ARISE

ONLY BELIEVE :

“But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “ ‘Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well’ ” (Luke 8:50, NKJV)

In Scripture a man came to Jesus and said, “My little daughter is very sick. She is close to death. Will You come to my home and pray for her?” Jesus agreed. But along the way He kept getting stopped, one interruption after another. Finally, word came back to Him saying, “No need to come. You’ve waited too late. The little girl has died.”

The people were upset and very distraught. But Jesus said to them in Luke 8:50 “Don’t be afraid. If you will only believe, the little girl will be well.” Notice the phrase, “Only believe.” Jesus went to the home, laid hands on the little girl, and she came back to life.

Are you facing a situation that seems impossible? In the natural, you don’t see how you can get well, or how you can overcome the addiction, or how your family can ever be restored? God is saying to you what He said to them, “If you will only believe, I will turn the situation around. If you only believe, breakthroughs are headed your way!”

 YES THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH

2 Chronicles 20:27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

2 Chronicles 30:26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Esther 8:16 The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. 17 And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Psalms 5:11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Psalms 35

9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation.

27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, " Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

Psalms 105:43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.

Psalms 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.

Acts 2: 1    When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2    And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3    Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

4    And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

11    Cretans and Arabs --- we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."

WHAT CAN MATCH THE FIRE OF GOD FALLING FROM ABOVE?

NOTHING!

AND BLIND DECEIVED ONES  CANNOT OFFER THE FIRE FROM ABOVE NOR THE JOY OF THE LORD NOR MIRACLES

Luke 1:49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

Luke 8:39 "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 

JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES PREACHED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF REPENTANCE! SO WHY ARE TODAY'S FALSE PREACHERS SILENT ABOUT IT?

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matthew 11:20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.

Luke 13

3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

Acts 17:30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.

DON'T JUST SIT THERE...ARISE!

Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city's gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die.... So they arose. – 2 Kings 7:3,5

No matter how bad the problem is you may be facing today, no matter how far under the circumstances you may be, in 24 hours you can be back on top!

"Oh, Brother, that would be impossible!"

That's what the Samaritans thought in 2 Kings 7. Their land was being ravaged by famine. Enemy troops had surrounded them and cut off all source of supply. Mothers were eating their own children just to survive.

But right in the middle of that, the Lord told the prophet Elisha that in 24 hours the whole situation would change. Flour and barley would sell for just a few pennies and there would be abundance for all.

What did God use to turn that situation around?

Four lepers! Four lepers who, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for themselves and waiting to die, decided to arise and take their chances in the enemy camp. When they got there, they found it abandoned. All the warriors had been frightened away by the angels of God, and they'd left enough food behind to feed all of Samaria!

Sometimes you and I are like the officials in that story. We get problem-centered instead of Word of God centered. We let ourselves be so surrounded with the loud voice of the world that the vision of our victory is pushed out of sight.

When that happens, faith and power begin to subside and life caves in on us from every side.

If that's happened to you, stop crying about it. Stop looking at your problem and feeling sorry for yourself. That won't change anything!

Just like He did for Elisha, God's given you a word. He's promised you victory. He's promised to make you an overcomer.

So don't just sit there till you die. Don't accept defeat. Rise up in faith. Stand up on God's Word and fight for your life. Get mad at Satan. Cast him out. Get mad at that sickness. Get angry with poverty and start giving.

Rise up and receive the deliverance of the Lord!