**** Editted****   If you do watch and find the video, please comment by replying to the video or resource you have watched.   I would love to hear from you all and hear your thoughts on these things.   I plan to post powerfilled messages on this post for those who are interested and who want to have something extra to set before their eyes during this season.  Francis Chan is a highly respected teacher.  This message was a powerful reminder of our priorities and what really living is about….

 

1 John 4:18 Darby Bible Translation  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment, and he that fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters…   With the events in the world at this moment, there is no better time for us to cling to our Father and meditate on His Word.

For those who know Him intimately, these next weeks may well provide us with extra opportunities and stronger drive to press in to Him in intimate communion.  For those, who are not as confident in their alone time with Him, I encourage you to check out the Healing is Here 2019 and 2018 from Andrew Wommack’s ministry on youtube.   Both of these are a great encouragement and can give you a solid foundation as well as build us up in the Lord.  I can personally watch each video multiple times and get more out of them each time.   There are hours of encouragement here.

I believe that this is an awesome opportunity to press into, to grow in intimacy and confident trust.    It is kind of a strange way to think of it, but I believe these tribulations and pressures are windows of preparation, dress rehearsals for the future seasons and things we will face in Christ.   He IS FAITHFUL.    He will never fail us for forsake.   Many of us have lived semi complacently in separation from our God.  That these days would drive us right into the throne room of His love, mercy and grace…   He has so much more for us all.   The two verses He has laid on my own heart are Psalm 91 and Isaiah 58.    I attached my own amended version of the Psalm 91 to how I have personalized it for my own prayer times.    Blessings.

 

Healing is Here 2018

Psalm 91 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

2 I will say of the Lord, You are my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on You I lean and rely, and in You I [confidently] trust!

3 For [then] You will deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

4 [Then] You will cover me with Your feathers, and under Your wings shall I trust and find refuge; Your truth and Your faithfulness are my shield and my buckler.

6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near me.

9 Because I have made My Lord My refuge, and the Most High my dwelling place,

10 There shall no evil befall me, nor any plague or calamity come near my tent.

11 For You will give Your angels [especial] charge over me to accompany and defend and preserve me in all my ways [of obedience and service].

12 They shall bear me up on their hands, lest I dash my foot against a stone.

14 Because I have  set my love upon  You, therefore will You deliver me; You will set me on high, because I knows and understand Your name [has a personal knowledge of Your mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on You, knowing You will never forsake , me, never].

16 With long life will You satisfy me and show me Your salvation.”   AMPC  modified to make it personal to my own heart.

There is a lot packed into the post.  We will do a whole session on this topic, at least.   Keep all of this in context of “Seek Ye First the Kingdom and His righteousness”.  The most important thing, is to seek God.   If you are diligent and seeking Him and submitting to Him, He provides everything else you need.    He does command us to be familiar with the devices of the enemy.   This post is to help establish a measure of discernment.

Genesis 3  (EHV) ” 3 Now the serpent was more clever than any wild animal which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but not from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it. You shall not touch it, or else you will die.’”  4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die. 5 In fact, God knows that the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was appealing to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She gave some also to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. ”

John 8:44  (KJV) “44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Revelation 12:10  (KJV) “10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

1 John 2:1-3  (KJV) “2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.  3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

2 Corinthians 2:9-11 (MEV) “9 For to this end I also wrote, so that I might know that you are proving yourselves by whether you are being obedient in all things. 10 Whomever you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if I forgave someone anything, for your sakes I forgave it in Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Romans 16:19  (AMPC) “19 For while your loyalty and obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you well versed and wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil.”

Hosea 4:6 (KJV) “6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

We are in a war.   There is simply no denying that from the moment Adam and Eve sinned, the hostility between man and the serpent has made itself evident in countless ways.    Part of the challenge for us is that we we born into, and therefore, entering into a very long established battle zone.   Most of us our largely ignorant to the battle, the battlefield, the devices of the enemy and the strengths and weapons of our allies, and the specific role we have been assigned in fray.   Hosea spells out plainly that many are destroyed due to this lack of knowledge.     This post is all about better understanding our enemy and the battle field.  If it is lack of knowledge that is destroying us, than gaining godly knowledge is essential.

I do want to distinguish though that while God calls us to have knowledge of Satan’s devices, He expressily commands us not to have experiential knowledge of things forbidden by His Word.    This is a very important distinction.   I think of it as gate keeper training.    We learn the enemy’s devices so that we can keep him from entering in through our gates, so that we can discern and know his tactics and then slam and lock our gates when we see evidence that he his trying to breach our walls.   It is common to hear things like “Well you can’t live in a bubble”.    It is true, we cannot control what affronts our gates as we live in a fallen world, but we most certainly can avert our eyes, leave the room, change the channel, turn off the device, choose different companions,  toss a book, change the topic…   and yes… sometimes this means not using, discarding things that we have paid money for or invested time in.   It may even cost certain friendships and will likely be inconvenient at times.    In other words, we can close our gates and not let the enemy take up residence within us.

As a homeschooling mama, we are constantly under pressure to include this or that book in our curriculum because it is a classic.    My measuring stick, Proverbs 4:20-25….  “Guard your heart above all things, out of it are the issues of life”.     I am beginning to realize a lot of classics are classics in the world advancing a worldly, human perspective on things.    I am learning that excellent moral values don’t necessarily equal true biblical values.   All that classic means is that it has been popular for a really long time.

Ephesians 5:11 English Standard Version (ESV) “11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

Let’s Consider some of the more common tactics of the enemy that you might bump into.  I stress that this is not an exhaustive list.  Satan has many devices.  Our surest defense is to walk in continual and abiding communion with the Lord.

