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Word for Today:  November 8

Jesus came to reveal the Nature of God.

He came from Heaven to show us what God is like.  He came to earth to answer the question:  “What is God like?”  And He is the Perfect Revelation of God.  Jesus “condescended” and “made Himself of no reputation…” to reveal to you and me and all creation Who God is and What God is like.

The Incarnation of Christ is the greatest miracle of all time.

All the world can now know God and God’s Person, Nature and Character.

Jesus perfectly and completely 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” and literally “left in heaven”:

• His equality with God
• The Glory He shared with the Father in Heaven
• His Authority in Heaven
• His Divine attributes and outward powers

He “Emptied Himself” order to reveal the Nature and Character of God.  Jesus is the Perfect Revelation of God.

Philippians 2

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery  (something to be grasped at)  to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, (emptied Himself) and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

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

Jesus came to earth and put a Face on God

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt. 6:33  

          Jesus said some remarkable things about the Kingdom of God.  In Matthew 6, He tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righ­teousness.  I believe He means for us to put a priority on looking for and finding where the Kingdom of God is located.  He said seek it.  He said seek it first.  He said before you do anything else, look for the Kingdom.  Look for it.  Find it.  Discover it.  Learn about it.  He wants us to discover  the Kingdom of God.  He wants us to find out what it is, where it is and how it works.  To discover something is to explore, seek, look for and search for it until you find what you are looking for.   

          Then, after we find what the Kingdom is and where it is located, He is telling us to learn how it functions.  He wants us to find out how it works.  When we find out what it is and where it is and how it works He is telling us to func­tion the same way here on earth and when we do, all things will be added unto us.  (Those things  which have been taken away or stolen by the devil).

Where the Power is

          If  we are going to discover how to release faith’s power, we should first find out where the Power is. We will not be able to let the power out or get the power out if we do not know where it is.  Notice these verses: 

Now unto Him that is able to do exceed­ingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that worketh in us…  Eph 3:20. 

According to this verse, the power we want to release into the earth is actually in us.

 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us…   2 Cor 4:7.

          According to this verse, this treasure (the power of God) is in “earthen vessels…”  This means that it is in us… we are the “earthen ves­sels.”

 Neither shall they say, Lo here!  or Lo there!  for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you…  Luke 17:21.

          According to this verse, the Kingdom of God (which is a Kingdom of  Power) is “within you…”  This means that it (God’s Kingdom of power) is in us.  What an astounding revelation! All of heaven’s power resides inside every believer. 

          I believe we have yet to realize the signifi­cance of what Jesus really taught concerning the Kingdom.  He preached that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand…” and we have not fully un­derstood what this means.  In order to release faith’s power, (the Kingdom Power that is in every Believer) here are some things we need to remember:

The Kingdom that Jesus taught about:

• The Kingdom Jesus taught about was not some future happening.

• The Kingdom Jesus taught about was not Heaven.

• The Kingdom Jesus taught about was not some future eschatological event. 

• The Kingdom Jesus taught about is in the now… it is a present day reality.  

• Not only is the Kingdom in the now, it is purposed to op­erate in the earth just as it is presently operating in heaven.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Mt 6:10 

The Kingdom is Eternal

The Kingdom begins on earth and continues into and throughout eternity.

          One is born into the Kingdom when he receives Jesus Christ as Lord.  Jesus told Nicodemus “except a man be born again he can­not SEE (be aware of) the Kingdom….”  (John 3:3).  The Kingdom one is born into begins on earth and continues throughout eternity.  Eternal life does not start when we get to heaven.  Eternal life begins at the time of our Conversion here on earth.  At that time, we are delivered from the power of darkness and are translated into the Kingdom of God’s Dear Son.   (Col 1:13)

Much of Jesus’ preaching was about the Kingdom.

          He knew how extremely important it was for us to understand the principles of the Kingdom.  He taught about it through parables  (eleven of them deal specifically with the Kingdom)  and compared the Kingdom with simple things of life so that the hearers would not miss the truth it.

          If we are to bring the Will of God to Earth (as it is in heaven), we must function and operate in the principles of the Kingdom.

          Jesus prayed:

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.  Mat 6:10 

The Body of Christ will be unable to release the Power of God into the earth if it does not under­stand Kingdom Principles.  The Eter­nal Purpose God has for you and for me is that we might re­lease His Power into the earth.   When this is done, the Kingdom of God comes and the will of God is done as Jesus prayed in Matthew chap­ter 6.

The Kingdom is in the Believer.

          In the Old Testament, Adam had the Kingdom around him.  All the Old Testa­ment saints and prophets and teachers and kings had the Kingdom around them.  It was external and it was physi­cal.  It was a nation called Israel.

According to the New Tes­tament (the New Covenant), we who believe have the Kingdom inside us.   It is internal. The Kingdom has obviously got to be where the King is.  Jesus lives and reigns in the heart of the Believer.  Therefore, we have the awesome opportunity to make the “Kingdom come” and God’s “will be done” where ever we might be on earth.    The Kingdom is in the believer’s heart and that is where the treasures of the Kingdom are.  Luke tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is within you…    Luke 17:21

Jesus has already given us the Keys of the Kingdom (Mat 16:19). 

At the time of our conversion we are given the keys of the Kingdom.   Keys represent authority, right, privilege and ability.  We can take the keys and bind (stop, prohibit) things on earth that are not al­lowed in heaven.  We can take the keys and loose, re­lease, and initiate on earth things that are in heaven.

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.    Matt. 16:19  

          Jesus has made it possible for us to function on earth as He functions is heaven.        

The Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom and it operates by faith.

          The Kingdom is not based on facts.  It is based on truth.  Jesus prayed in John 17 that those who believe would be sanctified (set apart) by the truth of God.

 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.   John 17:16-17.

Truth is more powerful and has more au­thority than facts.  We (believers) are “marked off” and “set apart” by truth.  That is what “sanctified” means.  The truth (when we believe it and act on it) sets a boundary around us that Satan and demons cannot pene­trate.  This truth concern­ing the Kingdom will set us aside from others. It is radical and it is revolutionary.  

