Suffering Vs. Substitution

There is alot of talk today about suffering according to the will of God. In this blog were going to talk about what the word says about it. Its important that we stick with the bible not traditions and teaching of men. Jesus said that we are able to make the word of God to no effect by the tradition(Matt 15:6). Is it the will of God that we suffer with sickness and scarcity? Many believe so. People do get sick, but is it because God willed or permitted it? he fact is that many times we allow things in oiur lives that open the door for something to come upon us. Job did that when he said The thing I greatly feared has come upon me(Job 3:25). The bible says give no place to the devil(Eph 4:27) We can give him a place through ignorance a lack of knowledge rebellion, sin, our words, doubt and unbelief. Jesus said whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, whatever we loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven(Matt 16:19, Matt 18:18) The words bind and loose are litterally the words to permit or allow. We have to realize God allows what we allow, he permits what we permit. Another thing that can bring it is the enemies already given access on the earth. The bible says that Hes like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8) How did he get this ability to attack? Lets go back to the book of beginnings. If we dont go back where it all started its easy to get into a ditch. The first two chapters are all about God creating the Heavens and Earth, than Man & Woman. He looked at it and was like VERY GOOD! They walked with Him in the cool of the day, nonething missing, nonething broken. However we read in Gen ch 3 the enemy came in like a slithering serphent decieving them. God gave all authority to them and once they transgressed it passed over to satan. This is evident in the gospel of Luke. Jesus is in the wilderness being tempted of the devil and one of the temptations was all these kingdoms and the glory of them will be given to you if you bow down and worship me(Luke 4:6) The devil got this from Adam & Eve. The bible says that Jesus destroyed him that had THE POWER OF DEATH(Heb 2:14) God bought back our dominion through the precious blood of Jesus Christ! But the enemy still has a lease on this earth until hes eternally bound in the lake of fire that burns with brimstone and glory to God that day is quickly approaching! What people get confused with is the meat of what were about to dive into. There is a difference between Christ being our example vs being our substitute. He was our substitute for sickness and scarcity. He was wounded for our trangressions, bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED(Isiah 53:5) If we were than we IS! Its present tense. Many hope they will be healed. However hope is a good waiter, but poor reciever! The bible says NOW FAITH IS(Heb 11:1) Faith is like always in the ever present! The bible says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us for cursed is anyone that hangs on a tree(Gal 3:13) One of these curses is sickness and disease. It must be resisted spiritually by standing and speaking the word, but also by obeying the natural. Eating right, excercising keeping a fresh mental and spiritual attitude daily not complaining but praising. All of this works together. We see also that Christ was nailed to the cross for our provision and prosperity. He was made poor that through his poverty we were made rich(2 Cor 8:9) this all begins in our soul. Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health EVEN AS OUR SOUL PROSPERS(3 John 2) This will not automatically happen, we must make decisions that line up with his word emotionally and financially! What is the suffering that the bible talks about? Number one, Persecution. The bible says that all that live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution(2 Tim 3:12) When were going all out for God, hey some people wont be particurly pleasent about it! The book of Acts has two majior themes threaded throughout, POWER and PERSECUTION! However never threat The bible says in the book of Romans The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed(Rom 8:18) The second is Temptation. There is a saying that goes "opportunity comes around once but temptation leans on the doorbell" Jesus was under such pressure from temptation that he sweat great drops of blood from his forehead(Luke 22:42) The bible says that we have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin(Heb 12:4) In other words excuses for yielding continually dont cut the mustard! none of us ever have or ever will be tempted to the point of shedding blood! In other words were able through Christ are great HighPriest! There will be people that are like it just got the best of me and it was too much. No the bible says There is no temptation taken us such is common to man but God is faithful not to tempt us above that which were able and will provide a way of escape(1 Cor 10:13) Jesus said Pray that ye not ENTER IN to temptation(Luke 22:46) Temptation is not sin, its yielding to it or aka entering in that causes it to become sin and once sin is concieved it brings forth death. Number three, Suffering Wrongfully. The bible says For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, SUFFERING WRONGFULLY. for what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently but if when you do well and suffer for it and take it patiently this is accetable to God(1 Peter 2:19,20) This can be true in the church or on the job. When we are suffering for something that we never ever had a part of it can be appealing to get in there and set the record straight. Two wrongs never make a right, were not to render evil foir evil. Were told to overcome evil with good(Rom 12:21) When we choose to do good when bad is being done to us, its well pleasing to God. Why? Because vengence is the Lord he will recompense(Heb 10:30) The bible says were to give place to wrath(Rom 12:19) In other words if we remain calm cool collected and in command, were alloting God to come in and maje the wrong RIGHT! Number four, Submission. We find suffering pertaining to this in the life of Jesus. In the garden he said Father if it be possible let this cup pass, but NEVERTHELESS thy will be done. Submission involves the suffering of not having our own way. Now this is pertaining to when the word doesent clearly express his will. The bible says that Jesus learne obedience through things that he suffered(Heb 5:8) He went through all the things persecution, temptation suffering wrongfully and submission. The bible says He was tempted IN ALL POINTS yet without sin(Heb 4:15) Hes able to succor and be a very timely aid of from distress! Hes been there done that bought the teashirt and wore it! Prayerfully this empowers people to know the diference and discern between suffering vs. substitution in Jesus name!

