7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 3

 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 3

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31–34)

We have seen in the last two days that Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. Today we look at the final three promises.

Promise #5: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:31–32)

Do not think that God is ignorant of your needs. He knows all of them. And he is “your heavenly Father.” He does not look on, indifferently, from a distance. He cares. He will act to supply your need when the time is best.

Promise #6: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

If you will give yourself to his cause in the world, rather than fretting about your private material needs, he will make sure that you have all you need to do his will and give him glory. This is how I understand “All these things will be added to you.” All the food and drink and clothing — and everything else — that you need to do his will and glorify him. Which might mean his purpose is for you to die for him, but he will supply everything you need to do it for his glory.

This is similar to the promise of Romans 8:32, “Will [God] not also with [Christ] graciously give us all things?” Which is followed by, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:35–37). Famine and nakedness may come. But we will have everything we need to be more than a conqueror. 

Promise #7: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will work for you, so that “as [your] days, so shall [your] strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV).

Every day has its appointed trouble. But never more than you can bear by his grace. Every day will have mercies that are new every morning — mercies sufficient for that day’s trouble (Lamentations 3:22–23). He will not expect any good deed from you for which he does not supply all the grace you need (2 Corinthians 9:8).

GOD CONVICTS, AND NEVER CONDEMNS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2024.

SUBJECT : GOD CONVICTS, AND NEVER CONDEMNS! 

Memory verse: "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement." (John 16 vs 8.) 

READ: John 3 vs 17 - 19:

3:17: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

3:18: He who believes in Him is not condemned: but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3:19: And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

INTIMATION:

In the passage we read today, Jesus said He didn't come into this world to send sinners to their death (to condemn the world), but to deliver them from sin so that they could be saved, and live the abundant life. This could only happen when He convicts us of our sins. The Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin through the truth that He would reveal to the believers. The truth that would be revealed would be the standard by which sin, righteousness, and judgement would be determined. The truth would be the words of Jesus by which He would judge the world. 

God uses the Holy Spirit indwelling all believers to achieve the three important tasks: (1) convicting the world of its sin and calling it to remembrance. Those who do not accept the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for their sins will remain in a state of condemnation because of sin, (2) revealing the standard of God's righteousness to anyone who believes. Because Christ would no longer be physically present on earth, through the preaching of the believers, the world would be convicted of not doing that which is right in the eyes of God, and (3) demonstrating Christ's judgement over Satan. Through the believers, the Holy Spirit would reveal that all men must give account of their behavior before God. 

Now, in the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 vs 1 - 11, Jesus demonstrated to the crowd His mission in this world; He didn't come into this world to send sinners to their death, but to deliver them from sin. The woman caught in adultery was given the opportunity to rest in the safety of Christ's name. By law she was guilty of breaking a commandment from God, and the Pharisees wanted to stone her. Jesus showed the crowd that they were all guilty of breaking the law in some way. He invited the woman's accusers to proceed with the stoning, but only if they themselves were guiltless of breaking the law. 

The Scripture says: "Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Had no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." (John 8 vs 9 - 11.)

Jesus didn't condemn the woman accused of adultery, and He also did not ignore nor condone her sin. He told her to 'go and sin no more.' Jesus stands ready to forgive any sin in our lives, but we must do our part; confession and repentance of our sins, indicating a change of heart. With God's help, we can accept Christ's forgiveness and stop our wrongdoing. Jesus proved that condemnation only leads to death, but conviction delivers us to a new life free from sin. The accusers were convicted of their own sins in their consciences until one by one, from the oldest to the last, they learned not to judge the woman caught breaking the law.

The Holy Spirit works to enlighten our awareness of what we are doing that leads to death, and what we need to do to enjoy the abundant life. Condemnation is the work of the devil, 'the accuser of our brethren,' whose main aim is "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." But thanks be to God for He sent His Son into the world that the world through Him might be saved, and have life, and abundant life indeed! (See John 10 vs 10.)

The Holy Spirit speaks to our conscience—our inner man—to convict us of sin and convince us of righteousness. His conviction is intended to convince us to repent, which means to turn and go in the right direction rather than the wrong one in which we are currently going. The devil's condemnation fills people with hopelessness and futility. The devil, through condemnation, wants to steal, or kill, or destroy anything good in your life, and most especially your relationship and trust in the Lord. His aim is to severe your relationship with God, to win you over to his side.

It's important for believers to discern the difference between conviction and condemnation. Many Christians still have the two mixed up. They think they are being condemned when they are being convicted. The more time we spend in the presence of God, the more aware we become of His love for us, and the more sensitive we become of our own actions that do not reflect God's heart. 

