Blessings for Obedience
28 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed. 4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. 5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. 6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. 7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! 8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you. 11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. 12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.
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And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17
Did you know your name has been changed? It's no longer the same as it was before you were born again. You gave your old name away when you made covenant with Jesus. To fully appreciate what that means, you have to think about it in the light of what we know about blood covenant. When someone enters a covenant of blood, he is giving himself completely away. He is no longer his own. His assets and his debts, his strengths and his weaknesses belong forever to his covenant brother. When you're in blood covenant with someone, that person's name becomes your name forever. You cannot escape it—good or bad—it's yours. When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He took your name! Your name was sin. Your name was weakness. Your name was fear and poverty and every other evil thing you inherited from Adam. Jesus took those names from you and gave you His own in exchange. That's right! Ephesians 3:15 says that the whole Body of Christ has been named after Him both in heaven and earth. That means you have been given Jesus' Name. Its authority is now yours! Just think about who you're named after: "Jesus, Mighty God, Wisdom, Deliverer, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Word of Life, Advocate, Provider, The Great I Am, Helper, Savior, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Lamb of God, Lord of Hosts, Root of David, Author and Finisher of Our Faith, The Way, Healer, Son of God, The Truth, Chief Cornerstone, King of Kings, Light of the World, Chief Shepherd, My Strength and Song, Righteous Judge, Son of Righteousness, Resurrection and Life, The Alpha and Omega." Praise God, those names cover any need you'll ever have. What's more, the power of God is in His Name to bring that Name to pass in your life (Acts 3:16). You can't call yourself discouraged anymore. That's not your name. You can't answer when the devil yells, "Hey, poor boy." That's not your name. Jesus has taken those old names of yours. They're gone. So meditate on the names of the Lord. They're all wrapped up in the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names, and that Name with all its power and authority has been given to you! Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:16-21 New Living Translation 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. KENNETH COPELAND Grace Is Enough By Gloria Copeland
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. 2 Corinthians 12:7 The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul’s thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin—and to do it of our own free will. It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I’ve gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they’d been taught about Paul’s thorn. And most of them have been taught wrongly. Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What’s more, tradition makes the “thorn” into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn’t say that at all! It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God—Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was—a “messenger sent from Satan.” You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan’s kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him. When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn’t answer Paul in the negative. God said, “My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)” (W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). In other words, when Paul didn’t have enough human strength to overcome, God’s miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness. Don’t allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord! Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10NLT Paul’s Vision and His Thorn in the Flesh 12 This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. 5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Not one place to gain access, but the entry point. You can try to reach a destination without going through it, but you’ll end up bumping up against a wall.
For Christians, Jesus created the gateway and then told us how to get through it to success in every area of our lives—financially, physically, spiritually, relationally and otherwise. From His Word, we know: Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Prayer won’t work without faith (James 1:7-8). Faith won’t work without love (Galatians 5:6). Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). In other words, if you have a problem, love is the answer. If you’ve been stuck in the same place or believing for the same thing for what seems like forever, love is the answer. The good news is that your love walk is completely in your hands. That means YOU have the power to change your situation! Here, we’re sharing why love is The Gateway to Success in every area of your life and how to get there. 