THE POWER OF SPOKEN FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY APRIL 14, 2022. 

SUBJECT : THE POWER OF SPOKEN FAITH!

Memory verse: "And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak," (Second Corinthians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Matthew 8 vs 5 - 13:

8:5: Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,

8:6: saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 

8:7: And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8:8: The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

8:9: For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

8:10: When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 

8:11: And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

8:12: But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

8:13: Then, Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

INTIMATION:

The passage we read today is about the faith of the Roman soldier, a 'Centurion.' I have always enjoyed meditating on the Bible story of this Roman soldier, and his faith. This Bible story sets forth all the ingredients of triumphant faith—the power of spoken faith—in action. The centurion believed and spoke out his faith. He knew Jesus has authority over all things, including demons, and can exercise His authority from anywhere, just as he can, as a soldier, over his subjects, and it is done. We, 'believers,' should do the same. 

The centurion believed in his heart and spoke it with his mouth, exercising the power of spoken faith, and Jesus highly commended him. In fact, He called it the greatest faith He had seen in all Israel. Let us all, therefore, as 'Believers,' speak with the same spirit of faith in the word. 

Our memory verse is the spoken faith of the anonymous psalmist in Psalm 116 vs 10, "I believed, therefore I spoke." He believed in God, spoke out to the LORD in his time of distress, and the LORD heard his voice and his supplication:

"I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Shoel laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"....For the LORD delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling....I believed, therefore I spoke." (Psalm 116 vs 1 - 10.)

In this quotation of Psalm 116 vs 10, Paul the apostle emphasizes the courage of the one who has the faith to speak forth in the midst of persecution. He thus defines true faith. If one truly believes, then he will speak forth the word of God. Apostle Paul fundamental argument is that the faith one must have is not worth having if he is not willing to die for it. 

God is responsive that you can always reach Him. He bends down and listens to your voice. He is near, listening carefully to every prayer and answering each one in order to give you His best.

The apostle Paul, in Romans 10 vs 8 - 10, says, "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is the word of faith which we preach: that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Salvation is the greatest of all God's gifts, and the opener of all other blessings of God. And it is obtained by us through believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths that Jesus is the risen Lord of our lives. Salvation is as close as your own lips and heart. 

When we learn to speak the Word and not the problem, we are on the road to absolute victory. But we are defeated the moment we allow ourselves to start listing our burdens instead of counting our blessings. God is the Creator and Master over all things. He has given us the carte blanche to 'ask and receive, seek and find, and knock and the door will be opened to us.' But we must have faith in Him, and that faith must be spoken out. 

Jesus Christ said, "the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness." (Romans 8 vs 12.) Many Christians will miss the kingdom because of not confessing their faith. Therefore, if you believe, then speak it.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so faithful to Your promises, and cannot deny Yourself. I hold tightly to You, my Redeemer and Savior. You have given me a mouth and wisdom which all my adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. Help me to always declare boldly my faith in You at all times. As I believe so will I speak, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Pray for His Fame

 

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” (Matthew 6:9)

Dozens of times Scripture says that God does things “for his name’s sake.”

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt. (Psalm 25:11)

He saved them for his name’s sake. (Psalm 106:8)

For my name’s sake I defer my anger. (Isaiah 48:9)

Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. (1 John 2:12)

If you ask what is really moving the heart of God in all those statements (and many like them), the answer is that God delights in having his name known and honored.

The first and most important prayer that can be prayed is, “Hallowed be your name.” I used to think this is an acclamation. Like, “Hallelujah! The Lord’s name is hallowed!” But it’s not an acclamation. It’s a petition. Actually a kind of imperative or command. Lord, let it be! Cause it to be. May your name be hallowed. This is my request, my prayer. I am urging you to this: Cause people to hallow your name. Cause me to hallow your name!

God loves to have more and more people “hallow” his name. That’s why his Son teaches Christians to pray for it. In fact, Jesus makes it the very first and paramount prayer. Because this is the first and great passion of the Father.

“Lord, cause more and more people to hallow your name,” that is, esteem, admire, respect, cherish, honor, reverence, and praise your name. More and more people! So, you can see it is basically a missionary prayer.

Talk to Your Tears

 

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5–6)

There is nothing sad about sowing seed. It takes no more work than reaping. The days can be beautiful. There can be great hope of harvest.

Yet the psalm speaks of sowing “in tears.” It says that someone “goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing.” So, why are they weeping?

I think the reason is not that sowing is sad, or that sowing is hard. I think the reason has nothing to do with sowing. Sowing is simply the work that has to be done, even when there are things in life that make us cry.

The crops won’t wait while we finish our grief or solve all our problems. If we are going to eat next winter, we must get out in the field and sow the seed, whether we are crying or not.

