Body Benefit

Happy Sunday!

To exercise authority in the earth you must have a body!  God gave human beings dominion over this earth and everything in it.  Psalm 115:16 says, "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the EARTH hath he given to the children of men."(KJV).  When Jesus arrived at the Gadarenes the demon possessed man ran out to meet him. What sounded like a praise, was really a challenge!  The demon recognized that Jesus was God.  The demon knew that to have the authority to torment him, Jesus would have to be a man.  He, of course did not know that Jesus was fully God and fully man.  When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he received the power of the Holy Spirit.  He was a new creation...a God Man!  Mark 5:7 says, "When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then bellowed in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”)"(Message).  

You may be thinking, "What does this have to do with me"?  Great question!  I'm so glad you asked!  Everything that Adam needed was provided for him in the Garden of Eden.  When Adam sinned, things changed dramatically.  Genesis 3:17-19 says, "And to Adam, God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit when I told you not to, I have placed a curse upon the soil. All your life you will struggle to extract a living from it.  It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat its grasses.  All your life you will sweat to master it, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from the ground, and to the ground you will return.”(Living Bible).  OUCH!  That's pretty depressing!  But don't worry, God had a plan!  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "He orchestrated this: the Anointed One, who had never experienced sin, became sin for us so that in Him we might embody the very righteousness of God."(Voice).  God has a good plan for us and he intends for us to have everything that Adam lost!

The only way to get all the things Jesus paid for back is by Faith!  Dr. Bill Winston continued the series, "Receiving Your Inheritance" with the subtitle, "Rising to the Top".  It's important that we recognize the terms God uses to describe us.  We are HEIRS!  Romans 8:16-17 says, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then HEIRS; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."(KJV).  It may seem strange to us, because many of us have never received an inheritance.  But in a perfect world, parents live godly, prosperous lives and leave something of substance for their children.  I'm not talking about Mama's favorite pair of shoes, or Daddy's tool box!  I'm talking about businesses, industries, and properties!  It's so important to God that he said, "A GOOD man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."(Proverbs 13:22, KJV).  Now before you turn me off, and disregard this blog post...YES, there are systems that have been strategically enacted against various people groups to keep them from having what they need for today!  They are struggling just to survive.  Speaking about leaving an inheritance when you are on Welfare is a joke!  BUT GOD knew what we would be up against!  He's not going to accept any excuses.  He has given us the WORD, and the Holy Spirit!  With these tools, Jesus proved it is possible to be an overcomer!  Dr. Winston said, "When we gain more confidence in the Blessing, more power of the Blessing will be demonstrated!"

Deuteronomy 7:14 says, "You will be blessed more than ALL people."(Easy-to-Read Version).  The Blessing will fix anything!  An important part of the Blessing involves speaking.  What you say you will see!  Watch your words!  Only say what God says.  Only say what you want to see in your life.  Charles Capps, the great Faith teacher told the story of speaking things into existence.  The Holy Spirit encouraged him to speak positively about his life.  At the time, he had massive debt, had stressed induced ulcers, and other problems.  He would go to the back side of his farm and pray each morning.  He began to declare what the Word said!  One day the enemy said to him, "You are just lying!"  The Lord encouraged him and said, "How can you lie when you are saying what I said?"  From that point, he never hesitated to say what the Word said.  He began to walk by Faith!  Eventually, things changed in his life and things will change in your life!  Joel 3:10b says, "let the weak say, I am strong."(KJV).  

Love and prayers, Cynthia