Word for Today:  April 11

In the fullness of time.

When it is time, it is time.  What God has said will happen.  The plan, project and purpose of God will come to pass.  His will is going to be done.  His purpose is going to be accomplished.  Nothing can stop or hinder or prevent that which God has ordained from taking place.

Moses died (Jos 1:2).  His ministry ended.  His purpose was fulfilled.  His calling was completed.  With his death, an era came to a close.  A season passed.  “Moses, My servant is dead…”   It was time for something new.  It was time for change.  It was time for transition.  It was time to move on to higher and better things.

Right now, it is time for something new.  It is time for change.  It is time for the next stage.  The old season has passed and a new season has come.  New and different things are going to take place.   Transition time has arrived.

Things are going to change.  It going to be different.  God is the same, but His dealings and designs are going to change.  It is not going to be like it used to be.  The old patterns and plans are no longer in effect.  This is a new time.  This is a new place.  This is a new season.  “We have not passed this way before…”  (Jos 3:4).

Get ready for your New Season

Word for Today:  April 10

God says you can 

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Phil 4:13

Does this do away with all the “I can’t” situations?  Does this negate all “impossibilities” in your life?  Does this erase all excuses for self-pity?  Does this do away with all defeat?  Would God have said this if He did not mean it?

Does this apply to you as well as to others?  Certainly He said it and He certainly meant it.  Then all our problems have no “reason” for remaining in our life.

How much longer do you intend on putting up with all that junk the devil has piled on you and your family?  Is there any reason for not doing that “impossible” thing now?

If we know to “do good” and “doeth it not” the Word says it is sin (James 4:17).  Any Believer who has the Truth and is willing to cast off everything that is contradicting it, can step right out of the impossible and into the possible.  But it requires ACTION.  It requires DOING.  It requires RISKING.  But it will WORK if the Believer will really believe.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.   Mr 9:23

IF we have knowledge of the Truth and apply that knowledge to our circumstances through the God Kind of faith then Victory will be insured.  Every time.  All the time.  Anytime.

No matter what

 

I want to tell you about the Day Jesus Died.  Jesus died to redeem the human race from sin.  You know this and I know this, but we need to know it better.  We often get led astray in our pursuit of God.  Sometimes our focus becomes fuzzy and our attention is drawn away from the simple, fundamental and basic truth upon which the Church is built:  The Cross of Christ.  

God’s heart is to redeem the human race.  This is the only reason Jesus came to earth.  This is the only reason God gave His Son… because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”   This is the reason for the existence of the Church.   This is why every preacher has ever been called to preach and why every missionary has been sent into the nations of the world.  This is why we have the Bible.  God want men redeemed.  Redeemed from the curse of sin.  Redeemed from the reality of death.  Redeemed from the plans and schemes satan has designed for your destruction.  “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested… that He might destroy the works of the devil…”  (I John 3:8)  God wants you to live and not die.  This is why Jesus died on the Cross.

There are at lease six FACTS in the REDEMPTIVE PLAN God has set forth for the human race that we need to see.  Each one of these facts concerns a specific part of the Ministry of Jesus.  When we focus on JESUS we touch the heart of God.  Jesus is the CENTRAL SUBJECT of GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN for Man.  It is not Systems or Doctrines or Churches or Denominations or Traditions or Religions… IT IS JESUS.  It is not Preachers or Ministries or Programs or Procedures or Per­sonalities… IT IS JESUS.

1.  The PRE-EXISTENCE of JESUS.  Jesus was with the Father at the time of the Creation.  “Let us make…” is the statement God made as He initiated Creation.  Jesus existed with God in all the dateless past.  Jesus is God.  And there is No God Like Jehovah!

2. The BIRTH of JESUS.  This was the fulfillment of the Prophetic Ut­terances of OT prophets and the Completion of the Promises God had made concerning a COMING MESSIAH-REDEEMER.  The Birth of Je­sus came in the “fullness of times” according to the Master Plan of Fa­ther God.  Jesus was Prophesied and Promised and Foreordained.  (Gen 3:15)  Jesus came at the precise time and in the prescribed manner that GOD HAD SAID.

3. The MINISTRY of JESUS.   He came to SET THE EXAMPLE and ESTABLISH GOD’S PLAN for the Church on Earth.  He Preached, He Taught, He Healed the Sick, He Cast out devils and He Raised the Dead.   He SET IN MOTION the PLAN of GOD for the CHURCH on Earth… and it is STILL BEING CARRIED OUT.

