Angels...

Happy Sunday!

Dr. Bill Winston continued the series, "Receiving Your Inheritance" with the subtitle "Releasing the Blessing".  When the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land,  one of the first cities they had to conquer was Jericho.  Jericho was considered an impenetrable city.  The walls of the city were built upon a 14 foot embankment.  The wall on top of the embankment was 26 feet tall and 6 feet thick.  There was even a spring within the city, so that if the city was shut up due to enemy attack they would never run out of water.  The people of Jericho had been anticipating an attack for many years.  In Joshua 2:9-11, Rahab tells the spies, "I know the Eternal has given your people this land. Your coming has paralyzed us all with fear.  We have heard how the Eternal held back the Red Sea so you could escape from Egypt on dry land and how you completely destroyed the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og—and their kingdoms—on the far side of the Jordan.  As soon as this news reached us, our hearts melted like wax and none of us had an ounce of courage left. The Eternal One, your God, is truly God of the heavens above and the earth below."(Voice).  Years before, the 10 spies had given an evil report about the land.  They told the Children of Israel that they could not take the land.  Their report was evil because it was a lie!  The people in the land were living in fear because they had seen the mighty works God had done for the Children of Israel!  Don't let the enemy deceive you!  What God has called you to do will be impossible for you, but not for God!  He never asked us to do the work in our own strength.  Even the Apostle Paul made it clear, "I can do all things THROUGH Christ which strengtheneth me."(Philippians 4:13, KJV).

Dr. Winston said, "Between the Promise and the fulfillment there is a war".  When you receive the promise of God regarding your situation, immediately it is done!  But while you wait for the manifestation in the flesh or in reality you will have to fight!  The Bible calls it the Good Fight of Faith.  When you know that God has promised to "overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you’ll always be taken care of in every way and you’ll have more than enough to share" but your wallet is still empty, you will have to fight off thoughts of doubt and unbelief.(2 Corinthians 9:8, Voice).  You will have to stand without wavering, because a person that wavers will get nothing.  James 1:6-8 says, "Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open."(Message).  Joshua 6:2 says, "And the Lord said unto Joshua, SEE, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour."(KJV).  The city had not been taken at that moment, but God told Joshua to SEE it as if it had already been done!  Joshua didn't even have the instructions on how to take the city, but he was expected to believe God and consider it done!  I have a question for you? Do you think Joshua had his eyes open?  Sure, he did!  So why was God telling him to SEE?  Great question!  Dr. Winston always says, "You can't go anywhere you don't see yourself going!"  If you can't see yourself in business for yourself, it will never happen.  If you can't see yourself traveling the world, it will never happen.  If you can't see yourself healed, you may die and go to be with Jesus a little sooner than expected.   Hebrews 11:1 says, "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead."(Living Bible).

God wants people to see the Blessing at work in your life!  He's a good father!  He gets no glory out of his children being broke, busted, and disgusted!  He gets no glory out of you being sick!  That's a lie from the Devil!  The word says, "Beloved, I wish ABOVE ALL THINGS that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."(KJV).  God wants you well not on welfare!  How is He going to do it?  By Faith!  When you stand in faith angels go to work on your behalf.  In Hebrews 1:14 the Word says, "All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation."(Easy-to-Read Version).   When you received Salvation you received angels to help you!  How many angels do you have? As many as you need!  In 2 Kings 6:17, the prophet needed an army of angels and that's what he got..."Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes so that he could see horses of fire and chariots of fire everywhere upon the mountain!"(Living Bible).  In Daniel 10:12-13, he needed two angels..."Relax, Daniel,’ he continued, ‘don’t be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. But I was waylaid by the angel-prince of the kingdom of Persia and was delayed for a good three weeks. But then Michael, one of the chief angel-princes, intervened to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia."(Message).  Do you see what I see?  From the moment Daniel prayed the answer was on the way!  The angel ran into spiritual opposition!  Revelation 12:9 says, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."(KJV).  There were angels cast down to the earth with Satan...we call them fallen angels or demons.  We have nothing to fear! The Word says, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."(1 John 4:4b, KJV),

Who tells your angels what to do?  Great question!  You tell your angels what to do!  Angels respond to the Word spoken in faith.  If you say, "I'm never going to have enough money", your angels get a vacation day.  But if you say what the Word says, "The blessing of the Lord brings me wealth, without painful toil for it", your angels have to go to work to bring that Word to pass.  Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."(KJV).  Wherever you and I are today, we got here with our words!  God created man in his image.  God speaks things into existence.  When man fell, his tongue became a weapon of mass destruction!  James 3:3-7 tells us the every beast can be tamed, but the tongue is wild and dangerous..."And do you know how many forest fires begin with a single ember from a small campfire? The tongue is a blazing fire seeking to ignite an entire world of vices. The tongue is unique among all parts of the body because it is capable of corrupting the whole body. If that were not enough, it ignites and consumes the course of creation with a fuel that originates in hell itself."(Voice).  No reason to fear, God has a plan!  There is a spirit that can tame the tongue!  The Holy Spirit can tame our unruly tongue.  The more we allow the Holy Spirit access to our tongues the stronger we become spiritually!  Acts 2:4 says, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."(KJV).  When we surrender our tongues to the Holy Spirit we will speak what the Word says!  When we speak what the Word says we will not curse, but bless!  When we speak what the Word says, we will see our lives, our families, and our world change!  The Apostle James gave us a great formula for success in every area of life..."My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger."(James 1:19, Easy-to-Read Version).

Getting my angels out of the unemployment line! Love and prayers, Cynthia