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If a man is determined to have a successful life he will need to prioritize certain aspects of his life. I have had plenty of friends who were determined to party all their lives. They never seem to take any serious steps to make a better life for themselves. Most people are determined to deal with issues as they arise but invest no effort to improve their situations. There is one group of people that absolutely must make plans for their future, they are the Christians. People reap what they sow, and no one knows this better than believers.
Luke 10:39 Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His Word. Luke 10:42 One thing is needful, and Mary chose that part. The most important thing to a Christian is the uncompromised Word of God. Man cannot survive on food alone; he needs every word of God. Praise, worship and fellowship are important but they’re not the most important. We can’t have good praise and worship without the Word, and we can’t have good fellowship without the Word. Jesus is the Word and the Word became flesh, you cannot separate God from His Word. No man can be a disciple of Christ apart from the Word; however, many attempt it. According to Jewish tradition Mary was a handmaiden and was expected to wait on the men who came to her home with Jesus. But Mary chose something she determined was far more important than waiting tables. Luke 4:4 It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. If a man lives his entire life from the nutrition of the food, he eats he will grow old and die despite having eaten good food. The Word of God feeds the spirit of a man and without it his spirit will spend eternity with the unsaved man. The most important thing in this life is the Word of God, no man can live without it. The devil knows man must have God’s Word and so he offers man a “knockoff”, something that resembles the Word of God but is nothing more than religion. Religion sounds authentic and it even has some truth interwoven into it, but it cannot provide life. Religion will always elevate man into a place reserved only for God, so man becomes the interpreter and authority of God’s will. Most religions claim that no man can be saved without water baptism. Now only certain men are qualified to baptized so no one can be saved without the ceremony of another man. This kind of nonsense raises questions that must have been manufactured. What if a man in the far north wants to be saved and all the water is frozen? John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made by Him (Word). This is one of those Scriptures that every believer must come to understand, or their theology will confuse everything they know about God. In the blessing there was God, He was a Father, Spirit and Word. In Bethlehem the Word became a man and He was called Jesus. When we study the Word, we are studying God Himself, if there be any compromise you will be presented a faction of God that man chose to create. God is just fine exactly as He is, He does not need any embellishment or Modification. Every believer must put God in His place if they are to know all His blessings. Where is God’s place? On the throne of our heart, a place of honor and dominion, He is the most important thing.
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Christians are very good at displaying their faith in a church service. Everyone is dressed well; we are standing next to people who have like precious faith. But for most believers their attitude of joy and peace expires when their faith is challenged by the affairs of this life. They enjoy a life of peace and contentment where they don’t have to contend for it. When the issues of everyday life begin to overwhelm them, their Christian label is replaced with citizen of the world. When they are under pressure, they forget about how great our Lord is, they utter words that sailors use every day. They don’t care what they say, and they don’t care who hears.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. Many Christians believe that when you accept Jesus all your troubles are over. Actually, it’s just the opposite, when you become a believer you have more challenges because the devil hates what you have done. You have more problems, but your Lord and Savior gives you more answers for all those issues. If the devil can entice you to lose your temper you say things you will regret and you will do things that put you in agreement with the devil. Jesse Duplantis calls it a fit of carnality. 1 Peter 1:7 The trial of your faith, is much more precious than gold that perishes. If you know your enemy and you are made aware of his tactics you can prepare yourself for the day of His visitation. The devil is always out to catch you off guard, to catch you napping. Allow me to expose one of the devil’s most effective strategies. He will lay off your life for a season and let you think you have it made. And then when you are living the good life he shows up and attempts to get you to trust in your flesh. The Apostle Paul said we are not ignorant of his devices, evidently he didn’t mean all Christians. Many believers go from trial to trial and every time they allow themselves to be separated from their Lord and Savior. They blame people for what the devil has offered them and consequently they never get free. Ephesians 6:12 We wrestle not against people, but against principalities and against the demonic rulers of the darkness of this world. The Holy Spirit speaks plainly and warns us of who our enemy is, and He concludes by telling us we have power and authority over all the demonic forces. We cannot win a war with people because we don’t have authority over them! Permit me to explain why we wrestle with flesh and blood. Every man, woman and child have a different personality, some personalities are acceptable and pleasant, but others grate on you. People who have contrary characteristics are not our problem, we are the ones with a problem! Romans 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men. We must tolerate all men and if they are too obnoxious then limit your contact with them and avoid strife. Every person has a good trait that you can focus on. The devil loves to magnify the bad habits in all men, but we are not responsible to try and change anyone. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil is determined to lead you away from your Lord and the peace He died to give you. Your faith is greater than any trial the devil has planned for you. When you are born-again (anew) you become a new creature in Christ. This new creature does not appear immediately, when the seed of life is sown into the heart of a sinner, it can take some time for that seed to develop. Sometimes that seed never grows and consequently that convert strains to become a new creature in Christ.
