dickbraswell

Word for Today:  August 31

The world will never understand a spiritually minded believer.

We simply believe what the Word says about who we are, what we have and what we can do.

• The Word says we are kings and priests. Therefore, we act like kings and priests.
• The Word says we are healed and not sick. Therefore, we act like we are healed.
• The Word says we are the head and not the tail. Therefore, we act like we are the head.
• The Word says we are above and not beneath. Therefore, we act like we are above our circumstances and situations.
• The Word says we are rich and not poor. Therefore, we act like we are rich.
• The Word says we are more than a conqueror. Therefore, we act like overcoming conquerors.
• The Word says we can do all things through Christ and nothing shall be impossible to us. Therefore, we act like nothing will ever be impossible for us.

We have the courage and the faith to attempt the impossible, see the invisible and obtain the supernatural.

Word for Today: August 30

Attitude.

Notice the attitude of those gathered in the Upper Room in Acts chapter 2:

FIRST:  They were serious about God.  They were serious about Church.  They were serious about Spiritual Things.  They were not playing games or pretending.  They were committed.

SECOND:  They were praying.  They were believing.  They were expecting.

THIRD:  They loved each other, forgave one another and were together in unity.  Petty differences were forgotten.  The playing field was level.

FOURTH:  They wanted IT.  They wanted fire from heaven.  They wanted revival.  They wanted God and all that God had for them.

FIFTH:  They were “In one accord…”   They were not arguing doctrine or comparing spiritual gifts.  They were not competing for attention or envious of others.

SIXTH:  They were filled with praise and thanksgiving to God.  They were unashamed and bold.  They were not intimidated and they were not shy.  They were not embarrassed about the Holy Ghost.

FINALLY:  They were not going to quit until they got it and until the whole world was touched.

What we are content  with determines what God can do in us.

Dissatisfaction leads to greater possibilities

Word for Today:  August 29

We are under a Divine Mandate from Heaven to get with it or get out of it.

We are not on a vacation and we are not seeking a blessing… We are not striving to get God to do something for us.  Folks….it is harvest time.

We do not need squatters or homesteaders.  We need goers and doers and givers and pray-ers…. We need laborers because it is harvest time.

What is it going to take to bring Revival to the Church?  What are the prerequisites for a Spiritual Renaissance… an Awakening?

Do we have to bottom out before we get up?  Are we so slow that IT must happen everywhere else before IT happens to us?

• We have built nice buildings, but this didn’t work.
• We have upgraded and acquired the latest and most sophisticated technology.  Didn’t work.
• We have established great programs, but this didn’t work.
• We have brought in outstanding “world-class” preachers and evangelists and teachers, but this didn’t work.
• We have hired world-class staff members and revolutionized our “worship” and music.
• We have established educational programs and Bible Institutes and recreational projects and we have preached on TV and Radio, we have published books and pamphlets, but none of these have really produced New Testament Results.
• We have promoted, organized, educated and funded but this didn’t work.

What will it take?  I’ll tell you what it’s going to take.

• It is going to take hungering and thirsting for God.  It is going to take passion and desperation.
• It is going to take seeking God and searching our hearts.
• It is going to take rearranging our priorities.
• It is going to take repentance and humility.
• It is going to take praying and forgiving.
• It is going to take loving.
• It is going to take a divine visitation from God.
• It is going to take a Holy Spirit Out-Pouring.
• It is going to take a Pentecostal renewal.

Only God can do what must be done to wake up the Body of Christ.  And when we make our Move

God will make His.

Word for Today:  August 28

Jesus Paid it All.

The devil and all demon powers are forever dethroned and defeated.  At the fall of Adam, satan gained control and dominion over all the earth.  At the Resurrection of Jesus,  satan was factually and actually dethroned and defeated.   he is stripped of all his power and authority.  Relegated to the role as the mother of all losers.