Prayer: Abba Father, show me my sin. Convict me of what I am doing wrong that breaks Your law. Convict me when I deviate from Your precepts. Keep my inner man tender to hear Your voice. Give me power to walk in Your precepts, and be free from sin, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 2

 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 2

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:27–30)

Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the fight for faith and be free from anxiety. Yesterday we saw Promises 1 and 2; today we look at 3 and 4.

Promise #3: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27)

This is a promise of sorts — the simple promise of reality that you can discover from experience: Being anxious will simply not do you any good. That’s a promise. This is not the main argument, but sometimes we just have to get tough with ourselves and say, “Soul, this fretting is absolutely useless. It promises nothing. You are not only messing up your own day, but a lot of other people’s as well. Renounce it. Leave it with God. And get on with your work.”

Anxiety accomplishes nothing worthwhile. That’s a promise. Believe it. Act on it.

Promise #4: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28–30)

Compared to the flowers of the field you are a much higher priority for God, because you will live forever, and can thus bring him eternal praise as his loved children.

Nevertheless, God has such an overflow of creative energy and care, he lavishes it on flowers that last only a matter of days. So, he will certainly take that same energy and creative skill and use it to care for his children who will live forever. The question is: Will we believe this promise, and put away anxiety?

THE CLEANSING BLOOD OF JESUS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE CLEANSING BLOOD OF JESUS!

Memory verse: "But if we in the light as He is in the light, we  have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (First John 1 vs 7.)

READ: Hebrews 9 vs 22 - 26:

9:22: And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

9:23: Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

9:24: For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

9:25: not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—

9:26: He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 

INTIMATION:

Real cleansing from sin came with Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1 vs 29). Sin, by its very nature, brings death—that is a fact as certain as the law of gravity. Jesus did not die for His own sins; He had none. Instead, by a transaction that we may never fully understand, He died for the sins of the world. When we commit our life to Christ and thus identify ourselves with Him, His death becomes ours. He has paid the penalty for our sins, and His blood has purified us. Just as Christ rose from the grave, we rise to a new life of fellowship with Him (Romans 6 vs 4). 

The blood of Jesus Christ is the world’s greatest purifier because it removes the stain of sin. The Scripture, in Revelation 7 vs 14, says that the saints “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” It is difficult to imagine how blood could make any cloth white, but the blood of Jesus Christ did. White symbolizes sinless perfection or holiness, which can be given to people only by the death of the sinless Lamb of God on our behalf.

In the Old Testament times, God agreed to forgive people’s sins if they would bring animals for the priests to sacrifice. When this sacrificial system was inaugurated, the covenant between God and His people was sealed with the blood of animals (Exodus 24 vs 8). But animal blood did not in itself remove sin (only God can forgive sin), and animal sacrifices had to be repeated day after day and year after year. 

Jesus instituted a “new covenant” (agreement) between God and His people. Under the new covenant, Jesus would die in the place of sinners. Unlike the blood of animals, His blood (because He is God) would remove the sins of all who put their faith in Him. Jesus’ sacrifice would never have to be repeated; it would be good for all eternity (Hebrews 9 vs 23 - 28). 

Animal sacrifices could not take away sins; they provided only a temporary way to deal with sin until Jesus came to deal with sin permanently. Because the Old Testament believers were following God’s command to offer sacrifices, He graciously forgave them when, by faith, they made their sacrifices. But that practice looked forward to Christ’s perfect sacrifice. 

It is not possible that the blood of animals should take away sin because sin is between those who have been created after the image of God, and God Himself. Sin is between God and man, and thus, only the One who was both God and man could mediate on behalf of both parties. Through grace, therefore, God was incarnate on behalf of man in order that an incarnate blood offering be made for the atonement of man’s sin (Titus 2 vs 11).

Sinful deeds are more than just wrong actions; ironically, these also include our attempts to reach God by being good enough! Our culture glorifies self-effort and personal achievement. It defines a successful person as one who obtains certain goals: financial security, health and fitness, and the respect of others. But the Bible gives us a different picture of successful living: accept Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin, abandon the futility of sinful deeds, and let the blood of Jesus purify your conscience (see Hebrews 10 vs 19 - 22). 

Many hesitate to witness about their faith in Christ because they don’t feel the change in their lives has been spectacular enough. But you qualify as a witness for Jesus because of what He has done for you, not because of what you have done for Him. Christ demonstrated His great love by setting us free from our sins through His death on the cross (“washed us from our sins in His own blood”), guaranteeing us a place in His kingdom, and making us priests to administer God’s love to others. The fact that the All-powerful God has offered eternal life to you is nothing short of spectacular. 

