Power Of His Voice

Key Scripture:  “The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.”  Psalms 18:13

…He [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:4

Power Point:

I don’t know how you’ve imagined heaven, but in my own mind I’ve always thought of it as a place where angels are singing and saints are praising all the time; a gentle, quiet place. Imagine my surprise when I began reading in Revelation 4 this morning and discovered that it’s not quiet at all! It is filled with God’s words, and the words that are declared from His mouth are like a glorious storm!  I love the thought of His Word being a lightning flash in heaven.  In Psalms 18, heaven is described as an active thunderstorm all the time!  Lightnings and flashes and roars of thunder. Rumblings and peals of thunder.

His Word and His words are what fill heaven and when that is what fills our hearts, His voice is louder than the voice of the enemy, stronger than any other sound. When we listen to His voice, we learn how to live.

I’ve always thought that the abundant life should be full of peace, and it is. But don't we usually need peace in the midst of the storm?  Don't we need peace in the midst of the battle; in the midst of chaos?  It’s very loud peace because it’s filled with His voice. And it is a gentle peace that calms the storms.

Heaven must be a place of gloriously chaotic peace because there are no other voices to distract us.

When peace rules, He rules and He acts on our behalf. When fear rules, God is speaking but the other voice is louder.

If we are listening to the voice of the enemy then, we are listening to words of fear that only brings chaos.  You have faith in one thing or the other. You either fear that God will NOT keep His word, or you believe that He will.

If You believe that He is good, and will work to create good in every situation for you, then you will be rewarded with peace for your faith.

If you listen to the other voice, you will be rewarded with fear, fear, and more fear. The reward of fear is no peace.

The just, (those who have given their lives to Jesus),  are to live, by placing their faith in what He has said and is still saying.  To do that you have to abide in and hold on tightly to what God says about you, your situation and your outcome.

If God's purpose is to only think peaceful thoughts toward you to give you a future and a hope, then how can those words change your outlook?

If God loves you so much that He is continually looking in your direction to answer your faith, then how does that change your outcome? 
What are you really believing? 

WHO are you really listening to? Which words are louder in your heart and your mind?

Something to think about isn’t it?

Power Thought:

The battle within is the determining factor in winning the battle without.

Power Of The Gift

Key Scripture:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” which is translated, “God WITH us.”  Matthew 1:23

Power Point:

     It's not Christmas but what a lovely thought.  I’ve often thought about the gifts God has given us; The Gift of Jesus, The Gift of the Holy Spirit, the Gift of tongues, or miracles or healing. But I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the GIFT of His Presence.

     I’ve read about cultivating His Presence, and seeking His Presence; inviting His presence, and enjoying His Presence.  But as I think about it, the greatest gift, the greatest present we have is the gift of His Presence.

He is always reminding us of the fact that “He is a God, who is WITH us.  He says, “Don’t be afraid, I am with You.”  I will never leave you or abandon you. I will be with you.” 

What does that mean?

-All the power of God is present with me.

-All the power of God is present for me.

-All the love of God is present in me, and it can be released through me.

-I have a fullness of Joy that is not dependent on my circumstances but a gift that continually unfolds in my heart as I think about the gift of His presence.

-I have grace and mercy hunting me down and pursuing me every moment of every day of my life.

-I have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and the ability to have self-control, faithfully present in me and to me, from the moment I wake up, to the time I go to sleep and all the hours in between.

-I have the presence of His Peace.  He does not get upset or worried about my situations. He’s already got a plan to make them work for good. Therefore I can be AT peace, and IN peace. What a gift that is!

     Do you remember when Moses was getting ready to set out on his journey to the Promised Land as a leader of millions of people? The only thing that he was concerned about was that the Presence of God would go with them. That’s probably really good advice for us too, isn’t it?

     Why was that important to Moses? Because he knew what life was like with it and he knew what it was like without it! He was not moving until God promised to go with them. He knew that a life without God would be impossible to live successfully.

     Beloved, you have the greatest gift that has ever been offered to anyone.

Jesus’ death and resurrection connected you to the gift of His presence. Not just for a brief moment. Not just for a certain event. You have been offered the full, complete, overflowing presence of God as a gift that continually keeps on giving. A gift that will never be taken away. A gift that makes us safe, secure, blessed, and full of faith and hope for the future. Why? 

Because HE is with us.

