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Word for Today:  June 11

Eternal means forever.

Eternal means without end.  Timeless.  It is very hard (nearly impossible) for anyone to comprehend the meaning of Eternity.  We are creatures captured and held hostage in a span of time.  We live in submission to time.  We are controlled by time.  Time is our enemy.

We are destined to die because we are subject to time.   Seconds.  Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Years. Decades. Centuries. Millennia.   All these become the defining term for the passing of time.

Everything in the human experience is related to Time.  Everything we know about has a Beginning and is rushing madly toward an End.  Such is Life.  Stuff gets old because of time.  We get old because of time.  We are so immersed in “time consciousness” that it is all but impossible for us to become “eternal conscious.”

I am challenging you now to think Eternal.  Think Bigger and larger and greater than you have every thought.  Let your Imagination soar to new heights as you consider the Vastness… the Expanse… the Unsearchable and Indefinable scope and size of Creation.

Every Mortal Being, saved or lost, is Eternal.  Not the body, but the mind (soul) and the Spirit.  Where the body is “mortal,” the mind (soul) and the spirit of man is “immortal.”  They will last forever.

If one is Born Again, that person will Live forever.  If one is not Born Again and dies in his sin, that person will Die forever.

Life is a dress rehearsal for Eternity

Word for Today:  June 10

What is the Will of God?

What is His Plan?  What has He purposed for me?

Jesus prayed for the will of God to be done on earth as it (the will of God) is being done in heaven.  The will of God is the same thing that a last will and testament is here on earth.

The Will is what God has provided for His Children.  It is what He has left for His heirs.  The Will of God is the Word of God… the composite of Truth that provides revelation and knowledge to those who belong to Him.

The level of “all things possible” living must come from a revelation of His Will… which is His Word.  What it is.  What is says.  What it promises.  How it works.  Why it works.

Understanding the Will of God opens the door for one to Believe God and to Believe Him for what He has promised in His Word.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.   Jer 29:11 (The Message)

God has plans for you.  Big plans.  Exciting plans.

He plans to give you the future you hope for.

1Cor. 12:7   But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

1Cor. 12:8   For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

1Cor. 12:9   To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

1Cor. 12:10   To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

1Cor. 12:11   But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

What The Gifts of the Spirit are and how they are to Work:

            God our Father has accepted us and endued us with Authority to become the sons of God with Power to represent Him in the world as He would represent Himself.  There is nothing more explicit in Scripture than the plan of God for divine-human sons endued with Power to represent God in the earth.

            The Spiritual Tools of God are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit which He wants exercised in full by all of His Children.  Everything in existence partakes of the same nature, powers, attributes and characteristics that belong to its particular species.   Men who are Born of God Spiritually partake of the same nature, powers, attributes, and characteristics that belong to God who is our Heavenly Father.

            We are not to be ignorant of these gifts.  Listen to what Paul says:

1Cor. 12:1   Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

Notice:

            1.  The Gifts of the Holy Spirit were manifest in the OT with the exception of the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. 

            Interpretation of Dreams and Visions  (Dan 1:17; Gen 37:5-11)

            Faith (Heb 11:1-40; Rom 4:1-25)

            Wisdom and Knowledge (1Ki 3:12; 4:29-34; 2Sam 14:20)

            Healings (Gen 20:7,17; Ex 15:26; Ps 105;37; 107:20)

            Miracles (Ex 4:12; 17:6; Num 16:30; 1Ki 17; 2Ki 8)

            Prophecy (Acts 3:21; Lk 1:70; 2Pet 1:21; Heb 1:1,2)

            Discernment (2Ki 5:25-27; 6:12; 2Sam 14:20)

The Gifts of the Spirit are not “new.”  They have been exercised of old in greater power than we see manifest in the church today.

            2.  The purpose of the Gifts of the Spirit is to enable all believers to do the works of Jesus and to continue the work that He began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1-2; 15-15; 1Cor 1:7; Rom 12:3-8; 1Cor 12:4-31; 14:1-40; Heb 2:3-4).  They were given to confirm the Gospel and to demonstrate the power of God among men….”These signs shall follow them that believe…”

            3.  The Gifts of the Spirit are available to every Believer for service and worship and to be used for specific purposes in the public meetings of Believers.  (Local assembly).

            4.  In 1Cor 12:4-11 we are told that the gifts are for “every man” and for “all” and that “to one is given…. to another…. to another…. ” etc.  The gifts of the Spirit are signs of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and are perfectly normal in the New Testament Church.

            5.  Gifts of the Spirit are for children of God whether they are baptized in the Holy Spirit or not.  They were active in the lives of believers in the OT.   Many believers who never “spoke in tongues” have done great things for God… however, no doubt, they could have done even greater works had they been baptized in the Holy Ghost.  A believer without the Gifts of the Spirit is like a man who has a job to do and no tools to work with.

            6.  Gifts can be abused and misused.  Solomon was in a backslidden state when he exercised the wonderful gifts of wisdom and knowledge to further his own rebellion against God (Ecc 1:12-18; 2;4-11).  Moses misused his gift of miracles when he smote the rock instead of speaking to it (Num 20:7-13; Deut 32:48-52).  Paul states that one may have the gifts of the Spirit and still not have love and they would profit nothing (1Cor 13:1-3).

