The Hour of Unusual Threat

 

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14)

Many Christians in the world today do not know the life-threatening danger that comes with believing in Christ. We have gotten used to being free from such persecution. It seems like the way things must be.

So, our first reaction to the threat that things might be otherwise is often anger. But that anger may be a sign that we have lost our sense of being sojourners and exiles (“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles . . .” 1 Peter 2:11).

Perhaps we have settled too much into this world. We don’t feel as homesick for Christ as Paul did: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Many of us need the reminder, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). It isn’t strange.

Have you ever wondered how you will do in the hour of final trial? The gunman has you in his sights and asks, “Are you a Christian?” Here is a strong word to give you hope that you may do better than you think.

Peter says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). This encouragement from Peter says that in the hour of unusual threat (whether insult or death) there will be “a Spirit of glory and of God resting on us.” Doesn’t that mean that God gives special help in the hour of crisis to those who suffer because they are Christians?

I don’t mean he is absent from our other sufferings. I just mean that Peter went out of his way to say that those who suffer “for the name of Christ” will experience a special “resting” on them of “the Spirit of glory and of God.”

Pray that this would be your experience when the trial comes. There will be resources of endurance in that moment that we do not have any other time. Take heart.

VICTORY AT THE ALTAR OF PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2023.

SUBJECT : VICTORY AT THE ALTAR OF PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4 vs 7.)

READ: Ephesians 6 vs 10 - 13:

6:10: Finally, My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

6:11: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

6:12: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

6:13: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

INTIMATION:

Prayer is the greatest privilege and ministry available to all Christians. It is the greatest asset for the believer because of the inherent power in it. It is the power in prayer that keeps every Christian at the vanguard of spiritual warfare. Indeed everyone who seeks to take his or her place in the kingdom of God should seek to engage the power in prayer by learning how to pray effectively. 

Prayer is not optional to the believer because it is one of the vital covenant responsibilities of the believer. That is why the Word of God admonishes us to pray always. Prayer has a latent power available to the believer when approached scripturally. It is one of God's covenant tools for the realization of the believer’s glorious destinies in Christ.

Everything contrary to good in the life of a believer is the work of the enemy. The devil is the believer's greatest enemy, and the Bible warns against him, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." (First Peter 5 vs 8.) So, behind all those troubles experienced by the believer is "the enemy."

Resisting the devil is on the altar of prayer where you engage the latent power of prayer; that is, the power of Holy Spirit which enables you to say no to the trying of the devil to win you over to his cause. The power of the Holy Spirit is available to every believer who engages God in fellowship through prayers. 

A prayer-less Christian is an ineffective believer and a playground of the devil. To engage that power requires your rising up to the occasion in prayer. It takes knowledge to have victory in any conflict of life. The first thing you need to know in the war against the thief of your glorious destiny is that you must arise.

The Scripture says in Psalm 68 vs 1, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them that hate Him flee before Him." If enemies will not scatter until God arises, how then do you think they will scatter in your case without you rising? You can't keep watching that unpleasant situation in your life go on; you must arise! No matter how great the revelations you have received from God, if you don't build up a resistance against the enemy, you will never have a breakthrough!

God has spoken some things to you and you are sure of His leading and instructions, but the enemy is standing on the way, saying, "You won't get in there." Therefore, you need to arise to the challenge, because if you do nothing, you will get nothing. If you fold your hands at the opposition, you will end up in stagnation and deprivation. 

The Scripture is clear on the need to arise and engage your altar of prayer, it says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4.) We war against devil and his demons over whom he has control. They are not mere fantasies—they are very real. 

The weapons of our warfare are “the whole armor of God”; the truth in what Christ wrought for us in redemption, righteousness, knowledge of the gospel, faith in God, acknowledging the Lord Jesus as your Savior (salvation), and the Word of God which the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6 vs 14 — 18). The weapons enable the believer to stand against the wiles of the devil. With these indispensable weapons of God, we engage the devil in our prayer altar always, and being watchful to the end. We need supernatural power to defeat the devil, and God has provided this by giving us His Holy Spirit within us and His whole armor surrounding us.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for providing us with Your whole armor that enables us effectively stand against the devil. Give me the grace and power to effectively employ these indispensable weapons in my prayer altar at all times, that I may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, in Jesus’ mighty name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN AND THE NEW CREATION!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2023.

SUBJECT: REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF SIN AND 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 sin, 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." (First John 1 vs 9.)

