DIG YOUR WAY OUT OF IT BY BISHOP TD JAKES

 

LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR SPEECH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2021.

SUBJECT: LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR SPEECH!

Memory verse: "You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.” (Proverbs 6 vs 2.)

READ: James 3 vs 2, 5, 8 - 12:

3:2: For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

3:5: Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

3:8: But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 

3:9: With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

3:10: Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not be so.

3:11: Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 

3:12: Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

INTIMATION:

Our words are part of ourselves; they are ourselves. You create a mental condition with your words. Your words, coming from your heart, goes out into the air to thrill and throb in the hearts of those that listen. If your words are full of love and peace and fidelity, they are born out of your heart life. Life is largely made of words. We declare war with words. Divorces and defeats are made up of words. Children become what words make them.

What you say and what you don’t say are both important. To use proper speech you must not only say the right words at the right time but also not say what you shouldn’t. Examples of an untamed tongue include gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying. Before you speak, ask, “Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

We dare not be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before you speak, remember that words are like fire—you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.

Our contradictory speech often puzzles us. At times our words are right and pleasing to God, but at other times they are violent and destructive. You might be imprisoned with your own words. You talked failure and failure held you in bondage. You said that you did not have faith, and doubt arose like a giant and bound you. You said that you could not, and the moment that you said it you were whipped.

Few of us realize that our words dominate us. A young man said, "I was never whipped until I confess I was whipped." Another said, "The moment I began to make a bold, confident confession, a new courage that I had never known took possession of me." Another young woman said, "My lips have been a constant curse. I have never been able to get the mastery of my lips." A woman said the other day, "I always speak my mind." She has few friends. Only pity causes people to go see her. Her lips have been her curse. It isn't so bad speaking your mind if you have the mind of Christ, but as long as you have a mind dominated by the devil, few people care to hear your mind. 

Learn to use words so they will work for you and be your servants. Learn that your lips make you a millionaire or a pauper; wanted or despised; a victor or a captive. Cultivate the habit of thinking big things, and then learn to use words that will react upon your own spirit and make you a conqueror. Your faith will never register above the words of your lips. Thoughts may come and persist in staying, but you refuse to put them into words and they die unborn.

Never for a moment acknowledge that God's ability can't put you over. Become "God-inside minded," remembering that greater is He that is in you than any force in this world that can come against you (First John 4 vs 4). Learn from our Messiah, His confessions proved to be realities. Jesus confessed that He is the Light of the World. He is it. The rejection of Him has plunged the world into a new darkness. 

He said He was the bread from heaven, and it is true. The people who feed upon His Words never suffer want. His Words were filled with Himself, as we act on them, they fill us with Christ. 

We were made in God’s image, but the tongue gives us a picture of our basic sinful nature. God works to change us from the inside out. When the Holy Spirit purifies a heart, He gives self-control so that the person will speak words that please God. The believer's words should be born of love and filled with love. Our words should never bruise or hurt, but should bless and heal. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I know the creative power of words, for the world was created by spoken words, and by my words I will be justified, and by my words I will be condemned. Bridle my tongue, O most High, endue me with spirit of self-control that I may speak words abundant in love, trust, and confidence in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Marvel of Creation

 Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each of the seeds its own body. (1 Corinthians 15:35–38)

I have been picking up little things in Scripture that show God’s intimate involvement in creation.

For example, here in 1 Corinthians 15:38, Paul is comparing how a seed is planted in one form and comes forth in another form with a “body” different from all other bodies. He says, “God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own” (my translation — the original does not say he gives to each “kind” of seed a body, but to each and every seed its own body!).

This is a remarkable statement of God’s intimate involvement in the way God designs each seed to bring forth its own unique plant (not just species but each individual seed!).

Paul is not teaching about evolution here, but he is showing how he takes God’s intimate involvement with creation for granted. Evidently, Paul cannot imagine that any natural process should be conceived of without God’s doing it.

Again in Psalm 94:9, it says, “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?” The psalmist assumes that God was the designer of the eye and that he designed the way the ear is planted in the head to do its hearing work.

So, when we marvel at the wonders of the human eye and the remarkable structure of the ear, we are not to marvel at the processes of chance, but at the mind and the creativity and the power of God.

Similarly in Psalm 95:5, “The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” The involvement of God in making land and sea is such that the present sea is his.

