YOU ARE THE PROPHET OF YOUR LIFE
PART 4
BY KENNETH COPELAND
One of the most natural things we do in life is talk. In fact, long before most of us knew what we were doing, we were learning to talk. We started forming our first words, while we were still babies.
But there’s also something very supernatural about ability to talk. You and I are the only creatures of God made with the right to choose our own words and then speak them.
What is so supernatural about that?
Well, consider a parrot. A parrot has a tongue, as well as all the other equipment necessary to sound like a man. But a parrot’s tongue is hooked only to its body, therefore, it can only mimic sounds its hears. It cannot actually choose its own words and carry on a conversation.
You and I, however, being created in the image of God, were designed with our tongues connected to our spirits and souls, as well as our bodies. That means we have the ability to speak words that contain a creative, or supernatural, force that enables those same words to come to pass.
Consequently, each of us is the prophet of his own life. We set the course of our own future. Our health, our wealth, and our place in eternity is in our mouths. Everything about us has been, and will be; determined by the words we speak.
The challenge we face, then, is “What can we do to make sure our words are carving out a good life for us on the earth, and a future for us in heaven?”
YOU ARE THE CAPTAIN – YOU DECIDE!
To get an idea of just how powerful our words can be, let’s read James 3:2-8:
“If a man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which tough they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm (rudder), whithersoever the (captain decides). Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tames, and has been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
In verse 4 James talks about of great ship being turned by a small rudder. Now, this ship that James talked about is our earthly body. It is the vessel which contains our spirit. And while we all know how much trouble our bodies can give us, James explained that these five physical sense bodies of our can be turned, or guided, by our tongues.
James leaves no question as to the power we hold within our tongues, but that power can either work for us or it can work against us. Either way, we are the one who decide, because we are the captains of our own lives. Each of us stands at the helm and decides where his ship is going.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, “For by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned.” So it is the tongue that sets the course for our lives.
There is no storm on life’s sea through which we cannot safely sail by proper use of the rudder that is in our mouths.
Our tongues can be a powerful tool used in our favor, they can also be an unruly and deadly force, causing our lives to be shipwrecked if we let them run out of control. Our only hope for taming them, and thereby charting a good course for our future, is the Word of God.
IT IS OUR WORD AGAINST GOD’S
As we have seen in this series, true success in life comes from putting God’s Word in our mouths and in our hearts. Matthew 12:34-35 says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of the heart brings forth evil thing.”
If you and I are going to use the Word of God to navigate through this life, however, there are a couple of issues we need to settle first. To see what I mean, let’s look at James 3:13-16:
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
A key phrase that I want us to examine in this passage is “lie not against the truth.” (Verse 14)
Have you ever noticed we can wake up some mornings with every symptom of the flu, or maybe a head cold, and the first thing we want to do is tell someone all about it? We go looking for someone to get into agreement with us, “Yeah, you’re sick, all right.”
Or, how about those times when things are just not going our way? Maybe it a hairdo, or the family vacation or work at the office. Whatever it is, pressure just seems to keep building and building until we feel like we’re going to explode if we don’t say at least something about it.
Why do you think it’s so hard to keep our mouths shut in situations like that?
Jesus answered this in Mark 4. He warned that Satan comes to steal the Word of God from our hearts through persecutions, offense, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and list of other things. He uses anything and everything in this natural realm to stir up our flesh and get us to open our mouths.
So the issue comes down to: WHAT IS GOING TO COME OUT?
Only by getting hold of our tongues can the devil put anything on us or take anything from us. If he can get our tongues, then he can get the rest of us. All he has to do is get us to lie against the truth, which is God’s Word.
It is no surprise, then, that when we are under pressure from our flesh, being moved by what we see, or feel, or think, we tend to open our mouths and say things life, “I’m so unworthy!” “I’m so tired!” “I’m so broke!” “I’m so ugly!” “I’m never going anywhere in life!”
When the pressure is on, that’s when we really find out what’s on the inside of us, and it’s usually not the Word of God.
Yet, what we see, what we think and what we say does not change the truth of God’s Word. That’s why James called it lying against the truth, or lying against the Word.
The truth according to the Word says, “By (Jesus’) stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) When we say, “I’m just so sick!” we are lying against the truth. We are giving the devil a foothold into our lives, and setting the course for a life of sickness.
If we say anything other than what the Word of God says about a situation, we are lying against the truth.
FACTS CHANGE - THE TRUTH DOES NOT
Another key phrase in James 3 that links our words to our success in life is found in verse 17, “without hypocrisy.” That is why it is not hypocrisy for us to have every flu symptom in the world, yet go around quoting God’s Word as our own and saying, “By His stripes I was healed. Healing is mine and I receive it now.”
Sure, people may look at us and say, “Well, that’s a lie, look at you, you’re sick. You are just a hypocrite!”
No. We are not going around declaring our physical health according to the Word in order to convince people there is nothing wrong with us. If were to do that, we would be lying.
We are confessing God’s Word and saying those things to change what’s wrong with our bodies. We are calling “those things that be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17) God Almighty Himself does that.
Granted, the fact may be that we look sick, and that our bodies are showing symptoms of sickness. But that is not the truth of the matter. That’s not what God’s Word says about the situation.
What’s more, the truth, God’s Word, is eternal. It never changes. Facts, on the other hand, do change. And it’s the truth that changes them.
The symptoms of sickness are a fact. God’s Word is truth. Truth takes authority over facts and changes them.
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED JESUS?
I have seen it happen countless times in my own life. I get into a situation where God’s Word says one thing, but the facts that are staring me in the face say another.
How do we get those facts to change and line up with the truth of the Word?
Hebrews 2:18-3:1 (the Amplified Bible) tells us:
“For because He Himself (in His humanity) has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried) to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried (and who therefore are being exposed to suffering). So then, brethren, consecrate and set apart for God, thoughtfully and attentively consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest Whom we confessed.”
When symptoms in your body scream, “You’re sick! You’re sick!” or when the figures in your checkbook scream, “You’re broke! You’re broke!” that is a good time to “consider Jesus.”
Thoughtfully and attentively consider Jesus, not the pain. Thoughtfully and attentively consider Jesus, not your bank account. Get your mind off your flesh, or the natural, and get it over on Him!
Consider Jesus, the One appointed and anointed by Almighty God to be High Priest of your confession, the One given full responsibility and all the resources of heaven to see that your words, His Word spoken out of your mouth, come to pass in the earth. CONSIDER HIM!
The Bible says Abraham “considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). That’s saying a lot when God promised that Abraham would have offspring as countless as the stars, and become the father of many nations.
How was Abraham able to believe God and consider not the natural circumstances that must have been screaming at him?
Romans 4:20-12 says, “He staggered not at the promise of God, being fully persuaded that, what God had promised, He was able to perform.”
Abraham had a promise. He had the Word of God. He had the wisdom of God. He had the truth of God on the matter.
Armed with the truth, Abraham changed the facts. He set his course. He went from Abram, a 100-year-old man with no descendants, to Abraham, father of many nations and offspring as numerous as the stars.
Today, you and I are among those descendants of Abraham. And like our father of faith, we have a promise from God. We have His Word. We have His wisdom. We have the truth, in every matter. With that truth we can set our course and change the facts. But those facts certainly won’t change until our tongues change.
So tame your tongue, fill your mouth with the Word of God, and then set your course for a life full of success.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
YOU ARE THE PROPHET OF YOUR LIFE
PART 3
BY KENNETH COPELAND
Ask any professional football player what he thinks about all the time, and he probably will say, “football!” That’s because most professional athletes devote their lives to their game. They eat, sleep and breathe what they do on the playing field. It is the primary focus of their lives.
The same could be said for just about any “professional.” The word “professional;” after all, usually refers to someone who had devoted his or her life to a particular career, whether it’s sports, music, medicine, law or whatever.
But have you ever thought of someone being a professional in terms of faith? Here’s what I mean.
As Christians, you and I should be readily recognized by people around us as “professional” believers. We should be so consumed with God and so devoted to God that everything we do is related to Him. Our daily walk in His Word and His Spirit should be what we think about and talk about all the time. It should be the primary focus of our lives.
What’s more, we should look to our faith as the source of our income, just as any “professional” looks at his or her “profession.”
Romans 1:17 tells us that “The just shall live by faith.” That means our faith is our very livelihood. It should be the source of our finances, the health of our bodies, the peace of our minds.
In short, our faith should be our profession, our focus in life.
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY
In Hebrews 3:1 we are instructed to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ (or the Anointed One) Jesus.”
The word translated as ‘profession” in that verse can also be translated as “confession.” God appointed and anointed Jesus to be High Priest over our confessions, or our words of faith. He is responsible for bringing our words to pass.
But if that were not enough, 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 also tells us that Jesus enriches our utterance. That is, He takes our words of faith and enriches them with His Anointing.
So no matter how we look at it, the words we speak carry the very creative force of Almighty God behind them. They will come to pass.
The question is, Do we want our words to come to pass?
You see, I’m not talking about those holy and inspiring words of faith and love we speak in church on Sunday mornings. No, the words I’m talking about are the ones that flow out of our mouths 24 hours a day.
It’s those words that slip out every time we step in front of a mirror and see a hairdo, or an extra 30 pounds of weight that we’re tired of dealing with. It’s ones that spew out when we’re driving in heavy traffic and someone cuts in front of us. Or those familiar ones that surface when we show the first symptoms of a cold or flu. It begins with those first words we speak!
Those are the words that have a major role in determining our future. And, most often, those are the ones we wish we had never said.
That’s why we need to focus on our heavenly calling as “professional” believers and consider Jesus, the Anointed Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
As we’ve already seen in this series of teachings, God created us to be the prophet of our own lives. Our destiny is in our mouths. It is our words, not anyone else’s, that determine our success or failure, in this life. (Romans 10:8-9) Our words either bring good things into our lives, or they bring evil things. (Matthew 12:34-37)
Either way, it is up to us to make the right confession.
WORDS THAT GIVE LIFE
Throughout the New Testament, we find teachings on four basic kinds of confessions. Understanding these confessions can help us be more effective as professional believers, by helping us to choose the right words in our day to day lives.
The first confession found in the New Testament is the confession of sin taught by John the Baptist and Jesus to the Jewish people in their day. This act of confession, however, is not what we know today as Christian repentance.
Actually, the confession of sin and water baptism that we read abut in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 was an act by the people of Israel under the Abrahamic, or Old Covenant.
Prior to Jesus going to the cross, the Jews knew what it was to confess their sins and repent, but their sins were only “covered” in atonement by the blood of an animal which was sacrificed once a year. It wasn’t until the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that sin could actually be wiped out, and not just covered. (See Hebrews 10)
The second confession described in the New Testament, which applies to everyone, is the confession of a sinner. It is what we now know as the prayer of salvation.
In John 16, when Jesus told His disciples about the soon coming Holy Spirit, He explained that the Spirit would come to convict “the world “ of sin. But what were these sinners to do once convicted by the Spirit?
