dickbraswell

Do you know that the miracle power of God dwells in you if you are a born again believer?  Imagine… the Miracle Power of God!   You say, “Bro. Dick, if I’ve got it where is it?  I don’t see miracles in my life, and I sure don’t feel very powerful.”

What I want to share with you from the Word of God is how to get that miracle power operating in your home, in your business, in your prayer life, and in every nook and cranny of your total existence. 

The first step, the first key, to unlocking this miracle power is realizing that it is actually there. 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2Cor 5:17 

          This is the first step, the basis, the foundation;  this is where we begin as we realize and understand that we are new creations in Christ.  We are not natural, we are supernatural.  We are not carnal, we are spiritual. 

          Who is this “real you?”  What is this “real you” like?  What is this “real you” capable of?  When I look in the mirror, what  and who I see is not the real Dick Braswell.  Oh, the real Dick Braswell is something else!  No grey hair.  No wrinkled face.  Young.  Handsome.  Big muscles.  A Mighty Man!  Devils tremble when he walks into their presence.  He is a perfect man.  He looks like God.  He talks like God.  He acts like God and when he walks into the room the devil thinks that God has arrived.  That, friend, is the REAL ME.  The real me is not getting older, he is getting better.  The real me will never die.  The real me is the New Creation Man. 

Understanding this truth is absolute basic to releasing Miracle Power.  It is necessary for you to get this in your spirit.  You must know that the person that is really you is a New Creation in Christ; a new man who is made in the image of God.   A new man who is perfect and complete.  A new man with powerful forces inside that is literally straining to get out.  There are energies and powers inside of the New Creation Man that are just waiting to be released.  When these forces are released that are contained inside your spirit you become a Miracle Worker. 

The seed for the supernatural is inside of you right now.  The potential to produce the impossible is in you at this very moment!  It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are.  It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman.  Race, culture, personality, demeanor, or environment does not matter.  Miracle working power and God-authority resides in you today.

Let’s consider four forces that operate in the recreated human spirit.  They are zoe (the God-kind of life); dunamis (the ability or power of God); exousia (the authority of God); and the rhema (the revealed Word of God).  Here are Life, Power, Authority and Word and they are all inside of you right now.  When you  learn how to release these forces you are enabled to release Miracle Power. 

When you were born again, these forces were born inside of you.  And something else happened.  You came under the authority and operating principle of a New Law.  You instantly were placed under the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and that Law nullified the Law of Sin and Death!

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  Rom 8:2

          Natural Man (carnal man) as well as the natural world, all is controlled by the Law of Sin and Death.  The NEW MAN (spiritual man… those who are born again) lives by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.  However, no law is any good unless there is a power behind it that can enforce it.   You can talk about that law.  You can legislate that law.  You can enact that law and document it.  But if it does not have force and power behind it, it is no good; it’s not worth the paper it is written on.

The Law of Life

          Every society that succeeds must have laws that govern it.  However, those laws are ineffective and invalid if they are not enforced by some Authority and Power.  Laws are enforced by police, by state troopers, the national guard and other governing agencies that have been given authority and power to see that those laws are kept and honored.  And if those under that law are do not obey and comply, they will face certain unpleasant consequences. 

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is enforced by the four powers that operate in the recreated human spirit:  Life, Power, Authority and the Word of God.  These forces activate the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.  

You are not helpless.  You are not weak.  You are not insecure. You are not alienated.  In fact, you are a Joint Heir with Christ.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint–heirs with Christ…  Ro 8:17  

          God has bequeathed to you the ability to activate and release miracle working power.  He had given you the power to enforce the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ and to receive and enjoy victorious, successful Christian living.  When you activate and operate the forces within you will conquer every devil and overcome every obstacle.  You will be enabled to live under the control of the Law of Life.  You can resist sickness and disease.  You will overcome fear and discouragement.  You will win every battle and defeat every enemy.  You will experience Life as the head and not the tail, as above only and not beneath, as the strong and not the weak, as the well and not the sick, as the rich and not the poor, and as more that a conqueror in every circumstance and situation the devil may send your way.  You will be an Overcomer!  And the powers of darkness will fear and tremble in your presence!!

Decide to Change

          The first thing to do in order to release miracle power and Live by the Law of the Spirit of Life, is simply to decide to do something about your present situation.  If you are unhappy with where you are and what the devil has done to you, then decide right now to do something about it!

Everything you have ever done has been the result of a decision you made.  Decide to get mad at the devil and to put a stop to his tormenting tactics.  Tell him where to go and command him to leave you alone.  Vent your anger toward him because you know what he is trying to do.  He is determined to destroy you, steal from you and kill every dream you have.  Decide.  Do something.  Don’t sit where you are until you die.  (2Kings 7:3). 

If you don’t like what is happening to you, change it!  You are not a victim of your circumstances.  You are a victim of your own indecision.  Decide to get out from under the devil’s attacks.  Release those miracle forces that are inside you.  Decide to activate the power of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus under which you are now living.  Decide to make miracles happen!

Wouldn’t it be great to not be sick?  Or not to suffer from depression and stress?  Or be plagued with worry and dread?  Or overcome by carnal habits and desires?  Then decide to do something about it!  You can and you should. 

Believe God’s Word

          Believe the Bible.  Doubt your doubts and question your questions but believe the Word of God.  Doubt your symptoms and doubt your feelings but believe the Word.  Doubt your reasoning and your assumptions; doubt everything you see and feel in the natural but never doubt the Word of God.  Heaven and earth will pass away and so will all the natural news media, but God’s Word will last forever.  God’s Word is true and changeless and  it  always will be.  Establish this fact in your heart and mind. 

Thank God for the Word!  Thank God for His love and grace!  Thank God for His promises!  As long as you fail to take the Word of God seriously and are satisfied to stay stuck where you are, you will not be able to release Miracle Power. 

However, when you really believe God will your whole heart… with everything that is deep inside you, when you believe it all the time, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year and all the years of your life; when you get up in the morning and declare:  “I believe the Word this morning, I’ll believe it at noon and in the evening; I’ll believe the Word tonight and every time and all the time…”  When you believe on that level, that’s when you are enabled to release Miracle Power!

Renew Your Mind

          So now, you have made a decision to do something.  And you are really believing the Word.   It’s time now to renew you mind.  You are going to move into the place where your mind thinks like the Bible.  You determine to think right.  When you think right, you will  think in line with the Word. The problem is you will more than likely have to reject about 95 percent of the stuff you have believed in the past.  Most of us have been conditioned to live by reasoning, intellect and facts. 

Human reasoning and natural facts will never change.  Intellect would have you believe that facts are right and that facts are real and unchangeable.  But if “it” (facts or assumptions, or previously learned stuff) is not in the Word and in agreement with the Word, it is a lie. 