When our lives are governed by the God-kind of faith, we please and gratify God.  We bring Him pleasure. 

But without faith it is impossible to please (euaresteo:  to gratify en­tirely… this is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament) Him [God])…  Heb 11:6

The Kingdom is purposed and de­signed to operate on earth.

          It is not reserved for us to be enjoyed when we get heaven.  The Kingdom is on earth and it is on earth and in this life that we need the things of God.  It is now that we need heaven’s resources to overcome the World System.   It is not “in the sweet by and by” that we need the treasures of the Kingdom… it is in the NOW. 

Here on earth is where we need the power of God, the ability of God, the authority of God, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost.  It is here that we need healing, deliverance and power over the devil.  We are Kingdom people, called and sanctified to live Heaven’s life on earth in the “midst of a crooked and perverse generation…”  (Phil 2:5)

We are in a dress rehearsal for our future life in heaven. 

The Kingdom is not only our power supply it is also our Storehouse.

          We can actually add to our storehouse.  We can lay up treasures in our storehouse (Mt 6:20). Whatever we need can be found in the Kingdom and the Kingdom is in us.  We are not to wait for blessings to fall out of heaven like rain.  We need not “tarry” and “wait” and “beg” for what we need to somehow drop into our lives.  

Jesus said:  The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth vio­lence and the violent take it by FORCE (harpazo:  pluck, pull, take by force)… when you do vio­lence to something, you actually pervert the truth of it.  Man-made religion and the man-managed church has done vi­olence to the King­dom for years and it is time for us to violently and forcefully take it out of error and put it back into truth.  

Jesus said:  Ye shall know the truth  and the truth shall make you free.   John 8:32

Word for Today:  November 7

Jesus breaks the shackles 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.

In the Inter-biblical Period, (the time between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament) the Judiastic system continued on its path of rule and regulation and legalism.

Jesus makes us free.

• Free from dead religion and man’s traditions and denominational customs.
• Free from laws and rules and regulations.
• Free from bondage to carnal deacons, elders, 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.   John 8:32

The Jews in Jesus’ day lived in total subjection to:

• The Law of Moses
• The sayings of the Prophets and
• The Writings that had been handed down from generation to generation.

There were 613 separate laws, commandments, rules and regulations that every Jew was required to obey and keep.   Every day.   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 builds bridges.
• Religion separates. Jesus joins together.
• Religion kills.

Jesus gives Life

And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.  Lu 17:5 

          In the reply Jesus gave following the apostle’s request for their faith to be increased, He told them:

If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.   Luke 17:6

It is interesting to see that Jesus was not talking about the “size” or the “amount” of their faith.  Instead, He was talking about the “quality” of their faith.  According to the language Jesus used in this reply, the word “as” in the phrase: “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed…” can be translated “like” instead of “as.” 

This noted, the response Jesus gave would read like this:  “If you had faith LIKE a mustard seed…” or, in other words, “If you had the same kind (quality) of faith a mustard seed has, you could say to this tree, be plucked up by the root and be planted in the sea and it would obey you.” 

What kind of faith does a mustard seed have?  In the Gospel of  Mark Jesus said that the mustard seed is “less than all the seeds that are in the earth” but when it is grown it has huge branches.  In Luke chapter 13,  He declares that this mustard seed becomes a “great tree” in which birds find refuge. 

Mustard seed faith is a faith that believes and sees.   The mustard seed believes and sees that it will actually become what God created it to become…. no matter what.    Therefore, in spite of its small size it believes and sees that will actually become a great tree, because that is exactly what God created it to become and said it would become.  

So, if it is planted in a difficult place under less than ideal conditions, it will become a great tree.  When it is challenged, the mustard seed will confess:  “I don’t care what is around me or over me or under me, I am a great tree.”  “If there are rocks that block my progress, I am a great tree and I can and will overcome that impossible obstacle.”  “I may be small but there is a great tree in me and that great tree will be stronger than any circumstance or situation that may stand in my way.”  That is mustard seed faith and it is that quality or kind of faith that will call things that be not as though they are and will never be stopped.  Any time and every time. No matter what.   This is the God-kind of faith.

God tells us in the Word how we can in­crease our level of faith. 

Our faith level can be increasedby hearing(Akoe:  understanding) the Word.

 Faith cometh (eltho: to grow) by hearing and hearing by the Word of God…   Rom 10:17. 

There is a difference between listening to the Word and hearing the Word.  Literally thousands listen to the Word but only those who hear the Word are in store for Revelation Knowledge.  It is not coincidental that God tells us at least seven times in the Book of Revelation “he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth…”

            Akouo means hearing the Word with comprehension and  understand­ing.  It also means to hear the Word with the inten­tion of obey­ing it.  It is more than head knowledge.  It is more than sense knowledge.  It is more than intellectual knowledge.  It is hearing the Word with understanding and with the intention of acting on it.  It is doing the Word.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:   Jas 1:23 

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.   Jas 1:24

Being a hearer of the Word and not a doer will result in us “forgetting the manner of man” we are.  In other words, we will be forgetful of who the Bible says we are, what the Bible says we can do, and what the Bible says we have.   We will forget who we are in Christ.  We will forget the power that resides in us.  We will forget the benefits and possibilities of the Treasure that God has endowed us with. 

          Hearing the Word, understanding the Word and acting on the Word will in­crease our faith level.  We can actually “feel” our faith level rising when we hear the Word with the understand­ing and when we purpose in our heart to do it.  This often happens as we hear the Word preached and taught by an anointed minister.   I have experienced this many times and perhaps you have as well.  I was preaching along this line one Sunday many years ago.  The anointing was powerful.  Suddenly, one dear lady way back in the middle of the church auditorium shouted out, “I got it!  I got it!  I got it!”  She “felt” the revelation come into her spirit and could not contain her joy. 

