Praying that you are enjoying a long holiday weekend.
Dr. Bill Winston continued his series, "The Power of Love", with the subtitle, "Possessing Your Mountain". Again today, the message was so rich and full of scriptures and revelation. I'll just share a few points.
1 John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (KJV) Before we jump to the conclusion that God is against prosperity or against you having nice things, let's read this scripture in another translation. The Voice Translation says, "Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them." Did you get that? Those who love this world and it's corrupt way of doing things do not have the Father's kind of love. The Word tells us what it takes to be successful. It also tells us what will happen to a fool.
Mark 11:12-31 tells this story, Jesus left the city of Bethany one morning. From a distance he saw a fig tree full of leaves. Fig trees leaves and fruit normally appear at the same time. Jesus was hungry and excited to see the leaves and anticipated enjoying the fruit. But you know the story, he got up to the fig tree and found no fruit! The tree was a religious perpetrator! The tree lied about being fruitful by displaying leaves. Why is this important to us today? So glad you asked! 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, "And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these." (Voice) Paul instructed Timothy to stay away from people that deny the power of God! They look just like other Christians on their way to church. They may even sit beside you in the pew. Just like that fig tree, they look really good but there is no fruit...no evidence. I saw a quote recently that goes right along with this. "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be any evidence?"
If we are going to possess our mountain of influence, we are going to have to get real. Be true to yourself. Be honest with yourself. Life is so very precious, and people are leaving earth daily. You have to be confident that if you pass away today, you would spend eternity in heaven with Jesus. It doesn't matter what Mama, Daddy, or Big Mama believed...what do you believe? And if you believe God, let's see some fruit in your life. Matthew 7:16-18 says, "But you will recognize them by their fruits. You don’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, do you? You don’t find delectable figs growing in the midst of prickly thistles. People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty." (Voice)
I love a good church service. Been going to church most of my life. Most of that time I was just being religious. My life and circumstances were not really changing or improving. But as much as I love the fellowship and the music, I've learned the hard way...it's the WORD of GOD that I need. The Word is described as bread, I need bread to survive physically and I need the Word to survive spiritually. The enemy is trying to kill us, don't be naive. He wants us dead and he's using our ignorance of the Word against us. Don't be an easy target.
Ephesians 6:10 tells us how, "God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."
Love and prayers, Cynthia
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