Galatians 5:19 The behavior of the self-life is obvious. Manipulation of others, hatred of those who get in their way, senseless arguments, only thinking of self, and being in love with your own opinions. Here is the sad part, the power to change is present but mostly ignored. We don’t get to choose the attributes of the old creature that we want to cling to. It doesn’t require much flesh to quench the spirit. Motivation is everything. Why do we do what we do, what is driving us? Selfishness! Our way is the only way, we have little regard for the feelings of others, nor do we care. Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife. In a perfect world you would not associate hate with a church attending Christian. No Christian is exempt from the wiles of the devil, he can get one over on every believer on occasion. The devil is a master at manipulating people into doing his works and then justifying them. When you hate someone it’s like drinking poison and hoping they will die! Paul told the church at Corinth that we are not ignorant of the devices of the devil, but some Christians choose to be anyway. The flesh of man demands attention, it wants to be stroked and have the preeminence. God won’t fight you over this, He gives all men the choice between Him and our fallen nature. We always have a choice, God nor the devil can make us do anything. This is the epitome of true freedom. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober and vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, is walking all about seeking whom he may swallow up. Pay close attention to this verse, it was written by Saint Peter after he denied Jesus three times, he was kind of an expert on being duped by the devil. Peter begins by warning us to be watching for the spiritual antics of the devil. The devil has specific maneuvers that are common just to him. We must pay attention because he will make it look like men or even God Himself are behind the wranglings of enticement. The devil is sneaky like an oversized cat, he waits for the time when he thinks we are not on guard and then he moves in. The surprise attack of the devil is not a sure thing, he can’t devour anyone he wants to. The devil doesn’t know if he will succeed or not, but he has to try, it is always a good day when we can disappoint the devil. 1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord does not see as a man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Who has the better view, us or God? Who should we trust the most, ourselves or God? If I have learned one good thing over the year it’s this, God can do more for people than I could ever think of. We tend to want to get people to do what’s best for them according to our plans for them. But when it’s all over and done, all men will stand before God not us. Church must never be a place where people go to conform to the image of leadership. Church must be a place where all men can discover Jesus and His will for their lives. Most people believe that when a person raises their hands and says, “I praise You Lord”, they are true worshippers. They may be but this is not the mark of a true worshipper!
John 4:23 True worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. When a man worships from his spirit, he is praising God with a grateful heart. Thanking God occasionally for something good coming into your life is not true worship. A true worshipper will find something every day of their life to thank God for. A man who truly knows His Lord knows that he is truly loved, and he is committed to loving His Lord. Telling God you love Him means very little to Him. How does one truly love God? Jesus said this: if a man loves Me, he will keep My commandments! Telling God you love Him is vain if you have no regard for His commandments. John 9:31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does His will, He will hear. A true worshipper will have a righteous lifestyle, they are determined to please the one who died for them. An active worshipper will shun the very appearance of evil, they want to please their Heavenly Father every day. A true worshipper has a revelation of eternal life. They understand that this life in the flesh is nothing more than the blink of an eye compared to eternity. People often wonder what they will do in Heaven, we will worship our Lord and Savior. No one will make anyone worship the Master, when you see the Heaven God created for us you will realize He is worthy of all our praise. Mathew 15:9 But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. These Jews worshipped the Lord, but it was a waste of time because they did not worship in Spirit or truth. Keeping God’s commandments will make you a true worshipper. Keeping the commandments of men will make you a religious fool. This is the definition of deception, a man doing the wrong thing and expecting the results of doing the right thing. When a person worships the commandments of men, they are worshipping a man! We do not worship God for what He will do but rather for what He has already done. Everything God has done for us was settled at the cross. Jesus defeated the devil at His cross and now everything He gave to Adam has been restored to those who believe. Revelations 4:11 You are worthy O Lord, to receive glory, and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for Your pleasure they were created. Only God is worthy to receive all our praise and glory, without Him you would not have your next breath. Far too many people are ignorantly giving men the credit for what God has done. Some are blaming God for what the devil is doing. There was no sickness, no disease, no death, and no poverty until Adam let the devil loose into our world. The only thing God ever damned was the devil and yet men go around constantly using God’s Name to damn everything they don’t like. God hears His Name spoken all over the world, some use it with great reverence while others use it in vain. Let us be among those who worship His Name. Recently I was in a secular meeting with a group of people that have no understanding about people. They constantly complain that few people will come forward and volunteer to help in the club. As I sat listening to these folks expressing the same gripes over and over again, the Lord spoke to me. The Lord said these people are missing two key elements, they neither respect people nor do they appreciate them. A volunteer does not collect a pay check but most of them are satisfied with an acknowledgement of achievement. You cannot treat a volunteer the same way you would a paid employee.
Romans 13:7 Render to everyone all their due: custom to whom custom; honor to whom honor. All people deserve respect no matter how different they are nor how inferior they are to you! Any time a leader has a “better than you” attitude, they will have limited respect for people. People are not ignorant, they know when they are not respected and they are reluctant to be involved with those who don’t respect them. When a leader has little respect and cannot attract any volunteers, they will resort to using “guilt”. If you don’t step up and help with this organization it will go under and you’re to blame. Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and be thankful unto Him. Why does God ask us to come to Him with thanksgiving? People who are full of thanksgiving are people who are grateful for all that God has done. People who do not respect God will not openly tell Him how much they appreciate Him. In the same manner, when a person volunteers for help in a group they need to know how much they are appreciated. I had a friend who donated his talents as an electrician to a particular organization. Not one of them thanked him, they felt he “owed” the club “a favor”, he became very bitter. When a volunteer is mistreated, word gets around and potential volunteers won’t even consider helping out. Then the leaders sit around trying to figure out why no one will volunteer. All people need to know they are appreciated and needed, praise and thanksgiving can be a great reward. Proverbs 20:6 A faithful man who can find? Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings. How do you find a faithful man? Look for a man who is loaded with blessings! This man is a true servant of the most high God who knows what to do and how to attract all the blessings of God. |
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TO 84576 OFFERING DECLARATION
God will never forsake me, He will supply all of my needs. Righteousness is the beginning of prosperity, I am born-again to prosper. Spirit, soul and body, I am blessed of the Lord. Prosperity begins in the Spirit, and God has no limits. |
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