There is an anointing that comes when we move in faith to do what the Word tells us to do.  It is an empowering that comes from the Holy Spirit that will enable us to achieve what we set out to accomplish.  It is like an “adrenalin rush” in the natural… but in the spiritual it is an awareness of the Holy Spirit moving in us.  It permeates our very being.  It encourages us and builds our determination and confidence.  It lessens our awareness of weakness, inability and impossibility.  It feeds our spirit man and motivates us into action.  This is exactly what happened to that sweet lady who hungered for the truth and heard the Word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 

          However, our faith level will never exceed our Word level.  Our faith cannot grow any greater than our knowledge of the Word.  Igno­rance of the Word will limit our faith.  What we know about  we can believe for.  If we don’t know what the Word says, we can’t be­lieve to receive what it promises.  When we submerge ourselves in the Word and drink of its promises and power, when we come into a revelation of the goodness and grace of God and the miracle of the finished redemptive work of Jesus, we experience an exponential surge of our faith.  It increases our faith level. 

Our faith level can be increasedby praying in the Holy Ghost.

Building up your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost…   Jude 20.

Praying in tongues (in the Spirit) will build up our level of Faith.  V

            Praying in tongues is one of the most advantageous aspects of being baptized in the Holy Ghost.  When we pray in the Spirit, we pray in agreement with the Word and we pray correctly.  It allows us to pray “without ceasing” since we do not have to “think” about what we are praying.   Praying in tongues bypasses the natural thinking mechanism and comes directly out of our recreated human spirit. 

            Praying in the Holy Ghost means pray­ing in the will of God.  This is praying the Word and praying the answer to  the problem instead of praying about  the prob­lem.  Praying in the Spirit is praying with an attitude of praise and praying with the full expectation of  God to answer.  It is praying with the picture (image) of the answer in our mind and believing in our heart that we have already received the manifestation.

Our Faith Level can be increased by speaking the Word only.

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only,and my servant shall be healed.   Matt. 8:8 

          The tongue is a powerful member of the body.  (Probably the most powerful).  With it we can build faith or limit faith.   With the mouth, confession is made unto sal­vation (deliverance)… Rom 10:10.  How we talk will have a powerful effect on the devel­opment or lack of development of our faith.  We will also be held accountable to God for every useless word we speak. 

But I say unto you, That every idle (inactive, useless, barren) word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mt 12:36 

Our “born again” mouth coupled with a renewed mind will practice speaking the Word only.  It will  call things that be not as though they were… Rom 4:17.  It will be positive.  It will be encouraging.  It will be faith-building.  It will see the good and speak the good.  It will be never give place to doubt, to unbelief, to defeat, to criticism, gos­sip or slander. 

The words we speak set things in motion.  Words will create and words will initiate.   We will taste the good or experience the bad according to what we say with our tongue.

A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth…  Proverbs12:14

He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life…   Proverbs 13:3

A wholesome tongue is a tree of Life…  Proverbs 15:4

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

 Our faith level can be increased byLove.

..but Faith which worketh (energeo:  to be active, operative, effectual, pow­erful) by Love…  Gal 5:6.

          How much workable faith we have is determined by how much we love with the God-kind of love.

Our faith level will never be higher than our love for those whom we love the least.   The more we love, the higher the level of our faith.  Faith works by love. Every action of every believer should have its motivation grounded in agape love.  This kind (quality) of love will identify us to the world as sons and daughters of the Most High God.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Joh 13:35 

          As a matter of fact, the God-Kind of love is more important and more essential to the believer than any other spiritual weapon.  Paul declares that love is greater than faith or hope and is greater than any of the gifts of the Spirit.  (1 Cor 13).

Word for Today:  November 6

Checkers

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

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

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

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

Be sure you make the Right Move today

For whatsoever (whosoever) is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith…  1 John 5:4

          Bad things will happen.  They will hap­pen to good people. They will happen to people who are believing God and standing on the Word.  When bad things do happen what are we to do?   

          There will be issues we must address:

Why did this thing happen?  

Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do in­no­cent, good, spiritual, God-serving, God-fear­ing people suffer as if God is not concerned?  Where is God when everything falls apart?  Why doesn’t He do something?  Why can’t preachers and pastors produce a logical, truth­ful and scriptural an­swer to these perplexing questions? 

Why do people worshipping God on Palm Sunday lose their lives in a church that is destroyed by a tor­nado?  Why do Godly people who pray and seek God not get healed from their sicknesses and dis­eases?  Why are the most innocent and committed believers sav­agely at­tacked and devastated by demonic cir­cum­stances?

          The only answer that is legitimate is “we do not know.”   We can lie and tell people we know why but the truth is “we do not know.”  This really seems like a cop out.  However, we need to remember that the devil is a mean devil and demonic forces are ruthless and in­tent on destroying those who love and fear God.  The most vicious attack is always aimed at those who are the greatest threat to the kingdom of darkness.  Satan is not fair.  Satan is mean.  Satan is the source of death, de­struction and defeat.  Bad things happen and they are caused by the devil.

“If those who are really committed to Jesus and who need a life-saving miracle can’t receive it, then, nobody can…”  

 God does not answer our praying on the basis of how good we are.  God’s relationship ship to us is not based on our “goodness” or our “performance.”  God’s love for us is not based what we do or what we do not do.    God does not work in our be­half on the basis of how spiritual we are.  God does not come through for us on the basis of our living right, or praying right, or thinking right or being right.  God does not send us mira­cles because we are baptized in the Holy Ghost and because we speak with other tongues.  God’s grace is not given because of our goodness.   God answers us on the basis of the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ.   It is by the shed Blood of Christ and through the righteousness of Jesus. 

“Well, what’s the use… I don’t have confi­dence in what the Bible says anymore…”  

Do you realize that this is exactly the position the devil wants us to take?   If we doubt the Word and lose confidence in God, then the purpose of Sa­tan’s attack is accomplished.  The very place of victory is our faith.

