dickbraswell

Have you ever been in a place where you honestly confessed that you did not know what to do?

The first temptation is the temptation to try to fix it ourselves.  Plans.  Procedures.  Steps to take.  People to see.  We want to “fix things.”  We want to “fix” people.

Instead of throwing our cares and worries and tribulations on Jesus, we think we can fix it ourselves.  We try.  And it does not work.  We try something else, and it does not work either.  We reason.  We consider the problem.  We analyze it, examine it, look at it from every angle and try again.  Another failure.

Finally, we remember God.  And seek God.  And ask God.  Turn to God and confess that without His intervention, all our human and natural efforts will not produce any answers or solve any problems.

O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 2Chron 20:12

The King’s army was outnumbered (2 Chron 20). He was defenseless against such overwhelming odds.  He had no escape route…. Nowhere to run.  Nowhere to hide.  Nowhere to seek refuge.  He was in line for defeat.  Humiliation.  And death.

He had exhausted all his resources.  Nothing he had and nothing he could do would be able to deliver him and his nation from total disaster and defeat.  He finally confessed: “I don’t know what to do.  But my eyes are on You, Lord….”

There are some attempts at victory that you need to “give up.”  Because they are your plans, your ideas, your efforts and they are done in your strength.

I remember praying one time:  “Lord, I don’t know what to do.  I’ve tried everything I know to try.  I don’t have any resources left.  I give up.”   In my fit of self-pity and false humility, God responded to my heart:  “Good!  Now that you are through with it, I can do something about it!”

And He did.

Giving up on your efforts does not mean giving in to the devil.  It simply means changing your “trying” into “trusting” and then leaving it all to God.

Word for Today:  July 9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  1Co 2:9

This verse is not necessarily limited to mean only those awesome things awaiting the Believer in Heaven.

God has prepared unimaginable “things” in the present for those who love Him.  Do you love Him?  Then those “things” are for you and they are for you today.  Right now.

So, praise God and act as if the answer has already come. Refuse to doubt.  Believe with all your heart.  Hold on to your confession of faith.  Get your mind renewed by the Word of God.  Talk right.  Say the Word.  Confess the Word.  Talk the Word.  Act out our faith.  Act like you already have “it” and you will get “it.”

Live in an atmosphere of Praise.  Thank God.  Praise God.  Give God glory.  Worship God.  Pray in the Spirit.  Praise and thank Him in all situations and circumstances. Honor Him.  Trust Him.  Esteem Him.  Glorify Him.

And you will see your situation begin to change.    Immediately.

Today

Word for Today:  July 8

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psa 150:6 

Praise God and thank Him for the answer before your answer comes.  Praise God for the answer before you see it, feel it, or have it.  Your sight and your feelings are subordinate to the Word of God.  As far as God is concerned, you already have what you believed for.  He has already given you all things that pertain to life and godliness…

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  2Pe 1:3

I have a question.  What situation or circumstance would you like to see changed more than everything else?  What one thing have you been believing for over everything else?  What is the greatest desire of your heart at this very moment?  What one thing drives you and is the focus of your passion?  What is that one thing?  The One Thing that is presently the heart of your praying?   That One Thing that rises above all other situations and circumstances that you really would like to see manifest?

What if God visibly walked right into your presence now… at this moment… and with loving grace and mercy actually presented you with that One Thing you have so longed for?   Here it is.  What you have prayed and believed for.  This is it.  It is yours.   You now have in fact what you have believed for in faith.

Now… how would you act?  What would your response be?  Would you sort of glance off to the side and say “ho hum…”  “Well, so what?”  Could you walk off and be passive and unappreciative?   Would you be thankless and ungrateful?  Just what would you do?  How would you act?  What would your physical and mental reaction be if you got that One Thing that had been the focus of your believing for all these years?  Would you shout?  Would you praise God?  Would you leap for joy?  Would you run around the room?  Would you whoop and holler and dance and rejoice?  Is that what you would do?  Most of us would.  We would be uninhibited and unashamed to react in a noticeable physical manner.

Here’s a famous verse from the Gospel according to Bro. Dick… “Act like you got it and you will get it….”  Acting as if it is already here in the now is a fulfillment of Mark 11: 23 and 24.

And this is perfectly natural for any Spirit Filled, faith-filled, Word Believing individual.

The world cannot understand this

Word for Today:  July 7

God told the prophet to dig ditches before the rain came.

He acted out His faith.  And the waters came and filled every ditch in a time of drought.

God told the poor starving widow woman to borrow pots before she had any oil to put in them.  She acted out her faith went out and borrowed pots (not a few) and God filled every one of them with lifesaving oil and saved her life and the life of her son.

Jesus acted out His faith by becoming a suffering, dying servant and God brought Him forth as King of kings and Lord of lords.  If we only acted as if we really believed, people could and would “see” our faith.