Christ has already finished the work for us in redemption. Ours is to believe in our hearts the finished work and confess with our mouth our rich heritage in Him. When you acknowledge Him as your Lord, then God becomes automatically your very Father. All the resources of heaven are at your disposal. You become a partaker of His Nature, and of His ability. God's ability becomes your ability. God's Strength becomes your strength, and Jesus is the surety of that New Covenant for us. (Hebrews 7 vs. 22.)

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for what You wrought for me in redemption through Christ. You are the LORD over my life. I am in Christ, and Christ in You, therefore, Satan has no portion in me. My sonship with You have given me victory as an overcomer of the world through my faith in You, for in You I live, move, and have my being, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1

 7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26)

We are going to spend three days on this part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus is dealing specifically with anxiety about food and clothing. But, in fact, it relates to all anxiety.

Even in America, with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing and food and clothing can be intense. Not to mention Christians who live in situations where much greater poverty threatens life. But Jesus says in verse 30 that our anxiety comes from little faith in our Father’s promise of future grace: “O you of little faith.” 

These verses (25–34) contain at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. (Today we look at Promises 1 and 2 — then over the next two days at the rest.)

Promise #1: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

Since your body and your life are vastly more complex and difficult to provide than food and clothing are, and yet God has, in fact, created and provided you with both, then surely he will be able and willing to provide you with food and clothing.

Moreover, no matter what happens, God will raise your body someday and preserve your life and body for his eternal fellowship.

Promise #2: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

If God is willing and able to feed such insignificant creatures as birds who cannot do anything to bring their food into being — as you can by farming — then he will certainly provide what you need, because you are worth a lot more than birds. You, unlike the birds, have the amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, and thanking God.

Prayer against Delay and Disappointment

  

Today, we're praying against delay and disappointments. As you pray those below prayer points with faith in God may your testimony manifest speedily in Jesus Name 🙏🙏🙏

PRAYER POINTS

Thank God for what He has done for you this year.  

- Let frustration and disappointment, be the portion of every object fashioned against my life and family, in the name of Jesus.  

- Every tie to polluted objects and items between my life and family, break, in the name of Jesus.  

- Every curse pronounced inwardly against my destiny, break, in the name of Jesus.

  - Every unspoken curse against my life, break, in the name of Jesus. 

 - You inward curses, militating against my virtues, break, in the name of Jesus

Let every spirit of Balaam hired to curse my progress, fall down and die, in the name of Jesus. 

 - Every curse that I have brought into my life through ignorance and disobedience, break by fire, in the name of Jesus.

  - Every power magnetizing physical and spiritual curses to me, I raise the blood of Jesus against you and I challenge you by fire, in the name of Jesus.

  - Father, Lord, turn all my self-imposed curses to blessings, in the name of Jesus. 

 - Every instrument, put in place to frustrate me become impotent, in the name of Jesus.

  - I reject every cycle of frustration, in the name of Jesus.  

- I break the curse of constant disappointment in my life, in the name of Jesus.  

- I curse every spirit of disappointments, in my life, in Jesus name.

  - I destroy every altar of disappointments at the edge of success, in the name of Jesus. 

 - Every arrow of disappointment and confusion fired into my life, backfire, in the name of Jesus

  - You spirit of disappointment, you cannot hold me ransom, so therefore pack your loads and get out from my life and destiny, in the name of Jesus.  

- Every disappointments in my marriage, be cancelled by the blood of Jesus.

  - Any power given the mandate to curse and hinder my progress, summersault and die, in the name of Jesus.

  - I shake off every spirit of disappointment and worry in my marriage, in the name of Jesus.

THE POWER OF SPOKEN FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2024.

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:

Believe in your heart and say with your mouth. Believing God and His Word is of great importance. But Jesus encourages us further to articulate, to say aloud, what we are believing God for. There is great power in the spoken word of faith.

Believing God is wonderful. But Jesus urged us to do one more thing: to speak the word of faith, to verbalize what we are seeking from God. Believers should understand the power of speaking the Word of God with boldness and faith, and the believer "shall have whatsoever he saith". (Mark 11 vs 22 -23.) If one truly believes, then he will speak forth the word of God.

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:

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. Salvation is as close as your own lips and heart: "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." (Romans 10 vs 8 - 10.)

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. But as Christ said, "the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness." 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 and Your Word, 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!