You Gotta Feel It In Your Bones!

Happy Sunday!

 

Bishop Alexis A. Thomas preached, "You Gotta Feel It In Your Bones!"  He used Exodus 13:19 and 2 Kings 13:20-21 as his reference scriptures.

 

In order to achieve our goals and rise to the highest level of our purpose in life, Christ must be a necessity.  The Word says, "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides." Matthew 6:33 (Amplified Version)   Our relationship with Jesus Christ cannot be tertiary, ancillary, or secondary!  Our relationship with the Lord must be primary!

When Bishop made the previous comment, I immediately thought of Military Basic Training.  Now, I have never served my country in that capacity, but I have many, many family members and friends that have served, and are serving in the military.  From firsthand accounts and various depictions in the movies, I have come to the realization that Basic Training is an opportunity for the Military Leadership to instill discipline in the soldiers.  Even the Apostle Paul used military service as an example.  In 2 Timothy 2:3 he wrote, "A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders." (Message Translation)

We are Soldiers in the Army of the Lord!  It's real!  It's not just a catchy song we learned in church!  Everyday we have to battle.  We battle negativity on the job.  We battle health issues and crisis.  We battle depression, oppression, and recession.  We battle just to trust that God's Word and Promises are true and will come to pass.  We can not live this life without some type of struggle.  The Psalmist said, "Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—they may often seem overwhelmed—but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them." Psalm 34:19 (Voice Translation)  and "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19 (King James Version) 

In the first reference scripture Bishop used it says, "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do it, saying, “God will surely hold you accountable, so make sure you bring my bones from here with you.”  Joseph remembered the promised that God made to Abraham.  He knew that one day they would be delivered and return to the land that God promised Abraham.  He made them promise to take his bones with them when they left Egypt.  Bishop Tudor Bismark says that "bones" represent structure.  Joseph trusted that God's Word was true.  He wanted his bones to be there when the Promise came to pass.

In the second reference scripture Bishop used it says, "Elisha then died and was laid to rest. The Moabite bandits used to storm the land every spring. It was expected by the people. During the springtime, while a group of men were out burying a man, they spied a gang of bandits approaching them. They became afraid, so they threw the dead man’s body into Elisha’s grave. As soon as the dead man’s body touched the bones of Elisha, the dead man miraculously came back to life and stood up." 2 Kings 13:20-21(Voice)   The anointing on the prophets bones was so strong it brought a dead man back to life!

YOU GOTTA FEEL IT IN YOUR BONES!  You have to know that you know that you know!  You have to be convinced deep down inside!  You have to have FAITH that God loves you!  You have to know that he is faithful to his WORD!  You have to trust that he will bring you out!  No matter what it looks like! No matter what "they" say! 

Like a good soldier put on all your equipment, learn to use your weapon.  Learn to break it down like a soldier breaks his rifle apart to clean it! Ephesians 6:11-17 says, "Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Voice)

Love and prayers, Cynthia