…..and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. I John 5:4

          If our faith is damaged and our confidence in God is diminished, then Satan has won and we have lost.  Where ever our faith is weakened is where Satan is strength­ened.  Whenever we begin to lose con­fidence in God, we begin to have confidence in the devil.  To leave one is to side with the other.  To deny one is to agree with the other. 

Then, what are we to do?  

This is the time for us to REINFORCE OUR FAITH.   We should make our most powerful confessions in the times of our darkest trials.   We should not back out of our faith just because we got broadsided.  This is the time to fight the good fight of faith.  This is the time to be ag­gressive.  This is the time to get on the offense.  The best defense is a good offense. 

Stand strong.  Speak boldly.  Sing.  Shout.  Dance.  Rejoice.  Read the Bible to the devil.  Call him in and make him sit down and have a Bible study with you.  Hit him where it hurts with the Word.  At­tack with the Sword of the Spirit.  Resist him and watch him run in terror.

Bad things happen because we live in a flawed world.  We live in a world that has suffered a crippling blow by the entrance of evil resulting from the fall of Adam.  As long as evil exists, bad things will happen.  They will happen to good people and to people who are not good.  It is a result of the sin curse under which the world (and world system) exists. 

The ONE thing we always need to remember is that God is not the author of bad things.  God is a good God.  Bad things are caused by the devil and can be the result of bad choices people make.  They can also be a result of sin, disobedience and refusing the mercy and grace of our awesome loving God.   However they can be random and totally undeserved but an opportunity for the works of God to be revealed in you.

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. Jn 9:1

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jn 9:2 

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Jn9:3 

When bad things do happen…. Remember, God is right there with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Intensify your determination to press on and press through.  Let the devil  know that he does not have anything that will separate you from the love of God.  Search the scriptures and find those verses that speak to your need and stand on them unwaveringly.  Talk to the devil and command him to back off.  Let him know that you are not ignorant of his devices and that you will never let him get away with his lies and his attacks.  His devices are all flawed and God has given you some mighty unfailing and super powerful weapons that are able to pull down his strongholds and break his control over your situation.  The more you strengthen your faith the weaker the devil becomes in his strategies and plans. 

Every bad thing that happens to you is an opportunity for you to discover deeper levels of God’s grace.  In the very midst of it you will receive greater revelation of the goodness of God and the grace of God.  Understand that no test or trial is unique but it is common to man.  God is faithful and will with the trial also provide a Way of escape (John 14:6).

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. 1Co 10:13 

Word for Today:  November 4

Confrontation.

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?  Mat. 21:10

And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Mat. 21:11

Praise rang out.  Crowds gathered.  A parade took place.  Rejoicing was everywhere.  The King had come to town.  This was a divine convergence of time and eternity.

In time, God foreordained that Jesus would enter into the sphere of human existence.   In eternity, God planned for the redemption of the fallen human race.  And now, time and eternity came into a divine convergence…. they meet.  They intersect.  They collide.

I believe we are at a similar place.  Time, today, is converging with eternity.  Just as Jesus came “in the fullness of time” we are coming into another fullness of time and it will shortly blend in with eternity.

The temporal is about to become eternal.  This is why this moment is so crucial.  This is the reason the anointing is mounting and the glory of God is rising.  This is the reason behind Revival.  This is the reason behind our Praying.  Our Intercession.  We are at The Place.  We are in The Time.  There is once again a Divine Convergence of Time with Eternity.  We are There.

A Confrontation is coming

And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.   Lu 18:27 

          Governments can’t.  Banks and lending institutions can’t.  Doctors, nurses and hospitals can’t.  Lawyers can’t. Kings and presidents can’t.   But God Can!

          You may have encountered impossible situations and circumstances in the past.  You may be now facing things you can’t do.  You can’t .  But God Can!  The Bible declares:

And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Lu 18:27 

          There is nothing too hard for God to do and nothing too “broke” for God to fix.  “But you don’t know what great needs I have.” It doesn’t matter what you need.  God can get it to you.   “But you don’t understand how bad off I am.”  It doesn’t matter how bad or impossible your condition may be.  God can fix it.

          Years ago I received a call from a mother whose son was dying.  He had undergone several critical surgeries, was in the ICU on life-support and not expected to live.  The doctors admitted “he can’t live.” “There is no way he can survive.”  “He is living now only because he is connected to the life support system. “  The lady asked desperately for our church to pray.  The call now was from this mother and was literally shouting over the phone… “Oh, I am so happy.  I just about can’t stand it!  My son has recovered and is doing well!  They are removing him from ICU and he will be home in a few days!” Doctor’s can’t.  God can.

          I want you to see and understand the power and ability of God in impossible situations.  “Is anything too hard for God?”  (Gen 18:14) And the obvious answer is a resounding “NO!”  Listen to this:

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?  Jer 32:27 

          When others can’t, God Can.  When nations can’t, God Can.  When presidents and kings can’t, God Can.  We live in a culture that is saturated with a negative, pessimistic, fatalistic, impossibility mind set.  “It’s too hard.”  “It’s too difficult.”  “It’s too expensive.”  “It’s impossible.”  “There is no way out.”  This kind of thinking and talking is a bill of goods we have bought from the devil.   He has lied, intimidated and threatened to keep us discouraged and dismayed.  He has made us think that our problems are beyond repair.  He has attempted to keep us stressed out and running scared. 

          The negativism we live in is not only personal, it is national and international.  No jobs.  Lay offs.  Energy crisis.  Shaky stock market.  Nervous banks.  Shrinking dollar.  Failing economy.  Foreclosures.  Financial uncertainty and insecurity.  Seems that on  every hand there is pending panic and wide-spread pessimism. 

          The fact of wide spread terrorism and radical Islamic threats fills the airwaves and newspapers.  Civil war and deadly demonstrations are causing governments and kingdoms to fail and are fueling the fear and emotional distress that covers a large part of today’s world.  Our society is sinking and no man can anything about it.  Our nation is staggering in unrest and political  turmoil and nobody can fix it.  Looks like the world is a time-bomb just moments away from self-destructing.  And nobody can stop it.  At least that’s what the devil would have us think.  And he is the father of lies. 

