dickbraswell

“Now thanks be unto God which always causeth us to TRIUMPH in Christ…” II Cor. 2:14

There are only TWO kinds of people alive and on earth today.  Those who have been BORN NATURALLY and those who have been BORN SUPERNATURALLY.  The FIRST BIRTH is of the FLESH and the SECOND BIRTH is of the SPIRIT.  “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit…”  The FIRST BIRTH is unto DEATH and DEFEAT and the SECOND BIRTH is unto LIFE and VICTORY.  You were born the first time DESTINED to LOSE but you were BORN the SECOND TIME DESTINED TO WIN.. Hallelujah..

Many in the body of Christ… those who have been born SUPERNATURALLY, have never come into the REALM of WINNING and not losing.  Some are still living in defeat, and death, sickness, and poverty.  Some are frustrated and sad and overwhelmed by problems, obstacles, and circumstances.  More are just plain weary and tired and worn and wounded… on the verge of quitting or coping out.  I want you to know that YOU ARE DESTINED TO WIN..  I don’t care how bleak or black or hopeless or helpless your situation may be… If you are BORN AGAIN… YOU ARE DESTINED TO WIN..  This is GOOD NEWS..  That is precisely what the Gospel is:  GOOD NEWS..  Jesus commanded us to preach the GOSPEL to the POOR..  When the Gospel that is preached is received and acted on the POOR will not stay POOR..  THEY ARE DESTINED TO WIN..

BELOVED:  (1) GOD is a VICTORY GOD..

                (2) JESUS is a VICTORY JESUS..

                 (3) THE BIBLE is a VICTORY BOOK..

                 (4) THE CHURCH is a VICTORY CHURCH..

                 (5) BELIEVERS are a VICTORY PEOPLE..

Everything about GOD speaks of VICTORY and SUCCESS and WINNING.  He knows nothing about losing… He never has and He never will..  Because we are infused with His Life and His Nature, we are DESTINED TO WIN..  Every loss, every failure, and every defeat is AGAINST OUR NATURE..  It is ABNORMAL FOR THE BELIEVER TO LOSE..  It is NOT NATURAL, it is NOT NORMAL, and it is NOT NECESSARY..

Here are some FACTS you need to be AWARE OF:

1.  Understand satan’s limitations

2.  Be aware of his methods

3.  Know that you are his master..

4.  Get violent…mad…disgusted…motivated….determined…in your opposition

     him…

TEXT:  ACTS 16:16-34

Paul was in the flow of God’s Will and doing his very best to walk in total obedience.  Notice what happened:

1.  Paul cast out a devil  (16:18)

2.  This made the merchants mad  (16:19)

3.  Caused an uproar in the city  (16:20)

LESSON:  “When you start… the devil starts..”  Opposition never comes unless you are in the will of God.  It always looks like DEFEAT before VICTORY COMES..

1. The multitudes turned against him  (16:22)

2. They were arrested by the magistrates and beaten with rods  (16:23)

3. They were cast into jail (dungeon) and locked in stocks  (16:23)

LESSON:  Popular opinion usually is against GOD.  Multitudes will jump on the “band wagon” to oppose the work of God.   Things generally get worse… MUCH WORSE before they get better..

I.  MIDNIGHT..  (25)

The darkest time and the bleakest time and the hardest time… MIDNIGHT..  Often sleep fails you and the burdens become all but unbearable..  It seems that dawn will never come…   “Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy cometh in the morning..”  (Psa 30:5)

It is often darkest just before dawn..  Many lives and situations are deadlocked at the midnight hour.  Some will wonder “where is God?”  “Why do I seem to be all alone?”  “Doesn’t anybody care?”

Paul and Silas were not USUAL.  They KNEW they were in the WILL OF GOD.  They were certain that they were DESTINED TO WIN..    They:

(1) PRAYED… Real Loud.. (16:25)

(2) SANG… Real Loud..  (16:25)

(3) PRAISED GOD… Real Loud..  (16:25)

DANIEL KNEW on the way to the den of lions…

JOSHUA KNEW at the walls of Jericho…

DAVID KNEW when he stood before the 9 foot giant…

ABRAHAM KNEW when he prepared to sacrifice Isaac…

STEPHEN KNEW as the Religious Crowd  stoned him for Preaching Jesus…

JOHN KNEW when he was abandoned on the Isle of Patmos…

JESUS KNEW when He yielded up the Ghost on Calvary..

