it as we abide in Him and keep it only as we abide in Him.

· Because He enables us to take it by becoming our power to believe. He gives the faith to trust Him if we will receive it. We have not to climb the heights to find Him, but He comes down to our helplessness and becomes our trust as well as our healing. That's what Jesus Christ will do for you, beloved! He comes down to you where you are. He becomes your trust within you, and then you go on together until the resurrection light and glory of the coming age bursts in upon you. May God help us all to receive Him thus fully for His own name's sake! Amen.

God’s divine power, be it for Divine Healing, Divine Miracles, Divine Wealth, Divine Prosperity or Divine Wisdom, comes by the grace of God from God Himself for those who need it and are in a living abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. It comes to those who live a life of implicit obedience to God, doing always what He bids and being henceforth wholly under His direction. It comes to those who ever hearken diligently to His voice. It comes to those who listen closely, for Jesus speaks softly. It comes to those who walk like Jesus walked ( 1 John 2:6). Yes, God has sent forth the life of Christ as our Example and commanded us to imitate and reproduce Him in our lives. It comes to those who can say what Jesus said “"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). It comes to those who live and walk in love as Jesus commanded "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another ( John 13:34). God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. Ephesians 5:1-7

Chapter 28
Yet I Will Not Forget You

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live," says the LORD, "You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. "For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. Isaiah 49:15-19

persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- 2 Corinthians 4:9

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Isn’t great and wonderful that God the Creator and Sustainer of the universe will not forget us or forsake us no matter what we are going through? We are inscribed on the palms of His nail scarred hands and He is concerned about our welfare and prosperity. And He has promised to deal with all our destroyers and those who have risen against us (Isaiah 41:12) and to change our waste and desolate places and bring us righteousness, rest, justice peace and prosperity! God’s word is true:

People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 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 32:12-22

When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. Psalm 126:1-3

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 3:20-21

Although many people do, God’s true children don’t judge things by their natural mind or negative circumstances but by the Word of God and their decrees of how things are to be (Matthew 16:1, Mark 11:23). God has given us the power through the spoken word to change all the negative things in our land and to see it healed and blessed! Jesus gave us His blood, He gave us His name and He gave us His Word. He gave us the authority to rebuke negative things including storms and the devil ourselves. Under the new covenant we say to the mountain ‘be removed and cast into the sea’ and believe in our heart that those things we say will come to pass and we have whatever we say. Hence things seen such as mountain removed result from things not seen, our spoken words.

Through the bible we know and believe of the great things that God has done. And what He has done for one He will do for another! God’s word is unchanging:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:1-3

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 11:30-34

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelation 12:10-11

It’s a defeatist attitude, full of unbelief about the power of God, to let the enemy win in any way in our lives be it through poverty, loss, sickness, disease or demons. Our words spoke by our mouth frame the world that we live or shall live in, not the devil or negative circumstances. We overcome all things by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony just like Jesus did. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He told him what the Word of God stated (Matthew 16:9):

· 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.'

· 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'

· 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'

Just like Habakkuk expressed unshakable confidence in divine deliverance, so can we! God’s word is unchanging:

Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:2-4

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. Habakkuk 3:17-19

Through the book of Habakkuk we also see that individuals survive through fidelity to God, even when nations tumble because ungodliness and violence prevail; especially among those who profess the truth. Men tend to forget that God doesn’t overlook injustice and violence to others even by religious ones. Yes, the days come when the cry of sin is heard against those that do wrong and the cry of prayer for those that suffer wrong. And then God sends real judgments upon men through a method of His choosing.

Most men presume on continued prosperity, or that calamities will not come in their days even in our nation. God is the Lord and He does get offended. Though wickedness may prosper a while, yet God is holy, and does not approve the wickedness and will bring judgment even using others. Proud and arrogant ones who are fierce, cruel, unmerciful to take glory to themselves should be aware of God’s wrath. Even though God most times doesn’t execute speedy judgments and evil works and workers and His judgments are delayed, doesn’t mean that they are denied. Men who prey on others will sooner or later be preyed on themselves. God’s word is unchanging:

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. Nahum 1:3

So each one of us must walk humbly before God as all we receive is from Him and we must give Him all the glory. We must not be impatient about anything but trust God in and for all things. When we have poured out complaints and requests before God, we can trust God to provide us an answer in due season. He will not disappoint the believing expectations of those who wait upon Him to see what He will do. Though the promised blessings might be deferred for a season, they will come at last, and abundantly recompense the humble, broken-hearted, saint who waited upon God. Those who are just and live by faith and persevere to the end shall tread the high places of their enemies. While those who distrust or despise God's all-sufficiency will find themselves in place they never expected to be. Yes, What God has done before He can and will do again. And doom always comes to proud and oppressive ones especially those who touch or hurt His servants.