Road to Reconciliation

Out of all the blogs the lord has had me write, I believe this one will be among the most important. Reconciliation very much so is near and dear to the heart of the Heavenly Father. In the last days there is coming and outpouring of the spirit upon ALL flesh. As this is going on radical reconciliation will be going down. He said I WILL RESTORE what the locust hath eaten and cankerworm hath stolen(Joel 2:25) This great outpouring is going to have much to do with it. The lord has instructed me to talk about how we move from being right to reconciled. Many people have been misused and abused. They've been treated unfairly. in situations like that especially among family and close friends thats challenging. Its in this atmosphere that walls can build to the point that it becomes a strong fortress, where we let no one in and dont venture out ourselves. Jesus said concerning the last days that many would be offended betray and hate one another and the love of MANY would wax cold(Matt 24:11,12) He is talking about blood bought born again believers. So many struggle with being reconciled because of feelings and emotions. Joeseph could've made the decision to have his brothers killed, but instead they fell upon one another kissing eacother. We must understand right off the bat that reconciliation is our responsibility. Think about the word, responsABLE=Able To Respond! Lets discuss some of the things that can prevent reconciliation in our lives. 1 Pride Pride is like a stench in the nostrils of God and the bible says that it always leads us toward the fall(Prov 16:18) People are often like You just dont know what they have done. Look what we've all done. It was our sin that nailed Christ to the cross and in the very midst of being taken there Hes like Father forgive them for they know not what they do(Luke 23:34) It tells us in the book of Romans that he reconciled us through the BLOOD(Rom 5:9) Jesus had flesh, he could have been like hey I have lived a sinless life and called those legions of angels to deliver him. Pride is all about I. This is what I've been through, this is what has happened to me. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble(Jms 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5) God would much more rather us be reconciled than right! 2 Position. Some people refuse to be reconciled because of their firm position. This is STUBBORNESS! The bible says that stubborness is like witchcraft(1 Sam 15:23) Who is a stubborn person? Its one that refuses to change even in the presence of truth. Once truth has been presented, we have one of two choices reject or recieve! Jesus said we shall know the truth and the truth will make us free(John 8:32) The bible said it was the rebellion and stubborness of the children of Isreal that kept them in the wilderness for forty years! Dont let it be the same for you. 3. Problem. At times our focus is the problem we have with the person were attempting to reconcile with. Lets focus on the solution instead of the problem! Jesus decreed and declared himself to be the way truth and life(John 14:6) Hes the way back to relational reconciliation! However we must humble ourselves and do it HIS WAY! Hes already promised it will lead to life and not death. Its going to take placing our feelings under subjection. We have talked about it in an earlier blog feelings or faith? Were called to walk by faith and not our feelings, to be Abraham Christians not Thomas Christians. Let the solution get bigger than the problem thats before your eyes. Now before we talk about precepts and principles from the word of God leading us toward reconciliation, lets discuss what were to do in a situation where we have attempted to reconcile and the other person is just not having any of it. The answer is found in the book of Romans As much as it lieth within in you be at peace with all men(Rom 12:18) In other words were called to take the initiative and than trust God to be the Lord of the harvest of that sown seed. Jesus said if we have any ought while praying leave the gift at the alter and be ye reconciled with thine brother(Matt 5:23) However after we've done that if they're still like "talk to the hand"! We know we have done what God has called us to do and we continue to pray and believe. Road to reconciliation Number one, Forgiveness! Forgivness is not optinal, its critical! Were commanded tons of times in the new testement to forgive one another. God said through the mouth of Paul forgive EVEN AS God has forgiven you for Christs sake(Eph 4:32) Its not about whether they deserve it or not. The fact is none of us deserved forgiveness but we freely recieved it. Jesus said freely you have recieved, freely give(Matt 10:8) There are two things that we must understand about forgiveness. Number one If we dont forgive the Father cannot forgive us Jesus said Forgive their trespas as I have forgiven you your trespasses(Matt 6:14) This makes forgiveness a most series subject. Number two, Forgiveness is an act of will not feeling or emotion. We decide to forgive based on obedience to the word of God. We can do ALL things through Christ that strengthens us(Phil 4:13) this includes forgiveness Next Forbearance. The bible says forbearing one another(Col 3:13) That word means to put up with. We must make allowances for peoples faults and failures and present the opportunity for change. This will keep us reconciled and restored. Number three Fellowship. In the last blog we talked about trust developing through time. This is exactly what we must do is fellowship and through it there will be brought forth a reunion that will be sustained. Number four, Fervent love The bible says ABOVE ALL things have FERVENT LOVE, for love shall cover a multitude of sins(1 Peter 4:8) Were to do this above all others. Its love thats going to keep us together. However its not love based upon perfomrmance, but promise!!! The bible says that God has given us the ministry and word of reconciliation(2 Cor 5:18,19) In other words hes looking to us to take these principles apply and appropriate them making it happen in the name of Jesus!