1. Love Brings Success to Your Prayers“And whenever you stand praying… forgive.” –Mark 11:25 (NKJV) When you’re interacting with people each day, you likely aren’t thinking about how it will affect your prayers. But the Bible tell us it does—significantly, in fact. Prayers prayed in faith are those that yield results. Since Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works by love, we know faith cannot be in operation when something in our love walk is out of balance. Perhaps you’re outwardly a very pleasant and polite person. But walking in love goes far beyond being nice. It’s what resides deep beneath the surface. It’s what comes out when something goes wrong or someone upsets you. It includes your thoughts and intentions. It’s a matter of the heart. And it’s so important because your love walk will make or break your prayer life, as Jesus told us in Mark 11:25. Love is so important because the Bible says love is a greater power than even faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). So, no matter how much faith and hope you think you have, if your love is off balance, your faith won’t work. If you’ve been praying a prayer that doesn’t seem to be receiving an answer, it’s time to ask (and answer) the question that changes everything and moves you through the gateway to success: How is your love walk? Let’s take a look. Love is patient—with your spouse, at the grocery store, in traffic, with your children. Love is kind—to your neighbor, to your restaurant server, in your thoughts, in your deeds and especially in a disagreement. Love doesn’t envy—it isn’t jealous of someone else’s life, appearance, giftings or opportunities. Love doesn’t boast—it doesn’t focus on itself but turns attention outward toward others. Love is not proud—it does not see itself as greater than it should. It knows where it needs to improve and is not above correction. It doesn’t worry, but instead fully trusts God. Love is not rude—It doesn’t cut people off in traffic, and it doesn’t push to the front of the line. It doesn’t talk loudly in public or disturb others during a church service. It is not late for work, church or appointments. And it doesn’t speak harshly. Love keeps no record of wrongs—it doesn’t remind your spouse of what they said or did five years ago or even last week. It doesn’t keep a running tally of what your mother-in-law has said or done. If the Lord tapped you on the shoulder about one or more of these in particular—make a change! Ask God to help you, so you can walk through the gateway to success! “Love your neighbor as yourself” fulfills every commandment. If you’ve been unkind to someone this week, you’ve stepped out of love, so get it right with that person without delay. Go to them and apologize. Repent to them and to the Lord. Clear the pathway to answered prayer! 2. Love Brings Healing to Your Body“Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” –Ephesians 4:31-32 (AMPC) If healing is something you’ve been believing for, but it seems slow in coming, love is the answer. Medical science has proven that diseases such as arthritis, cancer, ulcers, anxiety, high blood pressure and heart disease are connected to stress, fear and bitterness. Unforgiveness or harboring hurts from the past is downright dangerous—both physically and spiritually. Unforgiveness will pull the plug on your faith so completely that you won’t have enough power to move the molehills in your life—much less the mountains. Jesus concluded one of His most powerful teachings on faith with these words, “And when you stand praying, forgive” (Mark 11:25, MEV). Jesus didn’t say when you stand praying try to forgive if you can. He simply said to forgive. Period. Jesus did not suggest that we forgive. He made forgiveness a command. And it would be unjust for Him to command us to do something we could not do. Therefore, we know it is within our ability to obey His command to forgive—no matter what the circumstances are. Most people don’t realize it, but unforgiveness is actually a form of fear. Quite often we don’t forgive because we’re afraid of getting hurt again. We’re afraid we will never recover from the damage someone has done to our lives. Beyond forgiving others, walking in love in every area of life will keep you healthy and strong. Anger, grumbling and criticism are bad for your health! Proverbs 29:11 (RSV) says, “A fool gives full vent to his anger.” Angry outbursts are not only sinful and harmful to you, but they damage your relationships as well. While we all have moments when we get upset, lashing out in anger toward anyone under any circumstance is not only unacceptable and disobedient to God’s Word, it will block your healing. That’s why Brother Kenneth E. Hagin said, “If you want to walk in health, you’re going have to walk in love and keep your tongue!” Grumbling and criticism are in the same category. Complaining is the opposite of a grateful, faith-filled heart, and criticizing others is stepping out of love. Love disciplines, corrects and holds people accountable. Love doesn’t just allow people to act however they wish or affirm behaviors that are contrary to the Word of God. But it is also not condemning or judgmental. So, hold your tongue, guard your heart, and get healed! You can change your habits to change your life. Jesus is ready and waiting to be invited to heal the hurting and broken places in your life that cause you to be angry, criticize or complain. He wants to help you. All you have to do is ask, be willing and obedient; and you will eat the good of the land. Love is your gateway to success! 