Shortly after lucifer the angel was created, the fool wanted to be like God. He openly declared his intentions and it cost him his place in Heaven forever, he will never see Heaven again. He was cast down to earth as lightning and when God created man the devil wasted no time in seeking man’s allegiance. If he could get the man to obey him just once, man would become his servant. The devil commanded a snake to entice the woman and then the man to defy God. The devil took the man’s title and he became the god of this world and he changed all the rules. The devil never gave up his quest to be god and he will do anything he can to have subjects.
Psalm 106:25 Israel murmured in their tents and harkened not unto the voice of the Lord. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt the way was hard on them because they had never traveled before. They were slaves in Egypt for four hundred years and now they struggled to deal with their freedom. They complained about the heat, the cold, the food and they were convinced God led them in the wilderness to die. Do you know what all of their murmuring got them? More years in the wilderness where all the older people would die. Complaining and moaning is praise to the devil. He initiates hardships and then waits for the whining and crying to begin. The devil is a god but he is the opposite of the living God. The devil has been judged and his fate is sealed, there is absolutely no comparison or love in him. Mathew 15:8 This people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. Every man‘s lifestyle will prove who they worship, a man need not identify the devil in order to praise him! We can sin with saying a word, sin to the devil is the sign of a follower. Before a man is born-again he ignorantly worships the devil, he has no clue who his spiritual father is. It is vitally important that a child of God deals with the old habits of the flesh. We cannot talk like we use to, we must omit words like luck, sick and lack and every other thing the devil receives as praise. James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. This is very simple to understand, when we speak God‘s Word we are blessed, when we speak the words of a godless world we must deal with the curse. Jesus has redeemed His people from the curse, but you may still have it if you want it. God and the devil are not moved by what you mean, they are moved by what we say. If you are a born-again child of God and you say “I‘m sick“, you essentially are calling God a liar. On the other hand you are saying Jesus never destroyed the work of the devil. Charles Capp said “I told my people they could have what they say but they been saying what they have”. When you openly say with Jesus stripes I am healed, you are praising the Lord because you believe what He did for you. One day Kenneth Copeland spoke to God and said, Lord I hate the devil so can I hurt him? God replied: Just do him the way you do Me, don‘t believe a word he says! Wanna hurt the devil‘s feeling? Don‘t believe a word he says. Wanna bless your Lord? Believe everything He says. I go out of my way to give the Lord the most of my day. I don‘t have the time to pay attention to the devil, he has nothing to say to me.
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Jesus knew from the beginning that He would be put to death and be raised again. Jesus knew He would be in hell for three days and then the Father would rescue Him. Jesus could not come out of hell under His own power, He was a man and so He was just as powerless as a man. If He had disobeyed the Father or committed any sin, He would still be in hell! Jesus knew He would spend three miserable days and nights in hell because the prophets foretold what He would need to endure.
Acts 2:27 You will not leave My soul in hell, neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption. When a man died during Bible days his body would begin to decay after the third day. David said the Holy One would not see corruption or decay. Jesus would be resurrected before His body that day lay in the tomb could begin to deteriorate. If you will recall the day Jesus was called to raise Lazarus from the dead, his sister Martha doubted He could because her brother was beginning to “stink”. Lazarus had been dead for more than three days and his body was decomposing. Technically, Jesus did not raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus said: the Father in Me, He does the works. Mathew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale‘s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, he could not get out by his own might. After three days the Lord got Jonah out of the whale‘s belly. Jonah was totally dependent on God for his deliverance. So now Jesus would be in hell for three days and three nights and He could not get out on His own might. When Jonah was in the belly of the whale he was dead, on the third day the whale puked him out onto dry land. God commanded the whale to vomit Jonah out of his belly and he finished what the Lord gave him to do. Now Jesus is in hell and He is dead, remember what death is in the Bible, it always means separation. Jesus is in hell and He is suffering such anguish we can‘t comprehend just what He is enduring. Jesus cannot get Himself out of hell and because He has stepped out of time, He doesn‘t know when his time will be up. There is no day or night in hell, there is only torment that surpasses our imagination. Night and day are measured by man‘s twenty-four hours in a day, but in hell there is only torment. Acts 2:24 God has raised up Jesus, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it. Jesus could not get Himself free but He knew the Father would come for Him, He had no watch or clock, He just knew the Father was coming, Jesus was in deep agony and despair but He knew it would be worth every drop of His blood and every pain when He was called out of the pit. When we die, our soul will go immediately to the Father and abide with Him until we go back to the earth and reclaim our bodies. When we die we do not have the power to reach Heaven but there is nothing to be concerned about, an angel will escort our spirit and soul to Heaven. We will not stay in hell for any time at all. Jesus paid our penalty and gave us a free ride to the throne of God. They say there are two great events in a man’s life, being born and knowing why. I dare say most folks live and die and they never knew why they were here. Every person beginning with Adam was put here for a purpose and that purpose was never supposed to be a secret. Some folks seek diligently for the meaning of life but they never consult with the one who gave them their life. Religion has discouraged men from seeking God because they themselves don’t know how.