Because He is with us, we have the promise that:

He’s listening to every word we say.

He will be very much with us in bad times or in good times.

He will deliver us and honor us, and help us to live an overcoming life.

He will satisfy us with a long life worth living.

And He will always show Himself strong on our behalf.

     How does that work?  You open His gift to you. You find those passages that relate to "God With Us", and apply them to your own situations. You refuse to believe that you’re on your own, that its all up to you; that you are powerless or hopeless.

     You dwell. Because you can. Nothing, no one, no thing, can ever separate you from Him, nothing except your own thoughts.  Satan will try to tempt you to feel alone and helpless but the truth is that God says that He is with you.

He is with you to bless you, teach you, encourage you and take care of your cares. He’s with you to hold you tightly in storms and take you through them or calm them. He has prepared a table for you to sit with Him and enjoy tasting the delights of His presence.

After all, Jesus’ name is Immanuel, God WITH us.  Thank You Jesus.

     How would your life be different if you believed that with all your heart and mind and strength?

Exactly.

Power Thought:

“If you stay near to me, I will stay near to you.”

There’s no greater gift is there?

Power of A Believing Believer

Key Scripture:  “Fear not, for I am with you.”  Isaiah 43:5

Power Point:

     Sometimes you just have to take a step back, take a deep breath and examine what it really is that you are believing. We call ourselves “believers” but we really need to understand what it is that we are believing.

Are you full of fear?  Then you are believing that God will not be good to you.

Are you full of doubt? Then you are believing every word that the enemy is telling you.

Do you have peace and joy?  Ah. Then you are believing in the promises of God and in the character of God.

Are you a believing believer? Then these are the signs and wonders that will follow your belief that He is with you:

We overcome evil with good.

Because He is with us.

We can be living examples of the supernatural invading the natural.

Because He is with us.

We can do miracles,

Because He is with us.

We can triumph in any tragedy.

Because He is with us.

We can dream dreams.

Because He is with us.

We can live in hope.

Because He is with us.

This is what the Lord spoke to me this morning;
“Fear not, My child. I am WITH you. I am continually bringing every part of Myself to you to give you the opportunity to prosper in every way. I live in you, and I live for you.  Please understand that.  I am moving heaven and earth, to bless your faith and reward it.  What are you believing me for?  Believe for more. Take the locks off the limitations you have put on Me.  Expect Me to show up and I will.  Everything I do, I do to increase you, and honor you, and bless you.  It’s just the way I am. I am not like you. My thoughts are so much higher than you can imagine. Come and dwell in that place of above and beyond. That’s where you’ll find Me.”

Shouldn’t that make a difference in the way, we think and feel? Of course it should.

  He’s not just with them, Beloved. He’s with YOU! Now. Forever. He’s promised to always be there. Always.  Forever and ever amen.

How does that change the unfolding of your thoughts, and your words today?
Are you believing the "best" or the "worst"?

Power Thought:

He is with me.  He is with me.  He is with me.  He is with me.

HE IS WITH ME!

Power Of Thinking It Through

Key Scripture:  "I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:20
Power Point
     If you really stop and  think about it, when Jesus came to earth as God's gift, He was an example of how God wanted people to view Him from then on.  Before Jesus came, people found it hard to believe that God was good and full of grace and mercy. The reason for that was because He had to keep separating Himself from them and punishing them for their sin. Do you realize what a gift Jesus has been?
    He has dealt with the sin issue once and for all and He has thrown open all the doors for us to live without interruption in Our Father's presence, just as He does.
     As I was reflecting on that today, I began to realize that people treated Jesus very differently.
     The Pharisees were out to trip Him up. Each time He healed someone or blessed them in some way, you could be sure that a counter attack or a question was on the way. The Pharisees were all law, because sin was their prevalent mindset. They simply could not understand "grace" over Law. And in deference to them, they WANTED God, but getting to him without being perfect was not easy. Isn't it sad to think that people still do that today?  They try so hard to be perfect because they believe that perfection is what God wants. The only "perfect" thing He needs from us is the "perfect" sacrifice Jesus made for our sins.  Perfect and final.
     Then there were the people that walked with Jesus, always wanting a glimpse of grace.  Because of the Pharisees they knew that they could never measure up to God's standards, but somehow they thought if they could just get near enough to Jesus, some of the blessings would spill over on to them.
     And the disciples? They were continually confused weren't they? Jesus talked in riddles. They loved Him but nothing He said made sense. Remember, they were coming from the same perspective of a God who demanded obedience. Jesus talked about love, love, love.  I'm sure He settled the inevitable disagreements among them with an encouragement to be kind to one another, to bless each other and of course, to forgive.
     As you walk down the path of Jesus' three short years on earth it is interesting to note that people loved Him or hated Him because He was definitely different.  He had a different gospel and a different attitude than what they expected from God.
     I wanted to share with you something I read from Graham Cooke in his book, "Radical Perspectives".