1.   Convinces us that our wellbeing rests on people treating us right instead resting solely on the love and provision of God.
   • Scripture tells us that we our guaranteed to be treated poorly (persecuted) by people and forbids us from allowing a bitter root to spring up among us.  It commands us to turn the other cheek, to bless those who wrongfully use us, to forgive them.  In other words, in spite of all of these things, we are still called to keep our behaviour, words and actions towards others in line with the commandment to love others as Jesus loved us.   We will never be ok if we need people to treat us right.
   • The need to be treated right often leads us to break God’s Word, and to enter into bitterness, envy, self-centredness, competition, exacting, revenge, and to break the commandment to love others as Jesus loved us.
2. Lying Symptoms.   If we don’t realize that lying symptoms are possible, every time we have a negaitve physical sensation, we will assume it is real and often within moments give it permission to stay by confessing with our mouths that we have it.   A very common example is stiffness in a joint.   I have had that happen to me.  In the natural, one naturally might think of this person they know who has arthritis and think to themselves….”well I am getting older, and it does run in my family, after all, aunt such and such has it as well as grandpa such and such”  Then before you know it you are mentioning to your spouse or friend that you think you are starting to get it too.   Instead of slamming the gate shut and confessing Jesus and His victory
   • Phantom pains are very common in people who have had their nerves damaged and or are paralyzed in certain parts of their bodies.   Even when the nerve that carries the message of pain is severed completely, the brain can create the sensation of a body part being in pain.  This is likely most evident in amputees who can feel pain in limbs etc that have been removed.
   • In North America and other “westernized” countries, we have been socialized to be extremely sceptical of all things related to curses and magic.    Scripturally though, these things are real.    Voodoo, witchcraft, satanism and other forms of magic, dark power, demons etc are commonly acknowledged and in many countries, dominate the landscape and people with a shadow of fear and tyranny.   Some pains are actually related to the assignments and prayers and curses of this group of people.    A very small amount of digging will reveal the truth of this.
3. Lying thoughts and Words:
   • Luke 22:3 (KJV)  “3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”  see also Matthew 16:23-24 below when Jesus rebuked Peter.
   • This goes right back to the very first temptation.   Satan was basically telling Eve that God lied to her and was holding back on her.
   • Genesis 3 KJV “3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?   2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.   4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:   5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
   • 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 (KJV) “5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
   • Again, Satan is banking on our ignorance and assuming we will not take “all” of our thoughts captive.   He is actually quite right and very few “christians” have taken the time to train their thinking to the place where they take “every” thought captive.    Every means every.  Guarding our thought and keeping our minds from thinking the wrong thoughts is one of the most key defenses we have against the enemies tactics.
   • No condemnation right…   This may be a brand new concept to someone…  and seemingly overwhelming.   This is one of those my parts being too big for me at the beginning.   Simply repent of your ignorance, praise God that He is sanctifying you and He is enabling you to do this, and invite Him to do so quickly and remind you often and convict you quickly when you let wrong thinking in.   For some this comes quickly and for others it is a lifelong process.  It will glorify God as long as you seek Him sincerely and submit to His word.
4. Intentional and Opposing armies:
   • There are covens, satanists, spiritual principalities, and dark forces at work around us all the time.   They have priests, they have prayer warriors etc..   I do not want to touch on these lightly nor stir up fear…. but we must not be ignorant to their existence or devices.  Our best defense is obedience, purity, Holiness which are the byproducts of life lived in His presence and in constant Communion with Him…    Fear often causes us to be silent on this topic, but knowledge of the devices of the enemies is essential so that we can raise up the corresponding defenses and resist them with the appropriate godly armor.    I share this to motivate us and remind us that putting on our armour and walking in close fellowship with God is essential, and not optional.  Ephesians 6 admonishes us to continually wear the full armour of God.  I will do a separate post on that verse.     It is about allowing God to clothes us with the knowledge of Him and His Word so we are not readily deceived and made subject to the enemy.  Biblical knowledge is the key way that God disarms and enemy and moves us into a place of protection.
   • Proverbs 26:2 King James Version (KJV) “2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.”
   • Numbers 22 I encourage you to read the entire passage.   “Numbers 22:11-13 English Standard Version (ESV) 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
5. Identifying with our Flesh Above Our God-
   • 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
   • Matthew 16:23-24 (NLT) “23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
   • The enemy is banking on you choosing your fleshes appetites and lusts over God.  Prove Him wrong.
   • Romans 8 (KJV) “8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:   4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.   5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.   6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.    7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
   • Imagine that God is in the room with you (He is, absolutely He is) but just take a moment to really recognize this fact.   Know that He is the one who spoke every word of scripture.   The author is in the room with you.   When you read a verse, He is the one speaking.   He says something true, something powerful, something absolute…  before you let a single “ya but…” thought pass through your mind, realize that many of those thoughts are from the carnal, walking by sight and not by faith mind etc..   and very often are in a round about way saying that what God says is not true because my experience tells me so.   We are actually elevating our experience and sensual (as in of the 5 senses) knowledge tell us that what God says is not 100% true.  The reality is if our perception is off and not 100% singular (in humility, we would be wise to admit that this is largely the case as even Peter who walked and lived with Jesus for 3 years could be deceived).    Reverential Fear of the Lord is essential.  It is far too easy for us to take on a casual, pride-filled, or irreverent posture, and accidentally raise human experience, rational, intellect above the Word.    It is a far too common practice in the body of Christ.   If can present 20 verses that support a biblical truth  (in context), and all someone has to do to discredit the truth is say, “well I hear what you are saying, but in my experience that just isn’t true”.     Think about the Israelites trapped in the wilderness for 40 years.   Sure it is easy for us to see why they were there.   The thing is, that they missed it.   It was the ya buts that kept them from the promise land.    I would be perfectly content to have every ya but wiped from my thinking and vocabulary.
6. Covetting and Envy
   • Once the flesh and it’s appetites are in the drivers seat, covetting and envy quickly follow.    These often come disguised in the form of competition and comparison, which are so commonly accepted and leveraged by psychology as good and healthful that they rarely raise a blip on our radar.
   • James 3:16 KJV “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
   • Competition and Comparison very often say my value hangs on where I fit in the pecking order of the other human beings in my proximity.   The thing is, the deck is always stacked in someone’s favour.     Each person has a unique set of gifts and strengths and is called of fulfill a unique position or objective(s) in the body of Christ.   A biblical perspective is to value people as precious, made in God’s image, complimentary and adjoining body parts.     God Spirit is one of love and co-operation and unity.
   • It was envy that led Cain to murder Abel.   The reality is the approval that Cain was really seeking was equally available to him as it was to Abel.  His offering was rejected on it not meeting the criteria God had established.   It wasn’t rejected because God was grading on a bell curve.    God’s Word lays out objective criteria.   Our “passing” or “failing” lies in whether or not we meet the criteria, not on how we compare one to another.   His supply is unlimited, He is everywhere and is with everyone so there is no need to compete for His attention or affection.   His supply of every good thing is limitless so there is no need to give to some only.
   • To delight in being better than others is really a form of human pride or lack of understanding of our value to God and/or ability love ourselves as His creation  and goes directly against the Word of God.   Philippians 2:3(KJV) “3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”  
   • Philippians 4:10-12  (NCV) “10 I am very happy in the Lord that you have shown your care for me again. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it. 11 I am not telling you this because I need anything. I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. 12 I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens, when I have enough to eat and when I go hungry, when I have more than I need and when I do not have enough.”
   • 1 Timothy 6:3-7  (NET Bible) “3 If someone spreads false teachings and does not agree with sound words (that is, those of our Lord Jesus Christ) and with the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit. 6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.”
7. Accuses us before God and others (I will share another post about our Heavenly Advocate Jesus, and what we can learn from His example of how to deal with being accused by the enemy in greater detail)
   • If we are ignorant to this device, we will quickly respond in kind and be used as tools/puppets who are now accusing others or jump into the defensive posture and try to defend ourselves.   Thank God for Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God as our Advocate.
   • 2 Timothy 2:20-26  (KJV) “20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.  21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.  22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.  24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.“
   • 1 Peter 5:8  (KJV) “8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
   • James 4:7 (KJV) “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”      When we submit to God, live with a clean conscience before Him, take His discipline quickly and wholeheartedly, we will find ourselves resisting the enemy follows submitting to God.    The Devil needs a foothold, either our permission or our disobedience to operate in our lives.   Let’s work on knocking off every foothold the devil has ever had in our lives as empowered by the Lord Jesus Christ.   A simple prayer “Lord, please reveal to me where the enemy has a foothold in my life, in Jesus Christ name” is a great place to start.
8. Bitterness-
   • Unforgiveness is right at the top of how the enemy gets a foothold in our lives.
   • Ephesians 4:26-27 King James Version (KJV)  “26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  27 Neither give place to the devil.”
   • Godly anger is directed at sin and at the enemy not at people.
   • Hebrews 12:14-16  (KJV) “14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:  15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;  16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”
   • Matthew 18:21-35 Authorized (King James) “21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
   • We must be aware that hanging on to our human right to be in bitterness, to exact recompence and resolution from another person is to abdicate the Lord’s forgiveness in our own lives, which in turn leaves us exposed and as prey to the enemy.
9. Everybody else is ok with it so it must be ok.
   • Remember the 12 spies of Canaan.  Each one was the leader of one of the tribe.  The Elite of the Israelites.  Those confirmed by the Lord.   Only 2 of the 12 were able to get passed their senses and believe God’s Word on the matter.  Biblically, the reality is that the fact that everybody else is ok with it at best should mean nothing to us, and at worst could actually be a flag that it is not ok.   The majority, as a general trend, walk after the flesh, not after the Spirit.
10. Keeping Someone Other than Christ in the Window.
    • “Well my pastor, trusted friend, elder etc said it was ok”,  “Look, even the Apostle Paul/Peter struggled with this.”    Jesus alone is our role model.   Yes, absolutely godly men and women have a great role to play in the Kingdom BUT our only role model, the final authority in our lives must be the Lord and His Word.
    • Psalm 138:2 (KJV) “2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
    • First, often this line of thinking follows a situation in which our own consciences were pricked, so we went seeking counsel to find out what the right thing to do is.   Now there is great wisdom in seeking counsel from godly people.  The challenge that enters in, is that we tend to seek out “godly” counsel until we find someone who is “godly” in our eyes and who will agree with what we really want to do.     It is a very human thing to keeping on seeking until we find a person who agrees with us and therefore justifies what we really wanted to do anyways.   The most important source to go to when our conscience flags us is to the Lord and His Word.   Yes, seek godly counsel if the answer is not evident or time is so pressing that it does not allow for a sincere searching of the scriptures.   But always make the time to seek out the whole counsel of God on the matter (not just a verse or two out of context).   The enemy will leverage this just as he did in the wilderness and keep us from entering the promised land indefinitely.    Scripture says, my sheep know my voice and indicates that whether or not we enter into His Kingdom hangs on us having a personal relationship with Him.  Men can be deceived or ignorant.   Build your house on the rock.
    • Matthew 7:22-24 New Living Translation (NLT) “22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’  24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

 

 

 

Healing Rooms Training March 3, 2020

https://www.fhhm.org/events/2020/3/21/healing-rooms-training

Dr Reid shared that the Healing Rooms in Arthur are offering a training and equipping day in March.   The Above Link will take you to the details.

52 Day Immersion Time (February, March, April, May 2020)

I am personally doing 52 days over 3 possibly 4 months of taking 3 to 4 hours in study and time with the Lord as often as I can.    I am watching Dan Mohler’s School of Kingdom Living (Free on Youtube) as part of this process.   My prayer life has been radically transformed and I am definitely hearing more from the Lord.    For anyone interested  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiuBTpXzIlA&list=PLqnfVPeWIKcYN-NDlnu7jwEF5jbI8DHvK .  I am willing to open my home on Fridays for those who would like to watch a video and have some discussion for 3 to 4 hours, typically mid-day.   The videos often take me more than a day to work through and are packed full of scripture references.    As always, there are things that I whole heartedly agree with, things that go over my head and things that I just set aside for now.

Wednesday Night Books of the Bible Study

We are presently studying the book of Hebrews in our home every Wednesday in a small group format.   We read 1 chapter and then work through it a few verses at a time.  The goal is to fit the pieces of the puzzle together and explore scripture verses in the fullness of their original context and setting.     We also pray, including for things happening in the political, medical, and other arenas of life.   Please let me know if you are interested and I can give you more information.  This is a more intimate group as we are limited to about 12 in number.

For Those Presently In Crisis or In Urgent Need of Healing

Here are my go to sermons and videos resources when I need to be strengthened or ministered too when I lack the energy or ability to pray for myself.    As always, be Berean and take it back to scripture but these are all resources that have blessed me immensely.

Healing is Here 2019

Healing is Here 2018

Audrey Mack always stirs up my faith immensely and often makes me laugh out loud.   Todd White is a profoundly inspiring man and one who I learn a lot from as well.  Andrew Wommack is one of my go to teachers and has been for years.

Andrew Wommack Ministries has a ton of free and online audio teachings.  The two linked below were made up for people who have little time and looking for a miraculous healing.  The first is shorter and more intensive.. the second is longer and more thorough.

Christian First Aid Kit

Christian Survival Guide

Messages that Changed My Life Forever in a Radical Way

Todd White – Seek First the Kingdom

Becoming Love Dan Mohler

Spirit, Soul and Body by Andrew Wommack (An excellent foundational teaching)

 

Treasure hunt!!!    Rich Passages to chewed upon and transformed by.

Questions these stir in my heart:

Q1: How do I prepare the soil and become a the fruitful vine/tree so often referred to in the scriptures?

Q2:  Where and how must I dwell to fully benefit from the living waters of the river of life?

Q3:What blessings promises will come upon my life as a fruitful vine/tree?

Q4: What consequences/adverse events can I anticipate if I am not a fruitful vine?

Q5:How does the Lord care for the fruitful vines?   What things both seemingly positive and negative can we anticipate as vines in His vineyard?

Q6:For another time, I want to know more about the verses that refer to us as those sent to send the vineyard….  Interesting that there seems to be verses that speak of us both as the trees/vines and others that speak of us as those sent to tend the vineyard.

Psalm 1 King James Version (KJV) “1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Ezekiel 19:10-14 King James Version (KJV) “10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.  11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.  12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.  13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.  14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”

 

Colossians 1:9-11 King James Version (KJV)  “9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;”

 

Psalm 128:2-4 King James Version (KJV)  “2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.  3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.  4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.”

Isaiah 27 NLT  “In that day,  sing about the fruitful vineyard.  ³ I, the Lord, will watch over it,      watering it carefully.  Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.  ⁴     My anger will be gone.  If I find briers and thorns growing,   I will attack them;  I will burn them up—  ⁵  unless they turn to me for help.  Let them make peace with me;  yes, let them make peace with me.”