T.R.U.S.T

In a prior blog we discussed the trust test. Its one of the most important things that we have to pass in this life. Our trust in Him is absolutely connected in whether we win or loose, have victory or defeat. I relaid the story of the frenchmen named Vlondin. He walked over Niagra Falls on a tight rope. When he asked a member in the audience to get on his back, he quickly declined. He was willing to spectate, not participate! God has enlightened me to more points and principles that will enable and empower our trust to be built up to be stronger than ever before. Number one, Time. The only way that trust can be built in any of our lives is through time. None of us in any relationship trust automatically. It has to be developed, and its impossible to trust where there has been no time invested. Our relationship with the master is sumed up by these phrases. Hes the vine were the branches(John 15:5) Hes the potter and were the clay(Jer 18:4) Hes the shepherd were the sheep(John 10) In ineach of these instances there is involvement. An exchange of giving and recieving takes place. Job said Acquaint now thyself with him(Job 22:21) This MUST be top priority. All of us has been given the same amount everyday. Its up to us what we do with it. We are going to trust someone and something. Theres NO getting around it. We see in the word a lady that made a decision to put her fellowship with the Lord first foremost and final! This woman is Mary the sister of Lazarus. This account is given in the gospel of Luke. The two sisters were getting the house ready for the visitation of Jesus. Martha was what the bible describes as "encumbered" In other words she was STRESSED OUT! She was like busy doing this and that. However Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus LISTENING to HIS WORD(Luke 10:39) when Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her, Jesus responded by saying Mary hath CHOSEN the BEST THING! I want us to notice the word CHOICE. Its our choice what were going to invest our time in. Please remember trust cannot be manufactered or mustered up. Its going to come by spending that time with him listening to his words just like Mary. There are always going to be 8,ooo other things that need to be done. This however cannot be neglected. Job was able to say YET WILL I TRUST HIM(Job 13:15) Why? Because he had invested his time in and God turned his captivity giving him double for the trouble!(Job 42:10-12) The second point is Recognize. We'll never be able to trust God until we recognize his goodness. Hes a Father that takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children(Psalm 35:27) Hes given us ALL things richly to enjoy(1 Tim 6:17) Jesus said you being earthly Fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE(Matt 7:11) I really love that PHRASE! How much more does God want to do good for us. Many people struggle in trusting God because they have been taught that God sometimes will permit them to suffer to teach them some special spiritual lesson. A million times NO! I mean think about it. If sickness was permitted by God in his will, than why go to a Dr? Would'nt that be rebellion? Thats how foolish this way of thinking is! Notice the two areas that God SAID HIMSELF He wished happened in our lives I WISH ABOVE ALL THINGS THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH....(3 John 2) Isint it funny that those are the two areas that are fought with more in the church than any other topic. I mean think of the fires that have been started! Well they need to be PUT OUT by the washing of the water of the WORD(Eph 5:26) Comeon Dads. How weird would it be if you were like ok son, Iam going to break your leg, I know you dont understand it but one day in the hereafter you suerly will! FIDDLESTICKS!!!! We have an enemy loose, his name is Satan! His objective is to steal, kill, and destroy(John 10:10) We must PUT ON the whole armor of God, RESIST the devil and HE WILL FLEE FROM US(Jms 4:7) The third point, Understand. In order to trust, we must understand Gods ways are higher than ours as the Heavens are above the Earth(Isiah 55:8,9) We may not be able to understand everything were in at the moment. However we can know that his ways are higher. Hes getting us to the wealthy place(Psalm 66:12) in Him, if we trust Him with all our hearts and LEAN not to our own UNDERSTANDING(Prov 3:5) Never let your head rule your heart! Faith can work in our hearts, while their is doubt in our heads. Dont be head lead! Let your spirit guide and govern. The spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord(Prov 20:27) The fourth point, Surrender. We must surrender all to Jesus. its easy to do this once we have practiced these other points. Fourth and finally Triumph. Thanks be to God that ALWAYS causes us to TRIUMPH(2 Cor 2:14) Trust will lead to triumph!!!!