The sins of men do destroy them as they sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. What is gotten by violence from others, others shall take away by violence. Covetousness will bring disquiet and uneasiness into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house and it brings the curse of God upon all the affairs of it. Yes, there is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a house; but what is got by fraud and injustice, will bring poverty and ruin upon a family. God’s word is unchanging:

"Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also-drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD'S right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you, And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid, Because of men's blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it. "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols? Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!' Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all. But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him." Habakkuk 2:15-20

The good news is that the Lord revives His work among the people in the midst of the years of adversity and trials. Our God is a God of Mercy and in His wrath He remembers to give mercy to His trusting one who flee to Him for refuge and rely only upon Him. Everything that we go through is seasonal and subject to change by God who still makes His trusting ones more than conquerors even when the vines and the fig trees are destroyed. When all is gone, God is not gone and His miracle working power never ceases. His word is unchanging:

"And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. 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

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11

Yes, we might have seasons when we meet with losses and crosses in the world, but the joy of the Lord is still our strength. And He will make our feet like deer's feet, and He will make us walk on our high hills. The great redemptive work of our Lord covers the complete person—body, soul and spirit. It reaches even into the realm of physical necessities. Jesus said to his disciples, “Take no anxious thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, How shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God 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 29
There Is A King In You

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelations 1:4-6

"These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." Revelations 17:14

Jesus Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings and has made us kings and priests so that we can overcome all things including our enemies, be they spiritual or physical, and be more than conquerors! It’s a fact that men don’t know what is best for us or have all the answers in life but God does! He has the power to raise people from the dead and to make their bodies whole free from any sickness and disease! He has to power to fill a person with the fullness of God and impart to Him the mind of Christ and as much wisdom that he needs. 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

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. James 1:5

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11

When Jesus talked about coming into the Kingdom of God, He used the phrase "born again." When Paul talked about new Christians, he called them babes and children. In another place, Paul said that we should grow up spiritually and become mature. It very sad but most are Christians all over the world who are infants and children. They are born into the Body of Christ but don’t grow up and become mature. They are children who do things halfway and without understanding. They are immature and stay immature for the rest of their lives and that should not be!

God wants them to grow up and be mature and live and walk in the power and authority that He has for them! They have become the Children of God and can abide in Christ and allow His life to be manifested in them and through them. God’s word is unchanging:

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. 1 John 3:1-10

There is no sickness, disease, poverty, lack, defeat, failure or unmet need in the kingdom of God. For those who live and walk in the kingdom of God demons and circumstances don’t determine their success and prosperity and well being but God Himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit, which brings both the manifestation of the kingdom of God and the nature of the God who is a good God, a creative God, a miracle working God and a God of restoration. When God’s comes on the scene through the presence and personality of who the Holy Spirit is miracles come forth, miracles are manifested and God’s creative power is unleashed to change things in and around the live of the believer.

Most Christians are waiting for the kingdom of heaven to happen when they die—“absent from the body and present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). But Jesus said, “… the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And from the beginning of the time that Jesus first began to walk on this earth in His earthly ministry and He released the dynamic and the presence of the Holy Spirit, He ushered in the kingdom of heaven. AND IT’S STILL HERE! We don’t have to wait until we die or for another time to experience the kingdom of heaven! We can come into the realm of the kingdom of heaven now by experiencing what Jesus meant when He said: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

The kingdom of heaven is the manifestation of the kingdom of God on the earth, as it is in heaven. The reality is this: as it is in heaven means that there is no sorrow, or pain, or sickness because such conditions do not exist in heaven. So we can pray that as it is in heaven so let it be done in the earth. We can bring ‘as it is in heaven’ to the earth not only in the area of miracles, glory and angelic activity but into our hearts and lives. As a result we will have no more sorrow, no more pain, no more sickness, into the earth and know and experience the comfort of God in all our tribulation. God’s word is unchanging:

