Pray for Fellow Believers

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

This is a crucial time for church of Jesus Christ. The Father has a longing to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and the enemy is seeking to pull believers into the flesh!

If you have a thought come into your mind about a fellow believer, don’t dismiss it! It may be the prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray for that person. Many believers in our day are making compromises with the world and with the flesh. This is a scheme propagated by the enemy to stagnate the body of Christ before the rapture so that God’s purposes will not be fulfilled in the earth.

If you have thoughts that question what good all the Bible reading, church meeting attendance, and prayer is doing, it’s the enemy! If you begin to feel that your spouse doesn’t care about or understand you anymore and thoughts come that tell you that you deserve better, it’s the enemy! If thoughts of oppression or depression come and give you a sense of hopelessness about the future, it’s the enemy! If you’re challenged to compromise your personal beliefs and values, it’s the enemy! If strong fear of a certain thing comes upon you, it’s the enemy. Resist him with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

When praying for fellow believers, let me remind you that you have the power to bind Satan and to loose the angels of God to minister to them (Matthew 18:18)!

The Holy Spirit is a jealous lover placed within the believer, and he has a jealous desire for each believer to be strong spiritually and to fulfill the will of God (James 4:5). Ask the jealous lover to stir up spiritual passion and desire in the believer, and to cause them to loathe anything in their life that is not of God!

Then prayer for their minds and spirits to be enlightened with the truth of the Word of God (Ephesians 1: 17-23)! Pray for them to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in their spirit. Pray that the love of and for God would be stirred up in their life (Ephesians 3: 14-20). Pray for them to be filled with the knowledge of the will of God for them. Pray that their lives would make a positive impact on others (Colossians 1: 9-12).

Let’s “cover each other’s back” in prayer, and let’s believe God to bring back to Himself those who have gone astray! Let’s believe for God’s perfect plan to come to pass in this hour through the church!

Shun the Works of the Flesh!

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

Everyday, we have the choice to walk in the spirit with our human spirit ruling us, or to walk in the flesh with our un-renewed mind, emotions, will, and body ruling us. Walking in the flesh brings sin and death. Walking in the spirit produces righteousness and life!

Walking in the spirit is not automatic, but your humanity is set by default to walk in the flesh! You only walk in the spirit on purpose! As you walk in the spirit, the flesh habits fall off!

Here’s a basic overview of the works of the flesh that we must resist. The sobering thought is that if you stop walking in the spirit with your human spirit in charge, you will revert back to these fleshly traits found in Galatians 5:19-21:

Adultery in the Greek is moicheia. It means unlawful sexual relations with someone besides a marriage partner. Fornication is porneia. Porneia is any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage. Uncleanness is akatharsia . Akatharsia means impurity of all kinds; homosexuality, lesbianism, and all forms of deviant sexual behavior that corrupts society. Lewdness is aselgeia. Aselgeia is being involved in anything that stirs up sexual desire and lust. This could be manner of dress, body language, looks, words, or actions. Idolatry is eidoloatreia.

Eidoloatreia means the worship of an image and includes any activity that is used to meet a need that only God can meet. It is an extravagant admiration of the heart. Sorcery is pharmakeia. Pharmakeia is demonic activity that is fostered by the use of drugs, alcohol, etc. of various kinds. It is the opening up of the human personality to the realm of the demonic through the sedation of the central nervous system. Hatred is echthra. Echthra is bitterness, anger, the tendency to hold grudges, and the desire for bad things to happen to others. Contentions is eris. Eris is strong disagreements, discord, quarreling, disputing and debating constantly. A person involved in eris enjoys contention and disagreement!

Jealousies is zeloi. Zeloi is the strong desire to outdo others, striving to excel and surpass others by any means. Outbursts of wrath is thumos. Thumos is strong, angry, heated emotions, or rage. Selfish ambitions is eritheia. Eritheia is the striving to outdo others in word or action, the desire that bad things happen to others who wrong you, or to have the bad things happen to others that they perform against you.

Dissensions is dichostasia. Dichostasia is the desire to stir up disorder, rioting, rebellion, and strife in government, religion, or community. Heresies is hairesis. Hairesis is purposely disagreeing with commonly accepted tenets and beliefs in religion or civic policy. Here it means clinging to opinions that oppose the Word of God. Envy is phthonoi. Phthonoi is jealousy, dislike and anger when others are blessed and receive more than you. One scholar says that this is the most base and degrading of all human emotions. Murders is phonoi. Phonoi means the desire to harm others, the desire to ruin another’s life, to kill, to hate.

Drunkenness is methai. Methai is being enslaved by alcohol, living in debauchery and intoxication on a regular basis. Revelries is komoi. Komoi is being involed in drunken parties where all kinds of illicit sexual activity is engaged in with no limits.

The sobering fact for us all is that we all have the potential to live in the lusts of the flesh! And these lusts of the flesh to nothing but destroy. Let’s pursue with passion our relationship with Jesus and allow the Spirit of God to keep us free from these things by obedience to the Word!

Flesh or Spirit

I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Walking in the spirit is allowing your human spirit to govern your life. Walking in the flesh is giving in to your natural appetites and desires. Galatians 5: 19-21 gives a list of the lusts of the flesh and Galatians 5: 22-23 gives a list of the nine fruit of the recreated human spirit.

The lusts of the flesh can be broken down into two categories, inward sins and outward sins. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, drunkenness, and revelries are outward sins of the flesh. Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, and murders are inward sins of the mind, emotions, and motives.

The fruit of the spirit are the byproducts of the love of God being placed in us by the Holy Spirit when we’re born again. They are all connected much like the segments of a tangerine. Love, joy peace longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control are placed in your spirit at the new birth.

Our daily choices determine which fruit our tree of life bears. If we with our will choose to focus on the daily happenings around us then we will probably walk in the flesh and the flesh works will surface in our lives. What occupies our minds will eventually fill our lives.

If we keep our minds on things above, and filter out the flesh things that the world and the enemy dangles at us each day, then we will walk in the spirit. The mind is the doorway to spirituality or carnality. Protect your mind. Allow nothing in it that would tarnish your spirit life. Carefully watch what you allow yourself to read, look at, hear, and dwell upon.

Flesh lusts never satisfy. They demand more and more of your time and attention and then leave you empty. Spirit fruit gives total satisfaction to life from the inside out. If you find yourself ill-at-ease, ask yourself what you have had your mental and emotional attention and outward actions focused upon.

At any time during your day today, you are either exhibiting the lusts of the flesh or the fruit of the spirit. The fruit you bear determines what you’re focusing on today. If you don’t like the fruit, then change your focus!