Principles To Victory

The Lord promises us victory in ever area and arena of our lives. Its not meant to be in the by and by because theres no need for it there. Its talking about the here and now on the ground where were still around! Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY!(John 10:10) The Lord said out of the mouth of Paul Thanks be to God that GIVES US THE VICTORY through our LORD JESUS CHRIST(1 Cor 15:57) The thing is this will not be automatic. There are precepts that propel us toward the power that brings it into being. Hes quickened to my heart that were to talk about them in this blog. He gave me five words that all begin with the letter P. Each one of them are vital and critical parts of the puzzle. this is true whether its victory in the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, financial marital, relational, or any other arena of life. The first one is Perception. How we see a thing is of the utmost importance! Are you seeing things get better or worse. What we look at continually and consistently will come to pass. Remember the sheep without spots in Jacobs day stared at the trees thus developing spots. Jesus said If thine eye be single the whole body shall be full of light(Matt 6:22) The bible says Let not the word depart from thine eyes(Prov 4:21) We each have been given four sets of eyes. Iam not sure if any of you were picked on in school, and called "four eyes"? We never knew how very true that statement was and is! We have natural eyes and spritual eyes. The spiritual eyes are the most important to be looking through. They have also been referred to as the "eyes of faith" Faith is the evidence of things not seen(Heb 11:1) God said through the mouth of Paul the things that are seen are temporal(subject to change), the things that are not seen are ETERNAL(2 Cor 4:18) We must understand, what we percieve we magnify and what we magnify gets bigger and bigger to us. This is like the case with the promise or the problem! The bible says where there is no VISION the people perish(Prov 29:18) Another translation says "we cast off all retraints" In other words we'll begin to live carelessly and wrecklessly where there is no "vision of victory" We have to see ourselves free, we have to see ourselves with a better and stronger marriage, we have to see wayward children coming home, we have to see oursleves strong and not weak, we have to see ourselves healthy and not sick, we have to see ourselves prosperous and not poor. God said through the mouth of Habbakkuk WRITE THE VISION, and make it clear(Hab 2:2) Theres a saying that goes "seeing is believing" Were not talking the kindof seeing that Thomas was demanding that lead to doubt. We are talking the more we see with the eyes of our spirit our understanding will be enlightened and it will effect the believing in our hearts and Jesus said If we believe nonething is impossible to him that believes(Mark 9:23) this is why the prophet Elisha prayed for the Lord to open up the eyes of his servant so that he could see(2 Kings 6:17) It doesent matter if what your seeing in the natual looks so impossible and insurmountable. Theres more happening in the spirit that you can ask think or imagine, ask God to open your eyes granting perception. Number two, Proclaimation. The Lord birthed and breeded a quote from pastor John Osteen, "Theres a MIRACLE in OUR MOUTH." What we speak greatly impacts and influences whether or not we'll expierence victory. Our words are like carriers and containers of faith released into the atmosphere. The woman with the issue of blood SAID if I may touch the hem of his garment(Mark 5:28) The shunamite woman said IT IS WELL(2 Kings 4:23) abraham SAId God will provide(Gen 22:8) Do a study of the book of Proverbs sometime. It is absolutely filled with one verse after another telling us how much our words frame our world. Prov 6:2 We are SNARED by the the words of our mouth and taken captive by our lips, Prov 12:18 There is that cuts like a piearcing of a sword but the tounge of the wise is health, Prov 13:3 He that keeps their mouth, keeps their life, Prov 14:3 the lips of the wise shall preserve them, Prov 15:4 A wholesome tounge is a tree of life, but preverseness therein is a breech in the spirit, Prov 16:24 Words are sweet like honeycomb sweet to the soul, and health to the bones, Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tounge, Prov 21:23 Whosoever keepeth their tounge, keepeth their soul from troubles. Prov 25:11 Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Jesus said himself we have WHAT WE SAY(Mark 11:23), and by our words we are justified and condemned(Matt 12:37) They are not just harmless something somethings! The question is what are we meditating upon? We stated in an earlier blog that meditation= digestion. Whats in us is going to come out of us and than come upon us! Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks(Matt 12:34, Luke 6:45) We must begin to use our words to change, not describe in order to walk in victory. Number three, Praise. We went into detail about the power of praise in an earlier blog. Once our petition turns to praise, were in position to recieve victory. Praise and thanksgiving is like the lid on the jar of our faith. its like the highest form of faith, because were praising God for something done thats not yet in manifestation. Number four, Partnership. its so important to be hanging with people that are prompting you toward victory! Josua and caleb had that kindof of partnership. They were the only two out of two million that entered into the land flowing with milk and honey because they were two in agreement! We dont need everybody, if we just have SOMEBODY! Maybe your feeling like you got NOBODY! Listen you got God! God + You = Majority! As you trust him he'll bring you in contact with people that will affirm not assault the victory. The Lored did that for Joeseph with the baker and butler, and he'll do it for us too! The fifth and final one, Persistence! "If were willing to stand forever, we'll not be standing very long!" The bible says Having done all to stand, STAND THEREFORE(Eph 6:13) You might be thinking yeah but Brian, Ive been standing and standing and standing. Look your another day month and year closer to fulfillment that you ever were before! Ask yourself the question whats the alternative? Peter said this to the Lord when many were offended at his teaching and walked away. Jesus asked peter Will you go also? Peters like Wherelse shall we go, you have the words of eternal life(John 6:68) "Quiters never win and winners NEVER QUIT!" The bible says Grow not weary in well doing, for you SHALL REAP IF you FAINT NOT(Gal 6:9) Now notice the reaping is totally conditional. It depends upon us not growing weary(aka giving up or quitting) Faith says I'd rather die believing than live in doubt wandering, and its Faith that gives us the VICTORY that overcomes the world(1 John 5:4) We are closer than we've ever been. If it seems that theres been alot more blocks and baracades in the way, its only because the enemy knows how close you are!!!! Practice these principles they will produce the power to obtain victory!

Praise "The weapon orf warfare"