     The thinking of Jesus shaped His personality as a man, His persona as a bondslave, His ministry towards humanity and His humility and obedience towards His Father.  He took on new mindsets, attitudes and approaches to life so that He could fulfill the purpose of His Father.  All these were deliberate thoughts and actions on His part.  He thought it through!  He changed His thinking to accommodate the life that was required of Him."
     No matter what you may think of Jesus, you have to agree that His mindset was one of change and openness to the plans and purposes of God. You may think like a Pharisee, always demanding perfection. You may think like someone who does not understand the concept of grace. Or you may think like a disciple and realize that everything Jesus tells you is not NORMAL or natural in any way. 
     Jesus had to adapt His thinking to what the Holy Spirit was telling Him. So do we, Beloved.
What will you change today that will accommodate the life that is available to you?
Do you need a new frame for your mind?
Power Thought:

NEW thinking is always a challenge.  Are you up for it?  Are you thinking it through or are you through thinking?

Power Of "IF"

 Key Scripture: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5,6

Power Point:

     I always cringe a little when people become Christians and then begin reading the Old Testament.  It always raises difficult questions. Life seemed to be very “iffy”.

     Fortunately, for us, Jesus did away with the “if”! Sometimes we continue to live as if the “if” still applies.  In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit had not yet descended because Jesus had not yet died and been resurrected. Things were definitely “iffy”! 

IF you were obedient you would be blessed. IF you did only what God said, He would have favor on you. You really can begin to understand the dilemma of the Pharisees and perhaps even have a bit of sympathy for them.

They lived in a world, and had always lived in a world where obedience to the law was the only way for God to bless them. The Holy Spirit, the Power of God, appeared for brief moments.  You probably remember King David, in Psalm 51:11, begging the Lord not to take His Holy Spirit away from him. That’s how they lived.  Fearful, confused, and set apart from the Lord.

IF they were obedient then God would smile on them. And if they weren’t-well, who knew what would happen.  The truth is I can understand why they used the words “FEAR GOD” a lot.  You can see that the Pharisees were so dedicated to be being in God’s good favor that they tried to make enough laws so that they would measure up. It was a pretty big yardstick because they were never sure of themselves or of God.

When Jesus came, you can imagine their shock at His words of grace and mercy. When He said, “I have come to fulfill the law”,  it must have been inconceivable to them. When He died for every sin, He released every grace that God had for us.  Those ten commandments were fulfilled because the sin that separated us was gone and the Holy Spirit descended to actually live IN us to take out the “iffy” things.

All the power of God has come to live in us and work in our lives, bringing grace, and mercy, and working every thing out for good. He came with a flood of promises. And He came to stay. It’s so sad that we sometimes choose to live thinking “iffy” thoughts isn’t it?  There are still those niggling little questions about ‘have I done enough good things to make God show up or have I fallen short?”

Beloved, the extraordinary thing about Jesus is He set us free from all the “ifs”.  Once sin was dealt with, once and for all, we were invited to come and stay in God’s open arms.  

     Galatians 6:9, is a kingdom principle. It says that “if” you sow something in your life, you will reap it.  How about sowing faith in God’s goodness and His promises to NEVER leave you or forsake you?  How about believing that you have received all the power you need to make your life an abundant one? How about declaring that He is a “very present Help."  Beloved, we need to realize that all the “ifs” are gone now.  You still have a choice to be blessed or not, but you are always in position to be blessed if you are His child. That's the only "if" that remains.

     Will you break that measuring stick in two and throw it on the fire. You are PERFECT for Him when you are in Christ. There are no conditions on His love for you, and no limits on His grace and mercy and kindness towards You. He IS a very present Helper, in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself promised that things would be different for us because He takes our sins and sends the Holy Spirit to be with us always.

