Archive for August 2023

FAST FOOD

August 30, 2023

Word for Today:  August 30

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1Cor. 4:2

There are so many times pastors are tempted to quit or to compromise when they see many of God’s Army who have defected and gone AWOL.   But when we see those who are Faithful… those who have remained steadfast and unmovable… our hearts are encouraged and we know that we must persevere… we must go on.

We cannot quit.  These are members of Gideon’s Three Hundred… they never stop to consider the opposition, the magnitude of the problem, or the impossible odds… they simply stand.  They stay.  They stick.

One individual has often done what a whole congregation was not able to do.  One family has often done what an entire nation could not do.  One church has often done what an entire denomination could not do.

Gideon’s three hundred easily did what the fearful Twenty-two thousand who departed in a hurry for home, could not possibly have done.

Folks, hundreds of years have passed since Gideon’s time, but the Three Hundred still remain.  The brotherhood has been perpetuated and their spiritual posterity continues to live.  The tenth leper who returned to thank Jesus for his healing was a member of this band.

The 120 who took time to leave the stuff at home and the work at hand to head into Jerusalem and wait for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost belonged to this band.   Paul and Silas, singing and praising God with bloody backs, locked in stocks in a midnight prison, were members of this band.

Thank God for those who are “Found Faithful.”

They are in the Gideon Group

FAST FOOD

August 29, 2023

Word for Today:  August 29

It matters.

It really matters what and how you believe.  You can’t just believe anything and everything and expect to live life to its fullest.  If you do not Believer Right you move into the realm of death.  If you do not Believe Right you will constantly be defeated and overcome by demon forces.

Jesus said to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus:

I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live;  and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believeth thou this?  John 11:25-26.

Do you Believe?  What do you believe?  How do you believe?  In whom do you believe?  Be sure you believe right.  Ignorance is no excuse.  False doctrine and flawed teaching is no excuse.  Religious tradition and denominational doctrines are no excuse.  Believing right is believing:

  • That the Bible is the Word of God.
  • That Jesus is the Son of God.
  • That Jesus Died on the Cross for the sins of the word.
  • That Jesus went into hell and defeated the devil.
  • That Jesus rose from the dead in the fullness of His Resurrection Power.
  • That He is Alive.  Now.  And forever.
  • That He has empowered His Church to do His Work on earth.
  • That He is returning to claim His own and establish His Eternal Earthly Kingdom.

Believing this really matters.

It will determine where you will spend eternity

FAST FOOD

August 28, 2023

Word for Today: August 28

Conflict

The more active you get and the more vocal you become for God, the greater the conflict.  As long as you are satisfied being “average” and “normal” and “sensible” and “reasonable” there will be little or no opposition.  When you get determined, so does the devil.  The fact that you and I are threats… serious threats… to hell and hell’s mission, makes us the focus of satanic activity.  However, the

Weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds… 2Cor 10:4

God has equipped us for victory.  Our weapons are not natural, man-made or physical.  They are Supernatural and never-failing.  When we operate in the offensive, our Spiritual Weapons will tear down and destroy every fortress and stronghold the enemy has placed in our lives.

Every attack of the devil is a challenge to the God in us… he is fighting the God in you (therefore he is fighting a losing battle).  The battle you fight is not yours.  It is God’s.  The devil hates Him and when he sees God in us, he is foolish and dumb enough to come against Him.  Remember David?

This is the reason the devil hates you… you are where God is.  When he see you he sees God.  He hates God and defies God.  David realized this in his confrontation with Goliath.  He declared:  “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”  Notice, he did not say that Goliath was defying the armies of Saul or the armies of Israel… but instead, the armies of the living God.   Now, Who is the Champion?  Who is the Stronger One?  Who is the Victorious One?

It is God Who lives in you.

If He wins, you win.

If He can’t lose, you can’t lose.

If He overcomes, you overcome.

He has made you a Champion

FAST FOOD

August 27, 2023

Word for Today: August 27

Attitude.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dissatisfaction leads to greater possibilities

FAST FOOD

August 26, 2023

Word for Today:  August 26

Paying the price.

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

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

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

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

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

RIGHT NOW

FAST FOOD

August 25, 2023

Word for Today:  August 25

They may be in the Far Country.

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

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

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

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

And we will celebrate

FAST FOOD

August 24, 2023

Word for Today:  August 24

More.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do you want MORE?

FAST FOOD

August 23, 2023

Word for Today:  August 23

Jesus Paid it All.

