dickbraswell

This incident took place back in 1989 after the collapse of Communism in the old Soviet Union.  As a result, the doors in that part of the world were opened wide for the influx of the Gospel.  Following nearly 70 years of oppression, when preaching and church and owning a Bible were illegal and punished severely by the communists, suddenly God made it possible for us to go in and hold evangelistic meetings and distribute Bibles in the Russian Language. 

It was during this exciting time that our church organized short term mission trips and travel with small groups from our congregation into various parts of Russia, the Ukraine and Siberia.  The object was to hold meetings, sponsor pastors and plant churches.  We would purchase a complete sound system, take thousands of New Testaments in the Russian Language, connect with a contact in different cities, and rent a large conference hall to conduct a 3 or 4-day evangelistic meeting and then establish a new church from the converts that were reached. 

We took a group from Life Church and targeted Kramatorsk, a large city in the Ukraine to hold a meeting and establish a church.  Since language was a problem, we would secure translators and interpreters to collaborate with us.  But one area of ministry was not so dependent on understanding words of a different language.  That area was the ministry of music.  So, we would prepare a group of songs, usually simple choruses, which were popular and effective in the states and use members of our group to sing, play instruments and minister with music.  Pat oversaw organizing the musicians and selecting the music we were to use in the crusade.   

One day, shortly after we arrived in Kramatorsk, the musicians were rehearsing the songs that were to be used in the opening evening session.  Since the building we were using was adjacent to a busy street lined with various kinds of businesses, the pedestrian traffic walking near us could hear the music and the singing that we were rehearsing inside.    One morning, a man, looking just like the hundreds we saw every day, came into our building, and approached one of our translators.  From what I learned later, their conversation centered on the songs and the music our team was practicing.  The man was extremely excited and explained that he oversaw the music ministry in his church that was now free to worship without fear of being arrested or detained by the KGB.  He was very interested to learn how he could have access to the songs and music he was hearing so he could teach the people in his church.

 He had with him a small, handwritten, well-worn booklet, bound together with a piece of string, containing the words to the songs and choruses he was using in his church.  The remarkable thing is his church was in the city of Magadan in the far reaches of eastern Siberia.  On the map, you can see it is in the proximity of the Bering Sea and nearly 4000 miles east of Kramatorsk.  He was so emotional, and so thankful for this Miracle Moment when he encountered just what he needed…. and at such an “impossible” circumstance of divine convergence. 

One of my wife’s most treasured possessions was the small, tattered, hand-written booklet of the songs the Man from Magadan gave her.  And it was this booklet and this God-Connection that became the driving passion and motivation for her and a few local musician helpers to compile the first Russian Language Book of songs and spiritual choruses ever published… complete with written music scores and accompanying words.  We were enabled to print tens of thousands of them and freely distribute them throughout all our mission travels inside the Old Soviet Union…

Because of God, the Man from Magadan and Pat’s Vision….

They are still in use in hundreds of churches and home groups over there today

The resurrection of a dead dog

Posted December 17, 2022 by dickbraswell
Categories: Uncategorized

I have been preaching for over 64 years and one of the most significant miracles I ever witnessed was the resurrection of a dead dog. 

God turned an apparent tragedy into a triumph when a dog my little boys loved got hit by a speeding automobile.    A beautiful German Shepherd named “Prince,” was a loving companion to my small boys but one day, in the presence of the boys, he was crushed under the wheels of a passing car. 

They cried and called for me to get him off the road where he lay.  When I arrived, the sight was not pretty.  He was bloody, his legs were askew, and he was lifeless.  As the boys stood by me, I told them I would have to take Prince to the back yard and bury him. 

Then one of them said “Daddy, why don’t you pray for him?”  An impossible situation.  How can I do this?  What will I tell them when I have to put Prince in the ground?  But I did.  I prayed.  But they had much more faith than I did.  I took the lifeless body and put it on the porch right by the front door and told the boys to go inside and get ready for bed (this happened late in the day).  I planned on burying Prince when the kids were asleep. 

