Wait On The Lord

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life, natural, patience, spiritual, time, wait, waiting

Psalm 27:14

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Life is filled with waiting.  We wait nine months to be born, we wait in line at the grocery store, we wait for our food to cook, we wait two weeks to get paid, we wait, we wait, we wait.  But while we are waiting on these things we don’t give up.  We don’t say never mind I’m not pregnant, or throw the food away before it’s done.  No! we wait because we know that at the end of nine months a baby will be born and at the right time the food will be done.  How much more than should we wait on the Lord? Waiting is not for God, He exist outside of time and all things are present with Him.  Waiting is for man because God created time for man.   Whatever God says is done in the present with Him but we wait for it to be manifested in the natural realm.  Waiting doesn’t mean that it’s not done, it just means that it’s moving from the spiritual realm to the natural realm.

So while you are waiting for those things that God has promised you to manifest, rest in knowing that “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent; hath He said and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:20). Don’t give up just because you have to wait, remember waiting is a part of this natural life.  Instead, bravely, declare His word over your life and He will strengthen your heart while you wait.

Abounding In Blessings

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blessings, faithful, faithfulness, mediate, think

Proverbs 28:20
“A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”

The scripture says a faithful man shall abound in blessings.  Faithful to what? Faithful to the word of God.  A person that is faithful to the word shall abound with blessings.

Our faithfulness to service will get us rewards but only the word of God can release the Blessings of God in our lives.  To be faithful to something is to stay with it until the end to go all the way and not give up regardless of any and all adverse situations or circumstance.

Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”  God was telling Joshua to be faithful to the word because it was the word that would bring him good success.  And Jesus said in Matthew 13:23, “but he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” To get an understand of the word takes meditating upon it, holding it in, turning it over and over, not letting it go regardless of any and all adverse situations or circumstances.  It’s that kind of faithfulness to the word that causes a person to abound in blessings.  Trying to lay hold on the Blessing any other way will only result in your losing what you thought you had to begin with.  Matthew 13:12, “for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Sure it may take a little longer to finish when you  slowly digest your food, but it also takes  less to fill you up.  What am I saying?  I’m saying that if you are faithful with just one word from God that one word  will produce a harvest in your life that is exceeding abundantly above all that you can ask or think (Eph 3:20).   You can be faithful to the word of God because God is faithful to His word.

Your Hands, His Power!

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believer, hands, healing, health, mark, power, prosperity, sign

Mark 16:18
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if thy drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

A sign is something that distinguishes a person or thing from others.  The signs that distinguishes us as believers are casting out devils; speaking with new tongues; taking up serpents; laying hands on the sick and seeing them recover.   And you don’t have to have been a believer for many years to have these signs follow you.  All you need is to be a believer.

A young woman in our church testified that her husband had been complaining of chest pains.  When they went to bed that night she laid her hands on his chest and prayed for his healing.  He woke up the next morning feeling fine and never complained of chest pains again, he was completely healed.

However, many believers are reluctant to lay hands on the sick because they are afraid that the person won’t be healed.  Listen believers, the power to heal isn’t us it’s Christ in us.  The hands are ours but the power is His.  Therefore, stretch forth your hands and let His power flow through you.   Go ahead “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).

Angels Camped Out!

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angels, danger, harm, help, keeper

Psalms 34:7

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them.

“Wow! isn’t it great to know that we have angels camping out around us delivering us out of harms way. Some years ago I was living in a neighborhood that wasn’t so safe.  I had a friend who I was ministering to who also lived in the neighborhood.  He was mixed up with the wrong people and owed them money.   One day the guys he owed the money to came to my apartment.  I knew them also because I had ministered to them.  I was know as the church lady in the neighborhood.   They knocked on my door and ask if they could talk to me.  I opened the door and talked to them at the door.   Not sensing anything wrong I asked them to come in to talk.  When they step over the threshold their faces changed, the confidence that they had before had left.  Suddenly they were apologizing to me and I didn’t know why.  They said “were sorry we’re not going to do anything.”  I was stunned.  As I was standing there wondering what they were talking about  I  noticed that they were not looking at me they were looking over me.  I turned around to see what they were looking at and saw nothing.  They left out apologizing as they were leaving.

Here is what happened, they came to do me harm but the angel of the Lord was there camped out in my apartment.  I couldn’t see him but they saw him and when they did they were afraid.     Hebrews 1:14 says “are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” talking about angels.

God has given us angels to deliver us out of harms way.   If you are ever faced with a situation where you find yourself in danger whether by your own doing or by someone else know this, you are not alone angels are encamped round about you to deliver you out of harms way.