Romans 10:8-9 tells us, “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Basically, the confession of a sinner under the New Covenant is “Jesus is Lord.” While that seems simple enough, man’s doctrines have crept in over the years and complicated the process of repentance and salvation.
When I was growing up, the church my parents and I attended was big on repenting and rededicating, repenting and rededicating. In some cases, as with myself, those people who were so busy repenting and rededicating had never been born again. They had never confessed Jesus as their Lord.
For example, as a teenager I would get around the other kids in that church who knew the Lord, particularly during church youth camps, and in that spiritual atmosphere I would feel like dirt. Before long, I’d get convicted and cry out, “Oh, God, I’m just a no good sinner. Oh, Lord, I’m such a sinner.”
I was sincere as I could be, but I still remained “a no good sinner.”
Why? Because all I had done was confess that I was nothing but a “no good sinner.”
So, must as soon as I got out of that atmosphere and onto the football field back at school, my “repentance” only lasted about 10 minutes, or until I got popped in the face with someone’s elbow.
Oh, I’d start feeling bad about it again. But, eventually, I would give up because I knew I couldn’t live like I should, and, or course, I couldn’t. I had never been born again. I had never confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior and didn’t until years later.
So the response of a sinner today is to believe in his or her heart and then confess, Jesus is Lord!
CONFESS YOUR SIN, AND THEN GO ON
As a child, I knew my dad loved the Lord, and to this day, I can still hear him, in my mind, praying, especially before our meals. But there was something interesting about the words he prayed, and the way he prayed them.
For years, every time my dad prayed out loud, he always ended with, “and forgive us of all our sins.” He always said it in a way that made you think, “Man, it’s going to take God most of the day to forgive us for what we’ve done.”
Well, when I was about 35 years old and had been in the ministry a few years, my dad and I were sitting at the breakfast table one morning, and he ended his prayer with, “and forgive us of all our sins.”
When he finished, I said, “daddy, what did you do?”
He said, ”What are you talking about?”
“You repented of sin,” I replied. “Is there something we need to talk about?”
By then, he knew I was kidding with him and he kind of laughed, but suddenly he saw for the first time how he had prayed those words for so long that he didn’t even realize what he had been saying.
Why did he think it necessary to pray those words to begin with?
Sin-consciousness.
Like my dad, generations of believers have been raised in the Church with a great awareness of sin. (See Hebrews 9:28 to 10:2) As a result of focusing more on its sin and less on the righteousness received by the blood of Jesus, the Church has lost sight of Scriptures such as 1 John 5-7:
“This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Today, the Church is full of Christians who have no idea how to confess their sins once they do step out of fellowship with the Father, which is our third New Testament confession.
Consequently, a lot of Christians have the mind-set that they have to spend a lot, or most, of their prayer time confessing and repenting of their sins. Many even believe they have to confess their sins and repent before they can pray.
Now, granted, if you have sin in your life, get it out, confess it, repent of it, and get rid of it. Once you do, stand on 1 John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In other words, don’t go around with sin-consciousness, confessing your sins with idle words.
According to 1 John 1 and 2, when we as believers are out of fellowship with the Father, that is, when we sin, we know it. That’s the time to get rid of it. Immediately! After all, 1 John 2:1 assures us that “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Don’t run from Him when you sin, run to Him.
“Yes, but brother Copeland, I just don’t feel forgiven. I don’t feel like the righteousness of God in Jesus.
It doesn’t matter how we feel!
The moment we confessed our sin is the moment we got rid of it. By faith, we spewed it out of our mouths and God was faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.
So, now, as far as the feelings of guilt and condemnation are concerned, they are simply symptoms of the sin that was wiped away by the blood of Jesus. All we have to do is treat them as though they were wiped away, too, because they were. (Romans 8:1)
PUTTING WORDS TO FAITH
The fourth and final type of confession found in the New Testament is the confession of our faith in God’s Word, our faith in Christ, or His Anointing, our faith in the Father, and our faith in the faithfulness of Jesus as our High Priest.
All that may seem like a mouthful, but it basically comes down to this: Whatever you and I receive from God, we receive it by confession. And if you think about it, that’s what being the prophet of your own life is all about.
Our confession, the words we constantly speak day after day, determine all that we will ever receive from God, whether it’s salvation, physical healing, peace or financial prosperity.
What’s more, for the rest of our eternal existence, this principle of faith working hand in hand with our confession will never change.
In 32 years of ministry, I’ve watched many believers struggle with “trying” to have faith, “trying to believe,” “trying to receive from God.” There are even whole doctrines built around the idea that it’s hard to receive from God.
Yet, Jesus told His disciples in Mark 11:22, “Have faith in God.” Or, as one translation puts it, “Have the faith of God.” In verse 23, He went on to explain how that faith process works.
“Whosoever shall “say” to this mountain, be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.”
Do you see the process?
Faith operates by believing and saying, and saying, and saying. It is our confession, or words of faith, that brings possession. We saw in Romans 10:10, “With the heart man believes, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And in Matthew 12:34-35, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Anything and everything we could ever need or want was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. And as far as God is concerned, it all belonged to us the day Jesus was raised from the dead. The new birth, healing, deliverance from every demonic oppression, all of it, belonged to us the day Jesus came out of the grave. It is all ours, if we will but believe in our hearts and around “confessing” something just because we want it.
Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent his word and healed them.”
To possess healing, or anything from God, we first have to lay hold of the Word as ours. And we lay hold of the Word by receiving it by faith, and then confessing it. That is the process that got us saved. It is the process that will get us anything else God has promised.
Remember, once we lay hold of the promises of God with our faith and our confession, that is when Jesus’ enriching Anointing and ministry come into play. That is why the Apostle Paul told Timothy that “words of faith” nourish, but idle words starve the spirit and make it weak. (1 Timothy 4:6-7)
Every time we confess God’s Word, every time we speak our faith, Jesus’ enrichment ministry adds another grain of faith; another bit of anointing, to our faith and to our words.
So let’s do what Hebrews 10:23 says, let’s “hold fast the profession of our faith.” It is our confession of faith, after all, that makes the difference between win or lose, gain or loss, life or death. It is our standard of living.
OUR CONFESSION IS OUR PROFESSION!
PART 3
BY KENNETH COPELAND
Ask any professional football player what he thinks about all the time, and he probably will say, “football!” That’s because most professional athletes devote their lives to their game. They eat, sleep and breathe what they do on the playing field. It is the primary focus of their lives.
The same could be said for just about any “professional.” The word “professional;” after all, usually refers to someone who had devoted his or her life to a particular career, whether it’s sports, music, medicine, law or whatever.
But have you ever thought of someone being a professional in terms of faith? Here’s what I mean.
As Christians, you and I should be readily recognized by people around us as “professional” believers. We should be so consumed with God and so devoted to God that everything we do is related to Him. Our daily walk in His Word and His Spirit should be what we think about and talk about all the time. It should be the primary focus of our lives.
What’s more, we should look to our faith as the source of our income, just as any “professional” looks at his or her “profession.”
Romans 1:17 tells us that “The just shall live by faith.” That means our faith is our very livelihood. It should be the source of our finances, the health of our bodies, the peace of our minds.
In short, our faith should be our profession, our focus in life.
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY
In Hebrews 3:1 we are instructed to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ (or the Anointed One) Jesus.”
The word translated as ‘profession” in that verse can also be translated as “confession.” God appointed and anointed Jesus to be High Priest over our confessions, or our words of faith. He is responsible for bringing our words to pass.
But if that were not enough, 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 also tells us that Jesus enriches our utterance. That is, He takes our words of faith and enriches them with His Anointing.
So no matter how we look at it, the words we speak carry the very creative force of Almighty God behind them. They will come to pass.
The question is, Do we want our words to come to pass?
You see, I’m not talking about those holy and inspiring words of faith and love we speak in church on Sunday mornings. No, the words I’m talking about are the ones that flow out of our mouths 24 hours a day.
It’s those words that slip out every time we step in front of a mirror and see a hairdo, or an extra 30 pounds of weight that we’re tired of dealing with. It’s ones that spew out when we’re driving in heavy traffic and someone cuts in front of us. Or those familiar ones that surface when we show the first symptoms of a cold or flu. It begins with those first words we speak!
Those are the words that have a major role in determining our future. And, most often, those are the ones we wish we had never said.
That’s why we need to focus on our heavenly calling as “professional” believers and consider Jesus, the Anointed Apostle and High Priest of our confession.
As we’ve already seen in this series of teachings, God created us to be the prophet of our own lives. Our destiny is in our mouths. It is our words, not anyone else’s, that determine our success or failure, in this life. (Romans 10:8-9) Our words either bring good things into our lives, or they bring evil things. (Matthew 12:34-37)
Either way, it is up to us to make the right confession.
WORDS THAT GIVE LIFE
Throughout the New Testament, we find teachings on four basic kinds of confessions. Understanding these confessions can help us be more effective as professional believers, by helping us to choose the right words in our day to day lives.
The first confession found in the New Testament is the confession of sin taught by John the Baptist and Jesus to the Jewish people in their day. This act of confession, however, is not what we know today as Christian repentance.
Actually, the confession of sin and water baptism that we read abut in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 was an act by the people of Israel under the Abrahamic, or Old Covenant.
Prior to Jesus going to the cross, the Jews knew what it was to confess their sins and repent, but their sins were only “covered” in atonement by the blood of an animal which was sacrificed once a year. It wasn’t until the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that sin could actually be wiped out, and not just covered. (See Hebrews 10)
The second confession described in the New Testament, which applies to everyone, is the confession of a sinner. It is what we now know as the prayer of salvation.
In John 16, when Jesus told His disciples about the soon coming Holy Spirit, He explained that the Spirit would come to convict “the world “ of sin. But what were these sinners to do once convicted by the Spirit?
Romans 10:8-9 tells us, “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Basically, the confession of a sinner under the New Covenant is “Jesus is Lord.” While that seems simple enough, man’s doctrines have crept in over the years and complicated the process of repentance and salvation.
When I was growing up, the church my parents and I attended was big on repenting and rededicating, repenting and rededicating. In some cases, as with myself, those people who were so busy repenting and rededicating had never been born again. They had never confessed Jesus as their Lord.
For example, as a teenager I would get around the other kids in that church who knew the Lord, particularly during church youth camps, and in that spiritual atmosphere I would feel like dirt. Before long, I’d get convicted and cry out, “Oh, God, I’m just a no good sinner. Oh, Lord, I’m such a sinner.”
I was sincere as I could be, but I still remained “a no good sinner.”
Why? Because all I had done was confess that I was nothing but a “no good sinner.”
So, must as soon as I got out of that atmosphere and onto the football field back at school, my “repentance” only lasted about 10 minutes, or until I got popped in the face with someone’s elbow.
Oh, I’d start feeling bad about it again. But, eventually, I would give up because I knew I couldn’t live like I should, and, or course, I couldn’t. I had never been born again. I had never confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior and didn’t until years later.
So the response of a sinner today is to believe in his or her heart and then confess, Jesus is Lord!