When they were all tucked in for the night I reluctantly went back to the porch where Prince lay.  Do you know, when I opened the door that dead dog jumped straight up from where he lay and walked over to me and began licking my hand.  I was startled.  Dumbfounded.  And overwhelmed at the power of prayers prayed by little boys.  I ran inside, got them to come and see the Miracle of Prince.  And the ONE who makes the Impossible Possible proved once again with another Miracle that HE is our Almighty and All-Powerful God.     

I put the shovel up and gave Prince a big serving of fresh ground hamburger

 This is the season that the entire world recognizes and celebrates the Miracle of the Ages.  Nothing in time or eternity can match the significance of what happened on a Judean hillside nearly 2000 years ago.  All of time has been divided into “before” and “after” because of this Divine Visitation.  Jesus came.  Jesus came from heaven.  Jesus was sent by God into the earth.  He came in the form of flesh and was born of a virgin.  This had never happened before and it will never happen again.  This is the Miracle of the Ages.  God became Flesh.

John 1:14   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Incarnation is the most significant and awesome and overwhelming work of God since the Creation of all things.  It (the Incarnation) is the crowning achievement of the Work of God and is the most complete expression and revelation of His Nature and Character.  God became flesh.  And He dwelt among us. 

            He came to earth because of sin.  Sin had separated God from His Children and God wanted them back.  Jesus came to redeem the human race from the fall of Adam.

Rom. 5:19   For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Jesus came to earth from heaven for your benefit and for mine.  He came in obedience to His Father.  As we begin this message, let’s notice at least six reasons why Jesus came to earth:

1.  Jesus came because God said He would .

Num. 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?

Isa. 7:14   Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The heart of revealed Scripture is prophetic and Messianic in nature.  God promised our deliverance from sin’s control and dominion in the first Book of the Bible.

Gen. 3:15   And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The moment Adam sinned; God set in motion a Plan to redeem His Dream.  Here God promises to do Something to bruise the head of satan.  The “It” that will bruise satan’s head is the seed of a woman.  That Seed is Jesus.  The bruise that satan renders to the Seed of woman is the Crucifixion of Jesus.  Here in the very beginning of the written Word, God accurately prophesies that Jesus will come to earth and do something about the devil. 

2.  Jesus came to heal hurting hearts.

            For 500 years there had been no Voice from God.  No prophet.  No Divine visitation.  No miracle.  Human hearts were stricken with barrenness.  The whole earth was held in the bondage of a Spiritual drought.  Men were desperate.  The world was waiting in great need for something to happen.

            Godly people were kept in slavery by a fierce anti-God government.  Rome.  This Empire was governed Ceasars who considered themselves gods.  Humanistic philosophers deceived the masses through reason and rhetoric.  The armies were cruel, sadistic, savage, and merciless.  Injustice prevailed.  Slavery was enforced.  Oppression was unbearable. 

In this harsh setting, there was a cry for God.  No visitation.  No miracle.  No voice from heaven.  No prophet.  No touch from God.  The sick remained sick until they died.

The lame could not be healed.

The blind, deaf, and dumb had no hope of a cure.

The oppressed had no escape.

Men were burdened.  Bruised.  Broken.  There was no answer.

The world was in great need for a Spiritual Awakening.

Jesus came from heaven to answer the cry of a needy world.

3.  Jesus came to break the bondage of dead religion.

            In spite of the horror of a world without God, Religion flourished.  Religion does not need God to flourish.  Most religion is without God anyway.  It is true today and it was true 2000 years ago.

During the Interbiblical Period, the Judiastic System continued on its path of rule, regulation, and legalism.

            Jesus sets men free.  Free from dead religion and man’s traditions and denominational customs.  Free from laws, rules, and regulations.  Free for bondage to carnal deacons and ungodly church leaders and unscriptural church government.     Jesus said that we would and could know the TRUTH (the Gospel) and the TRUTH would make us FREE.