I don’t (nor you either) have to believe anything that is a lie.  We can “cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.”  (2Cor  10:5)  I do not have to allow  anything in my mind that does not agree with God’s Word.  If a lie tries to get in, we can take authority over it and cast it down… refuse it.  We do not have to entertain information that disagrees with the Word.  A renewed mind (one that has been “washed” by the water of the Word) will discern what is the truth and what is a lie.  A mind that is saturated with Truth will detect any lie immediately.  A renewed mind is one that has been reprogrammed by God’s Word. 

          We will deter and prevent our mind from being renewed if we are ignorant of the Word of God.  A mind that is not renewed (“lack of knowledge”) will cause destruction and defeat.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…  Ho 4:6 

Refuse Compromise

          We all have many opportunities to compromise.   Compromise is interpreting the Word by your circumstances.  Compromise is judging the Word by the world.  The Truth is judging the world (and your circumstances) by the Word.  If your situation does not agree with the Word, you need to change your situation.  Refuse to accept any alternative to what the Word says or decrees.  If you do not understand what is happening or why it is happening, believe the Word.  Instead of questioning God, question your situation.  Analyze the problem, not the Word.  Speak to the problem instead of being upset with the result.  Change the problem by attacking it with the Truth.  Every lie must bow and give in to the Truth.

Stick with the Bible.  Never back down.  Refuse to compromise.  Resist the temptation to ease up or let up.  Keep the pressure on the devil.  When you use the Word as your weapon, you are guaranteed success and victory.  The battle is the Lord’s and the Victory is ours.  If your situation or circumstance does not agree with the Word, it is obvious that it is in agreement with the devil.   Since the Truth is the opposite of the lie… when Satan says we will die (a lie),  then we are certainly going to live (the Truth)

Cooperate With God

          Agree with God and God’s Word.  Search for and discover what God wants for you and then line up your wants with His Wants.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Lu 12:32 

          God wants to give us the Kingdom.  If He wants to give me the kingdom, then that’s what I want to get.  I’m going to line up my desires with God’s desires and so there will be two in agreement.  The Word promises that where there are two in agreement on earth as touching anything… It shall be done.

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Mat 18:19 

I had much rather agree with God that with the devil,  hadn’t you?  I’d rather agree with God than with NBC or CNN or the newspaper, hadn’t you?  I had rather agree with God than agree with how I feel or what I see or what I think.  Therefore, I am going to cooperate with God and set my desires in line with Him and what He wants. 

Since He wants me to be well instead of sick, I want to be well, too.  And I’m going to be will because that is what God wants for me.  God wants all of my needs to be met.  Since He wants all my needs to be met, I want them met as well.  Therefore, all my needs will be met today according to His riches in glory  (Phil 4:19).  All my bills are paid.  All my debts are cancelled.  I have more than enough and lots left over.

I will walk in the high places of the earth and will always be the lender and not the borrower.  I know that the wealth of the sinner has been laid up for me and my seed (Prov 13:22).  I am cooperating with God and in total agreement with Him.  Hallelujah.

Frame the Word

          Frame Word in your heart.  In Hebrews, the Word says: “the worlds were framed by the Word of God.”   (Heb 11:3)  Also in Hebrews, the Bible declares:  “faith is the substance of things hoped for…” (Heb 11:1) 

Before God spoke the worlds into existence He had a mental picture or image what they would be like.  The “frame” of His faith was inside Him and He opened His mouth and spoke the Word by faith, the worlds were created.  He had “framed” that in His heart before He spoke it with His mouth. 

Hope is the “framework” that creates our “faith image” or picture of what we are believing for.  Frame the Word in your heart.  Picture yourself as you are pictured in the Word.  Do not see yourself as weak.  Or sick.  Or poor.  Or depressed.    Instead, see yourself as God sees you and as the Word says you are.  God’s does not see “an old sinner saved by Grace…”  He doesn’t see some poor saint crawling, hanging on by his fingernails, trying desperately to get to glory.  When He sees you, He sees Jesus!  You are in the process of being conformed into His exact Image and God sees the “finished product.”  You need to see yourself that way as well.  See yourself healed and not sick.  See yourself successful and out of debt.  See yourself living and not dying.  Frame God’s Word and what It says in your heart. 

Have you been believing for something for a long time?  I want you to frame that thing in your spirit right now.  I want you to see it with your faith eyes.  Faith has eyes.  We walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor 5:7).  Frame that picture of what God can make you.  Frame that picture of what you are believing for God to bring you into.  See that with your faith eyes as it is framed in your inner man. 

Carry your picture with you wherever you go.  The Word says that this is your hope of things not seen (in the natural) and this is the foundation for your faith.  Before long, what you see is what you will get!  Frame it.  See it.  And soon you will have it.

Say What God Says

          Don’t talk about your problem.  Don’t talk about your weakness.  Don’t talk about your symptoms.  Don’t talk about “how long it’s been.”  Don’t talk about what others are saying or what they have said.  Don’t talk about what happened twenty years ago when all hell broke loose.  Don’t talk negatively.  Don’t talk doubt.   Don’t talk pessimistically.  Instead, talk the Word.  Say what God says.  Control your tongue and speak the Word.

The Bible says the Word is “nigh” or near you and even in your mouth… (Rom10:8)  When your friends see you coming they ought to say,  “My Lord! Here comes the Bible.”  The only thing that distinguishes you from the Word is that you haven’t got black leather covers all around you. 

Don’t talk to God about your problems (He knows about them already), talk to your problems about God.  Don’t tell others how bad things are, tell the bad things how great God is.  What does the Word say about the situation?  That’s really all that matters anyway.  If something tries to come out of your mouth that’s not Word, slap yourself and tell yourself to shut up. 

          Words you speak will either generate life or bring about death.  Words are seeds.  What you say is what you sow  What you sow is what you grow.  What you grow is what you get.  What you get is either life or death. 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue…  Pr 18:21 

Resist All Else

          Actively resist anything and everything that is not in agreement with the Word of God.  If it contradicts or disagrees with the Word, cast it off.  If the devil comes in to unload his lies on you tell him, “No thank you, devil, you can’t deliver your lies here.  It does not belong to me because I am a New Creation in Christ.  Inside of me there resides the Life of God, the Power of God, the Authority of God and the Word of God.”

