|
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
The Work of the Holy Spirit
Change is exclusively the work of the Holy Ghost. We simply can't change ourselves. Only the Spirit of God can conform us to the glorious image of Christ. We have all heard it said, "When a person turns to the Lord, God lifts the veil from his eyes." That is solely the Spirit's work. We also read, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV). The word "liberty" here means no longer a slave; exempt from liability; free, unchained. This describes the freedom that comes with having our eyes opened. Suddenly, we see things in a new light. Only the Holy Spirit can break down our lifelong way of seeing things, turn us around, and set us on a true course. In short, the turning Paul speaks of here means trusting fully in God's Spirit. It also means turning away from all unbiblical counseling, all your own ideas and plans, and calling on the Holy Ghost alone to lead and guide you. Paul experienced this kind of turning. In Acts 9, when he was still known as Saul, he was on the wrong course, headed to Damascus to persecute the Christians there. Talk about having a veil over his eyes! Saul actually believed he was doing God a favor by arresting believers and throwing them in jail. The Lord intercepted Saul and created a crisis in his life. When Jesus met Saul on the road to Damascus, he struck him with a light that was so powerful it literally blinded him. Saul had to be led to a house in Damascus, where he stayed until godly Ananias arrived. Ananias told him: " 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once..." (Acts 9:17-18). Saul surrendered his past, future, everything to the Holy Spirit, and the veil was immediately removed from his eyes. So let us yield completely to the Holy Spirit, trusting him alone to remove every veil and transform us into the likeness of Christ. |
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
Victory Cannot Be Defeated
"Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun... Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon... His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born" (Revelation 12:1-4, NKJV). Satan knew an incredible Church was about to be born out of the Old Testament remnant. It would be a glorious body, so the devil declared war once again, reasoning that now he could do battle on his territory, the Earth. Satan knew he couldn't get to the child in Mary's womb, so he determined to destroy Christ as soon as he was born. He gathered all his demonic forces around Bethlehem, sending spirits of deception to blind the scribes, priests, and Pharisees. Then his own spirit entered King Herod, possessing him. If Satan couldn't kill Christ himself, he would have a man standing by, ready to do it for him. But the Lord's armies of heavenly angels stood guard over the child, so that Satan couldn't touch him. The devil would have to wait another thirty years. His next chance came at the beginning of Jesus's ministry. At that point, Satan led Christ into the wilderness to be tempted, yet Jesus defeated him in that battle too. God protected his Son again, sending angels to minister to him in his time of physical weakness. The devil would try one last time to devour Christ. This time, he moved forces into place to try to kill Jesus by crucifixion and cast him into the grave. He sent demonic spirits to incite a mob, entering the bodies of priests, soldiers, political leaders, and false witnesses. At last, Satan thought, he had his hour of power. Now he would wage an all-out war! Yet we know the rest of the story because on the day of resurrection, Satan's most humbling defeat occurred. When Jesus ascended to heaven, he was out of the devil's reach forever. "Her Child was caught up to God and his throne" (Revelation 12:5). All of hell was shaken because Satan had lost again. Even using all of his power, he still could not defeat the victorious Son of God. |
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
Love One Another
If you had to name the pinnacle of Jesus's teaching, what would you say it is? We gain some insight from his final night with his disciples before going to the cross. He had only a few hours left with his closest friends, so he concentrated on all that he'd taught them into one word: love. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12, ESV). When we read this verse and think about love in the Church, our minds tend to turn to gentle thoughts. We think of kindness, generosity, and being good to others. Indeed, the New Testament says a lot about this kind of love. It uses the phrase "one another" about fifty times, with commands to treat each other with patience, encouragement, and generosity. The book of Ephesians uses the word "together," emphasizing Christ's great command to love in community. The disciples had no problem with this command; in fact, they probably thought they were already pretty good at it. They had just spent three years in full-time ministry with their Master, learning how to do what he taught them. But in this scene, Jesus speaks of love in a very different context. It becomes clear in his next sentence: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Now that's a serious kind of love. I picture the disciples looking at each other and wondering, "Would I die for this guy next to me? Sometimes he really irritates me." Maybe they didn't love each other as well as they thought they did. My point is that when Jesus commands us to love as he loves, it's no light thing. It isn't some romanticized idea based on feelings or ideals. What he commands of us is gospel love: powerful, unconditional, sacrificial love that has its roots at the cross of Christ. Jesus was about to demonstrate for his followers the most powerful act of love anyone could ever experience by going to the cross for our sins. In doing so, he would show that this love applies even to our enemies, because he gave his life for them, too. |
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
Well my friends, I've been in the hospital again for 7 days and just got out yesterday. Have been struggling with my liver condition, but trying to keep going.
