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Word for Today:  April 30

 

Be willing to wait.

Don’t be impatient. You don’t have to rush God. The production time of the Word is programmed in and it is as dependable as God is dependable. What is programmed will come to pass. In due season you shall reap if you do not faint (Gal 6:9).  Waiting for your due season will develop your patience.    James tells us to let patience have her perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing… (James 1:4).

Here is the hardest thing to do in Word production. It is not hard to sow. It is not all that hard to believe…. But it is next to impossible to wait, with patience, until God will produce in us the “wanting nothing” condition. God HAS SAID that we would “reap in due season IF we faint not… “

In Hebrews the Word declares: “For consider Him (Jesus) that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds…’ (Hebrews 12:3).

“Contradiction” here is anything that appears to disagree with God’s Promise. It is the “High Thing” that exalts itself against God that Paul writes to the Corinthians about.

The contradictions are what cause our patience to waver. When we see those things that seem to make God and His Word out to be a lie… these are the things that attack our patience.

Consider HIM… lest ye be wearied…

Christ Hath Redeemed us from the Curse of the Law

I am glad that I am redeemed from the curse of the law.  There are some scriptures that will help us better understand just what we have in Jesus.  The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians….

Gal3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Now in that same chapter we read in verse 29…

29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Saints, if we are born into God’s Kingdom, according to these verses, we are the seed of Abraham.  And if we are the seed of Abraham, we are the recipients of all the promises God gave to this Old Testament patriarch.  We have received all of the blessings that God promised Abraham.

God gave the Law through Moses and because that Law was broken a curse came on mankind.  That curse came upon you and it came upon me.  But the Bible tells us in Galatians that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the broken law.  This means that Christ has literally bought us back (that is what “redeemed” means) and has given back to us the blessings that were lost as a result of the broken law.  The blessings of Abraham were lost to us as a result of sin… because the Law was broken.  Mankind fell short of God’s expectations and God’s glory.  But Christ has redeemed us, bought us back and reinstated the blessings of Abraham for every believer.  That’s really awesome!

If Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, (and He certainly has) you might ask then, “What is the curse of the Law?”  Let’s look at.  The major portion of Deuteronomy Chapter 28 deals with and describes what the curse of the broken law is and what it does.  I want us to look over some of these verses and just see what Jesus has redeemed us from.  The following verses tell us about the results of the broken law…

15 ¶  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.

17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

22  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.

When the scriptures declare that the Lord does these horrible things, it says in the original language that the Lord “allows” them.  We know that the Word tells us that God can do no evil,   He is not the author of sickness and disease and calamity and death… He is not the author of poverty and distress… He is not the author or the cause of these things, but He allows them as a means of manifesting the results of the broken law… God does not cause these calamities, He allows them.

24  The LORD shall make (allow) the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

25  The LORD shall cause (allow) thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 

And on down through the end of this chapter, the Bible is very explicit regarding the results of the broken law and the terrible things that God will allow to happen to those who break the Law of Moses.  He doesn’t cause them… He allows them.

The good news I bring to you is that Jesus has redeemed us from all of these curses.  He literally became The Curse in order that we might be delivered from the curse.  Jesus has redeemed us … bought us back… from the curse having been made a curse for us and He did it by and through His Redemptive Work on the Cross.

Ga 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Jesus literally invaded satan’s dominion and stripped him of all the power and authority he exercised over you and over me and over the earth.  Paul writes in Colossians that Jesus spoiled (to strip of or disarm) the devil and took away from him all his offensive weapons and made a show or display of him openly so that all those powers in heaven in earth and in hell would know that the devil was (and still is) totally and completely defeated.  So the devil is a defeated foe right now.  And he always will be.

Col 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

One of the blessings of our redemption is the revelation that the devil is presently defeated.  He has no power.  He has no authority.  He has no right and no legal place in our life in this present world… because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the Law.  This revelation has just begun to operate in my life.

AChrist has redeemed us from the curse of the broken law and the curse has no power over us… not anymore.  Do you know what the curse of the broken law is?  It is sickness, and poverty and spiritual death.  These three things are the results of the broken law and Jesus has redeemed me and my family from these three things.  He has redeemed me from sickness.  He has redeemed me from poverty. He has redeemed me from spiritual death.

I am Born Again.  I am well and not sick.  I am rich and not poor.  I am alive and not dead.  I am just passing through this world, I am not a citizen of this place, my home is in heaven and one day not too far off, I will rule and reign with Jesus right here on planet earth because I am a son of the Living God and I have been redeemed from the curse of the law.  Hallelujah.

If Jesus delivered me from sin when I got saved He also delivered me from sickness and from poverty because sickness and poverty, just like sin, is a curse of the broken law.  Have you considered the life of Abraham in the Old Testament?   Have you read about him and what God promised him and what God did for him and what God gave him?  If we are studying about the blessings of Abraham which are legally ours because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse, we need to look at this man.  Just how was he blessed?  And what did these blessings include?

Did you know he was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived on this planet?  He was blessed with material things.  Not only did he have wealth, he also had good health.  He was so strong and viral that he fathered a child when he was 100 years old.  He walked and lived in divine health.  He was not sick.  He was not overcome by disease.  He was not weakened by old age.  He was the recipient of tremendous spiritual and natural blessings because God blessed Abraham and Abraham’s seed.  One time God commanded him to look in the heavens and attempt to number the stars because that was just how many offspring he was going to have…he was and is the father of many nations and his offspring is still increasing, just like God said it would.

The Bible says in Romans chapter 10 and verse 10,

 “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…”  

More than likely, we have all heard this verse because it is one of the verses we use when we are witnessing to someone who needs to be saved.  However there is something in this verse that I did not see until recently.  The word “salvation” in this verse is the Greek word for “deliverance.”    “Salvation” means “deliverance.”  But deliverance from what?  It means I am delivered from sin, I am delivered from sickness, I am delivered from disease, I am delivered from poverty and I am delivered from instability and I am delivered from an unsound mind.  I am delivered from depression, oppression, despair, fear, anxiety and thousands and thousands of other negative and death dealing things the devil tries to hang on me.

This word “salvation” is an all-inclusive word of God’s matchless grace and love.  It means tons more than just getting saved and going to heaven and missing hell.  It means that if we confess with our mouth because we believe in our heart we will receive the blessings (all of them) of Abraham and we will nave them now in this life on this earth before we die and go to heaven.  And this is because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law.  Our Faith Confession brings possession.  What we say we begin to have.  What we decree and speak by faith begins to come to pass.  It is a scriptural principle that we will have what we say.  Remember Mark 11:23?

23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Let me tell you something… in this verse God says one time that we are to believe.  But in the same verse He says three times we are to say with our mouth.  So you see, confession is the key to possession.  Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law but if you don’t believe it and never confess it and never say it but just walk around and keep your mouth shut (or if you do open it you say things that are contrary to the Word)…  you are going to have a very difficult time realizing and experiencing the results of your redemption.

If you don’t say what God says and you don’t claim what God has already given you to claim, you’ll be sick and you’ll  be broke and you’ll be distressed and sad and fearful and defeated…but IF you get hold of this revelation and begin to confess these things with your mouth and begin to say them and believe them, you will see them begin to come to pass.

Let me share for moment about the kinds of confession.  There are three kinds of confession.  One type of confession is good only for those who are lost.  The sinner can only confess Jesus as his Lord.  That is the first confession a lost person can make.  Until he makes that confession, no other confession he makes regarding spiritual things will do any good.  We must believe and confess that Jesus is Lord and when we do, that brings about salvation.