Spending time daily in the Word and in prayer are spiritual exercises that will allow the fruit of the spirit to surface in your life. Spiritual fruit generated by your human spirit through the Word and through being prayerful will challenge every wrong thought, word, action, and motive of your life.

Your bearing flesh lusts or spirit fruit today will be determined by what you giver your attention to with you mind. Keep it clean!

Freed from the Curse

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:13-14).

The curse of the broken law is three-fold: spiritual death, poverty, and sickness. Jesus bore the results of the curse of the broken law in Himself on the cross. Since He has legally borne our penalty for sin, we are released from the results of the broken law.

In the place of spiritual death, we receive spiritual life. The very life and nature of God (Greek- Zoe) enters our spirit when we are born again! The wall that separated us from the Father has been removed, and intimacy with Him becomes possible if we will pursue it! Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

In the place of poverty, we receive prosperity. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Some people think this verse refers to Jesus becoming spiritually poor. But the spiritually poor can’t heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, or preach and teach the gospel! Jesus became physically poor as He bore our poverty. In the place of poverty we have abundance and the blessings of God. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22).

In the place of sickness we have His health! Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). We have a legal right before God to walk free from sick and disease.

Satan does not give up territory easily, and you must be diligent in the Word and stand in faith for the blessings of God to be yours. Don’t stand for low level fellowship with the Father when Jesus has opened the door wide for intimacy! Don’t walk in poverty when Jesus has secured your blessing! Act and speak like you believe God’s Word is true! Don’t permit sickness and disease to reign in your body. Command Satan to keep His hands off of you in the name of Jesus! With His stripes you are healed.

Don’t settle for less than God’s best! Jesus has endured the curse for your freedom. Honor Him by receiving the best He has for you today. You’re free from the curse and an heir of blessing!

Righteousness by Faith

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified (Galatians 2:16).

We are right with God, not because of what we do, but because of what He did for us! We are not saved by grace to live by works.

Early in my Christian experience I learned a valuable lesson about trusting the grace of God in my life. Being a hard worker, I had a subtle belief buried deep within my soul that I must work to be accepted. As a young boy, I received affirmation mainly when I accomplished something. I carried this habit into my adult life.

As I began to walk with God, the familiar call of guilt and inferiority pulled me back into a works righteousness instead of a faith righteousness. I begin to read my Bible to be right with God instead of for spiritual nourishment. I would pray, not for fellowship, but to calm a overbearing conscience. I would fast a few meals, not to wait on God as much as to please Him.

The Lord graciously revealed to me during that season that He loved me, and that Jesus had already done everything necessary to make me right with Him. He showed me that I must take all of my inferiority to Him, and that there was nothing more I could do to become righteous. Jesus paid my sin debt. Jesus cancelled my past, and gave me His standing before the Father.

The Lord showed me that my righteousness was like filthy rags and that I could never do enough to be right with Him. I must accept by faith that He loves me, that He has forgiven and forgotten my past, and that I am now secure in Christ. My human efforts could never match what Jesus has already done to make me right with Him.

Stop struggling in self-effort to be right with God! Accept the fact that the blood of Jesus gives you a righteousness that makes close fellowship possible. When you sin, confess what you did before the Father and ask for His grace to enable you to overcome the weakness of the flesh. We’re not saved by grace to live by works!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! We’re enjoying a family day today, with lots of food and fellowship! This morning we had a family devotion time and read Luke 2: 1-20 in the New Living Translation which follows. Enjoy your day!

Luke 2:1-20
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. The Shepherds and Angels. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased." When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Jesus in the Gospels

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).

Mathew 1 begins with the genealogy of Jesus. The book of Matthew presents Jesus as the king of the Jews. It shows Him through this genealogy as the legal heir of the throne of David through Joseph.

All of the gospels depict Jesus differently. And here is the background. In the Old Testament tabernacle and temple stood the figure of the Cherubim. There were four faces on these Cherubim; the face of a lion; the face of an ox; the face of a man; and the face of an eagle. The early church fathers applied these four symbols to the four Gospels as they reveal different perspectives of Jesus’ life.

The Lion represents Jesus, the King of the Jews. The kingship of Jesus is the theme of the book of Matthew.

The ox represents Jesus as the suffering servant, and this is typified in the book of Mark. Mark represents Jesus as the worker, serving mankind by preaching, teaching, healing, and delivering form satanic bondage.

The human face represents Jesus the son of man and He is typified in the book of Luke. In Luke we have a display of the humanity of Jesus and He is represented as the Son of man. Details of his birth are given in Luke, showing that He was both God and man. Mary clothed Jesus with a body of flesh so that He could identify with our weakness, show His strength, and set us free.

The face of the eagle on the cherubim represents Jesus’ Divinity. The gospel of John reveals Jesus as the Son of God. John looks at Jesus from the aspect of his Divine nature. In John we see Jesus as the Living Word, pre-existing the body that Mary gave Him. We see Him as the Son from eternity past who came to give us light and to set us free!

In the genealogy of Matthew 1, four women are mentioned that had nothing to do with God’s covenant with Abraham. Tamar and Rahab are mentioned and they were both prostitutes. Ruth is mentioned, and she is from the cursed race of the Moabites. Bathsheba is mentioned, and of course she is the woman who committed adultery with David.

Why did God add these women to the genealogy? I believe that He wanted us to know that we are accepted into the family of God regardless of our background. Jesus was a friend of sinners, and when He cleanses from sin, it is so thorough that He is glad to include us in His family tree!

Neither race, gender, social place, nor political persuasion can keep us from the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers if we will simply humble ourselves. He will be to us everything we need. The face of the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle all represent the fact that Jesus came as the king; not too mighty or proud to work; willing to identify with our humanness; yet being Sovereign Deity who reigns over all.

As member of His body, let’s identify with Jesus and see every person through His eyes. Every person is precious to Him. He love and forgives if we simply yield and accept His freely given grace and mercy. Let’s look beyond the flesh when we see others, and place on them the value that God places on them. For God so loved the world!

Your Personal Thermostat

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:21).

The thermostat on the wall in your home is set to continually monitor the temperature. The thermostat constantly calls for a certain temperature and works ceaselessly toward that goal.

You also have a built in thermostat. It’s your mouth! And right now it is bringing into your life what you’ve set it on! You and I are calling things into our lives with the words of our mouth every day! Whatever you allow yourself to verbalize and believe is what is coming into your future. Don’t confess what you don’t want because one day it will show up!

Words are powerful. God creates with them. And in a large way, you create in your world what you have with your words. Don’t use them lightly. Fill your words with faith and confidence in God. Rid yourself of the habit of talking about negative and unseemly things.