            The Jews in Jesus’ day lived in total subjection to (1) The Law of Moses  (2) the sayings of the Prophets and (3) the Writings that had been handed down from generation to generation.  There were 613 separate laws and commandments and rules and regulations that every Jew was required to obey and keep.  That is why Jesus said of the Scribes and Pharisees:  “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men’s shoulders: but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers…”  (Matt. 23:4)

            Jesus came from heaven to earth to break the shackles of dead religion.  Religion builds walls.  Jesus tears them down.  Religion separates.  Jesus joins together.  Religion kills.  Jesus gives Life. 

            The Jews kept God shut up in the Holy of Holies, behind thick curtains and unreachable by man.  But when Jesus was Crucified the veil of the Temple was “rent”….

Matt. 27:51   And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

And God got out!  Jesus sets the captive free.  Just like He did for you and for me.

4.  Jesus came to Reveal the Nature of God.  To show us what God is like.

            Jesus came from heaven to earth to answer the question:  “What is God like?”  Jesus is the Perfect Revelation of God.  Jesus “condescended” and “made Himself of no reputation…” to reveal to you and me and all creation what God is really like.  The Incarnation of Christ is the greatest miracle of all time.  This is the season of that celebration.  All the world can now know what God is like. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus reveals the Nature of our Father God.  He said:  “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father…”  Jesus “condescended” to this earth and “made Himself of no reputation”   (He laid down (1) His equality with God  (2) The Glory He shared with the Father in Heaven  (3) His Authority in Heaven  (4) His Divine attributes and outward powers)  in order to reveal the Nature and Character of God.  Jesus is the Perfect Revelation of God.   Jesus “put a Face on God.”

            Jesus came from Heaven to earth to Reveal the Nature of God.

5.  Jesus came from Heaven to earth to put away sin and destroy the works of the devil.  To deliver us from sin’s control and dominion.

Hebr. 9:26   For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

 athetesis {ath-et’-ay-sis}    1) abolition, disannulling, put away, rejection

1John 3:8    …..For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

           Jesus came from heaven to earth to undo the works of the devil.  He came from heaven to earth to put away sin… once and for all.  Under the OT system, the blood of bulls and goats, sheep, and lambs was only a temporary solution to the sin problem.  Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the Mercy Seat with the blood of an unblemished lamb.  This act of sacrifice took care of the sins of Israel for one year.  Then the procedure had to be repeated.  But Jesus came “Once for all…” and “put away sin”… Jesus’ sacrifice did not postpone sin’s judgment, Jesus’ sacrifice did away with sin… once and for all forever!

6.  Jesus came from Heaven to earth to Birth a Powerful, Overcoming, Victorious Church.  To build a Church.

Matt. 16:18   And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;  and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matt. 16:19   And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Acts 1:8   But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Luke 10:19   Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Mark 16:17   And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Mark 16:18   They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

The Miracle of the Incarnation:

            Jesus is more than a Babe in a Manger.  Jesus did not come into being at His birth.  He is and has been co-existent with God and is without beginning and without end.  He is Eternal.  He was with God in the Beginning. 

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

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

            He was and is the Agent of God in Creation. 

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

            He is the Power of God that holds all Creation together.

Col. 1:17   And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

            He is the Living Word. 

            He is the Light about which John the Baptist bore witness.

            He is Lamb of God.

            He is the Suffering Servant.

            He is the Living Water.

            He is the Bread of Life.

            He is Son of Man and the Son of God.

            He is the Alpha and Omega.

            He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

            He is Messiah.