One of the most powerful weapons that believers have at their arsonel is praise. When we begin to offer it up to God it produces an aroma that arises into the very throne room. As we do it, were inviting his manifested presence on the scene in our lives. When he shows up demons flee, sickness subsides, doubt disinigrates, fear fails, and lonliness loosens. Hes placing upon my heart in this blog the importance of seeing it as a weapon. The bible declares Let the high praises of God be like a sharp two edged sword coming from our mouths excercising judgement upon the heathen and putting our nobles and enemies in shackles and chains(Psalm 149:6-9) We see here clearly that praise is a strong weapon of warfare. There are two illustrations in the word that establish this effectively. The first is found in the life of Johosaphat. He was the leader of Judah. They just had a small army and one day they found out that they were about to be attacked by three large troups. Once this was brought this attention, he simply lifted up his head and prayed Lord we have no might power or ability in ourselves but our eyes are upon you(2 Chron 20:12) this is an awesome prayer right in the face of not knowing quite what to do. The Lord spoke through the servant to place the PRAISERS in front of the marching people as they headed toward the camp. Notice it wasent to place the millitary men in front. This in the natural seemed totally illogical. Listen to this quote, "When the Lord gives an instruction reason is never required, faith alone must answer"! As they marched toward their enemy, the three large troops got confused and confounded and turned on one another bringing great victory! The second one is found in a prison in Phillipi. Paul and Silas were there for preaching the gospel. Their feet were in stocks, and their backs were beaten. The bible said that they began to offer up praises to God so loud that the prisoners heard them! and it says that an earthquake came suddenly opening up the prison doors!(Acts 16:24,25) Praise brought their deliverence, it will bring ours too! The Lord once said to me "Praise is Hells mute button" He than quickened me to a verse that backed it up Praise stills & silences the avenger(Psalm 8:2) PTL!!!!!!!!! Are you in a waiting period in trusting for the manifestation of the promise? Praise will keep you in faith! How do I know? Because it did for a guy named Abraham. We have talked about him alot in recent blogs. one thing that we have yet to mention is what really was the defining element that kept him in faith. It was PRAISE! He grew in FAITH AS HE GAVE GLORY TO GOD!(Rom 4:20) Will the enemy attempt to steal our praise? Oh YEAH! In the remainder of this blog were going to talk about a few principles that the Lord will use to help us stay in praise. Number one, Praise must be CONTINUAL. His praises SHALL CONTINUALLY be in my mouth(Psalm 34:1) Praise him for who is is and he'll show you what He can do! Moses asked him to show him his glory and it came also with his GOODNESS(Ex 33,34) The opposite of praising is complaining. The more continual we are, the more TAMED our tounge becomes. Christianity is a life of consistency! It takes training, we've got to see ourselves as pow's of praise bootcamp! Number two, Praise must be done HABITUALLY. I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES(Psalm 34:1) Zero in on the word WILL. Our habits our formed by our decisions. We decide or decide not to decide but either way we've made our decision. David said it this way This is the day the Lord hath made I WILL rejoice and be glad in it(Psalm 118:24) We've all heard "Practice makes perfect" The more we practice praise, the easier it becomes. There is a book written by Brother Lawerence entitled Practicing the presence of God. We are doing that as we habitually praise! Number three, Praise must be done Sacrificially. The bible says Offering up the SACRIFICE OF PRAISE continually being the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto his name(Heb 13:15) we have already seen the accounts earlier in the blog of three men that did it. Praise many times will go against our feelings. We covered that in the blog Thomas Christian vs. Abraham Christian. Praise is the very power that ushers divine perceptionj and perspective. Habbakkuk did this and it was intrical in turning the circumstance the the contrary. The bible said fig tree wasent bloosming neither the vine yielding fruit. Things were like dark and dismal. He kindof had Murphys law happening. What can go wrong went wrong! However it was than and there that he REJOICED in the God of his salvation and God himself made his feet like HINES FEET(Hab 3:17,18) The Lord supernaturally elevated him over the aching void of nonethingness into awesome abundance. What was the key? It was in his sacrifice of praise. Where his glory is so is his GOODNESS! The Lord spoke through the mouth of Bro Copeland saying that "the Glory will shine in 09" Isiah said that his GLORY WILL BE SEEN UPON US, even as darkness covers the earth and gross the darkness the people(Isiah 60:1-3) The bible says believe the word of God and thou SHALL be established, BELIEVE his prophets and thou SHALL PROSPER(2 Chron 20:20) Jesus said out of the mouth of two or three witnesses EVERY WORD IS ESTABLISHED! Lets recieve it! Remember that our praise will be a pertinent part in these vwonderful words coming to pass. None of us should ever enter a war without weapons! The Lord spoke something through Lindsey Roberts "The bible says to put on the whole armor of God, Who ever heard of taking armor to a picnic? No doubt this IS WAR!!!! We have the weapons of warfare that are not carnal(natural) BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD(2 Cor 10:4) They are the word, name blood and PRAISE!!!!!!!!!!! Do it, Do it, Do it, in Jesus name!

"The Trust Test"

