ENCOURAGING REALISTIC CHRISTIAN LIVING.
Word Bytes lets readers into insights from God's Word, which will enrich lives and enhance faith. Postings are short, practical and to the point.
“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs (Mat. 10:27).”
I received this on WhatApp and I thought some may enjoy it.
Thought for today. Christmas is about—Christ
‘They saw the young child with Mary His mother and fell down, and worshipped Him.’ Matthew 2:11 KJV
He was born in the humblest of settings, yet Heaven above was filled with the songs of angels. His birthplace was a cattle shed, yet a star brought the rich and noble from thousands of kilometres away to worship Him. His birth was contrary to the laws of life and His death was contrary to the laws of death, yet no miracle is greater than His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection and His teachings. He had no wheatfields or fisheries, yet He spread a table for 5,000 and had bread and fish to spare. He never stood on expensive carpeting, yet He walked on the waters and they supported Him. His crucifixion was the crime of crimes, yet from God’s perspective no less a price could have made possible our redemption. When He died, few mourned His passing, yet God hung a black cape over the sun. Those who crucified Him did not tremble at what they’d done, yet the earth shook under them.
Sin never touched Him. Corruption could not get hold of His body. The soil that was reddened with His blood could not claim His dust. For over three years He preached the Gospel. He wrote no book, He had no headquarters and He built no organisation. Yet two thousand years later He’s the central figure of human history, the perpetual theme of all preaching, the pivot around which the ages revolve, and the only redeemer of the human race. At this season of celebration and gift-giving, let’s join the wise men who ‘fell down and worshipped Him.’ Let’s remember, Christmas is about—Christ!
As you would remember, we were still busy with a series on the fear of the Lord. We then paused those for a while, but now the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click here to watch session 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EBKeGC1LOo&list=RDLVA-MANcuJwVo&index=17
As you would remember, we were still busy with a series on the fear of the Lord. We then paused those for a while, but now the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click this link to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOZ_VzrG_Yg&list=RDLVA-MANcuJwVo&index=22
As you would remember, we were still busy with a series on the fear of the Lord. We then paused those for a while, but now the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click here to watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNClG9EhwWA&list=RDLVA-MANcuJwVo&index=12
As you would remember, we were still busy with a series on the fear of the Lord. We then paused those for a while, but now the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bIv14RGkWg&list=RDLVA-MANcuJwVo&index=7
As you would remember, we were still busy with a series on the fear of the Lord. We then paused those for a while, but now the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click here to watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww4L1yjc5G0&list=RDLVA-MANcuJwVo&index=2
You might remember the series I was doing entitled: "What is the fear of the Lord?" I then abruptly halted the series. The reason was that I couldn't continue, for I didn't have victory in the areas I was about to discuss and didn't feel at liberty to teach others.
But then the Holy Spirit introduced me to these teachings of Robert Henderson on the Courts of Heaven. I applied it and voila - victory in many areas of my life. It works!
Therefore, before I continue with my series on the fear of the Lord, I'm first going to post Robert's videos. I suggest that you set time aside for it, for it is going to change your life. After you've watched these, you'll understand the importance of the teachings the Holy Spirit gave me on the fear of the Lord and then we'll continue with that. Click this link to watch it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-MANcuJwVo&list=PLR1KCm1gS3BQ9qHi0LbdMiW3k7Hx_1-e0
We have come to the end of the series on the Sermon on the Mount.
Maybe you have had difficulty
understanding what we’re talking about. Maybe you have a void within you that
you can’t fill. You have tried many things: sports, adventure, success, good
works, money, religion, or shopping, but nothing brings fulfilment. You still
lack something. Maybe you grew up in Christian surroundings and consider
yourself a Christian because of birth and background, but you still have that
void. Maybe this book stirred something in you, and now the void seems even
greater. The question is, what is that void?
Only one person can fill it, and He
is Jesus. You need to be born again. “In reply, Jesus declared, ‘I tell you
the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again,’” (John
3:3). “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless he is born of
water and the Spirit,’” (John 3:5).
When you are born again, Jesus lives
in you through the Holy Spirit. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,’” (Acts 2:38).