     What a way to live! What a glorious way to live! Secure, filled with faith, hope, and definitely, consistently loved. Beloved, God has always known you wouldn’t make it on your own. He knew you would fall short of His glory. He sent Jesus and Jesus sent Holy Spirit to take the “if” out of Christianity.

Don’t go back into bondage of believing you need to measure up. Jesus made you perfect. I know-I don’t understand it either but I love the thought.  Today I’m going to live like that; secure, blessed, full of faith for my future, and very, very grateful.

How about you?

Power Thought:

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. His anointing abides in you, whether you feel like it or not. there are no "ifs" about it.  If that's true how will you live differently?

Power Of Being Delighted

Key Scripture:  “ Delight yourselves also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalms 37:4

Power Point:

39 years, 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours, and 42 minutes ago, I asked Jesus to come into my life.  39 years, 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours and 43 minutes ago, everything changed for the better.  I like to say “to know Him is to love Him.” And I find every hour of every day that I get to know Him, my delight in Him increases.

     What a stunning revelation that is. How stunning to know that God is totally, completely, willingly, joyously, generously, good and kind all the time.  How AWESOME to discover that there is Some One who is perfectly loving, perfectly powerful, and perfectly open to inviting me into that Secret place every day, every hour, every moment.

     The word “delight” means to be highly pleased, to take great pleasure in, to have a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment in something. My family, my friends, and my poodles give me great delight. I am HIGHLY pleased to be with them or just to think about them. I enjoy them and I like to be with them, but the highlight of every one of my days is the time I spend in those first few hours with my Father.  In fact, sometimes I will wake up in the very wee hours and think “Oh great! I only have two more hours until I can get up and be with You.” And sometimes I just can’t wait to be with Him, so I get up right then!  His kindness delights me. His goodness brings me such joy.  As His words unfold in my heart, they bring heavenly light over my thoughts and my plans. He really is delightful.

     Have you ever considered that He is delighted to be with you and to give you the desires of your heart? Smith Wigglesworth once said, “God is even more eager to answer than you are to ask!”  I love that thought. Sometimes we think that God needs us to measure up to a certain level. Beloved, you are the one holding that measuring stick! 

God sees you as clearly and completely as He sees His Son Jesus. And He is simply delighted with you.

     The more I know about God’s character, the more amazed I am that anyone could be so measureless in His love for us.. I find myself growing more secure in that loving relationship every day. It brings me great joy. And delight.

    I hope you will find that security as well. I pray that you will know that:

He delights in giving you the desires of your heart.  Psalms 37:4

The saints on the earth are His delight.  (Psalms 16:3)

The Lord knows His children and they are His delight.  (Proverbs 11:20)
He's delighted WITH you, He's delight to HELP you and He's delighted to KNOW you.
Power Thought:

You are My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased. 

Power Of Prepaid Benefits

Key Scripture:   “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits.”  Psalms 68:19

Power Point:

As I was unfolding God’s promises for me today, I was thanking Jesus that my day was loaded with benefits because of Him. Because He lives in me, wherever I go and whatever I do, there are going to be benefits already prepared for me. I have PREPAID Benefits. 

I remember going through a drive through with Julie last year and when we got to the window to pay for our food, the person in front of us had already paid for it. We were so blessed and then laughed and said we wished we had ordered MORE! When I go out to eat with someone and the check comes and they decide to treat me to my meal, I will often say, “Well, I wish I had had dessert!” 

     It’s all very lighthearted and fun but this morning as I was praying I was thanking Jesus for my personal heavenly benefit package. The word for “benefits”, means, “acts of grace.” My day is already prepared with acts of grace to bring benefit my life. So is yours!

     Did you know that even before you threw your legs over the side of the bed this morning, you had a blessed day waiting for you.  “Oh no!”, you say.  I’ve got this thing pressing, and that doctor’s appointment. I have an appointment with the IRS. That may be true, but Beloved, even there, even in every situation you face today, Jesus has prepared a “benefit package” for you. Would you like to hear some of them?  Of course you would.

-He has already provided an abundance of His grace and mercy.  Why is that important? Because you have a clean slate and a fresh wind at your back today.  Grace means favor.  That means that if you are growing in grace, you are favored. You get an automatic upgrade to first class living!

-Do you need healing?  Isaiah 53 says that Jesus prepaid for that.