“He was there all the time…”

II.  PRISONERS HEARD…  (25)

What the world is waiting to see… Saints who know they are DESTINED TO WIN..  The world will hear when we begin to SHOUT and REJOICE and PRAISE GOD in the midst of our trials and tribulations..  The sinners will look us up when we begin to ACT LIKE WINNERS and not losers..  Most of what goes on in the churches today cannot attract the worldly bunch because many in the church are sad, defeated, sick, broke, divorced, mad, critical, mean, and ugly..

We have GOOD NEWS..   We are destined to Win..  We can sing, shout, and rejoice because we know how the STORY ENDS..  WE WIN and the devil loses..  PRISONERS… that’s what the world is full of.  They are CAPTIVES.  They are PRISONERS.  They are BOUND.  They are SHACKLED.  Our SONG will give them HOPE and ENCOURAGEMENT and STRENGTH and VICTORY..

Locked in stocks.  Beaten with rods.  Backs bleeding.  Bodies bruised.  No hope in the natural.  No friends, no contacts, no money, no WAY OF ESCAPE..  Then…

III. “SUDDENLY…”  (26)

Enough is Enough..  No force on earth or in hell can stop the Hand of God.. YOUR ANSWER IS ON THE WAY..  YOUR DELIVERANCE IS AT HAND..  YOUR VICTORY IS IMMINENT.. 

This is the only good earthquake in the Bible..  God sent it not to destroy but to open jailhouse doors and set the captives free..  No one was killed or hurt..  It only broke down prison doors and unlocked the stocks..  Your darkest hour is God’s hour of Opportunity..  He is looking for places and people that He can show Himself strong to..  Are you one?  Are you in a “Jailhousel” situation?  Is it “Midnight”?  Is all hope gone?  SUDDENLY.. 

The FOUNDATIONS were shaken.  You may think that all is DESTRUCTION and DEFEAT and LOSS… but GOD is ONLY OPENING DOORS AND BREAKING SHACKLES..  HALLELUJAH..

RESULTS: 

(1) Jailer was kept from suicide

(2) Jailer got saved

(3) Jailer’s entire house got saved

(4) City was made to take notice of God

(5) The devil had to “eat crow”..

LESSONS:

1. Expect satan to resist your efforts

2. When things get worse… don’t panic..  Know that help is on the way..

3. When your “midnight” comes… PRAY and SING and SHOUT and PRAISE  GOD..  This always confuses the devil..

4. Believe for your miracle… expect your miracle..  Be an example to unbelievers… let them hear and see you TRUST GOD..

YOU ARE DESTINED TO WIN..

_

“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God…”   (I Cor 1:24)

Rom. 1:16  “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it (the Gospel) is the Power of God unto Salvation…” Jesus is the Gospel!!  Jesus is the Power of God!!  Jesus is the Way of Salvation!! 

Everything that WORKS must have a SOURCE OF POWER to make it work!!  Nothing works without a source of Power or Energy.  The HUMAN BODY must have nourishment or food in order to maintain its power to survive.  AUTOMOBILES and motor-driven vehicles must have gasoline or diesel in order to run.  ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES and equipment must have electricity in order to function.  EVERYTHING THAT WORKS must have a SOURCE of POWER in order to work!!  Nothing can survive without a source of power.  Without a source of power, death sets in and soon overcomes.  We must have POWER!!  The Church must have POWER!!  Jesus recognized this fact when He instructed them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were indued with Power from on High!!  JESUS IS THE POWER OF GOD!!

