Change Is Possible

 

Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

Christianity means change is possible. Deep, fundamental change. It is possible to become tenderhearted when once you were callous and insensitive. It is possible to stop being dominated by bitterness and anger. It is possible to become a loving person, no matter what your background has been.

The Bible assumes that God is the decisive factor in making us what we should be. With wonderful bluntness, the Bible says, “Put away . . . all malice” and be “tenderhearted” (Ephesians 4:31–32). It does not say, “If you can . . . ” Or, “If your parents were tenderhearted . . . ” Or, “If you have not been terribly abused . . . ” It says, “Be . . . tenderhearted.”

This is wonderfully freeing. It frees us from the terrible fatalism that says change is impossible for me. It frees me from mechanistic views that make my background my destiny.

And God’s commands always come with freeing, life-changing truth to believe. For example,

God adopted us as his children. We have a new Father and a new family. This breaks the fatalistic forces of our “family-of-origin.” “Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).

God loves us as his children. We are “loved children” (Ephesians 5:1). The command to imitate the love of God does not hang in the air, it comes with power: “Be imitators of God, as loved children.” “Love!” is the command and being loved by God is the power.

God has forgiven us in Christ. Be tenderhearted and forgiving just as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). What God did in Christ is powerful. It makes change possible. The command to be tenderhearted has more to do with what God did for you than what your mother or your father did to you. This kind of command means you can change.

Christ loved you and gave himself up for you. “Walk in love, as Christ loved [you]” (Ephesians 5:2). The command comes with life-changing truth. “Christ loved you.” At the moment when there is a chance to love, and some voice says, “You are not a loving person,” you can say, “Christ’s love for me makes me a new kind of person. His command to love is just as surely possible for me as his promise of love is true for me.”

Don’t be a fatalist. Be a Christian. Change is possible. God is alive. Christ is risen. The promises are true.

THE PLACE OF PRAISE IN WORSHIP!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2021.

SUBJECT : THE PLACE OF PRAISE IN WORSHIP!

Memory verse: "But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22 vs 3).

READ: Psalm 145 vs 1 - 10:

145:1: I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. 145:2: Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. 

145:3: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. 145:4: One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. 

145:5: I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and of Your wondrous works. 

145:6: Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. 

145:7: They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.

145:8: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.

145:9: The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.

145:10: All Your works shall praise You O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You.

INTIMATION:

Praise is the expression to God of our admiration, appreciation, thanks, approval, and understanding of what He does; His creation, His blessings, His forgiveness, His faithfulness etc. It is also to give great honor to God for each aspect of His divine nature; loving, just, faithful, forgiving, patient, and the revelation of Himself to us. It is an outward expression of our inward attitude. When we praise God we help ourselves by expanding our awareness of who He is. Therefore, praise is offered to God for who He is and what He does in general. 

Praise is vocal, it is uttered and should be offered in proportion to God's own Person. He is great; great in wisdom, great in power, great in His creative works, great in His redemptive acts and great in His dealings with us. Everything that God does is great and therefore should be greatly praised. Considering all that God has done and does for us, what could be more natural than outbursts of heartfelt praise? 

In our worship, praise does the following: (1) Praise takes our minds off our problems and shortcomings and helps us focus on God. (2) Praise causes us to consider and appreciate God's character. (3) Praise lifts our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly. (4) Praise prepares our hearts to receive God's love and power of His Holy Spirit. (5) Praise brings God down in His Might to attend personally to our situation. (6) Praise first puts us in the right frame of mind to tell about our needs. (7) Praise leads us from individual meditation to corporate worship. 

In our memory verse, we observe that God is "enthroned in the praises of Israel." The nation of Israel (the descendants of Jacob) was special to God because to its people God brought His laws, and through its people He sent His Son—Jesus Christ. Now any individual who follows God is just as special to Him. In fact, the Bible says that the nation of Israel is not a specific people or geographic place but the community of all who believe in and obey God: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3 vs 28 - 29).

God's enthronement on the praises of His people was showcased when Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi, where the jailor thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight they prayed, and sang praises to God. The Great God showed up in His Might, in response to the praises of His children: "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." (Acts 16 vs 26.)

Praise should be continuously offered to God as a sacrifice. In so doing you will realize that you won't take His blessings for granted. Praise God first in your worship, then you will be prepared to present your needs to Him. 

Prayer: Abba Father, great are You and greatly to be praises. Endue me with garment of praise, that I may praise You at all times for You are worthy of my continual praise. I will praise for who You are, and all You do, in Jesus name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

When I Am Anxious

 

. . . casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

There is a promise suited to every sin you are tempted to commit and every form of unbelief that takes you off guard and makes you anxious. For example:

When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). And I take the promise with trembling, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5).

