BLESSED

The Impossible Becomes Possible

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.

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,   which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  But as it is written:  “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,  Nor have entered into the heart of man  The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:1-9

Apostle Paul was in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. He was very conscious of his lack of strength, ability and talent. He desperately needed the Holy Spirit causing Him to trust and depend on the Lord.  As a result his speech and his preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. So the faith of his converts were not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God, which they saw, demonstrated. The bible records:

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

It was Paul’s desire that every one on Earth have heard the gospel and He to missionary journeys  make it so even facing great dangers and trials.  The bible records:

And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;  “how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:18-24

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

By the grace and power of God Paul was lead to triumph in Christ and to diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. His sufficiency was God and he did not peddle the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, spoke in the sight of God in Christ. The Lord, Himself, was Apostles Paul Friend, Counselor, Guide and Helper. Even though many others failed or disappointed him, God did not! His word was unchanging:

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?  You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;  clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.   And we have such trust through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,  who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Real men of God who did miracles in their day and brought change to their society and generation, such as Elijah, Jesus and Apostle Paul were men of prayer, of faith and of the Word. They were men of action in the things of the Spirit and in things of man. Them weren’t afraid of conflicts and took on impossible tasks which they never would have accomplished if they didn’t have an ear that heard the Voice of God. They had a prayer life that moved God’s hand and were filled with the Holy Spirit with a special anointing from God to do their tasks.

They were also men of the integrity and their word was their bond. They were men who were unafraid to do what needed to be done. When something needed doing they would pray and then do it. Their primary goal in life was to be about their Father’s business.

“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)

Now today, a lot of teaching on faith and prayer is very contradictory and confusing.  Some people teach that after we have prayed about something we needn’t pray about it about it again because it shows a lack of faith to do so. Others restrict what we can pray about and what kind of prayers God answers. Others teach that  we are to confess the Word of God rather than to pray about it. Others teach us that we are to pray about everything and for everything regardless of what is in our hearts.  But most of them don’t tell us that God doesn’t hear our prayers if our hearts are filled with iniquity, unforgiveness, resentment, sins and other things.

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” (Matthew 21:13)

“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. (Matthew 23:14)

You and I are the temple of the Holy Ghost and God’s house because He now lives in us and when we pray our spirit and our hearts must be right and blameless before Him. If this isn’t the case we must first pray that God will create in us a new heart and spirit, and take out the stony heart of flesh, stubborn and rebellion which is in each man, and put a right spirit in us.

God then gives us a discerning heart to understand Him, His ways and others as well as how to handle the circumstances of life in a spiritual way rather than a carnal way. God gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding freely to all those who ask Him for this. If we ourselves aren’t fed and clothed how can be we feed others? If we ourselves don’t have anything how can we give others anything? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and much is accomplished especially in prayer.

So we must first pray for ourselves:

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And don’t lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6: 11-13)

But who do we listen to and how do we pray? The answer is simple, the work of God is always done by the Spirit. So we first listen to the Spirit and receive Him and let Him rule and reign in our lives. The receiving of the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit is done by faith and God honors faith.

“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!” (Like 11:13)

“And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. “Then I remembered the Word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” (Acts 11:15-17)

When we pray in the Spirit it’s God Himself, by the Spirit, praying through and in us making intercession for us. Basically, He cannot say no to Himself and He answers His own prayers in the spiritual realm.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we don’t know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)

After we pray in the Spirit and in the understanding then we know that God makes all things to work together for good to them that love God and are called and walk according to His purposes. It isn’t automatic that all things work together for good. Its as we pray that God deals with and changes things.

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:15)

How much do we really pray about something? The answer to this question lies in the prayers and actions of Elijah and Jesus. The Word of God tells us about Jesus.

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42)

So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. (Matthew 26:44)

Prayer is a conversation between two best friends and they talk about anything that is on each others hearts; especially people who are always on the heart of God. People need our prayers and it makes a difference in their lives.

We are to be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication make our requests to our friend and creator God and He will bring it to pass! We haven’t fully understood this truth. He will do it! He  wills to change things! He will change things, especially when His children ask in faith believing that He will do It! Powerful prayer doesn’t come from many words but from an open and sincere heart that is full of Him. It moves the mountains out of your path and even stops and starts the rains, physical and spiritual.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it wouldn’t rain; and it didn’t 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 5:17-18)

Prayer is important for others and for ourselves. Jesus told us that if we had faith we will move the mountains in our lives out and cast them into the sea. We will tell the storms to be still and it will still. Most of this is accomplished in prayer first. God does hear our marvelous and wonderful prayers. He listens with the heart of a true Father and cares for His precious children and prayer warriors.

True friends can say anything to each other and they won’t take it wrong because love and the spirit of unity binds them together in true acceptance and true love. This is especially true in prayer.

“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? (Deuteronomy 4:7)

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. (2 Samuel 22:4)

When we pray we have tremendous resources available to us in prayer.

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

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. (Luke 3:21)

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. (2 Kings 6:17)

We are to pray continually and until we hear from Heaven and see our prayers answered. We are to follow the example of Elijah who lived in faith, spoke the Word of God in faith and prayed in faith until He knew that the answer was on it’s way. Elijah wouldn’t take no for an answer when He had God’s Word on the matter especially about life. For life and health is God’s will for all His people.  God’s word records for our profit and instruction:

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ “Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the LORD. (1 Kings 18:41-46)

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BLESSED

He Sent His Word 

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. Psalm 130:5

He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat. He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. Psalm 147:14-15

The Word and Jesus Christ are one and the same. He cannot lie and the Word cannot lie! So what God has promised in His written word He will fulfill. As a result for some He will bring deliverance and for others He will bring destruction. For God’s word is unchanging:

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!  For He has broken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two.  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 107:15-20

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

The LORD has promised great wealth and prosperity for those who fear and trust in Him. His word is true:

Who is the man that fears the LORD?  Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity,  And his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. Psalm 25:12-14

I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.  Riches and honor are with me,  Enduring riches and righteousness.  My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness,  In the midst of the paths of justice,  That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,  That I may fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:17-21

He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. Proverbs 28:25

But those who are proud cannot expect prosperity but rather demise and punishment. For God’s word is unchanging:

The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow. Proverbs 15:25

Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. Proverbs 16:5

A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin. Proverbs 21:4

There is no virtue in being proud! Jesus Christ is the deliverer of many men’s souls for without Him men  can do nothing of any importance or value. Yes, He has  given many giftings to men. They can swim expertly, drive trucks, build towering buildings and so on but they have missed the point. If what they have done is not unto God it has no value in the Kingdom of Heaven and profits little. For God gives everything man does value.