John 15 King James Version (KJV) “15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.   If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.  11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.   12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Revelation 22:1-2 King James Version (KJV)  “22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

 

 

In 2016, we walked through one of the most difficult valleys of my life, the loss of my precious mother.   It was a two year process and a wilderness time in which God met me countless ways and proved Himself abundantly and exceedling faithful in my life.     Below is a snapshot of how God prompted me to share the gospel with my mom.  I believe this was taylor expressed, for her ears and heart but believe it will bless others as it blessed me.   So I share….

“My Dearest Mommy, You are a gift and a treasure, more precious than I ever recognized. I have undervalued and taken you for granted for so many years… The devotion and love you have poured out over my life all these years have been the foundation, the strength of my life, my lifeline when I was in danger, my comfort when I was in pain both physically and emotionally. Just knowing that you were there, and that you would come and be there if I needed you, gave me a confidence, a reassurance, a place or refuge and safety to run to in an hour of need. Your presence and dedication and love have permeated my whole life.

It is the nature of a child to explore, to pursue, to taste, to push the limits, to climb out on many limbs and to see things through the eyes of “me, mine and my”, with little to no thought about the one who is their protective shade. I think of a day at the beach with my children, and just how much work and for thought goes into it all. The gear, the reapplying of sunscreen, the food to eat, the toileting tools, the need for constant vigilance to protect my dear ones from the sun, the waves, the sand, the bugs, strangers etc…. The child’s experience, is one of joy and discovery, sand between the toes, the warmth of basking in the sun , the refreshment of a foot dipped in cool waters on a hot day, the sensation of water and power rushing through ones fingers as you splash in the waves. And then one day, I woke up and I was the parent and realized the cost of such a day, multiplied over the many years, decades even it takes to raise up a young family. You are a steadfast and loving Mom, I am so thankful for the millions of gifts, cares, pre-cautions, provisions and expressions of loving devotion that you have lavished me with throughout my lifetime. I LOVE YOU beyond what any words could possibly express!!!!”

This was the beginning of the last note and letter that I read to my Dear sweet Mommy, just a couple of weeks before she died.

Even as moment by moment and hour by hour, memories pop up, bittersweet in this particular hour… I wish I could remember more, and have more photos, and have a way of putting all of these things into a place where I can look at them over and over again and treasure them all the days of my life. A place where my children can see and hear about their loving “Gran”.

A legacy of love and dedication. My mom chose a path and laid down much for us to have the childhood that we had. She chose to stay home, chose to live simply without lavish trips and expensive lifestyles. My childhood memories are ones of joy and freedom. Birthdays with bunny cakes, jelly bean hunts and coloring contests. Christmas’s with new nightgowns, a homemade necklace, Christmas carols on Christmas Eve at one of the big old churches in downtown Montreal. Stories and books lovingly read (something that I now do with my own children who all love books).. Hours spent sitting outside my bedroom door as I fell asleep to protect me from the “monsters” hiding under my bed and in my closet. Our yearly trips to visit our relatives in the States… Every holiday and family trip infused with traditions. Now a treasure trove of memories to look back upon

Through my mom’s example, I have learned that to serve is a powerful way to love and give back to others. She has volunteered for as long as I can remember and this heart of service was an integral part of our home too.

My Mom was a great teacher… And thoughtfully considered so much of what she exposed us to and taught us. It turns out that she read to us almost exclusively from books that had won awards and that so many things that I can remember from my childhood are now meticulously outlined in books about how to provided your children with the best start in life. I am not sure how she knew these things but they seemed to flow so naturally from her, so effortlessly and easily.

Even in her last month of life, I was learning from my mom and dad. I woke up one Friday morning with a letter on my heart, one that I needed to write and read to my precious mother that day. As I wrote down the words that were pouring from my heart, I realized that it was through her example that I had first tasted true, enduring and sacrificial love. All these a reflection of the greatest love of all, that of a Loving Lord and Heavenly Father. My first real experience with heaven on earth. I have been blessed with a great mother, an excellent mother, a loving mother.

I am going to share my story of the last month of my mother’s life here on earth in the hopes that it will bring some peace and encouragement to others. I received a call from my sisters saying that it was time to come, and to come now as Mom had taken a turn for the worse. I was hoping beyond all hope that there would be another rally, another turn, and of course more time. Mom handled herself with such courage and forbearance throughout this whole thing. I was struck by how beautiful she looked with her short white hair and how much it made her beautiful blue eyes pop out. My Mom has always been a stunning lady. Even in the hospital room she was gracious with us all.

During this visit, my Dad said something to me that struck me. He said “I’m glad you came. The picture isn’t complete when you’re not here.” I must have given him a funny look because then he said “I don’t think you understand what you bring to this family”
So back to the Friday morning, I woke up and started pouring out my heart on paper. And what I saw on that page, was a reflection, in part, of Christ. For the first time I realized, I mean, really realized just how wonderful a mom I had been blessed with. I was overwhelmed and needed to tell my Mom that day just how much I love her and how much she means to me.

Now mom and I did not talk much about God, in fact, if the topic came up, she was the first to leave the room. Understanding this, I didn’t bring it up in her presence much over these last 2 years. But on that Friday, I learned something new about God, I experienced His love on a greater level than I ever had before, and again, my dear Mom and Dad played a huge part.

As I watched my Mom go through this storm, I realized that all those things that had awakened in her own heart, a true mother’s heart, all the unconditional love and acceptance, all the giving, the protecting, the caring, the intense hurting that a parent feels when there child is in danger, everything.. I could see my Heavenly Father feeling all of these same things towards my precious Mom. And for the first time, the Gospel, the Good News, made sense to me at a whole new level.

My dad’s words echoing in my heart, I realized that my Mom was God’s child, His creation, before she was anybody else’s. That He was going to miss her for all of eternity if she didn’t come home. That it didn’t matter what had gone on from the moment she entered this word (out of his immediate and complete protective care) to the moment she would go home, that as a loving Father, He would always miss her and there would always be a hole, a sense of incompleteness if she wasn’t there. No, it wasn’t a condemning, lecturing, angry Father waiting for her but a loving Father, an infinitely patient Father, a Father who was longing to hug, to console and comfort, to shelter and to protect from all pain and suffering. So simple I had missed it.

“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13

And so, I shared these things with my Mom. And let her know that her “Papa in heaven was on call, and if she cried out to Him in Jesus name, He would come and take her home” I didn’t speak with her about these things again.

The night before she died, I dreamed of my Mom. It was the only dream I can remember her being in the whole time she was sick. She was herself, her hair was long and brown and it was her own. She gave me a hug. I told her I loved her and that I would much rather see her “in this place”, in the spirit, than “in that place” what she was looking like in the hospital bed. And then I woke up. It was my goodbye as she left that day. I have a lovely group of ladies who pray with me often and have being praying for Mom often throughout this challenging time. One of these sweet ones shared with me that on the morning Mom died, she was praying for her and suddenly joy came and this hymn started running through her mind. “To God be the Glory”.

There is of course more to this story, but there always is. And for those who appreciate these things, I would be happy to share. Please forgive me for those that sharing these things might offend or anger. I know for some that these things would be a great comfort and source of hope. I believe my Mom is with her “Papa in Heaven” and with her 3 grandbabies that went on ahead of the rest of us.

A forever thankful daughter,

 PURPLE – God’s Part = His Promise / very often conditional on us abiding in Him (having intimate relationship with him) and/or us being obedient to our small/doable part

GREEN- Our Part (note even our part sometimes requires us seeking God’s help and asking Him to give us the desire and ability to do what pleases Him)

Philippians 2:13 (AMP)”For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”

TURQUOISE = Identity = Our capacity/Our citizenship/Who we are in Christ/ Characteristics of a Spiritually Minded Person

ORANGE= Words that indicate/imply conditional promise

RED = WARNING  (where sin, disobedience,  , ignorance of God and His Word,  carnal and worldy thinking, our own understanding will inevitably lead us)

Romans 8:6  (KJV) “⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

If you don’t see instant healing, do not lose hope.    You have promises and guarantees that God wants you well and is able to get you well.   Above all remember that there are no formulas in healing..   You have your tool belt.. Which is supplied by being in the Word.. And you have the Healer who has promised to direct you….    You are His hands, you speak His Words.    But you need to wait on God and learn to hear His voice otherwise you cannot follow His directions.    This is not a formula situation.   This is dependent on relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.,

 

Resources:

Healing Is Here 2018: Session 10 –Audrey Mack

 

1.___________________________________________________________________

 

Romans 8:35-37 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

There is absolutely nothing on earth that can separate us from God other than ourselves.   There is a lot of confusion in the body of Christ as to what the words trouble, calamity and persecution etc entail.   What the scriptures guarantee is that to suffer as Christ suffered especially from persecution.   I will do another post on all the common verses that quote suffering as part of the christian experience.  

Romans 8:17 King James Version (KJV) “17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

From the Strong Concordance https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4841&t=KJV

suffer = συμπάσχω sympáschō, soom-pas’-kho; from G4862 and G3958 (including its alternate); to experience pain jointly or of the same kind (specially, persecution; to “sympathize”):—suffer with.

 

 

Hosea 2:14-15 + 19 ““But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.  She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’  instead of ‘my master.’ O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,    and you will never mention them again. On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows,so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.

Beautiful picture of how the Lord sees even His lost precious ones.   We are His beloved.  He sent Christ and Christ was willing to die on the cross to redeem what is precious to God.   He did all of this because we are loved not just simply to deal with sin.   The cross was an expression of loving devotion not of pure pity.   The longing the Lord expresses here blesses my heart.

 

Reminder : 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

God’s provision in all circumstances is perfect.   3 things jump out to me

First, often the tribulations and temptations that others are going through are also a temptation for us… it is easy to go into pride, human reasoning, false burden bearing, criticism and judgementalism, religion, legalism etc….  So must approach these things in wisdom, with love and discernment

Second, self-pity would like nothing more than to jump in there and tag team with envy (often in the form of comparison) and get us stuck on how our situation must be the worst or more horrible than others we know  and is simply unbearable etc…     Nothing we experience is not common to man.   Very very often, if our lens shifts and we can see things from God’s perspective, we will see victory follow.   At very least if we see God’s guaranteed provision than fear and anxiousness are booted out of the picture.