It is not as though in some impersonal way he set it all in motion a billion years ago. Rather, he is the one who owns it because he made it. It is today his handiwork and bears the marks of his Creator claim on it, like a piece of artwork belongs to the one who painted it until he sells it or gives it away.

I point out these things not to solve all the problems surrounding the issues of origins, but to call you to be utterly God-conscious and God-exalting and God-saturated in all your observation and admiration of the wonders of the world.

WAIT FOR GOD'S TIME!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2021.

SUBJECT : WAIT FOR GOD'S  TIME!

Memory verse: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Galatians 4 vs 4).

READ : Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1 - 8: 

3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

3:2: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3:3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

3:5: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

3:6: A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

3:7: A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

3:8: A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.              

INTIMATION:

God has a plan for all people. Thus, He provides cycles of life each with its work for us to do. Although we may face many problems that seem to contradict God’s plan, these should not be barriers to believing in Him, but rather opportunities to discover that, without God, life’s problems have no lasting solutions.

God knows everything about us from the foundation of the earth, and even saw our substance being yet unformed. God created all things, and planned all things according to His purpose, and timing; "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1). And at the fullness of time He will cause things to happen according to His predetermined purposes.

In the passage we read today, the verses express a divine order of things into which one must plug his or her life in order to enjoy the contentment that comes from knowing that God has all things under control. There are symbolic meanings to the statements that lead us to understand the sovereignty of God over an environment wherein humans are allowed freedom of will to exist. 

God is 'All-Knowing.' He already knows everything about us, even to the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10 vs 30). He knows the thoughts of our hearts, even when they are evil, and yet He accepts and loves us. God is with us through every situation, in every trial, protecting, loving, guiding (Psalm 46 vs 1; 59 vs 16), and has promised He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13 vs 5), and will be with us always, even up to the end of age (Matthew 28 vs 20). He knows and loves us completely.

God is omnipresent—He is present everywhere. Because this is so, you can never escape from His Spirit. This is good news to those who know and love Him; for  believers whom the Spirit dwell in, because no matter what we do or where we go, we can never be far from His comforting presence. 

The end is already known to God from the beginning (Isaiah 46 vs10). For this reason, He is always on time, because He planned the time, and does His bidding at the fullness of the planned time, in accordance with His plans and knowledge of us. His timing is perfect. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows us perfectly. We may sometimes wonder if God will ever respond to our prayers. But we must never doubt Him or give up hope. At the right time He will respond. Trust His judgement and trust that He has your best interests in mind (Jeremiah 29 vs 11).

The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God’s perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent God’s timing. This can lead to despair, rebellion, or moving ahead without His advice. 

Prayer: Abba Father, Your timing is perfect, and Your wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable, and your ways past finding out! Let it be to me according to Your thought, plan, purpose, and timing, to bring me to the expected end, in Jesus Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Do Not Harden Your Heart

 To whom did [God] swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:18–19)

Even though the people of Israel saw the waters of the Red Sea divide and walked through the Sea on dry ground, the moment they got thirsty, their hearts were hard against God and they did not trust him to take care of them. They cried out against him and said that life in Egypt was better.

That is what the book of Hebrews was written to prevent. Oh, how many professing Christians make a start with God. They hear that their sins can be forgiven and that they can escape hell and go to heaven. And they say: “What have I got to lose? I’ll believe.”

But then in a week or a month or a year or ten years, the test comes — a season of no water in the wilderness. A weariness with manna. And subtly a growing craving for the fleeting pleasures of Egypt, as Numbers 11:5–6 says, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

This is a terrifying condition to be in — to find yourself no longer interested in Christ and his word and prayer and worship and missions and living for the glory of God. And to find all the fleeting pleasures of this world more attractive than the things of the Spirit.

If that is your situation, I plead with you to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking in this text. “They were unable to enter because of unbelief!” Give heed to the word of God. Do not harden your heart. Wake up to the deceitfulness of sin. Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our great confession, and hold fast to your confidence and hope in him.

And if you have never even made a start with God, then put your hope in him. Turn from sin and from self-reliance and put your confidence in a great Savior. These things are written that you might believe and endure, and live.

THE PRINCIPLES OF A GODLY LIFE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER, 12, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE PRINCIPLES OF A GODLY LIFE!