Man glorifies himself and walks about with great pride admiring his accomplishments and God looks upon him and his accomplishments with disdain. He is not pleased at what He sees that men are accomplishing because it is not in Christ or unto Christ. This displeases God  and He refuses to bless such accomplishments. If the world is still functioning it is because of God’s grace more than any pleasure that He may derive from man’s accomplishments.

Is there such a thing as freedom without consequences or freedom without reactions. Can men say, I am free to do as I like? No, men can’t really say that but they make themselves believe and receive that and it brings them into greater separation from God. So, why do men do what they do? Can they really expect no consequences for their actions or words? No, they can expect a reaction but not from where they expected. It will come from Heaven and do the work of bringing justice to a wrong or an untruth. Heaven is not oblivious to what is going on, on earth. The Lord, knows and sees all things and will reward every deed good, bad or indifferent. He is not to be mocked what a man sows he also reaps.

When we operate under His anointing He directs us and uses us for His glory and brings glory even to ourselves but when we operate in our flesh, which is more than likely, we reap the rewards of the flesh, which is burnt up in the fire of the Holy Spirit. Can men say, they are free? No, because true freedom is a life yoked in proper service to the Lord of Hosts. He only can bring us into true freedom. But, true freedom has a price. The price is giving up our selfish will and following His leading and guidance by the voice of the Holy Spirit within us. This is called being “born again.” Not what many religious believe, that being born again is saying you accept Jesus. This is only the first step in a life consecrated in an intimate walk with the Lord that produces the right kind of fruit. Real fruit is fruit produced in us by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing we can produce in ourselves, yet many try and will wonder why their “hard work” will be burnt up as so much wood, stubble and hay. God only is the producer of everything of good within us, something many of us find hard to accept. Somehow, we were “taught” that if we did it right we would be spiritual. But, true spirituality is simple surrender and desire to serve only Him-the King of kings and Lord of lords.

We have failed to see what was right before our eyes-that there is nothing good we could offer Him within us. Even the lowest whore is equal to us. Our pride has defiled us already. We are corrupt, unclean and of no value as we are, even when we think we are doing His will. Our outward traditions and forms are empty clay vessels. There emptiness is proven by the fruit in our lives. Little love. Little comfort. A  lot of empty fellowshipping, and no miracles of any lasting value. Yet, when we touch the Lord of lords and King of kings and surrender our pride, traditions and desires to Him, He quickens our life and makes us what we ought to be. Now, we are serviceable and useable. Now, we are ready to do His will and not ours. He can move in our lives and make the Word and doing of it possible with much tender fruit coming from us. This is true service and a true intimate relationship with Him. Above all we must not deny what is written on paper in the Word of God before us. We must seek His way and not ours.  For God’s word is unchanging:

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 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 1:16-17

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 3:13-18

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In Abundance

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”  He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,  And seeing you will see and not perceive;  For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing,  And their eyes they have closed,  Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ Matthew 12:10-15

Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Luke 13:23-24

Jesus Christ the author and finisher of the Christian faith told us “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. So the burden to having an abundance or poverty  and even be saved is on us, not on God! We alone determine what we get out of the kingdom of God through God’s word and through His Spirit.  Jesus clearly taught us this in His words:

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  “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 13:18-23

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

And Apostle Paul told us the word of God which is in our mouth and our heart will produce great results including salvation:

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.”   How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:  “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,  Who bring glad tidings of good things!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:9-17

God has provided us with a great and complete salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed, to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4).

God wants us to become complete, stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, be perfect and complete lacking nothing and He is able to sanctify us completely so that our whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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!

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BLESSED

You Have A Friend In Jesus

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold  From those who walk uprightly.   O LORD of hosts,  Blessed is the man who trusts in You!  Psalm 84:11-12

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”   Matthew 11:28

Jesus Christ to whom is given all power and authority in heaven and earth has invited us to come unto Him in time of need.  He does not want us to struggle and war with things that we as mere humans cannot fix. He wants us to come unto Him in all faith that He will work out things for our good.  He is near to us in all that we can call upon Him for.  He is more than able to supply all things needed for soul, mind and body be it a financial breakthrough or a physical healing. No matter what the problem or need is all things are possible with God. We are admonished to cast all of our cares upon the Lord for God gives grace to the humble and will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us (1Peter 5:7-10).  We can place all of our burdens under the blood, and expect God to move for us and our loved ones because He has a covenant with us, took the curse up on himself to set us free from it and became poor so that we might become rich and righteous. God’s word is unchanging:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich 2 Corinthians 8:9

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, Ephesians 1:3

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”), Galatians 3:13

Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8

Our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich. Poverty, sickness, disease, lack and demons are curses not blessings. And we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, not cursed. As the seed of Abraham we were called to inherit a blessing and to be a blessing. Through faith and patience we inherit all the promises of God and receive out expected end just like Job did for God desires that we prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. He desires that not just that our needs would be met, but also over and above anything we could ever ask or dream.  Because of Jesus and our trust in Him our provision is on its way for Jesus endured absolute poverty and degradation for our sakes. It is our divine call and destiny to have abundance in all things and to be blessed in spirit, soul, mind and body. God’s word is unchanging:

And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always {and} under all circumstances {and} whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].  As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice {and} goodness {and} kindness {and} benevolence will go on {and} endure forever!  And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity]. Thus you will be enriched in all things {and} in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 Amplified Bible

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please {and} purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 Amplified Bible

From the richest to the poorest, from the oldest to the youngest, and from the educated to the uneducated, we all have the same source of victory. It’s not our material possessions, our natural wisdom, nor our credentials. Victory is available to each of us because of what Christ has already done for us. It’s His victory. He won the battle. Our victory comes as we enter into His victory, and that victory can only be apprehended through faith. The very moment we take a step of faith, the very moment we pray, God gives us the answer. The very moment God hears us, He has commanded His angels to bring the answer to us. But there is a war going on for we are living in a spiritual warfare. We have an enemy called Satan who is out to kill steal and destroy and tries to delay the answer from coming through to us. He does this for many reason including try to make us accuse God of unfaithulness and take us captive by thoughts of fear, doubt and unbelief. But God has an appointed  deliverance for us.  We have a destined date with the blessing of the Lord.

God specializes in taking things broken and ruined and turning them into something beautiful for His through ones through His anointing.  The anointing breaks every yoke and lifts every burden and makes us laugh at the enemy.  He anoints us with joy and enables us to count all our testing and trials as joy. He gives us the garment of praise which brings about great deliverance for the thoughts of God towards us are good not evil to give us an anticipated end. God’s word is unchanging:

Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,  Who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth;  The generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.  Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;  He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.  Psalm 112:1-4

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

“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

Whatever our needs are, whatever the circumstances are, God promises His blessings to come to us in ABUNDANCE. The Amplified Version is right when it says …every favor and earthly blessing. What is an “earthly” blessing?  — Prosperity!  Financial abundance! Material abundance! Man is a spirit, he has a soul and he dwells in a body. God wants to bless our spirit, our soul and our body. Salvation includes every area of our life. Every yoke is broken. Jesus has set us free. And the blessing of the Lord brings wealth, AND HE ADDS NO TROUBLE TO IT.     Biblical prosperity is a gift of God. It is a double blessing. God does not only make us rich, He also gives us the ability and the peace to enjoy our prosperity. God’s word is unchanging:

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.  Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.  For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?  For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

By humility and the fear of the LORD  Are riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!  There is no want to those who fear Him.  The young lions lack and suffer hunger;  But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Psalm 34:8-10

Yes, the Word of God tells us that God will meet our every need and make us rich if we fear Him: YES, THERE IS NO WANT TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM. While the young lions do lack, and suffer hunger those who seek the Lord shall not want any good. Hence we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy and help in time and say:

“In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, I lift my hands to You, God and pray that the healing and restoring power of God will come upon every area of my life, upon my spirit, upon my soul, upon my body, upon my character, upon my good name, upon my desires, upon my dreams, upon my aspirations and upon my finances. I break every curse. I pray that every financial attack will be turned into victory right now. By the authority of Jesus Christ, I command every evil thing and every bad circumstance to flee from me right now. I break the controlling power of sickness, lack, diseases, debt, credit and poverty. I ask You God to give me a supernatural flow of miracles. I thank you for it, I believe it and I receive it in Jesus’ name, amen and amen.

God will perform miracles for us as the battle belongs to the Lord! He will fight for us. He will revive our body again and restore all that we have lost. He who raised Lazarus from death will help us as well. As we turn our eyes towards Jesus,  He will lift us up from the valley of the shadow of death. His word is unchanging:

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.  But you shall be named the priests of the LORD,  They shall call you the servants of our God.  You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.  Therefore in their land they shall possess double;  Everlasting joy shall be theirs. “For I, the LORD, love justice;  I hate robbery for burnt offering;  I will direct their work in truth,  And will make with them an everlasting covenant.  Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people.  All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.” Isaiah 61:5-9

“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.  “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.  “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.  “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.  “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. Deuteronomy 28:8-13

Gracious and loving God, You love us as a loving father, and cause us to be blessed and prosperous. We thank you that even the work of our hands is blessed and those blessings overtake us! We are your representatives in this earth and we have rights and privileges as sons and daughter to walk as Jesus walked and do what Jesus did when he was on the earth. We have cheerfully given our offerings and paid our tithes, planted our seed, and watered it with your word; therefore we are reaping a harvest of blessing at your hand. Souls will be brought into the kingdom; our bank accounts will prosper and be blessed. We are crowned with your favor, and we praise you for your goodness to us in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Father in heaven, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the way to you, the truth of you and the life through you. I thank you that you provided healing for us at Calvary. In the name that is above every name that is named; we command cancers to die, blindness to go, diabetes to go, sickness, diseases and infirmities to let go of us – God’s creations. Father, we enforce the spirit of life and reject the spirit of death, and we will keep our bodies healthy and strong in Jesus’ name. Amen. And we loose the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead to heal and quicken our mortal bodies. We also loose ministering angels to meet and supply all our needs according to your richest in glory by Christ Jesus. And we thank you that you are for us with us and not against us and are a good God.  We confess that no weapon formed against us shall prosper including sicknesses and diseases. And we loose and welcome your saving, healing and delivering power. Amen and amen

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BLESSED

 DON’T BE DUST-CONSCIOUS

Luke 13:11 – 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.

Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dust-conscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up.

Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him—to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be physically bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.

Having a dust-consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.

And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

If you don’t want to be devoured by him, then lift your eyes above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you—righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh—you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)

My friend, the more you realize who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you—a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!

NO NEED IS TOO TRIVIAL

As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. —Psalm 103:13

Several mothers of small children were sharing encouraging answers to prayer. Yet one woman said she felt selfish about troubling God with her personal needs. “Compared with the huge global needs God faces,” she explained, “my circumstances must seem trivial to Him.”