Rev. 1:13   And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Rev. 1:14   His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Rev. 1:15   And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev. 1:16   And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Rev. 1:17   And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Rev. 1:18   I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.  Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

He is EMMAUEL:   GOD WITH US

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The Word Became Flesh

December 20, 2021

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This is the season that the entire world recognizes and celebrates the Miracle of the Ages.  Nothing in time or eternity can match the significance of what happened on a Judean hillside nearly 2000 years ago.  All of time has been divided into “before” and “after” because of this Divine Visitation.  Jesus came.  Jesus came from heaven.  Jesus was sent by God into the earth.  He came in the form of flesh and was born of a virgin.  This had never happened before and it will never happen again.  This is the Miracle of the Ages.  God became Flesh.

John 1:14   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Incarnation is the most significant and awesome and overwhelming work of God since the Creation of all things.  It (the Incarnation) is the crowning achievement of the Work of God and is the most complete expression and revelation of His Nature and Character.  God became flesh.  And He dwelt among us. 

            He came to earth because of sin.  Sin had separated God from His Children and God wanted them back.  Jesus came to redeem the human race from the fall of Adam.

Rom. 5:19   For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Jesus came to earth from heaven for your benefit and for mine.  He came in obedience to His Father.  As we begin this message, let’s notice at least six reasons why Jesus came to earth:

1. Jesus came because God said He would .

Num. 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?

Isa. 7:14   Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The heart of revealed Scripture is prophetic and Messianic in nature.  God promised our deliverance from sin’s control and dominion in the first Book of the Bible.

Gen. 3:15   And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The moment Adam sinned; God set in motion a Plan to redeem His Dream.  Here God promises to do Something to bruise the head of satan.  The “It” that will bruise satan’s head is the seed of a woman.  That Seed is Jesus.  The bruise that satan renders to the Seed of woman is the Crucifixion of Jesus.  Here in the very beginning of the written Word, God accurately prophesies that Jesus will come to earth and do something about the devil. 

2.  Jesus came to heal hurting hearts.

            For 500 years there had been no Voice from God.  No prophet.  No Divine visitation.  No miracle.  Human hearts were stricken with barrenness.  The whole earth was held in the bondage of a Spiritual drought.  Men were desperate.  The world was waiting in great need for something to happen.

            Godly people were kept in slavery by a fierce anti-God government.  Rome.  This Empire was governed Ceasars who considered themselves gods.  Humanistic philosophers deceived the masses through reason and rhetoric.  The armies were cruel, sadistic, savage, and merciless.  Injustice prevailed.  Slavery was enforced.  Oppression was unbearable. 

In this harsh setting, there was a cry for God.  No visitation.  No miracle.  No voice from heaven.  No prophet.  No touch from God.  The sick remained sick until they died.

The lame could not be healed.

The blind, deaf, and dumb had no hope of a cure.

The oppressed had no escape.

Men were burdened.  Bruised.  Broken.  There was no answer.

The world was in great need for a Spiritual Awakening.

Jesus came from heaven to answer the cry of a needy world.

3.  Jesus came to break the bondage of dead religion.

            In spite of the horror of a world without God, Religion flourished.  Religion does not need God to flourish.  Most religion is without God anyway.  It is true today and it was true 2000 years ago.

During the Interbiblical Period, the Judiastic System continued on its path of rule, regulation, and legalism.

            Jesus sets men free.  Free from dead religion and man’s traditions and denominational customs.  Free from laws, rules, and regulations.  Free for bondage to carnal deacons and ungodly church leaders and unscriptural church government.     Jesus said that we would and could know the TRUTH (the Gospel) and the TRUTH would make us FREE.

            The Jews in Jesus’ day lived in total subjection to (1) The Law of Moses  (2) the sayings of the Prophets and (3) the Writings that had been handed down from generation to generation.  There were 613 separate laws and commandments and rules and regulations that every Jew was required to obey and keep.  That is why Jesus said of the Scribes and Pharisees:  “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men’s shoulders: but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers…”  (Matt. 23:4)

            Jesus came from heaven to earth to break the shackles of dead religion.  Religion builds walls.  Jesus tears them down.  Religion separates.  Jesus joins together.  Religion kills.  Jesus gives Life. 