4. The DEATH of JESUS on the CROSS.  This is where we are right now.  We are considering the CROSS.  The Church is once again forced to come to the Cross and to Behold the Suffering Savior.  He suffered in preparation for Sovereignty.  He could not be SOVERIGN without SUFFERING.  HIS BLOOD RATIFIED the COVENANT GOD has given to the Church and made all the REDEMPTIVE PRIVILEGES and POWERS WORKABLE.  “For by one offering, He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified…”  (Heb 10:14)

5. The RESURRECTION of JESUS from the DEAD.  His Resurrection from the dead provided POWER and ABILITY and AUTHORITY to im­plement and fulfill the Plan of God for the Human Race.  “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you…” (Rom 8:11)  Resurrection Power is the Enabling Power and Authority of the New Creation.  It is the very FORCE that PREVAILS and grants the CHURCH of the LIVING GOD VICTORY over DEATH, HELL and the GRAVE.  Hallelujah.

6. The ASCENTION of JESUS into HEAVEN.  The ASCENTION of Je­sus ESTABLISHED the BELIEVER’S HEAVENLY POSITION “IN CHRIST”  “And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”  (Eph 2:6)  “…because as He is so are we in this world…”  (I John 4:17)

The Day Jesus Died, He said some things as He hung on the Cross.  These seven statements are recorded in the four Gospels and they give us a glimpse of the kind of Man Jesus Really was. 

We can see how He responded to adversity and suffering and injustice. We can see His Heart.  His reaction to such brutality and depravity gives us a picture of the heart of God.   We can learn how we are to react to situa­tions that satan throws in our face and to trials and tests that come in our lives.

STATEMENT ONE:  “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do…”  (Luke 23:34)

Then…. after He was REJECTED and FORSAKEN by His friends and BETRAYED by His disciples… his closest followers and students and fellow ministers. 

How do YOU deal with REJECTION?  With BETRAYAL?  With UN­FAITHFULNESS?  What is your reaction to injustice and unfairness and false accusations?  How do you feel toward those who LIE about you and GOSSIP about you and PLOT for your DOWNFALL?  What would you do in similar circumstances? 

Then… after He was taken to 6 illegal trials and hearings throughout the entire night?  The legal and religious structure was bent in favor of His Enemies and lies and false accusations were cast in His Face.

Then… after He had been scourged (beaten and whipped mercilessly) with whips and rods.  (12 thongs on the whip and each thong was tipped with bone, metal and glass fragments)  Isaiah said His Visage (appearance) was so marred (disfigured) more than any man and His form more than the sons of men that many were astonished (shocked at the way He looked) at Him  (Isaiah 52:14)  His flesh had the texture of ground meat and yet He prayed:  “Father, forgive them… they don’t really understand what they are doing…”

CAN YOU FORGIVE?  HAVE YOU FORGIVEN?  Do you have a grudge or grudges?  Do you have bad feelings toward others?  Are you not speaking and refusing to communicate?  What right do you have to stay in strife and bitterness and unforgiveness?  Has anyone done to you WHAT THESE DID TO JESUS?

Jesus looks beyond the OUTWARD ACT into the INTENTS of the HEART.  “They do not know what they are doing…”  In essence, Jesus is saying “They are not responsible for what they are doing… they are being driven by a force they do not understand… it is the nature of the devil in them… Father, be merciful to them… they do not realize what they are doing…”  “O Father, see their POTENTIAL FOR GOOD not the visible actions of evil.”

Lack of forgiveness hinders prayers and causes strife.  It is the founda­tion of backsliding and the cause of bitterness.  It wrecks homes, families, and businesses.  It keeps Divine Forgiveness from coming your way.  Only as you FORGIVE can you be FORGIVEN.  It breeds sickness and disease and hinders ministers and ministries.  JESUS TAUGHT us HOW TO FORGIVE.  Forgive those who despitefully use you and perse­cute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsely.  Pray for them, Love them, and Forgive them.  FORGIVNESS is a CALVARY ATTI­TUDE and it is learned at the CROSS. 

