Wednesday, February 12, 2014

REWARDER

.
YOU HAVE THE SAME FAVOR JESUS HAS :
Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all… - Romans 4:16

God’s grace is His undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor. And because it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited, all of us qualify for it. But how do we walk in it?

Just as a password gives you access to a computer program, faith enables you to walk in God’s unmerited favor. Now, faith has nothing to do with what you do or what you can do. Faith is simply believing and declaring what God has done and is doing for you.

When you believe that the favor of God is on you because of Christ’s finished work, His promises of provision, healing and restoration become sure to you. They are not just sure to the Jews, but also to you and me because we are “of the faith of Abraham”.

Ruth was a Gentile widow who put her faith in God’s grace. She believed and declared that God’s favor would lead her to the right field in which to glean, where she would find favor in the owner’s sight. (Ruth 2:2) Because she depended on God’s unmerited favor, God not only placed her in wealthy Boaz’s field, but also in the genealogy of Jesus! (Matthew 1:5)

Ruth’s faith in God’s favor opened up a whole new world for her. She went from poverty to wealth, widowhood to marriage, and from being childless to having a complete family. She also became a respected member of the community. (Ruth 4:13–15)

If Ruth, a Gentile who was under the old covenant, enjoyed God’s favor, how much more will we who are under the new covenant of grace enjoy the blessings that the unmerited favor of God brings! In fact, because God sees us in the Beloved today, we enjoy the same favor that Jesus has! (Ephesians 1:3–6)

My friend, when you believe that you have the same favor that Jesus has, a whole new world will open up to you — a world where all of God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Thought For The Day :
When you believe that the favor of God is on you because of Christ’s finished work, His promises of provision, healing and restoration become sure to you

JESUS IS WILLING, BE HEALED!
MATTHEW 8:3 - Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”…

Do you know that it is God’s will for you to be healed? In fact, Jesus always healed the sick who came to Him. The blind, lame, maimed, mute, deaf and demon-possessed—He healed them all! (Matthew 8:16)

The Bible says that he who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. (John 14:9) You want to see what God is like? Look at Jesus! He never gave sickness to anybody. You never find Jesus looking at a person, a fine specimen of a man, and saying, “Come here. You are too healthy. Receive some leprosy!” In fact, when a leper came to Him for healing, Jesus, full of compassion, told the leper, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

Unfortunately, there are some Christians who say, “It is God’s will for me to be sick. God has some purpose, some mysterious purpose for my situation. It is all part of His divine plan and we shall all know in the sweet by and by, the reason why!” But these same people go to their doctors to get well. They take their medication and rest. Why do they do that if they really believe that God wants them sick? Doesn’t make sense, does it?

Come on, what makes perfect sense is this: God wants you well. He wants you whole. His will is for you to be healed! In fact, He is so willing that He took all your sicknesses and diseases upon His own body, so that you don’t have to suffer them today! He allowed Himself to be beaten and scourged, so that by His scourging—by His stripes—you are healed! (Isaiah 53:5) Since He has already suffered the sickness on your behalf, why should you suffer it today?

So my friend, if you are sick, know that God did not give you the disease. Read every healing miracle that Jesus did in the Gospels and see how Jesus is the Lord who heals you. (Exodus 15:26) Hear His gracious words, “I am willing, be healed,” and know that they are as much for you today as they were for the leper!

RESIST FEAR :
Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset — rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]... - 1 Peter 5:9, AMP

The very moment you first feel fear, you have to resist it. In other words, you have to act against it. If you make the mistake of dwelling on your fears and start thinking about all the reasons why you can’t do what God is telling you to do, then it won’t be long before you develop a negative mindset that will keep you stuck where you are.

In the Bible, when God told David to go fight Goliath, it says that David moved quickly toward the battlefield. In other words, he didn’t think about it. He didn’t allow fear to grip his heart and talk him out of it. He just did what God wanted him to do.

So many people today are just sitting on the sidelines of life. They have tremendous potential on the inside, but they keep letting the enemy talk them out of doing what God wants them to do. Every time they get a vision of victory for their life, the enemy brings fear; and they just swallow his lies hook, line and sinker. Don’t let that be you! Instead, obey quickly. Resist fear and boldly embrace every blessing the Lord has in store for you!

WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT :
John 4:24, "God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth."

Man dwells primarily in the physical and emotional realm, but God is a Spirit (1 Sam. 16:7). To have true fellowship with God, we have to relate to God on the spiritual level.

In order to make this possible, God changed our spirit. At salvation, our spirit became totally new (11 Cor. 5:17). It is now righteous and truly holy (Eph. 4:24). It is now exactly the way Jesus is, because our born again spirit is the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 4:17; 1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 4:6).

In our spirits we are worthy to come before God and worship Him without any fear. Our spirit is the only part of us that is worthy. That's why we must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

When we come before God dwelling on all our failures and problems, we are not approaching Him through our spirit. Our spirit is not our problem. Our born again spirit is perfect.

There is a place for mentioning our problems and failures but it's not the part of us that has been saved and is in fellowship with God. We must always base our relationship with the Father on who we are in our spirit through Christ Jesus.

YOU CAN HANDLE IT!
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV

We all go through challenges, disappointments and unfair situations. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and think, “This is too much. I can’t deal with this illness. I can’t handle this difficult child.” Or, “I can’t take this traffic. It’s driving me crazy.” But, God promised He will never let us face more than we can bear. Nothing that comes your way in life is too much for you.

This is what Joseph did. He was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit and spent years in prison for something he didn’t do. But, he didn’t get depressed. He didn’t start complaining. His attitude was, “With God, I can handle it. God is still on the throne. I’m going to stay in faith and keep being my best.” In the end, he was made second in charge over all of Egypt.

Today, if you are feeling burdened and overwhelmed by circumstances, know that with God, all things are possible. No person can keep you from your destiny, no bad break, no disappointment, no sickness. Keep believing, keep hoping, keep praying and keep moving forward because you can handle whatever comes your way!



 

No comments:

Post a Comment