The second type of confession is made when a believer gets out of fellowship with God and recognizes his backslidden condition… he is miserable and  unhappy and he has no joy.  He can confess his sins that are responsible for his separation from God… and according to 1 John…

 1Jo 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And when he makes this confession to God the scripture says that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The third type of confession is the confession that is made by believers like you and me…when that revelation begins to rise up in our spirit and convince us… really convince us… that when we confess what  the Word says,  we can have what the Word says we can have.  You can have faith, but until you are willing to confess with your mouth what you REALLY BELIEVE in your HEART, you will never see what you say. Unless you are operating with a spiritual mind these things will be hard for you to understand.  But I am telling you what God’s Word says.

God says we have what we say.  If you go around talking about how bad you feel all the time, you will have what you say and you will feel bad all the time.  You talk about the devil being after you then guess what will happen…. The devil will continue to be after you.  You talk about being sick… guess what will happen?  You’ll be sick because what you say is what you get.  You talk about being broke and poor and needy…. Then that’s exactly what you will be.  What you say is what you get.

But if you will begin to confess some good things…. Some things that God has provided for you in your complete redemption… begin to confess and say “Praise God, I’m redeemed from the curse….. I’m feeling good and I am well and not sick, I am happy and not sad, I am rich and not poor, I am strong and not weak, I have good health I have a great marriage, I have wonderful children, I am free and delivered from unwholesome habits… “  Confess with your mouth and you will begin to possess what you confess.  Confess that you will succeed and not fail confess that the devil is defeated in your life, confess that he has no power and no authority and no right to mess with you or with anything you have…

Confess and say these good things (they are things that God has already said about you) and they will begin to come alive within you and you will start to see them manifest in your life.  Praise God. This is a Word principle that will change your life.

Now, what are we supposed to confess?  Let me just give you some ideas.

You need to begin by confessing what God has provided for you in His Plan of Redemption.

That could take you three or four weeks right there if you just confess that.    What has God provided for us in His Grand Plan of Redemption?  At one time, my little religious head and heart could only believe that my redemption would keep me out of hell.  That was it.  Get to heaven and miss hell.  Now that’s not bad but it is only the beginning.  It barely scratches the surface.  Thank God for that.  That’s good but when I got the revelation that my redemption provided heaven on earth  for me before I died and that I could receive and enjoy heaven’s benefits right here while I was alive… it nearly blew me away!  It was awesome.  It IS awesome!

God provided health for me here, He provided prosperity for me here, He provided deliverance for me here, He provided joy and peace and happiness and RIGHTEOUSNESS for me here…  I don’t have to wait until I die and go to heaven to receive these great benefits. What did David the shepherd boy write?  Remember he said,

“bless the Lord O my soul and FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS…”

Look in Isaiah chapter 61. This is one of the greatest and grandest prophecies in the whole Bible concerning Jesus the Messiah.  And it was written nearly 800 years before Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem.

1 ¶  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

What do we have through God’s Great Redemptive Plan?  More than we can list or say… we have Joy unspeakable and full of glory, we have a song in our soul and the sound of victory ringing in our ears…  We have peace and power and soundness of mind. We have freedom from worry and fear and all those things that so easily beset us and draw us away from Jesus.  We have Hope.  We have Faith.  We have Expectancy.  We have Strength.  We have the thrill of fellowship with the Savior and an intimate relationship with Father God.  We have the excitement of Fresh Revelation coming to us through the Word.

We have the awesome baptism in the Holy Ghost and all the wonderful Gifts of the Spirit.  We have the awesome New Testament Church clothed in the power of the Holy Ghost that is continuing to do what Jesus Did while He walked on this earth.  We have Signs and Wonders and Miracles.  Hallelujah.  Confess these things  and say these things  because they are  REDEMPTIVE FACTS and a RESENT DAY REALITIES.

Next, we need to confess what God has done IN US

What has God done in us?  I can tell you some of what God has done in me.  He has made me a NEW CREATION in Christ Jesus.  Old things are now passed away, they are history, and all things have become new.  I am a New Creation in Jesus.     I am getting better and not just older.  My youth is being renewed in me like the eagle’s…  I am wiser, more intelligent, I have greater experience and I am continually receiving greater revelation from the Word.  My mind is being renewed.  My physical body is under the influence of the Holy Ghost and what He does for me and in me is timeless.  It is not affected by the passing of years.  Hallelujah.

I am living by the principles and promises of the Word of God.  Therefore, I am not moved by what I see or what appears to be or what men may say or what the world may dictate… I am moved only by the Word of God and the Word of God is changeless and eternal.  What God promises He performs.  Christ has redeemed me from the curse.

Confess what God is doing for us RIGHT NOW

Do you know what Jesus is doing for us right now?  He is Interceding for you and for me at the Right Hand of God’s Throne in Heaven.  As we go about our daily living… working, playing, ministering, serving… Jesus is praying for us.  Jesus is praying for me.  Jesus is praying for you.  Jesus is praying for Lott Road Church.  Jesus is ministering to God in our behalf… for us… for our benefit.  Right now.   He is our Advocate.. . our Special Attorney who represents us before God in the presence of the Accuser… He pleads our case and declares us innocent of all charges.  He dispatches Ministering Spirits (Angels) to specifically come and help us in our times of need… when we are hurting and enduring temptations and trials…. He Knows who we are, where we are and what we need… and He is presently occupied in getting the supply to our need.  He is active and aggressive and diligent in caring for and protecting each of us…. He is Christ the Lord and He has redeemed us from the curse.

Confess what God CAN DO through us.

This is one of the main reasons I am teaching you about Jesus redeeming us from the curse of the law.    What can God do through us?  He has already told us in Mark chapter 11 that if we believe and speak to mountains, they will be removed and cast into the sea.  God tells us that we can do mighty and miraculous things when we speak God’s Word out of our mouth because we believe it in our heart.

He tells us that if we will resist the devil he will flee from us.  The Bible tells us that we can do ALL THINGS though Christ Who is our strength.  He tells us that NOTHING shall be impossible to us.  He tells us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.  He tells us that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ASK or THINK according to the POWER that worketh (is energized) in us.  He tells us that we are the Church of the Living God and that the gates of hell cannot prevail against us.

He tells me and you that He has placed an open door before us and that no man (demon or devil) can close it.  He tells us that if we can believe ALL THINGS are possible to him that believeth.  Jesus tells us that we can even do GREATER THINGS on earth than He did.  What did He do?  He cast out devils, He raised the dead, He healed the sick, He gave sight to the blind, He opened the ears of the deaf, and caused the dumb to speak.  He spoke to storms and they stopped.  He fed the multitudes with a few fish and a few of loaves of bread.  He walked on water.  He turned water into wine.  He caused the crippled to walk and the lame to leap.  This is what GOD can DO THROUGH us.  We need to believe this and confess these things.  We need to talk about what we can do instead of what we can’t do.

Don’t go around feeling sorry for yourself.  Get up and get away from your little pity parties.  Forget about feeling like you are some special blessing from God because you go around sick all the time.  Confess that you are well and not sick.  Confess that you are not poor.  The Bible says that Jesus, though He was rich,  became poor that we, through His poverty might be made rich.

2Co 8:9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

So, according to the Bible we are rich.  Right now.  At this moment.  Heaven’s Prince became poor that we might become rich.

