|
Trusting in one's self or others, would require several back up plans. For failure and disappointment is not far behind. One can make a plan for all of life's challenges: 'Trust God' Proverbs 3:5-6 says, 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart: and lean not unto your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.' That is all, one plan, one option in everything Amen!
Trusting in God is a refuge, a resting place for the mind and soul. Trusting in God is what believing in God turns into. Like taking one's hands off the steering wheel and letting God drive. Proverbs 28:25 (amp) says, '... he who puts his trust in the Lord shall be enriched and blessed.' The benefits of trusting in God are so many that I am going to let the Bible preach to us. Proverbs 29:25 says, 'The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts there trust in the Lord shall be safe.' Psalms 5:11 (amp.) says, 'But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in God rejoice; let them ever sing for joy ...' Psalms 18:2 says, 'The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in Him I will trust...' Psalms 20:7 says, 'Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.' Psalms 37:5 says, 'Commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.' Psalms 118:8 says, 'It is better to trust in the Lord then to put confidence in man.' Isaiah 12:2 says, 'Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.' We could go on and on. The truth is what a wonderful place to come to, 'Trusting in God'. Relax / Trust God! All will be Well (Romans 8:28).
0 Comments
As men we like to think, or have others think, that we are more spiritual then we really are.
First Samuel 16:7 says, '.... for the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.' There are two kinds of men that go to church; church men and spiritual men. A church man is a man who does not know God personally but wants to appear to others as if he does. A spiritual man is a man who has a living fellowship with God and that relationship with God is obvious in his life. We cannot fool God. So let's be honest with ourselves, then we can go forward and do exploits in Jesus name. James 1:22[amp.] says, 'But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the truth].' The church man goes to church with a religious checklist, checking off each religious task he has done during the week, and particularly on Sunday. For example, he says to himself, "I have a suit, my bible and my offering, but that guy looks like a backslider because he has no suit, no bible and no money." The church man loves to arrogantly compare himself to others. The church man is not a doer of the word. He sees what areas he needs to do better in, but has no real intention to change. On the other hand, the spiritual man comes to church with a desire to hear from God. He seeks to honor God, and not himself, through willing obedience to do the Word of God daily. For example, the spiritual man goes out of his way to give an encouraging word to a brother in need. By Sunday night the church man has totally forgotten about Sunday morning's message; but the spiritual man is still meditating on the word of the Lord, and how he is going to diligently do what he has heard. In John 15:7, Jesus says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." To the church man, reading God's Word is treated like a daily chore; such as walking the dog, or taking out the trash. He attempts to understand the bible with his natural mind, but cannot since the Word of God is a spiritual book. Therefore the church man's prayers are shallow and do not produce answers. So he substitutes his own natural efforts for God-given results and declares, "Look what the Lord has done!," when God did not do anything at all. The spiritual man abides in the Word of God by meditating in it day and night. He believes in his heart and says the Word with his mouth and he has whatsoever he says (Mark 11:23). The spiritual man calls things that be not as though they are, and they become reality for him (Romans 4:17). Romans 12:2 says, 'And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.' The church man tries to conform the Word of God to fit his way of thinking and lifestyle. While the spiritual man is conforming his thoughts and life to the Word of God. Romans 13:14 [amp.] is one of those scriptures where the rubber meets the road. Verse 14 says, 'But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).' The church man backs away from such a commitment, because it is hard on the flesh and he is simply lazy. But the spiritual man allows his born again spirit to dominate his flesh and he does not let up. He does this by walking in the spirit out of obedience to the Word of God. A great description of the church man versus the spiritual man is found in First Corinthians 2. Look at verses 13-15, 'Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.' The church man attempts to interpret spiritual things using soulish reasoning. He applies his own natural understanding to what he hears and reads in the Word of God. Therefore he is moved by circumstances, and spiritual things become foolish to him. The spiritual man receives wisdom and revelation by the Holy Spirit as he hears and reads the Word of God. When circumstances come, the spiritual man speaks boldly by faith and those circumstances are changed. The church man sees God afar off and worships Him by feelings and experiences. The spiritual man truly knows God and worships Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Are you a church man? Make the change to be a spiritual man today. We are going to look at what can break us out of defeat and into total victory. This victory is found just under our nose. Proverbs 18:20 [amp.] says, 'A man's [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequences of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil].' You can locate where someone is at and where they are going in life. Just by listening to the words that come out of their mouth. The door of victory in our life will open, when we take responsibility; for what comes out of our own mouth.