Living Water!

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healing, help, HolySpirit, living, Praying, Refreshing, restoring, Water

St. John 7:38

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus died to give us living water.  When the solidiers pieced Him in the side the scripture said out came blood and water (John 19:34).  The water represents the Holy Spirit.  Jesus died to give us His Spirit so that we can live and when we receive Him we are born of His Spirit.   But He also said “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”   Not drops, but rivers of living water.  Ezekiel saw the river as healing waters, healing everything that it touched (Ezekiel 47:8-9) and when we pray in the Spirit the river flows from our bellies and moves over our lives restoring, reviving, healing and covering every area of our lives.

Romans 8:26 says “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

We don’t have to wait to get to church to pray in the Spirit.  Paul says in Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplications in the Spirit…”  You can pray in the Spirit in your car while you’re driving, or while you’re doing the dishes, or even taking out the trash.   Every time you pray in the Spirit you are releasing healing waters to flow over your life.    So go ahead open up and let the living water flow!

Surely, There Is An End!

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alpha, beginning, end, ending, first, last, omega, recompense, reward, set, surely, time

Proverbs 23:18

“For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”

Thank God there is an end!  There is an end to poverty, there is an end to sickness, there is an end to loneliness, there is an end to trouble, and there is an end to tribulation and persecution.  There is an end, Hallelujah! There is an end!

Sarah had been barren so many years she had endured the sneers and snide remarks of family and friends.  She had endured the emptiness of her arms, and the silence in her tent instead of the cry of a baby.  But one day it all changed and there was an end. The angel of the Lord said to Abraham “…Is anything to hard for the Lord?  At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Gen. 18:14).  Genesis 21:1-2, “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”  At the set time there was an end to Abraham and Sarah’s barrenness and their expectation of having a child was fulfilled.

Although Satan was allowed to trouble Job, his time was set and there was an end and God turn Job’s captivity and blessed him with more than he had before.  And although Hannah had to endure being provoked by Peninnah every time she went up to worship, at the set time there was an end and Samuel was born. To Sarah, Job and Hannah it looked like and felt like it would never end but there was a set time. It might look like and feel like to you that your situation will never end, but there is a set time and it shall end and your expectations will be fulfilled.

Jesus said to John on the isle of Patmos “I Am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8).  Jesus is the one who sets the time for all things.  And if you will continue to believe on Him you will see your expectations fulfilled.  The enemy’s time was up when Jesus said “It is finished”, he must let go and move out of the way of God’s people.

Hebrews 10:35-37 says, “Cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.  For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” 

Don’t give up for surely there is an end to all that the devil is using to resist you.  Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.  He will end it and your expectations will not go unfulfilled.

Faith That Delivers

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danger, deliver, deliverance, faith, help, hurt, injury, Jesus, pain

Daniel 6:23

“Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den.  So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”

Faith is an impenetrable shield that keeps us from all hurt, harm and danger.  

When Daniel was faced with the lion’s den he armed himself with only one weapon, his faith in God.  Daniel’s faith was all he needed to sustain no injuries from the lion’s mouth. However, Daniel did have to go into the lion’s dens.

God never promised that we wouldn’t have to go into lion’s dens or fiery furnaces, but what He did promised is that He will deliver us out of them all. Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”   As long as we are in this world we will be faced with things that are design by the enemy to cause us hurt, injury and death. But we need not fear because Jesus has overcome the world and His victory is our victory (John 16:33).

Our faith covers us just as the glory of God covered Adam and Eve in the garden.  So we can rest and not shake just as Daniel did.  When Daniel heard the decree of the king he went into his house opened his bedroom windows and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he always did. (Daniel 6:10)  All Daniel did was believed in God and His faith was all he needed.

All we need is our faith in Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God to shut the mouth of lions, quench the fiery furnace, and open prison doors.  Faith is Christ in us.

His Outcome Is Our Outcome

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consequence, efforts, outcomes, Results, work, works

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit thy works to the Lord; and thy thoughts will be established.”

Outcomes are something that follows as a result or consequence.  Our outcomes in life are a result of what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus came to this earth to fulfill the will of his Father and although He knew the will of His Father included dying, He believed that the Father would raise Him up on the third day.   Psalms 16:10  says, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Jesus trusted His life to His Father and because of that He received what the Father promised, He was raised from the dead.  Ephesians 1:19-20, “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of HIs mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when he raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.”  And just as Jesus trusted His work to His Father we must trust our work to Him.