CONFESS YOUR SIN, AND THEN GO ON
As a child, I knew my dad loved the Lord, and to this day, I can still hear him, in my mind, praying, especially before our meals. But there was something interesting about the words he prayed, and the way he prayed them.
For years, every time my dad prayed out loud, he always ended with, “and forgive us of all our sins.” He always said it in a way that made you think, “Man, it’s going to take God most of the day to forgive us for what we’ve done.”
Well, when I was about 35 years old and had been in the ministry a few years, my dad and I were sitting at the breakfast table one morning, and he ended his prayer with, “and forgive us of all our sins.”
When he finished, I said, “daddy, what did you do?”
He said, ”What are you talking about?”
“You repented of sin,” I replied. “Is there something we need to talk about?”
By then, he knew I was kidding with him and he kind of laughed, but suddenly he saw for the first time how he had prayed those words for so long that he didn’t even realize what he had been saying.
Why did he think it necessary to pray those words to begin with?
Sin-consciousness.
Like my dad, generations of believers have been raised in the Church with a great awareness of sin. (See Hebrews 9:28 to 10:2) As a result of focusing more on its sin and less on the righteousness received by the blood of Jesus, the Church has lost sight of Scriptures such as 1 John 5-7:
“This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Today, the Church is full of Christians who have no idea how to confess their sins once they do step out of fellowship with the Father, which is our third New Testament confession.
Consequently, a lot of Christians have the mind-set that they have to spend a lot, or most, of their prayer time confessing and repenting of their sins. Many even believe they have to confess their sins and repent before they can pray.
Now, granted, if you have sin in your life, get it out, confess it, repent of it, and get rid of it. Once you do, stand on 1 John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In other words, don’t go around with sin-consciousness, confessing your sins with idle words.
According to 1 John 1 and 2, when we as believers are out of fellowship with the Father, that is, when we sin, we know it. That’s the time to get rid of it. Immediately! After all, 1 John 2:1 assures us that “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Don’t run from Him when you sin, run to Him.
“Yes, but brother Copeland, I just don’t feel forgiven. I don’t feel like the righteousness of God in Jesus.
It doesn’t matter how we feel!
The moment we confessed our sin is the moment we got rid of it. By faith, we spewed it out of our mouths and God was faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.
So, now, as far as the feelings of guilt and condemnation are concerned, they are simply symptoms of the sin that was wiped away by the blood of Jesus. All we have to do is treat them as though they were wiped away, too, because they were. (Romans 8:1)
PUTTING WORDS TO FAITH
The fourth and final type of confession found in the New Testament is the confession of our faith in God’s Word, our faith in Christ, or His Anointing, our faith in the Father, and our faith in the faithfulness of Jesus as our High Priest.
All that may seem like a mouthful, but it basically comes down to this: Whatever you and I receive from God, we receive it by confession. And if you think about it, that’s what being the prophet of your own life is all about.
Our confession, the words we constantly speak day after day, determine all that we will ever receive from God, whether it’s salvation, physical healing, peace or financial prosperity.
What’s more, for the rest of our eternal existence, this principle of faith working hand in hand with our confession will never change.
In 32 years of ministry, I’ve watched many believers struggle with “trying” to have faith, “trying to believe,” “trying to receive from God.” There are even whole doctrines built around the idea that it’s hard to receive from God.
Yet, Jesus told His disciples in Mark 11:22, “Have faith in God.” Or, as one translation puts it, “Have the faith of God.” In verse 23, He went on to explain how that faith process works.
“Whosoever shall “say” to this mountain, be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.”
Do you see the process?
Faith operates by believing and saying, and saying, and saying. It is our confession, or words of faith, that brings possession. We saw in Romans 10:10, “With the heart man believes, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And in Matthew 12:34-35, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Anything and everything we could ever need or want was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. And as far as God is concerned, it all belonged to us the day Jesus was raised from the dead. The new birth, healing, deliverance from every demonic oppression, all of it, belonged to us the day Jesus came out of the grave. It is all ours, if we will but believe in our hearts and around “confessing” something just because we want it.
Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent his word and healed them.”
To possess healing, or anything from God, we first have to lay hold of the Word as ours. And we lay hold of the Word by receiving it by faith, and then confessing it. That is the process that got us saved. It is the process that will get us anything else God has promised.
Remember, once we lay hold of the promises of God with our faith and our confession, that is when Jesus’ enriching Anointing and ministry come into play. That is why the Apostle Paul told Timothy that “words of faith” nourish, but idle words starve the spirit and make it weak. (1 Timothy 4:6-7)
Every time we confess God’s Word, every time we speak our faith, Jesus’ enrichment ministry adds another grain of faith; another bit of anointing, to our faith and to our words.
So let’s do what Hebrews 10:23 says, let’s “hold fast the profession of our faith.” It is our confession of faith, after all, that makes the difference between win or lose, gain or loss, life or death. It is our standard of living.
OUR CONFESSION IS OUR PROFESSION!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
YOUR ARE THE PROPHET OF YOUR LIFE
PART 2
BY KENNETH COPELAND
If you have ever heard the saying, “stick out like a sore thumb,” you have probably never thought a thing about it. Most people don’t. It’s just one of those sayings people use in conversation without giving much attention to what it really means.
But “stick out life a sore thumb” is a phrase that I believe accurately describes Gloria and me, that is, up to a point.
For the past 32 years, we have stuck out, but more like a healthy thumb in world full of sore ones, and all because we have been careful of the words that come out our mouths.
It started in February 1967, when Gloria and I decided to take the Word of God seriously and believe everything it said. Then we came across Mark 11:23, which said we could have what we say.
The concept of “having what we said” was totally new and different to us, but we began living it the very day we heard it. We began paying close attention to every word and phrase that came out of our mouths because we were suddenly aware that each word would affect our future.
Since that day, we have been called everything from “those name it and claim it preachers” to “that blab it and grab it bunch.” And it’s never been said in a way that would make us feel all warm and good inside.
I have to admit, though, Gloria and I started doing a lot of naming and claiming back then. We grabbed some “out of debt,” some “free of sickness” and some “peace of mind” and we have been prospering ever since. For 32 years, we have been laying hold of everything that’s promised in the Word of God and purchased by the blood of Jesus!
YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY
Your future, good or bad, is in you right now. It’s in your mouth and it’s determined by the words you speak. Matthew 12:34-37 says it this way:
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”
I don’t believe the Bible can get any clearer on the impact that words have in our lives, both now, and throughout eternity. Being justified by our words, or condemned by them, is a spiritual law. It’s one that cannot be changed.
That means, we alone are the prophets of our own lives. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, not our pastor, not our parents, not our spouse, not some preacher or prophet, not even the Bible or God Himself. Even His mighty word can have little or no effect over our lives until we put His Word in our mouths and speak them in faith.
Simply put, you and I are what we are today, and we have what we have today, because of what we said yesterday.
Not long ago, as I meditated on this principle and the passage in Matthew 12, the Spirit of God said, “Kenneth, most people go from day to day hoping nothing bad happens, hoping nothing happens that I can’t handle. Then, when the curse comes, because of what they have been saying and thinking, they try to change things in a few moments of prayer and tears, not realizing that, over a period of years, their words actually cause what happened.”
That was a mouthful of truth. Yet, as telling as it was, the Lord went on to say: “Meditating continually on the lies of the devil builds doubt and unbelief in your spirit until it overflows in abundance into your mouth. Then it is released in words of fear and takes action.”
From the Lord was saying, I saw clearly that, if you and I just go along in life hoping nothing will happen and we never walk by faith, we never apply the Word, then we are exercising faith in something bad happening to us, and it will come to pass.
“Oh, but, Brother Copeland, I don’t meditate on the lies of the devil.”
Wait a minute. I didn’t tell you what the name of that kind of meditation is; it is called “worry.”
You see, the Church has not understood enough about the principles in God’s Word concerning this to realize that words of fear, that is, words birthed by our worrying, bring to pass the works of the devil, just as words of faith bring to pass the works of God.
The truth is, Satan can do nothing to us apart from fear any more than God will do something for us apart from faith. Faith connects us to God. Fear connects us to the devil.
MY NOTE: I heard Joyce Meyers say this some time ago. If you have a dog and want to have him come to you, what do you do? You call his name and whistle. Fear is whistling for the devil. Faith is whistling for God.
Since we begin speaking the word of fear, it isn’t long until we begin acting on them and living them out.
Because of fear, people, including believers, can hear about a big layoff of employees by some company in another part of the country, and they start worrying about their own jobs. Before long, they’re flipping through the classifieds, looking for new jobs, just in case. They don’t stop to think they could believe God for the ones they already have and never lose them.
MY NOTE: Do you know what caused the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930’s? IT WAS FEAR. Our economy is fear based. Just look at the stock market and the price of oil. Whenever there is bad news about something, it affects the stock market and the price of oil. What about the banks that failed recently? You could see the panic starting. Do you know what caused Job to have his calamities? He made a statement that which I feared has come upon me. Look it up.
We are told in 1 John 4:18 that “perfect love casts out fear.” Notice it doesn’t say crying over a situation will get rid of fear. Neither does it say that hiding will get rid of fear. No, perfect, or perfected love, casts out fear.
What we need to know, then, is how do we get this perfect love. How is love perfected?
It goes back to our choice of words.
In 1 John 2:5, we read, “Whoso keeps God’s word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” In other words, the more we keep the Word, or act on it, the more the love of God is perfected in us.
So, we need to exchange our words of fear for the Word of God. We need to take the Word, our sword of the Spirit, and launch an attack against whatever fear that tires to crowd its way into our lives. That is how we disconnect from it.
My brother and sister, it all comes down to: WHOSE WORDS ARE WE GOING TO SPEAK? GOD’S WORD, OR THE DEVIL’S?
POWER PACKED WORDS
As I mentioned earlier, the fact that our words determine our future is a spiritual law. Everyone is subject to it.
Proverbs 13:2-3 says, “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. He that keeps his mouth keeps his life; but he that opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
In verse 2, a man means any man. So this principle applies to all of us. There are no exceptions. We do, however, get to make a choice concerning our outcome, which, again, is determined by our choice of words. We can choose good words and have a good life. Or, we can choose destructive words and have a life of destruction.
Even as believers, if we just let out mouths run loose and never put a watch over them, the devil will see to it that we fill them with words of destruction.
Take the word “damn,” for example. Most of us consider it to be profane, especially when connected to God’s name. Why is that?
Well, it‘s profane because God is not the condemner. If he were, then the phrase would not be vain, or profane.
But it is because God is the Blesser.
In reality, we probably say far more in our normal day to day conversations that is profane in the ears of God than we realize.
For instance, just think how often you have heard a believer say something like, “Yeah, it’s flu season again, and our family always seems to catch whatever is going around.”
Why would a statement like that be profanity in the mouth of a believer?
Because Jesus died so every believer could be healthy, spirit, soul and body. Yet, born again, Spirit filled people of God go around condemning themselves to sickness all the time.
Oh, they can declare “Jesus is Lord!” all day long, but that is not going to mean much when they are speaking sickness in the same breath, and inviting every devil within miles into their homes and bodies to rule and lord over them with that sickness. That’s profane.
