LONG LIFE

 

RESURRECTION LIFE :
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. – Luke 24:1-3

Truly, it's time for us to stop looking for the living among the dead. It's time for us to stop wandering around in the cemetery of sin, sickness and failure and to step into resurrection life!

As a resurrected creature, you're no accident going somewhere to happen. Your life isn't just a loose web of events and circumstances. God has specific plans for you.
Maybe He intends for you to have the greatest healing ministry of this century. Or perhaps He wants to turn you into a tremendous preacher. Maybe He has a revelation prepared for you that will enable you to bless the whole world. But you'll never know what He has in store for you until you put your attention on Him.

That's why the devil works hard to keep you focusing on the problems of life. That's why he tries to keep your attention turned away from the living Word of God. He doesn't want you to know you're full of the resurrection life of Jesus. In fact, the prospect of it terrifies him.

Why? Because once you truly understand that you have the life of God inside you, you'll begin to act just like Jesus did. You'll lay hands on the sick and they'll recover. You'll cast out demons. You'll preach the gospel to every creature.

In short, you'll be just what God intended you to be. You'll be the Body of Christ on the earth.

Don't let Satan bind you with the grave clothes of yesterday's sin and defeat. You're not dead anymore. You've been raised with Jesus. Come out from the tombs and start living resurrection life!

 GOD SATISFIES YOU WITH LONG LIFE

PSALM 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.

God’s heart is never for you to suffer crippling illnesses, die prematurely or live a life that is miserable. Psalm 91:16 says, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” That is God’s heart for you!

This means that God not only wants you to have a long life, but He also wants you to have a satisfying life that is full of His peace, provision and joy! In the verse, the word “salvation” is the Hebrew word Yeshua, the name of Jesus. So God will satisfy you with a long life that is full of Jesus and His grace!

Beloved, chronic illness, depression and a short life are not, and will never be, part of God’s plan for you. He wants you to experience a long, full life in which you walk in all the blessings of health, wholeness and provision that He has given you through Jesus!

Today, see the provision that Jesus made at the cross to redeem you from every curse of sickness and lack. Give Him thanks and step into His provision of a satisfying and fruitful life full of health, strength, peace and joy!

RECEIVE YOUR VICTORY!

Beloved, if you're battling some form of fear, guilt or addiction today, or struggling with negative or defeatist thoughts, I have good news for you.

God wants to unveil a truth about the finished work of His Son Jesus that will revolutionize your life.

Don't live another day crippled by fear, guilt or addiction, allowing them to hold you back from the abundant life that God has for you.

As a child of God, you are destined to win!

The world may teach that you have to cope—cope with depression, cope with fears of not having enough, cope with addictions—but the Bible teaches that you have the victory.

And it's important to understand that you don't have to earn the victory. You don't have to struggle for victory. The victory is already yours in Christ Jesus! In 1 Corinthians 15:57, the Apostle Paul says...

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Paul is not just talking about an occasional, once-in-a-while kind of victory. Notice what he goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 2:14...

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ...

God always leads you in triumph in Christ Jesus!

You might be wondering, “Pastor, so how do I receive this victory? I have been struggling! No matter how hard I try, I can't overcome my depression, or my addiction to alcohol, or break free of my eating disorder. I can't help but feel guilty each time I fail!”

Beloved, you must first realize that very often, the battle is not without (in your external circumstances); it is within. The battle is in your mind and the battlefield, your beliefs and thoughts.

Here is how you can win this battle and reign over every fear, guilt and addiction in your life.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Self-righteousness struggles to win the battle on our own. But grace allows us to receive the victory that has been given through the finished work of Christ Jesus. He has already defeated the enemy and equipped you with His armor to stand against the enemy.

You might be wondering by now, “What is the armor of God?”

When I was a young believer, I used to mentally go through the motions of donning the “armor of God” every morning, imagining myself putting on my helmet, my breastplate and all the other pieces of armor before leaving the house.

But that's not what the armor of God is.

My friend, the armor of God is all about right believing! And it is this right believing about God and who you really are in Christ that keeps you protected and safe from the enemy's assault against your mind in the form of lies, negative thoughts and evil imaginations.

