Category: September 2016

Isaiah 61:6-7

And you will be called priests of the Lord…You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame My people will receive a double portion…they will inherit a double portion in their land…

You are called “priests of the Lord” because Jesus has cleansed you with His blood and made you kings and priests to God. (Revelation 1:5-6) That is if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are “Born Again”. And as priests of the Lord, God says to you, “You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.” And you will “inherit a double portion in their land”. Under the old covenant, God ordained the priests of Israel to stand between Him and His people. They brought God’s word to the people and the people’s needs and sins to God. Under the new covenant, all believers (Born again Christians) are priests of the Lord, reading God’s word and seeking to understand it, confessing their sins directly to God, and ministering to others.

Believe God when He says that His people will receive a double portion. This double portion includes blessings of favor, fruitfulness, success and health. In fact, the people around you will look at you and your descendants, and acknowledge that you are a people that the Lord has blessed!

Joshua 1:5-6

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. Be strong and courageous.

Joshua’s new job consisted of leading more than two million people into a strange new land and conquering it. What a challenge this would be even for a man of high caliber. Without God it can be frightening. With God it can be an adventure. God was with Joshua as He is with us when we face new challenges. Although we may not conquer nations, we still may face tough situations, difficult people, and temptations. God promises that He will never abandon us of fail to help us. By asking God to direct us we can conquer many of life’s challenges.

God also goes on to tell Joshua that he will be prosperous and successful if He follows God’s guidance and directions. (Joshua 1:8) Many people think that prosperity and success come from having power, influential personal contacts, and relentless desire to get ahead. But the strategy God taught Joshua goes against such criteria. He said to succeed Joshua must (1) be strong and courageous because the task ahead would not be easy, (2) obey God’s law, and (3) constantly read and study the Book of the Law – God’s Word.

To be successful, follow God’s words to Joshua. You may not succeed by the world’s standards, but you will succeed in God’s eyes – and His opinion lasts forever.

Philippians 3:14-15

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Are you living a life of regrets thinking, “If only…”? “If only I had that college education…If only I had married the right person…If only I had taken up the other job…If only I had not made that stupid mistake…”

If your past robbing you of the joy of today? Then forget your past!

Consider Paul. If the devil had anything to bring against Paul, it would be reminders of how he had persecuted the early church and caused the deaths of many, including Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Paul had done horrendous things that were hard for him to forget. But he had such a revelation of God’s awesome forgiveness that he could say, “forgetting those things which are behind…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.

God has forgiven you of all your sins. He has completely forgiven you and declared, “Your sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17) Like Paul, you can forget your past, the wrongs you have done and the hurts you have caused others or been through yourself. God can take the tears of yesterday and transform them into the miracles of tomorrow. He can restore to you in all abundance what you have lost. He can cause all things, even the painful events of your past, to work together for your good. (Romans 8:28)

God’s Word says, “The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8) His glory will cover your past. Wherever you go, His glory covers your past. It is no longer the same past that you know of because His glory has descended on it. Your past is past. It has been wiped out. It is gone! So don’t let your past rob you of today’s joy any longer!

1 Corinthians 1:30

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God…

It is believed that there has never been a wealthier king than King Solomon. God gave him wisdom that not only made him wise in matters of justice, but also brought him gold and silver. (1 Kings 3:12-13) According to a report by the Illinois Society of Architects in 1925, the cost of Solomon’s temple in terms of existing values would have been about $87 billion! The priests wore garments costing more than $10 million! These amounts are only what Solomon spent on the temple and did not include his personal assets.

We can go on talking about the riches of King Solomon, but the Bible tells us that there is one greater than Solomon. (Matthew 12:42) His name is Jesus, and He is the most prosperous Man who ever lived and who will ever live. If there was a need to feed the hungry, He simply multiplied whatever food was placed in His hands. On one occasion, He multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. And incredibly, there were 12 baskets full of leftovers. (Matthew 14:15-21) If any of His own faced lack, it was not long before abundant provision flowed to them. Once, when His disciples caught nothing after a whole night of fishing, He merely spoke a word of command and schools of fish obeyed, swimming toward His disciples’ boat so that they received a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. (Luke 5:1-7) In another incident, He provided the money for the temple tax, even if it took a fish to bring it to them! (Matthew 17:24-27)

This same Jesus has become for you wisdom from God. If you are a businessman, with Christ in you, you have wisdom that is greater than the wisdom of all the world’s business gurus put together. And if you are a student, Christ in you will manifest wisdom that is greater than all the wisdom of the brilliant minds in the academic world.

Because of Jesus, God’s wisdom is in you, so there is no reason you cannot prosper today, and astound the world in the same way Solomon did!

Romans 8:16

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Everything produces after its own kind. Dogs give birth to puppies, cats give birth to kittens and horses give birth to horses. In the same manner, when you are born again, you are born of God. You are a child of the Most High God. He is your Father and He doesn’t see you in the flesh. He sees you in the Spirit. And His Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are His child.

So when the devil comes to you and says, “Your father died of cancer, his father died of cancer and you are going to die of cancer too, just like your father,” just know in your heart that you are like your Father – your Father in heaven! Declare, “I am a child of the Most High God. He doesn’t have cancer, so neither do I!”

When you are born of God, you are born to win. Because your Daddy God is a winner, you are one too! When you wake up in the morning, say, “I am a winner because God is a winner!”

When you say that you cannot afford to buy something that you need, you have forgotten which family you now belong to. You have been born again into a very rich family – your Father owns every beast in the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills! (Psalm 50:10) You have a Daddy God in heaven who is well able to supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19) Even if there are areas of lack in your life now, don’t worry. Just ask God for the supply because your heavenly Father loves you and wants to supply all your needs. When someone talks to you about a problem and asks, “What are we going to do about it?” you should say, “Don’t worry. Let’s talk to Father God about it. It is not a problem for Him, so it will not be a problem for us.”