Words like that are also profane from this standpoint: Consider Almighty God, who sent His only begotten Son and spared not His precious blood so we could have authority over all sickness and disease.
Yet we go through life saying things such as, “I’m just so afraid of getting cancer,” or “I just dread going through another season of hay fever.” That is profanity in our mouths.
While all this may be sobering to think about, it’s just a glimpse of the kind of power we hold in our mouths.
The truth goes even further. In Malachi 3:1-13 we read:
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightful land, saith the Lord of hosts. Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
In the Amplified Bible, verse 13 says, “Your words have been strong and hard against Me.”
Can you image your words could be so powerful that they could actually stop God? They can. And that is exactly what happened in this passage.
If God tells us to do one thing, and we decide, “No, I want to go this way and do this other thing,” that is when our word become hard and strong against Him. They actually stop the power of His word in our lives.
Remember, when God said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), that meant we would have the same power He had to choose our own words, speak them, and thereby determine our eternal destinies.
HEAVEN BACKED WORDS
When we received Jesus as our lord and Savior, it wasn’t God talking to us that got us born again. It was us talking to God. We heard the gospel and faith rose within our hearts, then we confessed it with out mouths. (Romans 10:8-10)
Faith comes when we heart what God said. The new birth comes when we say what He said.
This process of believing and then speaking has never changes. We see it throughout the Old Covenant, even to the point that it was part of the daily lives of the children of Israel.
In His instructions concerning tithing, God told Israel in Deuteronomy 26:1-5:
“When thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, and put it in a basket, and thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and “say” unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt “speak” and “say before the Lord thy God..”
Notice that it wasn’t enough for the people to take their tithes to the priest. They also had to say some things.
Why would God want them to speak?
The power is not in hearing the gospel. The power is in the words we speak in response to the gospel. God’s power came to save our souls the moment we “said” some things. The power was in our “speaking.”
The same holds true for any area of our lives. The power comes in our “speaking.”
But there is also something else we need to factor into our power filled words.
As in the days of the Old Covenant, you and I have a priest we can go to, and He’s not just any priest. We have Jesus, our Heavenly High Priest!
Hebrews 3:1 tells us to consider the Apostle and High Priest or our profession (or confession), the Anointed One, Jesus.
God appointed, anointed and then sent Jesus to be High Priest over our words of faith. That’s why something we said last week can come to pass this week, next week, and so on. Jesus is responsible for bringing those words to pass.
Speaking about Jesus’ ministry as High Priest, God said, “I will hasten my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12) That means we have all of heaven backing our every word.
But again, understand that Jesus is not anointed to speak words for us and have them come to pass in our lives. No, He has already spoken. He is anointed to see to it that the Word of God that you and I speak comes to pass in the natural realm.
So what you and I need to do is, first, stop saying all the same things the world says, such as “stick out like a sore thumb” or “I’m so sick and tired of this, and sick and tired of that.”
Naturally we would expect people of this world to say things like that. They are living under the curse. That is exactly what they can expect in a life without Jesus. But not us.
If we really believe our words determine our future health, wealth and place in eternity, then we need to stop rehearsing what we don’t want and start talking what we do want.
Second, we need to start filling our mouths with the Word of God.
Psalm 91:2-3 says, “I will “say” of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee.”
In other words, the Psalmist was saying, “When I say it, it is a sure thing.”
Granted, we have a High Priest Who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. (Hebrews 4:15) But the fact that Jesus can feel our infirmities isn’t going to change them. Only the Word can do that.
Satan has instilled certain habits, including words and saying, into this world, many of which have spilled over into the Church. As a result, our words have been stout against God, keeping Him from doing all that He is anointed to do on our behalf.
The challenge for us is to break out of those habits by changing from negative words, words that are seeds of sin and death, to positive words of truth, words of life. And we do that by keeping the Word of God going into our hearts, and our ears and coming out of our mouths, until it eventually begins overflowing in our lives.
If our words can be stout against God and bring the very power that created all of heaven and earth to a standstill, just imaging what stout words for God can do.
Start creating a better world for yourself today. Start by speaking strong and hard words that are for God, not against Him. Speak words that your High Priest can honor and then bring to pass.
As you do, I guarantee you it won’t be long before you will “stick out” in a world full of sore thumbs.
PART 2
BY KENNETH COPELAND
If you have ever heard the saying, “stick out like a sore thumb,” you have probably never thought a thing about it. Most people don’t. It’s just one of those sayings people use in conversation without giving much attention to what it really means.
But “stick out life a sore thumb” is a phrase that I believe accurately describes Gloria and me, that is, up to a point.
For the past 32 years, we have stuck out, but more like a healthy thumb in world full of sore ones, and all because we have been careful of the words that come out our mouths.
It started in February 1967, when Gloria and I decided to take the Word of God seriously and believe everything it said. Then we came across Mark 11:23, which said we could have what we say.
The concept of “having what we said” was totally new and different to us, but we began living it the very day we heard it. We began paying close attention to every word and phrase that came out of our mouths because we were suddenly aware that each word would affect our future.
Since that day, we have been called everything from “those name it and claim it preachers” to “that blab it and grab it bunch.” And it’s never been said in a way that would make us feel all warm and good inside.
I have to admit, though, Gloria and I started doing a lot of naming and claiming back then. We grabbed some “out of debt,” some “free of sickness” and some “peace of mind” and we have been prospering ever since. For 32 years, we have been laying hold of everything that’s promised in the Word of God and purchased by the blood of Jesus!
YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY
Your future, good or bad, is in you right now. It’s in your mouth and it’s determined by the words you speak. Matthew 12:34-37 says it this way:
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”
I don’t believe the Bible can get any clearer on the impact that words have in our lives, both now, and throughout eternity. Being justified by our words, or condemned by them, is a spiritual law. It’s one that cannot be changed.
That means, we alone are the prophets of our own lives. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, not our pastor, not our parents, not our spouse, not some preacher or prophet, not even the Bible or God Himself. Even His mighty word can have little or no effect over our lives until we put His Word in our mouths and speak them in faith.
Simply put, you and I are what we are today, and we have what we have today, because of what we said yesterday.
Not long ago, as I meditated on this principle and the passage in Matthew 12, the Spirit of God said, “Kenneth, most people go from day to day hoping nothing bad happens, hoping nothing happens that I can’t handle. Then, when the curse comes, because of what they have been saying and thinking, they try to change things in a few moments of prayer and tears, not realizing that, over a period of years, their words actually cause what happened.”
That was a mouthful of truth. Yet, as telling as it was, the Lord went on to say: “Meditating continually on the lies of the devil builds doubt and unbelief in your spirit until it overflows in abundance into your mouth. Then it is released in words of fear and takes action.”
From the Lord was saying, I saw clearly that, if you and I just go along in life hoping nothing will happen and we never walk by faith, we never apply the Word, then we are exercising faith in something bad happening to us, and it will come to pass.
“Oh, but, Brother Copeland, I don’t meditate on the lies of the devil.”
Wait a minute. I didn’t tell you what the name of that kind of meditation is; it is called “worry.”
You see, the Church has not understood enough about the principles in God’s Word concerning this to realize that words of fear, that is, words birthed by our worrying, bring to pass the works of the devil, just as words of faith bring to pass the works of God.
The truth is, Satan can do nothing to us apart from fear any more than God will do something for us apart from faith. Faith connects us to God. Fear connects us to the devil.
MY NOTE: I heard Joyce Meyers say this some time ago. If you have a dog and want to have him come to you, what do you do? You call his name and whistle. Fear is whistling for the devil. Faith is whistling for God.
Since we begin speaking the word of fear, it isn’t long until we begin acting on them and living them out.
Because of fear, people, including believers, can hear about a big layoff of employees by some company in another part of the country, and they start worrying about their own jobs. Before long, they’re flipping through the classifieds, looking for new jobs, just in case. They don’t stop to think they could believe God for the ones they already have and never lose them.
MY NOTE: Do you know what caused the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930’s? IT WAS FEAR. Our economy is fear based. Just look at the stock market and the price of oil. Whenever there is bad news about something, it affects the stock market and the price of oil. What about the banks that failed recently? You could see the panic starting. Do you know what caused Job to have his calamities? He made a statement that which I feared has come upon me. Look it up.
We are told in 1 John 4:18 that “perfect love casts out fear.” Notice it doesn’t say crying over a situation will get rid of fear. Neither does it say that hiding will get rid of fear. No, perfect, or perfected love, casts out fear.
What we need to know, then, is how do we get this perfect love. How is love perfected?
It goes back to our choice of words.
In 1 John 2:5, we read, “Whoso keeps God’s word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” In other words, the more we keep the Word, or act on it, the more the love of God is perfected in us.
So, we need to exchange our words of fear for the Word of God. We need to take the Word, our sword of the Spirit, and launch an attack against whatever fear that tires to crowd its way into our lives. That is how we disconnect from it.
My brother and sister, it all comes down to: WHOSE WORDS ARE WE GOING TO SPEAK? GOD’S WORD, OR THE DEVIL’S?
POWER PACKED WORDS
As I mentioned earlier, the fact that our words determine our future is a spiritual law. Everyone is subject to it.
Proverbs 13:2-3 says, “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. He that keeps his mouth keeps his life; but he that opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
In verse 2, a man means any man. So this principle applies to all of us. There are no exceptions. We do, however, get to make a choice concerning our outcome, which, again, is determined by our choice of words. We can choose good words and have a good life. Or, we can choose destructive words and have a life of destruction.
Even as believers, if we just let out mouths run loose and never put a watch over them, the devil will see to it that we fill them with words of destruction.
Take the word “damn,” for example. Most of us consider it to be profane, especially when connected to God’s name. Why is that?
Well, it‘s profane because God is not the condemner. If he were, then the phrase would not be vain, or profane.
But it is because God is the Blesser.
In reality, we probably say far more in our normal day to day conversations that is profane in the ears of God than we realize.
For instance, just think how often you have heard a believer say something like, “Yeah, it’s flu season again, and our family always seems to catch whatever is going around.”
Why would a statement like that be profanity in the mouth of a believer?
Because Jesus died so every believer could be healthy, spirit, soul and body. Yet, born again, Spirit filled people of God go around condemning themselves to sickness all the time.
Oh, they can declare “Jesus is Lord!” all day long, but that is not going to mean much when they are speaking sickness in the same breath, and inviting every devil within miles into their homes and bodies to rule and lord over them with that sickness. That’s profane.
Words like that are also profane from this standpoint: Consider Almighty God, who sent His only begotten Son and spared not His precious blood so we could have authority over all sickness and disease.
Yet we go through life saying things such as, “I’m just so afraid of getting cancer,” or “I just dread going through another season of hay fever.” That is profanity in our mouths.
While all this may be sobering to think about, it’s just a glimpse of the kind of power we hold in our mouths.
The truth goes even further. In Malachi 3:1-13 we read:
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightful land, saith the Lord of hosts. Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
In the Amplified Bible, verse 13 says, “Your words have been strong and hard against Me.”