Philippians 4:4-7 Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be made known to all people. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

Luke 12:31-32 King James Version (KJV)  ³¹ But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.³² Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)  23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

 

Ezekiel 34KJV “¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.¹¹ For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”

There are both good and bad shepherds in the world and the state of the sheep is deeply impacted but the purity and sincerity of the shepherds.  God cares deeply for His sheep. This passage tells us what He as THE GOOD SHEPHERD promises but also acts as a reminder for all shepherds including pastor, parents, husbands, elders etc… what God requires of his shepherds.  This is a passage I could meditate on for years and not plumb

¹² As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.  ¹³ And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.  ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.  ¹⁵ I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.  ¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Lots of promises here.. this echoes Psalm 23 in many ways.   God will seek us, deliver us from dark places where the “Son” is blotted out by “clouds of darkness”.  God promises to gether us to Himself and bring us home to Zion, to feed us on HIs mountains in a good pasture… protected in His fold where we can lie down.   He seeks out those who are lost and those who were driven away.   He binds up all that which was (notice the tense) broken (no longer in the Shepherds care)… and strengthens that which was (past tense, no longer ( sick).   To suggest that the good shepherd is breaking His sheep and putting sick on them goes in complete contractiction of this and many other verses.

¹⁷ And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.  ¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?  ¹⁹ And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.  ²⁰ Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.  ²¹ Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 

This portion addresses how the sheep within the flock are treating one another.   I love what Helen shared about the difference between goats and sheep.  Goats must be herded (the goatherder follows the stubborn goats who go there own way).. Sheep folllow the shepherd.   The fat (self serving and dominating ones) eat up the good pasture and then tread down the grass to spoil it for others so it is no longer productive and abundant and they foul the waters with the residue of their feet.  For me this imagery is a beautiful illustration of  how the word is contaminated and twisted by those who use it to their own benefit.  How the pure Word is corrupted by ill treatment and misuse so that it is no longer able to benefit the sheep as God intended.    The image of a glass of water with a 1/4 tsp of dirt stirred in comes to mind.   None of us want to drink muddied water and yet when we teach anything other than pure scripture, that is exactly what we do.   The dirt that is so commonly added often includes our experiences, our emotions, are cultural beliefs and traditions, our unbelief, our sin justification etc.

²² Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.  ²³ And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  ²⁴ And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.  ²⁵ And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 

The Lord will judge….  We do need to keep this in mind at all times.  The Lord will judge between the goats and the sheep.  Those who choose to go there own way will rise up to judgement.   Those who believe and follow are already judged and released from the penalty of sin and death.  Love one another as I have loved you is a critical commandment to follow.    I cannot encourage each of us (me especially) enough to spend enough time ,meditating on what the love of Jesus does and does not look like.  In the natural we will always revert to human ideas of love and miss the mark by a large margin if we haven’t let the Word renew our hearts and thinking on this matter.     This passage is a foretelling of the NEW COVENANT that Jesus has now ushered in….  its hallmarks are peace, evil beasts to cease, and us dwelling safely in the wilderness and woods.

^“26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.  ²⁷ And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. “

The promises here all hinge on us being willing to follow God and live on His hill.  Anyone who is unwilling to lay down their ideas and selfishness will be unable to take up residence where God has directed them.   The last thought here convicts me personally and highlights to me how essential/mandatory/unavoidable it is to lay down self-centredness once and for all.    God has promised to delivery his sheep out of those who are self-serving and use others for their benefits…..   this means all entitlement, all sense of a right to be treated a certain way etc must be laid down.  

^“28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.  ²⁹ And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.  ³⁰ Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.  ³¹ And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.”

None shall make them afraid, prey to no one, safe from all harm.   All hunger gone, all shame gone.        We can miss this next bit as it seems perhaps at first glance less beneficial but in truth it is the MOST important and greatest blessing of all.   “They shall know I the Lord their God am with them””.     A lot of us have head knowledge of this but lack heart knowledge.  In God’s presence is total peace, safety, love and acceptance.  KNOWING Him is eternal life and eternal simply does not exist apart from believing and living in the place of knowing that “I AM” dwells with us.  More accurately that we dwell with Him and we are His beloved.

 

Psalm 121  (KJV)  121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  ³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  ⁴ Behold, he that keepeth [is a thorny hedge around] Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  ⁵ The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.  ⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  ⁷ The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  ⁸ The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

“שָׁמַר shâmar, shaw-mar’; a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.:—beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man). ” https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8104&t=KJV

The word keepeth and keeper are both from the same root which means a hedge about..    I love that the Lord is a hedge about me day and night and that He never slumbers.    Wherever I go, whatever I do, He is a hedge round about me.  This was so tangible that to the Israelites in the wilderness, He literally shaded them with a cloud by day and warmed thme with a pillar of fire by night. 

Psalm 46:1 KJV  “46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”   

strength = עֹז ʻôz, oze; or (fully) עוֹז ʻôwz; from H5810; strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise):—boldness, loud, might, power, strength, strong. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5797&t=KJV

trouble = צָרָה tsârâh, tsaw-raw’; feminine of H6862; tightness (i.e. figuratively, trouble); transitively, a female rival:—adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble.

This is a verse that God directed me to personally in the midst of a deep struggle.    To know that He is with me and a very present help was amazing and I saw a breakthrough literally within minutes of reading this.   I find it very interesting that trouble is suggestive of a female rival….  God refers to us as running after other gods as adultery.      Interesting to think that trouble his actually a rival to God’s Lordship in our lives.

1 Peter 2:20-25  (KJV)  ²⁰ For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  ²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:  ²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:  ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

 

 

John 10:10-11 (KJV) 10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.“

God does not cast a shifting shadow or change a thing that goes out of His mouth….  He is the good shepherd (see Ezekiel 34) who has laid down his life for the sheep.    If it is killing us, stealing from us, or destroying us… the author is Satan.   Jesus came to give us life abundantly.   To attribute sickness and disease to God is contrary to the Word.

James 1:17 Christian Standard Bible “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Psalm 89:34 King James Version (KJV) 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Numbers 23:19 English Standard Version (ESV) ¹⁹ God is not man, that he should lie,     or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it?    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

 

2.___________________________________________________________________________

 

Ezekiel 11:18-20 (KJV) “8 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

It is a biblical reality that to really walk with God and to live in His presence, purging the detestable thing and abominations (as defined by scripture) out of our lives is a NON-negociable part of the narrow way we are called to walk in….     Scripture warns us that those who love their sin more, refuse to come into the light.  This is a repeating theme all through scripture.  Habakuk tells us that God is so pure that He cannot look upon evil.  We are called to dwell in His presence….   As gatekeepers, we are called to clean house (by biblical definition all things that are not of faith and all the things that we know to do that are right but don’t).  We will explore this more further on in this study.  It is so encouraging that God is the solution here and has promised to give us a new heart and the ability to keep his statutes.    I do see conditionals here…   We must be willing to come to God and to let go of the things He commands us to.    The verses shared below show that it is man’s unwillingness to let go of his evil appetites that keep him from God and in the darkness.

John 3:19-20 King James Version (KJV) 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Habakkuk 1:13 King James Version (KJV)
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Ezekiel 36:25-27  (KJV) “25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

1.God has given us a new heart.   The heart we now have it capable of hearing the Lord and obeying Him.  His commandments are written on our hearts once we are born again.    There is a still small voice inside of us now directing us to obey the Lord in all things.   We see here a picture of cleaning out the temple and purging all sin and all things in our lives and hearts that don’t honour God as Lord. 

 

Joel 2:27-29  (KJV) “27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.  28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”

We are now in the time when God has poured out His Spirit.    Truly being filled with the Holy Spirit changes everything.   Being in Christ changes everything.     We are no longer mere flesh and blood but we are empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit within us.   What ever natural weakness or deficiency we had in the flesh, His presence makes up for.  ” I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me” is a go to favourite verse to meditate on.  The enemy loves it when we say things “well after all, I am only human”.   Under the New Covenant, this is simply not true.   Scripture records that as many as have been baptized have put on Christ, that old things have passed away and all things are made new and that we are no longer subject to the beggarly elements of this world or the dominion of darkness.   The fullfillment of this prophesy has radically changed the playing field.   Understanding our redeemed identity, understanding the shifts of power, understanding the new covenant and knowing God are essential to following Jesus.   

 

 

John 6:62-65  (KJV) “62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.  65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

The Word of God is not merely words on a page.   Scripture is endued with life giving power for those who believe to the point of living and acting in accordance to what it says.   This verse.  The NLT that I first read this verse in says human effort accomplished nothing…    I spent the first 30 years of my life trying to be a good person and failing miserably.    This year especially, I have come to understand that I am the bride of Christ, and that part of His ministry to me is that He is willing to continually sanctify me (wash me clean) with the washing of His Word.   I have come to view my times in scripture as a combination of quality time with my betrothed, it is when He tells me how much I am loved, how much I am valued, and how lovely I am in His eyes.   It is the time of adornement.   Scripture records that Christ is preparing for Himself a bride without spot or wrinkle.   This reminds me of the book of Esther and how she was brought into the palace months before her encounter with the king.  This whole time she was “beautified” and cleansed and polished so that on the day of her presentation, she would be a beautiful and fragrant bloom at her very best.   My husband blessed me with a beautiful wedding gown as a gift for our special day.  It was of a different quality and beauty than the ones I could afford at the time on my own.   He reflected Christ in this action.     Oh how blessed we can be when we embrace the sanctification process as a bride embraces the fussing that happens as she prepares for her wedding day.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 5:20  (KJV)  “²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

A few things stand out here…  first, this is directed to believers and the sinner referred to here is a person who was in faith who has fallen away.   So this verse most certainly suggests that a person who has been saved can fall to a place where the death of their soul is possible.   This should at least give us serious pause.   Context is so very important.   This says that it is by “converting a sinner from error”(not ignoring sins and covering them up by simply overlooking them ) that a multitude of sins are hidden.   Scripture tells us the righteous are already judged but that sinners will have to give an account on judgement day of every sin and word.   The blood of Jesus has washed clean those who believe and submit to Him as Lord.  We will spend at least one session on how to deal with sin and the sin of others.      The big point here is that willfull ongoing sin ends in soul death.  Love therefore motivates us to do all that we can (so letting God instruct us through His Word on this topic is a requisite part of being able to truly love our neighbour) to see others repent and turn from error.   Last little tidbit, is the thing we need saved from is the error of our way.     Our-way self-will leads us into error.   Jesus recognized this in the garden when He said, “not my will but yours”.   This thing is all through scripture… the sheep must follow the Good Shepherd.    