I heard a story about a frenchmen named Vlondin. He walked over niagra falls on a tight rope. Once he was finished he looked over the massive crowd asking the question Do you believe that I can do this again? The crowd boldly answered a resounding YES! He than targeted a member in the audience and said Get on my back. The guy refused. He failed the test. The fact is each one of us are going to throughout life have to take "the trust test" Its easy to trust God when there is food in the fridge, gas in the tank and money in the account. Its another thing when what we see with our natual eyes are not yet aligned with our spiritual eyes. Maybe something hasent turned out the way YOU have envisioned. We got to be like Rocky Balboa and say "Yo I havent heard no bell" In other its NOT OVER YET! Gods working all things together for good to those that are called according to his purpose(Rom 8:28) we have to like side with Job and declare YET WILL I TRUST HIM!(Job 13:15) Here are some ways to enter into the trust. number one, Rest. The bible says those that believe enter into rest(Heb 4:3) Its very easy to know when there is an area in our lives that is not saturated in total trust. Are we upset, or irritable? Do we have anxiety and worry? If the answer is yes, were not in his rest. Now this doesent mean irresponsibility. It just simply means that were no longer under the weight and heaviness of it. Which leads us to number Two, We must cast ALL our cares upon the Lord(1 Peter 5:7) Another translation says to roll the whole of the care and all the anxiety upon Him cause he cares for us watchfully and effectionatially. The word cast comes from the grk work EKBALO. It implies millitant millitary force. In other words when thoughts come attempting to be a burden upon us we have to get midevil about it. We have to refuse to get into the care. Jesus tells us in the book of Mark that cares ENTERING IN CHOKE the word causing it to become unfruitful(Mark 4:19) You see if we are carrying the care, guess who's not? Its Jesus himself! We were not wired to carry a care. The bible says it will effect our very physical body. A broken spirit drieth the bones(Prov 17:22) It can bring rotness to the bones(Prov 14:30) This can include arthritis in the joints and many other ailments. Number three, Lean not to your own understanding. Its challenging to trust while suffering from "paralysis fron analysis" Refuse the temptation to disect the direction, or his plan or purpose. You see we dont have to understand how a black cow can eat green grass while at the same time producing white milk and yellow butter. Theres a song that goes "Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey" If we are doing are absolute best before God to seek him first and his righteousness, He will see to it that we will not come behind in any good thing. I think that we've got to realize & recognize that Gods ways are higher than our ways as the HEAVENS ARE ABOVE THE EARTH(Isiah 55:8,9) Notice the analogy he uses. He could've said from the ground to the clouds. They just so supercede ours totally completely and absolutely! Number four, WORDS. Remember that were very easily located by our words. Why? Becuse the words of our mouth come from the abundance of our own hearts. What is in us, comes out of us. We can be just like that dude in the crowd before Vlondin. In the midst of seeing nonething changing in the natural, Job litterally decreed and declared the favor of God over his life! Job 10:12 says Thou HAST granted my LIFE FAVOR. Think about the word HAST. That word is in the PAST TENSE He was using his words to change, not describe! It revealed that his trust was in God to turn the captivity even in the face of his wife and friends and contrary circumstances. Number five, Confidence. The bible says CAST not away our confidence which has GREAT RECOMPENSE OF REWARD(Heb 10:35) This is the benefit of trust in God. Another translation says PAYDAY IS COMING! Confidence and trust are like flip sides of the very same coin. He promises that the reward will COME! God said that Hes not a man that he should lie nether the son of man that he must repent, hath he spoken it, will he not make it good?(Num 23:19) Number six, Abiding in his love. Jesus said that he kept the Fathers commandment thus abiding in his love(John 15:10) Its important for us to abide in it as well. This comes by and through revelation. The bible says That we have known and BELIEVED the LOVE that God HATH TOWARD US! If we were to take a survey with the question Do you know God loves you there maybe alot of yes's. However if were to ask Do you believe God loves you? The answers could be different. When we are so renewed in the Fathers love, trust becomes the easiest thing no matter the wind or wave. Number seven, Fellowship. Its challenging to trust someone that we dont know. Trust comes through time. Job said Acquaint now thyself with him(Job 22:21) The more time we spend leading his word and ways our trust in him will grow stronger and stronger everyday in everyway. The Lord does this in our lives as well. Many people mistake trust for love. Oh no, they are two completely different things. We can love someone and not be able to trust them as far as we can throw them. Love is unconditional, trust is conditional, love in unearned, trust is earned. Number Eight, Faithfulness. our faithfulness to him is a indicater of our trust in him. Jesus said When were faithful in few things, he'll make us rulers over many(Luke 16:10) Our faithfulness proves to him that we trust him! Lets make a commitment to pass "the trust test"

A THOUSANDFOLD(Deut 1:11)

On August 22, 2008, Brother Mike Bruno was given the word of the Lord saying that God was making me a thousandfold. Earlier that afternoon before the service, the Lord took me to the book of Deuteronomy. It was chapter one and verse eleven. It says that God is making me a THOUSAND times more than I already Am. How awesome after recieving this verse from the lord, than just hours later to hear this powerful word of prophetic proclaimation over my life. God used it as complete confirmation. Its one of the few times that the Lord actually quicken someone to speak confirmation over something that He had already himself decreed and declared! Thankyou Jesus that its happening in every area and arena and by the end of this year I wont even be recognizable in Jesus name! Things that have in times past been disturbing will change suddenly and swiftly and I'll be like well glory to God, why was I even disturbed about that!!!