3. Love Will Bring Success to Your Finances“The LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments.” –Deuteronomy 15:4-5 (NKJV) This connection is difficult for some people to make. How is your love walk tied to your finances? As we’re learning, your love walk is tied to everything! When it comes to finances, there are multiple areas where we can block our own blessing without knowing it. Worry is probably the greatest offender in a believer’s life when it comes to provision. Worry means “divided into parts.” Worry means “to be double-minded,” and we know from James 1:6 that a double-minded man cannot expect anything from the Lord. Love means living without fear (1 John 4:18)—fear that what you want will never come to pass, fear of being rejected, fear of being overlooked, fear of not having enough money, fear of losing your job, fear of getting sick, etc. The Hebrew translation of the word love includes the root word for giving, which means you cannot separate love from giving! If a believer is withholding the tithe or is not generous in giving to the Kingdom or to others, love is not in full operation. Beyond that, we block financial blessings when we mistreat others because disobedience to the Lord is a blessing blocker. It doesn’t have to be a big and noticeable offense, either. Here are some areas where we as believers can miss it and walk out of love:
Need help improving your love walk? (Hint: We all do!) 4. Love Will Give You Whole-Life Success“Love never fails.” –1 Corinthians 13:8 (NKJV) What does whole-life success look like to you? For many it means success in health, finances, relationships, business, ministry, promotions and dreams realized. Brother Copeland says, “Love is fear-free and failure-free.” Since we know love never fails, if we’re experiencing failure—or a lack of success—in any area of our lives, we know love is the answer. If you desire to be married, to receive a promotion at work, an increase in your finances, to start a ministry, to walk in divine health, to heal a broken relationship, or to bring a prodigal child home—love is the answer. Sow seeds, speak confessions and stay in the Word—those are all part of seeing a harvest—but don’t expect to see results until you dig deep, press in and make the changes you need to make to fully walk in love. Love will push you forward toward the gateway to success. Anything that moves you out of love puts on the brakes and stalls out your progress. Don’t put on the brakes. Let love propel you to success in every area of your life! Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 28: 1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed. 4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. 5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. 6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. 7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! 8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you. 11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. 12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them. Curses for Disobedience 15 “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: Verses 16-68. THE BLESSINGS IN THE WORD OF GOD REQUIRE FORGIVENESS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfBtY3m7Z6U SALVATION
In life, the number one (#1) need that every person has is a need for the forgiveness of sin. For all of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) Jesus has a certain way of doing things. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) The most important decision that you will ever make in your life is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Wherefore, as by one man (i.e. Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10) If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, pray this prayer in faith and mean it in your heart. PRAYER OF SALVATION Pray out loud in faith. Dear God in Heaven, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. Your Word says if I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I would be saved. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and I confess Him now as my Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen If you prayed that prayer, You are saved! You are Born Again! Welcome to the Body of Christ! Now you can rejoice in your wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends with God. (Romans 5:11NLT) Tell at least five (5) people you are saved. THE HOLY SPIRIT Being Born Again is wonderful, but it is just the beginning. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need Him to live inside us and be our Teacher, to guide us into all truth, to empower us and strengthen us to do all Jesus has called us to do. (Luke 11:9-13) And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4) If you want to receive this gift and power from on high, pray this prayer in faith out loud. PRAYER TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT Father, I believe with all my heart, based on the Scriptures, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is meant for me. Just as I trust you for my eternal salvation by faith, so now I do trust you, by faith, to give me the fullness of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. I receive, by faith. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. WEEK 4