“I am living by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.  You cannot unload your trash at my house and you can’t put it on my children or my finances.  Go on down the

road and find somebody who is not as smart as I am…”

Stay Mad at the Devil

          Get mad and stay mad at the devil.  Talk to him.  Command him.  Boss him around.  Sit him down and have a Bible study with him.  Make him do what you say.  Torment him like Jesus did (Mat 8:29).  Make him plead with you to leave him alone.  Yell at him.  Scream at him.  Shake the Bible in his face.  You are probably asking:  “What will the neighbors think?  How will they feel about this?”  Well, they are more than likely thinking it already.  That could be why the house near you is up for sale!  Just get mad at the devil.  Don’t be nice to him… he’s surely not nice to you or to anybody else. 

Jesus said that the works He did we would do also and even greater works (John 14:12).  When you confront demons they ought to react to you just like they did to Jesus.  You have the Life, the Power, the Authority and the Word of God to make the devil submit to you.

Rejoice

          Keep your heart filled with thanksgiving and praise at all times and in all situations.  Don’t give in to depression and  heaviness.  Don’t surrender to sadness and worry.  Above never fall into the trap of self-pity.  Don’t feel sorry for yourself.  Don’t gripe and complain.  Remember all fear and worry disgraces every promise of God.

If anybody has a right to shout and rejoice, you do.  You have no right to doubt and grumble and live in depression.  Praise God all the time.  Live in the atmosphere of joy and gladness.  Sing and dance.  Clap your hands and give honor and praise to God.  March and run and jump if you have to.  It doesn’t embarrass God if you get a little radical.  It will terrify the devil and all the demons he sends your way. 

You can release Miracle Power.  Miracle Power is right inside you and it’s inside you right now.  I challenge you to follow these simple instructions and begin to make miracles happen all around you, your family, your business, your finances, and your neighborhood. 

God has given you His Life, His Power, His Authority, and His Word.  He has deposited these life-changing forces inside of every believer.  Now, it is up to YOU to release this MIRACLE POWER and the time for you to begin releasing it is RIGHT NOW!!

Word for Today:  October 25

_{Be strong and courageous.} 

_{Being strong is a decision you make.  You decide to be strong.  You decide to be weak.  You decide how you are going to be in life.  It is really up to you.  You do not wait to get strong… you “be strong!”  It is a choice and decision you make.} 

_{God is saying to us:  Be strong.  Don’t be weak.  Strong in faith.  Strong in the stand you take.  Strong in the Word.  Strong in your calling.  Paul commands us to “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might…”} 

_{You can be strong or you can be weak.  Strong is better!  Strong wards off hell.  Strong defeats the devil.  Strong believes the Truth.  Strong refuses the lie.  Strong never fears.  Strong stands!}  

_{Courageous is Alert, Steadfast, Established, Prevailing, Obstinate…  It is to be “on foot” and alert.  It means to be awake and not asleep! It means to be ready!}

_{Do you have the courage to do something about your situation?  Do you have the courage to challenge hell over your family?  Your marriage?  Your finances?  Your health?  How much courage do you have?  God commands us to be courageous.  Courage is the opposite of fear.  It is boldness and assertiveness.  It is refusing to stand still and watch the devil devour your possessions.  It means to launch an attack!  It means to be aggressive.  It means to be offensive.  It means to run into the battle!}    

_{Do not look at the size of the enemy.}

_{Look at the size of the prize} 

          God has a purpose.  God has an ETERNAL PURPOSE.  Everything God does He does “on pur­pose” and “for a purpose.”  Nothing that God has ever done was done “by accident.”  God has a Plan and God has a Purpose.  We are in His unfolding Plan.  This earth is in His unfolding Plan.  The Church is in His unfolding Plan.  YOU are in His unfolding Plan. We need to understand and know that This Eternal Purpose of God WILL TAKE  PLACE.  

 No man can stop it.  No de­mon can stop it.  No nation can stop it.  No government can stop it.  The devil can’t stop it.  Hell cannot stop it.  It WILL HAPPEN.   We need to understand that God has an eternal purpose for us. When we discover exactly what that purpose is, and it be­comes a revelation to us, we will be able to Reign in Life.

          Paul writes concerning the Eternal Purpose of God in the Book of Ephesians.    God has never had but one purpose.  That purpose has been and still is an Eternal Purpose.  While most of the world is caught up in the tem­poral, the transient, the carnal and the nat­ural… God is looking at the Eternal, the Spiritual and the Su­pernatural.

 All Creation is anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of the Eternal Purpose of God.  Angels and spirit be­ings and heaven is anxiously awaiting the fulfill­ment of the Eternal Purpose of God. 

          I want to know what God’s purpose is for me.  I want you to know what God’s purpose is for you.  We were born for a purpose and we were brought into the Kingdom for a purpose.  We are alive today and we are here today for a purpose.  We  are in His church for a purpose.  We are where we are spiritually for a purpose. 

We will discover this truth if we will pay close attention to this teaching.  We will know it and we will rejoice in it because it is good.  It is better than we can imagine.  And when we discover God’s Purpose we can pur­pose to do the same thing.  This places us in agree­ment with God.  When we are in agreement with God we are au­tomatically in dis­agreement with the devil. 

When our purpose is the same as God’s purpose we have all the power of heaven working with us. When our purpose is the same as God’s purpose, we are hooked up to heaven and plugged into Miracle Power.  We are, in effect, walking with God.  When we walk with God we are in agree­ment with Him and when we are in agreement with Him we can “ask what we will and it shall be done unto us.”   John 15:7. 

When we are in agreement with God it keeps us in the place of authority and power and control.  It gives us strength to do what needs to be done.  This is ex­actly what Paul meant when he said:  “now unto Him who is able to do exceed­ing abundantly above all that we ask or think ac­cording to the power that worketh in us.”   (Eph  3:20.)  The “power that worketh in us” is the Power of Heaven that is re­leased when we walk in agreement with the Eternal Purpose of God.  When we do this, we are Reigning in Life.

          There are four areas we want to explore. We want to explore and discover (1) God’s Eternal Purpose for Man, (2) God’s Eternal Purpose for the Church, (3) God’s Eternal Purpose for the Earth and (4) God’s Eternal Purpose for Eternity. 

God’s Eternal Purpose for Man

          God’s heart has never changed.

His heart has al­ways been inclined toward man.  It is now and it always has been.  Man  was originally created in order for God to have a family.  God wanted companionship.  God wanted fellowship.  God wanted relationship.  God wanted a family so that He can love them and care for them. God wanted to have a family to love and to bless and to keep unto Himself.   God wants to have children that will re­cipro­cate His love.  God is Love, God loves and God wants to be loved. 

Do you realize that God made the heavens solely for the benefit of earth? Do you know that God made the earth solely for the benefit of man?  Can you believe that God created all ani­mal life and plant life solely for our benefit?  Everything and all things that God cre­ated by His power,  were and are created for the benefit of man.     And God made man for Himself.  