Jesus became sin that we might become His Righteousness.

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Now say that.  Confess that.  He became sin, and disease, and corruption, and hate, and violence, and every vile and wretched thing the devil has ever hatched up…Jesus BECAME that LITERALLY.  That’s why He was all but unrecognizable in His outward appearance as He hung on the Cross.  He became THAT so that you might have heaven on earth.

He HATH redeemed us from the CURSE.

Begin to confess these things that we have in Jesus and begin to say these positive and powerful things GOD says about us… and we will see these things come to pass. The devil is terrified of any believer who will put into practice what I am teaching in this message.  God is holding us responsible for what we hear and what we know.  He tells us that “to whom much is given much shall be required…” (Lk 12:48)

We will all answer to God at the Judgment Seat of Christ regarding the things we KNOW.  Folks, the devil is whipped.  The only power he has is the power we give him.  That is the only power he has.  He is defeated once and for all.  Jesus dealt with him on the Cross.    He has been overcome by the Captain of our Salvation and it is time that we begin to live like we have been redeemed from the curse.

Now, believe right.

Believe down in your spirit… receive the Revelation… that the devil is whipped.  Really believe this.  Believe this because the Bible says it. Jesus defeated the devil and if the Bible says it then it is so.  It is a fact as well as a truth.  Jesus stripped him of all his power and all his authority and he is still stripped.  He is naked. He has nothing.  He is nothing.  He is a nobody.  He is only as powerful as you let him be.

Do you remember the cartoon called the Road Runner?  The cartoon character in that series that really pictures the devil was old Wiley coyote.

Every time I see old “Wiley” with all his cockamamie schemes, I see the devil.  And the roadrunner reminds me of those believers who really believe the Bible.  They are constantly setting traps for the stupid one.  The coyote.  Ole “Wiley” the devil.  And he is always getting smeared and smashed and crushed and bashed.  There he stands with band aids everywhere and bandages and bruises and bumps… a classic example of a defeated enemy.  Nothing he tries ever works for the smart and quick and nimble road runner.

The Bible says the devil walks about “like” a roaring lion… it does not say that the devil “is” a lion but he is “like” a lion.  And the Bible says he is constantly seeking  (looking for) those whom he might devour.  Do you know why he has to look for those he might consume?  He has to search and seek out those who do not know what I am teaching  you in this message.  Those who are ignorant of these things I am teaching are open prey for the roaring lion.

The Bible says,

 my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… (Hos 4:6).

I am telling you some things that will keep the devil away from you.  Now, believe in your heart…. Deep down inside… in your Spirit that Jesus HAS REDEEMED you from the Curse of the Law.  Quit dragging about like a bunch of senile old worn out people and get some fire and anger and rage toward the devil down inside your spirit.  Then get aggressive and offensive in your war against him and his demon hoards.

Next, Talk Right.

Talk like you are the victor and not the victim.  Talk about your victories.  Don’t talk about your problems.  Don’t talk about your circumstances.  Don’t talk about your sickness.  Don’t talk about your failures… talk about your conquests and your victories.  Talk about what you have in Jesus.  You are the Sons and daughters of the Living God.  You have overcome the enemy by the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus.  You are ruling and reigning as kings and priests unto the Lord.  You can do what God says you can do.  You have what God says you have.  And you are who God says you are.

Let’s begin to talk the Word.  Let’s begin to say what God says about us.  Do you know how the devil finds out stuff about us?  He is not omniscient.  He does not know everything.  He has to LEARN about you.  And he does this by LISTENING to what you say.  He cannot “read your mind.”  But he has open ears to hear what you say and demon messengers to run to the devils office and tell on you.   When you begin to talk right he has to go find somebody else who is not as smart as you are.

Next,  Act Right.

Some tell me I’m crazy.  Some say I’ve gone off “into the deep” whatever that means.  Some say I’ve lost my mind and gone insane.  Bro. John Osteen used to say that if this is “insanity” just think about what a beautiful insane asylum we are going to.   Act like that thing I’ve been telling you is real.  Act like it is an established fact.  Act like it works.  Act like you really believe it. Act like Jesus has redeemed you from the curse.   Let what you do be an outworking of what God has put  in you.  The scripture says that we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling…”

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Now just what does this mean?  It means we are to Work out what God has worked in.  We are to act out what God has put in.  We are to act like what is an established fact…  and that is Christ has Redeemed us from the Curse… and we need to ACT LIKE IT.  We are redeemed.  We are delivered.  We are liberated.  We are set free.  We are more than conquerors.  Then we are to act like it.  Amen?

When the world see us as redeemed, they should be able to tell that Something has Happened to Us.  We are not acting like those who are in the world we are acting like we are citizens of another country.  We are pilgrims just passing through.  We are people of another world.  We are literally aliens on this planet.  Now let’s act like it.

Next, we are to Rejoice Like IT.

“O preacher you just don’t know how the devil has been after me…  I have never had it so bad.  I am at my rope’s end.  I just can’t stand any more….”  There you go making a bad confession and using your mouth to say wrong things.  You are being hung by your tongue.  Somebody came up to me and said “preacher I’ve really got the devil on the run!”  I said “Praise God… that’s the way it ought to be….”  Then they said “you don’t understand… He’s doing the running and I’m doing the fleeing…” Sad, but all to true.  When the devil tries to slip up on you, just turn around and look him straight in the eyes and shout PRAISE GOD!  YOU ARE A WHIPPED AND DEFEATED DEVIL!  He’ll run off like a scared dog.  Then Sing.  Rejoice.  Shout.  Dance.  Run.  Do whatever you can do to let the world (and the devil) know that you are REDEEMED  and Delivered and Free.

Now , PLAN like you have been redeemed from the curse….

Because you have been!   Plan your life like you constantly have the victory.  Plan your future like you are redeemed from the curse.  I know folks that have planned their funeral for years.  Some have already picked out their casket. They have chosen and selected the clothes they are to be laid out in and given their loved one the order of service.   Some have called me and given me specific instructions about their funeral service.  What songs to sing.  What scriptures to read.  What funeral home to use.   That may be alright for some, but I’m just not planning on dying.

I have found out how to live and I am planning on living  in all the benefits of my redemption.  Some folks are planning on going to the hospital.  They have gone out and bought a brand new pair of pajamas and a new robe and all the stuff they need for a hospital stay.  I want to plan on staying well.  I want to plan on never being sick.  Never needing a hospital.  Let’s make up our minds to plan like we are redeemed from the curse.

Next, VISUALIZE  it in your spirit.

See it in your spirit with your faith eyes.  Someone in our church came up to me the other and I said “Have you seen our new auditorium? “  And they sort of looked a little stunned.  I wonder how many of you have seen our new auditorium.  I have a great picture of our new auditorium in my spirit.  And I look at it all the time with my faith eyes.  Have you seen our new gymnasium that goes with our new auditorium?   I have.  I have seen the auditorium full of folks worshipping and praising God.  I have watched our Faith Academy students and our church young people play basketball in our new gymnasium.  I have visualized these new buildings and I am constantly looking at them with my faith eyes.  Have you seen our new classroom building and our new cafeteria yet?  Where have you been?  What have you been seeing here…. Nothing?  Well, I have been seeing SOMETHING and that SOMETHING is an answer from God to our Faith.  And I can see it.  And just where is all this money coming from?  From heaven.  It is coming from God.  He has it.  And He is going to get it to us in answer to our Faith.