Moments later, her little son pinched his fingers in a door and ran screaming to his mother. She didn’t say, “How selfish of you to bother me with your throbbing fingers when I’m busy!” She showed him great compassion and tenderness.

As Psalm 103:13 reminds us, this is the response of love, both human and divine. In Isaiah 49, God said that even though a mother may forget to have compassion on her child, the Lord never forgets His children (v.15). God assured His people, “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (v.16).

Such intimacy with God belongs to those who fear Him and who rely on Him rather than on themselves. As that child with throbbing fingers ran freely to his mother, so may we run to God with our daily problems.

Our compassionate God doesn’t neglect others to respond to our concerns. He has limitless time and love for each of His children. No need is too trivial for Him.
You take great delight in me, Lord, and quiet me with Your love. You rejoice over me with singing, like a mother singing a lullaby over her child. Thank You for Your tender love for me.

God holds His children in the palm of His hand.

DEVELOP YOUR GIFT …

Do not neglect your gift… – 1 Timothy 4:14, NIV

You were created and designed for a specific purpose. God has placed gifts inside of you to equip you to fulfill your purpose. Do you know what those gifts are? What are you passionate about? What can you do better than other people? What would you choose to do if there were no obstacles? God wants you to develop and pursue the gift inside of you because your gift is a part of your destiny.

The gifts God gives aren’t just for us. He gives us gifts to help build other people. You have a specific role to play in the body of Christ. That doesn’t mean God’s going to send you to a third world country or make you preach. But, there are people all around you that only you can reach. Are you using your gifts to build the kingdom? Are you serving in your local church? Even if you are still discovering what your gifts are, you can simply take a step and volunteer. Everyone has something to give. You can give a smile, a handshake or an encouraging word. When you step out and serve others, that’s how you develop your gift and move forward in the destiny He has for you!

PERFECT SACRIFICE, PERFECT FORGIVENESS

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.  COLOSSIANS 2:13

God’s unmerited favor can propel you forward in your career even if you’re not the most qualified or experienced. But how can you be sure that you have God’s unmerited favor if you are not even sure if God has forgiven you of all your sins?
Beloved, I want you to know that your sins are forgiven not according to the riches of your good works, but according to the riches of God’s grace (unmerited favor). All your sins—past, present and future—have been forgiven. Colossians 2:13 states clearly that we have been forgiven of all our sins.

The high priests in the old covenant had to offer sacrifices for sins daily. But Jesus, our perfect new covenant High Priest, offered the complete, perfect sacrifice “once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). We have been forgiven once and for all!

Now that you know that your sin debt has been completely cleared and settled by Jesus on your behalf, expect to experience God’s unmerited favor daily. Thank Him for it every day and begin to walk in good success in every area of your life!

REVELATION KNOWLEDGE

John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

The Old Testament prophets prophesied of a new covenant where we would all be taught of God. This is speaking of revelation knowledge that comes from within, through our spirit. Under the Old Covenant, God dealt with the Jews through the outer man. He did this because an Old Covenant man (who was not born again) could not perceive the spiritual truths revealed in the New Covenant by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14). This difference between the old and new covenants is the reason why there had to be two covenants.

The Old Testament man was comparable to a child in his ability to grasp spiritual truth. It is impossible to explain spiritual truth to a young child, and yet, a child must be restrained from submitting to evil. So, the Word of God teaches us to use the “rod of correction” (Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 22:15). The child may not understand resisting the devil, and yet, when the devil tries to entice him to steal, he will say “No!” because he fears he will get the rod if he does steal. Likewise, Old Testament saints were restrained from sin by a fear of the wrath and punishment of God. This curbed sin, but it also hindered them from receiving the goodness and love of God (1 Jn. 4:18).

Under the New Testament, which Jesus is speaking of in this verse, the punishment for our sins was laid on Him. We no longer serve God out of fear of punishment like once we did when we were “children” under the law, but we serve Him out of love; because He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, making us His sons. We serve Him because our nature has been changed through the new birth. Today, be taught of God through the indwelling presence of Christ.

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU? FEAR OF SUCCESS! (4)

…the Lord gave him success in everything he did. – Genesis 39:3 NIV

In order to overcome your fear of success you must do these six things:

(1) Give yourself ample time to complete critical tasks on which your success hinges.
(2) Guard your ‘success-already-in-progress’, and don’t engage in actions that thwart it. For example, accumulating cash reserves for your small business and then spending them on clothes instead of marketing and publicity.
(3) Follow up with key individuals who can influence outcomes significant to your success. Get rid of the idea that you are unworthy of their attention, or that they wouldn’t have time for someone like you. ‘Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.’ (Proverbs 22:29 NKJV) Boaz not only owned the field that Ruth was gleaning wheat in, he fell in love with her and married her. Today there are people observing you who are capable of blessing you.
(4) Associate with goal-oriented finishers who get things done, and who demonstrate the right priorities in doing so. Watch how they operate and emulate the God-honouring aspects of their behaviour.
(5) Consider the good you can do as a successful person. Think of the non-selfish actions you could take, or the ministries and causes you could support, if you had wealth beyond your needs.
(6) Understand that success is God’s idea, and He gives it to us to fulfil His purposes. As long as your motive is to please God and do His will, you can stand on this Scripture: ‘…the Lord gave him success in everything he did.’

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BLESSED

LIFT YOUR EYES …
I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1–2, ESV

What are you looking at today? Not in the natural, but with your spiritual eyes. Are you facing challenges? Don’t just look at your problems day in and day out. Lift up your eyes and look toward heaven.

In the natural, you will move in the direction that your eyes are looking. The same is true in the spiritual realm. If you are always looking at your problems — meditating on them, feeling sorry for yourself, telling everybody about them — you will become consumed by them. But when you look up, your life will start to move up.

When you keep your eyes on Jesus, it is a sign of your faith and expectancy. Faith is what gets God’s attention. When you have an attitude of faith and expectancy, you open the door for His power in your life. Today, lift up your eyes and your heart and rise up into the victorious life He has prepared for you!