Fill your words each day with healing, blessing, favor, abundance, success, boldness, compassion, love, and courage. You may feel none of these things, but if you’ll set your thermostat there, and keep it working, little by little your personal life temperature will begin to agree with your thermostat. It’s a never ending principle from the time you’re born until the day you go to be with Jesus (See James 3:1-6).

Words can move mountains, heal disease, mend relationships, produce abundance, cancel fear and doubt, bring the presence of the Father, and soothe the spirit and soul. Fill your words today with what know the Father wants in your life. Let your words agree with God’s word.

Start today where you are. Don’t brood over the past. Get up and fight the fight of faith! You’re a winner! A conqueror! You are the Father’s favored one! Talk the way you believe, not the way you feel. Speak the answer, not the problem today. Keep your thermostat set on victory!

Use What's Been Given to You

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

As a believer, you are a person with authority and the devil knows it! The original authority to care for the earth that God gave Adam has been handed back to you! Jesus came back from death with the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18). Keys represent authority.

Just before Jesus left the earth to be seated at the right hand of the Father He gave His authority as the New Creation man back to the church (Matthew 28: 18-19). You now have the same authority that Jesus had when He walked the earth! You are seated in a place of authority called heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Your position of authority is far above all principality, power, might, and dominion (Ephesians 1: 21). Satanic power is under your feet!

Satan’s knows that you have authority. He plays a game of bluff with you. He tells you that you’re defeated; that you’ll never amount to anything; that nothing that God has promised will ever come to pass in your life; that you’ll be sick and broke all your life; that God doesn’t care; and that you should go ahead and throw in the towel and give up. He’s an accuser. And He’s a liar (John 8:44)!

Many believers buy into Satan’s lies and quit fighting the fight of faith. They perish for refusing to act on the Word! Make a decision today to resist the devil and his lies. Throw off from yourself the blanket of unbelief that keeps you down! Act on the Word today! Take the sword of the Spirit and go to work. Speak God’s Word over your life, your family, your body, your finances, and your circumstances. Declare that your past sins had been removed, your present is blessed, and your future is bright. Use your Jesus given authority today and command Satan to take his hands off of you and those around you. You have the authority to bind and loose (Matthew 18:18).

The Father is waiting today for you to act. He has done all He will ever do about blessing your life. All things are yours (1 Corinthians 3: 21-22)! But all is lost if you fail to act! The Father has faith in you, that you’ll rise to the position that He’s placed you in. It’s a position of favor, of blessing, of honor, and of responsibility!

Make the Father’s heart glad today by using the authority He’s given you. He’s counting on you to carry out His plans!

Follow the Word First

And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys (Exodus 40:35-38).

Old Testament saints did not have the Holy Spirit living in them and guiding them as we do today. They had a cloud over the tabernacle that they followed by day and a fire over it by night. The tabernacle was where the presence of God remained. The cloud and the fire reminded them that they were not to go alone or just go as they pleased. They must wait and follow God’s direction by day with the cloud and at night by the fire.

Today, we are the tabernacle! We are where the presence dwells. In our spirit dwells the Spirit of God. And we are to be led by the Spirit from the inside. The Holy Spirit guides us first of all through the Word and them through the witness of our human spirit as the Holy Spirit bears witness with the Word.

I see so many today that are making choices to do thing that directly contradict the Word! And then they say that the Lord led them to go that direction. It is absolute deception to do something that contradicts the Word. Some say, well, I have peace about it, and I going this way anyway! Any peace that you have to do something that contradicts the Word is a false peace! It’s a deception! This kind of peace is an emotional satisfaction that is separate from the peace that comes through obedience to the Word. To be led by the Holy Spirit means first of all to obey God’s Word. Obedience to the Word produces peace in our spirit. The moment we disobey the Word, we leave the Holy Spirit behind and follow our own way and lose the peace of God within.

Colossians 3:15 tells us to let the peace of God rule us as we make decisions. But the peace of God must be preceded by obedience to the Word or the peace is a false peace!

Our cloud by day and fire by night is the witness of our human spirit to the Word and to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in obedience to the Word! Let’s determine today to be people of the Word!

The Greatest Gift Ever

The Children of Victory Fellowship performed the play Miracle on Main Street this morning in both of our Sunday services. The theme mentioned Christ being removed from Christmas and portrayed a town Mayor who was against a Christian theme being presented on the main street of is town who eventually warmed to the message of the gospel.

Our culture desperately needs the Christ of Christmas. With sin being seldom mentioned in public discourse, and with many within the church compromising the true message of the gospel, we must be willing to spread the true gospel message without reserve.

The message of Christmas is the message of God’s redeeming love towards us as sinners. With so many saying “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” we need desperately to boldly and loving share the truth of the season this year without compromise.

The foundation to God’s love for us in the Christmas message is that we are sinners from birth, separated from God both by an evil nature. We all have broken God’s moral law found in the Ten Commandments. James 2 reveals that if we break one commandment we are guilty of breaking them all.

Without intervention, we all will die and be confined in eternal torment in the lake of fire! God loved us enough to incarnate His Son into a human body. As God in human form, Jesus faced our every temptation without sin, eventually having our sin placed upon His own sinless spirit. Jesus endured our sin judgment so that we could escape hell and go to heaven.

The greatest Christmas gift ever given was the free gift given to each of us of eternal salvation through the sin sacrifice paid by Jesus Christ in His death.

So this Christmas as you shop and meet others, say a hearty Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays. Ask the Father to use you to bless others with the message of salvation through the sacrifice of Christ. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The Center of Everything

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:15-20).

Jesus Christ is the center of all that God has and is on earth and universe wide. He is before all things and in Him all things consist and are held together. History is really His story!

Jesus looms larger than any problem you face today. He is the answer to every difficulty. He is to us the wisdom of God; He gives us the ability to stand before the Father boldly without sin; He removes bad habits from our souls and bodies by His Spirit through the Word; He has completely bought us back from Satan’s legal dominion and has given us authority over Satan and his demon in The Name!

Begin and end your day with the Son of God. He is the Alpha and Omega. He will give you wisdom to face every obligation as a conqueror if you’ll submit moment by moment to His Lordship. Confess your failures if you sin today. His blood will cleanse you and bring back into sweet fellowship with the Father. Being separated from Him brings weakness. Walking with Him brings strength and vitality to spirit, soul, and body.

Let Jesus be the center of all that you think, say, and do today. In Him we live and move and have our being!