-Are you lonely?  Do you need a friend?  Jesus says He calls you “friend”. What a benefit!

-Are you financially strapped?  God says He will provide whatever you need and whatever you desire.  In fact in Psalms 65, He promises that He has crowned your year with goodness and His paths drip with abundance.  Abundance of what?  Peace.  Grace.  Mercy.  Provision.  Kindness.  Love. Seed to sow. Good thoughts to think.  Power to overcome. Enough good to overcome every evil in your life.  And then some.

     Beloved, the Word says that He will not hold back from us ANY good thing. In other words, He will continually give us good things. It’s always been His heart to do just that.  You are LOADED with the benefits of being His child today. You are a NEW creation who walks on earth and lives out His life bringing heaven to earth. You start this day blessed and you can end it blessed.  Wouldn’t it have been silly if Julie and I had driven up to that window and refused the food that someone had paid for in advance? As believers we sometimes do that with all Jesus has prepaid for us, don’t we? Sometimes we need to read the fine print.

     Think about your own life. As you read the New Testament, it’s packed full of pre-paid benefits isn't it? Are you eagerly trying to find out what they are or are you living under the misapprehension that the only thing that Jesus died to give you is a prepaid ticket to heaven?  Beloved, that’s in the future.  You have an abundance of benefits available right here and right now.  Jesus died to make an abundance of life available to you, right now.  Are you taking what He has offered you? Are you speaking His promises in to your day even before it starts? Are you enjoying the benefits of your salvation?  It’s quite a package deal!

    It might be wise to start looking a little harder at the covenant you have with Him don’t you think? His promises are your benefit package.

Check them out! And then be sure to take advantage of them.

Power Thought:

“What shall I offer to Him, for all His benefits for me?” Psalms 116:12. I will say “thank You!” and I will use them so that my life is living proof of His goodness.

Power Of Standing firm

Key Scripture:  “Therefore stand!”  Ephesians 6:13

Power Point;

     Recently we’ve been hearing a lot in the news about the “stand your ground” law.  People are allowed, under that law to defend themselves when they fear for their lives. Are you surprised to know that it’s in the Bible? 

     In Psalms 18:33 David is remembering the goodness of God and how He has made him strong. He acknowledges that God has created in him an ability to be like the hind who always makes progress in difficult places. He causes him to stand his ground against the enemy. He is convinced that God is on His side because he has experienced it personally. 

     If you read this Psalm in its entirety, it’s a wonderful testimony of how God feels when someone comes against His kids.  He gets so angry that He leaves heaven and stomps through the land, breathing smoke from His nostrils because He is so angry. He sends lightning in abundance to light up the darkness as well as hailstones and coals of fire.  He thunders  from heaven. I love the thought of that!  He doesn’t take those battles lightly. He is never kind and gentle when it comes to dealing with our enemies!

     David says that the enemy was strong, but God delivered him.

He says that the Lord supported him in the midst of confrontation;

That He delivered him; and He brought him out into a wide, expansive place where he could stand his ground.

He delivered him because He delighted in him.

Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed forever.

     When you accepted Jesus, God offered you His protection.  He offered you His own armor and His own power to defeat the enemy. He offered you His promises to fill your life with good things.

    Before you were even a thought, God went before you to make sure you would be safe, loved, and powerful.  Through Jesus we bring abundance in to our lives by the power of the Resurrection and His Holy Spirit. The cross is the symbol of the enemy’s defeat once and for all.

Beloved, the enemy will always come to you to challenge your position and your faith. If you remember the time of testing with Jesus and the devil in the wilderness, Satan was always challenging His position.  If you listen to him, and believe what he says, you will lose ground.

If he can plant doubt in your mind, it will come out in your life.

     Standing your ground means standing on the promises of God. It means refusing to allow the enemy to move you out of your position, your relationship, or your confidence that you are who God says you are, a very beloved child. He is delighted with you and you have every right to use the Name of Jesus, and the power of Jesus in your situation. Stand your ground, not on your own name but in the name of Jesus. He’s given it to you for exactly that purpose.

Arm yourself with peace, faith, and truth. Stand on the strength of the good news of what Jesus has done and will always do for you.  You will not be disappointed.

This problem is already solved in heaven.  This situation is already on its way to becoming a good thing.  Before you asked, Beloved, heaven answered. Stand your ground.

Power Thought:

God will always move heaven and earth to help His children.