With Him come peace, strength, and
power. In the past, you had anxiety with no hope, a life without purpose. If
you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour and are filled with the Holy Spirit, you
suddenly know where you are going. Nothing in life is in vain anymore, because
your desires were brought in line with God’s desires. You suddenly are
fulfilled and have a zeal for God. You understand the Word of the Lord much
better. It is as if a whole new life has opened for you. All these are because,
at the moment of rebirth, the Lord has done a miracle in you. “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“‘Here I
am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me,’” (Revelation 3:20).
Do you want it? Simply pray, “Lord
Jesus, I am a sinner. I have sinned by following my own desires. I am sorry. I
want to invite You to come in and live with me. Give me rebirth and make me a
new creation. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can have the power
and love to be your witness.”
If
you have prayed this, you are born again. All you need to do now is to exercise
your faith. If you want to keep fit as an athlete, you need to exercise.
Exercising your faith means that you need to fill yourself with knowledge from
the Word, read the Bible daily, pray constantly, and serve within a
Bible-preaching church. Telling your family and friends about what happened to
you will help your faith grow.
I want to welcome you into the family of God the Father, His son, Jesus Christ, and our helper the Holy Spirit.
You and I are called to care for our
fellow servants, whether or not we are in leadership positions. If we do not
treat others as we have learned from this teaching of Jesus, we are like the wicked
servant in Matthew 24. I trust that after reading this series you are somewhat
more equipped to do just that.
This
concludes our teaching on the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Mathew 5, 6,
and 7. I hope you were as blessed by it as I was while receiving it from the
Holy Spirit and writing it.
Keep reading this blog, for there are much to come. Also, search the history to your right for more articles.
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“Therefore everyone who hears these words of
mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is
like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)
Which words
did Jesus refer to? “These words,” the words He had just spoken in the past few
hours during the Sermon on the Mount. He compared our obedience to a man who
builds a house. When we are born again and start our relationship with the
Lord, we build ourselves a spiritual house, a haven. “Jesus
replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our home with him,’” (John 14:23).
Our relationship with Jesus and
Father is our home, our protection against the storms of life. To paraphrase
Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:24-27: “I have spent several hours teaching you the
rules of My Kingdom. If you obey and apply what I’m teaching you, I will be
pleased with you, and you will be secure in me. You will have a stable,
powerful life and ministry. But if you ignore my teaching, I cannot protect you
against the storms of life or the onslaughts of the evil one. At that point,
you have sinned, and the Father and I can’t live in the same house with sin. If
you continue to disobey my teaching, your fall will be great in the end.”
This great teaching of Jesus is the
fulfilment of the law. Many Christians believe that they must
wait for God to
minister to them during praise and worship. They want to experience the
presence of God during meetings and expect God to do miraculous things for them
while they continue their mediocre, comfortable lives. The surprise, however,
is that if we obey Jesus’ teaching, He and the Father will make their home with
us. They will minister to us, bringing revelation and revival (John 14:21 and 23). On the contrary,
if we do not obey His teaching, they will not make their home with us and not
bring revelation and revival.
It is now time for complete honesty.
To what degree have you put Jesus’ teachings into practice? Take a few moments
of silence before the Lord to consider this. Look into your heart and find the
courage to apply what you have learned and see what difference it will make in
your relationship to God and the world around you. Don’t wait until you feel
like doing what the Lord expects of you to do; just do it. The flesh never
feels like doing what the Spirit wants. It would not be easy for the flesh to
obey, but if you overcome the resistance and just do what God expects of you,
your flesh might be angry, but your spirit will be refreshed.
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to obey You
to the letter. Please give me the courage and conviction to do so. The great
men and women of God in history obeyed Your teachings to the letter. I also
desire to be used greatly by You, even if it is only in my immediate
surroundings.
When Jesus had finished saying these things,
the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had
authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (Matthew 7:28, 29)
How do you teach? Do you repeat
traditional information that you have heard two-and-plenty years ago, or do you
teach what the Holy Spirit reveals to you? Do you think you are not a teacher?
Then maybe it is time to start obeying Christ’s command in Matthew 28:19:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you.”
All of us teach (or should teach)
some time or another. Talking about the Lord in a casual conversation involves
teaching. Much of our teaching comes from our own experiences with the Lord. All of
us should make use of every opportunity to teach.
When anointed teachers instruct on
revelation from the Holy Spirit, as well as when we teach experience knowledge,
we teach like Jesus did. When we teach religion, we are like the teachers of
the law. Therefore, we need to hear from the Lord all the time, because He
wants to teach His people through His disciples and servants.