The Resurrection of Jesus was and is the final proof of satan’s downfall and defeat.  Because Jesus lives… sickness, sin, defeat, sorrow, death, sadness are all forever conquered.  We (Believers) have been redeemed from satan’s dominion and we have legally become the masters and rulers of satan and all his demons.  We have power over the devil because Jesus rose from the dead.  We can cast out devils. We can heal the sick.  We can call things that “be not” not as though they were.  We can overcome poverty and distress and pain and need.  Because Jesus is alive… we are filled with Resurrection Life.

There will be no judgment for us like it was for Jesus.  God will not forsake us.   For us there will be no Cross… no crown of thorns… no separation from God… no suffering in hell… no guilt and no condemnation.

Jesus paid it all… All to Him I owe…Sin had left a crimson stain… He washed it white as snow

Elvina M. Hall  1865

Word for Today: August 27

We have no right to call ourselves something we are not.

If we are calling ourselves “Church” then let’s be the Church.  If we say we are “going to Church” then let’s have Church.    If we are not willing to be the church let’s close the doors and do something else.

If I understand what Church is, Real Church cannot and will not be ignored.

Church is too alive to go disregarded by the world.

• We have been crippled by “organized religion.”
• We have been entertained and educated, fed and socialized.
• We have been patronized and petted.
• We have been disgraced by thieves who call themselves spiritual leaders.
• We have been nice and sweet and wimpy in matters concerning hell, the devil and demons as well as Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Manifestations.

Many have been so intent on preserving “order” until every service is controlled and computerized and God is not even given a chance.

Many services have become stereotyped.  Preaching has become professional.  Service time has become show time.  Where is God?  Where is His Power? Where are those who will not let up until they touch the Hem of His Garment?

Selfishness, pride, the lust for power, the love of money and the desire to be seen of men have poisoned good preachers and turned them into false prophets.

Because the church has not been the church, the masses have continually been deceived.   We need some “Ananias and Saphirra meetings.”  We need some “sons of Sceva” services.  We need to shake and quake at the awesomeness of God and fear lest we offend Him.

As I look at the Book of Acts and consider the birth, development and growth of the New Testament Church, I have had to re-evaluate what we are, what we are doing and how and why we are doing it.

“Church” is not church if it falls short of the Acts 2 pattern…

Word for Today:  August 26

Paying the price.

Elisha paid the price.  He met the condition.  He did what he had to do in order to receive his Double Portion.  (2Kings 2:9)  I believe you want to do this, too.  Because this is the one most important thing in your life.  Whatever it takes, you will be willing to do.  Forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forth to those things that are before… you will pay the price.

It may require some purging.  So, get rid of sin.  Get rid of wrong attitudes.  Get rid slothfulness.  Get rid of criticism.  Get rid of jealousy.  Get rid of greed.  Get rid of lust and loose morals.  Get rid of connections and relationships that pull you down.  Get rid of doubt and unbelief.

When you pay the price you will move into a New Place in God.  There are more than likely only one or two main obstacles that stand between you and your Double Portion.  Identify them.  Deal with them.

You know what you must do.  Resolve to do it.  Take the initiative.  Put it behind you.  Put it under your feet.  Put it out of the way.

Nothing is worth missing the Double Portion.  And the best time to start is

RIGHT NOW

Word for Today:  August 25

They may be in the Far Country.

But they Remember.  Just like the prodigal son… they remember how good it was to be in Father’s House.  What they have tasted they can never forget.  And they will return.   You know some of them.  They may a part of your family.

As this universal Pull of the Holy Ghost covers the earth… they will come home.  Again.

What they want the world cannot satisfy.  The flesh is too shallow.  The pleasure is too temporal.  The peace is too fleeting.  There is unrest.  There is dissatisfaction.  There is turmoil in the soul.  There is unhappiness and stress and anxiety.  And hunger for Something Real.

The backslider will come home.  The wayward will return.  The prodigal will “come to himself” and return to Father’s House.