Beloved, even in the darkest moments of your life, God is still supplying you His grace. He has not abandoned you and left you to your own devices. No, He is still there with you, caring for you, watching over you and working things out for your good.

So rest in God’s love for you and let Him sort things out for you. His mercies that begin afresh each morning (Lam 3:22–23, NLT) will see you through your darkest nights!

THANKFUL FOR THE KINGDOM …

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” – Hebrews 12:28, NIV

Scripture says that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken! The kingdom is simply God’s system. It’s His way of doing things. The Bible tells us that His kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In God’s kingdom, when you give, it comes back to you pressed down, shaken together and running over. In God’s kingdom, you can have peace and prosperity in your spirit, soul and body no matter what’s happening around you. If the stock market goes down, God’s kingdom is still strong. If the housing market goes down, God’s kingdom is still strong. If gas prices go up, God’s kingdom is still strong.

Today, be thankful for God’s kingdom. Thank Him for His system of blessing that cannot be shaken. As you keep an attitude of gratitude and walk in His ways, you’ll experience His hand of blessing all the days of your life!

Through Jesus’ finished work you are seated with Him in heavenly places (see Eph 2:6), far above defeat, sickness and lack. Rest knowing that you are fighting from a secure position of victory, and not for victory

YOU CAN’T HAVE A TESTIMONY WITHOUT A TEST …

A testimony is often a way of sharing what God has done in a person’s life. However, in order to have a testimony there almost always was a test through which that person had to persevere.

It is, therefore, understandable that we are told to rejoice during trials — not because of the trials themselves, but because of the end result of the trials. In James 1:2-4, we are told, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. In other words, we can have joy during trials, because we know that they help make us mature and complete — they refine us into the person God wants us to be.

A few verses later (in James 1:12), we are told the reward of enduring difficult times: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

The challenging events that we go through are what refine us and make us more like Christ. Indeed, 1 Peter 1:6-7 says that one of the purposes of going through grief and trials is so that our faith can grow and be proven genuine.

Therefore, a real testimony of growing in faith and becoming like Christ requires going through a test. So,instead of despising your tests and trials, look forward to your testimony; after all, you can’t have a testimony without a test.

GOD LOVES YOU NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DO, BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS …

God is love (1 John 4:8). God doesn’t have to pretend to love you; He can’t not love you, because He is love.

In fact, the very actions of God exemplify what love is. The apostle John explains that this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16). Only a few verses later, he further defines love: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9).

Notice that God’s love for you is independent of how you behave, who you are, or how you respond to that love.

Romans 5:6-8 reminds us that God loves us regardless of where we are: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus represents God’s love for us in what we now call the Parable of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-24). In that allegory, the father openly and lovingly receives his son even though the son had run away, squandered all of his money, and insulted the father. In the same way, God loves us unconditionally.

There is nothing you can do to get God to love you — He already does. There is nothing you can do to deserve God’s love, because, by sinning, you have turned your back on God and are fundamentally no different than the prodigal son. That parable is a clear reminder that God loves you not because of what you do, but because of who He is.

ABOUT HUMILITY

John 6:15, “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). The temptation for Jesus to submit to the crowd and exalt Himself must have been there but He didn’t respond to it. He came to do the Father’s will and not His own will (Jn. 6:38). He immediately withdrew from everyone and spent all night in prayer with His Father. Prolonged prayer is an antidote for the temptation of pride and will work a God-type of humility in your life.

In Galatians 2:20, Paul is preaching a death to self, but it is very important to notice how this death took place. Paul said he was dead through what Jesus did. He experienced this death by simply reckoning what had already happened through Christ to be so (Rom. 6:11).

There are people today who have taken the “dying to self” doctrine to an extreme and, instead of being free of self, they are totally self-centered. They constantly think of self. It may be in all negative terms, but it is still self-centered. A truly humble person is one who is Christ-centered. Dying to self is not a hatred for self but rather a love of Christ more than self.

There are false religions that preach a denial of self. We need to be not just dead to self, but alive to God. A focus on the denial of self without the enthronement of Christ leads to legalism. True humility is not a debasing of self, or a hatred of self, or our accomplishments. It is simply an awareness that all that we have and are is a gift of God. Therefore, only a person who acknowledges God can operate in true humility.

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BLESSED

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

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

Do you remember the words that God pronounced over Abraham? He said, “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2).

My friend, as you trust God to walk more and more in the fullness of Abraham’s blessing, have a revelation that He blesses you because He loves you, and gives to you the privilege of being a practical extension of His love to your community, your country and beyond.

God’s financial provision is for a divine purpose. Don’t use people and love money. Instead, use money to love people! When it comes to our relationship with people, it is always more blessed to give than to receive. Have an abundant eye and heart, look around for people in need and bless them. Let your light so shine before all men for the glory of the name of Jesus Christ!

Today, see His abundant grace abounding toward you and your family so that you will have an abundance for every good work!

“We live in a Heavenly Kingdom & regardless of what goes on down here, we’re gonna prosper!”

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2).

God’s promises have been established from the foundations of the world. His Word is infallible!

FORGIVE AND LET GOD DO THE REST

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

People like to say, I can forgive, but I cannot forget. Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome.

God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favor because harboring bitterness and unforgiveness can sometimes destroy our health!

So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter.

Joseph had forgiven his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness. (Genesis 50:1521) So you may remember the incident, but the bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture God in Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I forgive you.

When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We walk by faith, not feelings. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some people are waiting for feelingsI am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to forgive that person. That right emotion may never come!

No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: Father, I bring this person before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person and I let my anger against him go in Jesus name. Amen!

Once you forgive by faith, you will see the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in your body!