All of creation is designed to sustain human life.  Scientists are now be­ginning to recognize that the entire universe has been created and calibrated to support and sustain human life. The original Plan God had is still the same.  It is the Eternal Purpose of God for man.  Even though Satan en­tered and Adam sinned and death was brought into the earth, God has Eternally Purposed for Man to be His Own.  The Bible says that “God is not willing that any should perish  (lose, be defeated, be lost),  but that all should come to repentance…”  2 Peter 3:9.   

Now, how does man come into the family of God?  Man becomes a child of God only through the NEW BIRTH.  Therefore, we may conclude that God’s Eternal Purpose for man is FIRST that man might be Saved. 

God’s Eternal Purpose is for Every Man to be Born Again   

God wants the entire human race to be birthed into His family.  God purposes for man to be saved.   Potentially, the entire human race (both born and un­born) was redeemed from sin when Jesus died on the cross.  

What is in­volved in salvation?  God has a part and man has a part.  God’s part is called REGENERATION and man’s part is called REPENTANCE.  When we re­pent of our sin and believe in our heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and then when we openly and unashamedly confess our heart-be­lief, we are BORN AGAIN. 

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Ro 10:9 

At the precise time of our New Birth, God impregnates us with His Life and we are given eternal life. God’s Life comes into us along with all of God’s Characteristics and we become the Sons of God.

But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the Sons of God… John 1:12. 

God’s Life comes into us, His Power comes into us, His Authority comes into us, His Love comes into us, His Faith comes into us, and His Very Nature comes into us.  We are instantly made “in the image” of God.  We  are conformed to the Image of Jesus Christ, God’s First-Begotten.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did pre­destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Rom. 8:29   

God’s Eternal Purpose is that Every Man enjoy Divine Health 

God wants us healed.  God wants us well.  If we are sick, we are outside the will of God.  It is the purpose and intent of Almighty God that we get healed, stay healed and walk in Divine Health. 

Sickness is not the will of God.  God does not put sickness on any­body.  God does not use sickness to teach us a lesson. God never employs Satan’s tactics and methods to bring any of His Children “in line.”  Just as God purposes for us to be free from sin’s condemna­tion and guilt and judgment, He also purposes for us to be healed of all sicknesses, diseases and in­firmities.

          Listen to Isaiah 53: 5:  But He (Jesus) 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… 

This Eternal Purpose of God for us is restated in I Peter 2:24: Who His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed…

God wants us well.  God has sent His Word to heal us and he has brought us where we are so that we might discover that His Divine Purpose for us and our seed is that we might be whole.

God’s Eternal Purpose is for all Believers to re­ceive the  Baptism in the Holy Ghost   

This never was intended to be an “option” for the Believer.  It was and is a command.

Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit…   Gal. 5:18.

          The first Believers were Baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

          The Early Church was Baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

          John the Baptist was Filled with the Holy Ghost in his mother’s womb. 

          The Spirit of God came down from heaven in the form of a dove and filled Jesus at His water Baptism. 

Paul was Baptized in the Holy Ghost when Ananias laid hands on him.  When Peter preached to the household of Cornelius the Word declares:

While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word, and they of the cir­cumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God…  Acts 10:44-46. 

          The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is the Eternal Purpose of God for every Believer.  Any church or any denomination or any preacher or any teacher or any pas­tor who refuses or neglects to teach this truth is guilty of violating the ETERNAL PURPOSE of GOD. 

Every Believer needs the bap­tism.  It is essen­tial for effective Spiritual Warfare.  It is essential for tapping into Heaven’s power.  It is essen­tial for ef­fective praying.  It is essential for moving into the supernatural…. It is the Eternal Purpose of God for every Believer to be Baptized in the Holy Ghost.

It is the Eternal Purpose of God for Every Believer to be Free from Sin’s Control 

We need to know that God wants us to live free from sin’s do­minion.  It is His pur­pose for us to totally free from anything and all things that Satan designs against us.  The Bible declares that  sin shall not have do­minion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace…   Romans 6:14. 

We do not have to live under the control and dominion of the devil.  If he is manipulating us and our family and our marriage and our finances and our mind and emo­tions, we are missing the Eternal Purpose of God for us.  Jesus has defeated the devil once and for all and we do not have to sin. 

We do not have to live controlled by the devil or the devices of the devil.  Jesus came to set us free and He did. If we have gone back into bondage, I have good news…. we do not have to stay there. We can, with God’s help and by the promise of His Word, be FREE right now.  And we can stay free once we get free. 

God’s Eternal Purpose for us is for us to be free from sin’s control and do­minion…. If you are tired of being controlled and manipulated by the devil, you can decide to do something about it.  When you are ready to be free, God has given you the power and authority to get free.  It’s not up to God… it’s up to you!

It is the Eternal Purpose of God for us to Reign in Life 

That is what this book is about.  This means that God purposes for you and me to be in charge…. for us to live in and walk in suc­cess and prosperity.   It is God’s Purpose for every believer to ride in the high places of the earth.

Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth…   Isa 58:14 

When we were born again, we were born into a Kingdom of success and power.  We have been given all the information (in the Word) we need to live in success and prosperity.  We have been challenged to move into the dimension of the Kingdom of God where we are the head and not the tail… above and not beneath… blessed and not cursed… strong and not weak…. well and not sick… glad and not sad…  rich and not poor… where we live the life of a Conqueror. 

God wants us taking back what Satan has stolen.  God wants us treading on the head of the serpent.  God wants us to kill our giant and move into our promised land. God pur­poses that we reign in life… no matter who we are, where we are, how old we are, how educated or uneducated we are…. it is written in the changeless and eternal Word that God has plans for our suc­cess and pros­perity. 

God wants to use us to finance Kingdom Work.  God wants to show­case us as the blessed because of our obedience.  It is the Eternal Purpose of God for every Believer to live in and en­joy heaven’s blessings on earth while they live and be­fore they die.   Do you want this?  Are you will­ing to line your life up with the Word of God? Will you walk in obedience to His commands? 

Can you and will you cru­cify your flesh and renew your mind and control your tongue?  Say YES.  Then DO IT.   And DO IT NOW. 

It is the Eternal Purpose of God that you and I take the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Nations of the earth  

The final command and commission Jesus gave the Church was the command to take the Gospel to the nations of the earth.  While we have been looking at communi­ties and cities and states with our vi­sion for evan­gelism… God looks at the Whole World… the Nations of the earth… the kindreds, and tongues, and peoples… the is­lands of the sea and the inhabitants of this planet. 