God wants you to have POWER in your life.  He has fixed it so that you can have POWER in your life.  His POWER is available and ready and able!!  His POWER will get you healed, keep you healed, set you free, keep you free, lift you out of the pit and keep you out of the pit, save your family, your marriage, your business, establish you and keep you!!  His POWER will cause you to REIGN in life and RULE over demons!!  His POWER will get you victory and keep you victorious!!  It will make you the VICTOR and keep you from being the victim!!  GOD’ POWER is your answer!!   The answer comes out of POWER.  Find where the POWER is and you have found where the ANSWER is!!

You know that you need God’s Power in your life.  You want God’s Power in your life. There are some things you want to do and you know you cannot do them without God’s Power operating in your life.  For example: 

(1) You desperately want POWER over sin and temptation. 

(2) POWER over being shy, timid, and introverted. 

(3) POWER over feeling bad… sickness… weakness… power over disease. 

(4) POWER over worry, fear, and anxiety. 

(5) POWER over wrong attitudes…. unforgiveness and bitterness, jealousy, greed, criticism, and judgment 

(6) POWER over your mind and your thought life and your imaginations  (7) POWER over the appetites and lusts of your flesh 

(8) POWER over poverty and lack and need and not having money all the time  

(9) POWER over your anger, your temper, your impatience, your meanness

(10) POWER over alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, tobacco, gluttony

(11) POWER over your unclean mind and your unclean mouth

(12) POWER over the devil and demons

You KNOW you need POWER.  You know where you need POWER and your know why your need POWER. You know that GOD’S POWER will set you free and that you can do nothing without HIS POWER.  You want HIS POWER and you want HIS POWER NOW!!  You are tired of waiting and procrastinating. You have intended to do something about your situation for a long time.  You have tried books and tapes and rules and regulations and formulas… you have listened to preachers and gone to church… but you have never received GOD’S POWER in your life.  You have decided to GET IT TODAY!!

In order to get God’s Power, and get God’s Power working for you, you need to know (1) What it is  (2) Where it is  (3) How to get it and (4) What to do with it.

I. WHAT GOD’S POWER IS

God’s POWER is GOD’S ABILITY.  God’s POWER is GOD’S MIGHT.  God’s POWER is GOD’S ENERGY.  God’s POWER is GOD’S GLORY.  God’s POWER is GOD’S AUTHORITY.  God’s POWER is GOD’S NATURE.  

God’s POWER is not of this world and does not operate by the laws of this world.  All power on earth is inferior to GOD’S POWER.  “There is no POWER but of God…”  (Rom 13:1)  Nothing is higher than God’s Power!!  All energy and all force and all power on earth is inferior to God’s Power!! 

GOD’S POWER comes out of HIS NATURE.  He is POWER and He has POWER because He is GOD!!  One of His Attributes is OMNIPOTENCE or the fact that He is and He has ALL POWER.  He is our ALL POWERFUL GOD!!  His POWER makes HIM ADEQUATE and SUFFICIENT!!  HIS POWER CAN DO ALL THINGS… Meet all needs… (according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus)… supply every lack… conquer every foe… defeat every devil!!   His POWER is

(1) CREATIVE

(2) SUSTAINING

(3) REDEMPTIVE

II. WHERE GOD’S POWER IS

God’s Power is in JESUS!! 

“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God…”  (I Cor 1:24)

“And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth…”  (Mat 28:18)

“For without me ye can do nothing…”  (John 15:5  “However, apart from me– cut off from vital union with me– you can do nothing…”  (AMP)

“Christ in you the Hope of Glory…”  (Col 1:27)

Jesus not only HAS POWER…. Jesus IS POWER!!  Wherever Jesus is…. POWER IS!!  If you can locate Jesus you can locate GOD’S POWER and GOD’S ABILITY!!    Jesus is the POWER OF GOD!! 

This is why JESUS is so essential… all Power is in Him!!  This is why we must Look unto Jesus… our power and our success and our victory comes out of HIM!!  The victory is in HIM!!    “But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God…”  (John 1:12)

Jesus has ALL POWER.  Power over all demons and all devils.  Power over all sickness and all disease.  Power over all poverty and all lack.  Power over all failures and all frustrations.  Power to save and power to keep.  Power to set free and power to keep free!!  Power to raise up and power to put down.  Power to drive back all darkness and all weakness.  Jesus IS POWER!!  Where every you are lacking… JESUS is the POWER for your ANSWER!!  Power over drugs and power over drink.  Power over flesh and power over mind.  Power over sin and power over habit!!  Your answer is in HIM!!  Jesus is not ONLY LORD He is YOUR ANSWER!!

