The Happy God

 

Sound doctrine [is] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed [that is, happy] God. (1 Timothy 1:10–11)

A great part of God’s glory is his happiness.

It was inconceivable to the apostle Paul that God could be denied infinite joy and still be all-glorious. To be infinitely glorious was to be infinitely happy. He used the phrase, “the glory of the happy God,” because it is a glorious thing for God to be as happy as he is — infinitely happy.

God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.

This is the gospel: “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” That’s a quote from the Bible! It is good news that God is gloriously happy.

No one would want to spend eternity with an unhappy God. If God is unhappy, then the goal of the gospel is not a happy goal, and that means it would be no gospel at all.

But, in fact, Jesus invites us to spend eternity with a happy God when he says, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). Jesus lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore, the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.”

The happiness of God is first and foremost a happiness in his Son. Thus when we share in the happiness of God, we share in the very pleasure that the Father has in the Son.

This is why Jesus made the Father known to us. At the end of his great prayer in John 17, he said to his Father, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). He made God known so that God’s pleasure in his Son might be in us and become our pleasure in him.

WHY MANY PEOPLE HAVE A PRAYER PROBLEM!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 05, 2022.

SUBJECT: WHY MANY PEOPLE HAVE A PRAYER PROBLEM!

Memory verse: "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11 vs 24.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 22 - 23; John 15 vs 7; 16 vs 23 - 24: 

Mark 11:22: So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

11:23: 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.

John 15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

16:23: And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 

16:24: Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

INTIMATION: 

Why do many people have a prayer problem? The problem of not being able to pray, not praying in the right words, not receiving answers to their prayers etc. They are always running around looking for who to pray for them.

The prayer problem is a problem of not having faith in God and His Word. What is faith then? Faith is believe in God and His Word. Faith bothers on the integrity of the Word, and of the ability of God to stand back of His promises or the statement of fact in His Word. It is also the believe in the loyalty or fidelity of God to His promise. People with the prayer problem have no trust and confidence in God. If you don’t have faith in God and His Word, how then can you commune with Him in prayer?

Another side to the problem is the ability of the believer to stand in the Father's presence without the sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. Such ability is lacking in people with a prayer problem. The real question here is, "Have a believer right to stand in the Father's presence and make my petitions known to Him without a sense of guilt, inferiority or condemnation?" 

Here are few things that every believer should know: 1. The Scripture says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (Second Corinthians 5 vs 17.) We are recreated in Christ as entirely new creations with everything about us new. Old things have all passed away, and all things are new about the believer. His or her passed doesn’t exist again before God.

2. As a new creation, you have received into your spirit the life and nature of God. The old things have passed away. These old things are spiritual death, your union with Satan, and your old sins—the sins committed while he was spiritually dead, and in union with the Satan. The new creation is the product of God. It is created in Christ Jesus, it is born from above. It is born of the Holy Spirit, through the Word. And the new thing stands uncondemned and reconciled before the Father.

The moment that we become new creations, we become the righteousness of God in Christ (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21). This is because you have been justified and made righteous as if you have never sinned before. The righteousness of God means the ability to stand in the Father's presence without sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. We are from that moment sons and daughters of God.

It would be an abnormal thing if He should recreate us, impart to us His own nature, and leave us under the blighting curse of condemnation, unable to stand in His presence because of being overwhelmed with the sense of guilt and inferiority. But we know we have the ability to stand in God's presence free from all sense of unworthiness.

3. We know for a fact that we have a legal right in the Father's presence because we are legally born into His family, and He has legally adopted us and accepted us as His children. "The Holy Spirit Himself has born witness with our spirits that we are the children of God." (Romans 8 vs 16).

4. We know another fact, that we have a legal right to the use of Jesus' Name and whatsoever we ask of the Father in that name He'll grant us. (John 15 vs 16; 16 vs 23 & 24). This has cleared up every issue in regard to our ability to stand before Him in the throne room without condemnation.