STATEMENT 2:  “Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise…”  (Luke 23:43) 

A guilty, tried and convicted common criminal simply asks for Mercy.  “Remember me when you come into your kingdom…”  REMEMBER ME.  REMEMBER ME.  He was not a church member and had never been.  He was not a disciple or a follower of Jesus.  He had no charac­ter and no reputation and no good intention.  He had run with the wrong crowd and justice had caught up with him.  NOW… this com­mon, uneducated, unwanted and guilty criminal RECEIVED and UN­DERSTOOD what the Jewish Nation and Organized Religion was BLIND to COMPREHEND.  GOD is no RESPECTER of PERSONS.  He loves the unlovable and the unlovely.  He cares for the criminals and the pimps and the prostitutes.  He is compassionate toward drunks and the queers and the thieves and the robbers and the rapists and the mur­derers.    JESUS is COLOR-BLIND.  JESUS is not just a WHITE, BLACK, YELLOW, BROWN, RED or AMERICAN JESUS.  HE IS GOD.  He is LORD OF ALL.  He is GOD of the UNIVERSE and all the INHABI­TANTS THEREOF.  He is committed to saving all who will call upon His Name.  “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be Saved…”  (Rom 10:13)  His Kingdom is OPEN to WHOSOEVER WILL.  How strange that a CRIMINAL was the FIRST TROPHY of DI­VINE GRACE.  Cleansed, Restored, Forgiven, and Made Accept­able by the BLOOD.  The Cross is the PLACE OF MERCY and GRACE. 

STATEMENT 3:  “Woman, behold thy son.  Then saith He to the disci­ple, Behold, thy mother.   (John 19:26-27)

Even in the time of such great agony and suffering, JESUS was think­ing of OTHERS.  OTHERS who were hurting and lonely and wounded and bruised and sad.  Jesus always CONSIDERS OTHERS.  That is the essence of the CROSS.  OTHERS.  The NATIONS and KINDREDS and TONGUES and PEOPLES of the earth.  The hurting and the wounded and the bruised and the broken.  The sad and the grief-stricken and the hopeless and the forsaken.  OTHERS.  That is MISSIONS.  That is the PURPOSE of the CHURCH.  We are commanded and mandated to “PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR…”  Jesus was thinking of OTH­ERS as he hung on the CROSS.  His mother.  Her hurt and disap­pointment.  Her shattered hopes and dreams.  Her broken heart.  He committed her into the care of the disciple standing at the foot of the Cross.  “From now on, she will be your mother… you must care for her and provide for her and comfort her.  She needs help.  She is now ‘your mother'”.

Did you know that JESUS CONSIDERED YOU in His Death?  He was thinking about YOU in His agony and suffering.  His heartbeat was al­ways for OTHERS.  That includes YOU and ME.    “For the joy that was set before Him He endured the Cross…”  (Heb 12:2)

STATEMENT 4:  “I thirst…”  John 19:28

Thirst is one of the most agonizing demands of the human body.  It is compounded by the physical torture inflicted by Crucifixion.  The body fluids are depleted.  The fever rises and the tongue swells.  The lips are dry and parched.  Here we see the absolute Humanity of the Lord Jesus.  He limited himself to the confines of human flesh.  He was weak and vulnerable.  He was hurting and He was thirsty.  He Who was the LIVING WATER is now POURED OUT because of the sin of the human race.  He suffered that we might reign.  He was wounded that we might be healed.  He was thirsty that we might drink of Him and “never thirst”.  He is the Fountain but He allowed Himself to become dry so that we can be forever refreshed.  His cry for water was a ful­fillment of a prophecy in Psalm 69: 20-21:  “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.  They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink…”  He became in totality what lost humanity was that we might become in totality what GOD MADE HIM TO BE.

Jesus is LIVING WATER.  Jesus is REFRESHMENT.  Jesus is LIFE.