Can you image your words could be so powerful that they could actually stop God? They can. And that is exactly what happened in this passage.
If God tells us to do one thing, and we decide, “No, I want to go this way and do this other thing,” that is when our word become hard and strong against Him. They actually stop the power of His word in our lives.
Remember, when God said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), that meant we would have the same power He had to choose our own words, speak them, and thereby determine our eternal destinies.
HEAVEN BACKED WORDS
When we received Jesus as our lord and Savior, it wasn’t God talking to us that got us born again. It was us talking to God. We heard the gospel and faith rose within our hearts, then we confessed it with out mouths. (Romans 10:8-10)
Faith comes when we heart what God said. The new birth comes when we say what He said.
This process of believing and then speaking has never changes. We see it throughout the Old Covenant, even to the point that it was part of the daily lives of the children of Israel.
In His instructions concerning tithing, God told Israel in Deuteronomy 26:1-5:
“When thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, and put it in a basket, and thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and “say” unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt “speak” and “say before the Lord thy God..”
Notice that it wasn’t enough for the people to take their tithes to the priest. They also had to say some things.
Why would God want them to speak?
The power is not in hearing the gospel. The power is in the words we speak in response to the gospel. God’s power came to save our souls the moment we “said” some things. The power was in our “speaking.”
The same holds true for any area of our lives. The power comes in our “speaking.”
But there is also something else we need to factor into our power filled words.
As in the days of the Old Covenant, you and I have a priest we can go to, and He’s not just any priest. We have Jesus, our Heavenly High Priest!
Hebrews 3:1 tells us to consider the Apostle and High Priest or our profession (or confession), the Anointed One, Jesus.
God appointed, anointed and then sent Jesus to be High Priest over our words of faith. That’s why something we said last week can come to pass this week, next week, and so on. Jesus is responsible for bringing those words to pass.
Speaking about Jesus’ ministry as High Priest, God said, “I will hasten my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12) That means we have all of heaven backing our every word.
But again, understand that Jesus is not anointed to speak words for us and have them come to pass in our lives. No, He has already spoken. He is anointed to see to it that the Word of God that you and I speak comes to pass in the natural realm.
So what you and I need to do is, first, stop saying all the same things the world says, such as “stick out like a sore thumb” or “I’m so sick and tired of this, and sick and tired of that.”
Naturally we would expect people of this world to say things like that. They are living under the curse. That is exactly what they can expect in a life without Jesus. But not us.
If we really believe our words determine our future health, wealth and place in eternity, then we need to stop rehearsing what we don’t want and start talking what we do want.
Second, we need to start filling our mouths with the Word of God.
Psalm 91:2-3 says, “I will “say” of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee.”
In other words, the Psalmist was saying, “When I say it, it is a sure thing.”
Granted, we have a High Priest Who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. (Hebrews 4:15) But the fact that Jesus can feel our infirmities isn’t going to change them. Only the Word can do that.
Satan has instilled certain habits, including words and saying, into this world, many of which have spilled over into the Church. As a result, our words have been stout against God, keeping Him from doing all that He is anointed to do on our behalf.
The challenge for us is to break out of those habits by changing from negative words, words that are seeds of sin and death, to positive words of truth, words of life. And we do that by keeping the Word of God going into our hearts, and our ears and coming out of our mouths, until it eventually begins overflowing in our lives.
If our words can be stout against God and bring the very power that created all of heaven and earth to a standstill, just imaging what stout words for God can do.
Start creating a better world for yourself today. Start by speaking strong and hard words that are for God, not against Him. Speak words that your High Priest can honor and then bring to pass.
As you do, I guarantee you it won’t be long before you will “stick out” in a world full of sore thumbs.
Monday, January 05, 2009
YOU ARE THE PROPHET OF YOUR LIFE (PART 1)
BY KENNETH COPELAND
In November 1998, Gloria and I were returning home from a series of meetings in Riga, Latvia, when the Spirit of God said to me, “Arise and shine, it’s 1999, it’s the year of the overflow.”
When I first head the Spirit say those words; I didn’t full understand what they meant. So I continued to listen and pray and ask questions.
“The world is full of sin,” I later heard the Lord say.
I could certainly agree with that.
But the He also said, “The earth is filled with My Glory.”
When I heard that, I said, Lord, I know I’m hearing You and I’m not going to argue with You, but….
“You’ve misunderstood something, He said. I said it was full. I didn’t say it was overflowing.”
Instantly I saw what He meant.
The earth had been filling up with God’s Glory, and it had been filling up with sin. But now it was full, and it was about to overflow.
As the Lord continued to reveal what was to happen in 1999, He showed me that, when righteousness overflows, it manifests as His Glory. That is, when God’s way of doing things and being right overflows, when love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, meekness, faith and temperance overflow, it manifests as His presence.
In other words, the Spirit was saying that you and I were about to see full supernatural manifestations of God’s presence in the earth, the fire, the light, the cloud and the rain. We were about to see the lame walk, the blind see, the dead raised to life. And we were about see it in overflowing proportions.
In this glorious time of overflow, however, the Spirit explained that we would also see sin flood the earth as never before, and we would see it manifest as judgment.
What exactly did He mean by judgment?
The Lord described it to me as simply running our string of mercy completely to its end. Once we reach the end of mercy, He said, that no manner of human manipulation or juggling of issues can change it. Nothing but absolute disaster is left. It’s like running headlong into a brick wall.
I was reminded of Romans 6:23 which says, “the wages of sin is death.” The Spirit was saying that those wages, death, and all the other results of sin listed under the curse in Deuteronomy 28 were about to manifest to the point where we would actually see them.
We would see the results of sin. We would see judgment.
YOUR MOUTH IS YOUR FUTURE
As we approach mid-1999, many situations happening around us are such that, if we don’t take heed to the Word of God, we will end up in trouble, and sooner that we might thing.
These days, the sobering truth is that we don’t have several years to mess around, then repent and get our lives straightened out. God’s time calendar is up! The Church is about to leave with Jesus.
That is why, as you and I face this immediate choice of either God’s Glory or sin’s judgment, it is vitally important that we understand this: As born-again, Spirit-filled believers, our stepping into the overflow of God’s Glory and walking in it daily doesn’t just happen automatically.
No. In fact, it’s possible that we could stand in the middle of the greatest outpouring of God’s Glory this world has ever seen, and just watch it pass us by, never experiencing a drop of it.
What you and I experience in these days of overflow comes down to something God began teaching me 32 years ago. It comes down to our mouths.
That’s right. The degree of overflow you and I experience in our lives during these last of the last days will be determined by our mouths. It will be the result of the words we speak.
You see, you and I are where we are right now because of the words we spoke yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. That is simply the way God created us. And, like God, our words carry power.
Actually, within the realm over which God gave us authority, the words we speak day after day carry the same degree of force behind them as the words God Himself speaks, even the same force as the Word that came out of His mouth and created the universe.
Consequently, it should be no surprise that this is the most difficult Bible principle Christians have to deal with day in and day out. It is the simplest principle, yet it is the most difficult area in our lives to discipline.
If you think about it, believing God and His Word is not nearly as hard as disciplining our tongues to speak in line with the Word and in light of the revelation that the words we speak now will come to pass later.
GOD NEEDS YOUR VOICE
As I said earlier, God began teaching me about the power of the spoken word more that 30 years ago, and I emphasize began teaching. This has been an issue I have had to deal with over and over, in my own life and ministry. But as I do, the Spirit brings greater and greater revelation.
As a matter of fact, just last Christmas, the Lord gave me fresh revelation concerning the force and effect of our words. It came as I was preparing to preach a Christmas message that I have preached for the past 32 years.
While I was praying, I heard the Spirit of God say, “the birth.”
Now, I knew what that meant, and immediately Matthew 1:18 came to mind, “The birth of Jesus was on this wise.”
I thought I knew where the Lord was headed with this, but as I studied the passage and read through verse 22, it took a direction I never expected.
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying…”
“Spoken of the Lord by the prophet.”
When I came to that part, I couldn’t go any further. I just stopped and I thought, “Dear Lord, look at that.”
Then I came across Matthew 2:15, “And was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.”
And then in verse 23, “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets”
Suddenly, an awesome awareness rose within me.
I saw how the most eternally significant event in all the history of heaven and earth, a one-time opportunity in which nothing could go wrong, or mankind would be finished, could only take place as a result of the voice of a man.
Everything surrounding Jesus’ birth was a fulfillment of what God’s man, a prophet, had spoken, and he wasn’t even a born again man, either!
Once I received this revelation, I quickly realized that it didn’t stop there.
Reading through the Gospels, we can find that it wasn’t just the birth of Jesus that had to be spoken by the prophets of God, it was His entire life and ministry, too!
Think about it. Jesus did not arrive on the scene, saying, “My Father, God, has spoken to Me, and this is what He said.”
No. Luke 4:16-21, which recounts the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, says He opened the book and “found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel.”
Jesus began His ministry by reading what had been spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and then recorded. He actually found Himself in the Word, in the Old Covenant prophecies, and then He went around preaching what He had found.
Luke 4:21 says Jesus began telling the people, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Notice the word “fulfilled.”
As Jesus spoke the word that had been prophesied about His life and ministry, that Word became “full-filled.” It was standing there “full” and in the flesh. What’s more, He then went about “overfilling” it.
Acts 10:38 say Jesus “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” In other words, Jesus was anointed. He went about speaking the Word of God under that anointing. He went about ministering under that anointing. The Word and the anointing overflowed Jesus.
The point you and I need to grab hold of, though, is that all the overflow in Jesus’ life and ministry did not begin manifesting until He began speaking the Word of God, not His own words, but God’s Word. (John 12:47-50)
And what exactly was that Word? None other that the very same Word that had been spoken by the prophets, words spoken by people, people just like you and me.
ME, A PROPHET?
People have always had the idea that prophets are “special.”
The truth, however, is that anyone called by God, prophet or not, is no different that the rest of us. Prophets are just people, not ‘”special” people. What makes the different is the anointing, the power that God gives them to do “special” things.
We see in the Bible that God never anointed anyone because they were special. It was always His Anointing on them that made them special, but there were time when some folks lost sight of that fact.
When King Saul got the idea he was “special,” he lost the anointing and never got it back. David nearly did the same. Eventually, however, he came to his senses and realized, I am not king because I’m special. I’m king because God anointed me.
Even Jesus was very aware of the effect of God’s Anointing upon Him. As we saw earlier, He said in Luke 4:18-19:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus came preaching the anointing and ministering by it.
So, what does the anointing have to do with the power of our words? Or for that matter, how do the anointing and our words figure into the overflow of God’s Glory in the earth today?
To answer those questions, let’s look ad Matthew 11:9, 11.
“But what did you come out to see? A prophet, yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. Verily I say to you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater that John the Baptist.