TODAY LET “PEACE” SETTLE THE QUESTIONS IN YOUR MIND …

Did you know that as believers, each one of us has an internal umpire? You might be wondering why we need an internal umpire, but think about what an umpire does. An umpire lets you know what the rules or boundaries are. An umpire arbitrates matters that may seem unclear. They “call the shots,” so to speak. God has given us an internal umpire, the Holy Spirit, to give us boundaries, to show us God’s will for our lives, and settle any matters in our hearts that may seem unclear.

Colossians 3:15 in the Amplified says, “Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state]…”

God has given us His peace as a special gift to rule in our hearts and give us finality in every decision. Like an umpire, His peace lets us know when we are safe and when we are out of bounds. Peace is right for all occasions. When we have peace in our hearts, we are able to discern the perfect will of God for our lives. On the other hand, in the absence of peace, there is turmoil and confusion. Anytime we feel unsettled about something, if we will go back and make a few minor adjustments, if we listen to the Umpire, we can find the place of peace again.

The Bible says to seek peace and pursue it eagerly. In other words, it should be our highest priority in any circumstance. Remember when Jesus was on the boat in the midst of the storm? The disciples were fearful and upset, but Jesus was in perfect peace, asleep in the back. When they woke Him up, He simply walked out on deck and said, “Peace, be still.” He spoke to the winds and the waves, and they obeyed Him. Because He was in peace, He was able to operate from a place of confidence and authority to speak to the storms that surrounded Him.

Today, eagerly pursue peace. Let it settle the questions of your mind. Remember, if you don’t have peace going into a situation, you won’t have peace on the other side of it. Whether it’s in a relationship, a financial situation, or an opportunity before you, never move forward without the peace of God. Let peace be your final authority because when you walk in His perfect peace, you walk in His perfect will. Listen to your Internal Umpire and stay on the course of blessing God has for your life.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace… (Isaiah 55:12, NIV)

HOW TO BUILD A GREAT MARRIAGE

‘A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord.’ Ephesians 5:22 CEV

If you want a great marriage, you’ve got to work at it every day. The Bible gives us God’s blueprint for one: ‘You wives must learn to adapt yourselves to your husbands, as you submit yourselves to the Lord, for the husband is the “head” of the wife in the same way that Christ is head of the Church and saviour of the Body. The willing subjection of the Church to Christ should be reproduced in the submission of wives to their husbands. But, remember, this means that the husband must give his wife the same sort of love that Christ gave to the Church, when He sacrificed Himself for her… Men ought to give their wives the love they naturally have for their own bodies. The love a man gives his wife is the extending of his love for himself to enfold her. Nobody ever hates or neglects his own body; he feeds and looks after it. And that is what Christ does for His body, the Church. And we are all members of that body, we are His flesh and blood! “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” The marriage relationship is doubtless a great mystery, but I am speaking of something deeper still—the marriage of Christ and His Church. In practice what I have said amounts to this: let every one of you who is a husband love his wife as he loves himself; let the wife reverence her husband.’ (Ephesians 5:21–33 PHPS) That’s how to build a great marriage!

EXPECT PERSECUTION

John 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

We should not think it is strange to be persecuted. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). We can actually rejoice because we are being persecuted for Jesus’ sake, and the Lord will be with us in the midst of the persecution. When we stand before Him, there will be more than ample reward.

Persecution is a token that those persecuting you are under conviction. They realize that they are not living what your words or actions are advocating and in self defense, they attack you, who they perceive is the source of their conviction. If you understand this, it makes persecution much easier to take. They aren’t just mad at you; they are convicted. When the gospel is presented in the power of the Holy Spirit, there will always be either revival or riot, but not indifference.

In the midst of persecution, Satan will try to convince us that the strife is all our fault. If he succeeds, then we back down and the pressure is off his followers. However, Jesus suffered continual rejection and persecution, yet we know that the problem was not with Him, but with those who rejected Him.

Jesus makes it clear that persecution is an inevitable part of living a godly life, so that we will not fall prey to introspection and self-condemnation when rejection comes. If our sinless Savior was rejected, then certainly we will be too. Don’t feel guilty or condemned when persecution comes. The Word strips people of the disguises they have been hiding their sins behind, and the result is persecution.

ALL TOGETHER

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. — Psalm 98:4

For years my wife’s piano and my banjo had an uncomfortable and infrequent relationship. Then, after Janet bought me a new guitar for my birthday, she expressed an interest in learning to play my old guitar. She is a very capable musician, and soon we were, together, playing songs of praise on our guitars. I like to think that a new kind of “praise connection” has filled our home.

When the psalmist was inspired to write of worshiping God, he began with this exhortation: “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Ps. 98:4). He called for us to “sing to the LORD” with instruments such as harps and trumpets and horns (vv.5-6). He commanded all of the earth to “shout joyfully to the LORD” (v.4). In this mighty orchestration of praise, the rolling sea is to roar with exaltation, the rivers are to clap their hands, and the hills are to sing out in joy. All the human race and creation are together called to praise the Lord in “a new song” of praise, “for He has done marvelous things” (v.1).

Today let your heart connect with others and God’s creation in singing songs of praise to the mighty Creator and Redeemer.

Let us celebrate together,
Lift our voice in one accord,
Singing of God’s grace and mercy
And the goodness of the Lord.

God can use ordinary instruments to produce a concert of praise.

TRUE TO YOUR ASSESSMENT …

Leviticus 27:12 – … the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.

Your colleague says that this week is going to be a lousy one because the new boss is mean. You disagree and say that it is going to be a blessed week. Both of you will go through the same week, but with very different outcomes. While your friends week will indeed turn out to be a lousy one, yours will be filled with the favor of the Lord!

In the Old Testament, when someone brought what he had to the priest for a valuation, whatever the priest assessed the value of the item to be, it was so. If he assessed it to be of good value, then it was of good value. If he assessed it to be of poor value, then it was of poor value.

Today, you are also a priest because of Jesus blood. (Revelation 1:56) And as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. If you assess your year to be one of financial breakthroughs, so it will be for you. If you assess your life to be filled with divine health, so it will be for you.

