HOW TO RECEIVE AND APPLY THE GRACE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY FEBRUARY 08, 2021.

SUBJECT:  HOW TO RECEIVE AND APPLY THE GRACE!

Memory verse:  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7 vs 7.) 

READ:  Luke 11 vs 1 - 4:

11:1: Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

11:2: So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come , Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11:3: Give us day by day our daily bread.

11:4: And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

INTIMATION:

In examining how grace or power of God can be received, and be applied to meet specific situations in life, the first thing is to look at our communion with Him in prayers. In the passage we read today, Jesus thought His disciples how to pray. Our Lord's Prayer clearly shows three things; (1) God our giver, (2) our leader, (3) our deliverer. Our duty then is to ask so that we can receive, as indicated in our memory verse. We are to do the asking and God brings His grace—His power to do the work. 

We need to pray to do the asking. Remember, "we have not because we ask not." (James 4 vs 2). Our job is to do the asking in faith, and in trust. That opens the channel for God to do our bidding. It is God who does the work, not us. How does He do it? According to the power (grace of God) that works in us. Only God could bring about changes that you desire in your life. But our duty is to ask in faith. Get your face before the Lord on a regular basis and say, "Father, I can't help myself. I am coming to You like a little child. I am totally helpless. I lay this whole situation before You, asking for Your grace. I don't deserve Your help, Father, but You are my only hope. Please do for me what I can't do for myself."

The Lord constantly requires us to turn to Him. Why? Because when we do anything apart from Him, we take the credit and glory that rightfully belonged to Him. For this reason He will frustrate any of our own efforts to do things outside of Him. And anything done outside the grace of God will have no real lasting effect. Jesus said, "...For without Me, you can do nothing." (John 15 vs 5).

 

However, our effort has a place in the Christian life. It does have a part to play. What then is our effort? Consider what Jesus said to the people seeking Him: “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  (John 6 vs 28 - 29.)

The people desired to know what is required of them to do to habitually carry out what God requires. Jesus told them that the work that God asks of them is to believe in the One whom He has sent, and in doing so they work the works of God. You can now see that the only work (singular) we do is to believe in Him, and that by that singular work of believing in Him, we have done the works (plural) of God. Therefore, the works are done by God while the only thing we do is 'believe'. 

We apply the grace by speaking out our faith and believe. You can't believe and keep quiet, but you must say it out. Jesus said in Mark 11 vs 22 - 24, "...Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea! and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you prayer, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." 

Why must we have that believe and assurance? It is because the believe is "...unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Ephesians 3 vs 20.)

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust and believe is in You. I am confident that You, who began the good work in me will complete and perfect it by Your grace that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all my expectations, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

YOU CAN WIN YOUR RACE!

 You Can Win Your Race! 

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)

Knowing that you are in a race as a child of God makes you focus on winning. To be able to win the race, we must follow the rules. The good news is that the patriarchs and apostles who have gone ahead of us serve as inspiration to encourage us to press on till we reach the finish line. Just as an athlete burns the unnecessary fat or weight of their body in order to be light enough to run, Christians should also identify the weight and the sin that entangles them and do away with them to make the race easier. The weight varies from person to person; for some their weight is oversleeping, overeating, being unable to pray as they want, laziness, etc. The sin may also vary from person to person depending on the area of weakness the enemy has identified in you and keeps using against you. Thus, some find themselves in sexual immorality, drunkenness, stealing, gossiping, etc. Beloved, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to identify that particular weight and the sin that keeps pulling you back; depend on Him for strength to overcome (John 14:26). If He convicts or prompts you, respond quickly without any excuse. Also, let your gaze be on Jesus Christ because He is the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). We keep our gaze on Jesus Christ by meditating on His Word day and night and practice it. The more you practice the Word the more your spirit becomes conditioned to walk in righteousness. Thus, patience becomes part of you, to help you run till you cross the finish line. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

Prayer Point: My dear heavenly Father, Your Word is indeed a lamp to my feet and light to my path. Please lead me to identify the weight and the sin that easily entangles me; give me the strength to overcome them and run with patience till I cross the finish line in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you.