And we will celebrate

Word for Today:  August 24

More.

The reason for our existence is coming into focus.  In this time of His Visitation, it is purposed that the Body of Christ Glorify God.  The Church is being drawn into His Very Glory.

There is a new intensity in the Body of Christ.  A new determination.  A new diligence.  A new resolve.  I have never seen so many with such a sharp focus and such a determined objective.  To Know Him.  To come into His Glory.   There is a quest in the Body of Christ to come into The Glory and accomplish the purpose of our Redemption.

The powers of darkness are screaming to distract us.  The forces around us are vying for our attention.  The noise is loud.  The sights are glittering.  The temptations are real.  And strong.  But we will not turn aside.  We will not be distracted.  We will not be lured away from what and where God is calling us.

We have tasted and discovered that the Lord is Good.  We want what He has to offer.  We know what it is.  It is a double portion.  It has been good but we want more.  It has been wonderful but it is not enough.  More.  We want more.  More of God.  More of Jesus.  More of the Holy Ghost.  More Word.  More anointing.  More Revelation.  More Power.  More Love.   To be more like Jesus.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.   2Co 3:18

“I want more of Jesus, more and more and more, I want more of Jesus than I’ve ever had before…I want more of Jesus, full and fresh and free, I want more of Jesus, so I’ll give Him more of me.”     The Cameron Singers

Do you want MORE?

Word for Today:  August 23

It’s up to you.

You are Born Again to release God’s power into the earth.  It is up to you and up to me.  It is up to the church.  The Power of God will not prevail in the earth until and unless we release it.  And it will not happen unless we make it happen.   It will not come out of the Church until it comes out of you.   All of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the Sons of God.

For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Rom. 8:19

Nothing is too hard for God and God lives in you.   The Bible says that with God all things are possible.  Paul wrote that:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me… 

The Word declares that if “You can believe (have the God-kind of faith) all things are possible to him that believeth…”  Mark 9.

When we got saved, God made a Divine Deposit in us.  Our body became the Temple of the Holy Ghost.  We are no longer our own because we were bought with a price…  We are to glorify God with our bodies.  We are Born Again to release the Power of God into the earth.

God is calling us to be channels of His Power.  We are the only restraining force holding back all the relentless powers of darkness that are poised to overthrow every kingdom and nation.

Why is it that atrocities such as those that are widespread in other parts of the world are not happening here in America?  Because we are called to be the nation from which God will demonstrate His power on earth.

God has sovereignly raised up this nation to release His Power into the Human Race.  And

It starts with you and with me

Word for Today:  August 22

Rivers.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38

We should come together at ministry time with the Stream Flowing.   Most come to Church to get filled.  They are already dry and empty.  They have been drained by the demands of the unbelieving world and the constant constraints of the enemy.  They come in need.

This is not bad, but it is not the Best.  To come filled up is better.  Filled up and running over.  Can you imagine what kind of a service we would have if everybody came filled up and running over?  No need to get “worked up.”  No need to get “pumped up.”  Coming in as a Mighty Stream.  A Rushing River.  Men and women and young people and children with Rivers of Living water gushing out of their inner beings.  What a gathering!

The Stream is the Anointing.  The Anointing is the continual pouring forth of the Holy Ghost.   It is the One Thing Needed most.  In the Church.  In the Pulpit.  In the Choir loft.  In the Musician.   In the Body of Christ.

I must tell you, the Anointing in my life is essential.  Without the anointing, I have nothing, I can do nothing, I am nothing and I have no desire to live.  The Anointing… the Stream of Living Water… is the most important thing in my Life.  It is Jesus flowing out of me in Power and Compassion.

My prayer is that I might see with the Eyes of God.  Feel with the Heart of Jesus.   Minister with the Mind of Christ.  Flow with the Power of the Holy Ghost.

Without this, I am nothing.  The ministry is nothing.  And I will accomplish nothing.

Neither will you