The Integrity of the Word

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

The Word is God speaking to us. Spending time in the Word is spending time with the Father. In his book, New Creation Realities E.W. Kenyon writes: Our attitude towards the Word determines the place that God holds in our daily life. Treating the Word as though it were a common book is the reason for much spiritual failure.

Many people have more confidence in the word of man than they do in the Word of God! But God’s Word is more sure and steadfast than the rising of the sun tomorrow morning!

Our world is constantly changing day after day. Cultural standards change like the wind. The emphasis of the masses changes from season to season. But the Word is fixed, established and stable! Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Obedience to the Word is obedience to the Father. Disobedience to the Word is disobedience to the Father. Ignoring the Word and refusing to make daily decisions that are in line with it is pride. And pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall!

God’s Word will be fulfilled in your life today, either in obedience, or in disobedience! A life built on sand (a person who hears the word and refuses to live by it) will be destroyed by the difficulties life brings (See Matthew 7). But for a person who puts the flesh under and obeys the Word when it not convenient, the blessings of God will sooner or later manifest:

My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones (Proverbs 3:1-8)

Daily Faith Expectancy

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

As we get closer to the end of the age, it’s more important than ever to walk by faith. Our faith will catapult us over the gloom, depression and fear that is slowly creeping into the fabric of our culture. Faith overcomes the world!

Walking by faith is believing, acting, and speaking like the Word of God is true right now, even though nothing seems like it’s not! Remember that God always sees the end from the beginning. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Though childless and old, God saw him with more kids than he could count!

Your faith will put you over today. In the face of contradiction, act on the Word. Thank God for the healing while the pain racks your body and the negative report remains unchanged. Believe that you receive before there is any physical change whatsoever.

Thank God for the money you need in the face of lack. God will always honor His Word when acted upon. Praise and worship the Father now, before there is any evidence of the answer! Thank Him just the way you would if the money were already in your hand!

In whatever circumstance you find yourself today, cooperate with God by walking by faith! Don’t just exist. Live life to the fullest with faith! God will not fail you. You’re already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). You faith is pulling into your life the answer to your need. Expect God to do what He said! He always watches over His Word to make it good (Jeremiah 1:12).

When we get to heaven, we’ll have eternity to talk about all the things the Father did for us in answer to our faith! Walk by faith today! Expect God’s best. Walk in joy and peace! He never fails!

Prayer for the Wayward Believer

We all know believers who have for some reason fallen away in their walk with God. They have become as Paul said “shipwrecked” in the faith. In some way the world, the flesh, and the devil have made inroads into their faith life, and they are away from God and out of fellowship.

I have found James 4:5 to be a real key in praying for these prodigal sons and daughters of God. Listen to it in these various translations: Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?” (NKJV) Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? (NIV) Or, do you think that the scripture says in an empty manner and to no purpose, The Spirit [Holy Spirit] who has been caused to make His permanent home in us has a passionate desire [to control us] to the point of envy [of any control indwelling sin may have over us]? (Wuest) Do you think the Scripture means nothing that says, "The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone"? (New Century Version)

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit becomes a jealous lover! He wants no person or thing to take our focus off of Jesus and the Father. He becomes intensely jealous whenever Jesus and the Father’s place are taken by another.

Notice James 4:4 in the Amplified: You are like unfaithful wives having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.

The most miserable people on earth are not happy go lucky sinners. The most miserable people are those who have walked with God and have fallen into sin. Their every action is a grief to the Holy Spirit. He is jealous to win them back to the Father.

In praying for a wayward believer, pray for the jealous yearning of the Holy Spirit to rise up within them every day. Pray for God’s jealous love to draw them back to the Father every waking moment. Pray that they will have no rest or peace until they are back in fellowship.

Years ago I had a friend who attended the same Bible school as I did, and attended my church. In fact, we worked together for a while on the church staff as custodians. After he completed school, he found another job and I lost contact with him. I saw him one day while running some errands, and there was my friend, cursing, blowing cigarette smoke in my face, and telling me of his sinful escapades. I affirmed my care for him and encouraged him to come back to the Lord.

I had such a burden for him after I left his presence. I cried out to God for my friend to come back to Jesus, and I prayed for this jealous lover to draw him back to the Father. I prayed that he would find no rest or comfort until he came back to the Father in repentance. I prayed for the jealous lover to draw him every day, and I prayed that the Father would send believers across his path of life daily to encourage him to come back to Jesus.

Some time later I received a phone call from my wayward friend. He had come back to God and had cleaned his life up. He had been set free from the deception of the enemy.

Take some time today to pray for the jealous lover to rise up in those that you know who have fallen away from God. He will draw them back to Himself as you give yourself to praying in faith for them.

Prayer for Believers

I have three specific prayers from the Apostle Paul that I use as I pray for fellow believers. You may sometimes hear a person pray, Lord bless so and so. And the truth is that God has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ! What we really need is to become aware of what has already been provided for us in Christ!

Here’s the first prayer in Ephesians: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1: 17-23).

This is a prayer that the Father will open our spiritual eyes to truth, and that we will see who we are and what we have in Christ.

Here’s the second prayer Paul prayed for believers: For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19).

This is a prayer for the love of God to be stirred up in a believer’s life. This produces spiritual strength! There is no real spiritual growth without growth in love.

Here’s the third prayer Paul prayed for believers: For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light (Colossians 1:9-12).

This is a prayer for the believer to filled with the wisdom of God through the Word. Walking worthy of the Lord from the Greek literally means that a person’s life carries the same weight as Jesus’ life. That is, they have the same impact on others as Jesus has on us! That’s powerful!

Let me encourage you to start praying these prayers for your fellow believer and for yourself! As you pray them in faith, you’ll see results!

The Indwelling Word

I’ve been reminded recently by the Lord of the importance of meditating in the Word daily. Like no other generation before our time, we have an overload of information. As Daniel said it would be before the coming of the Messiah, knowledge has taken a quantum leap! With so much available from multiple sources, it’s now necessary to become selective in what we read, hear, and watch.

The most important information that we need each day is the WORD! God’s Word is my standard that keeps distractions out, and keeps me focused on the necessary and important. As Isaiah 33:6 states, Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation...Without the Word, our lives will be like sand bombarded with a flood of water; we’ll be unstable!

The Word insulates us from the harsh environment of the world, where fear and doubt try to steal into our minds. The Word washes the debris from our thoughts that may get temporarily lodged there through daily interaction with so much stuff! And we’re admonished to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom or practical application (Colossians 3:16).

