Speak

Happy Sunday!

Bob Yandian shared this message. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31: (NKJV)

Authority must have a voice. I cannot find a place where Jesus prayed for the sick. I find over and over again that He spoke to sickness and demons and commanded them to go. Demons, sickness, and all satanic power were placed under the feet of the Lord Jesus. 

He then placed them under our feet also. “Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19 KJV). 

Paul tells us to speak to the circumstances of life and declare, “If God is for me, you cannot be against me!” The same authority given to Jesus, Joshua, and Paul has also been given to us. We need to speak to the circumstances of life and believe they will change. 

But why did God tell us to speak to circumstances or trials? If we can speak to sickness, demons and the circumstances of life, they must be able to hear. Jesus said the sycamore tree would obey. For a tree to obey, it has to hear the command first. If good trees will one day clap their hands and oceans roar at the coming of Jesus, they must be able to respond to the voice of God today. Why not speak to your checkbook as if it can hear? Why not speak to your cancer as if it has ears? Speak to them and say, “Checkbook, I command you to open up to the provisions of God. You have been against me too long. Cancer, if God be for me, you cannot be against me. I rebuke you and command you to leave my body in the name of Jesus. Come out by the roots and be cast into the sea.” 

Quit letting your troubles and problems speak to you. Talk back to them and claim your authority in Jesus’ name. They will hear and obey.

Love and prayers, Cynthia

"Spirit, Soul, And Body"

Happy Sunday!

Brother Andrew Wommack taught a lesson entitled, "Spirit, Soul, And Body".  1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "May the God of peace set you apart for Himself. May every part of you be set apart for God. May your spirit and your soul and yourbody be kept complete. May you be without blame when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again." (NLV) This scripture makes it clear that we are tripartite beings, we have three parts.  

The body is very obvious.  When I talk to you face to face, I'm looking at your body, but I am talking to your soul.  The soul is your mental emotional part.  Some people define the soul as the mind, the will, and the emotions.  The soul also includes your conscience, and your personality.  If I touch your physical body, you can feel that, but I can also touch you by my words.  You can say words, and hurt a person. Many of us are still suffering because of words that were spoken to us in our childhood.  The words didn't hurt our body, but they hurt our soul.  The body and the soul are easier to understand, but the spirit tends to be misunderstood.

John 3:5-6 says, "Jesus answered, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit of God, he cannot get into the holy nation of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit."  Jesus was attempting to explain the "Born Again" experience to Nicodemus. He wanted Nicodemus to know that you cannot feel your spirit in a physical natural way.  The spirit is different from the body.  If you want to know how your body is, you can just think and your body will tell you. You can feel whether you are tired, energized, or sick.  You can do an inventory on your soul as well, whether you are glad, afraid, depressed, or sad. The spirit however cannot be contacted through feelings. The spirit cannot be accessed in any natural way!

This is the problem! The spirit is the part of us that was changed, the spirit is the part of us that God communicates with, and the spirit is the part of us that all of the life and the power of God flows through. It's important that we understand that we cannot feel, or discern spiritual reality through our normal senses.  If you can't taste, hear, see, or feel what the Word of God says, then immediately there is a conflict.  It may make you think the Bible is hard to understand.  Many times we give up and think the Word must not be true because we can't relate to it with our senses. John 6:63 says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (KJV) The Word of God is spirit.  In order to know what our spirit is like we must go to the Word of God.

James 1:23-25 says, "If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget."(CEV)  This scripture compares the Bible to a mirror.  Not a mirror used to see your physical face, but a mirror to see your spiritual face. Do you realize, you have never seen your face?  You have only seen a reflection of your face.  Even though you have never seen your own face, you have come to a place where you trust the reflection you see in the mirror. It's the same thing with the Word of God! The Word of God gives you a perfect picture of your spirit, and it's the only way you can know your spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  This scripture is not talking about your physical body!  If you were fat before you got saved, you will still be fat after you get saved.  Your body didn't pass away and become new!  This scripture is not talking about your soul either!  If you were ignorant before you got saved, your will still be ignorant after you get saved unless you renew your mind. Thank God, he can empower us to change our physical and mental state, but it's important to know it was our spirit that was made new.

The change takes place in the spirit, and has to work it's way out into the soul and the body! If we don't understand this it can cause us to doubt whether we were ever really saved. Everything you will ever need in your Christian life is already in your spirit!  We aren't trying to get anything from God. God has already given us ALL we could ever need! 2 Peter 1:3 says, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness," (KJV)  In our Born Again spirit, everything is complete.  The rest of our lives is spent learning to believe this Fact. As we get our soul in agreement with what is already in our spirit our lives and bodies will change. 

Pastor Duane Sheriff describes it like this, "2/3 of you is going to rule your life! Your spirit is fixed by God Almighty, born-again, and in union with Christ himself. Your flesh is decaying it ain't any good, and never will get any better. There's one guy that gets the final vote! If this guy votes with the spirit, the soul and the spirit, (the heart) override the body. But if this guy votes with the body, the body and the soul will override the spirit."  The Apostle Paul described the struggle like this, "So you see how it is: my new life(spirit) tells me to do right, but the old nature(soul) that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free." Romans 7:23-25 (Living Bible)

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Knowing God

Happy Sunday!