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This is our second and last discussion of the passage on false prophets found in Matthew 7:15-23.
Another kind of false teacher
believes in the full gospel as it is written, but due to selfish motives, he
preaches the Word to benefit himself. “For the time will come when men
will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they
will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear,” (2
Timothy 4:3).
This is the real danger to the sheep,
because this person teaches to please people and make them feel important. He
preaches prosperity and goodwill messages and does not encourage people to
obedience and service, which please the Lord. This teacher puts the sheep at
ease, reassuring them that God wants to bless and prosper them as long as they
give financially—a gospel business deal.“Men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that
godliness is a means to financial gain,” (1 Timothy 6:5b).
Who is this teacher’s real master—God
or Mammon? What is the fruit of these trees (people)? How many of them have
gone to the trouble of visiting prisoners, giving sacrificially, opening their
homes to the needy, or clothing the naked from their own wardrobes?
How many hungry people could have
been fed, how many-long term missionaries could have been supported, and how
many Bibles could have been printed and distributed with the money that pays
for these teachers’ luxurious cars, houses, and church buildings? We can always
use the Bible to justify our actions. Some of these teachers might say, “The
Lord blesses me because I am giving and doing His work well. We teach the
people to give so they may receive.”
By their fruit you will recognize
them. If we examine these prosperity churches, we can’t help
but ask why only the
senior pastor usually prospers. Why do most of the givers in the church stay
average to poor if the principle of giving and receiving will make us rich?
On the other hand, why do the leaders
and pastors of many missionary organisations, who do the will of God, live
average lives? Surely the Lord blesses them just as He blesses all His
children. Maybe in their case it is because they correctly use the funds that
the Lord provides for His work.
Bad or diseased trees do not have
only financial motives. The devil thought up many motivations for hindering
God’s work. Other common motives are control, power, manipulation,
self-fulfillment, and ambition. In many such churches the pastor maintains
control and people become passive, not being used in their gifting. Preachers
with these motives are not spiritually healthy, so their followers do not get
healthy spiritual food and end up in an unhealthy spiritual state.
What is a healthy spiritual state? It
is when believers follow the Lord independently, through hearing from Him
personally and responding in resulting faith, by actively flowing in their
gift.
What is an unhealthy spiritual state?
It is when anybody apart from the Holy Spirit is in control of your life. These
could include your flesh, the evil forces, or other people. When others
manipulate us, either by opinion or direct control, our relationship with the
Lord is not healthy. Anything that determines our decisions should be tested
against the will of the Lord through prayer, fasting, and the studying of the
Word of God. “Diseased trees” use control to keep people under their power and
away from the fullness the Lord has in mind for them. They do not preach and
teach complete obedience, and they stop their people from hearing it from other
sources such as other churches or television.
Jesus taught
this lesson for a reason. He knew the power of Mammon. He also knew our hearts.
He wants us to be like Him and His disciples—obedient in spite of suffering.
When Jesus died, He owned nothing but a garment. When the apostles died, they
had experienced much suffering as a result of their obedience and also owned
nothing. When John Wesley died, he owned a horse, some clothes, and a Bible.
They all, however, had one thing in common—a rich harvest of saved souls.
We live in a world controlled by
Satan. We are only pilgrims on a journey. We have a mission to bring as many
people as possible to heaven with us when we return there.
Life in this world, however, is not
easy. Mammon hammers us with his demands, and even the church often preaches
his doctrines. We pray, Lord, that you help all your children to obey your
commands. Let none of those you have chosen and have drawn to you hear the
words ”I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Please help all of us to
know Your will for our lives and to do it. Help us always to preach the
truth.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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“Watch out for false prophets. They come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit
you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from
thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:15-23)
This is written in the context of the
wide and narrow road. The Lord Jesus said we must look for fruit in the lives
of teachers. In doing this, we must be very sensitive. We can’t recognize them
on our own. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, has made available the gifts of
discernment, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom by which we will recognize them.
False teachers will come to you in
sheep’s clothing. They appear to be one with you. They will agree with you in
doctrinal matters. Their preaching will sound acceptable and innocent, but
inwardly they are ferocious wolves. What motivates them? What can this false
teaching do for them? What is the fruit by which we will recognize them?