 

Romans 8:1-13  (KJV) “8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.   7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.   10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.   12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.   For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

This is one of those verses that is quoted out of context and in part.    There is absolutely condemnation for those who walk after the flesh and not after the Spirit.  Far too many are deceived by those who would tickle their ears and tell them what gives them permission to keep on sinning and not truly submit to God.   This promise only applies to those who walk after the Spirit (which includes submitting to God and rejecting willful sin).

Punchline:   Those who are led by the appetites and desires of their physical wants and neesd are doomed to die.  Those who crucify the flesh and its appetites to be free to follow the Spirit truly, will live. 

It is impossible to be dominated by the flesh and appetites of the world and please God.

 

1 Corinthians 5:4-6  (KJV)  “4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,  5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”

It is not a kindness or an expression of love to watch a brother or sister walk in a destructive way and not seek to turn them back in love.     We musn’t forget that these verses are directed to “believers” and that this one in their midst participating openly   in a willfully sinful lifestyle was in danger is his spirit being lost and was infecting/affeting the whole body by his behaviour and their tolerance of His behaviour.   God has given us a bigger measure of authority then we often realize.    Our tolerance levels must be set in accordance with the Word of God, not in accordance with human morals, human compassion and human reasoning.

Matthew 18:18 NLT ““I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Big point:  Jesus never tolerated willful and public sin among His believers.  We must do as He commands us.

There might be some who are recalling this verse about not judging another.

Matthew 7:1-3 (KJV) 7 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

Again we often forget to quote the whole thing 

Matthew 7:4-5 (KJV) “4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Galatians 6:1-2 (KJV) “6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

 

2 Corinthians 3:2-5 (KJV)  “2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:  3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.  4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:  5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” 2 Corinthians 3:2-5 The Passion Translation (TPT) 2 For your very lives are our “letters of recommendation,” permanently engraved on our hearts, recognized and read by everybody. 3 As a result of our ministry, you are living letters written by Christ, not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God—not carved onto stone tablets but on the tablets of tender hearts. 4 We carry this confidence in our hearts because of our union with Christ before God. 5 Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence.”

Big point:  The Gospel and hearing about God should utterly transform us.    The changes in us should be so evident that just by spending time with us, people should experience a measure of God’s Kingdom.    The condition is us having tender responsive hearts that allow God’s Word to transform us.    We will accomplish far more from the Kingdom if we let Him truly and deeply transform our lives than all of our human effort combined.   No amount of trying to say it just right, having convincing/persuasive words can speak more powerfully than a life genuinely transformed.   

Practically speaking, what how does tranformation happen?   

It is the the assured product of seeking Him truly and persistently.   Carving time out from our lives to get alone with Him, read His Word with a sincere desire to really know Him and a sincere desire to be transformed according to His Word and Will.     It is being persistent and consistent in seeking Him especially when you don’t “feel” like it or “feel” anything emotionally etc.     Ask the people you know who are “different”, who are more lilke “Christ”  how they seek Him, and I think you will find some common things.   Prayer for me is far more about seeking God and praising Him with His Word than about petitioning Him for things for my life or the lives of others.   

 

Hebrews 11:6  (KJV) ” But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

 

2 Corinthians 7:1-3  (KJV) “7 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.  3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.”

Context is always important but especially in a case like this as we want to know what the promises are.   

Big point:   God needs our cooperation and commitment to perfect holiness in us.   We play a critical role in being cleansed from all filthiness of the Spirit and the flesh.     Fear of the Lord should impact everything we do.

 

Galatians 3:1-7 (KJV)  “3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?  4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.  5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

bewitched  definition in Strongs  Webster’s 1828 Definition

“BEWITCH‘, verb transitive [be and witch.] To fascinate; to gain an ascendancy over by charms or incantation; an operation which was formerly supposed to injure the person bewitched, so that he lost his flesh, or behaved in a strange unaccountable manner; ignorant people being inclined to ascribe to evil spirits what they could not account for.

Look, how I am bewitched; behold, mine arm

Is like a blasted sapling withered up.

1. To charm; to fascinate; to please to such a degree as to take away the power of resistance.

The charms of poetry our souls bewitch

2. To deceive and mislead by juggling tricks or imposter. Acts 8:9.”

One of the greatest tools of the enemy is to deceive us with substitutes that are so appealing to our flesh…  Things that capture our imagination, appeal to our reasoning and rational or our human sense of right and wrong are all things that can bewitch us away from the truth.   The side effect is that our power to resist the enemy is reduced or broken.

Big point:   God is after an intimate relationship with us.    Religion continually calls us into rituals, and routines and works.  One of our greatest temptations is to allow going through the motions of religion replace a genuine, abiding and enduring relationship with God.   Job ‘s words are a powerful reminder… He knew of God but never knew God personally.    First and foremost, above all things we must learn to hear His voice and commune with God.   This is so foreign to many of us that we don’t even know how to start.     I will create a separate post on how to spend time with God and develop that kind of relationship with Him but basically this means setting apart time every day to sit down for a window of time and ask Him in and read His Word.  I treat it like a conversation.   The words on the page are Him talking to me and I pause often to praise Him, ask Him questions, repent, tell Him how much I love Him, ask Him for help to do the my parts that are too hard for me etc.

While routines and godly habits can be a wonderful framework for Kingdom expression, they can snare us to the place of “having the form of godliness but denying the power”.  A house is just a house until a family and love fill it to make it a home.   The Kingdom must be inhabited by the Holy Spirit and love.

 

Galatians 4:28-30 (KJV)  28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.  30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

 

 

Galatians 5:15-18  (KJV)  “15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

Key:  As long as self is gratified and in the driver’s seat, the Holy Spirit will not be permitted to accomplish God’s work and will in us.    Scripture plainly says, deny ourselves, crucify our flesh.   It is not optional.

Key: The flesh leads us to accuse and fight with others.  If we are subject to, if we are controlled by our emotions, sense of entitlement, physical desires (think food, drink , sexual desires etc) we will inevitably break the commandment to love others as Christ loves us.  He gave requiring nothing in return.

James 4 World English Bible (WEB)
“4 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 2 You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

 

Galatians 6:7-9  (KJV) “7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. “

Key: Sowing and reaping runs all through scripture.  We will be eternally rewarded for the good that we do… but also held accountable for the bad.  The value of blood and sacrifice of Jesus really hit home for me when I realized what my “spiritual tab” looked like to God.   Scripture tells us that we will give an account for every idle word we speak.  Literally, everything we say, think and do is on record before God.   His definition of sin is much different than mine.   He says ” anyone who knows the right thing to do and doesn’t, for him it is sin”  and “anything that is not of faith, is sin”…    The biblical list of sins is lengthy, I am constantly convicted and brought to repentance as I read the Word.  I am so thankful that is faithful to forgive every one of  my trespasses so that my tab is no longer in the red.   Because of the blood of Jesus, God is keeping account of my “treasures” in heaven and has forgiven my sins and setting me increasingly free from all desire to sin.    Matthew 25 is a wonderful passage to read more about this.

 

Ephesians 6:11-20  (KJV) “11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that the:rein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

 Key: We are in a battle.   It is not in our heads and we are actually being intentionally targetted and tempted by an unseen enemy.     Scripture tells us plainly that when we are ignorant to this fact, we are easy prey and taken captive and used by the enemy at his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 King James Version (KJV) “24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Hosea 4:6 World English Bible (WEB) “6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you,  that you may be no priest to me.  Because you have forgotten your God’s law,  I will also forget your children.”

Isaiah 5:13-15 King James Version (KJV) “13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.  14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.  15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:”

This is why it is so important that we put on our armour by spending time with the Lord and in His Word.   As we meditate on the truth of scripture, our thinking is renewed but we are also trained for the battle.   Later we will discuss our role as servant priests and kings called and appointed by God to be ministers of reconciliation.  As kings, we must learn how to fight and train/lead others into battle victoriously.  We are called to be restorers of the breach.   We are called to be intercessors who make up the hedge and repent for the sins of others.  

Isaiah 42:21-23 King James Version (KJV) “21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.  22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.  23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?”

Philippians 3:2-5 King James Version (KJV)  “2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.  4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:  5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;”

Key: Put no confidence in the natural abilities of man.   Man is simply not able to meet the requirements to win the battle before us. 

 

John 6:63 New Living Translation (NLT)”63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

If you are like me, this verse explain a lot.   Before knowing God, I tried and tried and tried to be a good person.  I inevitably failed… I had moments where I thought “hey maybe” but then selfishness, the trials of life etc beat me down.  Especially in spiritual things, the harder I try to keep lists and do better, the worse I seem to do and the more wretched I feel.  Things changed though when I got this revelation in my heart.  “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me”.    I now turn myself over to God in these things.  I ask Him to enable me, to give me the “desire and ability” to do what pleases Him.  I have changed more in the last 5 years by giving myself to Him to mold and renew than I did all the years prior.  Many a time I thought I was done for in the natural but was bolstered by verses like Psalm 46. “The Lord is my very present help in my times of need”   This verse from Isaiah has been a source of deep comfort .  My confession (what I say out loud) in my weakest moments sounds something like this.   “I thank you Lord, You are faithful, You will not let me fall, I know that you are holding me up with your righteous right hand and You have never and will never fail me.”.

Isaiah 41:10 “10So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

1 Peter 3:17-20 King James Version (KJV) 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.  18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

Key: Flesh as we know it is destined to be crucified, even so in Christ. Flesh died and the Spirit fully alive.   Deny self, crucify fleshly desires and appetites which draw our focus to the world and away from God, and follow Jesus.  

