dickbraswell

Word for Today:  April 15

Do Something

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

Decide to do something!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Word for Today:  April 13

Don’t be discouraged.

Remember:  situations and circumstances have no power to affect you… you have the power and authority to affect situations and circumstances.  You are the thermostat… not the thermometer.

Situations change… God does not change…  Circumstances change, God never changes.   God is changeless and Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever…      Conditions change… God’s Word does not change…  Your troubles will not change God or His Word…  God and His Word will change your troubles into triumphs…

The devil will attempt to make you believe that you have it worse than anybody in the whole world…  he will stress that your problem and your situation is unique and that nobody has ever had it as bad as you…  he will say you are sicker, weaker, dumber, poorer, more helpless and hopeless and anybody in the world…  he will magnify it and multiply it until it becomes a huge mountain instead of a meager mole hill.  Listen to the Word:

…there hath no temptation taken you but such  as is COMMON TO MAN: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it…1 Cor 10:13

If you live by faith and walk in the Spirit you will be faced with temptations, tribulations, tests and trials.  But they are nothing more than awesome opportunities for you to prove that God is Able.

…prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts…    Mal 3:10

Word for Today:  April 12

We win.

What can you believe God for?  What can you thank God for?  What can you see God doing for you TODAY?  That is exactly what you can receive and what you can have…   What can you trust God for?  What are you expecting?  What can you See with your Faith Eyes?  What can you have the courage to say with your mouth?

Most of what we pray and beg for, God has already given us.   God has already provided everything for us we will ever need.  Much of our seeking and searching is seeking and searching in vain because God has already given us what He has promised.    Just how big is that “land of promise?”  (Joshua 1)   What can you walk around?  What can you put the soles of your feet on?  What can you reach out for?  What can you declare as yours?

God has provided.  All our needs are met.  Not going to be, but already are.  Present tense.  All our diseases are healed.  All our enemies are defeated.  All our mountains are moved.   All our “giants” are slain.

Until we come to the full and complete realization that our enemy is a conquered enemy we will continue to waste our strength shadow boxing marching in place.  Know that you have but one enemy and Jesus has already taken care of him.   he is from a fallen kingdom and his allies are all helpless in the face of the weakest believer.

No man shall be able to stand before us.

No demon.

No circumstance.

No impossibility.

No door will remain closed.

No mountain will be unmoved.

No sickness can stay.

• God is always for us.
• God will never leave us.
• God will never forsake us.
• God will never fail us.
• God will never fail you.
• God’s Word will always work.

As long as God is God:  WE WIN

Word for Today:  April 11

In the fullness of time.

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

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

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

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

Word for Today:  April 9

God says you can 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No matter what

Word for Today:  April 6

It’s not your battle.

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

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

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

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

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

It’s His battle and He always wins

Word for Today: April 5

You are important.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You Matter

Word for Today:  April 1

Do Something

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

Decide to do something!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just Do It

Word for Today:  March 29

Inventory

When we take an inventory, we see what is lacking and discover what is needed.  Then we can place an order so that we will be prepared for the increase.

The wisdom of this world has become greater than the wisdom of the Body of Christ. They (the world) know just where they are and what they have to do in order to make progress.  To succeed.  To make a difference.  The merchants of the world system are wiser than the Children of the Kingdom when it comes to knowing and understanding exactly where they are.  They live in the Inventory Mode.  They have devised technology that instantly and precisely and without error reveals just what they have, what they lost and what they need.

Just what does our spiritual “bar code” tell us when we get scanned by the Holy Spirit?

What kind of record do we have in heaven?  Have we increased?  Have we decreased?  Are we lacking?  Are we depleted?  Do we need to restock? Maybe we need to

Take an Inventory

Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

NOW… what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean?

• The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from is the fundamental Redemptive Force of the Gospel
• The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from is the foundation of for every believer’s future….  
• The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Reason for the Church
• If there is no Resurrection we are “of all men, the most miserable….”

1Cor 15:19 if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

I’m not miserable.  Never will be.    The fact that we are here in this place this morning attests to the FACT that Jesus Christ is Risen and Alive. 

 Unless we can “personalize” what Jesus did, then, what He did is of “none effect” for us.   

Our attempt is not to PROVE the FACT of the Resurrection.   I know He lives because:

• He answers Prayer•   He heals the sick•   He overpowers demonic forces•   He saves lost sinners•   His Word is Alive and Full of Power•   What He said would happen, has happened and is happening•   His Presence is with me and I am living, by His Grace, a Resurrection Life

Now, since we KNOW Jesus Rose from the Dead….What does It do for me?  How can It change my life? What does It mean for me?   

1.  The RESURRECTION Means My sins are forgiven and forgotten. 

Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

God does not remember them.  They are forever gone.  They no longer exist.  If I am still carrying the burden of my sin I am guilty of discrediting the Redemptive Work of Jesus

Every human being ever born was born with a sentence of Death.  For the Bible also says that the wages of sin is death.  Unless this curse of death can be removed, there is no hope for the human race.   

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

We are now exonerated.  Pardoned.  The case against us has been thrown out.  There is no judgment against us and no punishment required.  It has all been paid for by Jesus.  My sins are forgiven.  My debt has been paid.  I am not guilty.  God is not displeased with me.  I have been reconciled to Him.  I am now a member of His Family.  I will never die.

2.  The RESURRECTION means I have been made Righteous.

Not only have I been Forgiven, but I have also been made righteous. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I now have right standing with God.      I am no longer a “sinner” I am a Son.  I am no longer a “slave” I am a Son.  I am no longer in bondage to sin, I am free.  God has brought me into His Own Family.  He has made me an Heir of God and a Joint Heir of Jesus Christ.  God has imputed His Own Nature into me and now I am as Righteous as Jesus is.   

I have been REGENERATED (re-gened)…   He has made me   a partaker of the Divine Nature of God.

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

I am not made righteous by what I do.  I am made righteous by what I believe.     

Titus 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

3.  The RESURRECTION means I am no longer under Condemnation. 

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

This means I am not guilty.  I am under the Full Pardon afforded me by the Shed Blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus took my Guilt and gave me His Innocence.

God is NEVER displeased with me…simply because He can never be displeased with Jesus… And Jesus is Who He sees when He looks on me.     

4. The RESURRECTION means I am Exempt from the Wrath and Judgment of God. 

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The Suffering and death of Jesus has delivered me from the wrath and judgment of God.    God is not mad with me. God is not mad at you.  God is not looking at my failures, my weaknesses, my sins…  God is not out to punish me for my wrongs.  God is no longer my Judge.  God is not going to cut me off.  I am fully “accepted” in the same Family with God.

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Jesus became my sin and as a result became the victim of God’s wrath… in my place. 

 5.  The RESURRECTION means I will  LIVE FOREVER.

1John 5:11  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

 Now, let’s get personal.  Where are you as far as God is concerned?    As far as you are concerned, did Jesus suffer and die and arise from the dead in vain?  What will you do with Jesus?  Now, having seen what He has done for you and me… What will you do with Him?   

The options we have: 

1.  Receive Him as Savior and Lord and LIVE

2.  Reject Him and DIE

 John 14:6   Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 16:31 …Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…