            7.  The Gifts of the Spirit, as permanent abilities, can be exercised by the recipient at his will at any time and in any place.  Man is free to use these gifts as he sees fit for the glory of God.  They are given by God to us to be so used.  God leads and guides and urges in their use.  Paul commanded Timothy to “neglect not” and to “stir up the gift” that was in him, proving that he could let it remain dormant or he could use it at his own will (1Tim 4:14; 2Tim 1:6).

            8.  The Gifts should be exercised when any known personal or public need is manifest.  The gifts are for personal edification (1Cor 12:7; 14:4) and for public edification and profit and to build up the body of Christ.  (1Cor 12:4-31; 14:2-3; 5, 12, 17, 26, 31; Eph 4:7-11).  When there are sick to be healed, demons to cast out, miracles that need to be performed, the church to be edified and instructed in the things of God, sin to be rebuked, or any human need to be met, it is appropriate for the Gifts of the Spirit to be exercised.

            9.  The Gifts are needed today.  The church must have them to cope with satanic powers and defeat the works of the devil in the lives of individuals.  Each Child of God needs them in order to be able to meet the needs of his own personal life and fulfill his responsibilities in the Church. 

            10.  Believers can have Gifts and not know how to use them.  This is the purpose Paul had in instructing the church in the use of the Gifts.  It should be the desire of every believer, not only to have the gifts, but to know how to use them.

            11.  The Gifts of the Spirit are to be manifest throughout this age.  Just like all other blessings of the Gospel, the gifts are to continue through this age.  Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, and other gifts were to cease “when that which is perfect is come.”  (1Cor 13:8-13).  We still have knowledge and prophecies and all these gifts, so the Perfect (Complete) has not yet come.  Most who teach that the Gifts ceased in 64AD still have some semblance of “knowledge” so it is clear from the Scriptures that the other gifts have not been done away with. 

Classification and Definition of the Gifts of the Spirit:

            The Gifts of the Spirit fall into three natural divisions:

            1.  The Gifts of Revelation

                        (1) The Word of Wisdom

                        (2)  The Word of Knowledge

                        (3)  The Discerning of Spirits

            2.  The Gifts of Inspiration

                        (1)  Prophecy

                        (2)  Tongues

                        (3)  Interpretation of Tongues

            3.  The Gifts of Power

                        (1)  Faith

                        (2)  Healing

                        (3)  Working of Miracles

            The Gifts of the Spirit, as supernatural manifestations, are to enable the church to act in the place of God and do what He would do if He were here on earth doing the work Personally.

They are desperately needed in the Body of Christ today

Word for Today:  June 9

But ye shall receive Power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…  Acts 1:8

God wants you to have power in your life.  He has fixed it so that you can have power in your life.  He wants you to take His place and Function in His place on this earth every day of your life.  You know that you need God’s Power in your life.  There are some things you want to do and you cannot do them unless GOD’S POWER is operating in your LIFE.  You need:

• POWER over sin
• POWER over being timid
• POWER over being sick
• POWER over wrong attitudes
• POWER over the desires of the flesh and mind
• POWER over the curse of poverty and lack
• POWER over your thought life
• POWER over fear and anxiety
• POWER over your hurt feelings and bruised spirit
• POWER over depression and worry
• POWER over the devil and demons

You know where you need power and why you need power.  You know what God’s Power will do for you and in you.  You know that you can do nothing without His POWER.  You need His Power and you want His Power to work in you and for you.

You are tired of waiting and procrastinating… you have tried other things and they have all failed.  You have read books and you have listened to tapes and you have prayed and you have gone to church… but you have never received the full measure of God’s Power in your life.

It’s yours for the asking.

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.  Mt 21:22

For the promise (of God’s Power) is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  Acts 2:39

Word for Today:  June 8

The Rivers flowing

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 with the Rivers 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 possibly 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 River Flowing.  Men and women and young people and children with Rivers of Living water gushing out of their inner beings.  What a gathering this would be!

The River 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.

Let the RIVERS flow

Word for Today:  June 7

Has God ever lost a battle?

Has He ever had to take flight and run because the enemy was too big?  Has He ever conceded or fallen into confusion and despair?  Has He ever been afraid?

Remember Who He is and who you are.  You are wall-to-wall God.  “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”  Don’t be impatient.  You do not have to rush God.

It seems that the very nature of our present world is one of hurry.  Rush.  Speed.  And this contributes to our impatience… our unwillingness to wait.  God’s time and our time may not be the same.

The production time of the Word is programmed in and it is as dependable as God is dependable.  What is programmed will come to pass.  What He promises He will perform.  What He says He will do.  He will confirm His Word “In due season.”   Waiting will develop your patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4

Waiting is one of the hardest things to do in our Faith Walk.  It is not hard to ask in prayer.  It is not too hard to believe….  But it is next to impossible to wait, with patience, until God confirms His Word and produces in us the “wanting nothing” condition.