If you do that, the promise of the psalm is that you will “reap with shouts of joy.” You will “come home with shouts of joy, bringing [your] sheaves with [you].” Not because the tears of sowing produce the joy of reaping, but because the sheer sowing produces the reaping, and you need to remember this even when your tears tempt you to give up sowing.

So, here’s the lesson: When there are simple, straightforward jobs to be done, and you are full of sadness, and tears are flowing easily, go ahead and do the jobs with tears. Be realistic. Say to your tears, “Tears, I feel you. You make me want to quit life. But there is a field to be sown (dishes to be washed, car to be fixed, sermon to be written).”

Then say, on the basis of God’s word, “Tears, I know that you will not stay forever. The very fact that I just do my work (tears and all) will in the end bring a harvest of blessing. So, go ahead and flow if you must. But I believe — though I do not yet see it or feel it fully — I believe that the simple work of my sowing will bring sheaves of harvest. And my tears will be turned to joy.”

WAIT ON THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 2022.

SUBJECT : WAIT ON THE LORD!

Memory verse: "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27 vs 14.)

READ: Psalm 37 vs 7; Lamentations 3 vs 24 - 26:

Psalm 37:7: Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Lamentation 3:24: “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul; “therefore I hope in Him!”

3:25: The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

3:26; It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

INTIMATION:

Waiting on the Lord is patiently expecting God to come through to your request in prayer or to bring to pass His promise in the Scriptures after you have done your part of the covenant. We wait on the Lord to act; to deliver, to answer our prayers, to renew our strength, to do what only God can do. We wait on Him because He is God and we are not. As we wait on the Lord, he changes us and strengthens us. 

Waiting on God is not easy. Often it seems that He isn’t answering our prayers or doesn’t understand the urgency of our salvation. That kind of thinking implies that God is not in control or is not fair. But God it worth waiting for. Though one may experience the extremity of calamities, he must have faith that God is there, waiting to deliver the faithful. This is the legacy of Job who waited on the Lord throughout his calamities. In the end, God came to his rescue. 

David knew from experience what it meant to wait on the Lord. He had been anointed king at age 16 years but didn’t become king or ascend to his throne until he was 30 years. During the interim, he had been chased through the wilderness by jealous King Saul. He had to wait on God for the fulfillment of His promise to reign. Later after becoming king he was chased by his rebellious son, Absalom.

Though waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David patiently waited on the Lord and He came through to him. The Bible said of David, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40 vs 1 - 3.) David received four benefits from waiting: (1) God lifted him out of his despair, (2) God set his feet on solid ground, (3) God established his steps (steadied him as he walked), and (4) God put a new song of praise in his mouth. Often blessings cannot be received unless we go through the trial of waiting.

Simply because a prayer is uttered, does not mean that God must immediately respond. When one waits for God’s answer to prayer, through faith he or she will be lifted from the quagmire of despondency and placed on a solid foundation. Worry, impatience, and envy are tools of the devil to ensnare the righteous. 

Those who would wait for God to work in their lives will not be disappointed. They will be able to accomplish things beyond their dreams, for God is able to work in the lives of those who walk by faith in Him. 

It is good for the faithful to put their requests before God in prayer and patiently wait for Him to answer. Prayer can release our tensions in times of emotional stress. Trusting God to be our rock, salvation, and defense will change our entire outlook on life. When we are resting in God’s strength, nothing can shake us. For instance, no longer must we be held captive by resentment toward others when they hurt us.

Waiting on God is good for us. If God acted immediately every time we cried to Him, we would be in control and not Him. We would call the shots, and we do not possess His wisdom. Having to wait causes us to learn to trust Him, to trust His timing. And God is faithful to the broken because He is compassionate. God is the fullness of all our desires. And because He is such, only in Him is there hope. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I wait patiently wait on You in every area of my life because my help comes from You, O Lord, who made heaven and the earth. In You I live, move, and have my being. Endue with the spirit of patience that I may not do anything outside of You. Your timing is perfect and Your help is the best thing that can happen to me. Anything You cannot do for me, let it remain undone, anything You cannot give me, may I never have it, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE FEAR OF THE LORD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY APRIL 12, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE FEAR OF THE LORD!

Memory verse: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1 vs 7.)

READ: Psalm 25 bs 12 - 14:

25:12: Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way that He chooses.

25:13: He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.

25:14: The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.

INTIMATION:

The fear of God is a controlling motive of life in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. It is a fear which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the indwelling Spirit of God. The reverential fear of God will inspire a constant carefulness in dealing with others in His fear.

Fear of God is the healthy respect of a believer for the All-powerful God. Because God is the judge of all the earth, we dare not ignore Him or treat Him casually. We should not assume that our privileged status as God’s children gives us freedom to do whatever we want. We should not be spoiled children but grateful children who love to show respect for our heavenly Father. 