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

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

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

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

Elvina M. Hall  1865

How to Change Things

August 22, 2023

 We are the only limitation God has.   It’s up to us.  Many are sitting around waiting for God to do something and God is waiting for us to do something.  God does not have to do anything else…. He has already done it.  The only limitation in the life of any believer is the believer himself.  Some are praying and believing and praying and believing and fasting and seeking and worrying and weeping and repenting and trying to get what God has already given them. 

He has made everything we need available.  He has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.    

3 ¶  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

 We are going to consider one of the most familiar verses to every evangelical believer in the New Testament.    It is Romans chapter ten and verse ten.  This is the verse that most every soul winner memorizes and quotes in his quest to win souls.  This is a great verse.  It is good because it was by this verse and by the work of the Holy Spirit in our life that got us into Resurrection living.  It got us Born Again. 

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Notice in particular the word “salvation.”  For years and years I thought this meant simply missing hell and making it into heaven.  However there is much, much more in this verse than just missing hell and going to heaven.  Now that’s good but God has much more in store. 

The word “salvation” is soteria and it is the all-inclusive word of God’s Grace.  And it means not only to be saved from sin and to go to heaven, but also it means to have our sick body healed, it means to have our confused mind made sound, it means to have our poverty turned into prosperity, it means to be protected and delivered from every enemy, it means to be preserved and kept through every trial.  It means to have everything we need in this life necessary for us to prosper spirit, soul, and body.   All these provisions have already been made available to you and me.   And we enter into that abundance by believing with our heart and confessing with our mouth.  We and are able to receive everything God has provided for us through the redemptive work of Jesus on the Cross simply by Believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth.  Awesome.  Almost too good to be true.  But this is what God has promised us in His Word.  And this is how to change things. 

Not many people I know are really satisfied with things the way they are.  The good news is that we can change those things we don’t like.  Most people who are in undesirable situations are saying “I can’t help it.”  But the “I can’t help it” excuse is really a cop out.  Where does the “I can’t help it” excuse comes from?  It comes from the devil.  The Truth is we can help it.  God says we can.  The main reason we cannot change things is because we may not know how to.  If we do not know how to, then we are one of those people the Bible talks about when it says “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge…”   

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

When someone is lacking knowledge they are, in fact, ignorant.   “Ye have not because we know not how to get it…”  Pardon my paraphrase.  But that’s really the truth.  The world has told us all our life that there were things that we just had to bear.  We could not help it.  It was unavoidable.  Nothing could change it.  It was just “meant to be.”  Meant to be by whom?   Certainly not by God if what is happening to us is bad and destructive.  We have listened to what the reasoning world has told us.  We have counted as fact what our natural eyes have seen.  We have believed what our emotions have dictated to us and we have been moved by our five senses.

 No wonder situations seem unchangeable.  This kind of information processing results in the “I can’t help it” mind set.  And it is really a MIND SET it is NOT a WORD SET.  We can change things.  The Word says we can.  The right way to change things does not come out of selfish or carnal thinking.  When we find ourselves in situations and circumstances that do not glorify God and enhance His Kingdom, we can change them.  When we are in a place that is not in the Will of God and we know it, then we can change it.  Some have relatives that are lost.  Others have pressing financial problems.  Many are struggling with sickness and disease.  Some are working through marriage and family issues… and the devil would have us believe that nothing is going to get better, that they will always be bad and that there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it.  However, we can change things IF we know how to do it.

 God wants us to have His Best.  Jesus died so that we could have Life and have it more abundantly.  God does not want us lacking in any good thing.  God wants us to have His best in everything and in every way.  Do we want His best?  Can we come into agreement with another believer for God’s best to be ours?   Listen to this: 

Mt 18:19 Again I say unto us, That if two of us 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.

Let’s just agree with God and get this promise working.  It is a lot easier to talk about how bad it is and how hard it is and how impossible it is than it is to confess with our mouth what God says regardless of what we see or feel.  God says things can be changed.  God says that things can get better.  God says that our circumstances can be overcome.  God says that our situations can be brought in line with His Word and in agreement with His Will.  God wants us to rearrange our vocabulary and change our thinking.  He wants us to get rid of all the negative stuff and begin to accentuate the positives.  God is a YES God.  The Word declares:

2Co 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Let’s take a look in the Gospel of John Chapter 8…

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free.