In Ephesians 6:10–12, the Bible gives us insights on how to put on the armor of God:

· Gird your waist with the belt of truth. When the devil comes against you with his lies about you, gird your waist with the belt of truth. The devil cannot deceive you if you are established in what God's Word says about you.

· Put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness guards your heart, and the devil's attempt to attack you with all kinds of accusations and condemning thoughts that make you feel guilty and lousy about yourself will not prevail.

The other pieces of the armor of God—His faith, His gospel, His salvation, His Word and His Spirit—are all weapons of right believing to protect you against the devil's attacks.

Beloved, when it comes to any battle you are facing, your only assignment is to put on the armor of God and stand with confidence in the victory of Jesus.

You've already got the victory.

It's yours. Jesus has made it so!

When I was a young boy, I remember lifting up large rocks to see how strong I was. If you've ever done this, you'll know there are surprising creatures under rocks.

In some cases I'd lift up a rock and see a small scorpion. At other times, I'd lift up a rock to find damp ground and termites scurrying in all directions. As a young boy, I'd be caught off-guard by these insects' sudden frenzied activity and run off.

Eventually, my curiosity would bring me back to the overturned rock an hour or two later to take a look, and I'd notice that the scorpion or termites were all gone.

Do you know why they left?

Because they had been exposed to the light. The moment the light shone in, it overcame the darkness and fearful things had to leave. It's the same way in our spiritual lives.

Beloved, the truth of who Jesus is—and what Jesus has done for you—is a light that will radically change your life.

Every enemy, every fear, every obstacle, every addiction, every sickness, every guilt—

THEY ALL HAVE TO LEAVE WHEN YOU GET A REVELATION OF JESUS' GRACE AND HIS FINISHED WORK.

This is why I encourage you to approach every battle with a new mindset. Instead of trying to fight for victory, stand against the challenges you face from victory.

Don't be like the people who think they have to fight and overcome on their own.

Jesus has already defeated the devil!

Jesus has already equipped you with His armor!

Jesus has already made a way!

Whether your struggle is physical, emotional, relational, financial or spiritual, there are steps you can take to walk in victory. Remember, the battle is not so much out there in your circumstances, as it is in your mind.

Remember, God loves you so much that He sent His precious Son, Jesus, for you. You are accepted, you are approved, you are favored, and you are dearly loved. Any time you feel less than that, just look to Jesus.

Let Jesus be your righteousness. Let Jesus be your strength. Let Jesus be your victory!

Prayers That Proclaim

    But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”     Luke 13:12

When you have a need, do you pray or do you plead? Do you begin your prayers with words like, “Please God, please! God, I beg You to have mercy!”

Prayers that plead and beg imply that your heavenly Father is not willing to do it. Yet, He is far more gracious and willing to give to you than you are willing to ask, think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) He desires above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. (3 John 1:2)

In fact, long before you have a need, God has already met that need. Long before you knew you needed a Savior, He sent His Son to be your Savior. This is your God! He is a good God. So when you beg Him for something, you are actually saying that He is reluctant to give and needs to be persuaded strongly before He will move. Yet, He is not like that.

Jesus knew the heart of the Father. When He saw the woman bound with a spirit of infirmity, He did not pray, “Oh Father! She has been suffering for 18 long years! I beseech You, Father, have mercy on her. Please, please heal her!” No, when Jesus saw her, He immediately proclaimed, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity,” because He knew the heart of the Father. He knew that the Father wanted her delivered from her crippling condition.

At the end of a church service, I don’t stand and pray, “Oh God, please bless Your people. Oh God, do keep them. Oh God, be ever so gracious to them!” Instead, I proclaim, “The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you!”

Beloved, when you pray, proclaim your healing, protection and provision because your Father’s heart overflows with love for you. And when you declare it, He sanctions it. When you declare it, He establishes it!

Thought For The Day

What you declare by faith, God sanctions.

YOU ARE WELL ABLE

Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 1:19-33

There is a difference between Receiving the Promise of God and Possessing it. Israel certainly found that out.

In order to see the fulfillment of God's promises you must act upon them. You must move into a position where you can take possession. You must seize them by Force! Jesus declare,..."And from the days of John until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12