It is now obvious that fellowshipping with God in prayers is based on legal grounds, based on statement of facts, and not based on promises. All things belong to the believer. It is only a problem of our taking our place, enjoying our rights: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1 vs 3).

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You so much for all the inheritance You have given me in Christ for believing in His finished work on the cross for me. You have blessed me with all every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Him. Give me the enabling grace to take my place and enjoy my rights in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAIAE THE LORD!

Justice Will Be Done

 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done.

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

Joy Unbound

 

I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

That’s what Jesus prayed the night before he died. Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

One is that nothing in this created world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.

Another is that we lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.

And a third obstacle standing in the way of complete satisfaction is that our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts. But if the aim and the prayer of Jesus in John 17:26 come true, all this will change. He prayed “that the love with which you, Father, have loved me may be in them.” God’s infinitely well-pleased love for his Son in us!

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure in the Son, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating.

No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God.

Moreover, our ability to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his Father. That’s what Jesus prayed for!

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours — our delight in the Son. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends.

Their love for each other will be our love for them and therefore our loving them will never die, nor ever diminish.

THE DON’TS IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY OCTOBER 04, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE DON’TS IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10 vs 23.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 23 - 25: 

11:23: 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.

11:24: Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

11:25: And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

INTIMATION:   

Here are some “Don'ts” in prayer:

1. Don't try to believe only, believe and act on the Word. It’s in acting that God confirms His word. “...For I am ready to perform My word,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 1 vs 12). Do your own believing. Have your own faith as you have your own clothes. Act on the Word for yourself.

2. Don't have a double confession so that one moment you confess, "Yes, He heard my prayer. I am healed," and thereafter you say "Let me wait for a week, if the signs didn't return, I will then confess I am healed." Or "I am sure God will supply my needs according to His riches in glory," and subsequently you begin to question how it is going to come and what you ought to do to get it; then you say, "I am not sure I the will get it." Your latter confession destroys the first. A wrong confession destroys prayer and destroys faith. 

3. Don't trust in other people's faith. Have your own faith. Your case is vital to you. It may not be vital to this other party to whose faith you look up to. He may have troubles that are unresolved, inward struggles that have never been settled. His faith may be at a low sub when you appeal to him for aid.

4. Don't talk doubt or unbelief. Never admit that you are a "Doubting Thomas;" that is an insult to your Father. For instance, He has born your griefs and carried your sorrows (your infirmities and diseases), and with His stripes you are healed (Isaiah 53 vs 5). Therefore, don’t talk of your sickness, but rather talk of your healing according to the word of God.

5. Don’t talk about failure. Meditate on the Word, and it's absolute integrity. Talk of your utter confidence in it; of your ability to act on it; and hold fast to your confession and of its truthfulness.

6. Don’t talk about fear. He has not given you the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind (Second Timothy 1 vs 7). Fear is the strongest weapon of the devil. Stand bold in your confession without wavering, no matter what you are confronted with.

7. Don’t engage in the altar of prayer with sin and iniquities in your heart. Confess your sins and He is faithful to forgive you. If you have anything against anyone forgive him or  her, so the your Father in heaven will likewise forgive you.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are the wonder working, and ever faithful God. Destroy any form of unbelief, fear, and doubt in me regarding Your Word, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

PRAYER DESTROYS THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY OCTOBER 03 2022.

SUBJECT : PRAYER DESTROYS THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!

Memory verse: "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”  (Matthew 17 vs 21).

READ: Matthew 13 vs 24 - 28:

13:24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 

13:25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. 

13:26: But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then tares also appeared. 

13:27: So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? 

13:28: He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. ‘The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

INTIMATION:

In the passage we read today, Jesus teaches about the activities of the devil in the lives of believers. In explaining the parable in  Matthew 13 vs 39, He said that the enemy who sowed the tares is the devil. The devil is forever busy luring the children of God to his side by oppressing them in order to win them over with his greatest weapon of fear. It takes the resistance of the believer to ensure victory over him. 