Faith with no action is invisible.  Unknown and unnoticed.  And unproductive.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.  Mr 2:5 

We have a choice.  We can believe what we feel or we can believe what the Word says.  When we act out what the Word says instead of what we feel, we become like the Word and unlike the world.

Acting out faith produces visible results.  Remember Mark 11:23 and 24?

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.

 24  That is why I tell you, as to whatever you pray and make request for, if you believe that you have received it it shall be yours. (Weymouth NT  Trans)

Acting out faith is acting as if our answer has already come.

Most are still hoping and praying and wishing and seeking and weeping and repenting and begging and pleading… when the real need is to act as if what we are believing for has already become ours.

Our body may tell us it is not here.  Our circumstances may tell us it is not here.  Our friends and relatives may tell us it is not here.  Our budget may say it is not here.  The devil will say it’s not here…. BUT

I choose to believe what the Word says

Word for Today:  July 6

Our faith is no faith if we are not acting it out.

We can testify about our “great faith” but if us are not acting it out in our daily living, our faith is not great… it is just not.  The Bible says that faith without corresponding action is dead.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Jas 2:20 

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Jas 2:26 

Acting out faith is moving out of the realm of hoping and praying and thinking and reasoning.  Acting out faith is doing what the Word says we can do.  Acting out faith is taking what the Bible says is ours.   Acting out faith is refusing to do what our flesh tells us to do when it contradicts the Word.  Acting out faith is acting like we have what we are believing for before we actually get it.

Years ago, I flew my Chevrolet Malibu for two years before it became an airplane.  I would increase the speed to lift off speed and pull back on the wheel and see and feel by faith what it would be like when that airplane manifested.  And it did.  A Cessna 206.  With all the bells and whistles.

Just like God said it would.  And it did.

I walked in my “imaginary” house (2 story, 5 bedroom, 3 bath and double carport on acreage) before I walked in my “real” house that God manifested by His Word…. I wrote down what I wanted and carried it on a sheet of paper in my wallet for months and months and looked at it every time I took my wallet out.  It manifested.

Just like God said it would.

I preached from a flat-bed truck trailer on a piece of land we needed for a new auditorium.  I called it ours.  I named it and called it and spoke to it and acted it out.  A year later I was preaching from a new pulpit in our new auditorium on the land we preached on in faith.

Acting out faith is called foolishness by the world.   But it is called obedience by God.  And when we prove to God and to the world that we really believe by acting out faith before the manifestation of the Fact….

We please our Heavenly Father and we receive what we believe for.

Just like God said we would

Word for Today:  July 5

Words are carriers.

We speak words and the words we say become carriers.  When our words agree with God’s Word they will carry God’s Power with them.  When our words agree with the negative world system, they will carry the power of the world system with them.

If we could ever learn to talk right, speak the Word and only what the Word says instead of what we see and feel and think, we could experience a radical transformation in our situations and circumstances.

The Devil and his demons must submit to the Word of God that we speak.  When we come to see that all the death stuff that is happening to us is caused by the devil and his demons and then get a real revelation of the Power of the Word of God we will be on the road to recovery.  We will be positioned to change things in us and around us.

But as long as we set our tongue in agreement with death, we will have what we say.

We can Search out and find those God Words that contradict our particular problem.  They are in the Bible…. Find them!   If we are sick, look up scriptures about healing.  If we are afraid and depressed, look up scriptures that promise peace and assurance.    If we are struggling financially, look up scriptures that promise God’s provision for us.  If we are held captive by habit or addiction, look up scriptures that promise us deliverance and freedom.  Then we make those scriptures a vital and strategic part of our language.  We begin to articulate audibly and forcefully with our mouth what God has already said about us in His Word.

When we do this, we will begin to see immediate changes.  God honors His Word above His Name.  God sends His Word to accomplish and create His purposes.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish (create) that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa 55:11  

Word for Today:  July 4

From the hearts of fifty-two framers of the Constitution, flowed the documents and structures which formed the foundations for this great nation: The United States of America.

“Of all the writings of the founders of our country, 94 percent either directly or indirectly cited the Bible.

In September 1774, the First Continental Congress opened its initial session with prayer.  Psalm 35 was read aloud:  “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation… awake and rise to my defense!  Contend for me my God and Lord…”

George Washington often spent hours in prayer without interruption.  In his prayer book, he wrote:  “Direct my thoughts, words, and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit…  Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ…”

In his dying words, Alexander Hamilton, signer of the Constitution, spoke of his faith in Jesus Christ.  “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am a sinner.  I look to Him for mercy.”

Samuel Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, declared:  “First of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it… relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins…”

81 year-old Benjamin Franklin speaking at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 said:  “I have lived long, Sir, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable than an empire can rise without His aid?  We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.’  I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without this concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”

Where did these Men Come From?  What gave rise to such character and such confidence and such faith in God?  How did these men and women develop into such Champions of Liberty and Democracy?  I tell you, they came from Christian, Bible-believing, God-honoring, morally pure families.

They were Believers