Joshua tells us that meditation in the Word will bring prosperity and success into daily life (Joshua 1:8). David encourages that meditation in the Word will cause us to be like a tree by a river bank that has a great supply of nourishment, and from that association with the river, all that we do will prosper. Solomon tells us that the Word is even like medicine to our flesh (See Proverbs 4:20-22)! Isaiah relates that the Word will give us perfect peace (Is. 26:3).

If it’s available, what would keep us from pursuing that which would better us? Jesus said the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of money, and the desire for other things could steal what the Word wants to do in us (Mark 4). The enemy knows what a power house for God we will be if we act on the indwelling word, so he’s real busy these days cooking up some interesting distractions. Don’t buy his game of bluff!

I’ve made a fresh decision to take time each day to meditate. To take scripture and let it go over and over in my mind while a taking a quick break, or when going for a walk or jog. To speak it out loud in my car, or to let it revolve over and over in my mind when I’m going to sleep, or when I wake up at night. The more opportunities we give the Word to dwell in us richly, the more success, favor, health, life, light, peace, and rest we will enjoy. The Word will NEVER leave us empty like so much in this information age. Let’s let it dwell in us – RICHLY!

Persecution

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world (1 John 4:1-3).

The spirit of anti-Christ is already busy on earth today. It manifests as a spirit of religious tolerance and religious inclusiveness. The idea is that all religions lead to the same God. It is rapidly gaining ground in the social and political discourse and ideology in our nation. It already dominates Europe. And the elites of our nation and the educational institutions are now under its’ diabolical control.

In the period to come, believers in Jesus will be more and more persecuted, labeled as extremists and castigated form the public social dialogue as harboring a belief that segregates, divides, and demeans. The idea is that all religions are good and that we must not speak against any of them, nor should we seek to proselytize anyone from another system of belief.

The idea of tolerance and inclusiveness is rapidly gaining ground in the workplace, and is already the norm in public schools and in colleges and universities. It’s the reason for the push for Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. It’s the reason that a hundred years of traditional Christmas songs and displays are being sidelines when the public refuses to protest.

We’re entering a dark period culminating in a severe worldwide test from Almighty God called the tribulation. And it’s coming fast; perhaps faster than we think. The only restraining force holding it back and keeping it in check is the church! Once we leave in the rapture, the world will go full force into this ideology.

I want to give you the promises of God for the persecuted. These promises will guide you in the days to come and will give you boldness and strength to stand undeterred in confrontation with this anti-Christ spirit as it works through people.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:11-12). Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets (Luke 6:22-23). If you are censured and suffer abuse because you bear the name of Christ, blessed are you — happy, fortunate, to be envied, with life-joy, and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward condition, because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort of criminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others [infringing on their rights]. But if one is ill-treated and suffers as a Christian which he is contemptuously called, let him not be ashamed, but give glory to God that he is deemed worthy to suffer in this name (1 Peter 4:14-16 - Amplified). Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12).

The Lamp of the Lord

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart (Proverbs 20:27).

When you need direction, don’t look to circumstances or even to your thoughts and feelings. You must go much deeper than that. Look to your human spirit.

The Holy Spirit dwells in your spirit, not in your mind. In your spirit is the needed direction for every area of life.

As a pastor, I look to my human spirit for direction and guidance. I usually know intuitively many things about people and about out direction in ministry.

Information comes to us from our spirit in the form of a “nudge,” an inner witness, an intuition, or we sometimes call it a “gut feeling” or a “hunch.” This witness could also be referred to as conscience. This is deeper than logical thought. This is the Holy Spirit bearing witness in our human spirit (Romans 8:16).

If you want to make good choices and decisions, learn to listen to this inward witness. Throughout the years of my life, I’ve learned to depend on this inward witness for guidance, and it has never once led me the wrong way! All that we are doing in our ministry today is the results of leaning on and trusting this inward witness to have the final say in my decision making processes.

To become sensitive to your spirit and to this inward witness, you must take time to meditate the word. Meditation will cause you to become keen in spiritual perception. Take some time regularly to get quiet with the Lord and muse in the Word. If you do, He will begin to bear witness about things to your human spirit.

Praying in the spirit, in other tongues, is an excellent way to become spiritually sensitive. Taking time daily to pray in the spirit will also help keep you spiritually sharp. Then, when decisions must be made, you can look to your spirit for this inner sense, this inner knowing, this witness, and you’ll be perceptive enough to pick up a yes or a know, or a just wait a bit. It’s wise not to make decisions in haste, but to take time and wait until you’re sure about a matter before you act.

I suggest that you read Kenneth Hagin’s book How You Can Be Led By The Spirit of God. This is probably the best book I’ve ever read on the subject of being led by the Spirit and following the inward witness.

The Father wants us to be successful in all of life’s endeavors. And we will be if we learn to follow and obey the inward witness. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Allow the lamp of the Lord to burn brightly in your life today!

Don't Coast!

We know absolutely that anyone born of God does not deliberately and knowingly practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him; Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil, and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch him (1 John 5:18 - Amplified). Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a). And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12)

This is not a time to coast spiritually. There is too much at stake. Satan has launched an all out assault on man and on the kingdom of God. Persecution is becoming more intense. The potential pull on the flesh from the world and the enemy is stronger than ever. There are many “potholes” in the road of life right now that could trip you up and make you stumble.

This is a time to draw closer to the Father than ever before. Spend more time in the word. Spend more time in prayer. Spend more time in church meetings, not less! Keep your spirit fine tuned so that the Father can use you to minister to those around you in bondage. Those believers who are sidelined by the flesh and the world need someone to lift them up. That someone is me and you.

Keep your mind saturated with the Word of God. Confess the Word about who you are in Christ every day. Constantly affirm what God says about you, particularly when it doesn’t seem real, and thoughts and feeling defy the reality of the Word. Make yourself say what God says about you.

Don’t give in to fear and doubt. They are the twins born of Satan to put you out of commission spiritually. Yield your tongue to the Word! Meditate it, speak it, chew on it. When the pressure to yield and quit is strong, that’s when you need to speak the Word the loudest!

When temptations to yield to strife come, choose instead to yield to love. Go love’s way instead of the flesh way. Demon forces are looking for a way into your life to trip you up. Strife will let them in. See strife as a tool of the enemy to sideline you spiritually and cause your faith to fail. Mediate on the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Keep your mind fine tuned to the Word.

Don’t allow the selfish spirit of the age to box you in and rule you. Ideas like the most important thing is for me to be happy are of the enemy and the world. Thoughts that tell you that you don’t have to put up with this or that from your spouse are born in hell (I’m not talking about adultery or abuse here, but just the small aggravations). Thoughts that tell you that you deserve a better spouse are lies from hell. God wants you to have stable family life so your children will grow up emotionally and mentally level and whole. The kingdom of God is strengthened or weakened by family matter in believer’s lives! Refuse to yield to the compromising pressure of the age!