What does “free” mean?  It means free.  Free.  Free.  It means to be set loose.  It means to be released from bondage.  It means to be unshackled.  Jesus said the truth would make us free.  If we are free, it is the truth that made us free.  If we are bound it is the Lie that has put us in bondage.  Now what is the lie?  The Lie is anything that contradicts the Word of God.  It is anything that comes from the devil because the Bible says that he is the father of lies. 

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

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

“We shall know the Truth of God’s Word and the Truth of God’s Word that us act on in faith will deliver us from all our bondage” to paraphrase what Jesus says in this verse.  Hallelujah.  That is exactly where God wants us to be.  He wants us to be totally free from all satanic and demonic bondage.  He wants us to be delivered from every habit and every burden and every demonic oppression the devil has put on us. 

Exposure to the Truth will change us.  And when we are exposed to the Truth and the Truth becomes revelation to us, we can change bad things into good things.  When we begin to take in the Truth, we automatically begin to get better.  Better in our body.  Better in our mind.  Better in our talking.  Better in our expectations.  Better in our relationships.  Better in our patience.  Better in our temperament. 

The Truth will get us out of worry into trust.  It will get us out of sickness into health.  It will get us out of anxiety into peace.  It will get us out of sadness into joy.  It will get us out of poverty into abundance.  God wants us to succeed and not fail.  God wants us to be well and not sick.  God wants us to happy and not sad.  God want us to be prosperous and not poor.  God want us to have His Best.  And He has made every provision for this, but some are still waiting and hoping for their situation to change. The real issue is that God is waiting for us to Change Things.  We can change things.  God has given us the authority and the power to change things…. There is no such thing to the Believer as “I can’t help it.”  How do we change things?  How do we do it? 

We need to understand that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…”  Therefore, what we say with our mouth is very important.  If we “confess” anything, we must “say” it.  If we confess anything, we must formulate thoughts in our mind and then make them come out of our mouth as words. We can change things by and through the words that we say.  Words were “here” before facts were “here.”  Words were here before worlds were here.  Words were here before people were here.  Words were here before the devil was here.  Words have more power than facts.  Words have more authority and more power than natural law has.  Words were here before physical and natural laws were set in motion by Almighty God at the time of Creation.  Words are important.  Words are weighty.  Words are more powerful than facts.  God used Words to create.  He “spoke” and “it was.”  Words are creative.  Words have the power to bring things into existence.   

 Pr 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

God spoke Words that were Faith-filled Words and when those words came out of God’s mouth creation happened.  Substance came into being and was created by the Words God spoke with His mouth.  Words created.  Words have power.  Words have preeminent and predominant force.  

Jesus is vitally interested in how we talk.  We can talk for five minutes with most anybody and they will reveal their spiritual position by the words that come out of their mouth.  By the way they talk.  By the words they say.  By what comes out of their mouth. 

We are living under a New Covenant.  The Word we have is a legal document.  It is binding on two parties.  It is binding on the part of God and it is binding on the part of those who believe it.  God formulated and created this covenant and signed it with and by the Blood of His own Dear Son.  It is established forever and ever.  It faileth not.  It changeth not.  It will never pass away.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God is established from everlasting to everlasting. 

Mt 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The Word is a legal document and it binds God to whoever agrees with it.   I want to agree with it.  Do you?  Will you?  If our answer is “yes” then we are in a position to change things.  If we agree to and with this Legal Document, then God is legally bound to honor His Word in our behalf.  God does not lie. 

Nu 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

When we agree with this covenant that God has signed with the Blood of His Dear Son, we are positioned to receive everything that God has promised and provided for us.  God is bound to us.  We become God’s responsibility.  We are not our own.  We are bought with a price.  We belong to God and we are His responsibility.  Therefore, we don’t have to worry about Wall Street, the stock market, the banks, our job, the world situation, the economy, or anything else, because we are now God’s responsibility.  God is our Source.  God is our Supply.  God is our Security.  He has bound Himself to provide for us IF….we know how to get these Word Promises and Principles working in our life. 

We are literally in New Covenant Living.  God brought us out in order to bring us in.  God got us the Victory.  And then He provided everything we would ever need to maintain the victory.  There is irrevocable power and authority in Spiritual Laws.  We live in the New Covenant Realm and are governed by the Laws set forth in the Word of God.  These are Spiritual laws, spiritual precepts, and spiritual principles.  The laws and precepts and principles set forth in the Word of God supersede all physical and natural law… they have more authority, more influence, and more power than any force or thing in the world or under the world.  