Consider Jesus’ audience. At the
beginning of the sermon, He saw the crowds, and His disciples came to Him and
He began to teach them (Matthew 5:1). It appears that the audience grew as curious listeners joined, for at the end of the sermon it states that the crowds were
amazed at His teaching (Matthew 7:28). Not all of them believed, but all of
them were interested. Both believers and potential believers sat in the
audience. This holds true today.
The clearly definable and well-known
false prophets, who deliberately deceive people,
target
potential believers as well as young believers. They have one motive: to
deceive people away from the freedom that Jesus bought for them with His blood
and tie them up in works again. Paul said to the Galatians: “You foolish
Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was
clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you:
Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you
heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying
to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if
it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among
you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” (Galatians 3:1-3, 5)
This is what these sects or false
teachers try to do today—imprison people in self-effort and prevent them from
being set free by grace through faith. Often, their motive is money, because
these prisoners who live by the law give a lot of money to “the work of the
Lord” due to guilt. These are well known false teachers and the average person avoids them.
But there are false teachers that are much more subtle. Their teaching appears very acceptable and they usually draw scores of followers. Their false teachings are doctrine based. They leave out crucial doctrines, such as the need to be born again and to be baptised. Salvation is based on baby baptism and the covenant of the parents - a false foundation. People following these teachers are deceived into believing they are okay and do not realise that without rebirth and being baptised as a believer one cannot enter God's Kingdom (John 3:3 and 5, Mark 16:16).
How can false teachers be avoided? Test their teaching to the Word of God. What does the Bible say about doctrinal issues? Let us look for example at Mark 16:16. The person who believes and is baptised will be saved. Can a baby believe? Read the Bible and believe it as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you and not as people interpret it to you. To be continued.
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“Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14)
Why are the gate and road to life
narrow, and why are the gate and road to destruction wide and broad? It is
because of standards. With the wide gate and road, anything goes. Everyone is
free to do as she likes. Despite the influence of others, one rule abides:
anything goes. Society does have rules and values that rein us in to an extent,
but isn’t that only because God keeps an eye on things since Jesus conquered
the devil? What was the state of the world just before the flood? What happened
in Sodom and Gomorrah? There were no righteous people. They probably had
government laws, but when it came to moral laws, there were none. Everyone ran
after his own lusts.
The only moral rules and values the
world tolerates today are those applied by either a God-fearing or religious
society or by a government. Men and women on the wide road desire the freedom
to do what they want. That was what the world was like before the flood and in
the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. That is where the world is headed today.
Consider the “liberation” that took
place in the past hundred years. Abortion (murder), homosexuality,
drug abuse, and violence are increasing. Abortionists constantly lobby for the
relaxing of abortion laws, while free sex is rife. Name the sin and somebody is
involved in it. Individuals and groups justify their sinful actions; in their
eyes, they are doing nothing wrong.
Besides sin, the wide road has
another component: beliefs and doctrines. There is room for any belief. We have
seen the uprising of New Age theology and related beliefs. New Age adherents
present some of their false doctrines so subtly that Christians see them as
innocent. They are interwoven with medicine, health, and self-defence. On the
wide road, there are no rules. Everybody travels merrily, allowing each to do
what he likes, repeating their mantra: “Don’t tell me what to do; I’m in
control of my own life.” The king of the wide road is the ruler of this world,
Satan, and all his principalities such as Mammon.
Jesus said many find the wide road.
Why? It is because there are no restrictions. Even Christians
are welcome on
the wide road. It’s easy to access because it leads away from God and toward
destruction. The goal is to destroy as many people as possible.
Why is the other road narrow? It is
because it is linked to one person. Nothing else but worshipping and serving
God is necessary. The rules of worship and service narrow this road. If you
study the New Testament teachings, you’ll get a picture of how strict the rules
are. Within the rules we are free, but not to do what we wish. Paul said, “‘Everything
is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is
permissible for me,’—but I will not be mastered by anything,” (1 Corinthians. 6:12).
God does not force us into anything.
We are free to do what we like, but not everything we do benefits the Kingdom
or falls within the expectations of the narrow road. The moment I am mastered
by anything but God, I miss the narrow gate.