Some may grow weary of our con­tinual emphasis on missions.  It has been brought to my attention that a few feel that we might be top-heavy with our vision for Lost People in other lands and our commitment to go and teach and preach and plant churches in nations overseas.   I must re­mind you that when our mission vision dries up and our at­ten­tion is focused on us and ours and me and mine and this church only, we are violating the Eternal Purpose of God. 

If we want to live in Divine Providence and Protection and Favor, we must have the heart of God for the Nations of the earth.  God has raised us up to seed the Word into the World… this was spoken to my heart over fifty years ago when we were in the throes of conflict over the Baptism of the Holy Spirit…. God promised me that this church would one day touch the  world with the Word of God.  He promised me that He had set before us an “open door” and no man, move­ment, demon or devil would ever be able to close it. 

He has honored this Word to me and it is presently being ful­filled… we have not entered into the fullest measure of ful­fillment yet, but we are on the way.  Therefore, if you desire the continued blessings of God and Favor of God on you and us… then agree with His Eternal Purpose to take the Gospel to the Nations of the Earth.

It is the Eternal Purpose of God for you and I to pull  down the strongholds of the devil and take back what he has stolen 

In the past, you and I have been royally ripped off by the devil.  We have lived in igno­rance.  We have been poisoned by false teaching.  We have been blinded by reli­gion.  We have been lied to, spied on, deceived, tricked, ripped off and almost ruined by the powers of darkness.  We did not know any better.  We thought what was hap­pening to us was the “will of God”… We did not under­stand spiritual warfare and we did not know about the authority of every believer.  But we know now.  Thank God!   

We are prepared and we are equipped.  We are strong and we are mad.  We are ready to rumble.  It is time to attack.  The devil has thumbed his nose at us, he has taunted us and teased us,  he has invaded sa­cred territory and, with great belligerence, ridiculed the church, the Bible, Believers and the Holy Ghost. 

I say Satan has gravely miscalculated and is now about to be put in his place by a Company of Believers who have had enough.  Enough is enough.  It is time to stop standing still… it is time to attack.  Let’s charge into Satan’s territory and take back what he has illegally taken from you and from me and from the Church.  It is the Eternal Purpose of God for the Church to give the devil hell.  The command to attack has been given and it is a com­mand that will not be ig­nored and must not be dis­obeyed.  

Word for Today:  October 22

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… Gal 5:16.

Right living is a decision.  People choose the way they live.  They can determine what they do, what they say and what they yield to.  The devil has no power to make anyone sin.  Sin and sinful living are the results of decisions and choices that are made.

No temptation is irresistible.  No trial is too much or too great or without a way of escape for the Believer. (1Cor 10:13)  The bottom line is the quality of life you are now living is the direct result of decisions you have made.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace…     Rom 8:5-6

In this hour of compromise and moral failure, decide to live right.  Decide to resist the wrong and embrace that which is good, honorable and right.

It takes no courage to get drunk or smoke dope or pop pills or shoot up.  It takes no talent to be mean, ugly and violent.  But it takes old fashioned backbone and intestinal fortitude to resist the temptations of the flesh and to stand for God and what’s right.

If you want to live and not die… choose to live and choose to live right.   Walk in holiness, purity, honor and integrity.  Determine to present your body to God as a living sacrifice.  (Rom 212:1)   Refuse to hang out with so those who tempt you and lure you do stuff you know is not in the will of God.

Walk in the Spirit.

And you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh

4. His Earthly Ministry   

Jesus’ 33 years of life on earth are part of the Gospel.  The fact that He was born of a virgin, grew up in the home of a carpenter, physically matured into a man and developed an earthly ministry that changed the world is a part of the Gospel. 

He was a real man.  He was a courageous man.  He was a compassionate man.  He dared to challenge a flawed political world, a sinful culture and or­ganized religion.  He revealed the true and real nature of His Heavenly Father.  He was tempted in all the ways we are tempted yet He never sinned.  He could have sinned but He did not.

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmi­ties; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Heb. 4:15   

          This is part of the Gospel.

5.  His Substitutionary Death by Crucifixion.

And being found in fashion as a man, he hum­bled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. 2:8  

 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Col. 1:20   

Blotting out the handwriting of ordi­nances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Col. 2:14   

          The Cross is central to the Gospel.   The Cross of Calvary is Center Stage for all creation and the entire human race.  What happened there is the pivotal point of all history and the foundation for all eternity.  The Cross is more than the death of Jesus at the hands of His enemies.  The Cross is more than the suffer­ing and the horror of such inhuman­ity and torture.

          The Cross involves God.

          The Cross involves Jesus.

          The Cross involves man.

          The Cross involves Satan. 

          At the Cross Jesus became what man is in order that man might become what Jesus is.  What a deal!   

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. 2Cor. 5:21    

          The 22nd Psalm gives us a picture of the physical suffering of Jesus.  This was written ap­proximately a thousand years before Calvary.  Jesus actually quoted portions of this Psalm as He hung on the Cross. 

Psalm 22:

1  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

2  O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

3  But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

4  Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5  They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8  He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9  But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.

10  I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

11 ¶  Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12  Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13  They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17  I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19  But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20  Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21  Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

          Isaiah 53 gives us a picture of the Spiritual Suffering of Jesus. 

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sor­rows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa. 53:3   

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and car­ried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isa. 53:4  

But 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. Isa. 53:5  

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isa. 53:6  

          “Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him and to make Him sick.  He was filled with grief and sick­ness…”  (Isa. 53:10)  Another translation reads:  “He was covered with disease as from a plague…”  There is no escaping the fact that sin and disease are one.   They have a common origin.   But they have two different ways of manifesting themselves, one in the physical body the other in the spiritual.  

On the Cross, His Spirit became totally impregnated with the sin nature of the world and He sank to the low­est depths of Hell according to the 88th Psalm.  “Him who knew no sin, God made to become sin…”   

          The Crucifixion is part of the Gospel.

6.  The three days and three nights He spent  in hell are part of the Gospel.

 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? Eph. 4:9    

He that descended is the same also that as­cended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) Eph. 4:10  

          However, the Work of Redemption was not com­pleted at the Cross.  The Cross is a vital and strategic part of Total Redemption, but there is more.   Colossians 2:15 gives a description of a battle that took place in Hell before Jesus rose from the dead. 

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

          Luke says that Jesus went into the strong man’s house and bound him.  Jesus, by His victory over Death, Hell and the Grave, became Satan’s Master.  According to the Word He spoiled princi­palities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it… (Col 2:15).  “He put to naught the hosts of darkness…”  He par­alyzed their death dealing power. 

When He met John, Jesus said:  “I am he that was dead and be­hold, I am alive forever more, and I have the keys of death and of Hell…”     Jesus conquered Satan and stripped him of his authority and power.  However, Jesus did not conquer Satan for Himself… He con­quered Satan for you and me. It is as though we personally met Satan and con­quered him and stripped him of his authority and stood as master over him.   Think about that. 