Key:  Suffering for doing well is what happened to Christ.  We cannot expect to walk as He walked and not suffer as He suffered.  We must prepare ourselves for persecutions.   Biblically, we have to let God free us from this “fear of man”, this fear of their disapproval, fear of the expressions that cross their face and fear of hurtful words.    

Proverbs 12:16  (NIRV) 16 Foolish people are easily upset.  But wise people pay no attention to hurtful words.”

Ezekiel 3:8-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.

 

 

Matthew 26:40-42 King  (KJV)  “40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.  42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

Key:  Be alert and vigilant.   We are in a battle and the enemy’s primary tactic is tempation.  We watch and prepare by spending time with the Lord and His Word and meditating on what He says until we are utterly transformed into His likeness.  The Spirit walks after the Word, the flesh walks after the world.  Huge difference.  

 

John 3:5-8 King James Version (KJV)  “5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Key: Two baptisms mentioned here. Water baptism and baptism of the Spirit.  Just as the passing through the Red Sea was leaving Egypt behind and committing to follow God to the promised land, so is water baptism to the sin nature (committing  to take on our new sinless nature as the children of God), and Spirit baptism to desires of the flesh (committing to be led by the desires of the Lord). 

 

John 6:62-65  KJV)  “62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.  65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

Key: Scripture is much more than words on a page.  The Word of God are embued with power and life and can radically transform our lives if we let them in and meditate on them often.   The physical flesh is limited and cannot produce godliness or salvation in any man.

 

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) “18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Key: Our vision/ imagination/ sights/ goals must be determined and fixed on Jesus and His Word.   For me, I need to keep Jesus in the window all the time.   When I lose track of Him I find I can become easily discouraged and lose focus on what matters most.

 

Proverbs 29:18  (ESV)   18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,    but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Key: Maintain a laser focus on Jesus and on the Kingdom.   Human’s need a clear picture in their minds to function well and stay on course.  Perhaps this is why humanism is so counter christian culture.  Vague ideals leaves a lot of room for waffling.   Romans 1 and James are excellent reminders of this.   Romans says that if we don’t worship God as the Word says He is, we make up our own image of Him in whatever likeness appeals to us.   James talks about how anyone who is double minded is as unstable as a ship being tossed in the waves.

Proverbs 29:18  (AMP) Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;  But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

 

 

Submit to God, resist the devil and He will flee.

Key:  Acknowledging God as Lord and submitting to Him in all things is the very main central thing.     In my own life, it is not so much Satan against God as self trying to usurp the pre-eminent position of lord of my life.   There is simply no way for me to be charge “in the driver’s seat” of my life and to submit to God.    There is also no way to resist the devil adequately unless God is driving my life.    For the longest time, I focussed on “RESIST THE DEVIL” …. that did not work.  Now I focus on “SUBMIT TO GOD” and that is radically life changing.  Submitting to God requires us to resist the devil as very often the devil is tempting us to rebel or usurp God’s authority and leadership in our lives.  There is simply no way to submit to God truly and not resist the devil.  They absolutely go hand in hand.

 

Romans 7:1-7  (KJV)  “7 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?  2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.  3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.  4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.  5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.  6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.  7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

Key: We are dead to the law because the Word died.    Someone had to die to lawfully end the hold of the Law in our lives.   By dying and rising again, Jesus satisfied the Law in this regard.    This makes it clear that we are free to marry (enter into a new covenant with the Lord) and no longer bound to the Old at all.   Many are in deep confusion as they try to be “married” to both the Law and the new Life in the Spirit.    Understanding which covenants apply to our lives is essential to avoid endless confusion and misunderstanding the Word as it applies to our lives.  

 

 

Romans 7:22-25  (KJV)  22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:  23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

 

Colossians 3:4-13 King James Version (KJV)  4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.  8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

 

Romans 6:12-14 King James Version (KJV)12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Romans 6:18-22 King James Version (KJV)  18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.   19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.  22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

 

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Proverbs 25:28 King James Version (KJV)28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

 

 

 

Philippians 3:13 King James Version (KJV) ¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 

 

 

1 John 4:17-19 King James Version (KJV)  17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.19 We love him, because he first loved us.

 

 

1 Samuel 17:36-37 King James Version (KJV)  36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.  37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

 

 

1 Samuel 17:45 King James Version (KJV) 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

 

 

 

Psalm 21:6-10 English Standard Version (ESV)  6 For you make him most blessed forever;      you make him glad with the joy of your presence.  7 For the king trusts in the Lord,      and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not bemoved.  8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;      your right hand will find out those who hate you.  9 You will make them as a blazing oven  when you appear.  The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,  and fire will consume them.  10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,  and their offspring from among the children of man.

 

 

Colossians 3:15-17  (AMP)  15 Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. 16 Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

 

 

Hebrews 4 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.  6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:  7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.  8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.  9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.  10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

 

 

 

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Revelation 5:8-10  (KJV) “⁸ And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.  ⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;  ¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

 

 

Matthew 18:18-20 “¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

 

Matthew 10:10-20  (KJV)10 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;  ³ Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  ⁴ Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.  ⁵ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  ⁷ And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.  ⁹ Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,  ¹⁰ Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.  ¹¹ And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.  ¹² And when ye come into an house, salute it.  ¹³ And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.  ¹⁴ And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.  ¹⁵ Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  ¹⁶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  ¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;  ¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.  ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.  ²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

 

 

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2 Corinthians 5:17-19  (KJV)  \¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.¹⁸ And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 

 

Luke 2:14 King James Version (KJV) ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

 

John 20:23 “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

 

 

Ezekiel 13:4-6  (KJV)  ⁴ O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.  ⁵ Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.  ⁶ They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

 

 

Ezekiel 22:29-31  (KJV)  ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.  ³⁰ And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. ³¹ Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

 

 

Numbers 16:45-47  (KJV)  ⁴⁵ Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.  ⁴⁶ And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.  ⁴⁷ And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

 

 

Exodus 32:7-15  (KJV)  ⁷ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  ⁹ And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:  ¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.  ¹¹ And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?  ¹² Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.  ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.  ¹⁴ And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.  ¹⁵ And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

 

 

Isaiah 58:11-14 King James Version (KJV) ¹¹ And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  ¹² And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.  ¹³ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  ¹⁴ Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Key: Always note the conditions of God’s promises.  So many have been deceived into believing that these things are automatic.  They are guaranteed to happen for all who meet the conditions.

Key: Identity: We are called to be restorer’s of the breach.     We must be peace makers and those who encourage people and exhort people into a revelation of the goodness of God.  It is His goodness that calls men to repentant, not His wrath.    The central thing I feel called to do in this area is to tell people how much God loves them, YES, but also how much He wants to have a relationship with them personally.    He wansts to have an intimate personal and direct relationship with each of us.   I do not want to be the middle man but want to help everyone to know Him as I know Him.  As a perfectly loving, perfectly just, perfectly Holy, perfectly righteous Lord that I can trust with every part of my life because He cares about me and talks to me personally.   If you know me, you know I deligth in the Word and delight in God.   If I never accomplished anything else, this alone would be the crowning glory of my life.  It is the thing that matters most.   Everything else naturally follows this one thing.

Key:  Being with Jesus.  Every fruitful, deeply godly person I have met has invested a lot of time just being with Jesus.   How do we do this? Someone might be asking or thinking.. “Easy for you, you hear Him… I don’t, all I know to do is pick up the Bible and read… but it is hard and doesn’t make much sense to me.”   Do I hear things specifically and do I get dreams and visions? Yes, now I do, more and more BUT it started with easy steps that anyone can do.

Practical steps:

1.  Tell God that you really want to know Him and that you really want to hear His voice.  Let Him know that you long to see what He sees and understand His heart and will.  This longing will not go unmet when it is expressed often and sincerely.

2. I say a simple prayer like you all have heard me pray so often.  “I ask for eyes to see and ears to hear and the ability to understand (hear Your heart) Your Word Lord, in Jesus name”.

3. Treat reading the Bible as a conversation with God.  Treat every word you read as one that He is personally speaking to you.   Ask Him to clarify the stuff that doesn’t make sense.  Thank Him that He won’t let you miss the important stuff in what you are reading.  Thank Him that He is transforming your life by washing you with His Word even if you can’t figure out exactly what He is accomplishing in your heart and thinking and life right now.  Praise Him when you read things that encourage you.   Repent when you read things that convict you and ask Him to strengthen you in that area of your life.

4. Read your Bible outloud.  This will feel very unnatural at first but it was meant to be heard with your ear.   There is something inherent in the Word of God that when you hear it out loud, it accomplishes more and sinks in deeper somehow.  It is a mystery I don’t understand but one that I can say has been a life changer for many that I know.

5. Commit to a daily window, a set apart time every day, ideally at the same time.  Even 15 minutes a day will impact your life… Commit to this routine as being as essential to your life as eating food or getting sleep.   You will find that you begin to get so much more out of your time and that the words start to really jump off the page.  When we make a sincere commitment to God over time of our lives, He meets us in dramatic ways.  Remember, I am a mother of many, with some hear and some in heaven …  married 13 years… I had only 2-3 years pre-children to really focus on God.  Everything else has happened with a backdrop of pregnancies, births, newborns, homeschooling, life events like my mother being diagnosed with and dying of cancer.   I share this to say that my relationship with God has grown because I have prioritized it in the midst of all fo this. Sometimes only 5 minutes a day, Sometimes 2-3 hours per day.  The point is to see time with Him as a non-negociable essential, one that you weave into the fabric of your life and prioritize/carve out of your schedule.  For me this means turning off the phone and other sources of distraction, closing the door and getting alone with Him.

 

 

James5:14-16 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁴ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  ¹⁶ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Key: How effective our prayers are, are at least in part tied into our identity.   A righteous man can pray very effectually.  This implies that an unrighteous man’s prayers avail little or nothing.  

Key: God has given a very easy and doable part to the sick.   “Call for the elders and let them pray for you”   Praise God, almost every sick person can handle this.   We very often put a far greater and unbiblical burden on the sick and call them to pray the prayer of faith for themselves.  This is a twisting of scripture.  The full burden goes on those who are spiritually mature to restore the weak and struggling.     The elders are called to confess their sins one to another and to pray the prayer of faith.  James 5 goes on to give the illustration of Elijah praying the prayer of faith in commanding the rains to come after sevral years of drought.  I encourage you to check out 1 Kings 18 for the account.  The truth is we often pray the prayer of human faith which cannot heal the sick.  What is needed is THE prayer of faith of a righteous man.  