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

This means the Law of Life has more power than the Law of Sin and Death.  Those Spiritual principles and precepts in the Word of God have more power and authority than anything in the World System.   Circumstances and situations are occurrences in the World System and they can be frightening. They can depress us.  They can overwhelm us.  But every situation and circumstance has its origin and birth in the World System.  We who are Born Again live by the laws and precepts of a Spiritual Kingdom that is more powerful and that has more authority than the laws and precepts of the world system. 

Jesus wants us to change our situation.  He wants us to know the Truth.  He wants us to believe right.  He wants us to talk right.  He wants us to expect things to change.

 There is a story in Matthew 16 that shows us just how excited Jesus gets when we talk right.  He was talking to His disciples, and He asked, “Who do men say that I am?”  They answered “well, some say that you are John the Baptist come back to life, some say that you are Elijah, some say that you are a prophet sent from God…”  Jesus asked, “who do you say that I am?”   In other words, Jesus was not interested in what other people said about Him; He wanted to know what His disciples said about Him. Peter, the impetuous one, stood up and declared “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God…”  Jesus got excited at this response by Peter.  He said, “Flesh and blood (the world system)  has not revealed this to you… you did not get this through your intellect or your emotions or your natural reasoning, but My Father which is in heaven has revealed this to you.” (This is revelation knowledge)   Then Jesus really got worked up and said “I will build My Church on this Confession which you made by words that came out of your mouth and out of out of your heart, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…” 

What was this confession Peter made?  He confessed with his mouth that Jesus was and is Messiah.   Peter said with his mouth that Jesus is Messiah, the Anointed One, the One sent from God… The Promised One, The Savior, the Deliverer… he confessed this with his mouth and when he did, Jesus got excited and said, “you did not get this from the world system, Peter, you got that from God and I like what you said…” Then Jesus said, “I’m going to build My church on this Revelation and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…”

And that’s exactly what He’s doing…. He is building His church… not Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Catholic, Pentecostal, Black, White, Red or Yellow… but THE CHURCH.  HIS CHURCH.  And He is building it here and now.  Hallelujah.  And He is building His Church on a CONFESSION….   A confession of Who He Is.  His Person.  His Power.  His Position.  And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it… that means that no demon, no devil, no darkness, no sickness, no disease, no demonic depression or obsession, no authority on earth or under the earth shall defeat the Church because the Church has more power than the world has.  And then Jesus said, “I am going to give you the keys of the Kingdom…” 

That means we have the keys.  Keys open and keys close.  Keys unlock and keys lock.  Keys allow and keys prevent.  And we have the keys.  Having the keys means having the authority and the power to act in Jesus’ Name and being able to do exactly what Jesus would do if He were here in person.  How did these “Keys” come to pass?  They came to pass because of the confession Peter about Jesus with his mouth. 

Jesus is interested in what we say.  He wants us to talk right.  When we say what Jesus says and when we say it in faith, when we take the words that Jesus speak and when we make them our words… words that come out of our spirit man… when we speak the same words that Jesus speaks and we say them in faith, it is exactly the same thing as if Jesus were there saying them Himself.

Jesus wants us to talk to things.  Most folks are talking to and about things.  But Jesus wants us to talk to things.  He wants us to talk to things that don’t have ears.  Jesus talked to an earless fig tree.  He talked to the wind.  The wind doesn’t have any ears.  He spoke to the waves and the rain.  He spoke to the elements of nature. He spoke to dead people.  Just because something does not have ears or does not have the ability to hear, does not mean us are not supposed to talk to them.  Jesus wants us to talk to things that do not have ears so that we can change our situation.  We change our situations and our circumstances by talking to them. 

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Do mountains have ears?  Of course not.  But Jesus commands us to talk to them anyway.  Do you mean we are supposed to talk to mountains?  If we have one or some YES.  It is important that we talk right.  It is important that we say the right things.  It is important that we get our tongue in line with the Word of God and that we make our tongue and our lips say what God says.   We are not to look at or consider our circumstances, or talk about our circumstances, or meditate on our circumstances, us are supposed to talk to them in Jesus Name and tell them where and when to go. 

Lots of people never get their situation or circumstances changed because they are always praying and begging God to change it for them.  When, the truth of the matter is, God has already told us to talk to it and change it ourselves.    Do we have a mouth?  Do we know how to use it?  Can we speak words?  Can we say things?  Death and life are in the power of our tongue.  When we begin confessing with our mouth and talking to our situation,  we will begin to change it by the power of our spoken word as we speak the Word in Faith. 

Several things I need to say here…

First, in order to change our situation, our mind needs to be renewed by the Word of God. 