          During the three days and nights His body was in the tomb, Jesus not only descended into hell and disarmed and defeated the devil, He also as­cended into Heaven to make a deposit of His Blood on the Heavenly Altar.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. John 20:17   

          This is a part of the Gospel.

7.  His Resurrection and Ascension is a part of the Gospel.  

          Redemption was not fully completed until Jesus arose from the dead and carried His Blood into the Heavenly Holy of Holies, and sprinkled It upon the Mercy Seat (John 20:17). This accomplished Heaven’s Greatest Miracle. 

At this precise point in time, ev­eryone (the entire human race) had Righteousness set to their account.  This gave us (the entire human race) a Legal Right to Eternal Life in the Family of God.  However, this Righteousness does not and will not become appropriated until the individual concerned personally accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.   Eternal Life was put in the bank for ev­ery man and Jesus filled out the check and signed it with His Blood. But each person must individually cash the check.  This is done by and through accepting Jesus personally as Lord and Master.

• His 40-day Post-resurrection ministry is a part of the Gospel. 

          He was “seen alive” by more than five hun­dred people on one occasion after He arose from the grave. 

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins ac­cording to the scriptures; 1Cor. 15:3  

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1Cor. 15:4  

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 1Cor. 15:5   

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 1Cor. 15:6   

After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 1Cor. 15:7   

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 1Cor. 15:8   

          Jesus ministry during the forty days after His Resurrection is a part of the Gospel… right up until the time He was “taken up” from earth into heaven.

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. Acts 1:9  

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Acts 1:10  

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:11  8. His Present-Day Ministry is a part of the Gospel.        

According to the scriptures He “ever liveth to make inter­cession” for those who come to Him in faith.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb. 7:25  

          Jesus is presently fulfilling His ministry as High Priest in heaven.  He represents

the believer before God the Father and officiates as our High Priest.

Now of the things which we have spo­ken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heav­ens; Heb. 8:1  

8. His Future Ministry is a part of the Gospel.

          Jesus IS coming again.  He will return in the clouds to meet the redeemed (both living and dead) in the air.  This is called the Rapture of the Church.   And this is the very next prophetic event to take place.  There are many scriptures that verify this:

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:3  

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Ths. 4:16   

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Ths. 4:17  

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:11  

          Jesus will lead the armies of heaven in the end-time Battle of Armageddon which will over­come the powers of darkness, defeat the devil and establish the Millennial Reign of Christ. 

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Rev. 14:14   

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Rev. 14:15   

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. Rev. 14:16  

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. Rev. 14:17   

And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. Rev. 14:18  

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Rev. 14:19   

And the winepress was trodden with­out the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thou­sand and six hundred furlongs. Rev. 14:20   

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old ser­pent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, Rev. 20:2  

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thou­sand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Rev. 20:3  

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Rev. 20:4   

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resur­rection. Rev. 20:5  

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Rev. 20:6   

          Following the Millennial Reign of Jesus, and the ul­timate defeat of Satan, God will permanently establish His Headquarters on earth in the New Jerusalem.  From there Jesus will rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords throughout eternity.

Revelation chapter 21:

1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 The future ministry of Jesus is a part of the Gospel.

          The sum total of the redeeming work that God wrought through Jesus Christ in behalf of man and cre­ation… past, present and future is the GOSPEL. 

This Gospel is THE POWER OF GOD to those who believe.

Word for Today:  October 21

The Power of death and the Power of life is in your tongue.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue… Prov 18

It matters how you talk.  Choose to “speak the Word only” and speak only what the Word declares.    Confess what God says and not what you feel or how you feel or what others think.

• Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth… Pro 6:2
• The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life… Pro 10:11
• A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth… Pro 12:14
• A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth…. he that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life… Pro 13:3
• A wholesome tongue is a tree of life… Pro 15:4
• A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth… Pro 15:23
• A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. Pro 18:7
• A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue…  Pro 18:20-21.

Words kill or words give life.  Words bring success or words cause failure.  Words initiate healing.  Words make things start or cause things to stop.  Words are carriers.  They bring in and they carry out.

What you say is important.  Your words will imprison you or set you free.

What you say is what you get

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto  salvation to every one that be­lieveth… Rom 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ: for it is God’s power working unto salva­tion (for deliverance from eternal death) to every one who be­lieves with a personal trust and a confi­dent surrender and firm reliance…  Rom 1:16 (Amp)

 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…   Phil. 2:6-8

          Hearing, knowing and acting on the Gospel of Christ is the only way to be totally deliv­ered from death.  If we hear it but do not know it, we will die.  If we hear it and know it but do not act on it we will die. The only way to live is to hear, know and act on the Gospel of Christ. 

          If we are not delivered from death and its conse­quences, we cannot Reign in Life. 

          Most likely, we have all heard the Gospel.  Or at least what we thought was the Gospel. We have been exposed to the Gospel all our lives.  We have lived in its presence and in its preaching.  We have been taught the Gospel.  We have heard it most of our lives, but still many do not really know what the Gospel of Christ is.

The Gospel   is more than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It is more than the “Gospels.”  If we do not know what it is we cannot act on it in faith.  If we cannot act on it in faith, we cannot re­ceive the benefits guaranteed by it.  Ignorance of the Gospel will cause death.  Ignorance of the Gospel will keep us from being delivered. If we are not de­livered, we cannot Reign in Life.

          If we have a real Revelation of the Gospel, (remember what we mean by “revelation”) and when we act on this revelation, we make a connection with heaven. We plug into God.   We tap into the anointing.  We par­take of His Glory. We are deliv­ered from the power and influence of death.  And we stay delivered as long as we continue to act on the Gospel which is the Power of God unto Salvation.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  Ro 1:16 

          Now, just what is the Gospel of Christ which is the Power of God unto Salvation?  The Gospel is the total and complete work of Jesus. The Gospel is all that the Person and Work of Jesus Christ is.  The Gospel is the all-inclusive ministry of Jesus.  It is not just the Bible.  It is a part of the Bible.  It is more than his­tory. The Gospel transcends all time and creation.  It is not just Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It is the sum total of all that God accomplished in Redemption through Jesus Christ.  It is the total work of Jesus. 

And this includes at least the follow­ing:

1. His eternity and pre-existence with the Father.

          There are many Scriptural proofs that Jesus existed eter­nally with the Father before He came to earth as the Son of God.  Jesus did not come into be­ing when He was born in Bethlehem.  Jesus has al­ways been.  He existed in eternity past with God just as He exists now.  He shares the same attributes as God the Father.  Notice these scriptures:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1   

The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:2   

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. Rev. 19:11  

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. Rev. 19:12

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. Rev. 19:13   

And God said, Let usmake man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have do­minion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Gen. 1:26  

• His Work in Creation.