In Mark 11:23 Jesus says, "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says." We all have challenges that are confronting us internally and externally. Allowing words of doubt and defeat to come out of our mouth, is not going to change negative situations into a positive ones. Doubt-filled words only solidify unbelief in our heart. But when we speak words of faith and victory, we can turn any hopeless circumstance around. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus says, "......for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Also Proverbs 4:23 says, 'Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.' We solidify our victory by diligently keeping our hearts full of the word of God. Then out of this abundance of the word in our heart, the victory report comes flowing out of our mouth. Hebrews 10:23 says, 'Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our hope without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised).' The words we speak give us victory in the battlefield of the mind. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, 'For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Casting down imaginations and every thought to the obedience of Christ.' Satan brings negative thoughts and images to our minds to hinder our victory. We have to cast down these negative thoughts and images. By speaking the word of God, to win the battle within. Let's say I asked you to count in your mind to 100. While you are counting mentally; I shout, "Say your name!" You would have to stop counting mentally in order to say your name out loud. The best way to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, is to say out loud a scripture that is the opposite of the negative thought. For example, when the negative thought, "I just can not do anything right" comes into your mind, you cast that thought down by saying out loud, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me according to Philippians 4:13." Remember the key is you have to speak it, not just think it. The word of God is full of faith and faith is the victory. When you speak the word of God, you have the victory. Hebrews 10:23 says, 'Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our hope without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised).' Salvation comes through the confession of one's mouth (Romans 10:10). Healing comes by confessing "By Jesus' stripes I am healed (1Peter 2:24)." Prosperity comes by confessing "All my needs are supplied (Philippians 4:19)." Every other spiritual blessing is manifested the same way. In Mark 11:23, The word believe is written once, while the word say is written three times. The more the word of God comes out of our mouth, the more Godly change we will see in our lives. Let's stop all the doubt, negativity and defeatist talk. Let's allow faith, life and victory to flow out of our mouth. Total victory is just under your nose. Thank God for the truth! Religion, church, four walls. Finding a group of like minded people, and hunkering down; until the end comes. In John 11:51-52 it says, 'Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.' God says to scatter the good news and then gather all who believe in Him; before the end comes.
In Mark 16:15 Jesus said to the disciplies to "Go". Not to stand still and do nothing. Acts 8:4 says, 'Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word.' Even in persecution, God's people continued to preach the good news. In the parable of the sower in Mark 4. The seed is the 'Word of God'. In Mark 4:14 Jesus said, "The sower sows the word." The act of sowing is an act of scattering. Go and scatter the Word is what the spirit of God is saying. Just going to church on Sunday, is not scattering. One can scatter themselves or help send others to sow the Word. Why are compelled to scatter? There is always a gathering of what is sowed. In Mark 4:8 Jesus said, "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprung up and increased; and bought forth, some thirty, and some sixty; and some one hundred." Psalms 102:22 says, 'When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.' In John 4:36 Jesus said, "He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together." This pattern of scattering, always results in a joyous gathering. 1Thessalonins 4:14-17 says, ' For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.' The eternal gathering in the air, with the Lord forever! Amen! Glory to God! If you are led to scatter and sow the Word of God, don't hesitate and Go! So there will be a great gathering, for all time! As men we have a place of authority in God, that is given to us to rule and reign in this life. We must step in and fill that place. Then the Holy Spirit can bring the manifestation of God's goodness into our lives and areas of influence. Just like climbing a ladder, we have to take the first step. This will be our focus today, 'First things first.' We find the first step in Isaiah 26:9 that says, 'With my soul have I desired You (O Lord) in the night; yes, with my spirit within me will I seek You early.'
How the day is started makes all the difference in what direction your day will go. Jesus is our example, so lets look at Mark 1:35 that says, 'And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.' Rising early to pray was of high priority to Jesus. Then this should also be a high priority for us. In Genesis we learned that God gave man dominion and authority over the earth. When we stand in that place of authority and speak in faith, then all circumstances have to obey what we say. Mark 11:23 [amp.] says, 'Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.' We can rise up early to pray and declare blessing over ourself, family, business, nation.. etc. We are saying to the spiritual and the natural realms that Jesus is Lord over me and mine today. Let me describe what I am saying this way. Imagine a city that has a wall around it, and a large plain of land surrounding the city. The city represents your life, the wall is your protection from the evil one. When you rise up early to pray, you walk out of the city with the armor of God on (Ephesians 6:13-17), out in to the plain of life. You make your declaration of faith, of how the day will go according to Romans 4:17 by , '...... call[ing] those things which be not as though they were.' You let the devil know that he is under your feet. In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." The enemy tries to move in from the plain to hang around the walls of your life unchecked. If you are distracted and unaware, the enemy can slide in through an opening in the wall of protection; using the world, others and sin to cause problems in your life. Rising up early to pray keeps the enemy out in the plain, while you stand in your God-given authority in Christ. I am not talking about some fictional battle strategy. This comes from personal experience, over and over again. We are called in Romans 5:17 [amp.] to, '... reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).' A king rules and reigns over what is his territory, so must we. Dominion and authority is available for every born again child of God. Unless we step up into that place of authority and declare the truth of God's word; we can become subject to what should be under our feet. Arise and meet the devil in the plain, instead of letting him sit on your couch and relax. A ten minute devotional and a short distracted prayer is not going to do it. A blessed, victorious day, is so much better than struggling and being frustrated. I challenge all men of God, to take their God given dominion today! Rise up early. Pray. Declare. Walk in victory! Give God all the Praise, Amen! |
Author
|
RSS Feed