This is the time that the Father wants us to rise up and shine and display His light in the darkness. Resolve to give God your best today!

Strong Marriages and Families

And did not God make you and your wife one flesh? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why did God make you two one? Because He sought a godly offspring from your union. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth (Malachi 2:15 -Amplified).

The will of God is that once you’re married, stay married for life. That is always God’s best. Yes, there are innocent victims of divorce. When a spouse chooses to sin and leaves his or her marriage partner for another, that leaves an innocent person behind. The Father understands the hurt and pain that brings. But if you’re married, work on the relationship! Don’t allow the enemy to pit you against one another!

Children suffer the most when a marriage dissolves. A culture is weakened when a marriage ends. So we must be diligent to keep our marriages strong and we must be willing to weather the storms that life brings our relationship.

If you’re married and you’re reading this, let me encourage you to renew your commitment to your spouse before God. The enemy is bringing an all out assault on the family today. Be aware of his desire to pull at your family and hinder your marriage.

Marriage is a relationship that can create great personal growth! You’re married to a person with habits, responses, thoughts, opinions, and ideas that may be quite unlike your own! As believers, we are called to walk in love, and that means accepting others at face value. It means treating your neighbor the way you want to be treated. This starts in marriage!

We’re called to live an unselfish life. God’s goal for us is not that everything pleases us and that everything goes just the way we want it to go! His goal for us is that we mature in Christ and learn to get along with others even when they don’t please us! He wants us to learn to smile when we don’t get our way!

Guard your marriage today by praying for your mate. Ask the Father to make you the spouse that your partner needs! Make a choice before God to do something every day to strengthen your marriage! Take time to communicate your heart.

If you’re divorced, don’t allow the enemy to condemn you. Walk in the mercy and forgiveness of the Father. Allow the Father to heal the hurts and wounds. Forgive and release the weight of anger and resentment. Expect the Father to guide you into His best for you right now.

We are watching the breakdown of our culture today. The assault on marriage is affecting our children! The family is being pulled by social pressure to fragment. Pray for those around you. Ask the Father to strengthen marriage. Call couples by name and hold them before the Father.

Guard you life and your family. Walk closely with the Lord. Watch what you allow in your eyes and ears! Refuse the social pressure to live selfishly. Be a lover. Be a giver. Be a problem solver. Be a person of integrity. Resist the pulls of the flesh and the world. Commit yourself to the Father every day to be a person that will make the world a better place to live. And let that commitment begin in your home!

What the Virgin Birth Gives Us

For God has allowed us to know the secret of His plan and it is this, He purposed long ago in His sovereign will that all human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in heaven and earth should find its perfection and fulfillment in Him (Ephesians 1:9-10-J. B. Phillips).

The Virgin Birth was God’s way of bringing all of creation back to its original position before Adam’s sin. Jesus is called the last Adam. He came to blaze a new trail for humanity. He came to destroy Satan’s works and to restore to humanity all that was lost in Adam’s disobedience.

The first thing Jesus did was to restore our fellowship with God. Through the New Birth we now have boldness to approach the throne of God just as Adam did before he sinned!

The second thing Jesus did for us was to break Satan’s dominion over our lives. Jesus defeated Satan in his own territory. He showed the spoils of His victory over the dark kingdom in the spirit world before He was resurrected (Colossians 2:15). His all authority in heaven and in earth has been given to the church. Now you and I have the same power over Satan and demonic forces that Jesus exercised.

The third thing Jesus did for us was to guarantee us a new body at the rapture of the church. God never intended that the human ever die and vacate his body. Before the fall, God’s plan was that we live in these bodies of ours for eternity. The death that sin brought is not the plan of God. Jesus conquered death and brought life and immortality back from the grave for us! At the rapture, each believer will receive a glorified body that he or she will inhabit for eternity. This body will fit us for life both in heaven and in the new earth. It will last for eternity. Read 1 Corinthians 15 for the details.

The fourth thing that Jesus did for us was to make the way for the curse that was placed on the earth when Adam sinned to be removed. This is when God through Christ rids the earth of all rebellion, judges His enemies, and returns the earth to its pristine pre-fall state.

Here’s how it happens. Jesus returns to earth with the redeemed church and sets up a one thousand year reign here (Revelation 19, 20). He rules until all of His enemies are subdued (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Then He judges Satan and his forces and casts them into the Lake of Fire, their eternal abode (Revelation 20: 10). Then God judges all of the unbelievers of all ages, and they experience the second death. They are likewise cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20: 11-15). They receive the same judgment as their spiritual head, Satan.

Then God autoclaves the earth. He renovates it with fire (see 2 Peter 3). This cleansed earth is called the New Earth (see Revelation 21)! A city called the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and is suspended between the present heaven and earth. It’s a cube 1500 miles high, wide, and deep. There the saints of God will conduct the business of heaven and earth with the Father for eternity.
The curse is completely removed form the earth (Revelation 22)! And we get to live here in glorified bodies for eternity! We will be able to travel back and forth between heaven, earth, and the New Jerusalem! We will reign with Him for eternity. It will be even better than life would have been if Adam had never sinned.

That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). O the wonder of the grace of God!

The Son

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

The implications of the virgin birth are far reaching. First, Jesus Christ existed from eternity past as the second member of the Trinity. Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). He had all the attributes of Deity prior to His birth in the manger because He was God; all – power (omnipotence), all-knowing (omniscience), everywhere at all times (omnipresence), righteousness, justice, love, etc. He is co-eternal and co-equal with God. Jesus said if you’ve seen Me you’ve seen the Father (John 14:9)!

When the Son of God was born, He laid aside His Divine powers, and lived the way we must live, by the power of the Holy Spirit (see Philippians 2: 5-11). He did not rely on His God powers to do anything as a man. He showed us that it is possible to live above the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil!

Jesus was born with total authority over Satan and his demons. Because He was born with God as His Father, He was not subject to Satan’s rule. He was born as Satan’s master! Also, Jesus was not subject physical death when He was born. He was not mortal (death doomed). Physical death is a result of sin. Because Jesus was not born as a sinner, He was not subject to death. He died only when He became our sin and allowed death to seize Him.

So here’s the picture. Jesus was born as a full human being that was also Deity. He was the God Man! He was just like Adam before He sinned. Satan tried to have Jesus killed as a child because he knew that Jesus was his master. As Jesus grew up, He came to realize who He was. Jewish boys had to memorize the first five Old Testament books by age twelve. As Jesus read, He came to know who He was! He came to see His mission in life.