Even when all around you is going under, your Father God is still the same heavenly Father who kept Noah’s world afloat, his loved ones safe and sound, and his possessions intact. Your world will never go under because you are God’s beloved child!

Genesis 26:12

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

If you sow apple seeds, you get apples. If you sow seeds of friendship, you get friends. If in the natural, you receive in the area in which you sow, how much more will you receive in the supernatural when God blesses you! The Bible tells us that when Isaac sowed in the land, he reaped a hundredfold even though there was a famine in that land. (Genesis 26:1) The reason was that “the Lord blessed him”.

So if you are believing God for a breakthrough in a particular area, sow in that area and watch as God, “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think”. (Ephesians 3:20) Whatever money or time you give to the Lord, He will multiply it back to you. For example, in a 24 hour day the Lord can make your day very fruitful. And even after doing all that needs to be done, you will find that you still have time left to rest. Even if you have nothing to give but prayers, your prayers will not return to you void. God can answer them exceedingly above what you have asked. When Job lost everything that he possessed, he prayed for his friends, and the Lord not only restored his losses, but He also “gave Job twice as much as he had before”. (Job 42:10)

So start sowing seeds in the area that you are believing God for, and know that before long, you will be reaping your harvest!

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

God doesn’t want you to be fearful, fretful or anxious. Instead, He wants you to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”. So when you have a care or worry, straightaway, turn that care or worry into prayer. That is supplication. And when you are troubled by a care or worry that you don’t know how to pray for, pray in the Spirit or tongues. And in the midst of that prayer, thank God that He is already your healing, provision, good success and victory. That, my friend, is thanksgiving.

So how long should you pray in the Spirit? Keep on praying in the Spirit until the worry lifts or dissipates, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7)

We would all worry a lot less and enjoy our lives a lot more if only we realized this truth: Our Abba Father is so strong that there is nothing He cannot do, and He is so loving that there is nothing He will not do for us!

Psalm 91:11-12

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You are about to step into the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?” I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. And in their hands they will bear us up, so that not even a stone will trip us up.

We may not know it when we encounter an angel. (Hebrews 13:2) This was probably the case with a couple who were vacationing at a beach resort on Penang Island when a tsunami struck at about 12.30pm on 26 December 2004. It was slightly past 11am when the wife suddenly had a craving for food from the mainland. The couple decided to check out earlier, so that they could reach the mainland in time for lunch. While loading their luggage into their car, a man impatiently motioned to them to hurry up and get moving. Annoyed by his impatience, they quickly loaded their stuff and drove off. The minute they reached the mainland, they heard that a tsunami had struck Penang Island at the same beach where they were just a while ago. While thanking God for their narrow escape, it suddenly dawned on them that the impatient man could have been an angel charged by God to hurry them off!

God tells us that we have an innumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22) And He has given them charge over us to protect us from accidents, natural disasters, terrorist bombings and other dangers. So don’t fear these things and lock yourself at home. Go for that holiday! Go for that lunch appointment! Believe that God loves you, and thank Him for His angels who walk with you and watch over you!

John 14:9

Jesus said to him, “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”

I have heard many people say things like, it was an act of God that caused that earthquake to kill several hundred people, or that a person died because God was punishing them for their sin or something they did wrong. How far from the truth statement like these are. If God wanted to punish us for the things we did or are about to do He would not have sent Jesus to save us!

Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the nature of God in action. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus (God) going about healing the sick. If God wants some people sick, then there should be at least one incident in the Gospels where you see Jesus saying, “Behold, your complexion is too lovely, receive leprosy,” or “Blindness is good for you. Remain blind.” But no, never once! In fact, Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) That’s the true heart of God.

As a father, if your child is sick and in pain, your heart just wants him well. How much more your heavenly Father! God does not give your child a sickness to teach both of you some lesson or to glorify Himself. To think so is to talk out of a warped mind bound by religion! And Christianity is not a religion. It is a loving relationship with your Father in heaven. Hear God speaking this to your heart today: “I will never punish you for your sins because they have been punished in My Son’s body. I do not wish you ill. I will not take away your child or give you a car wreck to teach you some lesson. My heart always wants My children well and joyful!”

Romans 8:27

Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Would you like to pray effective prayers that are always in line with the will of God and always hit the mark? Well, when you pray in the Spirit, you can. You see, when we pray in English or our known language, and according to our limited understanding, we can pray what we think is correct. Sometimes, our heads get in the way and we find ourselves asking, “Isn’t it selfish of me to pray like this?” or “Am I praying in line with God’s will?”

That is why God gives us the gift of praying in tongues. When we pray in tongues or in the Holy Spirit, we can never pray out of God’s will because the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. In other words, we pray perfect prayers in line with God’s will when we pray in tongues. And the Bible goes on to tell us that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him”. (1 John 5:14-15) Isn’t it wonderful that God has put in you the Holy Spirit who prays perfectly? He knows the heart of God and precisely what you need. And He makes intercession for you because He loves you very much. The Holy Spirit is like your lawyer or legal counselor. He knows what belongs to you legally. He knows what your blood-bought rights are in Christ. Best of all, He knows exactly how to enforce them in your life!

When you pray in tongues, you allow the Holy Spirit to pray perfect prayers through you. He pleads your case before God. He knows where you have gone wrong and what the root of the problem is. He also has the wisdom, solution and power to win your case. With the Holy Spirit on your side, you cannot but come out victorious!