As I confess these things with my mouth and as I really believe that what I confess and what I say will be what I see, I need to act like it has already happened and  begin to rejoice like it has manifested.  I am  planning like it is real and I am seeing it constantly in my spirit with my faith eyes….

Guess what?  I am going to drive up in this parking lot one day soon and SEE a new auditorium and a new gymnasium and a new classroom building and a new cafeteria…  I will preach in the new auditorium and see many saved and brought to God and filled with the Holy Spirit… I will minister to hundreds and hundreds of young people and children who are students at Faith Academy… I will see them as they enjoy the benefits of our faith in a new gym and a new cafeteria, I will live to SEE what God has promised because I have been REDEEMED from the curse.  Hallelujah.

Remember now, the Bible declares that the blessings of Abraham are ours.

13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The same book that lists all the curses of the broken law also lists all the blessings that are ours because we are the Seed of Abraham.  Read Deuteronomy chapter 28….

1 ¶  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

3  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

4  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

5  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

6  Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

7  The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

8  The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

9  The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

10  And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.

11  And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

12  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

13  And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse…

 

 

 

 

Word for Today:  April 29

 

Develop an Expectancy in your heart.

See it.  Imagine it.  Think it.  Keep it before your eyes.  See it with the eyes of faith.  “See the invisible and expect the impossible.”     Moses “endured” this way.  When it seemed that nothing was ever going to happen, he “endured” as “seeing the invisible.”   He developed an expectancy in his heart.  He “saw” it before he really saw it.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.  Heb 11:27

Everything and all things that have ever manifested in the natural had their birth in somebody’s heart.  Somehow and some way somebody “saw it.”  Dreams come true because dreamers see the dream.   It is in the world of Faith-Seeing that Reality is created.  What you can “see” is what you can get.

God saw before He said.  When He SAW then He SAID.  He had the image in His Heart of Faith before He spoke the Creative World into existence

 

See it.  Say it.  Expect it.  Receive it.

Word for Today:  April 28

 

See what you are believing for.

The farmer wants to harvest a crop.  So he begins with seeds.  The farmer will look at the seed package. The seed package has a picture of a healthy, fully matured, producing plant on it. That is the goal the farmer is shooting for…. a healthy, fully matured, producing plant.

When he plants the little seed, he can already see in his heart what the healthy, fully matured producing plant looks like. He sees hundreds of them. They are all lined up in neat rows and they are flourishing and healthy … no fungus, no bugs, no imperfections … he sees the PERFECT FINISHED product IN HIS HEART.

To increase your crop see what you sow.  See it in its COMPLETED, GOD-CREATED form. See it with your eye of faith.

“Take heed (blepo: to see) what you hear, with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you; and to you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath (the Word) to him shall be given, and he that hath not (the Word), from him shall be taken even that which he hath … And He said, So is the kingdom of God… Mark 4:24-26.

We are told to walk by Faith (believing) and not by Sight (reasoning).   When we walk by Faith, we see the Finished Product with our Faith Eyes.

Just like God created it to be

Jesus, the Lamb of God

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  Joh 1:29

Who Is This Lamb of God?

Who is this man that all of heaven bowed down before and declared to be Worthy?  Who is He?  Why has He made such an impact on the human race?  How has He shifted the entire course of history? Just what kind of a Man is this Man they called the Carpenters’ Son? What kind of man is this who spoke and all of creation’s ears heard and heeded His voice?

One day the disciples were at Ceserea Phillipi and Jesus asked, “Who is that men say that I am?”  The disciples said that “some say that you are Elijah and some say that you are John the Baptist and some that you are teacher or a prophet raised from the dead…” then Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”  Remember what Peter replied?  Do you?  He spoke up and said “Thou and the Christ the Son of the Living God…”  And Jesus got excited when Peter said that… He said “Simon Barjona flesh and blood hath not revealed that unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven…”   “God has told you that I am the Messiah, the Anointed One, The Messiah promised in the Old Testament, the Prophet, the Priest and the King.”    That’s Who He is. That’s Who Jesus is.   John, the Gospel writer received a revelation of Who He is when He wrote in Chapter 1 and verse one:

“and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth…” (John 1:14)

Who is this Lamb of God?  Who is this Lion of the Tribe of Judah?  Who is this Root of David?   Who is this Person that all the inhabitants in heaven bow down to and cry out in voices filled with praise; “Worthy is the Lamb… Worthy is the Lamb…Worthy is the Lamb…?”

Do you believe what Jesus says?  Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.”  Do you know what bread does?  Bread fills us up.  Bread satisfies our hunger.   Bread keeps us alive.  Bread nourishes our physical body.  Jesus is Heaven’s Bread sent from God to nourish our spiritual bodies and keep us alive.  Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.”

Then in John chapter 8 Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” Now, what does light do?  Light reveals and illuminates… what does Jesus do?  He reveals the character and nature of God to us.   He illuminates our way by the anointed spoken Word of God. He guides us by His Presence. He shows us the pitfalls of life. He protects us from the snare of the enemy.  I say to you… Worthy is the Lamb!  Worthy is the Lamb!

Who did Jesus say He was?  In John 10 He said, “I am the Door.”  What is a door good for?  A door is good to go in and to get out that’s what a door is good for.  And do you know what Jesus meant when He said I am the door?   He meant that “ by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”  Jesus Christ is the Door. He is our access into the very presence of God.  He is our High Priest.  He is our representative in Heaven.  Worthy is the Lamb.

In John chapter 10 He said, “I am the Good Shepherd.” What does a good shepherd do?  A good shepherd takes care of his flock.  He makes certain that they are in the fold and out of harm’s way at night;  He is certain of their number.   He is certain of their safety.  He knows where they are  and  He takes care of their every need.  He never leaves them.  He never forsakes them.  He cares for them and keeps them secure and safe.

In John chapter 11 He said   “I am the Resurrection and the Life” and John chapter 15 He said “I am the True Vine, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

He gives us Resurrection Life.  Not just ordinary life, but supernatural life.  Resurrection life is the God Kind of life.  It is not psuche but it is Zoe.  It is the same kind or quality of life that God has.

As we “abide in Him” or take up our residence in Him and live in His Word, then He says we can ask what we will and it shall be done unto us.  Abiding in Him assures us of asking the for the right things.  And we ask for the right things the right way, we have what we ask for.

Let me tell you how the world saw Him.  The world saw Him as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a dirty smelly barn.  But I see Him as King of Kings and Lord of lords.  The world saw Him as a carpenter’s Son Who would never amount to anything.  But I see Him as the Living Son of the Living God. The world saw Him as a defeated Dreamer hanging lifeless on a cruel criminal cross. But I see Him as Victor over death hell and the grave.

Worthy is the Lamb!   The heart of Old Testament Scripture is Messianic in purpose.  You can hardly find a chapter anywhere from Genesis to Malachi but what there is some glimpse of Jesus. The very heart of revealed scripture is Messianic in nature.  Jesus  is like a scarlet thread woven into the fabric of every page of the Old Testament.  And that tapestry comes to a full and complete revelation when we get to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

He was foreshadowed in the Garden of Eden shortly Adam’s miserable fall when God spoke to the serpent and said;

“I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise His heel.” 