          Satan has even had the nerve to attack me.  He’s had the audacity to attack our church.  He has threatened us and intimidated us.  He is on the move.  But God is, too!  Some have told me “Bro. Dick you are dreaming.  What you are talking about will never happen.  The things you are declaring that will come out of this little congregation is foolishness.  It is impossible.”  That’s exactly what I am aware of and that is exactly why I know God Can. 

          We as believers are facing a formidable task.  The world is desperate for a spiritual awakening.  The nations are ripe for a harvest.  There are billions of people living in darkness and ignorance who will never get to heaven unless we tell them about Jesus. 

          We are commanded to take the whole Gospel to the whole world.  The need is to see those depressed and overwhelmed and held in bondage set free.  Masses are held captive and defeated by the powers of darkness.  The job we have to do is impossible.  The job we have been assigned is  financially unreachable.  The job is too big, too hard, and too impossible.  We can’t do it physically.  We can’t do it numerically.   We can’t do it naturally.  But God Can! 

          It doesn’t matter how small we are.  It doesn’t matter how weak we are.  It doesn’t matter inadequate we are.  It doesn’t matter how limited we are.  We can’t.  But God Can.

          What are you facing in your Christian walk?  How vicious is the devil tormenting you?  What are your limitations?  How can you accomplish the impossible in your situation?  I am tired of the devil making a mess out of lives that have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus.  I am tired of Satan intimidating the Body of Christ; vexing and tormenting; lying and stealing; slandering and accusing… Are you tired of his demonic attacks and relentless harassment?  You may be aware of your weakness and failure to break loose…. To get free…   Do you think you can’t?   Then God Can!  And God will!  You have already been redeemed from the curse by the finished Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ.  What you cannot do and what the church cannot do…  God Can Do!

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:  Ga 3:13 

God’s Word tells us He Can

          God Can because His Word says He can.    His Word is established from everlasting to everlasting.  Nothing is too hard for God.  All things are possible with God.  All through the  Bible, there are powerful testimonies that declare God Can.  

          What is your need today?  What is that crying, burning desire of your heart?  What is the deepest longing of your soul?  God’s Word says He Can.  He can meet that need.  He can satisfy that desire.  He can hear and answer your cry.  

          I was noticing some of the names of God that are used in the Old Testament.  And I discovered that the names of God declare that God Can.     Listen to what His Name declares that He can do:

• Jehovah Jireh: God is our Provider
• Jehovah Ropheka:  God is our Healer
• Jehovah Shalom:  God is our Peace
• Jehovah Rohi:  God is our Shepherd
• Jehovah Shammnah: God is ever-present with us

          If God’s Word says He Can, then He can.  He is not a man that He should lie.  God is Truth.  His Word is True.  Jesus is called the “Truth.”

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: John 14:6  

God Has Done it in the Past

          God Can because He has done it in the past.  You may think you are in a tight situation.  You may feel that your back is against the wall.  It may seem there is no way of escape.  Perhaps you even think you have it worse than anybody else.   Remember, you have been caught in bad situations in the past and yet, you are still living and breathing.  You made it.  God saw you through.  God was faithful and you did not crash and burn as you surely thought you would.  You survived and succeeded and came out the winner and not the loser.    God Can because He has done it before. 

          Cheer up.  It does not matter what you are going through or  about to go through… you have been Born into the Family of God and you are going to come out the winner and not the loser.  God is obligated to safely bring you through your trial and test. 

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. 1Co 10:13 

          God made Abraham a daddy when he was a hundred years old and Sarah a mother when she was ninety.  He led 4 million Hebrews out of Egypt and into the promised land with Pharoah’s army in hot pursuit.  They had no way of escape.  Mountains were on one side, the desert on the other and the Red Sea in front of them.  But that was no big deal  for God.  The Word says that those four million Hebrews passed through the Red Sea in one night.  Do you know it would take a hole at least five miles wide to get all of them through in just one night?  Even then, they would have to march through five thousand abreast in order for them to get to the other side with their animals, their possessions and their families.  When God does something, He does it big.  He literally blew a hole five miles wide in the Red Sea and they all walked across on dry land.  God Can. 

          Once they got on the other side Moses was faced with the formidable job of feeding and caring for four million Hebrews and all their livestock.  So every day for nearly 40 years God opened the windows of Heaven and sent four thousand tons of manna.  That is over fifty-eight million, four hundred thousand tons of manna that fell from the sky over a forty year period.  Then, they needed water.  Lots of water.  It took twelve million gallons of water every day to quench their thirst and the thirst of all their livestock.  That means God provided sixty thousand tons of water every day in the middle of the desert where there was no river, no spring and no rain.    God Can. 

          I figured that it would have cost God over ten million dollars a day to feed four million people and the animals they owned.  The entire bill for getting the Children of Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan was an expense in excess of a hundred BILLION dollars.  God Can.

          God can because He delivered Daniel from hungry lions. God can because He saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace heated seven times over.  God can because He made the sun stand still for Joshua.  God can because He made fire fall from heaven for Elijah.  God can because He saved Jonah alive in the belly of a great fish.  God can because He made a virgin have a Baby.  God Can.

God can because He has done it in my life

          I know God can because He’s done it for me.  At the age of four, while living in an upstairs apartment in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, I because seriously ill with double pneumonia.  This was before the “miracle drugs” of penicillin and other medicines had been developed and which could have been used in cases such as this.  My Mom and Dad were Christians but they did not have the full revelation of God’s healing power.  So, nothing they did for me could stop my convulsions or make my high fever go down. 

          There was an old man who every day would sit on a bench in courthouse square in the middle of our small town.  There was something unique about this stooped, white haired old man.  He always had a big black Book opened up in his lap.  My mother and daddy would take me walking down Main Street, and as we passed the courthouse square, I would see him sitting on the bench and reading that big black Book. 