Not everybody can enter through the
narrow gate because on the other side of the gate, on the road, is no place for
self. The main criteria for entering through the narrow gate are the motivation
and attitude of the heart—doing the will of the Father. It appears that many
Christians have hidden agendas in the Kingdom of God. Many people worship
pastors and Christian leaders instead of God. Some Christians serve God for
what they can get, especially money. The problem is that they are not easily
recognizable. They appear to be good. Sometimes they don’t realise the
motivations of their own hearts. “For false christs and false
prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles, to deceive even the
elect—if that were possible,” (Matthew 24:24).
What is this will of Father? It is
clearly written in Jesus’ teachings. The obstacles to overcome are self,
laziness, and materialism. It is hard to humble ourselves, to get out of our
comfort zone, and the hold that materialism has on us. Few manage it—the few who
find the Narrow Gate and stay on the Narrow Road. Are you one of them?
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Today is the conclusion of the discussion on Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
I received another rhema verse just
before we moved to England. In order to stay in England, I had to re-qualify as
a pharmacist, which would cost a lot of money that we did not have. I felt that
the Lord had initiated this desire to move to England. Although I had other
rhema words from God, indicating He wanted us to go, I did not yet have the
faith. What would we do when we get there? Where would we get the money to live
on and to pay for my re-qualification? I e-mailed Ina, my wife’s best friend
and sister in Christ. Ina had been living in England for the past three years.
“Just come,” she said.
How do I “just come?” I thought.
During my Bible reading the next day,
the Lord had the answer. It popped out of the Bible right at me, creating in me
tremendous faith. “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean
thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. But
you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard,” (Isaiah 52:11,12).
Although God originally meant this as
a message to Israel, that day He spoke it to me. It was time to go in faith. It
was my ministry to encourage the vessels or servants of the
Lord, therefore He was talking to me.
The best way to know that a portion
of scripture is a revelation from God is that it creates faith in you.
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard
through the word of Christ,” (Romans 10:17). When you know it was the Lord who
spoke to you in person (comes from hearing) from His written Word (and the
message is heard through the word of Christ), faith is the result.
After receiving this confirmation
from God, we just went. God promised He would go ahead of us and be our rear
guard, and boy, did He do it! Miracle after miracle opened doors for us. He
kept doing them although I am the least to deserve it. I am talking about tens of
miracles in the initial span of one year and still continuing during all the years we've been there. We have since returned to South Africa
Every time I got despondent in that foreign country and encountered persecution, I was tempted to panic or
doubt, but the memory of this revelation gave me faith to continue. I recall
it fondly as my First Love’s personal words to me. It makes me feel worthwhile,
like somebody who is cared for. When this harsh world tries to crush me, I have
these love letters in my heart, words spoken lovingly by the Almighty directly
to me. Then I feel safe.
Even when I messed up and didn't please the Lord by being disobedient and unfaithful, He was still faithful and kept His side of the covenant.
One more thing about asking: God does
not always give the first time we ask. He often wants us to prove our faith by
asking repeatedly, by pleading (Philippians 4:6). Jesus told the parable about
the widow and the unrighteous judge (Luke 18:1-8), showing us not to give up
easily when asking God. God wants to see determination and faith. He wants to
see that we know what we want.
Furthermore, He needs to get the
timing right. He knows us by heart, knows our future, and knows when the right
time is to answer a prayer. If He answers too early, that which we ask for
might be wasted or we might not be ready for it. Sometimes He first needs to
accomplish something through our current circumstances before He can answer the
prayer and bring relief. Sometimes His answer is plain “no.” We do not always hear
this, then we think our prayer has not been answered.
The passage about asking also applies
to asking people, but unlike God, people, in general, are not so gracious.
Credibility plays a major role among people. What you sow is what you’ll reap.
We ought to give in order to receive. That is why Jesus ended this passage
with, “‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for
this sums up the Law and the Prophets,’” (Matthew 7:12). One cannot be rude and selfish all one’s
life and expect to receive from people all the time. In the beginning, people
might give out of politeness. In the end, it might bounce back on you.
Give
God your love and receive your desires. Give yourself to people and receive
what you have given.
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We are busy discussing Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Elijah also walked in the great power
of answered prayer because he did and prayed only what the Lord told him to.
The key with both Jesus and Elijah was that they were sold out to the Lord’s
cause. They did not have a thousand and one distractions and could focus solely
on listening for the Lord’s voice. Neither of them could hear it audibly, nor
could Moses, Samuel, or Paul. For that matter, neither can we. They simply
tuned in to Father to hear what He had to say. What separated them from the
general population was their undivided devotion to the Lord.