            The Jews kept God shut up in the Holy of Holies, behind thick curtains and unreachable by man.  But when Jesus was Crucified the veil of the Temple was “rent”….

Matt. 27:51   And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

And God got out!  Jesus sets the captive free.  Just like He did for you and for me.

4.  Jesus came to Reveal the Nature of God.  To show us what God is like.

            Jesus came from heaven to earth to answer the question:  “What is God like?”  Jesus is the Perfect Revelation of God.  Jesus “condescended” and “made Himself of no reputation…” to reveal to you and me and all creation what God is really like.  The Incarnation of Christ is the greatest miracle of all time.  This is the season of that celebration.  All the world can now know what God is like. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus reveals the Nature of our Father God.  He said:  “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father…”  Jesus “condescended” to this earth and “made Himself of no reputation”   (He laid down (1) His equality with God  (2) The Glory He shared with the Father in Heaven  (3) His Authority in Heaven  (4) His Divine attributes and outward powers)  in order to reveal the Nature and Character of God.  Jesus is the Perfect Revelation of God.   Jesus “put a Face on God.”

            Jesus came from Heaven to earth to Reveal the Nature of God.

5.  Jesus came from Heaven to earth to put away sin and destroy the works of the devil.  To deliver us from sin’s control and dominion.

Hebr. 9:26   For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

 athetesis {ath-et’-ay-sis}    1) abolition, disannulling, put away, rejection

1John 3:8    …..For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

           Jesus came from heaven to earth to undo the works of the devil.  He came from heaven to earth to put away sin… once and for all.  Under the OT system, the blood of bulls and goats, sheep, and lambs was only a temporary solution to the sin problem.  Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the Mercy Seat with the blood of an unblemished lamb.  This act of sacrifice took care of the sins of Israel for one year.  Then the procedure had to be repeated.  But Jesus came “Once for all…” and “put away sin”… Jesus’ sacrifice did not postpone sin’s judgment, Jesus’ sacrifice did away with sin… once and for all forever!

6.  Jesus came from Heaven to earth to Birth a Powerful, Overcoming, Victorious Church.  To build a Church.

Matt. 16:18   And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;  and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matt. 16:19   And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Acts 1:8   But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Luke 10:19   Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Mark 16:17   And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Mark 16:18   They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

The Miracle of the Incarnation:

            Jesus is more than a Babe in a Manger.  Jesus did not come into being at His birth.  He is and has been co-existent with God and is without beginning and without end.  He is Eternal.  He was with God in the Beginning. 

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

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

            He was and is the Agent of God in Creation. 

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

            He is the Power of God that holds all Creation together.

Col. 1:17   And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

            He is the Living Word. 

            He is the Light about which John the Baptist bore witness.

            He is Lamb of God.

            He is the Suffering Servant.

            He is the Living Water.

            He is the Bread of Life.

            He is Son of Man and the Son of God.

            He is the Alpha and Omega.

            He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

            He is Messiah.

Rev. 1:13   And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Rev. 1:14   His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Rev. 1:15   And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev. 1:16   And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Rev. 1:17   And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Rev. 1:18   I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.  Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

He is EMMAUEL:   GOD WITH US

Word for Today:  December 17

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:  December 16

God chose you.

According as He hath chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the world… having predestinated (foreordained) us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His Will… Eph. 1:4-5

God chose you and called you.  You are a special Selection of the Father.  He brought you into the world in this narrow corridor of time to provide you with the very best.  You are blessed.  You are chosen.  You are called.  You are favored.  God carefully orchestrated gene pool of your ancestors to produce in you the very talents and abilities that are necessary for you to be effective and victorious in the Things of God.  You are important.  You are unique.  You are special.  You are one of a kind.