HAVE FAITH IN GOD: Let faith be all eye and ear, the surrender to let God make His full impression and reveal Himself fully in the soul. Count it one of the chief blessings of prayer to exercise faith in God, as the Living Mighty God. The God Who waits to fulfill in us all the good pleasure of His will and the work of faith with power. See in Him the God of Love, whose delight it is to bless and impart Himself. In such worship of faith in God the power will speedily come to believe the promise, too: “ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER YE ASK, BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE.” Yes, see to it that, in faith make God your own; the promise will be yours, too. Another precious lesson that Jesus has to teach us. We seek God’s gifts: God wants to give us HIMSELF first. We think of prayer as the power to draw down good gifts from heaven; Jesus thinks of prayer as the means to draw ourselves up to God. We want to stand at the door and cry; Jesus would have us first enter in and realize that we are friends and children. Let us accept the teaching. Let every experience of the littleness of our faith in prayer urge us first to have and exercise more faith in the living God, and in such faith to yield ourselves to Him. A heart full of God has power for the prayer of faith. Faith in God begets faith in the promise, and also in the promise of an answer to prayer. HIGHLIGHTS: -One of the chief blessings of prayer is to exercise faith in God, as the Living Mighty God. -See in Him the God of Love, whose delight it is to bless and impart Himself. -In faith, see to it that you make God your own; the promise will be yours, too. Therefore, child of God, take time, take time, to bow before God, to wait on Him to reveal Himself. Take time, and let your soul in holy awe and worship exercise and express its faith in the Infinite One. As He imparts Himself and takes possession of you, the prayer of faith will crown your faith in God. Lord Teach Us To Pray O my God! I do believe in You. I believe in You: -as the Father, Infinite in Your Love and Power, -as the Son, my Redeemer and my Life, -as the Holy Spirit, my Comforter and Guide and Strength. Three-In-One God, I have faith in You. I know and am sure that all that You are You are to me, that all You have promised You will perform. Lord Jesus! Increase my faith. Teach me to take time and wait and worship in the Holy Presence until my faith takes in all there is in my God for me. WEEK 3
He that knows and trusts God finds it easy to trust the promise, too. Notice how distinctly evident this comes out in the saints of old. Every special exhibition of the power of faith was the fruit of a special revelation of God. See it in Abraham: “And the word of the Lord came unto Abram, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield. And He brought him forth abroad, and said…AND HE BELIEVED THE LORD.” And later again: “The Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, I am God Almighty. And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him saying, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee.” It was the revelation of God Himself that gave the promise its living power to enter the heart and work the faith. Saints of old knew God, these men of faith could not do anything but trust His promise. God’s promise will be to us what God Himself is. It is the man who walks before the Lord and falls upon his face to listen while the living God speaks to him, who will really receive the promise. Though we have God’s promises in the Bible, with full liberty to take them, the spiritual power is lacking, except as God Himself speaks them to us. He speaks to those who walk and live with Him. HIGHLIGHTS: -Revelation of God Himself gives the promise its living power. -Spiritual power is lacking in promises except God Himself speaks them to us. -The man who listens to God speaking to him receives the promise WEEK 2
The power of reception will depend entirely on the power of spiritual perception. For this reason Jesus gave the promise that God would answer believing prayer; “HAVE FAITH IN GOD.” Faith is simply surrender: I yield myself to the impression that the Words of God I hear make on me. By faith I yield myself to the living God. His glory and love fill my heart and have the mastery over my life. Faith is fellowship; I give myself up to the influence of the Friend Who makes me a promise. I become linked to Him by it. It is when we enter into this living fellowship with God Himself, in a faith that always sees and hears Him, that it becomes easy and natural to believe His promise of prayer. Faith in the promise is the fruit of faith in the promiser: The prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith. In this way the faith that prays effectually is indeed a gift of God. Not as something that bestows or infuses at once, but in a far deeper and truer sense, as the blessed disposition or habit of soul which is wrought and grows up in us in a life of intimacy with Him. Surely for one who knows his Father well and lives in constant close intimacy with Him, it is a simple thing to believe the promise that He will do the will of His child who lives in union with Himself. Many of God’s children do not understand this connection between the life of faith and the prayer of faith. Therefore their experience of the power of prayer is very limited. When they desire earnestly to obtain an answer from God, they fix their whole heart upon the promise and try their utmost to grasp that promise in faith. When they do not succeed, they are ready to give up hope. The promise is true, but it is beyond their power to take hold of it in faith. HIGHLIGHTS: -Jesus promised that God would answer believing prayer. -Faith is surrender and is fellowship. -Faith that prays effectually