Reading these verses together was a powerful event for me.   Like many, I was convinced I had “prayed the prayer of faith” and seen people not healed… That is, until I read 1 Kings.   Have I every prayed with the same confidence and zeal as did this prophet of God (pre-Pentecost I will add), I don’t know.   I can certainly never say with confidence… “oh yes, I pray this way all the time”.    This humbled me and made me realize that I had a problem with human pride that needed adjusting.   But it also encouraged me that in spending time with the Lord, in His Word, this capacity exists within me if I am submitted to and empowered by Christ.   How do I know?  Because James 5 also says that Elijah was a human with a nature just like mine.    If someone isn’t healed now, I know, plain as the nose on my face, that it is because the prayer of faith has not yet been healed and that they will be healed as soon as it is.   Therefore I seek God for more of Him and His Kingdom in and through me so that I will become one who can and does pray THE prayer of faith often and thereby “avail much” for the Kingdom.

Galatians 6:1 King James Version (KJV) “6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

1 Kings 18:30-46 King James Version (KJV) “30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.  31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:  32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.  33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.  34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.  35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.  36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.  37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.  38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.  40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.  41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.  42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,  43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.  44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.  46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

 

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Galatians 3:25-27  (KJV)  25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

 

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18  (KJV)   ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 

 

Romans 8:13-15  (KJV)¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

 

 

John 1:10-13  (KJV)  ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

1 John 3:8-11  (KJV)  ⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.    Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  ¹⁰ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  ¹¹ For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

 

Luke 22:25-27 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁵ And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  ²⁶ But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.  ²⁷ For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

 

1 Peter 5:2-4 World English Bible (WEB)
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly; 3 not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 4 When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.

 

1 Samuel 8 “ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹ Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.  ¹⁰ And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.  ¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  ¹² And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.  ¹³ And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.  ¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.  ¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.  ¹⁶ And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.  ¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.  ¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.  ¹⁹ Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;  ²⁰ That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

 

1 Peter 5:1-4 King James Version (KJV) 5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:  ² Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;  ³ Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.  ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 

Galatians 6:1-4 King James Version (KJV)  6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ² Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  ³ For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.  ⁴ But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

 

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1 John 3:8  (KJV)⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

 

John 14:12  (KJV)  ¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

 

 

Luke 10:18-20 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.¹⁹ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  ²⁰ Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

 

 

Mark 16:16-20  Version (KJV)  16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  ¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  ¹⁹ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

 

 

Matthew 4:23  (KJV)²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

 

 

Acts 10:38  (KJV)³⁸ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

 

 

8._______________________________________________________________________________

Revelation 3:20-21 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ²¹To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7 King James Version (KJV) ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

 

 

Romans 8:35-37                KJV) “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

 

 

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

9.__________________________________

Galatians 4  (KJV) “4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.  3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

 

 

10._______________________________________________________________________________

Romans 8:16-18  (KJV)  16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

 

Galatians 3:28-29  KJV)  ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.²⁹ And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

 

 

12.________________________________________________________________________

Colossians 1:12-14  (KJV)  12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

 

 

John 8:36  (KJV)³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 

 

Galatians 4 “⁹ But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  (KJV)12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

 

Galatians 5:24-26 (KJV)²⁴ And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  ²⁶ Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

 

John 8:50-52  (KJV)⁵⁰ And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

⁵¹ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.⁵² Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

 

 

Romans 6:8-10  (KJV)⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:53-55  (KJV)⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

 

 

Hebrews 11:5  (KJV)⁵ By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 

 

13.__________________________________________________________________________

Romans 8  (KJV) 8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  ³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  ⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  ⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  ⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.  ¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  ¹¹ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

 

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1 Peter 3:6-9  (KJV) ⁶ Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.  ⁷ Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.  ⁸ Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:  ⁹ Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

 

 

Ephesians 5:21-27  (KJV)  ²¹ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.  ²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  ²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.  ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  ²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  ²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

 

 

Colossians 1:23-25  (KJV) ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  ²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:  ²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

 

 

1 John 3:15-18  (KJV)  ¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  ¹⁶ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  ¹⁷ But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

Tony Evans – Biblical Manhood series

 

15._________________________________________________________________________

Galatians 3:26-28  (KJV)²⁶ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

 

2 Corinthians 5:20-21  (KJV)²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

 

2 Peter 3:13-15  (KJV)  ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  ¹⁴ Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. ¹⁵ And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

 

 

Jude 24-25(KJV)    ²⁴ Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,²⁵ To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

 

 

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Psalm 48:11-13 King James Version (KJV)  ¹¹ Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.  ¹² Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.  ¹³ Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.”

I love that God’s judgements are always perfect and always completely right and just.

 

 

Psalm 91 King James Version (KJV)  91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  ² I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  ³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  ⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  ⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  ⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  ⁷ A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  ⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.  ⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  ¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  ¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  ¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.  ¹³ Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.  ¹⁴ Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  ¹⁵ He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

 

 

 

Isaiah 5 King James Version (KJV)  5 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:  ² And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.  ³ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.  ⁴ What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?  ⁵ And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:  ⁶ And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.  ⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.  ⁸ Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

the choicest vine = Jesus??

gathered out the stones= purged sin and sickness?

tower = defensive structure to oversee and protect from attack

fence = hedge of protection, bulwark?

winepress = Holy Spirit source of wine?

fruitful hill = reminiscent of Eden, every plant purposeful and beautiful

 

 

Isaiah 27 New Living Translation (NLT)  27 In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.  2 “In that day,   sing about the fruitful vineyard.  3 I, the Lord, will watch over it,   watering it carefully.  Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.   My anger will be gone.  If I find briers and thorns growing,      I will attack them;  I will burn them up—  5     unless they turn to me for help.  Let them make peace with me;      yes, let them make peace with me.” The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.      Israel will bud a blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!

 

 

Psalm 144:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)  Praise the Lord, who is my rock.      He trains my hands for war  and gives my fingers skill for battle.  ² He is my loving ally and my fortress,  my tower of safety, my rescuer.  He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.   He makes the nations submit to me.   O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,   mere mortals that you should think about them?

 

 

 

 

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1 John 3:15-18 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  ¹⁶ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  ¹⁷ But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

Habakkuk 1:13 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)  “

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You can’t watch wickedness.      Why do you keep watching treacherous people?      Why are you silent when wicked people swallow those who are more righteous than they are?”

 

See Leviticus and consider the immense preparation and care that the High Priest had to take before entering into the Holy of Holies

 

 

Hebrews 6 KJV  “⁷ Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  ¹⁸ That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  ¹⁹ Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;  ²⁰ Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

 

 

Ephesians 2:18-20 New Living Translation (NLT)¹⁸ Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.  19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

 

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New Living Translation (NLT)  19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

 

 

 

 

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Jeremiah 23:3-5  (KJV)  ³ And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.  ⁴ And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.  ⁵ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

 

 

2 Peter 1:2-4 (KJV)  2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

 

Nehemiah 9:20-22  (KJV)     ²⁰ Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.²¹ Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.²² Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

 

 

1 Corinthians 1:3-8 King James Version (KJV) ³ Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.⁴ I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; ⁵ That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; ⁶ Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:  ⁷ So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:  ⁸ Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

Luke 22:34-36  (KJV)  ³⁴ And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.³⁵ And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

³⁶ Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

 

 

 

20.____________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy 21:5 King James Version (KJV)  5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

 

 

Revelation 4:10-11 King James Version (KJV)¹⁰ The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,¹¹ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

Psalm 96:4 “For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.”

 

 

Psalm 35:27 ²⁷May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

 

 

John 14:15 King James Version (KJV) 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

 

1 Samuel 15:22 King James Version (KJV)²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

 

 

Psalm 34:1-3 King James Version (KJV) 34 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.² My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. ³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

 

 

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Psalm 103:16-18 New Living Translation (NLT) 16 The wind blows, and we are gone—     as though we had never been here. 17 But the love of the Lord remains forever     with those who fear him.  His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

 

Psalm 78:4-6 King James Version (KJV)  ⁴ We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. ⁵ For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:⁶ That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

 

 

Exodus 20:6 New Living Translation (NLT)⁶ But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

 

Isaiah 54:13 “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

 

21.________________________________________________________________

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  ²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

 

Colossians 1:12 King James Version (KJV) 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

 

 

 

Romans 4:4-8 King James Version (KJV)  ⁴ Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.  5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,  7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

 

Ephesians 4:29-32 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁹ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

 

 

Hebrews 9:11-16 King James Version (KJV)  ¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  ¹² Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  ¹⁴ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ¹⁵ And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.  ¹⁶ For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

 

 

Luke 1:66-79 King James Version (KJV)  ⁶⁶ And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.  ⁶⁷ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,⁶⁹ And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; ⁷⁰ As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;  ⁷³ The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,  ⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.⁷⁶ And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;  ⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,  ⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,  ⁷⁹ To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

Ephesians 1:3-8   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.   7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence

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I Am who God Says I Am

In Love,  I am Blessed, (v.3), I am Chosen (v.4), I am Adopted (v.5), I am Accepted  (v.6), I am Redeemed (v.7), I am Forgiven (v.7), and I am Believing God.

 

Colossians 3:11-13 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)  ¹¹ [In this new creation all distinctions vanish.] There is no room for and there can be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [nor difference between nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [who are the most savage of all], nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [everything and everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person]. ¹² Clothe yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper].  ¹³ Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

 

 

22._______________________________________________________________________

Galatians 2:9-10 King James Version (KJV)  ⁹ And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.  ¹⁰ Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

 

 

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 ¹⁸He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

 

 

Proverbs 14:31 King James Version (KJV)  ³¹ He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

 

Proverbs 19:17 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁷ He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

 

 

Proverbs 21:13 King James Version (KJV) ¹³ Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

 

 

2 Corinthians 9:8-10 New Living Translation (NLT)  ⁸ And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say,  “They share freely and give generously to the poor.     Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” ¹⁰ For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then b read to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

 

 

1 Timothy 6:17-19 New Living Translation (NLT)  ¹⁷ Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James 4:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

One of our biggest challenges is that we a lot of the words we use have been redefined based on popular cultural ideas.   A word is simply a symbol that communicates an idea.  If we change the working definition of a word, we change the message being communicated when that word is heard.   Today most believe that sin by definition is the act of doing something evil or even heinous.   That is not the New Testament definition of sin.  There are 2 verses that tell us what scripture is referring to when it mentions the word sin.   Yes these include the popular definition but are radically different than have a far broader application than the popular understanding of the Word.        The Bible says if we know (very inclusive as this means also if our own conscience or if we have personally heard something from the Lord, we are bound by what the word says and these other elements) that we are called to do something and we don’t, that is sin.  Every act that violates our own conscience is sin.    Something as simple as “I should do that but…”  thoughts are often the thoughts that preceed sin.