Memory verse: "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 10 vs 12.)

READ: Mark 12 vs 28 - 31:

12:28; Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?” 

12:29: Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. 

12:31: And the second, like it, is this: ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

INTIMATION:

The principles by which one must live life is summed up in the statement Jesus here makes; “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” And “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” With such love one establishes a correct relationship with God and man by obedience to His will. If one loves God, obedience to His word will be the natural part of his or her life. If we love God with all our heart, our affections and feelings must be directed toward what God would have us be in our lives. A wise person once said, "When God measures you, He puts the tape around your heart, not your head." So how is your heart doing? 

Love is the motivation by which law is put into action in our lives. In our relationship with God we keep His commandments because we love Him. (First John 4 vs 15.) If we love God with all our soul, our character must focus on God. If we love God with all our mind, all our intellectual capabilities must also be focused on knowing God and His will. If we love God with all our strength, all our physical and mental abilities must also be directed toward serving God. 

This the totality of the human personality. The emphasis, therefore, is that the totality of man must be given to God. One must not “visit” God occasionally in times of trouble and need. He must be the central focus of one’s existence. All of one’s life must be consumed with the presence of God. Jesus called this the first and greatest commandment because once one establishes God as the one who should reign in his or her heart, then everything else will follow (see Matthew 6 vs 33.) Life is not about life itself, but about worship of God and obedience to His will. 

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The establishment of this principle in one’s life determines our relationship with our fellow man. Love of our neighbor is the foundation upon which our behavior toward our fellow man is directed. Consequently, we should deal justly because we love our fellow man as ourselves. 

In our relationship with God we can respond and obey either out of love or out of fear.

When we realize God's desire to be our Faithful Companion in our relationship, we find Him less an authority figure and more a desirable companion Who is no less in charge in our lives. We now realize He is on our side, how much He wants the best for us, and how absolutely dependable He is. The inborn unhealthy fear of God that stems from our sin nature, and is often stirred up by the enemy of our souls is weakening as we are getting a clearer picture of who He really is.

Unfortunately many people never really seek Him with all their heart. They are content to learn as a child would. That is, learning and following rules in order to avoid big problems, but not as willing to spend any great period of time with the Lord in the free time they have. There is little delight in the relationship, only obedience out of necessity. They have salvation from penalty of sin, but they will enter heaven "through the flames" (First Corinthians 3 vs 15). They are yet to cross that line of spiritual familial relationship into spiritual heart relationship.

God’s laws are not burdensome. They can be reduced to two simple principles: Love God and love others. When you love God completely and care for others as you care for yourself, then you have fulfilled the intent of the Ten Commandments and other Old Testament laws. According to our Messiah, these two commandments summarize all God’s laws. Let them rule your thoughts, decisions, and actions. When you are uncertain about what to do, ask yourself which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Prayer: Abba Father, My utmost heart desire is an intimate relationship with You. Endue me with the excellent spirit of love for You and others. Build in my heart Your steadfast spirit, so as to follow and obey You in every aspect of my life, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How Satan Serves God

 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)

Behind all disease and disability is the ultimate will of God. Not that Satan is not involved — he is probably always involved in one way or another with destructive purposes (Acts 10:38). But his power is not decisive. He cannot act without God’s permission.

That is one of the points of Job’s sickness. The text makes it plain that when disease came upon Job, “Satan . . . struck Job with loathsome sores” (Job 2:7). His wife urged him to curse God. But Job said, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). And again the inspired author of the book (just as he did in 1:22) commends Job by saying, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

In other words: This is a right view of God’s sovereignty over Satan. Satan is real and may have a hand in our calamities, but not the final hand, and not the decisive hand.

James makes clear that God had a good purpose in all Job’s afflictions: “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11).

So even though Satan was involved, the ultimate purpose was God’s, and it was “compassionate and merciful.”

This is the same lesson we learn from 2 Corinthians 12:7, where Paul says that his thorn in the flesh was a “messenger of Satan” and yet was given for the purpose of his own holiness — to keep him from becoming conceited. “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited!”

Now, humility is not Satan’s purpose in this affliction. Therefore, the purpose is God’s. Which means that here Satan is being used by God to accomplish his good purposes in Paul’s life. In fact, for God’s elect children, Satan cannot destroy us, and God turns all his attacks finally against him and for us.