THE CHILDREN OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 07, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE CHILDREN OF GOD!

Memory verse:  "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba Father!” (Galatians 4 vs 6.) 

READ: Romans 8 vs 14 - 17:

8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 

8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we children of God, 

8:17: and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

INTIMATION:

When you are in Christ, you are a new creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works. If then we are new creatures, Satan has nothing in a child of God. That new creation is all of God. The old thing that Satan owned and controlled is all passed away and the things that are in you now are all of God. Jesus said in John 14 vs 30, "....for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me." The same is true regarding the children of God, they are new creatures in Christ. 

When you know this fact, as you know the multiplication table, you will have something that will absolutely put to flight the forces of Satan. There isn't any reason why a child of God should live in constant fear of sin and doubt when he or she is the very son or daughter of God. Satan, and his cohorts rule over the children of God by subterfuge, by bluff, by deception, holding them in bondage through their ignorance of what they are in Christ and what belongs to them as heirs.

In the passage we read today, the old bondage of fear and want and diseases is gone. The child of God has another spirit now, a recreated spirit. God is no longer God to you: He is your Father, and as a Father, He is your Lover, Caretaker, and Faithful Companion. You aren't afraid of anything now. You are absolutely fearless, and now you have the leading of the Spirit of God, a solid front, before all your enemies. You lift up your banner; you shout His praises; you stand complete in Him over every circumstance and every attack of the enemy.

When you came into the family of God, you made a confession of Christ’s Lordship over your life. When you confess His Lordship, it is not only His dominion over you, but "Lord" means "the bread-provider," the caretaker, the protector from all your enemies. He becomes at once the Lord of your life. You actually become a partaker of the Divine Nature. (Second Peter 1 vs 4). And as you become a partaker of His Nature, you become a partaker of His ability. God's ability becomes your ability. God's Strength becomes your strength, and Jesus is the surety of that New Covenant for you. (Hebrews 7 vs. 22.) When you acknowledge Him as your Lord, then God becomes automatically your very Father. All the resources of heaven are at your disposal.

Now,  the Scripture in Second Corinthians 3 vs 4 - 5 says, "And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." We have tried to conquer the adversary with our own strength. We have tried to overcome temptation with our own wills. That is unnecessary, for as a child of God, His Will has become yours; His sufficiency is yours; His ability is yours. Now we become efficient as a member of the body of Christ with His efficiency. God also, made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant. Consequently, you yield to the God inside of you. As you walk with Him, you become "God-inside minded" so that again and again during the day as you face life's problems you remember that the Greater One is in you.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my faithful Companion, and my all in all. Satan is under my feet. You have given me the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Engrace me to fully exercise my rights as Your son, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN IN THE NEW CREATION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 06, 2021.

SUBJECT: REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN IN THE NEW CREATION!

Memory verse:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.) 

READ: Hebrews 10 vs 16 - 18:

10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

10:17: Then He adds, “Their sins  and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

10:18: Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

INTIMATION:

It is noteworthy that it was God's Nature that was not available to man in creation. Man was created in God's image and after His likeness, but God's Nature wasn't given then to man. The absence of God's nature in man enabled Satan to influence him, led him to sin, and became his ruler. God, in realization of this, recreated man and gave him His Nature, that now Satan has no dominion over him again. This is the fallout of Christ's finished work of redemption wrought by God Himself. 

In the passage we read today, God, in His infinite mercy, planned to take away (remit) our sins, that is, it is blotted out completely as if it never existed, and that He remembers them no more. He wrought this in Christ finished work as a propitiation for our sins. The work was finished, and accepted when He sat down at the Right Hand of the Father on high. We could see that the new creation is brought into being by the Life and Nature of God, and this new creation is awaiting every unsaved man. 

It is very important that we understand the difference between forgiveness and the remission of sins. A man receives remission of sins when he is Born Again (Spiritual rebirth). This is consequent upon your accepting the finished work for us on the cross, and  confessing Christ as your Lord and Savior. Subsequently, you may receive forgiveness of sins after you are Born Again as often as you sins, and confesses your sin to Christ, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

When we come to Christ by confessing Him as our Lord and Savior, God forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit, and we don't need to fear that God will reject us if we don't keep our state perfectly clean. Once we confess Christ, our relationship with God is secure. Our continuing in confessing our sins is not because failure to do so will make us lose our salvation, but for us to enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with Him.