This is a direct Messianic Promise declaring that there would be One coming Whose heel would crush the serpents’ head.  In turn the heel of that Coming One would be wounded and bruised by the serpent.     He was clearly seen by the prophets in the Old Testament.  They did not know Him in the flesh but they knew Him by the miracle of divine revelation.  Every prophet of God in the Old Testament had a glimpse of the coming Messiah.  In Isaiah chapter 7, the prophet wrote;

“A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call His name Immanuel”

That Name means “God with us.”  In Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 the same prophet by divine revelation foresaw Jesus and said;

 “His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.”

In Isaiah Chapter 53, which was written nearly 800 years before Jesus was born, is the wonderful chapter portraying Jesus as the suffering Servant.

“He was wounded for our transgressions He was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed….”  

All through the Old Testament there are glimpses and foreshadows of the coming Messiah.  David, Israel’s great singer, sung in Paslms about Him before He was born.

 “The Lord is shepherd I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures He leads beside the still waters He restoreth my soul…”
We find Jesus in every book on every page in practically every verse and every word;  the Old Testament is an arrow pointing unerringly to the coming time when all the world would recognize…

Worthy is the Lamb of God!  Hallelujah.

I see Him typified in many ways it the Old Testament.   I see Him in Noah’s ark because Noah’s ark was God’s provision to keep safe a faithful few who believed in the word of God.  The Ark was God’s miraculous provision for safety and deliverance for the believing family of Noah, the builder of the ark.  When the rains came and the judgement of God fell, those huddled in the safety of the ark were spared.  They inherited a New World.  A Fresh World.  A Purged World.  This typifies the Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ in the Grand Plan of Father God.  The Ark of Safety is a type of the One Who is Worthy.

 I see Him as the Passover Lamb.   When the Hebrews were held in the grip of Egyptian bondage, they prayed for God to look upon their affliction and deliver them.   And God heard their prayer.   One by one the plagues were sent and finally Pharaoh let the people go… but not before the Passover was perfected.  I see the father in the Hebrew household as he goes out and slays that little sinless paschal lamb.   I see him as he takes the blood and catches it in a basin and take a branch of hyssop and dips it in the blood and then goes to his house and strikes the blood across the top of the door and on each door post.   I see him as he goes in his dwelling knowing that God said;

“when I see the blood I will pass over you… When I see the blood I will pass over you.”  

This Passover Lamb is a type of Jesus Christ.

I see Jesus personified and typified in the Old Testament tabernacle.    I see Jesus pictured as the promised Son and Seed of one hundred year old Abraham and ninety year old Sarah.  I see Jesus typified in the House of Israel and the intricate sacrificial system of the Jews.   Don’t you see that God has moved heaven and earth since Creation in order that we can  know…

Worthy is the Lamb!  Worthy is the Lamb!

Where is your heart today?  What is your attention set upon?  Where is your life headed?  Is it to know and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord of All? Is it to know that He and He alone is Worthy?   All other things in this life are secondary to the central fact that Jesus Christ is Lord of All… Lord of all!

Who is He?  Who is this Jesus?  I’ll tell you Who He is… He is God in the Flesh.  He is  Very God  Who condescended  and took on human form and human flesh. He is God clothed in humanity.  He is God wearing a human suit.    Philippians 2:7 declares that He made Himself of no reputation… that is, He laid down (took off) His deity and put on humanity.  He vacated His God Form and God Power and God authority and then left heaven that he might walk on and in this earth and redeem us from the curse of Adam’s disobedience.   He became Man in order to redeem mankind from spiritual and eternal death.  Deity put on humanity so that we could walk in forgiveness and divine healing and health and be delivered from every power of the devil.

Where are you today?  Do you know that Jesus is Worthy?    This is the day when all humanity needs to bow at the feet of a Risen Ascended and Glorified Lord.   This is the hour when we ought to recognize that we are the visible, tangible body of Christ on  earth and we are to carry out the commission that He gave us by going throughout the earth and preaching and teaching and baptizing in His Name… by telling the world that Jesus is Worthy.

Everybody who has ever had a personal confrontation with Jesus Christ knows that Jesus Does Something.    The Savior I serve is not a god placed on a shelf who never does anything, never breathes, never feels ,never sees, never knows;  but the Jesus I’m preaching about is Worthy and He is a Savior Who does things.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me… “

Jesus quoted this one day in Nazareth as He read in the synagogue.  They gave Him the Scroll and told Him to read.  He read from the prophet Isaiah and quoted this very passage which is found in  Isaiah 61:11.     This is what He said to those religious leaders:

 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath… (number one) anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; (number two) He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted; (number three) He has sent me to comfort all that mourn; (number four) He sent me to give beauty for ashes; (number five) the oil of joy for the mourning; (number six) the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.  (parentheses mine)

Isaiah 61 tells us what Jesus does.

He is the Anointed One Who preaches Good Tidings to the meek.

He has been sent to bind up the broken hearted.

He is here to comfort all who mourn.

He restores beauty to the disgraced and defamed.

He gives us joy in the place of mourning and

The Garment of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness.

I Jn 3:8 declares that Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil.

“For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil…”

What does He do?  He reconciles man to God.

Three things happened when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Number one, spiritual death came on the entire human race.

Number two, man was alienated from his Creator and

Number three,  a Curse came on this world.

That’s what the devil did.  That’s what happened when Adam sinned.  But  Jesus undid what Adam did.  Jesus undid the mess that Adam made.  Where man died spiritually through Adam’s disobedience, we are made spiritually alive by our faith in Jesus.  When sin drove a wedge of division between the Creator and the creation, Jesus came and reconciled man to God… He reestablished our fellowship with the Father.

I’ll tell you what else Jesus does…  Jesus delivers us from the Curse.  Hallelujah.

Gal 3:13 We are redeemed from the curse of the law…

This is what He does. He reconciles man to God; He reestablishes our fellowship with God  and then He justifies us and makes us righteous.  Wow!  Would you like to be Righteous?  Faith in Jesus Christ makes us Righteous.  According to the Word, our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ produces the righteousness of God in us. Jesus takes up residence in our heart and trades our sin for His Righteousness.

Being Righteous means you have a right standing with the Father.  It means you are justified.  (Made Just-as-if-I’d never sinned) He sanctifies us.  He sets us apart as His own creation and soon He will glorify us by causing us to put off the garment of this human flesh and put on the garment of our resurrection body.  Then, we will live in perfection.   We will think in perfection and we will be everything God ever created us to be. Hallelujah.

 What does He do? He’s at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for you and me.     He is personally praying for the unity of His body.   He is on His throne at the Father’s Right Hand.  He is the Head of the Church and He is directing its affairs.    He is supervising angels and spiritual authorities and powers.

What does He do?  The  Gospel of John shows us  that He saves lost people.  Lost people just like Nicodemus.  He restores broken homes just like the woman at the well who had five husbands and who was living with a man who was not her husband.   He heals the sick and afflicted just like the man who was lame for 38 years and who patiently waited by the Pool of Bethesda for his healing.

What does he do?   He feeds the hungry and fills the empty just as He fed the 5000 with a few fishes and a few loaves of bread.  He satisfies the longing heart with spiritual food that can and will sustain through times of great distress and disappointment.

What does He do?  He forgives sinners.  Check out the adulterous woman who was caught in the very act of sin in John chapter 8.  So you think you are guilty?  We all are.  And Jesus is the Great Forgiver.  Not only does He forgive, but He removes our sin from us as far as the east is from the west.  In other words, to a place of infinity.   To a place where they do not even exist anymore.