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, confess, and seek forgiveness, 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 to ensure we 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, satisfies the need of fallen man. Then He sits down at the Right Hand of the Father, 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 my Lord. May my recreated spirit ever thirst for You, in all wisdom and prudence, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Enjoying His Fullness

 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:16)

Just before the service last Sunday, the little band of praying saints was hard at work fighting for the faith of our people, and for the churches of the Twin Cities, and for the nations, as they prayed. At one point one man prayed the words of John 1:14, 16:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

It was one of those epiphany moments for me. God granted in that moment that the word “fullness” — from his fullness — carry a fullness that was extraordinary in its effect on me. I felt some measure of what the word really carries — the fullness of Christ.

I felt some of the wonder that, yes, I had indeed received grace upon grace from this fullness. And I was at that moment receiving grace upon grace. I felt right then that nothing would have been sweeter than to simply sit at his feet — or read my Bible — all afternoon and feel his fullness overflow.

Why did this fullness have such an impact on me — and why is it still to this moment affecting me unusually? In part because . . .

. . . the one from whose fullness I am being drenched with grace is the Word that was with God and was God (John 1:1–2), so that his fullness is the fullness of God — a divine fullness, an infinite fullness;

. . . this Word became flesh, and so was one of us, and was pursuing us with his fullness — it is an accessible fullness;

. . . when this Word appeared in human form, his glory was seen — his is a glorious fullness;

. . . this Word was “the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14) so that the divine fullness was being mediated to me not just from God, but through God — God did not send an angel but his only Son to deliver his fullness;

. . . the fullness of the Son is a fullness of grace — I will not drown in this fullness but be blessed in every way by this fullness;

. . . this fullness is not only a fullness of grace but of truth — I am not being graced with truth-ignoring flattery; this grace is rooted in rock-solid reality.

Is it any wonder, then, that I would feel astonished and full of joy at the fullness of Christ!

Our Servant, Jesus

 

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Not only was he the servant of his people while he lived on earth, but he will also be our servant when he comes again. “Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them” (Luke 12:37). Jesus gave that as a picture of what he will do at his return.

Not only that, he is our servant now. “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5–6).

Does this belittle the risen Christ — to say that he was and is and will ever be the servant of his people? It would, if “servant” meant “one who takes orders,” or if we thought we were his masters. Yes, that would dishonor him. But it does not dishonor him to say that we are weak and need his help.

It does not dishonor him to say that he is the only one who can service us with what we need most.

It does not dishonor him to say that he is an inexhaustible spring of love, and that the more he helps us and the more we depend on his service, the more amazing his resources appear. Therefore, we can confidently say, “Jesus Christ is alive to serve!”

He is alive to save. He is alive to give. And he is thrilled to be this way.

He is not burdened down with your cares. He thrives on burden-bearing, not burden-giving. He loves to work “for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). He “takes pleasure . . . in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:11). His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Jesus Christ is exuberant with omnipotent service for the sake of all who trust him.

WHEN YOU ARE A BELIEVER IN CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2023.

SUBJECT: WHEN YOU ARE A BELIEVER IN CHRIST!

Memory verse:  "Therefore, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (Second Corinthians 5 vs 17.) 

READ: John 1 vs 12; 6 vs 37 & 44:

John 1:12: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

6:37: All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me zig will by no means cast out.

6:44: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

INTIMATION:

If you are a believer, you have been given the right of adoption as a child of God. Here are few things that every believer should know. 

First, our memory verse bared open that we are actually New Creations, created in Christ Jesus. Notice the facts, "If anyone be in Christ." One is in Christ ones for all. He doesn't enter Christ and then leave Him, because the power of entering and leaving doesn't rest with him. How do I know? Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father who sent Him draws the person. He confirmed the fact in John 6 vs 65; "...Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."

Jesus assured us that for the ones the Father gave Him, His duty is to ensure that they are retained with Him, and nothing will make Him cast out any. And He confirmed that fact in John 6 vs 39 when He said; "This is the Will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day."

Jesus said He came to do the Will of the Father Who sent Him. He is in union with the Father. Christ will not let His people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation (see also John 17 vs 12; Philippians 1 vs 6), because this is Will of the Father. Consequently, Jesus made known to the Father that, according to His Will, all the ones He gave Him during His earth work, He has lost none except “the son of perdition”—Judas, not by any fault of Judas, but by Jesus' choice of him to do what he did so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled (John 13 vs 18). 