The Hebrew word for commit is roll.  When we roll our works upon Jesus, we receive His works and if we receive His works we also receive the outcome of His work which is His life. No longer do we get results based on what we do but on what He as done.  I like how the amplified bible states it, ” roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.  When we trust our works to the Lord we succeed.

However, the key is trusting God; when we trust God He causes our thoughts to line up with His will.  He directs us into the will of God for our circumstance and situations.  And as He does this  His purpose and plans our accomplished for our lives.  We receive His outcome, we receive His life.

Today, whatever work you are doing, whether it’s your job, your family, your  business, or ministry roll that work upon the Lord and receive His work and your will receive His outcome, you will receive HIs life.

Sing, Sing, Sing!

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happy, joy, music, praise, rejoice, rejoicing, Sing, Singing, worship

Zephaniah 3:1-2

“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.  The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy; the King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil anymore.”

Sing, Sing, Sing!  The Lord has given us eternal victory and we need to sing about it!  We don’t need to sing songs of sorrow and despair but songs of victory and praise to our God.  Moses sang a song unto the Lord after the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt saying “…I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea” (Exd. 15:1).  Moses sang of the glorious victory and the power of God.  Not about what he had done but what God had done.  Not about how much trouble they had in Eygpt but about what God had done.  Listen further, “The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation; He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation ; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exd. 15:2).   Moses sang of God’s strength and power and prepared a dwelling place for God.   God inhabits the praises of His people.

Zephaniah 3:17, it says that the Lord “will joy over thee with singing.” The Lord joys over us with singing because He has gotten us the victory.  Now since He joys over us with singing we can joy over Him with singing for the same reason He joys over us, because He has gotten us the victory!  David said, “Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works” (1 Chron. 16:9).  If you want to feel the presence of God, instead of saying Lord I need your presence, began to sing a song speaking of His goodness, His mercy, His grace, and His presence will rise up within you and rest in your praises.

Isaiah 54:1 says, “Sing, O barren thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married with saith the Lord.”  If you are experiencing any kind of barrenness in your life, here is what you need to do, break forth into singing.  Sing of the goodness of God because the Lord has given you the victory!  

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:19-20). Sing, Sing, Sing!

Standing Strong In Difficult Times

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difficult, faithful, peace, pray, prophecies, quench, rejoice, spirit, strong, Thanksgiving

I Thessalonians 5:16-28

These scriptures in I Thessalonians gives us instruction on remaining strong during difficult times.  They simply say rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks, quench not the spirit, don’t despise prophecies, prove all things and hold fast to what is good; abstain from all appearance of evil and the very God of peace will sanctify you wholly and preserve your spirit, soul and body blameless unto the coming of Christ.  Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.

So often we give to much place to the negative things that happen in our life.  Don’t take the negative situation or circumstance to heart, rejoice instead.  Here’s why.  Ephesians 2:6 says that God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, if we are sitted together with Christ then we are where He is  “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in his world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:21).  This means that no matter how difficult the situation or circumstance may be we are above it because we are in Him. Jesus Christ has placed us above every dark cloud of this world.  This is why we can rejoice evermore.

In addition to being sitted together with Christ, we have the privilege of prayer.   It is our covenant right to ask our Father for anything and expect to receive what we ask.  Mark 11:24 says “Therefore I say unto you , what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”  And not only that but God has given us His Spirit. During difficult times when things seem a bit overwhelming we can pray in the Spirit and find rest and refreshing for our spirit and soul (Isaiah 28:11).    You see, when we are rested and refreshed we are able to see all that God has accomplished for us.  Therefore, we can give God thanks in the midst of it all  because we know that He has already worked it out through Christ.    Jesus told us in John 16:33 “…in this world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Now as you are rejoicing and praying and giving thanks to God, the Holy Spirit will speak to your spirit and release wisdom to you for your situation.  Don’t quench the Spirit.  In other words don’t surpress or subdue the promptings of the Spirit because God gives His wisdom liberally (James 1:5).  God delights in leading and guiding us.  This is why He has given us His good Spirit to instruct us, so don’t surpress Him.

And then, don’t despise prophesyings.   During difficult times  God will give you a word of prophecy to edify and build you up.  This is what the gift of prophecy is for so don’t despise it.  We have His Spirit in us to prove what is of Him and what is not. Finally, know that the very God of peace is in the midst of you. He is sanctifying you wholly, and preserving your spirit, soul and body blameless unto the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Through it all He is perfecting Himself in you.  And let’s not forget that the very God of peace is faithful and all that He has said He will do!