STATEMENT 5:  “My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken me?   Mat 27:46

No sadder words are recorded in the Bible than these.  Here we are confronted with the real cause of the Death of Christ.  He died of a broken heart.  A heart that was broken because His Father could not “look on sin” and was therefore forced to “forsake” His Only Begotten Son.  God the Father turned His Back on Jesus because Jesus was made Sin for us.  “For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us…  (2 Cor 5:21).  The eternal Fellowship and Communion that they enjoyed was broken and breached because of my sin and yours.  Jesus died of a broken heart.  He was accustomed to being forsaken by friend and foe.  He was accustomed to being forsaken by His Country and His Religion.  He was accustomed to being forsaken by his own family.  He had never… not one time…. ever…. been out of fellowship with the Fa­ther.  And now that eternal relationship is severed by sin.  He cried in agony “Father, why have you left Me?  Why have you deserted Me?”  No one will ever know the loneliness and emptiness Jesus experienced in order that we might NEVER BE FORSAKEN or LEFT ALONE or DE­SERTED.  He became what we were (without God) in order that we can BE AS HE IS RIGHT NOW.   “Hallelujah.  What a Savior.”

STATEMENT 6:  “Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit…”  Luke 23:46

Jesus had declared earlier that: “I lay down my life for the sheep… no man taketh it (My Life) away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself…”  John 10:15,18.

Jesus’ death was no accident.  Contrary to the Hollywood hype, Jesus was not a wimp, and He was not confused or disillusioned.  He came to die.  He was Born to Die.  Yet, He exercised total and complete au­thority over death by the Power of the Holy Ghost in Him.  Death could not come to Him unless He allowed it to.   No man could take His life from Him.  He had the power of life and death.  He willingly laid down His life… He voluntarily gave His Life; it was not taken from Him and satan did not kill Him.  He chose death in order to give us Life.  “I am come that you might have Life and have it more abundantly…”  John 10:10.  The Abundant, God-Kind of life comes out of His Death.  He died that we might Live.

STATEMENT 7:  “It is finished…”  John 19:30

Jesus declared that IT is completed.  IT is fulfilled.  IT is accom­plished.  What is finished?

            1.   The fulfillment of Scriptures referring to His suffering and death

            2.   The defeat of satan and the powers of darkness

            3.   The breaking down of the “middle wall” of partition

            4.   Provision for personal access to God the Father

            5.   The cancellation of the reign of death

            6.   The cancellation of sin’s power and dominion

            7.   The demonstration of Love and Obedience of Jesus to the death

            8.   The Perfection of Jesus as the Sacrificial Lamb

            9.   Salvation and deliverance from all sin

            10. Restoring of Peace between Man and God

            11. The penalty of Death full paid

            12. Man released from the kingdom of darkness

            13. Satisfaction of the full justice of God in payment for sin

            14. Physical Healing for all through the Blood

            15. The way for the full anointing of the Holy Ghost

            16. The establishment of the New Covenant

“It is finished,”  means that man has nothing to do but believe and ac­cept.  It means that it is not of works, lest any man should boast.  It means that God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost have done all that is necessary for the full restoration of the Image of God in fallen human­ity.  It means that Jesus is the Perfect and Final Sacrifice… “once for all” He has entered into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled His Blood on the Mercy Seat perfecting Salvation for “Whosoever shall call on the Name of Jesus…”  Hallelujah. 

Word for Today: April 9

God’s BEST is not a miracle.

God has promised to meet all your needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).  Jesus plainly told us not to worry about what we are to eat, where we are to sleep or what we have to wear (Mat 6:33). Remember?

Worry is faith in the devil.   Worry is faith in reverse.  Worry slanders every promise in the Word of God.  Prospering means having all your needs met with a surplus left over.  And this is the will of God for you.

Remember, God’s best is never a miracle.  God’s best is that you never need a miracle.  Miracles do happen but don’t you think it is better if you never need one?   Living in health is better than needing to be healed from some sickness or disease.  Living in prosperity is better than needing some miraculous financial break-through to keep you afloat.  Living in joy and happiness and peace is better than needing some kind of miracle to free you from stress and depression.

God’s promises are far better than psychological band aids.   Look up scriptures that promise you what you need and then simply believe what God says.  Believe what God says in spite of what you see, what you feel or what you think.

You do not have to live constantly in fear and doubt….  God says that everything you set your hand to will succeed.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  Psa 1:3

Living in the constant blessing of God is better than needing a one-time miracle.

Word for Today:  April 8

In the fullness of time.

When it is time, it is time.  What God has said will happen.  The plan, project and purpose of God will come to pass.  His will is going to be done.  His purpose is going to be accomplished.  Nothing can stop or hinder or prevent that which God has ordained from taking place.