There was a stroke patient who was bedridden. While listening to my recorded sermons, he assessed that with God as his salvation, his life would be long and satisfying. (Psalm 91:16) He believed that God would help him walk again. Not too long after his assessment, he was able to walk and was no longer bound to the bed! The next assessment he made about his health was complete recovery with God as his helper.

Actually, you have more authority than the Levitical priests of the Old Testament. They were of the old priesthood of mortal men. But you are of the greater and forever priesthood of Jesus! (Hebrews 7:8, 17) Not only that, you are a king-priest. (Revelation 1:6) In other words, you are a king as well! And as a king, your assessment is also binding because where the word of a king is, there is power! (Ecclesiastes 8:4)

My friend, this means that you have a double portion of assessment power. Therefore, boldly assess good things for your life, and it will be so for you!

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. – 1 Corinthians 12: 17–18, NIV

In the New Testament, John was baptizing a crowd of people and drawing a lot of attention. Somebody came up and said, “John, are you the Christ or should we keep looking?” Without missing a beat, John said, “No, I am not the Messiah.”

See, John knew what he was, but he also knew what he was not. It’s just as important to know what you’re not because if you don’t realize your limitations, you’ll get drawn into areas that may look impressive and may feed your ego, but they are outside of your gifting and calling, outside of what God anointed you to do.

Anytime you go outside of your limitations, it will be a constant struggle. Don’t let that be you! Instead, stay focused on what you’re good at. Follow peace in your heart and know who you are because God created you just the way He wants you to be!

BE TENACIOUS

‘But none of these things move me.’ Acts 20:24 NKJV

Paul writes: ‘The Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy.’ (Acts 20:23–24 NKJV).Dr. John Maxwell says one day when he was discouraged and tempted to quit, he took out a dictionary and looked up the word ‘quit’. After spending a few minutes considering that option, in a symbolic act of defiance he took out his scissors and cut the word right out of his dictionary. It didn’t make his problems go away, but it sure did strengthen his resolve. When every avenue looks like a dead end and you feel as if you’ve exhausted every possibility—you haven’t. There are always other ways, other options, other opportunities. Even if you don’t see them right now, they are there. So don’t give up. Former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey once said, ‘A champion is one who gets back up when he can’t.’ People who reach their goal keep going when they think they can’t. They’re tenacious, and as a result they keep moving closer to their goal day by day. Some days they may be moving only a few centimetres at a time, but they’re moving forward. They believe in their God–given destiny, they believe in themselves, and they say so. Now, saying you believe in yourself won’t guarantee your success, but saying you don’t believe in yourself will guarantee your failure. The truth is you’re not alone, God is with you. ‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.’ (Isaiah 40:29 NIV) So be tenacious!

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BLESSED

Blessed Greatly

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

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

There is no great virtue in being poor, sick, needy, afflicted or defeated except if we draw near to God and seek Him to change all things for us as He has done for many others including Abraham! God is not sick, poor, afflicted and needy and neither should any of His children be. It’s the devil “who is the thief who has come to steal, and to kill, and to destroy just like he did in the life of Job. Jesus Christ has come that men may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly just like He reversed and restored all things for Job. The bible records for our profit and instruction:

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. Job 42:10-13

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

It’s to be noted that no matter what Job went through he held on to his faith in God that God would deliver him and heal him! And he was not put to shame. It’s also to be noted that God’s power is greater than the devil and He has to power not only to heal and deliver but to restore. Yes it’s important what believe what God can or cannot do because we receive everything good or bad “according to our faith!” Jesus Christ Himself told us the importance of holding onto the word and promises of God about anything:

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  “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 13:18-22

Yes there arethose who when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word give up the word unlike Job who stated

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;  And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,  That in my flesh I shall see God,  Whom I shall see for myself,  And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!  If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’-  Since the root of the matter is found in me, Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;  For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,  That you may know there is a judgment.” Job 19:25-26

Job didn’t give into fear but knew that his Redeemer lives and he wasn’t disappointed. The LORD redeemed and restored Job back to perfect health and great wealth and gave him double what he had lost! And Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and He can do anything but fail His trusting ones! God’s word is unchanging:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.  Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. 2 Kings 2:8-25

Elijah and Elisha had no problems using their anointing and faith to have their needs met, including parting the river Jordan so that they can walk to the other side without getting wet? Elisha healed the water so shall be no more death or barrenness. Just like Jesus cursed a fig tree and commanded it to die, Elisha pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD on the forty two youths who mocked him for being bald. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled them.

The Word of God is full of examples of God’s people who used their faith to subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions,  quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, out of weakness be made strong, become valiant in battle, turn to flight the armies of the aliens. Jesus who used His faith to bring heaven on earth taught His disciples that “According to your faith let it be to you.” (Mark 9:29). God’s word is unchanging:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WALTER KAMBULOW
EXTRACT FROM Called To Inherit A Blessing
http://walthope.tripod.com/called.htm

 

BLESSED

THE BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS :

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. – Psalm 32:1, NIV

The Bible is filled with keys to obtaining God’s promise of blessing. In Psalm 32, it says that you are blessed when your transgressions, or sins, are forgiven. See, God extends forgiveness to everyone, but we have to do our part to receive the forgiveness. We have to repent, or change our ways, with open hearts. The Bible also tells us that if we don’t forgive others, we cannot be forgiven.

Is there anyone in your life today that you need to forgive? Is there someone who has hurt or wronged you? Make the decision to forgive so that you can walk in the blessing of God’s forgiveness for you. Forgiveness doesn’t condone wrong behavior. It simply releases the person from the debt they owe you so that God can release you from the debt you owe from your own transgressions. When you make the choice to forgive and allow God to heal your heart, you will be able to receive His forgiveness for you, and you will walk in His abundant blessing all the days of your life!

HEARING GOD’S VOICE :

John 10:2-3 “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”

This verse promises all who are God’s sheep that they not only can, but that they do, hear His voice. Many born-again people doubt the truth of this statement based on their experience. They don’t think they can hear God’s voice. However, the Word of God is true – not our experience.