is a gift of God. It is the blessed habit of soul which grows up in us in a life of intimacy. One who knows his Father well and lives in constant close intimacy with Him. Listen to the lesson Jesus teaches us: HAVE FAITH IN GOD, the Living God: Let faith look to God more than the thing promised. It is His love, His power, His Living presence that will waken and work the faith. A physician would say to one asking how to get more strength in his arms and hands, that his whole constitution must be built up and strengthened. So the cure of a feeble faith is alone to be found in the invigoration of our whole spiritual life by intimacy with God. Learn to believe in God, to take hold of God, to let God take possession of your life, and it will be easy to take hold of the promise. HIGHLIGHTS: -Experiencing of the power of prayer depends on understanding the connection between the life of faith and the prayer of faith. -Look to God (the Promiser) more than the thing promised. -God’s love, God’s power, and His living presence wakens and works the faith. -Cure of feeble faith comes by intimacy with God WEEK 1
Mark 11:22-24 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. The promise of ‘answer to prayer,’ is one of the most wonderful in all Scripture. Nevertheless, in many hearts it has raised the question: How can I ever obtain the faith that knows that it receives all it asks for? It is this question our Lord will answer today. Jesus gave that wonderful promise to His disciples, He also spoke another word, in which He points out where faith in the answer to prayer comes from and where it always finds its strength. HAVE FAITH IN GOD: This word precedes the other one, have faith in the promise of an answer to prayer. The power to believe a promise depends entirely on faith in the promiser. Trust in the person begets trust in his word. It is only where we live and associate with God in personal, loving intimacy that the capacity will be developed for believing that He gives whatsoever we ask. It is only where GOD HIMSELF is all to us. It is where our whole being is continually opened up and exposed to the mighty influences that are at work. It is where His Holy Presence is revealed HIGHLIGHTS: -Power to believe a promise depends entirely on faith in the promiser. -Trust in a person begets trust in his word. -The capacity for believing that He gives whatsoever we ask, is developed through personal, loving intimacy with God. There is a connection between faith in God and faith in His promise. This will become clear to us if we think what faith really is. It is often compared to the hand or the mouth, by which we take and use what is offered to us. But it is of importance that we should understand that faith is also the ear by which I hear what is promised, the eye by which I see what is offered me. The power to take depends on this. I must hear the person who gives me the promise: The very tone of his voice gives me courage to believe. I must see him: In the light of his eye and countenance. Then all fear, as to my right to take, passes away. The Eye: The value of the promise depends on the promiser. My faith in the promise depends on my knowledge of what the promiser is. It is for this reason that Jesus, Who gives that wonderful prayer-promise, first says, HAVE FAITH IN GOD.’ That is, let thine eye be open to the Living God and gaze on Him, seeing Him Who is invisible. It is through the eye that I yield myself to the influence of what is before me; I just allow it to enter, to exert its influence, to leave its impression upon my mind. So believing God is just looking to God and what He is, allowing Him to reveal His presence, giving Him time and yielding the whole being to take in the full impression of what He is as God. Believing God is the soul opened up to receive and rejoice in the overshadowing of His love. Yes, faith is the eye to which God shows what He is and does: Through faith the light of His presence and the workings of His mighty power steam into the soul. As that which I see lives in me, so by faith God lives in me, too. The Ear: Faith is also the ear through which the voice of God is always heard and intimacy with Him maintained. It is through the Holy Spirit the Father speaks to us. The Son is the Word, the substance of what God says; the Spirit is the living voice. The child of God needs this to lead and guide him; the secret voice from heaven must teach him, as it taught Jesus, what to say and what to do. An ear opened towards God, that is, a believing heart waiting on Him to hear what He says, will hear Him speak. The words of God will not only be the words of a Book but, the words proceeding from the mouth of God, will be spirit and truth, life and power. They will bring in deed and living experience what are otherwise only thoughts. Through this opened ear the soul tarries under the influence of the life and power of God Himself. As the words I hear enter the mind and dwell and work there, so through faith God enters the heart and dwells and works there. When faith now is in full exercise as eye and ear, as the faculty of the soul by which we see and hear God, then it will be able to exercise its full power as hand and mouth, by which we appropriate God and His blessing. HIGHLIGHTS: -The value of the promise depends on the promiser -Faith is the ear by which I hear what is promised. -Faith is the eye by which I see what if offered. -Believing God is looking to God and what He is as God |
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