At age thirty, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Him, and in that power He ministered for three and a half years. He healed sickness and disease through the gifts of healings; He multiplied food through the working of miracles; He calmed the storm through the gift of faith; He knew what was in man by the word of knowledge; He knew what would happen in the future by the word of wisdom; He saw demonic forces and took authority over them through the discerning of spirits.

He developed His prayer life the way we must, through perseverance and diligence. He put His flesh under by fasting. He exercised His faith the way the Father expects us to exercise faith.

When Jesus allowed Himself to die, He brought many sons unto glory! What He possessed became ours. He took our sins to give us His righteousness. He took our sickness to give us His health. He took our poverty to give us His prosperity. He defeated Satan to give us His authority. He is seated at the right hand of the Father to give us the same standing in heaven as He! We’re seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ. What He was, we are! As He is, so are we in this world!

The works He did, we are to perform (John 14:12). We are the branches, He is the vine. His life flows through us today. He took the sting out of death for us. We are those that live unafraid of anything! We are more than conquerors! Nothing can separate us from His love! No foe can defeat us. We are kings and priests unto God because of Him. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us! Our past is forgotten, our present is blessed, and our future is bright! And in eternity we will rule and reign with Him! Thank God for the virgin birth!

Why a Virgin Birth was Necessary

Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:34-35).

After Adam and Eve sinned, God had to find a way to bring man back to Himself. He couldn’t just forgive his sin. That would violate God’s morality and would be unjust. All sin must be judged. Psalm 89:14 says that justice and judgment are the foundation of the throne of God.

God must be fair to Himself, to man, and to Satan His enemy. After Adam’s sin, God could not make another man from the dust of the ground and use him to redeem the human race. The dust of the ground was tainted by sin after the fall. Satan legally obtained the temporary control over the earth that God gave Adam. And besides that, if God could have created a human from the dirt the way he did Adam, that human would not be blood related to Adam and Eve.

So here’s God’s problem. Adam, a man, sinned. Now a man must pay the legal price for the mistakes of Adam and Eve. It’s not an issue of whether God loves man or not. Of course He does. But because God is just and fair, all sin must be judged. He has to judge sin to be fair to Satan and fair to His own moral law.

Satan knew this. Satan was kicked out of heaven because iniquity was found in Him. There is no redemption available for Satan. He was a perfect spirit being created by God and he sinned. The payment for his sin is eternity in the lake of fire. Satan is an eternal spirit rebel. If he was allowed to freely travel in the universe he would corrupt it. So his eternal judgment is being confined to the lake of fire.

Adam’s judgment for sin had to equal Satan’s for God to be fair. So Adam’s sin penalty is likewise hell, the final judgment, and then being cast into the lake of fire.

Because Jesus was God incarnate, the problem of God finding a suitable sacrifice for sin has been solved! This is the wisdom of God in our redemption! Jesus, born of a virgin, was not tainted with sin. His flesh was sinless, yet He was a man. Satan had no legal control over Jesus. Jesus was a pure Man. He is a spotless Man. Jesus was born in fellowship with God and out from under Satan’s control and out from under the curse. Jesus had the same relationship with God that Adam had before He sinned.

Because of all of this, Jesus could legally bear man’s sin penalty. So Jesus lived a perfect life. He faced successfully every temptation that man faces without sinning. Then, Jesus was somehow made to be man’s sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then, Jesus experienced physical death. When He died, He went to hell. He stayed there until God was satisfied that man’s sin penalty was legally and completely paid. Then God raised Him from the dead and set Jesus at His right had as man’s eternal lawyer.

The penalty for mankind’s sin has been eternally paid by the innocent Son of God. Satan’s mouth of condemnation toward man has been stripped of power. The Father has proved His loved for us based on His absolute justice. The Virgin Birth gave us back our relationship with the Father!

Why a Virgin Birth?

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

December is the month the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Without the virgin birth, we would be doomed to spend eternity in the lake of fire. The very foundation of our redemption from sin and its catastrophic effects on all of creation is in the virgin birth.

The reason for the virgin birth is something we all need to understand. When Adam and Eve sinned, the entire human race was immediately severed from fellowship with God. Satan, God’s arch-enemy, became the temporary god of this world.

The “lease” that God gave Adam over the earth to take care of it and “keep” it was transferred to Satan (see Luke 4:5). He became the “prince of the power of the air,” and set up a system of control over this planet and over humanity. Satan was kicked out of heaven because of a desire to control God. When Adam sinned, Satan took advantage of his failure and fulfilled his desire to control by dominating this planet.

Satan may have thought that he had finally done something here that God was helpless to change. He may have thought that his control over the earth and over humanity was beyond God’s ability to reverse, but Satan underestimated the love of God for the human race.

The only way for us to be redeemed was through a virgin birth. You see, a man got us into sin, and a man must pay our sin penalty for us. Satan knew that God was just, and that sin’s penalty must be paid. And he knew that humanity was now a fallen race, and that every human born of two human parents would be born under his control. From Satan’s viewpoint, our redemption was not possible.

But Satan did not understand the deep love that God has for human beings. His corrupted wisdom never considered the price that God was willing to pay to remove sin and the curse from man. The virgin birth was God’s answer for man’s sin from His heart of love.

God’s wisdom before the creation of Adam and Eve was that if they failed the test of Eden and sinned, God would incarnate Himself in the body of a human, and pay man’s sin penalty for him.

No person born of two human parents could pay man’s sin penalty because that person would likewise be a fallen, sin bound, Satan dominated being. But the virgin birth meant that Jesus was not born according to the laws of natural generation. He was a human because Mary His mother clothed Him with sinless flesh. The sperm that fertilized the ovum in Mary’s womb came from God Himself! That made Jesus Christ the God-man! He was 100% God and 100% man. That meant that Jesus was born as the first sinless human since the creation of Adam before the fall; the last Adam as He is called in 1 Corinthians.

And since Jesus was born sinless and free from Satan’s rule, He could legitimately pay the sin debt of mankind! Without the virgin birth, this would not be possible!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Refuse Self-Will

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).

As I mentioned yesterday, after we are born again, our biggest problem is self-will. When Adam and Eve yielded to sin in the Garden of Eden, self-will took the place of submission to God. And ever since then the exalted self has challenged us through the ages.

The New Birth cleanses the human spirit of the nature of sin, but its reside remains embedded in the soul of man. Even after we are born again there is a huge tendency towards self-will. Satan seeks to use our personal issues with self will to get us to into a place of disobedience to God. Satan dangles the carrot of the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life before us, seeking to get us to follow his lead and walk away from our fellowship with our Father.