Moses died (Jos 1:2).  His ministry ended.  His purpose was fulfilled.  His calling was completed.  With his death, an era came to a close.  A season passed.  “Moses, My servant is dead…”   It was time for something new.  It was time for change.  It was time for transition.  It was time to move on to higher and better things.

Right now, it is time for something new.  It is time for change.  It is time for the next stage.  The old season has passed and a new season has come.  New and different things are going to take place.   Transition time has arrived.

Things are going to change.  It going to be different.  God is the same, but His dealings and designs are going to change.  It is not going to be like it used to be.  The old patterns and plans are no longer in effect.  This is a new time.  This is a new place.  This is a new season.  “We have not passed this way before…”  (Jos 3:4).

Get ready for your New Season

Word for Today:  April 7

It’s not your battle.

Remember, the battle is not yours… it is the Lord’s and He always wins.  Some have faced the impossible.  Others have suffered vicious satanic attacks.  Many of you are right now “in the fire.”  Cheer up.  Your situation will turn around and work for your Good and for God’s Glory.  Your circumstances and hardships and reverses will become doors of opportunity.  You are called to spoil the enemy.  When he runs in retreat he always leaves more behind than he took.

And in nothing terrified (be moved by fear, to be terrified, to be frightened or scared) by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. Phil 1:28

satan works through fear and terror.  The Bible says he “roars” like a lion.  he can roar but he has no teeth.  he can bark but he has no bite.  The devil attempts to frighten you and to scare you and to intimidate you.  Where there is no fear there is no devil.

Perfect love casts out fear and fear has torment… torment is where the devil lives.  satan will try to make things appear worse than they really are.  he will magnify and amplify and exaggerate problems and situations until they seem to be hopeless.  he makes every sickness look like death.  he makes every “good bye” look like “gone.”  he makes every financial pinch look like bankruptcy.  he tries to make it look so bad that you will just give up and quit.  he is a liar and the father of lies.  he cannot tell the truth because it is the Truth that makes us free.  satan binds and imprisons and hold in captivity.

Jesus sets us Free.  Jesus gives us Life.  Jesus gives us Liberty.  Jesus gives us Victory.

It’s His battle and He always wins

Word for Today: April 6

You are important.

You are called.  You are chosen.  You are important.  You are loved.  You are vital to the plan and purpose of Almighty God.  You are a participant in His Grand Plan and will fulfill a vital role in His Doings in this hour.  He will complete what He has begun.  You are not what or who you were.  You are now a New Creation in Christ Jesus.  And you have not even begun to be able to imagine just what you will end up being…

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  1 John 3:2

If you could see what and who you are going to be… you could not stand it.  It is more than you can comprehend.  The devil accuses and deceives and lies to Christians to get them to believe and think that they are worthless and no good.  That they have no place in and no part in what God is doing.  The devil uses lies and accusations and feelings of guilt and condemnation.  He reminds us of past failures and sins.  He is an expert in pointing out flaws and faults and then executing condemnation and guilt.  But…

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  Rom 8:1

Some today have been attacked and accused and lied to…Some have believed the deception of the devil… Some are wondering if anybody loves them.  If anybody cares.  Some even have trouble believing that God loves them.  Is this you?  Do you want relief?  Do you long for victory?   Then:

Be confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Phil 1:6

You Matter

Word for Today:  April 5

Do Something

• Are you going to stay in the boat and sink in your storm?
• Are you going to sit where you are until you die?
• Are you going to withdraw from the challenge, give in to reason and unbelief and self-destruct?

Decide to do something!

Take the initiative.  Move off dead center.  Get up and go on.

There was a “great famine” in Samaria.  The enemy has surrounded the city and the inhabitants were starving.  Women were killing and cooking and eating their children.  They were slaying their beasts of burden and eating them.  The dung of birds and animals was collected for food.  The situation was desperate.  Horrific.

Four lepers were sitting at the gate to the city of Samaria.  They could not go in.  They could not stay there.  They had one option.  Go into the camp of the enemy and plead for mercy.  They asked:  “Why sit we here until we die…”

And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?  2 Kings 7:3

Do you intend for “things” to always be as they are?  Are you convinced you are going to “die” if you remain like you are and where you are?  Are you ready for a Change for the Better?  When do you want this Change to happen?  Why not NOW?

God is looking for movers and shakers…. those who will determine to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.  God expects you to do something about the stuff that is happening to you.  He expects you to do something about what’s happening in the world.