Rom 12:2   And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of our mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We need to get God’s Word literally built into our mind.  We need to discipline and control our mind to think like the Word.  We can make up our mind.  We have control over our mind.  We can make it line up with the Word of God.  Most of us are more influenced by the situations going on around us than we are influenced by what the Word says.  This is the result of thinking with an unrenewed mind.  Paul tells us to renew our mind.  How do we renew our mind?  We renew our mind by filling it with the Word and emptying it of the world.  We renew our mind by becoming “spiritually minded” instead of being “carnally minded.”

Ro 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The truth is most of us need a good brainwashing.  The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus loves the Church and gave Himself for it that He might set it apart and cleanse it by the “washing of water by the Word…”

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word… 

It is the Word that is the washing and cleansing agent.  The Word is the way to get our minds renewed so that we can think right.  Wrong thinking always gets us in trouble.  Carnal thinking or natural thinking leads to death but when we have our mind renewed by the washing of water by the Word, we are enabled to think right.  And right thinking is Word Thinking.  When we are spiritually minded and think in line with the Word of God, the world and the world system think we are unbalanced.  Unlearned.  Out of touch with reality.  Living in fantasy.  Foolish. And in some cases crazy.  The Word is so far above the world in Truth that when we live our lives by the Word, the world just can’t understand us.    A renewed mind believes what the Word says in spite of what natural carnal reasoning says. 

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 and the unreasonable. 

What God has given us is ours.  And the devil nor anybody else or anything else is going to take it away from us.  It is ours and we are going to keep it.  We are just saying what the Word says.  When we choose to believe what the Word says, we are exercising a renewed mind.  We are thinking  like the Bible tells us to think.  When we think like the Bible tells us to think, we acquire a renewed mind.  And a renewed mind leads us into life and peace and success. 

Next, in order to change things, talk right

We need to make our mouth say what the Word says.  When we feel bad, we don’t say “I feel bad…”  We say instead  “by His stripes we are healed….”  That’s what the Word says.  When we are fearful and confused and unsure about things, we don’t say “I’m afraid…. “  We say “God has not given us the spirit of fear but instead He has given us the spirit of love and power and a sound mind…”

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

When pressures build up and stress builds up and worry and anxiety come, don’t talk about them.  Instead talk to them.  Talk to them in Jesus ‘ Name and tell them when to go and where to go.  Talk right.  But some would say, “but that’s not true, I am sick or I am worried, or I am afraid or I am stressed out…”  If what is happening to us contradicts what the Bible says about us, then what is happening to us is a lie… it is not the truth.  The Lie holds us in bondage.  The Truth makes us free.  Therefore, we should believe the Truth (what the Bible says) instead of what our carnal, reasoning, physical emotions are saying. 

I am amazed at how negative folks talk.  They are giving power to the forces that plague them by talking about them and complaining about them and telling others how bad their situation is.  The world system is a negative system.  It is death driven and death doomed.  It is a kingdom of darkness and there is no light in it.  It is fathered by the devil and propagated by demons.  It is harsh.  It operates in fear.  It has no hope and no future.  It is totally opposite from everything in the Bible. It will overtake us and hold us captive.  It will depress us, keep us in despair and make us miserable.  It is the primary purpose of the devil and hell to keep us away from the Truth, ignorant of the Truth, and disobedient to the Truth.  How we talk will determine how much of a hold the world system has on us and  our family and our possessions. 

We can talk the Word and the words us say become carriers.  When our words agree with God’s Word they will carry God’s Power with them.  When our words agree with the negative world system, they will carry the power of the world system with them.  I really believe if we could ever learn to talk right and speak the Word and the Word only, and what the Word says instead of what we see and feel and think, we could experience a radical transformation in our situations and circumstances. 

The Devil and his demons must submit to the Word of God that we speak.  When we come to see that all the death stuff that is happening to us is caused by the devil and his demons and then get a real revelation of the Power of the Word of God we will be on the road to recovery.  We will be positioned to change things in us and around us.  But as long as we set our tongue in agreement with death, we will have what we say. 

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

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

When our Words become His Word then His purposes will be accomplished in us and through us. 

We have named things and called things that “were not” as though they “were” and we have seen them miraculously come to pass.  We have marched around property that we knew God wanted us to have.  We spoke to it and called it ours and now we have it.  We have called into existence buildings, and lands, and mission enterprises, and endeavors that were spoken to us by the Holy Spirit and now they are ours… for His glory.  We have learned to Speak the Word and then to sit back and watch God perform His Word just as He promised.  And God is no respecter of persons.  What He has done for us He will do for you IF you can bring yourself to believe right, think right and talk right. 