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise: “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

So, let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. It is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins.

So, let us fix our eyes on the precious and very great promises of God. Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

ENGAGING THE SPIRIT OF FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2021.

SUBJECT: ENGAGING THE SPIRIT OF FAITH!

Memory verse: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;” (Second Corinthians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 17 - 24:

4:17: (As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

4:18: who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, “So shall your descendants seed be.”

4:19: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead, (since he was about an hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

4:20: He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

4:21: and being fully convinced that, what he had promised, He was also able to perform.

4:22: And therefore, “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

4:23: Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him,

4:24: but also for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

INTIMATION:

The Bible based faith is reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God and His Word. The Word of God is spirit and life (John 6 vs 63); It is God in the Spirit available to the believer that gives life in the affairs of the believer. The Bible based faith is the spirit of faith (Special faith), and It is the principal weapon of war for a child of God; the victory that overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith" (First John 5 vs 14). The spirit of faith sees the invisible God in any challenges of life. 

Special faith is something other than general faith or saving faith. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a believer is empowered with faith beyond simple saving faith. This is the kind of faith you need to be able to move the obstructions or obstacles in your way. Sickness, financial strife, abuse, pride, unemployment, bondages, and strongholds of all kinds will not be able to stay in your life when you pray with this kind of (wonder-working) faith. They must go! All you have to do is believe, and nothing will be impossible for you (Mark 9 vs 23). 

The spirit of faith (Special faith—the gift of the Holy Spirit) is the predominant faith for exploits. This spirit is encountered through the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It is a spiritual force; a living force, drawn from the living Word of God, to produce living proves. It is the miracle-working faith that Jesus had no during His ministry on the earth, and He said that we would walk in even greater power and perform greater things than He did. Prayer with such faith is real, and dismantles pride and vengeance, filling the holes with love. 

Therefore, if you want to receive the promises of God in His Word you must have faith in God Himself, and the Spirit of God—the spirit of faith—must be operational in you. The Scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) God promises that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess, will be rewarded. Faith makes us share responsibility of our lives with God through His Spirit indwelling us, and in the light of His Word. With our faith in God, His Word, and our obedience, we commit God's integrity to perform His Word—His promises (Jeremiah 1 vs 12).

The Spirit of faith is one of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is a potent force, with power to quench the fiery darts of the devil; "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6 vs 16.) Those fiery darts include; fear, doubt, unbelief, anger etc. When he throws such darts on you, and you are weak in faith to resist it, you succumb to his lies, and miss the provision in your promise. Therefore, be fully persuaded of the truth in the Word of God, give yourself to raw and strict obedience to it, and you will behold the manifestation of the fulfillment of the promises of God in your life.

The main elements of faith in its relation to the invisible God, are: (1) A firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth. (2)  A personal surrender to Him, and (3) A conduct inspired by such surrender. For instance, the Scripture, in Isaiah 53 vs 5, says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” 

How then do you obtain by faith the healing virtue enshrined in the verse above? Now, the three elements of faith must be at work; (1) a firm conviction, of truth that by Christ’s stripes we are healed of any illness or disease, (2) a personal surrender to Christ, accepting His works for you in redemption, and (3) to conduct yourself in a manner inspired by such surrender—the Scripture says you are healed, and you exercise your faith in the healing so obtained. 

In the passage we read today, the object of Abraham’s faith was not God’s promise of a child to an aged and weak man—a hundred years old, with a wife with dead womb—90years of age, which is remotely impossible in reality. Instead, his faith rested on God Himself, knowing that He who promised is faithful, and will do it. Many of us would have acted otherwise if we were in Abraham’s position, thinking it is impossible for a man of 100years and a wife of 90years to give birth. But Abraham held tightly to his faith in God—the spirit of faith was alive in Him—he never wavered on the promise, and fully persuaded that He had promised, He was also able to perform.

Many will pray for healing, using relevant Scriptures of God’s promise of healing, but will still not be persuaded they have received their healing according to the Word of God. The devil will throw the dart of doubt their way, they are hit, and their spirit of faith is dampened. With such wavering in faith, it is obvious they will not receive anything (James 1 vs 6 - 7).

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You, Endue me with the spirit of faith in You, and Your Word, that I may have strong conviction of the truth in Your Word, surrendering completely to Christ, and conducting myself in accordance to my convictions and surrender, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE BANE OF IMPURE MOTIVES!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE BANE OF IMPURE MOTIVES!