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. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 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 4:7-18

Yes, we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power that is God and not of us. We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal! We need to focus on what’s eternal because what’s eternal is going to last forever and it’s in the Spirit realm. We bring heaven on earth into our lives. The eternal is the unseen substance of what’s in heaven. In fact, the eternal overrules the material or physical realm, the physical symptoms of the sickness that are in our body, and the physical circumstances of our life. And we do this by saying “Come Holy Spirit; so as it is in heaven, it will begin to be on earth.”

As we invite the kingdom of God and as we say, “Holy Spirit come,” He brings the realm of God, He brings the activity of God. When the Holy Spirit shows up, a superior order shows up, and it breaks the law of science, it breaks every doctor’s report and what every person has said about you concerning what you can and cannot do. It breaks the law of physics and the realm of the impossible. It begins to open up the impossible! It begins to open up the eternal! It begins to open up the supernatural! People get healed! Sickness, diseases, poverty and lack leave our bodies and leave our lives to the dismay of the unbelievers as God’s kingdom is manifested in our lives. As it is in Heaven so is not now on earth in our hearts and lives.

Through being born from above means that we not only experience life on the earth with our natural senses but we experience the heavenly realm with our spiritual senses. We can now live in that heavenly realm and to walk in the spirit is to live and believe as it is in heaven so it is to be done on earth (Matt. 6:10). Just like Jesus demonstrated and manifested the kingdom of God bringing the creative power out of the heavens to override the natural and the impossible in the earth and to release the supernatural of God we can do the same. We can walk in a great measure of miracles, signs and wonders like Jesus did for we now live by another set of rules. We live by a superior order. We are in the realm of God where miracles are the natural order of things through the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost. God’s word is unchanging:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:12-14

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:11-14

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. Psalm 118:14-16

When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. 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 126:1-6

Chapter 30
The Revealing Of The Sons Of God

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:14-17

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Romans 8:18-21

Legally, we did indeed “get everything” when we were born again. According to God’s word when we became a child of God, we were made “an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ” and potential sons of God. Legally, from that point on, we were entitled to share Christ’s whole inheritance with Him. Experientially, however, we were only at the beginning of a process that takes a lifetime to complete. The Christian life could be described as a progression from the legal to the experiential. Step by step, in faith, we must appropriate in experience all that is already ours by legal right through our faith in Christ. We must do what God commanded the children of Israel to do to go in and possess the land and drive their enemies out. God’s word is true:

I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers-to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-to give to them and their descendants after them.' Deuteronomy 1:8

'Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.' Deuternomy 1:21

" 'Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him. Deuteronomy 2:24

Some of us are blind and cannot see what land God has given for us to posses. We need to pray and say, Holy Spirit, I open my heart and mind to You. Reveal to me the blessings that Jesus has obtained for me and how I may receive them. God desires that every one of His born children, heirs of God and a joint-heir with Jesus live and walk by faith in the fullness of God and by the power of God exercising the dominion and authority that will result in bringing deliverance and liberty to mankind. However God does not entrust authority to children, but to sons. And many in the Church are still children, suffering the same afflictions, oppressions, failures, Family crisis and stagnation as the world, because: the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all.

God’s children have to grow up and develop into being sons of God before they can be entrusted with power to do great wonders and signs among the people. Only sons are vested with the authority to be signs and saviours in the kingdom (Obadiah 1:21). Power is never put in the hands of children, because they themselves are under tutors and governors until the time appointed by the father. That is, until they develop into sons. When they becomes sons all elemental forces must obey them. Sickness, disease, failure and frustrations must hear and obey them. 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

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; Ephesians 4:11-13

Many Christians who should be solution providers are still cry babies. Believers who should provide the answers are still locked up in sickness, poverty and all manner of satanic bondages. But that is not God's will. Yes, God's desires to see the world filled with the manifestation of His sons, where every man and woman in the Church is a worker of signs and wonders, where everyone will be operating on the frequency of the first century apostles, emitting the same quality of fire, producing undeniable results. God’s word is unchanging:

"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

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...2 Corinthians 5:20

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 2:6

Just like God anointed and made Moses a god to Pharaoh and in the same way He made Jesus, He has made us gods to our generation. As a result of the new birth, we who were once flesh are now spirit and are seated in the earthly realm. Yes, we have been raised up together with Christ Jesus, and are now seated with Him in heavenly places. We are now a citizen of an entirely different kingdom, the kingdom of God. Our presence on earth is simply ambassadorial; we are simply representing the interests of our place of origin - heaven.

