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Word for Today:  November 19

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.   (John 11:4)  

Jesus “heard” the bad report.  Faith comes by hearing and doubt also comes by hearing.  Unbelief can be stimulated by hearing.  Distress can come by hearing.  Fear can be initiated by hearing.  What are you hearing?  Whatever you are hearing will either build your faith are add to your unbelief.  Jesus determined not to be moved by what He heard.

Then, Jesus declared with His mouth what the situation was going to be.  He took the opportunity to prophesy what the situation was going to be because he knew the will of God in the matter.   Jesus “heard” and then He “said.”  What He heard did not alter what He said.  He refused to give in to the sense realm by believing what the opinions of men were.

“It’s not over.  It’s not final.  It’s not what it’s going to be.  God is working.  I am waiting.  I am believing.  I am standing.  I am speaking.  I am prophesying.  What I say is in agreement with God and because of this, the devil (and all his works) will have to move aside.”

• Sickness is an opportunity.
• Adversity is an opportunity.
• Every impossibility is an opportunity.
• Your fiery trial is an opportunity.

They are opportunities for us to exercise our faith.  They are opportunities for us to get into the Word and find out what God is saying.  They are opportunities to turn tragedy into triumph.

God is the Master at giving us Beauty for ashes.  (Isa 61:3)  When we see our “death” situation in this light, we will be encouraged to say the same thing Jesus said:

“This thing is not unto death…. it is an opportunity for God to show Himself strong in my behalf and to give me a powerful testimony of His Faithfulness.”

Your crisis is not “unto death”

Word for Today:  November 18

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

God supplies, and His supply comes out of Jesus.  Now, tell me, Where is Jesus?  Where does He Live?  Where does He Dwell?  Where is His Kingdom?  Where is His Throne?  “Christ in you the Hope of Glory!!”  (Col 1:27)

It is the Will of God for you to live in Abundance.  It is one of the Reasons that Jesus left Heaven and came to Earth… He came to “redeem us from the curse… that the Blessings of Abraham might come on us.”  (Gal 3:13-14)

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Abundance.   It is a Realm and a Dimension in which all the Believer’s needs are met and supplied according to God’s Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.  (Phil 4:19)

The Church is to function in Abundance. It is the most successful and the most powerful organism on this planet.   Believers are to control the wealth of this earth and the resources of this earth.   The very wealth of the wicked has been laid up and reserved for the Righteous.

When we live in the Abundance Jesus provides, we are living in Revival.

Jesus is your Abundance.  And He lives in you.

Wherever your need is, take Jesus there, show it to Him, and trust Him to supply that need.  He wants to.  He wills to.  He delights in doing it.

He is waiting patiently for you to let Him

Word for Today:  November 17

It is more than knowledge.

It is acting on the Truth that sets you free… It is more than inspiration.  It is more than feeling.  It is more than emotion.

God expects you to act on what you know and when you do, you sow seeds that begin to grow.  What you sow and what you grow is what you harvest and what you receive.  (Mark 4)

• You cannot draw out of the bank what you have not put in the bank.
• You cannot grow in your garden what you have not planted in your garden.
• You cannot harvest what you have not sown.

When you sow Word Seed in good ground, you are guaranteed a bountiful harvest. You literally begin to “pull out” what God has “put in.” The principle of Sowing is one of the most profound revelations that I ever received from God.

If you know this Truth and then DO this Truth, God promises to make you free.    John 8:32

What you sow is what you grow…

and what you grow is what you get

Word for Today:  November 16

The Church is “Jesus on earth” today.

It is His Body and if the world is ever changed, it will be changed by the Church.

When Revival comes, it will come by and through the Church.

When the Will of God is done, it will be done by the Church.

When the Word of God is released into the earth it will be released by the Church.  And when this happens, the Kingdom of God is manifested.

When YOU use your faith to release the Revelation of the Word that is in you, you cause the Kingdom of God to appear at that very place.  At that very time.   For that specific purpose.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Mt 16: 18

Jesus prayed for the Kingdom of God to come and for God’s will to be done on earth.  (Mt 6:10)

You can be the answer to His prayer today

Word for Today:  November 15

A famous golf professional recently played two holes of golf in a televised tournament and won more prize money in less than 30 minutes than we have be able to spend on missions in the last five years.

The world really does not need fancy, exotic automobiles, vacation homes, obscene wealth or athletic superstars, but it desperately needs Jesus.

If people were as glad to hear the Word and as determined to hear the Word as the Christians of the First Century, preachers would be working overtime, three shifts a day seven days a week.

As it is, we have difficulty filling the church building once or twice a year, and then only when we have something really entertaining.  What does that say about the church today?

• Where else can you get what you get at church?
• Who else can give you what God gives you at church?
• How can you say that church is not important when the greatest manifestations of God’s Power and Presence are revealed in the Assembly of the Saints?

How can we expect to stay spiritually strong and ignore the importance of the preached and taught Word that “happens” in the church?  When we are more excited about going to the movies, or to a ball game or entertaining ourselves, how can we expect to maintain our power over devils and demons and hell?