1.  See your problem… admit it… repent from it.

2.  Turn to JESUS and give HIM control over the situation.

3.  Trust HIM to see you through.    REST in HIS ABILITY!!

Decide NOT TO WORRY… NOT TO FEAR… NOT TO FAINT…

Refuse to take it back and “work things out” after you have given it to JESUS!!

III. HOW TO GET GOD’S POWER

Get saved… get really saved!!  Get saved and KNOW IT.  Get saved and SHOW IT!!  If ALL POWER is in JESUS you have to GET HIM IN YOU in order to get GOD’S POWER IN YOU!!  It is a simple act of your PERSONAL FAITH in really BELIEVING what GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD. 

The BAPTISM in the HOLY SPIRIT is really releasing the POWER that is already in you by faith.  It is RELEASING the POWER OF GOD (which is JESUS) who is already in you!!  Have you ever prayed and asked JESUS (the POWER OF GOD) to come into your heart?  Did you mean it?  Did you stick

with it?  Did you really believe it?  Did you experience the NEW BIRTH and do you still HAVE IT?  If you have never asked the POWER OF GOD (JESUS) to come into your life will you do it right now?  “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord (JESUS) shall be saved…”  (Rom 10:13).  Stand to your feet right now and let’s get GOD’S POWER IN YOU!!  You cannot release GOD’S POWER if GOD’S POWER is not in you!!  You can’t get the ANSWER OUT if you don’t have the ANSWER IN YOU!!  Pray RIGHT NOW!!!

IV. WHAT TO DO WITH GOD’S POWER

God’s Power will do for you what God will do for you!!  It will bring God on the scene and Jesus on the scene and the Holy Ghost on the scene!!  Focus GOD’S POWER on the point of your NEED.  Get JESUS to the problem and you will have NO PROBLEM!!  Jesus is GOD’S SUPPLY for all your NEED.  “My God shall supply all your need according to His Riches in Glory BY CHRIST JESUS…”  (Phil 4:19)  Where are HIS RICHES?  IN GLORY BY (through) CHRIST JESUS!! 

1. Attack demons and devils

2. Drive out sickness and disease

3. Quit running and start attacking

4. Do what Jesus would do

5. Rise up and BE BIG 

6. Attempt the impossible

7. Dare to take nations for God!!

                         JESUS IS THE POWER OF GOD!

Word for Today:  18

Checkers.

Even though our Christianity is not a game, some of the same rules tend to apply.

For Example, our spiritual growth is kind of like playing checkers.  Remember, the object is to get yourself to the King Line and get a crown. You take your turn.  And you get there one square at a time.  But it had better be The Right Square.  The wrong square will get you jumped, captured, defeated, taken off the board and put into the enemy’s hand.

Once you get “crowned” you have more mobility.  You have more authority.  More power.  More effectiveness.  More freedom.  More opportunities.  But you still must move with wisdom.  Even a king in the game of checkers can be jumped if he is careless.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1Pe 5:8

Be sure you make the Right Move today

Word for Today:  August 17

Unruly.

Have you ever seen an unruly child that continually slips out from under Mother’s care and runs where ever he wants to go?  One that constantly demands mother’s attention because he flits from here to there and flirts with trouble all the time?  He just won’t be still.  He has to run here and run there to see this and to see that.  And mother is totally frustrated.  And aggravated.  And soon she reaches her limit.

At this time, she rushes over to the unruly child, forcefully lifts him off the floor, takes him to a chair and with much intensity, plops him down on his duster and sternly says:  “Now, you stay right there and don’t you move.  I mean, don’t move.  Be still.  Settle down.  Be quiet.  Stay in your place.”