Luke 6:46 Why do you call Me Lord, Lord but do not the things which I say? Anyone who is serious about finding their place in this life must be willing to make Jesus the Lord of his life. The Lord knows what your place in life is and He knows how to lead you there, but you must be willing to obey Him. Some folks don’t want to know where they belong because it might be something they don’t like. No matter what the Lord has in mind for you, you will never be content until you find it. Like a lot of other men I thought I was better qualified to run my own life better than God. How could He possibly know what I wanted and was capable of doing? John 10:10 The devil came to steal, kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. No matter how much you dream of a better life, God can give you a better life than that. All of us were born for a specific purpose and place and when you allow your Lord and Savior to lead you there, you will know for sure and certain you are home. Before I became a believer I dreamed of motorcycles, hunting, shooting and fishing. I never dreamed about being a minister of the Gospel. God has given me a life better than I ever dreamed and it‘s far greater than I could have ever imagined. I had no idea anyone could get this close to God, where you can hear His thoughts. I nearly faint with contentment when God asks me to do something for Him! God has never told me to do something without anointing me to accomplish it. Romans 8:29 For whom God did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. God knew you before you were even conceived and He planned for you to be conformed to the likeness of His first born Son, Jesus. Every person born of a woman is predestined to be born-again and be like Jesus. Most people never find their destiny mostly because they are not interested in the place of God for their lives. They enjoy the life they made for themselves and they don’t believe God could improve on it. Religion has presented a god that very few desire to know, they cannot relate to this god. One god will only allow a very few people in Heaven, another god will send you to hell for eating meat on Friday and yet another god blesses same-sex marriage. I have asked the Lord on several occasions, how does a sinner find the truth among such a barrage of so much heresies. His reply to me was this, you found me because you sought for the truth. So if a man is serious about finding his destiny God will lead him to his place in this life. The truth is an absolute must for finding one’s destiny and the devil knows it. The devil is a liar and the father of lies, if he can sell you a lie he can keep you from finding your God or ordained place in this life. Happy is the man who knew why he is here. I believe this fast paced world has conditioned us to expect for everything we want to come quickly. People get aggravated when they go to the drive through at McDonalds and are asked to pull forward for a minute or two until their order is completed. Christians have taken this “gotta have it now” attitude into their faith. They begin to waiver if God doesn’t answer their prayer in a timely season, like the same day. If God responded to our prayers as we snap our fingers, we would never develop the God kind of faith. I believe God was anxious to send His Son Jesus, but He had to wait for the “fullness of time”. Certain things had to be put in place before Jesus could effectively accomplish His ministry as the Messiah. The Word and will of God had to be imparted to the earth through the prophets.