          One day I said: “Mother, what’s that old man reading?”  She said, “Son, that’s the Bible.  That man is Uncle Tom Cubley.  Everybody knows Uncle Tom.  He’s one of the best Christians in Hattiesburg.”  She added: “He reads his Bible on the courthouse square every day.”

          When I was upstairs, feverish and convulsing, the only thing I could remember was Uncle Tom.  I said, “Daddy. Would you please go get Uncle Tom to come up here and pray for me?”  I didn’t know anything about healing in answer to prayer.  They were fearful for my life.   Daddy left immediately.  He went to the courthouse square and got  Uncle Tom and brought him and his big black Book back to my bedside.  I remember that day very well when Uncle Tom came up the stairs and into my bedroom.  He laid his big old callused hand on me and he prayed.  And I didn’t die.  God Can.

          I know God can, because He’s done it for me.  He called me to preach when I was just a smart-aleck young man.  He delivered me from religion and baptized me in the Holy Spirit.  Supernaturally He has led us over the years in establishing and developing a successful ministry that has reached tens of thousands over the past 50 years.  God Can.

          God can because His Word says He can.  God can because of His record in the past.  God can because He’s done it in my life. 

God can because He’s done it in our ministry. 

          I came to Mobile in 1962 as a fresh graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary… a great and blessed institution in the Southern Baptist Convention.  The church I was called to pastor was a small community church made up of sweet, friendly and spiritually hungry folks.  As a matter of fact, some of them were hungrier than me.  They began to sort of slip away to special prayer meetings in various places and while doing so, received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  They would witness to me about this experience but I really was not that interested since I knew what happened to Baptist Pastors when they got “involved” with Pentecostal practices.  But my sweet wife received the Baptism sovereignly, while she was alone in worship and prayer.   Following her encounter, God was gracious enough to lead me into that wonderful experience.

          I gave my testimony to the little Baptist church and they kindly agreed for me to stay as their pastor and teach them the Word.  And so we did.  However the time came when there was such a burning desire in my heart as well and in the hearts of many others, to be free from any sort of restriction or limitation in our quest for more of God.  We longed to be free to serve God and to follow His leadership in any direction.   So, we had to make a choice.  We were either going to be a conventional, denominational church or we were to be an independent, cross-cultural, interfaith church.

          I remember the night that the deacons, the assistant pastor and I met in the old building which then served as our auditorium.  We spent a good part of one Saturday night praying because the next morning I was going to call for a vote.  We are either going all the way or we’er going to quit.  I plan on going all the way and you will have to decide what you will do. 

          So that Sunday morning, I announced to the congregation that I would stay as their pastor, but only under certain conditions.  And the conditions under which I would stay would be quite radical for a congregationally-ruled church.  One condition was that we would cease to be a denominational church and become an independent, cross-cultural, interfaith congregation.  Another condition was that our congregational form of church government would be scrapped and a new form of government established.  One that would recognize the Pastor and a select group of spiritual individuals serving as elders would comprise our decision-making board and we would no longer have congregational “business meetings.” 

          When the vote was taken, much to my surprise, the congregation chose for me to stay, and that was a miracle.  However, inside of three months, the little church split three times.  We were met with a critical financial crisis.  Many were saying; “Well, Bro. Dick, you finally did it.  You messed up royally.  You split the church and now you are at your Waterloo.  You’ve had it.  The church is finished.  It’s gone.  And they all will be laughing at you and the foolish decision the church made to have you stay.” 

          We were slandered.  We were called a “cult.”  A local television station came out and did a news story on us right after the Jim Jones fiasco in South America.  We were threatened, accused and cursed.  We were laughed at.  But we survived.  God can.

          In the middle of that crisis when we were down to fewer than a hundred faithful souls, God spoke to my heart and said, “Build a new auditorium that will seat a thousand.”  “But,” I responded, “first,we don’t have enough people.  Second, we don’t have any money and third, I just can’t do it.”  And God said, “That’s right.  You can’t, but I can.” 

          The bottom was still falling out.  Things were not getting any better, they were getting worse.  People were leaving.  Bills were piling up and I was getting more and more depressed.  I feel on my face in my study and said, “Oh, God!  Have you forgotten me?  Have you removed the anointing from my calling?  Why is all this happening? I’ll tell you what, I give up.  I give up.  I give up.  I’ve done everything I know to do.  I’ve used everything I learned in college and seminary and in my short preaching experience.  I have tried and cried and sighed.  And nothing has worked.  I give up!” 

          God answered, “Good.  I’ve been waiting a long time for you to give up.  You have tried to manipulate things and operate in your strength and ability.  Now that you have taken your hands off of MY WORK, I can turn your ‘can’t’ into my CAN!’”  When we give up God shows up.

          God can because He says He can.  His Word says He can.  God can because He has done it in the past.  God can because He has done it in my life.  God can because He has done it in our church and ministry.  And because God has done it for me, He is certainly capable and able to do it for you.

          He can save you.

          He can fix your messed-up marriage.

          He can heal your sickness and disease.

          He can deliver you from your addictions.

          He can free you from worry and fear.

          He can supply all your needs.

          He can restore everything the devil has destroyed.

          He can and He will!

Because He loves you

Word for Today:  November 3

Jesus is not Who most people think He is.

I have tried to notice some characteristics in the Life of Jesus that probably would not be accepted in the life of any preacher in our society today.

• He was Radical.
• He was Outspoken. He pulled no punches.  He shot straight and true.  He did not “beat around the bush.”
• He was transparent. Who you saw was Who He was.  No pretense.  No hypocrisy.  No make-believe.  No disguise.
• He was non- religious. He did not run with the ministerial crowd.
• He was fearless.   He did not mince His words.  He did right with no fear of possible consequences.
• He was an iconoclast. A Non-conformist.  He kicked over sacred cows.  He violated traditions and He shattered customs.  To the religious world, He was a troublemaker.
• He was controversial. He took sides with the underdog and He challenged the respected.  He fellowshipped with the sinner and the profane.
• He embraced the simple and rejected the complicated.
• He spoke so little children could understand and confounded the wise with Wisdom and Truth.
• He was Uncompromising. Even when He could have won friends in high places and ultimately saved His own life, He refused to compromise.
• He was Anointed. And this is what drove Him to the Cross… His Anointing.  He was and is “The Anointed One.”  The Messiah.  The Christ.