The truth about the matter is that many in the Body of Christ have been running around… like wild, uncontrolled, rebellious children.  Doing their thing.  Going their way.  And stopping by church once in a while to pay their respects to God.  There has been no discipline.  No commitment.  No determination.  No vision.  No “heart” for God.

In this hour the Holy Ghost is picking up these rebellious, wild, self-centered Children of God and forcefully seating them in “their place” in Gods’ Grand Plan.  And this is good.  It is time for this.  We have been undisciplined for a long time.  But this is a new day. God is doing some radical things.

He is capturing our attention and commanding us to shape up.  Ordering us to get ready.  The Big One is coming.  It is at the door.  We need to heed what Jesus commanded:  Be ye ready for in such an hour as you think not… the Son of Man cometh.

There will be a coming of the Holy Ghost before the Coming of the Son of Man.  An arising.   A flood… not a shower or a downpour, but a flood.  It is for this reason we must be in Our Place in Gods’ Plan.

Get there.  Stay there.

1.  The Lord is my Shepherd.  As long as He is LORD He can operate as my Shepherd.  At any time He is not my Lord, then something or someone else takes charge over me.  I am the only one who can determine the Position Jesus holds in my life.  He will gladly function as my Shepherd…. as long as I allow Him to. 

2.  I shall not want.  When I recognize Him as Lord and allow Him to function as Lord, I will never want for any good thing.  It is my choice that determines how I live.  If I have chosen Him to be Lord, then this choice has positioned me in a place of abundance…. no lack and no need.  Hallelujah.

3.  He maketh me….  Some of the things He “makes” (commands, requests, orders, tells) me to do are contrary to what I want to do.  And sometimes what He orders me to do seem inappropriate and unnecessary.  This sheep was going places and the Shepherd told him to “lie down.”  Can you imagine the excuses the sheep might have given?  “But, I don’t want to lie down, I’m not even tired yet.”  “I can’t stop now; I’ve got too much to do.”  “I’ve got to hurry and get to the place I’m going…. I’m already late now.”  “But I want to go.  They need me over there.” 

4.  To lie down.  Lie down.  Lay down.  Be still.  Be quiet.  Stop what you are doing.  Quit it.  “Stay.”  “Settle.”  Cool it.  God says:  I want to spend some time with just you, not you and your busy-ness.  Just you.  Just you and Me.  I want you to talk with Me.  Visit with Me.  Slow down and Consider Me.  You are in too much of a hurry.  Lie Down. 

5.  In green pastures.  Once I stop, I discover that the place He stopped me is a place of Green Pastures.  I was hurrying to get to some better place, but God stopped me and I discovered that Where I Am is the Best Place.  The place of nurture.  Rest.  Peace.  Sustenance.  Where He wants me is always the Best Place.  It may look better just a little further on, but here is best.  He placed me and put me and established me.  And now, there is Green Pasture all around. 

6.  He leadeth me beside the still waters.  Still.  There is something about this being “still.”  This means quiet.  Approachable.  Drinkable.  Available.  Where I was going, the water was too swift and troubled to slake my thirst.  I couldn’t even get one drink.  But here, the water is still and I can drink to my heart’s content.  He leadeth.  Not shoveth.  But leadeth.  He has already been where He is taking me.  He is even holding my hand in His.  Therefore, I have nothing to fear. 

7.  He restoreth my soul.  Restoreth.  Our God (Shepherd) is a restoring, reviving, reconciling, renewing God.  Where I have been has been a place of great weariness.  The course has been exhausting.  I am drained, Spirit, Soul and Body.  But He restores.  Connecting with Him provides strength.  Energy.  Determination.  Perseverance.  A new beginning.  A fresh start.  Renewed strength.  As He restores my soul (my heart) His strength flows outward into all the tiredness of my spirit and body.  I am Restored and ready to continue.

8. He leadeth me in the paths of Righteousness for His Name’s sake

He leads.  Makes a way.  Shows the path.  Illuminates the course of my life.  Righteousness is the way I want to live but often is not the road on which I travel.  So He takes my hand in His, and He Leads me. He sets the pace and shows the example. He Guides me.  Keeps me surrounded by Righteousness. Right living. Purity of thought. A life focused on Spiritual things. He Protects me from any wrong step heading in a wrong direction. All of this because of His Name’s Sake.  Because of Who He Is and What He does… He insures our integrity and binds us to His Standard… And makes us Like Him.

9. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.. I will fear no evil.  Valleys are dark places.  Especially the one marked Death. Seems no one wants to go there, but it is destined for all of us.  But in the process, we will fear no pitfall or loss of confidence.  We experience all the shadows of death, but see them only as shadows.  Ethereal things.  Not Real.  Only reflections. And He is With Us.  Every step of the way.  Held by His Grip and safe from death things. “For thou are with me…”  And that’s always enough

10. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  His correction is for our protection. His “rod” gently nudges us if we begin to stray.  His “staff” is equal to a “crutch” if we are wounded along the way.  Both his Correction and His Protection are basic characteristics of a Good Shepherd.  We are encapsulated in His Divine Protection and everything is going to be all right.   

11.  Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies. When those who desire my demise and death are surrounding me, when impossibilities threaten, and there is no one is there to encourage, to help, to stand by… Guess what the Good Shepherd does…. He Prepares a Feast for me… a private party with the most delectable and delicious nourishments available, and then, He pulls up a chair, sits down and feasts with me.  While our bewildered enemies stare in wonderment at such a reversal of their evil intent.  I am safe.  I am secure.  I am blessed beyond measure.  HE IS WIH ME.

12.  Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.  The Good Shepherd makes sure all my needs are met… He anoints my head with oil… “Anoint” signifies pouring over me all things that make me “fat” (Heb Dawshane)and prosperous and continues to abundantly provide… until my cup runs over.  I am enabled to live a life continually running over with His Blessings and I can rest secure in all life situations.  His Supply is endless and my cup is always Full.

13. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…  For certain, without doubt, definitely and unquestionable, HIS goodness (not mine, but HIS)and HIS mercy shall literally chase after  me all the days of my life.  I will never be able to outrun the love and faithfulness of the Good Shepherd… they and HE will always be on my heels as long as I live.  Then I will come Home where He lives and stay Home.. at His House throughout eternity.. Forever.    

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.  Joh 10:11 

Word for Today:  August 16

What Faith is.

Faith is believing.  Faith is believing God.  Faith is believing God’s Word.  Faith is the opposite of fear.  Faith is the opposite of doubt.  Faith is the opposite of unbelief.  Faith is a gift from God to you and me.  Every believer has faith.  Every believer has the measure of faith (Rom 12:3).  How much is the measure of faith?  It is enough.  It is enough faith to do what God says do.  It is enough faith to have what God says we can have.  It is enough faith to be who God says we can be.

Faith is connected with God.  Faith is connecting with God.  Faith is an attribute of God that every believer receives when he is Born Again.

Faith is connected with the Word.  Faith is connecting with the Word. Faith activates the Word.   Faith brings the promises of God into the realm of the now.  Faith is connected with the Church.  When the church gathered to pray for Peter who was in jail, an angel came and opened the prison doors and let him out.  They prayed in faith.  They broke the barrier of the natural and stepped into the realm of the supernatural.

We do not come into faith on our own righteousness.  God honors faith on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which has been imputed into every Believer.  Our faith is not based on the works that we have done or our performance in the past.

We do not come into faith with legalistic theology.  Our faith is a finished work.  Jesus is the Author and the FINISHER of our faith (Heb 12:2).   God does not do things for us because we are nice, sweet, obedient or spiritual… He works in our behalf on the basis of the Blood of Jesus… AND NOTHING ELSE.

Faith accepts the Goodness and the Grace of God.  We must believe that “He is and that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him…”   God can do anything.

• He is not the Author of bad things. He is the Creator of good things.
• He is merciful.
• He is kind.
• He is patient.
• He is compassionate.
• He is a Giver and not a taker.
• He is a Multiplier and not a divider.
• He is a Promoter and not a demoter.
• He is adds and does not subtract.
• He is forgiving.
• He is understanding.
• He is longsuffering.
• He is kind and He is gentle.