Our new birth established a change in our citizenship, from earthly to the heavenly. Just as in the natural, ambassadors enjoy the immunities of the nations they represent, as an ambassador of Christ here on earth, we can enjoy all the immunities that the kingdom of God has to offer. Just like ambassadors enjoy comfort proportional to the wealth of the country they represent we can enjoy the wealth and comfort of heaven. We are to be a sign of distinction, affluence, divine health, progress, etc. Wherever we go, we should be recognized as a sign-carrier and wonder-worker.

Before the fall everything about Adam was extraordinary. His body was superb, hence there was no provision for drugs; all the herbs in the garden were for food. His mind was great. He single handedly named all the animals intelligibly, without repeating any name. His spirit was in union with God. But then Adam blew it by his act of disobedience swapped his dominion over everything that the Lord had made for a life of oppression. Although he was king of the earth, he sold off to Satan, and legally transferred his right to live in the miraculous to Satan. Whereas previously whatever Adam said was law, after the fall, he lost control and was no longer in charge.

But Jesus Christ the last Adam who became a life-giving spirit redeemed us from all the curses that came of Adam and those of the flesh and restored to us all that Adam had lost including authority and dominion in the earth over all things. Hence as anointed ones we can speak and act with the authority and dominion that God has given us. God’s word is unchanging:

Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:9-10

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

"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. Luke 10:19

When they brought to Jesus those who were demon-possessed He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick (Matthew 8:16). And now God expects His anointed ones to do exactly the same.

Jesus, our pattern for being a son of God, experienced all that He taught. He healed the sick and was never sick Himself. He cast out demons and was never oppressed by any. He carried virtue for prosperity and was not a pauper. Similarly we must rise up vehemently against that stagnation or sickness or any other anti-covenant thing that is hanging around us because the husbandman must be the first partaker of the fruits. It ridiculous for a believer who is to lay hands on the sick to be sick himself, for one who should cast out devils to be oppressed by demons. Every unction passing through us to benefit mankind should benefit us first and foremost. God’s word is unchanging:

"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. Acts 16:17-20

Good and great miraculous signs and wonders should follow believers! By virtue of their status, they are to be followed by signs, not sorrows. The devil himself is under their feet, so wherever they appear he must disappear! However, until they can grasp the reality of their heritage in God as sons of God and who they are in Christ, they can never walk in the miraculous.

A Christian should be ashamed of sickness the way he is of sin. He should be embarrassed at defeat or failure in his life the way he would be at being caught in adultery. Why? By virtue of his new status in Christ, he should not be under anything anymore. So, God is upset when His children are cheated, defeated and manhandled, because on His part, He has done all He needs to do to ensure they live a victorious life. God’s word is unchanging:

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

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

God has a plan in place for His beloved people whom he has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly paces in Christ to enjoy divine health and divine prosperity. Next to salvation from sin, God's desire is that they experience salvation from sickness and lack. When God made the first man, he was physically sound and had an abundance of everything. There was no provision made for any form of medication as sickness was not a part of God's plans for man. Sickness came in with the entrance of sin. In other words, the moment Satan took over the government of this world, and in consonance with his name — "the wicked", the first thing he did was to create sickness. Therefore, as long as a person is a child of the devil, sickness, poverty and lack are a part of his inheritance. However, when anyone escapes the kingdom of Satan, into the kingdom of the Son of God, he has also escaped from the horror of sickness and disease and lack.

Until sin came, sickness and poverty did not exist; so when sin goes, sickness and poverty goes with it. More often than not, the presence of sickness in the body of a believer is as a result of ignorance, because sickness thrives on ignorance. But once a believer can contact the truth of the Word, he has located the final solution to any type of sickness or disease in his body. A believer must understand and appreciate that:

1. No sickness is to be treated as ordinary.

2. Sickness is a spirit.

3. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law; therefore, any sickness in our body is a curse from the enemy.