God not only chose you but He also called you.  You have a calling on your life.  You have a purpose and a ministry to fulfill.  No one else can do it.  If you do not do it, it will not get done.  Every New Creation individual is called to produce and bear fruit.  To Reproduce.  To Multiply.  To Expand and Extend the Kingdom of God.

Never forget…

You are Significant

Word for Today:  December 15

Believe

• If you can believe, all things will be possible for you and nothing will ever be impossible to you.
• If you can believe, you can move into the realm of the miraculous.
• If you can believe you can change your life, your situation, your circumstances and your destiny.

Believing is the key to the impossible.  Believing is the secret to success.  Believing is the way into heaven.  Believing is the way man connects with God.  Jesus said that if we can believe all things will be possible to us (Mark 9:23).

The Bible says that if without Believing it is impossible to please God.   Believing is the way to please God and the way to tap into the supernatural power of God.  Believing is the most powerful force on earth.

Your believing can change things around you and make them line up with your will and the will of God.  Nothing you can do as a Christian is more important than Believing.

Believing can change our nation.  Believing can produce miracles.  Believing can bring God into your situation and solve all your problems.  Believing is life-changing.

Believing changes death into LIFE

Word for Today:  December 14

There is more.

There is more in God than we have experienced.   We have not arrived and we will not “arrive” before Jesus comes for His Church.

As the Spirit of God moves across the earth there is a deepening hunger for More of HIM.  This present day outpouring is bringing focus to our Christian walk.  I don’t know about you, but I want more of God.  I want all of God that I can get.  I want to experience the fullness of God.  I want to receive the maximum anointing in God’s presence and God’s Glory.  I want more.

The exciting reality is that there is more.  We can never draw out of God all that He has.  The Bible says:

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. 1Cor. 2:9

Word for Today:  December 13

God has given us weapons

 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.   2Cor 10:4-6

They are mighty weapons through God to the pulling down of strongholds  … they are not carnal and they are not natural … they are Supernatural and they are efficient and they are effective and they work.

They are given to every believer in order that every believer might overcome the attacks of the enemy. These weapons are for warfare. They are not for vacation. They are for pulling down and destroying and they are to be used.

The reason we have these weapons is that we might overcome the powers of darkness…. that we might stop the devil. If we do not use them, they will not work, and we will not stop the devil. If we do not exercise them, we will not break through and put the devil on the run.

God gave them. God gave them to Believers. God gave them to Believers in order that Believers might confirm what Jesus did to the devil.

Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. Those works are still destroyed. The Bible says that

…to as many as received Him to them gave He power to become…  John 1:12.

You have the power and authority to become whatever God has purposed for you to become.

This is why Paul says… “I can do all things though Christ…”

Word for Today:  December 12

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

How do we get God’s abundant supply to our need?

We need to understand the Natural World as it relates to and exists with (alongside of) the Spiritual World.  Most people do not realize that there are literally two worlds existing (in the present) side by side.  One is the Natural World (the world we can see and touch and taste and hear and feel).  The visible, natural, physical world.  This is the world we live in.  The world that our mind (soul) and our body relates to.  This world is easy to perceive because it relates to our reasoning… our senses… our sight.   It can be experienced and understood by the natural faculties of man.

However, the “natural” man cannot receive (understand) the things of the Spirit of God because they are “spiritually discerned…” they relate to the Other World…The Spiritual World.

But the natural man(psuchikos) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor 2:14

But he that is spiritual (pneumatikos)  judgeth (investigates, examines, searches and discerns) all things, (as to whether they are Truth or Fact). 1 Cor 2:15

Believing God begins in the Spirit and manifests in the Natural.  It effects change in the Natural World because it is reality in the Spiritual. World.  What we make as a determined and conscious act of our human will starts things happening.

The Spirit of God and the Truth of His Word are always more Powerful in operation than the natural and physical facts that are happening all around us.

When our Believing explodes as a Revelation coming out of our Spirit, it produces change in the physical, natural world.

His supply will always satisfy our need