Thirdly, to change your situation, Act out your faith.

 Our faith is no faith if we are not acting it out.  We can testify about our “great faith” but if us are not acting it out in our daily living, our faith is not great… it is just not.  The Bible says that faith without corresponding action is dead. 

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

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

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

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

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

I preached from a flatbed truck body on a piece of land we needed for a new auditorium.  I called it ours.  I named it and called it and spoke to it and acted it out.  A year later I was preaching from a new pulpit in our new auditorium on the land we preached on in faith.  Acting out faith is called foolishness by the world.   But it is called obedience by God.  And when we prove to God and to the world that we really believe by acting out faith before the manifestation of the Fact…. We please our Heavenly Father and we receive what we believe for. 

God told the prophet to dig ditches before the water came.  He acted out His faith.  And the waters came and filled every ditch in a time of drought.  God told the poor starving widow woman to borrow pots before she had any oil to put in them.  She acted out her faith went out and borrowed pots (not a few) and God filled every one of them with lifesaving oil and saved her life and the life of her son.  Jesus acted out His faith by becoming a suffering, dying servant and God brought Him forth as King of kings and Lord of lords.  If we only acted as if we really believed,  people could and would “see” our faith.  Faith with no action is invisible.  Unknown and unnoticed.  And unproductive. 

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

We have a choice.  We can believe what we feel or we can believe what the Word says.  When we act out what the Word says instead of what we feel ,we become like the Word and unlike the world.  When we confess “I just don’t feel like it”  that is exactly what we get.  When we say “It’s just too hard for me I can’t do it”  guess what?   It is.  And we can’t.  When we say “It’ll never work out…It will always be bad” guess what?  It will.  When we say “I’m sick…”  Then we are.  When we say “I’m poor” then we are.  When we say “It’s impossible” then it is.  But when we begin to act like we “feel like it” we will.  But when we act like it’s not too hard, then it won’t be too hard.  When we act like it will get better and it will work out then it will.  When we begin to act like we are well and not sick then we will get well and stay well.  When we act like we are prosperous, then we will become prosperous.  When we act like it is possible then it will be possible.  Acting out faith produces visible results.  Remember Mark 11:23 and 24?

23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

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

Acting out faith is acting as if our answer has already come.  Most are still hoping and praying and wishing and seeking and weeping and repenting and begging and pleading… when the real need is to act as if what we are believing for has already become ours.  Our body may tell us it is not here.  Our circumstances may tell us it is not here.  Our friends and relatives may tell us it is not here.  But I had rather believe the Bible than believe what anybody or anything says if what they say is not what the Bible says.  Amen? 

The Word says what we believe for is already ours.  And we act out our faith.  We act as if it has already manifested.  Faith that acts out is great faith.  Faith that is action is alive and not dead.  Faith that Acts is Faith that Produces. 

Finally, in order to change things, live in an atmosphere of praise.

Praise God in all things.  Praise God at all times.  Praise God through every challenge.  Praise God in the morning.  Praise God at noon.  Praise God in the evening.  Praise God continually.  If we have breath, the Bible commands us to Praise God. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Here’s a famous verse from the Gospel according to Bro. Dick… “Act like you got it and you will get it….”  Acting as if it is already here in the now is a fulfillment of Mark 11: 23 and 24.  And this is perfectly natural for any Spirit Filled, faith-filled, Word Believing individual.  The world cannot understand this nor can any carnal Christian.  

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

This verse is not necessarily limited to mean only those awesome things awaiting the Believer in Heaven.  God has prepared unimaginable “things” in the present for those who love Him.  Do we love Him?  Then those “things” are for us and they are for us today.  Right now.  Hallelujah. 

Praise the Lord and act as if the answer has already come. Refuse to doubt.  Believe with all our heart.  Hold to our confession of faith.  Get our mind renewed by the Word of God.  Talk right.  Say the Word.  Confess the Word.  Talk the Word.  Act out our faith.  Act like us already have “it” and we will get “it.”  Live in an atmosphere of Praise.  Thank God.  Praise God.  Give God glory.  Worship God.  Praise and thank Him in all situations and circumstances. We will see our situation begin to change.     

This is how we change things.  We can change things.  We will change things. 

And God will get the glory. 

FAST FOOD

August 22, 2023

Word for Today:  August 22

Rivers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Neither will you