What does He do?  He gives life to the dead just like He gave life to four-day-long dead Lazarus.  At his tomb when they rolled the stone He said “Lazarus… come forth”  and life came into that four day old corpse… a corpse that was already decomposing.   The power of God exploded in it and gave that dead body life and brought it out of the grave.  Jesus is our Guarantee, our Warranty that we too shall overcome death and the grave.  At His voice, the dead shall be raised and those of us who remain at His Coming will be changed instantly… at the blink of an eye… and we shall be like Him.  Hallelujah.

What does He do?  He comforts the distressed… In John chapter 14 He gathered His disciples together and He said “let not your heart be troubled… you believe in God believe also in me…”   What a profound Word!  We have the capacity to “let not… ” to stop our heart from worrying and being stressed out; to prevent our heart from being afraid and from being filled with anxiety.   When times are tough and impossible situations loom we can “let not” and prevent worry from overcoming us and rendering us helpless and hopeless.

I tell you what… this Son of the Most High God became poor… He was Heaven’s Prince… He was at the right hand of God… He was administrating all of heaven’s affairs …. He was in Ivory Palaces…. He was in charge of all creation…. But the Lamb of God became poor that we might become rich.

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

He chose poverty to give us prosperity.  He chose to “have not” in order that we might “have.”  He was the richest and wealthiest individual in all of creation, yet He willingly laid down His wealth and took on our poverty.  “For our sakes” he became poor that we might, through His poverty, become rich.

He came down that we might go up.  He became sin that we might become righteous. He was sent into the jaws of hell that we might ascend into the glorious boundaries of heaven.   He had no home… no place to lay His head.  He had no garment to call His own except those that were given to Him as gifts.  He said the birds of the air have nests and the animals of the field have homes to go to but the Son of Man hath not a place to lay His head… a “homeless”  Son of God is today, right now, at the Father’s side building extravagant and unimaginable mansions for us.  Hallelujah.

Col 1:15 “for by Him were all things created that are in heave and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by Him and for Him He is before all things and by Him all things consist…He is the Head of the Body the Church He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in all things He might have the preeminence…”

The Word of God says that Jesus holds all things together.  There is only One Element that keeps all creation in perfect balance and harmony…  and that is the influence and the Power and the Authority of the Lamb of God.  Listen to me church… The planets are kept in orbit; the stars are set on fire and kept on fire, the suns continue to give forth their light, all the galaxies hang in perfect balance;  and everything in creation consists and holds together because of Jesus. The Lamb of God.  “Worthy is the Lamb.”

Why does He do it? 

There is no explanation, none whatsoever, for the reason why He does it apart from His matchless, boundless, measureless, eternal love.  There is absolutely no physical, visible, scientific, way or reason that He should do What He does other than the fact that  He just loves us.  Just like we  are.   With all the human limitations and imperfections and shortcomings,  He just loves us.  He just loves us.  He just loves us.  He is Love personified.  He is Love demonstrated.  He is Love manifested.  He is Love illustrated.  He is Love embodied.  He is Love epitomized.  He is LOVE.  Worthy is the Lamb.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life…

Why does He do it?  That’s why He does it.  Because He “so loved the world….”

For God comendeth His love toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us…

The mystery is… He loves us.  The fact is we as human beings will never be able to comprehend the “why” so there is no logical or reasonable explanation left for us to understand this demonstration of God’s compassion and care for us.  Limited as we are in our darkened understanding… we cannot comprehend the measure of God’s love.  If I stood here until Jesus came and until angels blew their trumpets and until the skies were rent in two and until every grave was opened and every saint in ages past were raised by the power of the Omnipotent God… if I preached constantly till that day I could not tell you nor explain to you the measure of God’s love.

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made

Were every stalk on earth a quill

And every man a scribe by trade

To write the Love of God above

Would drain the oceans dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Tho stretched from sky to sky

I’ve always been amazed at what happened to people when they saw Jesus.  They were never the same again.  Never.  They were changed.  They were different.  They were taken into a new place in the human experience.  Not only were they changed, but the world as they previously saw it was also changed.  God “became” evident everywhere.  In all of creation.  The grass was greener.  The flowers were more spectacular.  The birds sang better and the whole world became a demonstration of the Glory of God.   Worthy is the Lamb.

The Prophet Isaiah saw Him high and lifted up and then he beat upon his breast and buried his face in his hands and he cried “Woe is me for I am man of unclean lips.”

Moses saw Him and he was told to take off his shoes because  he was standing on holy ground.

John saw Him on the Isle of Patmos and fell at His feet as dead.

Thomas saw Him when He walked through the wall and appeared there in the midst of the disciples,  and old doubting Thomas put his finger in the print of the nails in His hands and His feet and His side and he said  “My Lord and my God…”

Paul saw him on the dusty Damascus road when a light as blinding as twelve suns shone in the middle of the day, and he fell on his face and cried out  “Who art Thou, LORD?”

I saw Him one day when I was a 12 year old boy sitting about half-way back in a little country church… and after of years of fear and dread and frustration, anxiety, nervousness… I saw Him.   I did not know a fraction of what Jesus had for me, the only thing I knew was that I was afraid and I needed some help.  And I came in my own childlike way that night to the altar of a Baptist church and prayed a simple prayer… and I saw Jesus.

Jesus has been gracious to me through all these 60 plus years of ministry.  He called me to preach.  He has protected me from all kinds of satanic attacks. He lovingly gave me this ministry to share with you the Good News.   I’ve never been more fulfilled in my life than I am right now.  I am grateful to God.  When you leave here today, I want you to leave with just one theme on your lips and that is…

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

 

Word for Today:  April 27

 

What God wants.

God wants His Kingdom to come in the earth.  God wants His will to be done in the earth.  God wants the same things that are happening in heaven to happen on earth.  This is the prayer that Jesus prayed in Matthew chapter 6:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven…

This is what God wants.

This is why you have a purpose in life.  This is why you can do all things through Christ.  This is the reason for the existence of the Church.  The Church is here to bring God’s Kingdom from heaven to earth.  If we are not bringing God’s Kingdom from heaven to earth we are not doing what we were born again to do.

The Christian Faith is not a salve for the guilty conscience.  The Christian Faith is not a passive religious experience to make people “feel” good.  It is a dynamic declaration of victory to the powers of darkness and a furious fight to take enemy territory.  The Christian Faith… especially the Spirit-Filled Christian faith is Warfare. We are fighting the Good fight of Faith.  The battle is the Lord’s and the Victory is ours.

Any time. Every time.  All the time.

 This is transition time.  This is moving time.  This is a new time.  This is a new place.  This is a new season.  A new challenge.  A new opportunity

The history of Israel reflects God’s Dealings with His People. 

Joshua Chapter 1:1-7     5  Prophetic Principles…

At this time in Israel’s history, several things are apparent:

1. 1. They needed and wanted to get to a better place. They were tired of the desert. They were ready to move.
2. 2. There were formidable obstacles and impossibilities standing in the way. There was a flooded Jordan and a barricaded Jericho.
3. 3. They had to commit to change.   They could (1) go back (2) stay put or (3) move out in total trust…. Total faith.  Willing to Take a Risk that they had never taken before.  And trusting God on a level that was a New Season for them.