He has given you the Power and the Authority to make things change.

Just Do It

1. At the Cross, Jesus abolished death

Death has been rendered “inactive” for the believer. It is no longer the end, but it has become the beginning for those who are Born. Again. (Gateway to Glory)

2Tim. 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

1Cor. 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1Cor. 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

1Cor. 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

1Cor. 15:57 But thanks be to God. which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will live again.

2.  At the Cross, Jesus removed satan’s nature from the New Creation Man.

“New Creation…” Old things passed away

            This is the Divine Spiritual Surgery performed by the Great Physician. He took something out and He put something in. Believers are no longer “sinners” they are “sons of God.”

 John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

3.  At the Cross, Jesus imparted the very Nature of God into the Believer.

The most miraculous transplant in the history of creation.

2Pet. 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

4.  At the Cross, Jesus delivered the Believer from satan’s dominion.

The Eternal Emancipation Proclamation… the greatest liberation man has ever known. Every believer is totally free from satan’s control and sin’s dominion.

Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

5.   At the Cross, Jesus healed the breach between God and fallen man, so that man can walk with God just like Adam did.

Restoration, reconciliation, elevation.

Col. 1:21 And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

Rom. 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

6.  At the Cross, Jesus redeemed Believers from the curse of the law.

Believers are forever set free from the sentence of death disease, demons and destruction.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

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

Rev. 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

7.  At the Cross, Jesus made it possible for Believers to become the temple of the Holy Ghost­

Our physical body becomes God’s dwelling place

1Cor. 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world

8. At The Cross, Jesus brought the Believer into the Realm of God’s Ability.

Eph. 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. according to the power that worketh in us

9.  At the Cross, Jesus elevated the Believer from the Natural into the Supernatural. No longer “mere” men anthropos (anth’‑ro-pos) natural men,  but Pneumatikos / Spiritual men.

Eph. 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Rom. 8:14 For as many as are led, by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The Cross is the place of Restoration. All that Adam lost Jesus regained. Because of the Cross:    

1. Believers now have Right Standing with God.

2. Believers now are recreated in the Image of God.

3. Believers can exercise Power and Authority on the earth and over satan.

4. Believers can enjoy communion and fellowship with the Father.

5. Believers can live in and experience perfect and perpetual healing and health.

6. Believers can walk in prosperity and success in all areas of life.

7. Believers can rest in total protection and, assurance.

8. Believers can reign in this Life and ultimately rule in heaven.

Alas, and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?

Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut his glories in

When Christ the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe,

Here, Lord I give myself away, Tis all that I can do!

At the Cross at the Cross, Where I first saw the Light,

and the burden of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day!

Isaac Watts

Word for Today:  April 3

A New Day and a New Place.

Let’s look at what God is saying to the Church today.

What God is saying is more important than what anybody else is saying.  What God is saying is more important than what the world is saying.   What God is saying is more important than the opinions of men.  When we hear what God is saying, we will know what God is doing.  When we know what God is doing, we can do it with Him.  We can work with Him and become His partner in the Work.

We are all aware that this is a very unique and special time.  There has never been a time like this before.  You know it.  You feel it.  You are aware of it.  There is an urgency in the air.  There is a stirring in our bones.  There is an unction within.  Even the world knows it.  Nature knows it.  All creation knows it.  The heavens know it.  We have “not passed this way before…”   There is excitement.  There is anticipation.  There is expectancy.  We must hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church.  We must know what God is doing so we can “go after Him…”

“When you see the Ark of the Covenant if the Lord you God and the priests bearing it, then shall ye remove from your place and GO AFTER IT…”  Jos 3:3.

The predictable format of Church as we have known it is over.

This is a New Day and this is a New Place.  We must Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.  It is a Fresh, Relevant and Contemporary Word from God.  We cannot play the role any longer.  Pretense and play church is over.  This is the Real Thing.  This is more than a seminar.  This is more than a Bible Study.  This is more than a Prayer Meeting.  This is more than a Revival Meeting.  This is more than a Camp Meeting.  This is an Encounter.  An Encounter with God.  A Divine Encounter.

And when this happens, things change.  Like lives.  Like marriages.  Like families.  Like attitudes.  Like habits.  Like ministries.  Like churches.  Like the world.

This is a NEW DAY