Thanks to you all. Hope in His Promises One of the greatest burdens for a pastor is how to bring hope and comfort to believers who are enduring great pain and suffering. We want a message that will cancel their doubt and fear. We want to give them the truth that will dry their tears of grief and put a song of hope on their lips. The Holy Spirit's message for God's people is very simple: "Go to my Word, and stand on my promises. Reject your doubtful feelings." Hope is born out of God's promises. I once received a letter that contained a beautiful living illustration of this. It was from a mother who wrote, My sixteen-year-old daughter has a physical degeneration of her muscles, ligaments, and joints, and is in extreme pain twenty-four hours a day. She was a ballerina and looked forward to attending the Juilliard School in New York City. But her dreams were shattered when she was stricken with this disease. The doctor said that on a scale of 1 to 10, her pain is at 14. The amount of painkiller needed to be effective for her would destroy her kidneys, so she can't take the medication. In the face of everything, amid a relentless shaking of body and soul, this mother and her daughter testified that they put their hope in God's Word, and he gave them unspeakable peace. Beloved, has the enemy tried to tell you that God has bypassed you? Have you been tempted to conclude that the Lord isn't with you? Have you almost given up your faith? Put your hope in the Lord's Word to you: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5, NKJV). "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know your name will put their trust in you; for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you" (Psalm 9:9-10). |
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
The Only Solution
The way Paul writes to the Corinthian church makes it seem as if the church was rife with gross sins. But in reality, they were richly gifted by the Holy Spirit. In fact, much of what we know about spiritual gifts comes from them, and Paul's letter shows how powerfully those gifts were operating in them. Yet even though the Corinthians had a great knowledge of the things of God, they lacked the love that Jesus commands of us. That's why Paul strongly corrects them. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, ESV). Note Paul's keyword: "nothing." He was telling them they could never accomplish God's purposes without Christ's love; the lay-down-your-life-on-a-cross kind of love. It is a tall order, one that's impossible except through the Spirit. Now, this may sound like a surprising interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13. Most people think of it as the Bible's "love chapter," and even non-Christians recognize it from weddings. In that setting, 1 Corinthians 13 seems like a greeting card sentiment. In truth, this chapter is a counterpoint to all the carnal sins Paul listed in 2 Corinthians 12. That list includes quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. Now look at the contrast: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). When we compare this list with the other, we begin to see 1 Corinthians 13 as a spiritual solution to the problem of sin; indeed, the only solution. Friend, our character and actions should be shaped by the Spirit-empowered love of Christ. Our greatest gifts amount to nothing without that love in action. |
Re: POWER of PRAYER- No Matter Which Faith You Follow=GOD is With You
Praising God for His Goodness
"I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness" (Psalm 145:5-7, KJV). The word "terrible" used here means that his acts are so great that they cause astonishment and awe. We cannot deny God's claim that we are to praise him in all his excellence, but we are especially called to praise him for his goodness. Note that the psalmist insists on an abundance of praise in memory of the Father's goodness. It was common for David to sing these praises as lavish utterances, as if to cause the praise to gush out like water rushing from a fountain. In Psalm 107:8-9, David writes, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." This truth of praising God for his past goodness struck a chord in my heart, and I was moved to do as David did. We are called to celebrate his goodness! David reflects on the goodness he proclaims; God's inclination to use mercy as he sympathizes with our afflictions and miseries. David borrowed from Exodus 34:6, where God reveals himself to Moses: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth." Beloved, look back over the past and remember how good the Lord has been to you. Meditate on his compassion that never failed to bring you through. Delight in praising God in all circumstances, but especially for his goodness. Not only for what he has done in the past, but for the daily blessings that surround you even now. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6). |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 04:03. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
SEO by vBSEO 3.5.2