Brother Andrew Wommack taught a lesson entitled, "Knowing God".  His reference scripture was, Colossians 2:8..."Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (KJV)

We all have a philosophy! You may not be the next Socrates, Plato, or Kanye West, but you do have a philosophy. Philosophy is defined as, "a particular system of thought based on such study or investigation".  Years of living on this earth, the ups and downs, the good and the bad, have caused us to create our own philosophy.  The problem is our personal philosophy normally contradicts, and is opposed to the philosophy of God!

Genesis 3:1 says, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field". Why is this phrase relevant?  So glad you asked!  The devil didn't use the strongest animal or the largest animal to deceive Eve.  The devil could not force them to do anything. Believe it or not, he can't force you to do anything either!  The enemy had to get into their thinking!  He had to change their thinking. SIN starts in your mind! YOUR actions and your emotions are linked directly to what you think!  The serpent attacked the Word of God.  He is still attacking the Word of God today!  The Word says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (KJV)  

I know, I know...you say, I asked and I didn't receive! So are you calling Jesus a LIAR?  Last time I checked those words were in red!  That means Jesus said them himself! Either the Word is the true or your philosophy is true. You can't have it both ways! I choose to believe that God is right!  So why didn't I receive what I prayed for?  If you are like me, many times I prayed for things that did not line up with the will of God.  God will never give you anything that contradicts his Word. That woman's husband will not be yours, he's taken!  That promotion will not be yours if you are lazy, the Word says, "Laziness lulls people into a deep sleep; a slacker will have nothing to eat." (Voice)  So many times, I cancelled my own answer to prayer with my mouth! I prayed for something, it didn't materialize immediately and my mouth went to work!  I would say, "Well, I guess it's not God's will to give me this". More than likely my blessing was on the way, but I cancelled it with my own words. The Bible says, "Those who love to talk will suffer the consequences. Men have died for saying the wrong thing!" (TLB)

So how can I know God better, and create a Christian Philosophy? Great question! Romans 12:2 says, "Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity." (Phillips)  Our thinking has to change.  The more Word we know, the more our philosophy will change! Ok, I hear you.  You say, "I already know the Word!  I been memorizing scriptures since childhood! The word "know" in the Bible means to know intimately...like having sex!  Genesis 4:1 says, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived." (KJV)  I know my neighbors, but I don't KNOW my neighbors!  You have to know God and his Word on another level. Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32(NLV) If I'm not free in a particular area, I don't know the truth in that area.

When we get a revelation of who God really is from reading, studying, and hearing the Word, we won't doubt His ability, or His desire to help us! I've said it before and I'll say it again, "God is a Good father!"  He is not out molesting and abusing his children, causing them to have tragic accidents, putting cancer on them to teach them lessons, and killing their love ones!  The devil is the one that does that! Remember this scripture is in red letters too! "The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance." John 10:10(Voice)  You would never allow some stranger on the street to care for your child or grandchild, or even your pet!  You only trust people you know with things you love.  When we learn to trust, and get to know God our personal philosophy will change!

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Supernatural

Happy Sunday!

Dr. Bill Winston continued his teaching series, "The Supernatural Church".

Jesus came to this earth to establish a new economy, the Kingdom of God. This explains why he taught his disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10 (KJV) 

Jesus came to destroy all evidence of the enemy in our lives!  1 John 3:8 says, "God’s Son appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil." (CEB) We benefit by getting a New Spirit, "Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified)  We benefit by having the opportunity to get a New Mind, "Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete." Romans 12:2 (Voice)  We benefit by receiving healing and the opportunity to have our bodies refreshed, renewed, and restored.  Psalm 103:5 says, "He gives us plenty of good things. He makes us young again, like an eagle that grows new feathers." (Easy-to-Read Version)

My family knows, I love makeover shows and home remodeling shows!  I could watch HGTV for hours and hours.  Jesus is the ultimate renovator.  He makes all things new! Matthew 15:30 describes the type of people that flocked to Jesus, "And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: (KJV)  Jesus made them "Whole"!  Whole means nothing is missing, and nothing is broken!  Jesus came to reconnect us to the original source of power and provision.

God has already provided everything you will ever need! 2 Peter 1:3 says, "Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness." (Easy-to-Read Version)  I know, I know, you're thinking if God has already given me everything I need, why don't I have it?  Good question! God works on the basis of supply and demand.  He supplies when you make a demand!  Did you get that?  When you make a demand by faith, God supplies. Think about this. In 2 Kings 4:1-7, the widow of a prophet came to the Prophet Elisha to demand help.  Her husband died leaving her with massive debt.  So much debt the creditors were planning to make her sons as slaves.  The prophet asked her what she had in her house.  She had a container of oil.  He gave her instructions to borrow vessels, close the door and fill the containers with the oil.  The oil continued to flow until the last vessel was filled.  The oil supplied or filled the vessels until the demand or empty vessels ended.  You know the story, she was able to sell the oil and pay all her debts and support her family with the rest.

What are these Bible stories for?  Are they just nice to read like Ebony Magazine?  Or do they hold keys that can help us to live the abundant life Jesus came to provide?  I choose to believe, "God’s word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates to the point that it separates the soul from the spirit and the joints from the marrow. It’s able to judge the heart’s thoughts and intentions." Hebrews 4:12 (CEB)  I choose to believe that God has a "unique strategy" and a "custom-made solution" to every problem I could ever face!  I choose to take the Word as truth, and trust God and "walk by faith, and not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)

Don't try to figure it out!  James 4:6 says, "You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says, God opposes the proud, but He pours out grace on the humble." (Voice)

Love and prayers, Cynthia