Jesus considered John the Baptist who had prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry, to be the greatest prophet there ever was. That’s saying a lot. Yet, Jesus also had this to say:
“Notwithstanding he (that’s you and me or any believer) that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater that John. (verse 11)
My friend, you and I were born again under the New Covenant, a covenant better and more powerful than the Old Covenant under which all the prophets, from Abraham to John the Baptist, operated. Our covenant is more powerful because Jesus died, went to hell and was raised from the dead so we could have His Anointing within us.
That is why we are called the Body of Christ. We are the Body of His Anointing in the earth.
Just think how much more powerful our words can, and should be today that the words of any prophet under the Old Covenant!
Why? Because they have Jesus’ resurrected Anointing power behind them!
You and I are anointed to confess our sins and be forgiven.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and be healed.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and live in health.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and live in wealth.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and prosper in our souls.
We are anointed to speak the Word and prosper in every way!
We are the prophets of our own lives.
Matthew 12: 34-37 says it this way: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the hearts brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”
Man was created in the likeness of God and given the right to chose his own words, speak them, and thereby declare his eternal destiny.
As believers, however, you and I have God’s Word to speak and God’s Anointing with which to speak it.
My brother and sister, our future is up to us, and it’s all based on the “words” that we use to “bring forth” things, words to “bring forth good things,” or words to “bring forth evil things.”
What’s more verse 36 say we will all give account for “every idle word” we speak. That literally translates as “every inoperative word that proceeds not, or is based not, in faith, that is, every nonworking word.
Every one of us has the right to resist the Word of God and not walk in it. We have every right to reject the Word, reject Jesus and to hell.
Yes, God ordained a path for each of us to walk in, a path absolutely finer than we could ever imagine. He was unwilling for us to have even one bad day, one broke day, one sick day. He desired that everyday be an overflow day.
But that overflow only comes one way, “by thy words your shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. (Matthew 12:37)
In these days, my friend, what you and I say can mean the difference between and overflow of God’s Glory and an overflow of judgment.
Let’s put God’s Word in our mouths, and bring forth the Glory!
BY KENNETH COPELAND
In November 1998, Gloria and I were returning home from a series of meetings in Riga, Latvia, when the Spirit of God said to me, “Arise and shine, it’s 1999, it’s the year of the overflow.”
When I first head the Spirit say those words; I didn’t full understand what they meant. So I continued to listen and pray and ask questions.
“The world is full of sin,” I later heard the Lord say.
I could certainly agree with that.
But the He also said, “The earth is filled with My Glory.”
When I heard that, I said, Lord, I know I’m hearing You and I’m not going to argue with You, but….
“You’ve misunderstood something, He said. I said it was full. I didn’t say it was overflowing.”
Instantly I saw what He meant.
The earth had been filling up with God’s Glory, and it had been filling up with sin. But now it was full, and it was about to overflow.
As the Lord continued to reveal what was to happen in 1999, He showed me that, when righteousness overflows, it manifests as His Glory. That is, when God’s way of doing things and being right overflows, when love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, meekness, faith and temperance overflow, it manifests as His presence.
In other words, the Spirit was saying that you and I were about to see full supernatural manifestations of God’s presence in the earth, the fire, the light, the cloud and the rain. We were about to see the lame walk, the blind see, the dead raised to life. And we were about see it in overflowing proportions.
In this glorious time of overflow, however, the Spirit explained that we would also see sin flood the earth as never before, and we would see it manifest as judgment.
What exactly did He mean by judgment?
The Lord described it to me as simply running our string of mercy completely to its end. Once we reach the end of mercy, He said, that no manner of human manipulation or juggling of issues can change it. Nothing but absolute disaster is left. It’s like running headlong into a brick wall.
I was reminded of Romans 6:23 which says, “the wages of sin is death.” The Spirit was saying that those wages, death, and all the other results of sin listed under the curse in Deuteronomy 28 were about to manifest to the point where we would actually see them.
We would see the results of sin. We would see judgment.
YOUR MOUTH IS YOUR FUTURE
As we approach mid-1999, many situations happening around us are such that, if we don’t take heed to the Word of God, we will end up in trouble, and sooner that we might thing.
These days, the sobering truth is that we don’t have several years to mess around, then repent and get our lives straightened out. God’s time calendar is up! The Church is about to leave with Jesus.
That is why, as you and I face this immediate choice of either God’s Glory or sin’s judgment, it is vitally important that we understand this: As born-again, Spirit-filled believers, our stepping into the overflow of God’s Glory and walking in it daily doesn’t just happen automatically.
No. In fact, it’s possible that we could stand in the middle of the greatest outpouring of God’s Glory this world has ever seen, and just watch it pass us by, never experiencing a drop of it.
What you and I experience in these days of overflow comes down to something God began teaching me 32 years ago. It comes down to our mouths.
That’s right. The degree of overflow you and I experience in our lives during these last of the last days will be determined by our mouths. It will be the result of the words we speak.
You see, you and I are where we are right now because of the words we spoke yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. That is simply the way God created us. And, like God, our words carry power.
Actually, within the realm over which God gave us authority, the words we speak day after day carry the same degree of force behind them as the words God Himself speaks, even the same force as the Word that came out of His mouth and created the universe.
Consequently, it should be no surprise that this is the most difficult Bible principle Christians have to deal with day in and day out. It is the simplest principle, yet it is the most difficult area in our lives to discipline.
If you think about it, believing God and His Word is not nearly as hard as disciplining our tongues to speak in line with the Word and in light of the revelation that the words we speak now will come to pass later.
GOD NEEDS YOUR VOICE
As I said earlier, God began teaching me about the power of the spoken word more that 30 years ago, and I emphasize began teaching. This has been an issue I have had to deal with over and over, in my own life and ministry. But as I do, the Spirit brings greater and greater revelation.
As a matter of fact, just last Christmas, the Lord gave me fresh revelation concerning the force and effect of our words. It came as I was preparing to preach a Christmas message that I have preached for the past 32 years.
While I was praying, I heard the Spirit of God say, “the birth.”
Now, I knew what that meant, and immediately Matthew 1:18 came to mind, “The birth of Jesus was on this wise.”
I thought I knew where the Lord was headed with this, but as I studied the passage and read through verse 22, it took a direction I never expected.
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying…”
“Spoken of the Lord by the prophet.”
When I came to that part, I couldn’t go any further. I just stopped and I thought, “Dear Lord, look at that.”
Then I came across Matthew 2:15, “And was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.”
And then in verse 23, “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets”
Suddenly, an awesome awareness rose within me.
I saw how the most eternally significant event in all the history of heaven and earth, a one-time opportunity in which nothing could go wrong, or mankind would be finished, could only take place as a result of the voice of a man.
Everything surrounding Jesus’ birth was a fulfillment of what God’s man, a prophet, had spoken, and he wasn’t even a born again man, either!
Once I received this revelation, I quickly realized that it didn’t stop there.
Reading through the Gospels, we can find that it wasn’t just the birth of Jesus that had to be spoken by the prophets of God, it was His entire life and ministry, too!
Think about it. Jesus did not arrive on the scene, saying, “My Father, God, has spoken to Me, and this is what He said.”
No. Luke 4:16-21, which recounts the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, says He opened the book and “found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel.”
Jesus began His ministry by reading what had been spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and then recorded. He actually found Himself in the Word, in the Old Covenant prophecies, and then He went around preaching what He had found.
Luke 4:21 says Jesus began telling the people, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Notice the word “fulfilled.”
As Jesus spoke the word that had been prophesied about His life and ministry, that Word became “full-filled.” It was standing there “full” and in the flesh. What’s more, He then went about “overfilling” it.
Acts 10:38 say Jesus “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” In other words, Jesus was anointed. He went about speaking the Word of God under that anointing. He went about ministering under that anointing. The Word and the anointing overflowed Jesus.
The point you and I need to grab hold of, though, is that all the overflow in Jesus’ life and ministry did not begin manifesting until He began speaking the Word of God, not His own words, but God’s Word. (John 12:47-50)
And what exactly was that Word? None other that the very same Word that had been spoken by the prophets, words spoken by people, people just like you and me.
ME, A PROPHET?
People have always had the idea that prophets are “special.”
The truth, however, is that anyone called by God, prophet or not, is no different that the rest of us. Prophets are just people, not ‘”special” people. What makes the different is the anointing, the power that God gives them to do “special” things.
We see in the Bible that God never anointed anyone because they were special. It was always His Anointing on them that made them special, but there were time when some folks lost sight of that fact.
When King Saul got the idea he was “special,” he lost the anointing and never got it back. David nearly did the same. Eventually, however, he came to his senses and realized, I am not king because I’m special. I’m king because God anointed me.
Even Jesus was very aware of the effect of God’s Anointing upon Him. As we saw earlier, He said in Luke 4:18-19:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus came preaching the anointing and ministering by it.
So, what does the anointing have to do with the power of our words? Or for that matter, how do the anointing and our words figure into the overflow of God’s Glory in the earth today?
To answer those questions, let’s look ad Matthew 11:9, 11.
“But what did you come out to see? A prophet, yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. Verily I say to you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater that John the Baptist.
Jesus considered John the Baptist who had prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry, to be the greatest prophet there ever was. That’s saying a lot. Yet, Jesus also had this to say:
“Notwithstanding he (that’s you and me or any believer) that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater that John. (verse 11)
My friend, you and I were born again under the New Covenant, a covenant better and more powerful than the Old Covenant under which all the prophets, from Abraham to John the Baptist, operated. Our covenant is more powerful because Jesus died, went to hell and was raised from the dead so we could have His Anointing within us.
That is why we are called the Body of Christ. We are the Body of His Anointing in the earth.
Just think how much more powerful our words can, and should be today that the words of any prophet under the Old Covenant!
Why? Because they have Jesus’ resurrected Anointing power behind them!
You and I are anointed to confess our sins and be forgiven.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and be healed.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and live in health.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and live in wealth.
We are anointed to confess God’s Word and prosper in our souls.
We are anointed to speak the Word and prosper in every way!
We are the prophets of our own lives.
Matthew 12: 34-37 says it this way: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the hearts brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”
Man was created in the likeness of God and given the right to chose his own words, speak them, and thereby declare his eternal destiny.
As believers, however, you and I have God’s Word to speak and God’s Anointing with which to speak it.
My brother and sister, our future is up to us, and it’s all based on the “words” that we use to “bring forth” things, words to “bring forth good things,” or words to “bring forth evil things.”
What’s more verse 36 say we will all give account for “every idle word” we speak. That literally translates as “every inoperative word that proceeds not, or is based not, in faith, that is, every nonworking word.
Every one of us has the right to resist the Word of God and not walk in it. We have every right to reject the Word, reject Jesus and to hell.
Yes, God ordained a path for each of us to walk in, a path absolutely finer than we could ever imagine. He was unwilling for us to have even one bad day, one broke day, one sick day. He desired that everyday be an overflow day.
But that overflow only comes one way, “by thy words your shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. (Matthew 12:37)
In these days, my friend, what you and I say can mean the difference between and overflow of God’s Glory and an overflow of judgment.
Let’s put God’s Word in our mouths, and bring forth the Glory!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
KEYS TO THE BLESSINGS
Our heavenly Father has truly blessed us.