You can see this plainly in the wilderness temptations of Jesus in Luke 4. Jesus knew where He came from, who He was, and where He was going. Satan sought to sideline Jesus by enticing Jesus to use His God ability without the Father’s permission. If you really are the Son of God, command these stones to turn into bread. If you really are the Son of God, throw yourself off this cliff and let the angels rescue you. If you really are the Son of God, then bow before me and I will give you the power of the kingdoms of the world.

All of these statements were directed toward Jesus’ will, seeking to move Jesus to use His Divine power in a selfish way without first of all consulting with the Father. And that’s what Satan seeks to entice you and me to do; to use our will to satisfy the flesh, the world, and our human pride.

Independent living is Satan’s plan for you and me. If Satan can’t keep you from being born again, then after you receive salvation, he seeks to move you to use your will to act contract to the Word and to love. My challenge every day is to use purposely submit my will to the will of the Father. My biggest problem is not Satan. My biggest problem is my stubborn self-will!

Let me urge you to take time every day to relinquish your will to the will of God. Tell the Lord of the urges and thoughts that come to you to live contrary to His known will as revealed in the Word! Purposely commit yourself to Jesus, to the Father, and to the Word every day. Willing lay your will at Jesus feet. Commit to His way of living as revealed in John 5:19 and 30 (NLT): So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.(30)I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

An Example of Humility

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] (6) Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, (7) But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being (Philippians 2:5-7-Amplified).

Bible Scholars call this passage the “kenosis” of Christ. The Greek Word kenoo is used here to describe Jesus emptying Himself of the power of His office as the second member of the Trinity. Jesus didn’t empty Himself of His Deity, but separated Himself from His Divine power. He chose to live as we do, by the power of the Holy Spirit and in dependence upon the Word of God. That’s the reason He said in John 14:12 (NLT): I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.

Self assertion, self-exaltation, self-energy, self promotion, and self consciousness are byproducts of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God and have become inherent in human life. Though through the new birth old things pass away and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17), the residue of self-centered thinking and living remains a strong force in the life of a believer.

To put it simply, my biggest problem after salvation is self-centered, independent of the Father living. My biggest task is getting me out of the way and letting God have His total way in my life!

Jesus gave us an example of how to put down the tendency towards self-exaltation. He came as a servant, humbled Himself and chose the low road in life. He did this to show us that we can live a life of total submission of the flesh to the will of the Father. We can have the attitude of a servant. We can put ourselves last and put God’s will and other’s needs first.

Jesus provided redemption from sin for you and me, and an example of how to live a humble, God-submitted life in a fallen, self-aggrandizing world.

Make a decision today to humble yourself. Life is no longer about me, it’s about doing the will of t he Father, and pleasing Him in all things. Our goals today should include putting ourselves last, and putting others first. Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: Let Him be your example in humility.

Your Life Partner

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Paul encouraged the believers to experience God’s grace, to walk in love, and to walk in harmony with the Holy Spirit. The word communion in this verse is the word koinonia and according to Kenneth Wuest Studies in the Greek New Testament koinonia means a joint participation, a belonging in common to, a partnership, an association, an intercourse, a sharing, a relationship between two individuals which involves a common interest, and a mutual active participation in that interest, and in each other.

The Holy Spirit wants to be our partner in life. He dwells in us and has an ambition to make Jesus real to us so that we can grow to be like Him! The Holy Spirit also has a strong ambition to use us to bless others.

For us to experience this communion, this koinonia with the Holy Spirit, we must be on the same page in our lives that He is! We must ask ourselves; do I have a major ambition in life to be like Jesus? Do I want to change? Am I pursuing the goal of changing things in me that are unlike Jesus? Am I asking the Lord to make me a blessing to others? Am I open each day to be a conduit for God’s love? Am I actively seeking to hear the Holy Spirit and be used by Him to minister to those around me?

To be a partner with the Holy Spirit, you must fall in love with the Word of God! He is the Spirit of Truth. The more you involve yourself with the Word by reading and meditation, the more the Holy Spirit will witness to your own spirit. If you’ll decide and purpose to be a doer of the Word, the Holy Spirit will begin to show you many things about your life and will begin to manifest in you the nature of the Son of God.

Once you choose to follow this path in life, joy that you have never known will engulf you. But for this to happen, you must give yourself away to your partner, the Holy Spirit.

I want to leave you today with a quote from Kenneth Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, volume III. Here he quotes a man by the name of G.D. Watson who obviously came to know the Holy Spirit very well:

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with you, but if you absolutely sell yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the inner circle. Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem to use with others. Now when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven
(from Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Copyright 1940-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Copyrights © renewed 1968-73 by Jeannette I. Wuest. All rights reserved.)

Don't be Stubborn

If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps, he must give up all right to himself, take up hid cross and follow me (Mark 8:34 – Phillips Translation).

In my message yesterday I mentioned that we must be willing to give ourselves and our willpower over to the rule of the Holy Spirit. We are the custodians of our will. Our will is a sacred thing that God will not overpower. The Holy Spirit has the ability to aid us in every department of life, but He waits for us to yield our will to Him. If we don’t, carnality will reign.

The largest challenge in any believer’s life is yielding their will to God and His Word. We so want our own way!

In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was commanded by God to totally kill the Amalekites because of their wickedness and dealings with the Israelites in the past. Instead of doing exactly what God said, King Saul spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord, and he kept the Amalekite King Agag alive.

The prophet Samuel came to King Saul and made some very sobering statements when he found that Saul has deliberately disobeyed God in his stubbornness: So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).

The Samuel said something that applies to us today if we choose to stubbornly and willfully disobey God: Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols (1 Sam 15:23- NLT).

When we choose to stubbornly go the way of the flesh when the Lord is clearly dealing with us to avoid it, and when we know what the Word says to the contrary of our premeditated action, then we are actually opening up a door for demonic intrusion into our lives! And that can bring deception that will callous and blind us to God and His ways.

This is happening all the time in our day. I’ve been walking with Jesus now for over 33 years, and I’ve watched as friends and associates over the years have chosen their own stubborn way instead of the way of God’s Word and will. There seemed to be no repercussions initially. But over a period of time, their calloused heart drew them away from God, and into one calamity or another. Life was never the same for them.

If their remains in you a stubbornness that must have its own way at the expense of God’s will, now is the time to deal with it before its costs you dearly. Go back and read the whole of 1 Samuel 15, and learn the sober lessons of King Saul. Disobedience and stubbornness will bring ruin.

As Michael Brown says, Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay! Yield you will to Jesus and ask Him to deliver you from willful disobedience!