And they had some Life Changing reasons to forge ahead in faith:

• They knew they were God’s People
• They had anointed Leaders that could and would hear from God.
• They had experienced miraculous deliverances in the past

There is Prophetic Significance in this Biblical Narrative for you and Orchard Assembly…

• You have a passion to move to the Place God has prepared for you. That’s the purpose of this series of meetings.
• In the past, you have faced formidable obstacles that were in the way of your progress… and will face some as you determine to move into your New Season
• You have experienced miraculous deliverances in the past. You are familiar with the Power of God have seen His deliverance in the past.

  “The Lord Spoke”  (1)

• God always gives direction to His Appointed and Anointed leaders. He has spoken in the past and He is speaking today.  God has many ways of speaking… Church is often where you get to hear what God is saying.  God has put this Church here for YOU.        

   “Moses My servant is dead…”  (2)  DEFINING MOMENT

• This is a defining Moment in the History and Ministry of Orchard Assembly. The “Old” is over and the “New” has arrived.  This is transition time.  A new place.  A new season.  A new direction.     It’s not that the old was “bad” but the NEW will be BETTER.  God has already gone before you and the place is prepared.  The only thing necessary is for you to go on and go in.    The old has passed away and the new is here. This is a New Day.  A new Season
• All that has happened in the past has been preparation for this hour and this time. For you personally and for this church.    Exciting and adventurous times are here.  The fulfillment of the Purpose of this Place is here.    The Time has come.  A new era has begun

Notice the sequence….

1. “Arise and Go Over…” (2)

• Israel was not called to stay on the wrong side of Jordan. And you are not called to stay stuck where you are.
• You are at the very point of pressing in. God is speaking, and His Message is GET UP and GO IN.
• Consider the Purpose God has for you. And this ministry.  A new level of success and victory is at hand.  Waiting time past.  The season of staying put is over.  This is moving time.  Get up and Go.  And don’t be slow.  Time to move out and move on.  A new season is here.  A new time has come.  New opportunities are opening.

In the early 70’s we were at a standstill at Lott Road Baptist Church.  We had been devoured by discouragement.  We were wallowing in weariness.  We were at a defining moment in our history.  Our membership was at an all-time low and our financial base was pathetic.  At that specific time, God sent a Prophet to speak to us.  He told us of things to come.  A dream to be realized.  And he prophesied that our (small insignificant, floundering church), would be used to take the Word to many nations.  Nothing could have been more impossible at the time.  We were instructed to make preparations….  So we expanded.  Lengthened our cords and strengthen our stakes.  We trusted God in the face of every impossibility…. And now, after 50 years… we have seen the vision come to pass.    

2. “Every Place….that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (3)

• This is God’s Promise. This is God’s provision.  The “New Place” is prepared and has already been given to you and now it’s time possess it.
• It will be as big and as large as you want it to be and as you make it to be. It is YOURS and it is waiting for you to mark it out, walk over it and take it.   I remember the large relief map of the World we hung on the wall of the auditorium. In full color.  8 feet tall and 16 feet wide.  We began to put lights on every city, country and nation we were reaching.  It became the visible focal point in our auditorium.
• Don’t limit God. He does not despise Small Things and Insignificant People.  God likes to make a lot out of a little.  So, don’t minimize His provision for you.  Don’t be afraid to launch out and believe BIG.   Israel came under a Fresh Anointing.  They became aggressive.  They were determined to move into the Place God had Promised.
• What has God Promised His Church? Jesus declared that the very “gates of hell” could not and would not be able to withstand the power of His Church.  (Mat 16:18) That’s us.  That’s you and me.  That’s this church.

3. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (5)

Behold I set before thee an open door and no man can shut it…. Rev 3:8

No man.  No devil.  No demon.  No obstacle.  No circumstance.  No lie.  No threat.  No thing.  God has said this. God has promised this.  God has already defeated every enemy and every foe.   The battle is not yours…. It is God’s and He has already won.

Mat 16: 18 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.

4. “Be strong and of a good courage…” (6)

This is God’s Personal Word to this body.   And to this pastor.  And to the leadership of this Church.  Being strong and courageous is a decision.  A choice we make.  It is not a progression or a process we go through, it is a decision and a choice.  “Be strong” is what Paul commanded…. Not “get strong.”

When people follow the leadership of those God has anointed and placed in their lives, they inherit the Promises and the Provisions of God.

5. “Wherever you go, I’ll be with you…” (9)

What ever you face… whatever impossibility… Whatever attack of the enemy….  God Will Go With You…

• A New Season is here
• A New Day has come
• A New Dimension of Ministry is before you

 

Your New Season is NOW

 

 

 

 

Word for Today:  April 26

 

God has given us WEAPONS

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;  2 Cor. 10:4

And they are mighty weapons given to every believer by God for the pulling down of strongholds… they are not carnal and they are not natural… they are Supernatural and they are efficient and they are effective and they work.  They are given to every believer in order that every believer might overcome the attacks of the enemy.  These weapons are for warfare.  They are not for peace.   They are aggressive.  They are for pulling down and destroying.  They are locked, loaded and ready to be used.

The reason we have these weapons is that we might overcome the powers of darkness…. that we might stop the devil.  If we do not used them, they will not work for us, and we will not restrain the devil.  If we do not exercise them, we will not break through and destroy the strategies and strongholds of the enemy.

God gave them.  God gave them to Believers.  God gave them to Believers in order that Believers might confirm what Jesus did to the devil.  Jesus destroyed the works of the devil.  Those works are still destroyed.  The Bible says that

 to as many as received Him to them gave He power to become…  John 1:12.

You have the power and authority to become whatever God has purposed for you to become.  This is why Paul says…

I can do all things though Christ…  Phil 4:13)

If he can, so can you

I what to talk with you today about breaking the limit.

2Kings 7: 3 …Why sit we here until we die?

These unfortunate lepers were left with three options.   (1) Go back (2) Stay stuck or (3) Move out.

Collectively and personally.     Do you plan on staying where you are or are you determined to GO to the place God has prepared for you?

The trouble is most of us have become comfortable and complacent.  We have all our ducks in a row.  Life has become an interstate highway and we are running on cruise control.   Most of what we do is cookie cutter stuff.

It is time for a game changer.   CHANGE.  Not the same.  Not like it used to be.  Not like it is.  But like it is GOING TO BE.  It’s time to break the Limit.

Actually, Life has no limits.  Any legitimate Gospel ministry has no limits.  Opportunity does not have an expiration date.    Every door is open and every light is green.  The time is right and God is waiting on you to seize the moment.

The time to break the Limit is NOW.  Bust out of the status quo.  Get out of your box.  Surge off the page.  Rise to a new level.  Go where you have not gone.  Be who you have never been.  IT’S TIME.

NOW is the accepted time.

Did you know it is never the “right time” as far as the devil is concerned?

If you are only focused staying where you are, you will miss all the excitement of living life with the volume turned wide open.    God designed life and ministry to be exciting.  He is not the Author of dull.  “I’m waiting on God” is nothing more than an excuse for staying stuck where you are.

Here’s how to have an exciting life, here’s how to squeeze the best out of your life:

• Dream impossible dreams
• Stay up a creek in a leaking boat without a paddle
• Climb out on a limb so far you can’t see the tree
• Stay at the end of you rope and hang on for dear life
• Live between a rock and a hard place
• Bust the lid off and break out of your box
• Be radical for God
• Stay on the very edge of total disaster
• Refuse to go with the flow (lest you end up in the septic tank)
• Resist the temptation to be normal
• Never give up and never quit never back down
• Shout.  Dance.  Run.  Yell and scream at the devil.