To them, He was everything. They
allowed Him to do anything with them in order to accomplish His purposes. They
did not mind ridicule and persecution as long as it enhanced what God had in
mind concerning His kingdom.
We need to get rid of the things that
distract us, tune in to God, and especially read the Bible expecting to find a
revelation (rhema) word. This empowers our faith and, when prayed, moves the
arm of God. Praying a rhema word, a word that God quickens to us from His
written Word, has much power.
I have received much rhema in my
life. Many years ago, I needed protection against persecution and mistakes.
While I read Psalm 91, verses 14-16 came alive: “‘Because he
loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he
acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be
with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I
satisfy him and show him My salvation,’”
I memorised it and it created faith
within me.
I tend to rub the enemy the wrong way
by exposing the truth, so I am well acquainted with persecution. As a result, I
have had a lot of trouble in my life. Not long after I received this rhema, I
realized why the Lord gave it to me. I would need it in times of trouble. Every
time I get into trouble, I pray these exact words from this revealed passage. I
made it more personal by praying, “Because I love You, Lord, You will rescue
me. You will protect me because I acknowledge Your name. . . .”
Without
fail, this prayer exerted amazing power. I have been saved from major dilemmas,
even from problems that were my own fault, simply because I repented before God
when I realized my error. Sometimes the trouble evaporated, but at other times
the Lord sent me to deliver a message of wisdom to my adversaries, and that
brought my deliverance. To be continued.
While you're on the blog, why don't you have a look at more of this kind of articles in our archive to your right, or on your mobile device, tap 'home' at the bottom and then the arrows next to the 'home' button to search for more articles?
We are busy discussing Jesus' instruction in Matthew 7:7-11: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
In our asking, it is our duty to consider
God’s purposes. It is wise, profitable, and righteous not to ask for those
things outside of God’s will. We read in Psalm 37:4: “Delight
yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
I once asked the Lord the meaning of
this passage, since I knew He wouldn’t give me whatever I desire. I learned
that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, enjoying an intimate relationship
with Him, considering Him to be all we need and His will to be our ultimate
desire, we will not want anything outside of His will. As a result, while we
enjoy His presence, He will place desires into our hearts, then He will give us
what we desire. Disciples whose sole desire is to do the will of the Lord will
not have a hidden agenda. They’ll ask for only what is needed to fulfill the
demands of their calling.
Recently, I confessed to my home
group that I had lost my courage and boldness in witnessing. This was a problem
I have bathed in prayer for a long time. I didn’t expect anything when I asked
the home group. I just felt like talking about it.
Delores, one of the ladies attending
that night, urged the pastor to lead the group in prayer for my renewed courage
and boldness. He almost let the opportunity pass by, but by the end of the
meeting, Delores demanded that we pray for me. Strangely, it seemed like a
matter of life and death for her. So they prayed for me and I accepted it as
usual.
The next day, I felt courageous, as
if nothing could stop me. I was on fire for the Lord again and testified
without fear at every opportunity in the radical way I used to. I spoke to some
Muslims, and the Lord gave me the most creative approaches. I was a new man.
Intrigued, I
thought and prayed about the reason for the difference. I had prayed for a long
time with no results, but when Delores urged, it happened. I was then led to 1
John 5:14, 15 as we discussed earlier. Delores heard the Lord’s prompting. She
might not have heard specific words, but the message from the Lord was
probably: “It is time for prayer now! It is My will that you should pray for
Henry, because I want to do what he asked for.”
The angel has stirred the water, and
we need to jump in now to receive our answer to prayer. We need to pray when
the Lord tells us to pray, how He tells us to, and about the topic He tells us
to. If we pray when, what, and how God wills, we will receive what we ask for.
The key is to be in close touch with
the Lord (intimacy) and in right standing with Him (obedience), so we can hear
what He expects of us. If in everything we do exactly as He wishes, we will see
more results, experience more of His power, and save a lot of time and prayer
energy.
Jesus said that if we love Him we
will obey Him. He spent many nights hearing from His Father about how to
perform His ministry tasks the following day. I believe Father told Him to put
mud on the blind man’s eyes, and to pensively write on the ground when the
woman was accused of adultery, and to tell Peter to catch a fish and find a
coin in its mouth. He did not necessarily hear beforehand, but certainly did
when He acted. To be continued.
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