          Jesus worked with God in Creation.  Jesus is the Eternal Word and it is by the Word and through the Word that all things are and were created.  God spoke and when God spoke all creation came out of His Word.  Jesus is that Word.   This is part of the Gospel.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1   

All things were made by him;and with­out him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:3  

3.  His Ministry in the Old Testament.  “The Angel of Yehweh.”

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the foun­tain in the way to Shur. Gen. 16:7  

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself un­der her hands. Gen. 16:9   

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. Gen. 16:10  

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. Gen. 16:11   

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. Gen. 22:11   

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, Gen. 22:15  

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Exod. 3:2  

 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Ps. 34:7  

Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them. Ps. 35:5    

          In each of these instances the “Angel of the LORD” is considered by most Bible scholars to be none other than Jesus Himself.   There are many more occurrences of this term in the Old Testament.

• His Incarnation. 

          The “Kenosis” or “self-emptying” of Jesus that Paul describes in Phil 2:5-11 is part of the Gospel.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Phil. 2:5  

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Phil. 2:6  

But made himself of no reputation, (Kenoo:  to empty, make empty) and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Phil. 2:7  

 And being found in fashion as a man, he hum­bled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. 2:8   

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: Phil. 2:9   

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Phil. 2:10   

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:11    

          What did Jesus “empty Himself” of?  Not His di­vine nature because He continued to be the Son of God.  Not His appearance for He continued to “look” as He did in Heaven.  Not His intention because He left Heaven with the intent and purpose of redeeming man from sin.  He laid down or emptied Himself of His equality with the Father. He gave up His God-Body and put on the body (flesh) of man.   He gave up the glory He shared with the Father in heaven.  He gave up the immortality of His body.  He gave up His authority in heaven.  He gave up His omni­science.  He gave up His omnipresence.  He gave up His omnipotence.

He took upon Himself  human limita­tions of place, knowledge and power.  Yet He was without sin though He was tempted in every way as we are.  He “stripped Himself of the insignia of majesty.”

          Jesus willingly and knowingly “canceled out” His God Qualities and took on the lesser quali­ties of human­ity in order to perfect our redemp­tion.  

He laid down or emptied Himself of: 

• His equality with God. 
• The Glory He shared with the Father in Heaven. 
• His Authority in Heaven
• His Divine attributes and outward pow­ers; His             omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience.  His eternity.  His God form or God body.   His eter­nal presence with the Father. 

          He took on Himself the possibility of sin. 

          He took on Himself the limitations of flesh. 

          He became subject to time, space and the di­men­sional world.

          He took on Himself the possibility of death.

He took on Himself the demands and weak­nesses of the human body.  He became hungry.  He became thirsty.  He needed shelter and clothing.  He became tired.  He was subject to sadness.  He wept.  He felt.  He had emo­tions.  He laughed.  He sighed.  He groaned.  He func­tioned totally as a perfect hu­man being. 

          The Word became flesh and dwelt among us… John 1:14 

This is part of the Gospel.

Word for Today:  October 20

Jesus’ self-emptying.

(Jesus) Who existing in the Form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation (Kenoo) and took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…  Phil. 2:6-8

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel…  Isa. 7:13

The Kenosis of Jesus is a Foundation Truth that many have failed to grasp.  Kenosis or “self-emptying” simply declares that Jesus willingly “emptied” Himself of His God Characteristics and condescended to the stature and state of a man… a human being… born of a woman… and came to earth to live and die as part of God’s Plan to Redeem Man from Adam’s failure.

Jesus laid down and left in heaven certain characteristics and privileges He exercised as God.  He willingly emptied Himself of His God Form… His God Power… His God Knowledge… His Eternal Life.  He became subject to sickness, disease, death, failure, sin and any and all human liabilities and limitations imposed by Adam’s sin and failure.  The Scripture tells us that:

He was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin… (Heb. 4:15)

Jesus willingly and obediently subjected Himself to the possibility of sin and the possibility of failure when He put off His God Characteristics and took on Himself the form and limitations of humanity.

But He was Victor over temptation.  He was Victor over sin.  He was Victor over every human weakness.  He was Victor over all…

Even death and the grave

The Authority of the Believer means that ev­ery be­liever has the ability and the right to exer­cise every privi­lege of Salvation, redeem every promise God has given, and take complete do­minion over all the powers of darkness that prevail in the earth. 

The Revelation of the Authority of the Believer

Then he called his twelve disciples to­gether, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1  

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. Luke 9:2   

          What will it take for the Church to get rid of its wimp, weak, weenie spirit? Much of the world sees the church as a congregation of sissies and weaklings.  We have projected the image of a bunch of winless wimps with no backbone and less courage.  It is time for this to change. 

We are fac­ing the most monumental challenges in the history of the church.  We are standing at the threshold of glori­ous vic­tories.  We were born for such a time as this.  And we do have a destiny.  However, to the unbe­liever, the limited-be­liever, the backslidden and the worldly, the church still has the stigma of being weak, tasteless, insipid, and unimportant.  You and I have given this impression be­cause, in reality, we have felt this way. 

We have been led to believe that there is not a whole lot that we can do about the way things are.  We have been encouraged to just wait and see.  We have been told that things will get better, by and by.  We have bought into the lie that “what will be, will be” and we have believed it and acted like it.  So we have projected the image of being a bunch of wimps that can’t do anything. This is a lie and it is time for the truth to come forth. 

          God has given every believer authority.  We have it whether we know it or not.  It is there whether we exer­cise it or not.  It is available regard­less of how we feel or how big our problems may be.  The Revelation of Authority is essential if one is to Reign in Life.    We will never act like a winner unless we know we have the power inside to win.  We will never become an aggres­sive Christian un­less we know we have the Authority to support our ag­gressiveness. 

Here we will look at what Authority is and who has it. 

FIRST:  What Authority is

          Authority is power. Authority is ability.  Authority is force. Authority is right.  As we con­sider this subject, we must look at three words:  (1) Authority (2) Power and (3) Dominion. 

There are two words in the New Testament that are used to describe the authority of the believer.  One is the word for Power (dunamis) and the other is the word for Authority (exousia). 

Dunamis means:  strength, ability, power, might.  It means inher­ent power, or power that re­sides in a thing by virtue of its very nature.  It means power which a person exerts and puts forth.  It means the power to perform miracles.  It refers to the Power of God, the Power of the Holy Spirit and the Power that God puts into the believer.  

Ye shall receive POWER (dunamis) after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..   Acts 1:8. 