Memory verse: "But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.” (Matthew 23 vs 5.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 1 - 6, 17 - 18: 

6:1: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

6:2: Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 

6:3: But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 

6:4: that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 

6:5: And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

6:6: But you when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

6:17: But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

6:18: so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret  place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

INTIMATION:

Motive is something—incentive, purpose, intention—that causes a person to act. Therefore, a pure motive is devoid of any form of selfishness. When we pray, when we fast, and when we give, the Bible says that we must be pure in our motives. If you do any of these things being self-centered other than being God-centered, then your motive is impure. God abhors anything that we do that takes Him out of the first place in our lives. 

For instance, when you do something for the sake of being seen by others, your motive is impure, and Jesus said that being seen by others is your only reward. If, however, we do what we do in obedience to God—putting God and His desires first—then our motive is pure, devoid of any selfishness, and God will reward you. Obedience to God is key to receiving from Him: “If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures” (Job 36 vs 11).

It’s easier to do what’s right when we gain recognition and praise. To be sure our motives are not selfish, we should do our good deeds quietly or in secret, with no thought of reward. Jesus says we should check our motives in three areas: generosity, prayer, and fasting. These acts should not be self-centered but God-centered, done not to make us look good but to make God look good. 

Impure motives Jesus calls ‘hypocrisy.’ The term hypocrisy, as used in the Scripture, describes the acts of people doing good for appearances only—not out of compassion or other good motives. Their actions may be good, but their motives are questionable—empty and self-serving. These empty and self-serving acts, wanting to boost their egos, are their rewards. But God will reward those who are sincere in their faith, obeying and serving Him sincerely.

Our relationship with God is personal, hence Jesus requiring us to be private in our dealings. When He says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, He is teaching us actions in pure motives. It is easy to give with mixed motives, like doing something for someone if it will benefit us in return, or doing things for selfish ambitions, like public recognition and applaud. Jesus teaches that believers should avoid all scheming, but rather our actions must be in response to God’s love, and obedience to Him.

Knowing the Scriptures, but not practicing them is a hypocritical attitude. For instance, some really don’t care about holiness, as demanded by God, but likes looking holy, or be seen as holy in order to receive people’s admiration and praise. Such people like public prayers where they speak on top of their voices and gyrate as if under the power of the Holy Spirit, just for public recognition. The essence of prayer is not public style, but private communication with God. There is a place for public prayer (corporate prayer), but to pray only where others will notice you indicates that your real audience is not God, but rather self-recognition, which is an impure motive.

Some may conclude that Jesus’ directions about private prayer call into question all public prayers. That is an obvious misunderstanding of His teaching. The Gospels record Jesus at prayer both privately (Matthew 14 vs 23) and publicly (Matthew 14 vs 18 - 19). Jesus was only drawing attention to the motives behind actions. The point really wasn’t a choice between public and private prayer, but between heartfelt and hypocritical prayer. When asked to pray in public, focus on addressing God, not on how you are coming across to others.

The Bible teaches us the principles of giving and receiving (Luke 6 vs 38). God relates with us in the same manner we relates with Him and others. The thrust of what Jesus stated in those verses is that we will be dealt with by God in the same manner we treat our fellow humans. If we treat others generously, graciously, and compassionately, these qualities will come back to us in full measure, and may sometimes surpass ours. Therefore, when we measure mercy to others, God will in turn measure mercy to us. If we are critical , rather than compassionate, we will also receive criticism. Doing something only for ourselves is not a loving sacrifice. With your next good deed, ask, Would I still do this if no one would ever know I did it?

Prayer: Abba Father, give me grace to be pure in my motives in all I do, that I may please You, rather than myself. Help me to eschew compromises of any form in my life, that I may not to be a friend to the world, and an enemy to You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Fighting Words

 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises: Isaiah 41:10.

The day I left for three years to study in Germany, my father called me long distance in New York and gave me the promise of this verse on the telephone. For three years, I must have quoted it to myself hundreds of times to get me through periods of tremendous stress.

When the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10. I love this verse.

Of course, it’s not the only dagger in the arsenal of my faith.

When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise of Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).

When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

When I am anxious about the welfare of those I love, I battle unbelief with the promise that if I, being evil, know how to give good things to my children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).

So by all means fight unbelief with every promise in the book. But it helps to have one central, default weapon. And for me that has been Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Precious, precious promise!

DIG YOUR WAY OUT OF IT BY BISHOP TD JAKES