GENEROUS

DISCIPLINE BRINGS LIFE :

Matthew 18:18-19 "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

Verses 18 and 19 have many applications, but taken in context, they are specifically referring to church discipline. Some might think that church discipline is only symbolic and carries no real weight; however, Jesus is making it clear that in the spiritual realm, discipline that is directed by the Holy Spirit has much power.

The scriptural commands concerning church discipline are designed to help restore the brother or sister who is in sin just as much as they are designed to protect other members of the body from that sin. If the person being disciplined repents, the objective has been achieved and no further action should be taken. Church discipline is two-fold. It consists of withdrawing both our fellowship and our intercession.

Proper intercession can actually keep Satan "at bay" though an individual is living in great sin. This is good if the person uses this freedom to repent and come back to God. But, if the person takes this freedom from the wages of sin to commit more sin, there comes a time when this form of intercession ceases to be beneficial. In that case, intercession against Satan's attacks should be withdrawn, and we should actually retain that person's sins unto him so that he can no longer get by without experiencing the death that sin brings (Rom. 6:23). As he starts reaping what he has sown, it, hopefully, will cause him to turn back to the goodness of God that he once enjoyed. This is the binding and loosing being referred to in this verse. Heaven and earth are affected by our binding and loosing.

GRACE IS ENOUGH :

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. – 2 Corinthians 12:7

The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul's thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin--and to do it of our own free will.

It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I've gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they'd been taught about Paul's thorn.

And most of them have been taught wrongly.

Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What's more, tradition makes the thorn into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn't say that at all!
It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God-- Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was--a "messenger sent from Satan."
You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan's kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him.

When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn't answer Paul in the negative. God said, "My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)" (W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary).

In other words, when Paul didn't have enough human strength to overcome, God's miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness.

Don't allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord!

GENEROUS GOD

[God] is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. —Ephesians 3:20

When our family lived in Chicago several years ago, we enjoyed many benefits. Near the top of my list were the amazing restaurants that seemed to try to outdo each other, not only in great cuisine but also in portion sizes. At one Italian eatery, my wife and I would order a half portion of our favorite pasta dish and still have enough to bring home for dinner the next night! The generous portions made us feel like we were at Grandma’s house when she poured on the love through her cooking.

I also feel an outpouring of love when I read that my heavenly Father has lavished on us the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7-8) and that He is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (3:20). I’m so grateful that our God is not a stingy God who begrudgingly dishes out His blessings in small portions. Rather, He is the God who pours out forgiveness for the prodigal (Luke 15), and He daily crowns us “with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Ps. 103:4).

At times we think God hasn’t provided for us as we would like. But if He never did anything more than forgive our sins and guarantee heaven for us, He has already been abundantly generous! So today, let’s rejoice in our generous God.

Lord, remind me often that You have been exceedingly generous to me. Help me to extend that generosity of spirit toward those around me, so that they may know who You are and rejoice in You.



RELEASE THE POWER IN YOU!

EPHESIANS 3:20 - Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

How much power is working in you right now? God’s Word says that there is “power that works in us”. It is a tremendous power that shakes the heavens and the earth because it comes from the throne of God, “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”! The problem, however, is that many of us don’t release that power.

God wants us to release that power because there are things that will not happen on earth until we do so. Jesus said that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”. (Matthew 16:19) What Jesus is saying is that what you permit to happen, heaven will permit. What you disallow, heaven will disallow!

So how do we release God’s power in us? One way is to pray in tongues. When we allow His Spirit to make intercession for us (Romans 8:26), miracles happen.

Some time ago, the aunt of a church member underwent surgery to remove a diseased kidney. In spite of the surgery, the prognosis was poor. At home, the church member and his wife were prompted by the Spirit to release the power that works in them by praying in tongues for their aunt.

Back at the hospital, the aunt underwent further observation. When an X-ray of her abdominal area was taken, the doctor was shocked to find two healthy kidneys. Five other doctors were consulted who subsequently examined the aunt. At first, they thought that the surgeon who had performed the operation had made a mistake and did not remove the diseased kidney. But further investigation showed that the kidney had indeed been removed. They could not explain what had happened.

But the church member and his wife needed no explanation because they knew that when they released the power that worked in them, God did exceedingly abundantly above all that they could ask or think—He gave their aunt a new kidney.

Beloved, He can do the same for you when you pray in the Spirit and release the power that works in you!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com

Fair Use Notice: There is some copyrighted material on this site, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to our efforts to advance understanding of serious issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for educational purposes.