He is the Christ.  The Son of the Most High God.  The King of kings and the Lord of lords.  The Alpha and the Omega.  The First and the Last.  The Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.  He is the Bright and Morning Star.  He is the I AM.

And He is Lord of all

 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus…   Phil 4:19

 Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him…  Heb 10:38

 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward..   Heb 10:35

 Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised…  Heb 10:23

 …for if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin…  Heb 10:26

 …If ye continue in my Word, then ye are my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free…   John 8:31-32

When God promises something, He performs it.  When God says something in His Word, it comes to pass.  What God declares, happens!  God is not a man that He should lie.  God never goes back on His word.  His Word is “yes” and “amen” not “perhaps” and “maybe so.”  He speaks and He speaks loudly.  What He says is not muddled, confused, mumbled or ambiguous.  His Word is like a sharp sword.  A two-edged sword!  His Word is as reliable as God is reliable.  His Word is as powerful as God is powerful.  His Word is as unchangable as God is unchangable.

If we are to see the increase God has promised, we will get it and keep it by His Word.  The increase will not come by feeling.  It will not come by wishing.  It will not come by hoping.  It will not come by religion.  It will come and it will continue only by and through His Word… the Word of God!  The Word is Fire.  The Word is Water.  The Word is Truth.  The Word is Life.  The Word is God!  Hallelujah!!

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Josh 1:8  

God told Joshua:  “this book of the law (the Word) shall not depart out of thy mouth (in other words, you will continually speak it out of your mouth…) but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success…”

Maintaining the increase God has given us requires some effort on our part.  Living a successful overcoming life does not “just happen.”   It is a demanding and disciplined life.  It is not impossible, but it is demanding. 

In order to guard our “stuff” and keep the devil from stealing it, there are some things we can do to protect it.   God was very specific in the instructions He gave to His new commander, Joshua.

“Continually speak My Word”   

Never let the Word stop coming out of your mouth.     If you never let the “Law” (Word) depart out of your mouth you obviously will be constantly speaking it. 

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

  You will never live above the level of the words you speak.  What you say is important.  When you say the Word you are speaking God’s language.  You are talking like God. That kind of talk scares the devil to death.  That kind of language drives out demons and limits the power of the devil in your life.  What you say (confess with words you speak) determines what you get. 

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall sayunto 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. Mr 11:23 

This is why the Word warns us about “idle” (empty, useless, fruitless) words.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mt 12:36 

“Keep My Word in your Mind.” 

God told Joshua to “mediate therein (the Word) day and night.”  What other time is there other than “day” and “night”?   The Word should be on our mind continually.  How does what I am doing relate to the Word?  How do my actions agree with  the truth of the Word? Are the decisions I make in agreement with the Word?  Just how much of my thinking is in line with what the Word says?  Do I know and do I think about what the Word says concerning any situation similar to the one I am facing? 

We need to see every human experience in the light of the Word of God.  What we do.  Where we go.  What entertains us.  What is important to us.  What the Word says concerning my family?  My marriage?  My occupation?  My dreams and goals?  Think the Word.  Ponder the Word.  Meditate the Word.  Memorize the Word.  We can even “think” passages of scripture and verses that keep us encouraged and built-up.

When the enemy sends fiery darts (thoughts and mind images that contradict the Word) we have the power and the ability to “cast them down” and bring them (thoughts) into “captivity.”

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 Christ2Co 10:5  

We can actually renew our mind with the Word of God. 

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

The Word has the power to renew or refresh and transform our mind.  It raises our thinking level above earthy things and plants them firmly on heavenly things.  It transcends the present and forges ahead to the eternal. The Word “washes” our brain.  This kind of “brainwashing” is needed by every believer.

That he might sanctify and cleanse it  (the Church) with the washing of water by the word, Eph 5:26 

The things we think define who we are.  If we are to emulate the life of Jesus, we certainly need to keep our thinking (mind) in line with the Word.  It has the ability to cleanse and consecrate our “soulish” man (our mind, our will and our emotions). 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Php 4:8 

“Know what My Word says” 

Knowing (not “surface” or “shallow” knowledge)  but deep-down-in-the-spirit knowing.  To “know”  with this kind of “knowing” we need to study the Word,  learn the Word, meditate the Word and pray for revelation of the Word.    Get a reliable study Bible with explanatory notes and dig in.  If we do not know what the Bible says, we cannot do what the Bible says do.  The reason we continue in the Word is so that we might know what it says.

Many believers who do not really know the Word spend countless hours praying for things that God has already given them.  There are priceless promises God has made to us and provisions Jesus has bought, paid for and given us that are never received because many believers simply lack knowledge of the Word. 

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

Pray for a revelation of who the Bible says you are.  Pray for a revelation of what the Bible says you can do.  Pray for a revelation of what the Bible says you have.  When you know who you are, what you have and what you can do you will be able to maintain the increase God has given you. 

“Observe to do ALL that is written therein” 

Knowing the Word is good.  Understanding the Word is better.   But doing the Word is best.  If you know it and don’t do it you will live in defeat.  If you understand it but don’t do it you will live in defeat.  Notice, God tells  Joshua to do ALL that is written therein.  Observing is seeing.  Doing is acting.  Observing is faith and doing is action.  Faith without works is dead according to James 2:20.

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

Jesus tells us to “continue” in His Word (John 8:31-32) and if we do we will “know the truth and the truth will make us free.”  To continue in the Word literally means to abide or take up residence in the Word.  When we “live” in the Word we will become disciples (learners) and what we will learn is the Truth.  When we know the truth, the Truth will make us free. 