God is Good.  God is Love.

God is for you

Word for Today:  August 15

The world will never understand a spiritually minded believer.

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

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

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

Word for Today:  December 14

One Factor.

There is only one factor that gives credibility to any legitimate ministry.    There is only one factor that guarantees the success of Kingdom work.  There is only one factor that makes preachers really preach and churches really produce lasting results.  Effectiveness and productiveness are not the result of man’s effort, ingenuity or education.   Success is not correctly measured by size.  Bigger is not always better.   And smarter is not always wiser.   Breadth is never as important as depth.

In Kingdom Ministry it is the Anointing that produces results.  Without the anointing all our efforts are but sounding brass and tinkling symbols.  Where there is no anointing, there is no Life.  It is the anointing that breaks the yoke and sets the captive free.  It is the anointing that brings revelation and produces conviction.  It is the anointing that moves the heart and rends the soul.

With all our getting, preachers, let us be certain we get unction.  Education is good, but it can never substitute for anointing.   Personality and popularity and acclaim are good, but they can never accomplish what the anointing can accomplish.  The coming Millennial Kingdom will operate in limitless anointing.  This anointing will change nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues.  The anointing will bring glory to God and honor to Jesus.

In all the years of ministry, I’m not so sure as to exactly what the anointing really is, or how to adequately explain it, but I can surely tell when I haven’t got it.  And so can you.

• The anointing gives credibility to ministry.
• The anointing eradicates human limitation.
• The anointing speaks the truth.
• The anointing breaks the stronghold of the enemy.
• The anointing ignites the hearts of complacent Christians and impregnates the barren church to produce children.

We must have the anointing

Word for Today:  August 13

Called of God.

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. Judg. 6:12

I’m quite sure that Gideon did not feel like a mighty man of valor.  He had been hiding out behind the barn to thresh the wheat so the Midianites could not see him.  He was nervous.  He was afraid.  He was uncertain.  He had no confidence in himself.  He was intimidated by the enemy.  Yet, God calls him a “Mighty man of valor.”

This is what God calls you.  He calls you what you are… not what you feel like you are.  You may be hiding behind the barn, but He sees you with a Fire in your heart and a Sword in your hand

There is no lottery program in the Call of God.    The call is direct and personal and based on something God sees within the person He is calling.   He sees in you possibility.  He sees in you capability.  God sees in you potential.  He sees your Heart and He knows what kind of a heart you have.

You may not “feel” like a Mighty Warrior.  You may not look like a threat to hell and the devil.  You may not think you are More than a Conqueror, but that is what God sees in you and that is what God calls you.  And that is precisely what you are.

Today, be WHO God says you ARE

Word for Today:  August 12

We want to discover what really happened at Calvary.

We have read about the Crucifixion, heard sermons on the Crucifixion, studied about the Crucifixion, but in reality very few know and understand what happen on the Cross.  What we believe about the Cross will determine the depth of our Revelation of Jesus.

Justice had decreed that sinful man must pay the penalty for his transgression.  The Human Race stood guilty before God of Spiritual High Treason.  Man had turned away from God and embraced the devil.  However, the human race was impotent, helpless and incapable of meeting the demands of justice.

“I owed a debt I could not pay,

He paid a Price He did not owe,

I needed Someone just to wash my sins away,

And now I sing a brand new song:  Amazing Grace!

Christ Jesus paid the Price that I could never pay…”

And so out of the Heart of God comes the solution to the human problem.  Jesus steps forward and declares:  “Here am I, send Me…”  And so toward the Cross He goes.

Calvary is center stage for the entire human race.  What happened there is the pivotal point of all history.  Calvary is more than the death of Jesus at the hand of His enemies.  Calvary is more than the suffering and horror of such inhumanity and torture.

• Calvary involves Jesus and it involves God.
• It involves man and it involves sin.
• It involves time and it involves eternity.
• It is the place of a divine Exchange

Here, Jesus became what man is in order than man can become what Jesus is. 

“God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him…”  II Cor. 5:21