But these blessing are not automatic. The key to walking in the fullness of these blessing is obedience. We can see this all through the Scriptures, especially Deuteronomy 28:1. All of the blessing listed there are connected to obeying the Lord.
The most important commandment that we need to walk in is love. If we are not walking in love, we will not experience these blessings. Why? According to Galatians 5:5 faith works through love. If you are not walking in love, and I am talking about God’s love, your faith won’t work. And if your faith is not working, then you cannot receive from God because everything we receive from Him is by faith.
Are you tithing? This is a commandment of the Lord. (Malachi 3:10-11)
What has the Lord told you to do? Are you being obedient to specific things that He has instructed you to do or not to do?
I have learned that thanking Him for His many blessings is a way to walk in them. Do you have an attitude of gratitude?
Are you resting in Him, trusting Him to work in your life and bring the many blessings He has for you?
Another thing that we need to keep in mind is that we are blessed to be a blessing to others. That is the whole purpose of our being blessed, not to hoard the blessings, but to release them into the lives of others.
I was listening to one of my regular programs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network one Sunday evening and he said something that caught my attention.
Deuteronomy 8:18 says that the Lord gives us the power to make wealth that He may confirm His covenant with us. What he said was that the money we are blessed with is for an assignment in the Kingdom.
Do you remember the story in Exodus where the Egyptians gave the Israelites all their possessions and valuables. Do you know why God gave them this favor with the Egyptians. The answer is that later on they gave it back to the Lord so the Lord could build His tabernacle. This was also the wages for 400 years of slavery with interest. If you will go back in Exodus and read about this, you will also find that everyone gave willingly and it got to point to where Moses had to tell them to stop giving. Imagine that, how many pastors have a congregation that give so much that they have to tell their people to stop giving.
I pray that you have been blessed with this series of teachings on Count Your Blessings.
You are blessed to be a blessing to others.
You have been blessed with something that is to be a blessing to the Body of Christ.
As you use your blessings, and stay in obedience, your blessings will be multiplied back to you so you can be a greater blessing.
But these blessing are not automatic. The key to walking in the fullness of these blessing is obedience. We can see this all through the Scriptures, especially Deuteronomy 28:1. All of the blessing listed there are connected to obeying the Lord.
The most important commandment that we need to walk in is love. If we are not walking in love, we will not experience these blessings. Why? According to Galatians 5:5 faith works through love. If you are not walking in love, and I am talking about God’s love, your faith won’t work. And if your faith is not working, then you cannot receive from God because everything we receive from Him is by faith.
Are you tithing? This is a commandment of the Lord. (Malachi 3:10-11)
What has the Lord told you to do? Are you being obedient to specific things that He has instructed you to do or not to do?
I have learned that thanking Him for His many blessings is a way to walk in them. Do you have an attitude of gratitude?
Are you resting in Him, trusting Him to work in your life and bring the many blessings He has for you?
Another thing that we need to keep in mind is that we are blessed to be a blessing to others. That is the whole purpose of our being blessed, not to hoard the blessings, but to release them into the lives of others.
I was listening to one of my regular programs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network one Sunday evening and he said something that caught my attention.
Deuteronomy 8:18 says that the Lord gives us the power to make wealth that He may confirm His covenant with us. What he said was that the money we are blessed with is for an assignment in the Kingdom.
Do you remember the story in Exodus where the Egyptians gave the Israelites all their possessions and valuables. Do you know why God gave them this favor with the Egyptians. The answer is that later on they gave it back to the Lord so the Lord could build His tabernacle. This was also the wages for 400 years of slavery with interest. If you will go back in Exodus and read about this, you will also find that everyone gave willingly and it got to point to where Moses had to tell them to stop giving. Imagine that, how many pastors have a congregation that give so much that they have to tell their people to stop giving.
I pray that you have been blessed with this series of teachings on Count Your Blessings.
You are blessed to be a blessing to others.
You have been blessed with something that is to be a blessing to the Body of Christ.
As you use your blessings, and stay in obedience, your blessings will be multiplied back to you so you can be a greater blessing.
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS 5
SALVATION
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
Psalm 55:16
As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
John 6:54
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 5:7-8
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. [8] But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
SECURITY
Psalm 26:1
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity;
And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Psalm 57:3
He will send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who tramples upon me.
God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
Psalm 62:2
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:7-8
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 105:14-15
He permitted no man to oppress them,
And He reproved kings for their sakes:
"Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm."
Jeremiah 17:8
"For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
Matthew 7:25
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
STRENGTH
Joshua 23:9
"For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
1 Chronicles 16:27
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:29
For by Thee I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
Psalm 18:32
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?
Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
SUCCESS
Joshua 1:8
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Isaiah 58:11
"And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
TRUTH
Mark 4:22
"For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light.
John 8:32
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
John 17:19
"And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
2 John 1:2
For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
UNDERSTANDING
1 Kings 3:12
Behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 119:130
The unfolding of Thy words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
Proverbs 2:11
Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
2 Timothy 2:7
Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
VICTORY
Psalm 60:12
Through God we shall do valiantly,
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Psalm 108:13
Through God we shall do valiantly;
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Ephesians 6:13-17
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. [14] Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1 John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.
WISDOM
1 Kings 4:29
Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.
Proverbs 2:6-7
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Luke 21:15
For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
WORD OF GOD
Psalm 19:7-8
The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 107:20
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 119:1-2
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
Psalm 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Thy word.
Psalm 119:45
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Thy precepts.
Psalm 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Thy word has revived me.
Isaiah 55:11
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Jeremiah 15:16
Thy words were found and I ate them,
And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Thy name,
O Lord God of hosts.
WORK
Deuteronomy 15:10
"You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Deuteronomy 28:2
"And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 28:12
"The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Psalm 1:3
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Ecclesiastes 3:13
Moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor-- it is the gift of God.
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
Psalm 55:16
As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
John 6:54
"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 5:7-8
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. [8] But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
SECURITY
Psalm 26:1
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity;
And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Psalm 57:3
He will send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who tramples upon me.
God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
Psalm 62:2
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:7-8
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 105:14-15
He permitted no man to oppress them,
And He reproved kings for their sakes:
"Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm."
Jeremiah 17:8
"For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
Matthew 7:25
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
STRENGTH
Joshua 23:9
"For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
1 Chronicles 16:27
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:29
For by Thee I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
Psalm 18:32
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?
Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
SUCCESS
Joshua 1:8
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Isaiah 58:11
"And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
TRUTH
Mark 4:22
"For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light.
John 8:32
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
John 17:19
"And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
2 John 1:2
For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:
UNDERSTANDING
1 Kings 3:12
Behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 119:130
The unfolding of Thy words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
Proverbs 2:11
Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
2 Timothy 2:7
Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
VICTORY
Psalm 60:12
Through God we shall do valiantly,
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Psalm 108:13
Through God we shall do valiantly;
And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.
Ephesians 6:13-17
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. [14] Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1 John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.
WISDOM
1 Kings 4:29
Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.
Proverbs 2:6-7
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Luke 21:15
For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
WORD OF GOD
Psalm 19:7-8
The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm 107:20
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 119:1-2
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.
How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
Psalm 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Thy word.
Psalm 119:45
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Thy precepts.
Psalm 119:50
This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Thy word has revived me.
Isaiah 55:11
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Jeremiah 15:16
Thy words were found and I ate them,
And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Thy name,
O Lord God of hosts.
WORK
Deuteronomy 15:10
"You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Deuteronomy 28:2
"And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 28:12
"The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Psalm 1:3
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Ecclesiastes 3:13
Moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor-- it is the gift of God.
Friday, October 03, 2008
COUNT YOUR BLESSING 4
MIRACLES
Exodus 14:27-30
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. [28] And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. [29] But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. [30] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
Psalm 105:39-40
He spread a cloud for a covering,
And fire to illumine by night.
They asked, and He brought quail,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
Matthew 19:26
And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
MINISTRY
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives,
And freedom to prisoners;
John 15:16
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
Romans 10:15
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!"
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
PEACE
Leviticus 26:6
'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
Psalm 29:11
The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 72:7
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
Isaiah 26:3
"The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in Thee.
Isaiah 54:13
"And all your sons will be taught of the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
Deuteronomy 4:37
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
POWER
Exodus 9:16
"But, indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.
Deuteronomy 4:37
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Deuteronomy 11:25
"There shall no man be able to stand before you; the Lord your God shall lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.
Psalm 44:5
Through Thee we will push back our adversaries;
Through Thy name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
Psalm 44:7
But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries,
And Thou hast put to shame those who hate us.
Isaiah 59:19
So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream,
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
Matthew 10:1
And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Matthew 10:8
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.
John 14:12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
PROMOTION
Deuteronomy 1:10
'The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Deuteronomy 28:13
"And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you only shall be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
1 Samuel 2:8
"He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And He set the world on them.
Psalm 71:21
Mayest Thou increase my greatness,
And turn to comfort me.
Matthew 5:5
"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 23:12
"And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Ephesians 2:6
And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
PROSPERITY
Genesis 13:14-15
And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; [15] for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
Leviticus 20:24
'Hence I have said to you, "You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
Leviticus 26:9
'So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.
2 Chronicles 26:5
And he continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.
Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
PROTECTION
Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
"Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great."
Deuteronomy 1:30
'The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.
Psalm 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
Psalm 91:2-7
I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper,
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not approach you.
Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Luke 12:7
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.
PROVISION
Deuteronomy 8:7-9
"For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; [9] a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
Deuteronomy 28:3-5
"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. [4] "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. [5] "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
1 Kings 17:14
"For thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.' "
Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now I am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Or his descendants begging bread.
Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation.
Psalm 145:15-16
The eyes of all look to Thee,
And Thou dost give them their food in due time.
Thou dost open Thy hand,
And dost satisfy the desire of every living thing.
REST
Psalm 4:8
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.
Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Proverbs 1:33
"But he who listens to me shall live securely,
And shall be at ease from the dread of evil."
Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Isaiah 14:3
And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,
Jeremiah 30:10
'And fear not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the Lord, 'And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease,
And no one shall make him afraid.
Matthew 11:28-29
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. [29] "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.
RESTORATION
Leviticus 26:13
'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you should not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
Job 42:10
And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.
Psalm 20:8
They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stood upright.
Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Psalm 40:2-3
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
Psalm 103:5
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Psalm 138:3
On the day I called Thou didst answer me;
Thou didst make me bold with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me;
Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Thy right hand will save me.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
RESURRECTION
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
John 5:21
"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Romans 6:5
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
RICHES
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
1 Chronicles 29:12
"Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.
Proverbs 8:18-19
"Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.
"My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield than choicest silver.
Proverbs 22:4
The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
Isaiah 45:3
"And I will give you the treasures of darkness,
And hidden wealth of secret places,
In order that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Exodus 14:27-30
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. [28] And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. [29] But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. [30] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
Psalm 105:39-40
He spread a cloud for a covering,
And fire to illumine by night.
They asked, and He brought quail,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
Matthew 19:26
And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
MINISTRY
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives,
And freedom to prisoners;
John 15:16
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
Romans 10:15
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!"