God has said we will “reap in due season IF we faint not…”  Gal 6:9

So be patient

Word for Today:  June 6

“There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.”  Oswald Chambers

What are those things that plague us?  What is it within the Human Experience that brings pain and grief?  What are the things that are burdens and problems to us?  It is precisely here (where we hurt) that God focuses His Grace.  His Provision.  His Relief.  We have seen just how these provisions are met in the Covenant He made with us and that is guaranteed by the Blood of Jesus Christ

What is hurting you?  Where are you broken and wounded and sad?  What has come into your life that produced fear and dread and pain?  What are those elements in the Human Experience that make your life miserable?  Do you understand that every misery and pain in life is caused by the devil?  By the powers of darkness?  By those spirits in high places that purpose to kill, steal and destroy?

If we can come to know God’s Purpose for us, we can better get our lives in agreement with it.  Once we come into a living agreement with the Purpose God has for us, we can experience the Abundant Life Jesus promises in John 10:10.

Everybody wants the abundant life, but they may be in agreement with the Purpose God has for them.

And until this takes place, true fulfillment in life is impossible.

And real Peace evades us

Word for Today:  June 5

What is involved in Salvation?

God has a part and we have a part.  God’s part is called Regeneration and our part is called Repentance and Faith.  When we repent of our sin and believe in our heart that Jesus is Messiah and openly confess our heart-belief, we become Born Again.

God impregnates us (natural man) with His Life (Spirit) and we are made Supernatural Men.  God’s Life comes into us along with all the other God Characteristics and we become the Sons of God.  “As many as received Him to them gave He power to become the Sons of God…”  We receive God’s Life, God’s Power, God’s Authority, God’s Love, and God’s Faith.   His Word becomes flesh through us.

All these come INSIDE of you when you get Born Again.  God purposes this for you.  God wills this for you.  God has prepared this for you.   Your body literally becomes the Temple of the Holy Ghost.  You are bought with a price and you belong to God. You have been Born, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed, the Word of God.

Salvation has responsibilities.  It is free but it is not cheap.  It is received by Faith but it is outwardly expressed in works.  We are not saved by works but works will follow salvation.  We are told to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling…” and this means we are to work out what God has worked in.  Salvation will be demonstrated by and through a changed life.

If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (creation) old things are passed away and behold all things are made new…   2Cor 5:17

Eternal Salvation is the greatest miracle available to man

Word for Today:  June 4

We win.

The Allied victory at Normandy in 1944 is much like the victory we win in our spiritual conflicts.  The enemy was entrenched and holding a secure beachhead. The Germans knew that if they lost here, they would lose the war.  It was do or die.  Win or lose.  Succeed or fail.  It was D-Day.

I believe that some reading this are ready to attack and take the beachheads satan is holding in their lives.   It’s D-Day for the devil.  he thinks he has you pinned down and whipped.  he has relished the day that he will win the ultimate victory in your life.  he is poised for the final push and the final attack.  It is D-Day now… and it is time to celebrate your Victory over the Devil.   

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

D-Day was a crucial turning point in the liberation of France and the entire world from the crushing brutality of the Third Reich.  It forever changed history.  Many of our troops paid the supreme sacrifice… others were wounded and scared and suffered from the vicious intensity of the battle.  Blood flowed on the sandy beaches and down the lofty cliffs of Normandy.  But we won.  And the world was changed.

We still win.  We are winners and not losers.  We win because we Know God and because we refuse to quit.  We live in freedom and security because of the victory on D-Day.  We have the wonderful privileges of liberty… the rights guaranteed to every American citizen because of the blood.  The blood of countless fallen warriors that purchased our freedom.

The Blood of the Sinless Son of God purchased our victory over the powers of darkness.    And we have the wonderful privilege of experiencing liberty and freedom from sin every day in every way over every demon and devil because God has made every Believer a winner.  Jesus captured and destroyed the devil at Calvary.

The battle has been won

Word for Today:  June 2

Eternal means forever

Eternal means without end.  Timeless.  It is very hard (practically impossible) for anyone to comprehend the meaning of Eternity.  We are creatures captured and held hostage in a span of time.  We live in submission to time.  We are controlled by time.  Time can be our enemy.

We are destined to die because we are subject to time.   Seconds.  Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Years. Decades. Centuries. Millennia.   All these become defining terms for the passing of time.

Everything in the human experience is related to Time.  Everything we know about has a Beginning and is rushing madly toward an End.  Such is Life.  Stuff gets old because of time.  We get old because of time.  We are so immersed in “time consciousness” that it is all but impossible for us to become “eternal conscious.”

I am challenging you now to think Eternal.  Think Bigger and larger and greater than you have every thought.  Let your Imagination soar to new heights as you consider the Vastness… the Expanse… the Unsearchable and Indefinable scope and size of Creation.

Every Mortal Being, saved or lost, is Eternal.  Not the body, but the mind (soul) and the Spirit.  Where the body is “mortal,” the mind (soul) and the spirit of man is “immortal.”  They will last forever.

If one is Born Again, that person will Live forever.  If one is not Born Again and dies in his sin, that person will Die forever.

Life is a dress rehearsal for Eternity