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.   Heb 10:25

Let’s get real

Word for Today:  November 14

The Church is the Will of God on earth.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done in earth just as it is done in heaven.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Mt 6:10

How is the Will of God to be done in earth?

It is to be done by and through the Church.

The Church is the way God’s Will is done on earth.

What is the Will of God?  The Will of God is the Word of God.  The Church is the means of bringing the Word of God into the earth.   The Kingdom of God will come in the earth by the Word of God… the Word of God which is declared and proclaimed by the Church.

• The Church has a mission.
• The Church has a mandate.
• The Church has a commission.
• The Church has an obligation.

We are to preach the Gospel (the Word, and ALL of it) to all nations and teach them about God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, Heaven, hell and the Church.

We are to Baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

The Will of God is the Church functioning and operating in the fullest power of the Holy Ghost.  And as it does, the Will of God will be done in the earth….

Just as it is in Heaven.

Word for Today:  November 13

Jesus started the Church.

It originated with Him and it was born by Him.  He is the Author and the Completer of the Church.   He said He would Build His Church and the gates of hell could not and would not prevail against it (Mat 16).

Jesus never told a lie and He never began anything that failed.  He began the Church, He builds the Church and it is His Church.   It is not my church.  It is not your church.  It is HIS CHURCH.    He is the Head.  He is the Foundation.  He is the Reason and Rationale behind the Church.

• The Church is as Powerful as Jesus is Powerful.
• The Church is as eternal as Jesus is eternal.
• The Church has the same Authority that Jesus has.
• The Church has the same Power that God has.
• The Church can do anything that Jesus can do. And even “greater.”
• The Church can bind and loose just like Jesus can bind and loose.
• The Church is Supernatural just like Jesus is Supernatural.
• The Church was birthed to Rule and Reign just like Jesus was manifested to Rule and Reign.

And you and I are the Church.

The Church is Now.  The Church is Today.  The Church is Here.

It is Alive, Well and Filled with Power

Rejoice

Word for Today:  November 12

The Church is important.

The Church is vital.

The Church is the world’s only hope.

God will use the Church to change the world.  I know this is possible because ONE CHURCH did change the world.  Forever and forever the course of human history was changed and impacted because of the influence and ministry of this One Church.

What God has done in the past He is certainly able and capable of doing today.

• God is the same.
• The Holy Ghost is the same.
• Jesus is the same.
• The Word is the same.

What the Church did in the past is proof that the church can do it today.  The Church of the Living God is the most POWERFUL FORCE on this planet.  Nothing and nobody can equal its power and its authority.

The Church is people.  It is not buildings of brick and mortar… it is not denominations and doctrines…. it is not man-made nor man-managed… It is not great architecture and beautiful services… It is more than structures on street corners.  It is People.  People are individuals… Individuals like you and like me.  Us.  We who have been Born Again and Birthed into the Kingdom of the Most High God.  We are the Church.  You are the Church.   The Church is present here today.   And anything that has ever happened “in the church” or “to the church” at any time in the past can and could happen today.   Why should we expect the Church to be anything less than what it is in Acts?

How can we be satisfied with what it is today if it is not what it was during its birth and early history?

It should do what it did.

It can do what it did.

It must do what it did.

It WILL do what it did

Word for Today:  November 11

There is a real temptation to preach what people want to hear.

The trend is to be popular.  To be liked.  To be respected and accepted.  To fit into a certain “camp.”  To be known for relating to a specific group.  To be “balanced” and non-offensive.

Then we look at personalities such as John the Baptist.  Like Elijah.  Like Jeremiah.  Like Noah.  Like many of the men and women in the Bible who considered it more important to be friends with God than to be popular with men.

I really do want you to like me, but it is more important to speak the Truth than to be popular.

It would be so easy to slip into the painless, cheap, costless and convenient niche.  To fit into the mold of bland, tasteless and ambiguous preaching…  This might satisfy for the moment, but it would be disastrous in the future.

Preachers….we need to preach Truth.  No matter who it may offend, alienate or infuriate.

The approval of God matters more than the applause of men

Word for Today:  November 9

When Jesus came to earth, God stepped out of Eternity into the dimension of Time.

This was a Divine Convergence.  Today God is once again stepping out of Eternity into Time.  We must seize it.  We must embrace it.  We must take it.    God is Here.

There is a definite Work being done in our Nation.  There is a definite work being done in the Church.  We are  in transition.  We are not what we were and we are not yet what we are going to be.  We are in transformation.  Things are changing.  God is doing stuff.   And it is good.  Sometimes it may be painful, but it is good and it is necessary.

There is a Purification taking place.  Conviction is falling and God is peeling off the layers and exposing the innermost secrets of the heart.  We are discovering that what we call “church” may not really be Church.  What we have established in the past and practiced over the years may be miles away from what God expects and what God wants.

God is coming to the Church before He comes for the Church.  His coming to the Church is quite upsetting.  He does not always allow   what we allow.  His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts…   (Isa 55:9)

He wants to bring us Up to Him.  We have attempted to bring Him down to us.  We must be willing to change.  To adjust.  To be tuned up.  To be refined.  To be tempered.

A Spiritual Renaissance is at hand