True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn't be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it. The Holy Spirit will begin to give you the enablement to overcome the temptation. It may be a gradual process.

It is therefore, necessary we appreciate Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9 that says, "For by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift from God, and not of works lest any man should glory." The new creation does not come through our repentance or the surrendering of ourselves or the confession of our sins, but it comes by grace, pure and simple. All we do is to accept it. It is ours, a gift based upon legal grounds.

Then what is grace? It is the unmerited favor of God. It is God's love for us unveiled in our redemption. It is the hungry heart of God assuming man's sins; assuming the responsibility of man's creation, acting as though He were guilty of every sin that man committed. No works that man could do would have any value. Why? Because every man was spiritually dead and the good things that he would do to redeem himself would be the works of a spiritually dead man.

But God comes in the person of His Son, and that Son becomes sin on our behalf, assumes all that man had ever done and ever was, and meets the claims of justice on our behalf (‘The soul who sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18 vs 4)), satisfies the need of fallen man. He defeated death by His resurrection and ascended to heaven where He sits down at the Right Hand of the Father (the hand of authority with all authorities handed over to Him), and sends the Holy Spirit Who convicts men through the Word, and recreates them.

It is this great event of God, now on legal grounds, that imparts man God’s Own Nature and make him a new creation. Only God can do this; imparting His Nature, and Eternal life on man. Natural man is without God. He is without hope, and is in the world, and is Satan-ruled. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I will ever be grateful for the finished work of Christ in redeeming me, and the privilege of sonship given to me by You. May my recreated spirit ever thirst for You, in all wisdom and prudence, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ARE YOU RIGHT WITH GOD?

 Are You Right with God? 

“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Psalms 26:2 (KJV)

Being right with God is a sure guarantee for His deliverance. Christianity is a call to walk with the Father in holiness. Beloved, without holiness no one can see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). No wonder the psalmist asked God to examine him and point out to him his fault, so that he could repent and be right with Him. As far as he was concerned, he was walking in integrity; so, He wanted God to also vindicate him (Psalms 26:1). It is probable that he had had some complaints in some quarters of his kingdom and wanted God to confirm what he had heard. Beloved, there are times you may have to pray the Psalmist Prayer so that you can confirm that you are right with God. There is no room to live the Christian life as though you cannot falter. There may be times that, when you pray this prayer, God will point out to you something that you need to change about your life. And when you have changed it, your life goes in a perfect direction. Jesus Christ wants a perfect life for us, and we must not let Him down (Matthew 5:48). Dear beloved, are you right with God? It is time to do a comprehensive check with God so that you don’t leave any room for the enemy to get at you. Remember that there are countless blessings for living in holiness and righteousness, and you don’t have to miss any of them. Hallelujah! Be an overcomer!

Prayer Point: Dear righteous Father, You are indeed holy and righteous. Please cleanse my mind and heart from all sins, and cause me to walk in righteousness and holiness, in order to enjoy fellowship with You, and be blessed and be a blessing to many people in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you.

THE REALITY OF REDEMPTION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 05, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE REALITY OF REDEMPTION!

Memory verse:  "In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, the remission of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence." Ephesians 1 vs 7.) 

READ: Romans 3 vs 21 - 26:

3:21: But now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

3:22: even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3:24: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

3:25: whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

3:26: to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

INTIMATION:

Redemption means Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin and Satan, and revealing of the righteousness of God that comes to man through faith in Jesus Christ. This belongs to all those who acknowledge Christ as Savior and confess him as their Lord. 

The death of Jesus points to two wonderful scriptural truths—redemption and forgiveness. Redemption is the price paid to gain freedom for a slave (Leviticus 25 vs 47 - 54). Through His death, Jesus paid the price to release us from slavery to sin. Forgiveness was granted in Old Testament times on the basis of the shedding of animals’ blood (Leviticus 17 vs 11). Now we are forgiven on the basis of the shedding of Jesus’ blood—He died as a perfect and final sacrifice.