The harmony between what this verse says and what our experiences say is that it is our new born-again spirit that hears God’s voice. Although God has spoken and still does speak in an audible voice at times, very few people experience this. God speaks to our inner person (spirit) and our inner person hears Him. The problem comes when we aren’t sensitive to, or controlled by, our spirit but are walking in the vanity of our mind. The Bible calls this walking in the flesh instead of the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18).

Man is a spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are as perfect as they will ever be in heaven. If we will change our thinking so that we believe what God says in His Word about who we are and what we have, then this agreement between our spirit and soul forms a majority and our flesh will experience the life of God that has been deposited in our spirits.

Prayer, Bible study, fasting, fellowship, etc. are ways of refocusing our mind’s attention away from the voice of this world and back to the voice of our Shepherd who is constantly communicating with our spirit. If we fail to renew our minds, we can live our entire time on this earth without experiencing the abundant life that Jesus provided for us. Listen, and you will hear His voice speak to you through His Word today.

VIVA LA DIFFERENCE 

If one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12

There’s power in unity. The devil knows that. That’s why he’s continually fighting it. He takes the differences between us, differences God put there to make us stronger, and tries to use them as a wedge to drive us apart.

Take men and women, for example. He’s deceived us into fighting about which one is superior over the other. But I can settle that argument right now. Women are superior to men. If you don’t believe that, you boys try having a baby. But then, men are superior to women. If you don’t believe that, you women try having one without us.

It’s the differences combined that make us strong!

People have even argued about whether God is male or female. But the Bible itself tells us that. He’s both! That’s right. In the Hebrew language, all words have gender. They’re either male or female. But the Hebrew word “Jehovah” is both masculine and feminine. He’s as much female as He is male and as much male as He is female.

Originally, mankind was that way too. When God first made “man,” he was as much female as he was male. Then God separated the female part out and made “woman” or, “the man with the womb.” After that, man and woman had to come together to be perfectly whole.

That’s still true today. For example, when He puts together husband and wife teams, He often puts people together who have major personality differences. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and vice versa. So, when they become one, they’re more powerful than they ever were apart.

There was a time when I didn’t understand that. I got aggravated with God for calling me a wife who didn’t care for so many things that I liked. But I finally realized God knew what He was doing. If He’d given me a woman who was as nuts about flying as I am, we would have spent the rest of our lives in the clouds. We wouldn’t be preaching the Word. We’d be in some silly airshow flying upside down.

Do you have people in your life who are irritatingly different from you? Don’t let the devil use those differences to drive you apart. Thank God for them! Let Him teach you how to appreciate them. Let Him show you just how powerful you can be… together!

MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. —Colossians 4:5

The story is told of a young boy who, during a bygone era, was aboard a passenger train attempting to make money selling apples. He made his way through the train car, saying, “Apples! Would you like to buy an apple?” When he got to the rear of the car, he still had a bagful of apples and no money.

A gentleman who noticed his plight took him aside and asked to see one of the apples. He proceeded to go to the front of the train, polish it conspicuously with a napkin, and then walk down the aisle eating the apple and commenting on how delicious and refreshing it was. Then he told the boy to try again. This time, he sold every apple. The difference? The apples had been made attractive to the potential customers.

This story can remind us of one way we can interest others in the gospel of Jesus Christ: Make it attractive to them—show them the difference it has made in our own lives. That is best done by following the words of Paul in Colossians 4:5. “Be wise,” he said, “in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (NIV). If we show kindness, love, and compassion to others, those who observe us will wonder why, and that may give us an opening to tell them about the beauty of God’s love for them.

Dear God, You have given us so much by providing our salvation. Help us to make the gospel attractive to others by the way we shine Jesus’ light on those we encounter each day.

The beauty of a changed life can attract others to the One who makes us beautiful.

NOTHING LESS BUT EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY

Ephesians 3:14    For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 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,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Psalms 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

As a King’s kid don’t accept nothing less than for God to do exceedingly abundantly all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us and according to our benefits in Christ Jesus including forgiveness of all our iniquities, healing of all our diseases, double restoration of all our losses, and justice concerning our oppressors!

THE SPIRIT’S REST AND REFRESHING

ISAIAH 28:11–12 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”…

You’ve probably heard of the term “R&R”. It’s commonly used in the military and it means “rest and relaxation” after some exhausting overseas training or mission. Doctors also order “rest and rehabilitation” for the injured and sick.

My friend, God has an R&R for you too. It’s called “the rest and the refreshing”, and it comes through praying in the Holy Spirit or tongues.

One of the best ways to rest and be refreshed, especially when you are worried, fatigued or just waiting for the manifestation of your healing, is to pray in the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, give yourself some time every day to pray in the Spirit, and allow Him to rejuvenate and refresh you supernaturally!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY :

“In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.” (Romans 12: 6)

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You. I honor You. The morning has broken by the Holy Light of God. Larks are singing everywhere proclaiming that this is the day the Lord has made; we all rejoice and be glad in it. Let the unfailing love of God come upon me and fill full my mouth with His words as they are sweeter than honey from the honeycomb. May the sweet Spirit of God fill up me and let me spread over good news to this End-time period! Bless me O God, for I am Your chosen servant and wonderfully made child.

Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!

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BLESSED

I Have Heard Your Prayer

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

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

God loves to hear and answer prayer and He has demonstrated in Christ Jesus what His will is when they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Many Christians improperly believe that sickness and poverty are  God’s will for them but they hypocritically go to a doctor to get better when they are sick and try to earn more money so that they can live better; which doesn’t make sense at all!

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

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

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:  “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”   Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:6-10

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

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

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:  Who forgives all your iniquities,  Who heals all your diseases,  Who redeems your life from destruction,  Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5

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

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

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.  For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,  2 Corinthians 1:3-10

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

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

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

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

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

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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