The fear of the Lord is to recognize God’s attributes: He is holy, almighty, pure, righteous, all-powerful, and all-wise. When we regard God correctly, we gain a clearer picture of ourselves: sinful, weak, frail, and needy. When we recognize who God is and who we are, we fall at His feet in humble respect. Only then will He show us how to choose His way.

The first step to wisdom is “fear of the Lord,” to honor and respect God, to live in awe of His power. It is to stand in awe of Him and have a relationship with Him. The only way to become truly wise is to fear (revere) God. Too often people want to skip this step, thinking they can become wise by life experience and academic knowledge alone. But if we do not acknowledge God as the source of wisdom, then the foundation for making wise decisions is shaky and we are prone to mistakes and foolish choices. 

“The fear of the Lord” is a key theme in the wisdom literature of the Bible (Job through Song of Solomon). It means to have respect and reverence for God and be in awe of His majesty and power. This is the starting point of finding real wisdom. King Solomon said, in Ecclesiastes 12 vs 13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” We should remember that God created and owns all things, and He will review every person’s life to determine how he or she has responded to Him, and He will bring every deed into judgement.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom simply because one can never come to a knowledge of truth unless he recognizes the authority of the word of God and is obedient to that word. One can never understand the purpose for the existence of both the world and man without believing in and being obedient to God’s eternal purpose for the world. And the purpose for the existence of the world was to provide mam with an environment wherein he could prepare himself for eternal dwelling.

Fear of God is the foundation upon which learning takes place. Recognition of the existence and authority of God in our lives is the foundation upon which all learning should take place. The fear leads to listening to God and obeying His commandments. Those who do not fear God will seek and respond to learning that will lead them away from God. As in psalms, the phrase “fear of the Lord” means obedience to His will. 

God offers intimate and lasting friendship to those who revere Him, who hold Him in highest honor. What relationship could ever compare with having the Lord of all creation for a friend? Your everlasting friendship with God will grow as you respect and honor Him. If one will reference God and submit to His will, then God will teach him His way. The obedient will then live in peace of mind. His posterity through his children will continue throughout generations. He will thus benefit from his covenant relationship with God, enjoying the benefits of a spiritual connection with God. He will be the friend of God. 

Prayer: Abba Father, I will reverence You all the days of my life. It is my utmost heart desire to obey Your commandments so as to enjoy the covenant relationship with You. Give me the grace, O Lord, for complete obedience to You in my journey in life, and that nothing will ever take away my entire focus on You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

You Cannot Lose in the End

 

“You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” (Matthew 27:65)

When Jesus was dead and buried, with a big stone rolled against the tomb, the Pharisees came to Pilate and asked for permission to seal the stone and guard the tomb.

They gave it their best shot — in vain.

It was hopeless then, it is hopeless today, and it will always be hopeless. Try as they may, people can’t keep Jesus down. They can’t keep him buried.

It’s not hard to figure out: He can break out because he wasn’t forced in. He let himself be libeled and harassed and blackballed and scorned and shoved around and killed.

I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. (John 10:17–18)

No one can keep him down because no one ever knocked him down. He lay down when he was ready.

When it looks like he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in the dark. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how” (Mark 4:26–27).

The world thinks Jesus is done for — out of the way — but Jesus is at work in the dark places. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). He let himself be buried — “no one takes [my life] from me” — and he will come out in power when and where he pleases — “I have authority to take it up again.”

“God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Jesus has his priesthood today “by the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:16).

For twenty centuries, the world has given it their best shot — in vain. They can’t bury him. They can’t hold him in. They can’t silence him or limit him. Jesus is alive and utterly free to go and come wherever he pleases.

Trust him and go with him, no matter what. You cannot lose in the end.

The Great King’s Wine

 We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

I have never heard anyone say, “The really deep lessons of my life have come through times of ease and comfort.” But I have heard strong saints say, “Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God’s love and growing deep with him, has come through suffering.”

This is a sobering biblical truth. For example: “For [Christ’s] sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Paraphrase: No pain, no gain. Or:

Now let it all be sacrificed, if it will get me more of Christ.

Here’s another example: “Although he was a son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The same book said he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).

So learning obedience does not mean switching from disobedience to obedience. It means growing deeper and deeper with God in the experience of obedience. It means experiencing depths of yieldedness to God that would not have been otherwise attained. This is what came through suffering. No pain, no gain.

Samuel Rutherford said that when he was cast into the cellars of affliction, he remembered that the great King always kept his wine there. Charles Spurgeon said, “They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.”

Do you not love your beloved more when you feel some strange pain that makes you think you have cancer? We are strange creatures indeed. If we have health and peace and time to love, it can become a thin and hasty thing. But if we are dying, love becomes a deep, slow river of inexpressible joy, and we can scarcely endure to give it up.

Therefore brothers and sisters, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).