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; John 8:31

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

          It is no “coincidence” that Jesus describes Himself as the “Way, the Truth and the Life.”

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

Then God promises Joshua that:

(1)  If he will continually speak God’s Word,

(2)  If he will keep the Word in his mind day and night;

(3)  If he will know what the Word says and

(4)  If he will do ALL that the Word says

Then:  “Thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success…”  In other words, Joshua will receive and maintain God’s Increase.

Some of God’s promises are conditional.  Some are unconditional.  God promised never to destroy the world again by a flood in Genesis 9:11. This is an unconditional promise.  God promised to send a Redeemer to save His people from sin.  That promise was an unconditional promise.  God promised that Jesus would come again.  That is an unconditional promise. 

However, some promises are conditional.  God says IF you will do something, THEN He will do something.   This is a conditional promise. 

God’s promise regarding increase is conditional.  The increase God has promised is based on our obedience.  This is a conditional promise.  

What will cut off the promised increase?  What will hinder the flow of God’s Power and God’s Promises?  What must we do to utilize the resources God has already provided?  What are the conditions set before us that must be met in order for God to fulfill His Word to us?

We all want results, but are we willing to pay the price?  We all want things to get better and stay better, but are we willing to make significant changes?  We all desire the blessing but are we willing to meet God’s demands?  We get excited about receiving but usually we had rather not hear about responsibility. 

If we are to receive and maintain the flow of God’s blessing, we need to consider our responsibilities.

Seek God First

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these other things shall be added unto you.   Matt 6:33 

We need to focus on singleness of heart.  James reminds us that a “double-minded” person is “unstable” in all his ways (James 1:8).  This verse follows one that says an individual who is not single minded “wavers” like the waves of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6).  Jesus tells us to keep our priorities right.  “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  In this case, seeking God and His Kingdom certainly needs to be at the top of our list. 

What is our purpose in life?  I can’t be sure about you, but mine is to be in the center of God’s perfect will.  He has a unique and special purpose for all of us.  Jeremiah says God has plans for every individual. And they are plans for good and not evil. 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer 29:11 

The “expected end” God has prepared and purchased for us is good and not bad.  It is success and not failure.  It is living and not dying.  There is no possible way we can comprehend the infinite good God has laid out for us in His Grand Plan.  That is reason enough to prioritize our actions and intentions to seek Him and His Kingdom first.   This will guarantee that all these “other things” will be added to us.  All our needs will be met.    

Get out of sin 

We are responsible for the way we live.  No one forces us to disobey, disrespect or turn away from what we know to be the will of God.  It is a choice we make.  And what we choose and what we refuse determines whether we win or whether we lose.  What we sow is what we grow.  And what we grow is our responsibility. 

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Gal 6:7 

If we are born again, we have an inner witness (The conviction of the Holy Spirit) regarding what is right and what is wrong.  If we choose what is wrong as an intentional act of our will, sin results.  And sin brings its own consequences into our life.  The pain and problems we experience result from the sin we commit.  God does not “punish” us for doing wrong, we are guilty of punishing ourselves because we have knowingly allowed sin to come in.  Sin will stop the flow of God’s blessing and steal what we have.  Sin will let the devil in.  Sin will keep our faith from working.  Sin will prevent the promises from coming in.  Sin will destroy.  Ultimately, sin brings death.

Abstain from the very appearance of evil

Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1Thes 5:22 

 If it looks bad, get away from it.  If it appears to be evil and against what you know to be the will of God get away from it.  If it carries a reputation of wrong… don’t do it!  If it offends the least and most vulnerable in the Kingdom, don’t allow it.     Do not give any place to the devil. 

Neither give place to the devil. Eph 4:27 

Walk in purity and cleanness.  Refrain from carnal talk, languange, jokes, insinuations, sarcasm… if it would offend Jesus… don’t do it.  If He would not do it… you do not do it!  Purify yourself.  “Touch not the unclean thing.”  Compromise often goes under the guise of “something better.”

Resist lukewarmness

Our being satisfied with the mediocre is not God.  As far as living for God is concerned, it is all or it is nothing.  It is all the way or it is none of the way.  If we are not all for Him we are all against Him.  As a small kid, we used to say “chicken on the fence is out!” to anybody who wavered or was not totally  committed to a cause.    To concede is to cool off.  Cooling off  is to dying in stages.  To let up is to lose.  To compromise is to cop out. 

Nobody is ever impressed with the average.  We were not saved to be average.  We were not bought and brought into the kingdom to be average.  Jesus did not shed His Blood so that we could be average.  We are not called to be “mere men;” we are birthed into the Kingdom of God to be supermen and superwomen.

Jesus said He wished all to be hot or cold but because they are lukewarm, He will spue (vomit; throw up) them out of His mouth. 

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Re 3:16 

If we are not with Him we are against Him.  The call for all believers today is for them to be fired up.  Fervent.  Radical.  Drastic. Revolutionary.  Extreme. Committed. 

Be Real 

The world can spot a phony a mile off.  There are many phonies in the church.  Jesus addressed this problem in the parable of the wheat and the tares. 

Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn…  Mat 13:24 

To be less than real is to be a hypocrite.  To look like a Christian is not enough.  To go to church is not enough.  To pay your tithe is not enough.  To do good is not enough.  Jesus spoke of those who would appear before Him in the judgment and declare:

Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name?  and in thy Name have cast out devils?  and in thy Name done many wornderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.    Mat 7:22-23

To knowingly violate the Word of God and the will of God is iniquity.  To know the Word and refuse to do it is iniquity.

He that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin… James 4:17

          Maintaining the increase is the will of God.  He takes no pleasure in His children losing their inheritance.  What God has given is up to us to keep.  We are told very explicitly that the devil (our enemy; our only enemy) is a thief.  He hangs around to steal what God has bought, paid for and freely presented to us. 

Our responsibility is to safeguard, protect and hold on to all that is ours through the Redemptive Work of Jesus Christ.

          Let’s do it. And when we do, we will live and not die.