Where does that put us? We are either sitting at the gate waiting to die (remember the lepers?) or we are up invading the enemies camp and taking back what the devil has stolen.  We are settled in and hunkered down in the doldrums and dullness of a mundane life or we are on the prowl for better stuff.  We are either at rest or on the attack.  We are stuck or we are moving with God.

Here are some things to consider when you want to break the Limit:

Want to…

What is your passion?  What drives you?  What is your dream? Where do you want to go?  Who do you want to be?

Are you tired of the same old same old?    How desperate are you for a change of direction in your life and ministry?   Are you going to be sedate and satisfied with your do-nothing, go-nowhere, same-old-stuff life?  Are you going to fold up and be content to live in your comfort zone?  Are you going to stay locked in, fenced in, shut up, stuck and limited the rest of your life?

God has a bright and exciting future for every one of us.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (The Message)  Jer 29:11 

That’s what God has planned it for us.

Now… What kind of future are you hoping for?  Surely you must have a dream… a goal… a purpose.

Want to, then 

Decide to…  (Every action begins with a decision)

You have already made hundreds of decisions today.  You make them all the time.  You made some today.  You will make some in this meeting.

When the devil begins to lie to me and tell me what I can’t do and where I can’t go and how it’s impossible for me…. I determine to do something RADICAL…   So, when the devil faced off with me and challenged me a while back:

I hopped on my Harley and rode all the way to Key West Florida with my little dog in the passenger seat.   After an exciting, exhilarating 2000-mile road trip came back home.

I go out and hop in my open-cockpit experimental airplane (with no parachute) and soar among the clouds, reach out and touch the Face of God and experience deep worship at 3000 feet as I behold the awesome beauty and expanse of His Creation.

Every day I refuse to act like an old man.

I won’t Talk like an old man

Act  like an old man

Dress like an old man

Do  what old men do

Go  where old men go

Walk  like old men walk

Expect what old men expect

Believe  what old men believe

Why?

There are places to go

Things to do

Messages to be preached

Books to be written

Nations to be changed

A church to be revived

Standards to be set

A God to be honored

A Nation to be awakened

A Calling to be completed

I’m all in… ready to go…  locked and loaded… How about you?

he quality of the life you are living right now is the result of decisions you have made in the past.  Your decisions have defined your life and your ministry.    Where you are going in the future will be determined by decisions you will make today in this service.

Right now you have a challenge facing you.  You have a decision to make.  And you will make it one way or the other.  You can decide to stay like you are and where you are or you can decide to kick it up a notch, pick up your stuff and forge ahead.

Breaking the Limits comes out of a personal decision you and you alone can and will make.    And not deciding is really deciding.  No decision is really a decision.   No response is a response.

Decide to, then

Do it…

When you really want to, and then when you decide to, the only thing left is to just do it.  It will never happen unless you start.  And if you wait until you “have what you need” to start you will stay stuck where you are.

God is a NOW God.  The Word is a NOW Word.  The moment is a NOW moment.  Today is NOW.  The time is NOW.  This meeting is a NOW meeting.

2Co 6:2 ….The day you needed me, I was there to help. Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped.  (The Message)

The devil is the great delayer.  he wants you to stay right where you are and do nothing.  He wants you to “think about it.”  he wants you to just pray about it.  he will tell you that today is not the right time nor is it the best time.  Just wait.

You may ask, “How do I know that NOW is the time and that TODAY is the day for me to do it?”

You know it’s the right time when you “feel it.”     I know you feel it because I feel it too.  TODAY.  NOW.  THIS SERVICE.  It’s time.

Have you considered the scope of the opportunities that are surrounding us?  But you say…” I’m in a no-where town on the side of the no where road in Alabama…”   Remember what they said about Nazareth?  “No good thing can ever come out of this god-forsaken place….”  And then: From the impossibility of a “no-where” place, steps forth: The Son of the Most High God…

Just do it, then

Trust GOD

God will see you through to your destination.

God has been my encouragement and my support and my strength for nearly 60 years of ministry.  When Pat and I did not know what to do or where to go or how to minister, God always had the answer for us.

• God took us safely and successfully through the Charismatic Renewal.
• God delivered us from demonic attacks
• God took us into new depths of understanding and revelation
• God showed us Who He is, what kind of God He is and What His Will for us is.
• God revealed the immeasurable scope of the Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ

God taught us Who the Holy Spirit is and How to be Baptized in His fullness

• God opened the door to the Supernatural Miracle-working power of the Word
• God protected us and led us safely through every attack throughout our life-long ministry
• God fed us and matured us and inspired us and sent us
• God is working right now as I preach, touching the core of your soul and calling you into a New Place.

And God will sustain you in your decision to move out and move on.   What do you need to get started?   Only God.   He is enough and will be more than enough.

Trust God, then

Never Quit

• In 1968 when I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in Tongues, two thirds of our Southern Baptist church left.
• We were kicked out of our denomination, lost our Baptist credentials, and thrown under the bus.
• Over the years, we got ripped off, robbed and taken advantage of by crooked contactors.
• We were robbed by criminally convicted bankers.

We were threatened with foreclosure by those we were in debt to.  But we did not quit.

• We got half through building Faith Academy and ran out of money. But we did not quit.
• We faced imminent financial failure with a 4.5 million dollar debt we could not pay. But we did not quit.
• And a few years ago, I signed the check, paid the last mortgage payment and made Life Church debt-free.

If there is any lesson I have learned and learned well, it is the fact that we never quit.

Now, just where does this leave us right now?

What are you going to do?  Go Back? Stay stuck? Move out?

What is God speaking to you right now?

My plea to you is do not wait too long.  Do not hold on to where you are too long.  The opportunity is NOW.  The time for you to let go and move into the miraculous plan God has for you is NOW.

• Step out and give your heart to Jesus…
• Be courageous and surrender everything to God… and receive His Anointing on your Life
• Do that thing that God has challenged you to do…. and find peace and security and rest
• Get involved. Get up and quit being a spectator… and become a game player

Let’s do this and Do it… NOW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word for Today:  April 25

 

My most challenging job is to convince people to believe what God says.

Most are so influenced by what is happening in the world they are oblivious to what the potential is within them.  God tells us some awesome stuff.  Stuff that is truly hard to believe.  Since it is easier to disbelieve than to believe, most are held captive by their unbelief.  No faith.  No confidence in God.  Convincing the Body of Christ to REALLY BELIEVE is our greatest challenge.  However, it is the same problem that folks have had throughout the history.  Isaiah said:

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?   Isa. 53:

We must come to the place of BELIEVEING what the WORD SAYS instead of what the WORLD SAYS.  Some of the things the WORD SAYS are so “unreasonable” and so “radical” and so “impossible” that it is a real chore to believe them.  It is probably not what we have been taught in our Religious Environment.  It is probably not what is considered “traditional” or even “normal” in the Christian Walk.

Vance Havner once said concerning the Church:    “We have been subnormal so long, that once we become normal, folks will think we are abnormal…”

Man’s “religion” will keep you in bondage.  It will put burdens on you that God never intended for you to bear.  It will ultimately kill you.  Likewise, unchanging Religious Tradition will keep you in bondage.  A refusal to change, simply because you have “always” been this way or have “always” done it like this is dangerous.  It limits the ability for one to receive fresh revelation.  Organized, Mechanized, Man-Managed, church programs will sap your strength, wear you out, do you in and leave you empty.

Be unreasonable.   Believe God.