Those who accept the substitutionary work of Christ, and confessed Him as Lord and Savior, are justified freely on the grounds of grace, through the redemption that God wrought in Christ. The redemption is based upon the fact that God laid our sins, grieves, sorrows, diseases etc., upon Jesus; “Him who knew no sin, God made to become sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

(Second Corinthians 5 vs 21.)

Not only did He become the ‘Sin-Bearer,’ but God accepted His substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf. He was delivered up on account of our sins, for God made Him sin with our sins. He was raised from the dead because He had put sin away; He had satisfied the claim of justice—"the soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18 vs 20).

After that, He was made alive in spirit, that is, recreated. He was the firstborn out of death. Thereafter, He was declared righteous and made a new creation by the life God imparted to Him. Then He met the Adversary in his own kingdom and stripped him of his authority and took from him the dominion that he had over the world. That new creation—the recreated life, is what Christ has wrought for us, and we are also made righteous in Him in redemption.

When Jesus arose from the dead, He arose, not only because He had put away sin, but also because He had, as a substitute, conquered Satan. It was as though we, individually, had been the conquerors, just as though we had been there in that dark region and had conquered Satan, stripped him of his authority and risen from the dead.  When Christ rose from the dead, redemption became a settled and closed issue.

Note carefully in our memory verse, "In Whom we have." That means in Christ we have (present tense) our redemption out of the hand of the enemy, so Satan no longer has dominion over us. We have our redemption from sin and its judgement. "Sin shall not have dominion over us, for we are not under law but under grace." It is better put this way, "Sin shall not lord it over us because now we have entered the realm of grace through the new birth."

Again, the Scriptures in Colossians 1 vs 13 - 14 says, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."

Note carefully that we have been delivered out of the authority of Satan. He has no dominion over us. He has no more right to reign over you than the Pharaoh of Egypt had to reign over delivered Israel in Palestine. We have been translated over into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption. It's ours just as the money you have in your pocket that you earned honestly is yours. Now this redemption from Satan is a present tense fact, for you have this redemption now, and it is eternal.

As long as one holds his redemption as a theory or as a doctrine it will bring him no sense of reality, but as soon as he looks up and says, "Father, I thank you for my perfect redemption, that this body of mine is no longer under the dominance of Satan, that my mind and senses are no longer to be dominated by the Adversary; I am free, and by Your grace I will not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage,"  then, the reality is established.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You most faithful God, for redeeming me from the hands of the Adversary and his works. By Your grace I am justified, made righteous in Christ. Also, engrace me to forever live for You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ALLOW THE SIGNS TO FOLLOW YOU!

 

Allow the Signs to Follow You!
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;” Mark 16:17 (KJV)

There are principles in the kingdom of God for the children of God to walk by. These principles must not be reversed if we want to eat the fruit thereof. The opening Scripture throws a vital light on who the believer in Christ is. The one who believes in Christ is not ordinary; signs and wonders follow that person (Acts 5:12–16). That person has access to use the name of Christ, speaks in tongues, and has total control over devils. Some believers in the kingdom of God have reversed the principle so they are struggling in the kingdom of God; they are moving from one place to another, one church to another, chasing after signs and wonders. This should not be the case; the children of God should mature and come to the point where signs and wonders do not move them, because the signs and wonders are following them. Continually believing in the name of Christ, using the Word of God in faith, and having the patience to see the Word work are the things you do for signs and wonders to follow you. Dear believer, are you following signs and wonders, or are the signs and wonders following you? Jesus Christ said that we will do greater works than He did when we believe in Him (John 14:12). Therefore, let us continually work on our faith in Christ and exercise it without any shadow of a doubt, and signs and wonders will follow us. Hallelujah! God bless you!

Prayer Point: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I love You for inspiring me to exercise my faith. I believe in You and have made up my mind to remain in You to serve You all the days of my life. As I exercise my faith in every area of my life, thank You for backing it with signs and wonders to the glory of Your name. Amen!

Were you blessed by today's message? Kindly go to the comment section and share your comments, and testimonies. Let's also know your challenges so that we can pray for you.