          Exousia means:  ability, privilege, force, ca­pacity, compe­tency, freedom, influence, liberty, right, strength.  It means the right to do something.  It means power to rule.  It means delegated au­thor­ity. 

 But as many as re­ceived Him, to them gave He power (exousia) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name…  John 1:12.

          When you combine Dunamis (Ability) with Exousia (Right) you have Dominion. 

So God created man in His own image, in the im­age of God created He him; male and female cre­ated He them.  And God blessed them and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and re­plen­ish the earth, and subdue it: and have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth…   Genesis 1:27. 

          Dominion (Heb: radah) means to tread down, to subju­gate, to crumble, to prevail against, to over­take, to reign and to rule.  We can have Ability without Right and still be a wimp.  We can have Right without Ability and still be a wimp.   It takes Ability coupled with Right to equal Dominion.  In the beginningGod gave Adam Dominion.

          The extent of Adam’s authority was awe­some.  God gave Adam complete control and ruler­ship over all life-forms on earth.  God gave Adam jurisdiction and control over everything on earth…. over the plants and animals…. over the forces of nature, over the crea­tures in the sea and all the an­imals and insects on earth. 

God gave Adam do­minion over his own body… he was not subject to weakness, sickness, sin or death.  He had a perfect mind, a perfect heart, a perfect spirit.  He was in control of his emotions and his de­sires.  He was the offspring of God, filled with the life of God and en­dued with the power and authority of God. He was a perfect man, living on a perfect earth exercising complete control and dominion over all things.  God was Number One and Adam was number two. 

 Thou madest him (Adam) to have do­minion over the works of thy hands;  thou hast put all things under his feet…   Psalm 8:6. 

SECOND:  Who has Authority       

God gave it but Adam lost it.

Adam sinned and forfeited it.

When Adam lost it, Satan got it.

Satan kept it until Jesus came from heaven and took it back.  Jesus de­feated the devil and took do­minion away from him.  When Jesus completed His Work of Redemption, He gave Dominion back to those who are sons and daughters of the Most High God.  And now we are seated with Him in the Heavenlies.  Glory to God.  

But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved) and hath raised up to­gether, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus… Eph 2:5-6.   

…Because as He is, so are we in this world… 1 John 4:17.   

          Jesus re­gained everything (and even more) that Adam lost in the Fall.  God did more in and through Christ than Satan did in and through Adam.   Jesus, through His Miraculous Birth, Sinless life, Supernatural Ministry, Vicarious Death, Descent into hell, Glorious Resurrection, Awesome Ascension, GOT US THE VICTORY. 

Death where is your sting?  Grave where is your victory?  Satan, where is your do­main?  Hell, where are your spoils?  JESUS Redeemed what Satan stole and He made it possible  for every be­liever to REIGN IN LIFE.

          If we are Born Again, we have Authority.  We have Power.  We have Dominion.  Adam lost it but Jesus bought it back. He bought it back for us and He gave it to us.  Authority is not authority if it is not exercised.  We can have it and not use it.  We can have au­thority and still be a wimp Christian.  Most believ­ers do not exercise authority because they do not know they have it.  Some know they have it but still refuse to believe they can use it.  Satan respects, fears and trembles at the authority God has given us.  The Bible says we can re­sist the devil.   That  means we have au­thority over him.   We could not resist him if we did not have more power and more authority than he has. 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7       

          The Authority of the Believer means that ev­ery be­liever has the ability and the right to exer­cise every privi­lege of Salvation, redeem every promise God has given, and take complete do­minion over all the powers of darkness that prevail in the earth. 

The Authority of the Believer gives every believer the ability and the right to accomplish the will of God in the earth.  The Authority of the Believer means that every Believer has the legal and lawful right to Reign in Life. 

          The Believer has Authority, Ability and Dominion because he is Redeemed.       

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:  Gal 3:13 

          Notice the tense of the preceding verse.  “Hath (past tense) redeemed us…” means that our redemption is a done deal.  It is not something that is to take place in the future but, rather, it is a Scriptural fact that our redemption is completed and is an established truth that is in effect in the Now.  “Redeemed” means “purchased out of slavery” and it implies that the believer has been delivered out of bondage and given  authority over his former master. 

What does this Redemption do for the believer?

          1.  It totally destroys the old nature (the old nature of Satan) and provides a New Nature (which is the Nature of God) and results in a New Creation.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  2Cor 5:17

          2.  It delivers the believer totally from the power, authority and dominion of Satan.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:   Col 1:13 

          3.  It provides the believer with the ability to walk with God in perfect harmony, fellowship and communion.

          4.  Redemption makes it possible for our body to become the temple of the Holy Ghost and for God to actually take up residence inside us.

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  2 Cor 6:16 

          5.  It brings the believer into the realm of God’s Ability and God’s Authority where all things are possible.  It elevates man from the natural realm to the supernatural realm.

…ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Mat 17:20  …

          6.  Redemption meets all the needs of the believer; spirit, soul and body.  It provides the believer with a perfect spirit, a sound mind and a healthy body.

          Redemption is the fact that Jesus became sin for us (redeemed us), delivered us from sin’s power and sin’s control (gave us authority, power and dominion) over the devil, demons and the kingdom of darkness.

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.  2Co 5:21 

Here is what AUTHORITY does for the be­liever:

• It places the Believer in a position of success and vic­tory.
• It sets the Believer free from the control and power of sin.

• It gives the Believer a Nature like God.   It causes him to act  like God, talk like God, look like God, think like God and be like God.

• It  elevates the Believer above worry, fear, sick­ness, poverty, and de­feat.
• It provides the Believer with boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies and fellowship with the Father.  

Word for Today:  October 19

Your choice to live and not die must be made in the present.

It cannot be made in the past and it cannot be made in the future… it must be made in the present.    Once you choose you set the entire course of your life.  Your life begins to flow in the direction of your choice.  When you choose to live things pertaining to life begin to happen all around you.  When you choose to give in and give up, you begin to die and things of death begin to happen all around you.

Your choosing life will affect your family and your future.  It will save or destroy.  It will bring health or cause disease.  Your choice to live will change circumstances and situations.

As you choose daily to live and not die you determine your daily Spiritual and Physical Welfare.  You will win when you choose life.  You will lose when you choose death.  These are choices you make on a daily and hourly basis.  People who are constantly sad, frustrated, depressed, despondent, anxious, hurt, angry and impatient are experiencing all these negative forces simply because they refused to choose life.

Have you wondered how some people seem to always be happy and full of joy?  Have you wished that you could be the same way?  You can, too.

Because it is up to you.

It is a matter of choice.

Your Choice

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:  Deut 30:19