Galatians 6:9 So let‘s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don‘t give up. It‘s spring time in Montana and some folks will be planting seed and expecting to harvest good things to eat. Radishes and green onions will come up in about three weeks, corn and potatoes will be ready in about four months. Certain crops require more patience than others, perhaps some of God‘s promises require more patience than others. God is not a dispensary for spoiled children, He is a provider for those who call Him Lord. Our Lord is not our servant, we didn‘t die for Him, He died for us. God is committed to bless us but we must hold fast to our profession, then God will know we have faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him and our due season will come if we maintain our faith. Every successful believer has accepted the fact that God makes the rules. Hebrews 10:36 You have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. When a man receives Jesus as his Savior he is entered into a race, but not against other folks. We race with time. Can we hold fast our declaration of faith to the end or will we allow the devil to impede our progress? Every man has his own race, we race to win an incorruptible crown that our Lord gives to those who love Him to the end. Faith cannot be measured by time, God is in charge of rewarding faith, not time or circumstance. Paul wrote to the Hebrews and he told them that faith is now, it testifies of the past, reaches for the future but is active now. Through trials and experience some have come to believe God despite having to wait for manifestations. Due season becomes more important than the time spent waiting. Hebrews 11:6 ...for he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Who told you that you could only believe for one thing at a time? We put limits on ourselves, not God. Every believer should have a laundry list of things he is believing for. Then you will have many due seasons, not just one. God loves those who believe He will do what He said He would do. Due season is the day of promise and you can have as many as you can believe for. You may have put your petitions in order but that does not mean God will answer them in the same order. Put all your petitions before God and every day will be due season. When Jesus returned to the Father who art in Heaven, He sent to whosoever another Comforter. The Holy Spirit was sent to take Jesus’ place. He is here to guide us into all truth and keep us in the Father’s will.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. If we seek to be led by the Holy Spirit, God will treat us as His sons, His own children. We must be willing to hear and follow what the Holy Ghost tells us. In order to hear and follow Him we must develop a sensitivity to the Spirit. It’s like a man and his wife who have been married for a long time, they usually know what the other is thinking. We must do two things, spend time with the Holy Spirit and be willing to do what ever He says even before He says it. This is called the fellowship of the Spirit, He wants to partner with us. He never leaves us and He never forsakes us. No matter how unfair life is, it can be our best friend if the Holy Spirit is with us. The presence of the Spirit is never determined by “feelings”, it is confirmed by the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10 It is to us that God reveals His mysteries. For His Spirit searches out every thing and shows us God‘s deep secrets. Who is God revealing His secret to? To any one of His children who want to know more about their Heavenly Father. People who have no desire for God‘s wisdom won‘t be bothered with it, but they tend to disagree with those who are led of the Spirit. We can become so convinced of the Holy Spirit‘s voice that we stake our lives on what we hear Him reveal to us. The more time you spend with Him, the more confidence you will have in Him. Religion has taught people to seek out God only in dire emergencies and not bother Him with petty things. Religion is for people who don‘t know very much about God so they write their own bible. They cannot hear God‘s voice because they don‘t know Him. The devil speaks to them by way of temptation and they are led to believe it‘s God, an angel or someone who died long ago called an ascended master. 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. Most church people are natural folks and consequently the things of God are foolishness. The Bible opposes their doctrine so they must “interpret“ it to accommodate their doctrine. Firstly, Jesus is our Savior and then we make Him Lord and then He becomes our best friend through the works of the Spirit. God initiated His relationship with us, so He determines the rules not us. He offered us His Son to die in our place. What can we give Him? What do we have that He might possibly want? He wants our love and there is only one way to prove to God that we love Him, we must choose to obey Him. John 15:14 You are My friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. God’s commandments are not grievous, they are not difficult to keep if you are committed to Him. Any endeavor you choose to undergo can be hard if you half heartedly attempt it. When you rely on the assistance of your best friend to do something you have never done, it’s like being on cruise control. You must always remember, God is on your side, He wants you to succeed. God empowers us to prosper but His power doesn’t manifest until we step out and begin the program. God’s friendship is another dimension of His love. So when you win, be sure to thank Him and give Him the glory due Him. |
TEXT FOJCHURCH
TO 84576 OFFERING DECLARATION
My heart is God’s garden, He plants the seed of His Word. Now the devil comes immediately, he is after my precious seed. So I must guard my heart, out of it flow the issues of life. Prosperity is always spirit, soul and body, so I will have a goodly harvest. |
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Helena, Mt 59602 |