4. Until we curse that sickness and the spirit behind it by ourselves, God is not going to curse it for us.

The good news is that once we are born again, 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 your 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 31
We Do Not Preach Ourselves

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 2 Corinthians 4:1-5

Truth doesn’t have to be defended but just proclaimed. And Jesus Christ the Lord, is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)! Hence true preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. They do not preach themselves but Christ Jesus the Lord, and themselves their bondservants for Jesus' sake. And what do we have in many false apostate churches today which are run more like a business than anything else? A C.E.O in charge of everything with a useless board of directors to rubberstamp his wishes! A C.E.O. who expects all the blind dumb sheep to be his servants!

The church of Jesus Christ is not supposed to be a business. Many unsaved people speaking about Christianity say “It’s all just a big business enterprise” especially with the preachers constant talk about and demand for money! The lost can see the hypocrisy so much more clearly than believers and many are kept away from the church because of her preoccupation with serving mammon. And it’s the Lord who appoints apostles, pastors, prophets in HIS house, not presumptuous flesh. When a ministry or church does not have the Spirit to follow, their only recourse is to make the decisions themselves that the Lord would have preferred to make. Then they wonder why God brings real judgment on them and they become a joke to society! God’s word is unchanging:

The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. Psalm 25:9

Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant "Peace" While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths: "Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God." But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin. Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity, Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with iniquity: Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us." Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the temple Like the bare hills of the forest. Micah 3:5-12

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

"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 18:7-18

Our God is a God of righteousness, justice and mercy. He will give His trusting ones praise and fame before the people who oppressed them. The Bible says that He will speedily do them justice because He is a righteous God. The Bible also says, “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion” (Isaiah 61:7). So they can be of good cheer up for the Lord will exalt and honor them mightily and bless them for they understand that Jesus is the answer to every need.

Yes, we are chosen. Ephesians 1:4 tells us He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. Our salvation is totally in Christ. God looks at us as if we never sinned. Ephesians 1:11 tells us in Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. We are His praise and glory when we trust in Him. John 15:9 tells us as the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. Jesus gave His life for us; He calls us friend and tells us everything. We can depend on Jesus in every way and everyday in everything. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 reminds us But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation (healing, deliverance, safety, liberty and prosperity) through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 reminds us for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. So we thank God that in all things we have victory.

Victory Ministries

Walter Kambulow

June 1, 2008

All rights reserved

Burlington, Ontario

Mail to walthope@mail.com

http://walthope.tripod.com/healing.htm

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[i] http://www.theledger.com/article/20060616/NEWS/606160330?Title=Daniel-Strader-To-Stay-In-Prison

[ii] http://www.tampabay.com/news/religion/article1017585.ece

[iii] http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/806505.html?storylink=omni_popular

[iv] http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/07/02/ponzi-scheme-mainse.html

[v] http://www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/church_issues/delusional_world_of_mark_stibbe.htm

• 
  Great links
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/be-filled-with-all-fullness-of-god.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/power-of-blood.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/all-things-are-yours.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/be-not-ignorant.html
  ...http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/called-to-inherit-blessing.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/effective-fervent-prayer.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-is-like-god.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/let-god-arise.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/lord-will-hear.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-wonderful-redeemer.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/blessed-to-be-blessing.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/in-time-of-trouble.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/god-hears-and-answers-prayers.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/gods-will-is-healing.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-shall-be-given.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/greatest-is-love.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/lord-is-very-compassionate.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-believe-i-receive.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/all-sufficient-christ.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/is-sola-scriptura-true-and-from-god.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/tongues-is-not-for-believers.html
  
  http://sacred/-truths.blogspot.com/2012/01/by-power-of-holy-spirit.htm
  http://postedat.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/the-vanity-of-keeping-the-old-testament-commandments/
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2011/12/god-can-speak-directly-to-you.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2011/12/money-and-ministry.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2011/12/facing-death-and-devil-too.html
  http://sacred-truths.blogspot.com/2011/12/about-apostles.html