Thomas Christian vs. Abraham Christian

We all know that prayer has the power to change things. "Prayer is onipotent it can do anything that God can do because he hears and answers the prayers of his saints" When we pray we must not be moved by what we see, or how we feel. This is what the deal was with a dude by the name of Thomas. He was one of the twelve disciples. He refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ unless he could see and touch. How many believers and even preachers are like this Today? Were commanded to walk by FAITH and not by sight(2 Cor 5:7) Four times in the word of God, the Lords like THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH(Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38) God never wastes words. Hes not like a "chatterbox" speaking useless utterences. Everytime theres a declaration from his lips, its imperative that we are of the utmost highest attention! What is faith? Hebrews defines it with crystal clear clarity. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN(Heb 11:1) Our faith is creating the substance of what we are hoping for. Hope is like a goal setter and our faith is giving it substance. Another translation of this verse says that faith is the TITLE DEED! Think about it. When we have the title deed of the house, we dont have to see it to know that its ours. Its the same thing when we are excercising our faith in what we are hoping for. Too many are moved by their feelings. When they pray and there isint change right away, there is this temptation to recieve that as the will of God, Listen the will of God is found in the word of God. When there is an area in our life where were potentially shady concerning the will of God, its impossible to have faith. Why? Its because "Faith begins where the will of God is known" God says through the mouth of James that if we are double minded, we'll become unstable in all our ways and WILL NOT be able to expect to recieve anything from the Lord(Jms 1:6-8) We must be direct with divine difinitive! Lets contrast the faith of Thomas with the faith of Abraham. Abraham waited for twenty five long years for the promise but was not moved by the time. "Faith always is the daring of the soul to LOOK BEYOND what the natural eye can see" We find that he was FULLY PERSUADED that what GOD PROMISED, he was ABLE TO PERFORM(Rom 4:21) How was he able to do that? We find the answer in verse number nineteen. He CONSIDERED NOT HIS BODY, NEITHER THE DEADNESS OF SARA'S WOMB! If he wasent considering the circumstance, What was he considering? It was the PROMISE! We have discussed alot in recent blogs the importance of persistence. Theres like a reason Jesus spends so much time going into detail in two majior parables about persistence. Its the day for grit and guts. Lets face it, we all have feelings. We WILL BE TEMPTED to be lead by them. However the bible says that were to be led by the spirit of God(Rom 8:14) Folks they are like oil and water. It would be like thinking that sweet and bitter water can come from the same spring(Jms 3:11) Were unable to be led by two things at the same time. Jesus said Man cannot serve TWO MASTERS(Matt 6:24) We must remind ourselves when our feelings begin to rise up demanding to be heard, what Jesus said to Thomas. You believe now that you see, but BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT BELIEVES WHEN HE DOES NOT SEE(John 20:29) Most of us have heard the saying "God is never early or late, HES ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME" However its in that process of time between the promise and provision that what we do, say, and act means absolutely everything. This word from the Lord today is not meant to condemn but to CHALLENGE and than CORRECT! All of us have had seasons where we've missed it and had the "Thomas faith", but its a new day with new direction. "Doing the same thing, expecting something different is the definition of insanity". Without FAITH its IMPOSSIBLE to PLEASE GOD(Heb 11:6) The bible says that many of the saints died in FAITH(Heb 11:13) There is a statement that goes like this concerning this verse. "Its better to die in FAITH than LIVE IN DOUBT!" When we read of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and blind Barthameaus, each of them were made whole by THEIR FAITH! If their faith made them whole our faith can and WILL make us whole! Heres the thing if they would have went by feeling or sight they would have never been able to recieve! One of the biggest enemies to faith that exists is feelings. Listen to the litney of conversations coming from the confessions of people and sadly Christians. They begin with I just feel, This is how I feel... Right? What does it matter how we feel? What do feelings got to do with it? Its time to enter into that level of full growth and maturity, so that we can have our senses excercised to DISCERN whether were being dominated by feeling or faith. Be willing to examine yourself. The bible exorts us to EXAMINE ourselves to see whether we be IN THE FAITH(2 Cor 13:5) People I DO this DAILY!!!! Please understand the enemy will continue to work in getting us out of FAITH Faith is the VICTORY that OVERCOMES THE WORLD(1 John 5:4) Its what ensures his total defeat! It says in the LAST DAYS MANY will DEPART from the FAITH(1 Tim 4:1) This is not just talking about someone departing from Jesus, its talking about the pressure that we'll be under to surrender our faith and get into feelings. When we do that we become "rollercoaster christians" up one day and down the next. What kindof witness is that? Than we'll become "circus christians" and will only be moved by the priming of the pump. Forget that!!!!!!!!!!!! The christian life is one of consistency! Jesus said himself that its the kindof faith thats built on the rock and cannot be moved or shaken(Matt 7:24,25 Luke 6:48,49) Comeon and join me in being an "Abraham Christian"! lets not come behind in the things that have been planned and purposed for our lives since before the foundations of the world

Meditation= Digestion

Meditation in the word is to our spirit as digestion is to the physical body. In the last blog we talked about the battlefield of the mind. This is where the war is won or lost in our lives. If the enemy can effect the way we think than he'll effect the way we live. Right thinking = right living! The final point we made at the end was RENEW. Lets pickup from there. We renew our minds and ways of thinking by meditating upon the word of God. Meditation is litterally defined to ponder imagine mutter and say the same things over and over again. It doesent mean to dress up into pajamas and sit indian style looking up into the sky while humming. This unfortunately can be the menatlity of people when it comes to this powerful word. However it is one of the most powerful and profound principles that will ever be practiced in the life of a blood bought born again believer! Remember when Josua took over as leader of the COI after the death ofd Moses. One of the very first instructions from God to him was MEDITATE ON MY WORD DAY & NIGHT(Josua 1:8) We than see this reported by the spirit through David In thy law do I MEDITATE DAY & NIGHT(Psalm 1:2-4) It goes onto tell us the benefits and blessings. We'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, our leaf will not wither and whatever we do SHALL PROSPER! When were meditating on his word, we are like keeping that promise before us and it enables that word to effectually work in us(1 Thess 2:13) Jesus references this very thing when he says If ye abide in me and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU(John 15:7) How do we get his words abiding in us? MEDITATION! The bible says Ye are strong, because the word of God ABIDES IN YOU(1 John 2:14) We get stronger and stronger when meditating upon the word of God that is QUICK & POWERFUL(Heb 4:12) Its life to those that find them anhd health to ALL OUR FLESH(Prov 4:22) This all goes down through meditation. You might be like I have never meditated. Sure you have. You might be like when? Have you ever worried? Worry is meditation. Its just were meditating on the problem instead of the solution. When we meditate on the word we are meditating on the ANSWER! Jesus said IAM THE WAY(John 14:6) Well Jesus IS THE WORD(John 1:1) So when we are meditating on his word, were meditating on the WAY! His words are LIFE TO THOSE THAT FIND THEM! Find scriptures that pertain to the problem and MEDITATE! When we do it will covert into life, just like in digestion the food turns into energy. May we never ever forget Meditation = Digestion!