Are you faced with challenges? Are certain forces resisting every move you make? Do things seem not to be working for you in spite of all your input? I'm glad to announce to you that the power in prayer is available to you as a child of God, to fight all the oppositions en route your victory and triumph in life. 

Our memory verse is part of the answer Jesus gave to His disciples when they could not cast out an evil spirit even though they had been empowered to do so. (See Matthew 10 vs 1.) Satan was blocking their access to results in ministry. The principal weapon engaged by the believer in victory over Satan is prayer. On it all other weapons revolve.

The potent weapons available to the believer is; faith, hope, prayer, fasting, the Word of God, the name of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Note that all these weapons are enforced in prayer. 

Don't sit there crying and waiting for someone to pity you; rise up and take advantage of this potent powers and free yourself from the hold of the enemy. He is called "the wicked," because he has no feelings of sympathy for you. He is out for you, so you must arise and invoke the powers of heaven to flush him out.

As I said before, many people think that Christianity is a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act. But you must have an active faith, invoking through prayer the powers engaged in victory. Things don't just happen, they are made to happen. The Scripture in First Corinthians 16 vs 9 says, "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries."

Being a Christian does not exempt you from warfare; it only gives you an edge over the opposition. Going through rivers of difficulty will either cause you to be drawn or force you to grow stronger. If you go in your own strength, you are more likely to drown, if you invite the Lord to go with you He will protect you. Isaiah 43 vs 1 - 2 illustrates graphically how the Lord protects you:

"But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;  You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Nor shall the flame scorch you."

Your redemption notwithstanding, God says, "When you pass through waters....when you walk through the fire..." not, "If you pass through the waters....if you walk through the fire..." Warfare therefore, is inevitable, but victory is guaranteed. God says, "Fear not, I am your Redeemer, I am committed to deliver you and give you the victory." 

The obstacles are real; the victories are also real. Victory is our heritage. As long as you are still breathing, the battle is not over. Rise up and stop tolerating failure and mishaps! Stop putting up with pains, lack and want. If you won't arise, your enemy will prevail. One strategy of the enemy is to make you feel you can't handle the issue. That is a lie. God is committed to your victory, if only you will fight. 

But remember "For though we walk in the flesh! we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds    (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4). The foremost of God's weapon is prayer. In prayer all other weapons of God are engaged.

In this world we must live in a physical body. However, this does not mean that our desires are directed toward satisfying the lusts of the flesh. Our warfare is spiritual, and thus, we fight a spiritual war with Satan, though we live in the flesh. Since the Christian’s battle is against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places, the weapons of his warfare are spiritual and engaged through prayers. The power of the Christian is strong against the works of Satan because the power of his weaponry originates from God, not man. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Faithful Companion. I can do all things through Your building strength in me on the prayer altar. Let my supplications and petitions come to You as a sweet smelling savor that I may obtain the strength to prevail against the evil one, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Absolute, Sovereign, Almighty Love

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)

God abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Two images come to my mind:

The heart of God is like an inexhaustible spring of water that bubbles up love and faithfulness at the top of the mountain. Century after century the spring keeps on flowing.

Or the heart of God is like a volcano that burns so hot with love that it blasts the top off the mountain and flows year after year with the lava of love and faithfulness.

When God uses the word “abounding” — “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” — he wants us to understand and feel that the resources of his love are not limited. You can drink at this mountain spring all day, year after year, generation after generation, and it never runs dry.

You might even risk saying that God is like a government that simply prints more money when there’s a need. Inexhaustible, right? Well, there’s a difference. God has an infinite treasury of golden love to cover all the currency he prints. The government is in a dream world. God banks very realistically on the infinite resources of his deity.

The absolute existence, the sovereign freedom, and the omnipotence of God are the volcanic fullness that explodes in an overflow of love. The sheer magnificence of God means that he does not need us to fill up any deficiency in himself. Instead his infinite self-sufficiency spills over in love to us — to sinners — who need him, and the gift of himself in Jesus.

We can bank on his love precisely because we believe in the absoluteness of his existence, the sovereignty of his freedom, and the limitlessness of his power.