The second fact is, "He is a New Creation," a new specie. He has received into his spirit the life and nature of God. The old things have passed away. These old things are spiritual death, his union with Satan, and his old sins—the sins committed while he was spiritually dead, and in union with the Adversary. It doesn't matter the kind of sins, they are all remitted. 

The new creation is the product of God. It is created in Christ Jesus; it is born from above. And the new thing stands uncondemned and reconciled before the Father. It is born of the Holy Spirit, through the Word: “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they shall be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6 vs 45). 

The moment that we become new creations, we become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5 vs 21). The righteousness of God means the ability to stand in the Father's presence without sense of guilt, condemnation or inferiority. We are at that moment sons and daughters of God. 

Sin has been preached to us so long and we have been told so often that we are unworthy and unfit, and this has kept us with a sense of inferiority which has been destructive to our faith life. It is noteworthy that no man can work with God as long as he is under condemnation, and in realization of that fact God has given us His own righteousness in Christ Jesus so that we can fellowship with Him. 

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

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 sons: "The Holy Spirit Himself has born witness with our spirits that we are the children of God”(Romans 8 vs 16).

Thirdly, 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. It isn't a problem then of faith with the believer, for all things belong to him. It is only a problem of our taking our place, and enjoying our rights.

The Scriptures made this clear in Ephesians 1 vs 3 which says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ." He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Then everything that was wrought in the finished work of Christ belongs to us. It is our property this moment. Now therefore, we must simply take our place and enjoy our rights.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for all You wrought for Me in Christ. I am complete in Him, and filled with Your fullness. Endue me with the the knowledge and wisdom of my redemptive rights in Christ that I may live worthy of Your calling, according to the power that works in me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

NEGATIVE EMOTION HINDERS ANSWER TO PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2023.

SUBJECT: NEGATIVE EMOTION HINDERS ANSWER TO PRAYER!

Memory verse: "Then they will cry to the LORD, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds"(Micah 3 vs 4.)

READ: Isaiah 59 verses 1 - 2:

59:1: Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 

59:2: but your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

INTIMATION:

As believers, we have heard that our confession is our possession—what we say is what we get. But there are times we can't get what we say. These are times when we bear loads of grudges, resentment, envy, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, and like emotions. The loads of such negative emotions are very heavy and costly to our relationship with God, because they are regarded as sin. The dictionary definition of sin is "a moral offense or shortcoming, especially from the point of view of religion." It is a rebellion against God's laws. "Sin is a reproach to any people”(Proverbs 14 vs 34), as well as to God. 

Though we may have been dragged into such emotions by wrongdoing to us by another, but these negative emotions hurt us more than they hurt the one who has wronged us. This is because, if our faith is strong and our prayer is persistent, there is only one thing that can stand in the way of answered prayer, and it is sin which the aftermath of negative emotion. Jesus said in Mark 11 vs 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." Only in so doing that you receive what you ask in prayers. Heaviness of heart resulting from negative emotion is a hindrance to receiving answers on the altar of prayer.

In the passage we read today, the prophet Isaiah says that the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear when we call upon Him, but our iniquities have separated us from our God, and consequently, He hides His face from us, and refuses to listen to us nor hear our prayers. What a terrible condition for a Christian; being unable to talk to God! 

When we understand what our resentment does to us, we see how much better it is for us to allow our enemies to get away with their cruelty, rather than hold a grudge and cut ourselves off from God. The Bible tells us that vengeance is God's business, not ours: "Repay no evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay,' says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry feel Him; If He is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12 vs 17 - 21.)

God takes vengeance on our enemies because He is just, and perfect in all His ways. Ours is to do good at all times, and have regard for good things in the sight of all men: The writer of Hebrews concord with the apostle Paul when he says; “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12 vs 14 - 15). 

However, an unforgiving spirit is so destructive that we are warned that when God does take vengeance on our enemies, we are not even to be happy that He did so: "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him" (Proverbs 24 vs 17 - 18). 

Once you understand the destructiveness of "getting even," you will be able to ask God to keep you from resentment in all of its forms. In Matthew 5 vs 39, Jesus commanded us thus; "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Jesus is suggesting that our response to injustice should not be demanding our right, but to give it up freely! According to Him it is more important to give justice and mercy than to receive it.

Prayer: Abba Father, uproot any root of resentment, unforgiveness, and other negative emotions in my heart that separate me from You, and hinders answer to my prayer, that I may be found a worthy son, living at peace with all people and have regard for good things in the sight of all, in Jesus’ Name I prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!