"The Battlefield Of The Mind"

"The greatest battles have not been fought on the ground, in the air, or in the sea, its between our ears" Our minds are the bullseye of the enemies target. Whether we win or loose this war is all up to what we allow in our minds. Its critical that we choose to think on the right thoughts. There are so many believers that are not aware that they do not have to accept every thought that runs on the screen of their mind. I have heard it put this way... When a thought comes that doesent agree with the word, change the thought just like you would change the channel of your television. Wrong thinking, leads to wrong believing, thus leading to wrong speaking, producing wrong living. We will never rise above the level of our own thinking. As we think in our hearts, so shall we be(Prov 23:7) In talking about warfare and the pullling down of strongholds, The Lord speaks through the mouth of Paul commanding us to cast down every imagination and to bring every thought into captivity(2 Cor 10:4,5) How do we take a thought captive? We take thoughts captive with something greater than a thought. What is greater than a thought? WORDS! The bible says something powerful & profound in the book of Proverbs. When our mind thinks evil, PLACE YOUR HAND UPON YOUR MOUTH(Prov 30:32) This is simply stating that our thoughts become are words. There is an awesome qoute that goes "We cannot keep the birds from flying around our heads, but we can KEEP them from building a nest in our hair" We cannot keep a thought from coming, but WE CAN prevent them from PROGRESSING! How? Speak the word at that thought, until it comes into captivity and gets placed under the obedience of Christ, HAVING a READINESS!!!!!!!!!!!! This is never a one time deal, its a daily thing. It becomes easier as we practice the principles and precepts birthed and breeded from him at the end of the blog. There is a saying that goes Thoughts will come and persist in staying, but thoughts not put in word or action will be still born". The Lord spoke that the enemy is like a hobo riding upon the train of our thoughts, waiting for that entry way into our lives. A thought that we refuse to take captive, is a thought that the advasary can cash in and than enter in. Remember in past blogs, the Lord decreed and declared himself to be "the specialist" Well, hes also "the great strategist" God spoke through the mouth of Paul telling us not to be IGNORANT of the enemies devices, lest he get an advantage(2 Cor 2:11) He again speaks through Paul saying Put on the whole armor of God that we may stand against the WILES of the devil(Eph 6:11) In Bugs Bunny there was a character that always set up traps to get the roadrunner. The interesting thing is each one of these schemes backfired and he fell into his own trap. The coyote's name was WILE E Coyote!!! How amazing! Number one Recognize. There is a statement made that goes "The devils success is dependant upon our ignorance" Awareness is half the work on our behalfs. We've taled about in recent blogs how satan works through the element of suprise. Dont be suprised over the amount of thoughts that shoot through your mind like bullets firing from a gun. Purpose that your going to get on the offensive now that you understand by regognizing its the enemy. Number two, Reject. I have heard it put by the Lord this way, We must allow each thought that enters our mind to chechout at the registration desk of the word of God. If the thought doesent align or agree, REJECT it! The Lord said it this way through James, RESIST the DEVIL AND HE SHALL FLEE(Jms 4:7) We dont just resist satan but his wiles as well! Number three, Replace. We must find the scripture that relates to the area under attack in our thoughts. The Lord said through Isiah His THOUGHTS are HIGHER than OURS(Isiah 55:8) Find the higher thought in the word and replace! Number four, Renew. God said through the mouth of Paul Be not conformed to this word but be ye tranformed by the RENEWING of our minds(Rom 12:2) Once we have practiced the other three principles and precepts, we have to do it over and over and over and over. As we do, the Lord said we will become renewed thus being transformed! God said through the mouth of Peter, GIRT UP THE LOINS OF YOUR MINDS(1 Peter 1:13) Think about it, loins are the reproductive parts of our bodies. What do they have to do with our mind? Thoughts reproduce and as they multiply they began to build a STRONGHOLD! A strongholds begin by just one thought we refused to place into captivity. Whose responsibility is it? OURS! God provides a list to test our thoughts in the fourth chapter of the book of Phillipians. Whatever things are lovely, honest just pure and of a good report, THINK ON THESE THINGS(Phil 4:8) A pilot never flies until they have went over the checklist for the plane. Likewise we must never allow thought to remian in our minds unless its passed the checklist test of Phillipians chapter four and verse number eight!!!!!!!! WIN THE BATTLE OF THE MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!