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
PEACE
Leviticus 26:6
'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
Psalm 29:11
The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 72:7
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
Isaiah 26:3
"The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in Thee.
Isaiah 54:13
"And all your sons will be taught of the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be great.
Deuteronomy 4:37
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
POWER
Exodus 9:16
"But, indeed, for this cause I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.
Deuteronomy 4:37
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Deuteronomy 11:25
"There shall no man be able to stand before you; the Lord your God shall lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.
Psalm 44:5
Through Thee we will push back our adversaries;
Through Thy name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
Psalm 44:7
But Thou hast saved us from our adversaries,
And Thou hast put to shame those who hate us.
Isaiah 59:19
So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream,
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
Matthew 10:1
And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Matthew 10:8
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.
John 14:12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
PROMOTION
Deuteronomy 1:10
'The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Deuteronomy 28:13
"And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail, and you only shall be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,
1 Samuel 2:8
"He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And He set the world on them.
Psalm 71:21
Mayest Thou increase my greatness,
And turn to comfort me.
Matthew 5:5
"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 23:12
"And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Ephesians 2:6
And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
PROSPERITY
Genesis 13:14-15
And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; [15] for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
Leviticus 20:24
'Hence I have said to you, "You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
Leviticus 26:9
'So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.
2 Chronicles 26:5
And he continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him.
Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
PROTECTION
Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
"Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great."
Deuteronomy 1:30
'The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.
Psalm 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
Psalm 91:2-7
I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper,
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not approach you.
Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Luke 12:7
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.
PROVISION
Deuteronomy 8:7-9
"For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; [8] a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; [9] a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
Deuteronomy 28:3-5
"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. [4] "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. [5] "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
1 Kings 17:14
"For thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.' "
Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now I am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Or his descendants begging bread.
Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation.
Psalm 145:15-16
The eyes of all look to Thee,
And Thou dost give them their food in due time.
Thou dost open Thy hand,
And dost satisfy the desire of every living thing.
REST
Psalm 4:8
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.
Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Proverbs 1:33
"But he who listens to me shall live securely,
And shall be at ease from the dread of evil."
Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Isaiah 14:3
And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,
Jeremiah 30:10
'And fear not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the Lord, 'And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease,
And no one shall make him afraid.
Matthew 11:28-29
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. [29] "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.
RESTORATION
Leviticus 26:13
'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you should not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
Job 42:10
And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.
Psalm 20:8
They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stood upright.
Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Psalm 40:2-3
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
Psalm 103:5
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Psalm 138:3
On the day I called Thou didst answer me;
Thou didst make me bold with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me;
Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Thy right hand will save me.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
RESURRECTION
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
John 5:21
"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Romans 6:5
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
RICHES
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
1 Chronicles 29:12
"Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.
Proverbs 8:18-19
"Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.
"My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield than choicest silver.
Proverbs 22:4
The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
Isaiah 45:3
"And I will give you the treasures of darkness,
And hidden wealth of secret places,
In order that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS PART 3
HEAVEN
Daniel 12:3
"And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Mark 14:25
"Truly I say to you, I shall never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
John 14:2
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
1 Corinthians 2:9
But just as it is written,
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, [4] and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
HOLY SPIRIT
Luke 11:13
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
John 7:38
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' "
John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. [11] For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
HOPE
Psalm 71:5
For Thou art my hope;
O Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth.
Romans 5:4-5
And perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; [5] and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 8:24
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?
Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:19
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
INSPIRATION
Hebrews 6:19
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
Luke 12:12
For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
INTERCESSION
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
John 17:15
"I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
Romans 8:27
And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
JOY
Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Psalm 3:3
But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
Psalm 16:11
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 30:5
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
JUSTICE
Psalm 72:4
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee.
Isaiah 33:22
For the Lord is our judge,
The Lord is our lawgiver,
The Lord is our king;
He will save us--
1 Corinthians 4:4
For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
KNOWLEDGE
2 Chronicles 1:12
Wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor those who will come after you."
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Isaiah 33:6
And He shall be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is his treasure.
Matthew 10:19
"But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.
LONGEVITY
Deuteronomy 4:9
"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.
Deuteronomy 11:21
So that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
Job 5:26
"You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
Psalm 21:4
He asked life of Thee,
Thou didst give it to him,
Length of days forever and ever.
Psalm 91:16
"With a long life I will satisfy him,
And let him behold My salvation."
Proverbs 3:1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life,
And peace they will add to you.
Proverbs 9:11
For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
LOVE
John 15:10
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
MARRIAGE
Genesis 2:24
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Psalm 128:3
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine,
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 31:11-12
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:11-12
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
MERCY
Genesis 9:16
"When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
Genesis 39:21
But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Exodus 33:19
And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
Deuteronomy 4:31
"For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
Psalm 36:5
Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psalm 86:5
For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee.
Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I shall call upon Thee,
For Thou wilt answer me.
Daniel 12:3
"And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Mark 14:25
"Truly I say to you, I shall never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
John 14:2
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
1 Corinthians 2:9
But just as it is written,
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, [4] and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
HOLY SPIRIT
Luke 11:13
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
John 7:38
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' "
John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 16:13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. [11] For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
HOPE
Psalm 71:5
For Thou art my hope;
O Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth.
Romans 5:4-5
And perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; [5] and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 8:24
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?
Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:19
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
INSPIRATION
Hebrews 6:19
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
Luke 12:12
For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
INTERCESSION
Isaiah 53:12
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
John 17:15
"I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
Romans 8:27
And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
JOY
Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Psalm 3:3
But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
Psalm 16:11
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 30:5
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
JUSTICE
Psalm 72:4
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee.
Isaiah 33:22
For the Lord is our judge,
The Lord is our lawgiver,
The Lord is our king;
He will save us--
1 Corinthians 4:4
For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
KNOWLEDGE
2 Chronicles 1:12
Wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor those who will come after you."
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Isaiah 33:6
And He shall be the stability of your times,
A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is his treasure.
Matthew 10:19
"But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.
LONGEVITY
Deuteronomy 4:9
"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.
Deuteronomy 11:21
So that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
Job 5:26
"You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
Psalm 21:4
He asked life of Thee,
Thou didst give it to him,
Length of days forever and ever.
Psalm 91:16
"With a long life I will satisfy him,
And let him behold My salvation."
Proverbs 3:1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life,
And peace they will add to you.
Proverbs 9:11
For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
LOVE
John 15:10
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
MARRIAGE
Genesis 2:24
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Psalm 128:3
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine,
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 31:11-12
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:11-12
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
MERCY
Genesis 9:16
"When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
Genesis 39:21
But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Exodus 33:19
And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
Deuteronomy 4:31
"For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
Psalm 36:5
Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psalm 86:5
For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee.
Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I shall call upon Thee,
For Thou wilt answer me.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS PART 2
FAMILY
Genesis 15:4-5
Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." [5] And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
Genesis 22:17-18
Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. [18] "And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Genesis 28:14
"Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Psalm 68:6
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a gift of the Lord;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Acts 16:31
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
FAVOR
Genesis 12:2
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
Psalm 5:12
For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord,
Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.
Proverbs 3:4
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 16:15
In the light of a king's face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
Song of Solomon 2:3-4
"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
"He has brought me to his banquet hall,
And his banner over me is love.
Jeremiah 29:13
'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Matthew 12:50
"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."
John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
Romans 8:17
And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
2 Corinthians 6:18
"And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,"
Says the Lord Almighty.
Revelation 3:20
'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.
FORGIVENESS
Psalm 130:3-4
If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with Thee,
That Thou mayest be feared.
Isaiah 43:25
"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
Matthew 6:14
"For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Luke 15:20
"And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
FREEDOM FROM FEAR
Psalm 118:6
The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
FREEDOM FROM WORRY
Psalm 3:5-6
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.
Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Matthew 6:34
"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Revelation 1:17-18
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, [18] and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
FRIENDSHIP
Proverbs 18:24
A man of many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Isaiah 41:8
"But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
John 15:13-14
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. [14] "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.
FRUITFULNESS
Psalm 92:14
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
Zechariah 8:12
'For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
GRACE
Psalm 103:12-13
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
Romans 5:20
And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
GUIDANCE
Psalm 25:9
He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Psalm 73:23-25
Nevertheless I am continually with Thee;
Thou hast taken hold of my right hand.
With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth.
Psalm 139:10-11
Even there Thy hand will lead me,
And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Isaiah 30:21
And your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
Isaiah 49:10
"They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.
HAPPINESS
Psalm 37:4-5
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psalm 63:4-5
So I will bless Thee as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Thy name.
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 64:10
The righteous man will be glad in the Lord, and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
John 13:17
"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
HEALTH
Exodus 15:26
And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer."
Psalm 103:2-3
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities;
Who heals all your diseases;
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted,
And binds up their wounds.
Jeremiah 30:17
'For I will restore you to health
And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her." '
Matthew 9:35
And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Genesis 15:4-5
Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." [5] And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
Genesis 22:17-18
Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. [18] "And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
Genesis 28:14
"Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Psalm 68:6
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a gift of the Lord;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Acts 16:31
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
FAVOR
Genesis 12:2
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
Psalm 5:12
For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord,
Thou dost surround him with favor as with a shield.
Proverbs 3:4
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 16:15
In the light of a king's face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
Song of Solomon 2:3-4
"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
"He has brought me to his banquet hall,
And his banner over me is love.
Jeremiah 29:13
'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Matthew 12:50
"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."
John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
Romans 8:17
And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
2 Corinthians 6:18
"And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,"
Says the Lord Almighty.
Revelation 3:20
'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.
FORGIVENESS
Psalm 130:3-4
If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with Thee,
That Thou mayest be feared.
Isaiah 43:25
"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
Matthew 6:14
"For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Luke 15:20
"And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
FREEDOM FROM FEAR
Psalm 118:6
The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
What can man do to me?
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
FREEDOM FROM WORRY
Psalm 3:5-6
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.
Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Matthew 6:34
"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Revelation 1:17-18
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, [18] and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
FRIENDSHIP
Proverbs 18:24
A man of many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Isaiah 41:8
"But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
John 15:13-14
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. [14] "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.
FRUITFULNESS
Psalm 92:14
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
Zechariah 8:12
'For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
GRACE
Psalm 103:12-13
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
Romans 5:20
And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
GUIDANCE
Psalm 25:9
He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Psalm 73:23-25
Nevertheless I am continually with Thee;
Thou hast taken hold of my right hand.
With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth.
Psalm 139:10-11
Even there Thy hand will lead me,
And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Isaiah 30:21
And your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
Isaiah 49:10
"They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.
HAPPINESS
Psalm 37:4-5
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psalm 63:4-5
So I will bless Thee as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Thy name.
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 64:10
The righteous man will be glad in the Lord, and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
John 13:17
"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
HEALTH
Exodus 15:26
And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer."
Psalm 103:2-3
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities;
Who heals all your diseases;
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted,
And binds up their wounds.
Jeremiah 30:17
'For I will restore you to health
And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her." '
Matthew 9:35
And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)