Romans 14:20-23 King James Version (KJV)  “20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.  21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.  22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

This second New Testament definition is harder to nail down.   “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”   My working definition of this is something like “any action or thought that is out of alignment with what scripture commands or dictates as righteousness is sin”.  What this means for sure is that anything that is motivated by unbelief / rejection/ rebellion against God’s Word is sin.      “I know that the Bible says that but…..”  is likely a flag that unbelief is about to motivate the next thought, conclusion or action.   “Yes, but God knows my heart and that is what really matters” is another very common one.    I will do another post about the heart as this is an area that has been “redefined” for sure.   I share two verses to let you know (there are many like these in the Bible) that in the natural our hearts and our reasoning are led by the flesh and therefore in contention against the work of God and His Kingdom and His Spirit.  The flesh is very often the author of thoughts that we would attribute to our heart and or our reasoning, rational mind.

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Proverbs 3:5  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Romans 8 “5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.   8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Proverbs 4:23 New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Guard your heart above all else,  for it determines the course of your life.

Why is it so important to keep a clean conscience?  Let’s explore some of the New Testament verses in the Bible.

1 Timothy 4 King James Version (KJV)
4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;  3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.  4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:  5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Scripture warns us that our hearts can be hardened and seared.   Basically scared to the place where we cease to hear them and become numb/deadened to their promptings.    In other words, once our conscience is seared we can no longer hear the inner compass of truth God has written on our hearts and we have a far more difficult time hearing and heeding the the voice of God and His Spirit.   Since the reason Jesus came was to restore our hearts, to heal and restore our relationship with God and since the definition of death (especially spiritual death) is to be separated from God eternally, than this is something we absolutely want to avoid.     

Ezekiel 36:25-28 New Living Translation (NLT)
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.  28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

Hebrews 11:6 King James Version (KJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So guarding our hearts and our consciences is imperative as we seek Him first, seek to hear His voice, seek to obey Him and live the life He has called us to live.  When we intentionally allow our conscience to be seared, we are allowing ourselves to be in some measure deafened from hearing the voice of God.      Here are several more verses for us to consider on this topic.

Acts 24:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void to offence toward God, and toward men.

Romans 2:14-16 King James Version (KJV)
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

This verse reveals that all people have the law written on their heart and by walking according to their conscience will be obeying it.   To walk against one’s conscience is to be in disobedience.   We see this echoeing the New Testament verse about knowing to do what is good but then choosing to do otherwise.

Romans 13:4-5 New Living Translation (NLT)
4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

1 Corinthians 8:9-12 King James Version (KJV)
9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.  10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;  11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?  12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:26-33 King James Version (KJV)
26 For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.  27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.  28 But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:  29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?  30 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?  31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:  33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Now to me, this is saying that not only are we accountable for our our own conscience but in love (part of the great commandment, love your neighbour as you love yourself), we need to guard their consciences as well.  Unity of spirit does not require that we agree with one another on every point, but it does require that we honour one another’s consciences knowing that in doing so we are protecting one anothers relationship and ability to hear God clearly.

Titus 1:14-16 King James Version (KJV)
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.  15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.  16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Hebrews 9:13-15 King James Version (KJV)
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

This reminds of how when Josiah found the temple desecrated, he commanded the gate keepers to purge it of every idol and ungodly thing that had taken up residence.   The reality is that many reading this, including myself, have already let ungodly thoughts and mindset inside of our heads.   This verse calls us to purge the unfruitful things so that our consciences can be pure and we can be freed from sin consciousness which is where God wants us to live as His sons and daughters.

Hebrews 10:1-3 King James Version (KJV)
10 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.  2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.  3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

Having a clean conscience is essential to our new identity in Christ.    Our precious Saviour and Sanctifyer wants to wash us clean, removing every spot and wrinkle to present us to Himself as a spotless bride.  Will we let Him?

 

 

If you don’t see instant healing, do not lose hope.    You have promises and guarantees that God wants you well and is able to get you well.   Above all remember that there are no formulas in healing..   You have your tool belt.. Which is supplied by being in the Word.. And you have the Healer who has promised to direct you….    You are His hands, you speak His Words.    But you need to wait on God and learn to hear His voice otherwise you cannot follow His directions.    This is not a formula situation.   This is dependent on relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.,

 

Resources:

Healing Is Here 2018: Session 10 –Audrey Mack

 

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Romans 8:35-37 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

 

 

 

Hosea 2:14-15 + 19 ““But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.  She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’  instead of ‘my master.’ O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,    and you will never mention them again. On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows,so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.

 

 

 

 

Reminder : 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

 

 

Luke 12:31-32 King James Version (KJV)  ³¹ But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.³² Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)  23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

 

 

Ezekiel 34KJV “¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.¹¹ For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.  ¹³ And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.  ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.  ¹⁵ I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.  ¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.  ¹⁷ And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.  ¹⁸ Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?  ¹⁹ And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.  ²⁰ Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.  ²¹ Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;  ²² Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.  ²³ And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  ²⁴ And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.  ²⁵ And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.  ²⁶ And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.  ²⁷ And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.  ²⁸ And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.  ²⁹ And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.  ³⁰ Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.  ³¹ And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.

 

 

Psalm 121  (KJV)  121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

² My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.  ³ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  ⁴ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  ⁵ The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.  ⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  ⁷ The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  ⁸ The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

 

 

1 Peter 2:20-25  (KJV)  ²⁰ For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  ²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:  ²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:  ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

 

 

John 10:10-11 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

 

 

2.___________________________________________________________________________

 

Ezekiel 11:18-20 (KJV) “8 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”

 

Ezekiel 36:25-27  (KJV) “25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

 

 

Joel 2:27-29  (KJV) “27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.  28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”

 

 

John 6:62-65  (KJV) “62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.  65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

 

James 5:20  (KJV)  ²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

 

 

 

 

Romans 8:1-13  (KJV) “8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.   7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.   10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.   12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.   For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

 

1 Corinthians 5:4-6  (KJV)  “4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,  5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”

 

 

2 Corinthians 3:2-5 (KJV)  “2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:  3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.  4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:  5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”

 

2 Corinthians 7:1-3  (KJV) “7 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.  3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.”

 

 

 

Galatians 3:1-7 (KJV)  “3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?  4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.  5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

 

 

Galatians 4:28-30 (KJV)  28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.  29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.  30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

 

 

Galatians 5:15-18  (KJV)  “15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

 

 

Galatians 6:7-9  (KJV) “7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. “

 

 

Ephesians 6:11-20  (KJV) “11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

 

 

Philippians 3:2-5 King James Version (KJV)  2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.  4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:  5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

 

 

1 Peter 3:17-20 King James Version (KJV) 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.  18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

 

 

Matthew 26:40-42 King  (KJV)  “40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.  42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

 

 

 

John 3:5-8 King James Version (KJV)  5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

 

 

 

John 6:62-65  KJV)  62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.  65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

 

 

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

 

 

Proverbs 29:18  (ESV)   18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,    but blessed is he who keeps the law.

 

Proverbs 29:18  (AMP) Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;  But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

 

 

Submit to God, resist the devil and He will flee.

 

 

Romans 7:1-7  (KJV)  7 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?  2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.  3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.  4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.  5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.  6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.  7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

 

 

 

Romans 7:22-25  (KJV)  22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:  23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

 

Colossians 3:4-13 King James Version (KJV)  4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.  8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

 

Romans 6:12-14 King James Version (KJV)12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Romans 6:18-22 King James Version (KJV)  18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.   19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.  22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

 

3._____________________________________________________________________________

Proverbs 25:28 King James Version (KJV)28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

 

 

 

Philippians 3:13 King James Version (KJV) ¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 

 

 

1 John 4:17-19 King James Version (KJV)  17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.19 We love him, because he first loved us.

 

 

1 Samuel 17:36-37 King James Version (KJV)  36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.  37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

 

 

1 Samuel 17:45 King James Version (KJV) 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

 

 

 

Psalm 21:6-10 English Standard Version (ESV)  6 For you make him most blessed forever;      you make him glad with the joy of your presence.  7 For the king trusts in the Lord,      and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not bemoved.  8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;      your right hand will find out those who hate you.  9 You will make them as a blazing oven  when you appear.  The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,  and fire will consume them.  10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,  and their offspring from among the children of man.

 

 

Colossians 3:15-17  (AMP)  15 Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. 16 Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

 

 

Hebrews 4 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.  6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:  7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.  8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.  9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.  10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

 

 

4.__________________________________________________________________________________

Revelation 5:8-10  (KJV) “⁸ And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.  ⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;  ¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

 

 

Matthew 18:18-20 “¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

 

Matthew 10:10-20  (KJV)10 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;  ³ Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  ⁴ Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.  ⁵ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  ⁷ And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.  ⁹ Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,  ¹⁰ Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.  ¹¹ And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.  ¹² And when ye come into an house, salute it.  ¹³ And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.  ¹⁴ And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.  ¹⁵ Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  ¹⁶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  ¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;  ¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.  ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.  ²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

 

 

5._________________________________________________________________________

2 Corinthians 5:17-19  (KJV)  \¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.¹⁸ And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 

 

Luke 2:14 King James Version (KJV) ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

 

John 20:23 “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

 

 

Ezekiel 13:4-6  (KJV)  ⁴ O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.  ⁵ Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.  ⁶ They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

 

 

Ezekiel 22:29-31  (KJV)  ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.  ³⁰ And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. ³¹ Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

 

 

Numbers 16:45-47  (KJV)  ⁴⁵ Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.  ⁴⁶ And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun.  ⁴⁷ And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

 

 

Exodus 32:7-15  (KJV)  ⁷ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  ⁹ And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:  ¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.  ¹¹ And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?  ¹² Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.  ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.  ¹⁴ And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.  ¹⁵ And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

 

 

Isaiah 58:11-14 King James Version (KJV) ¹¹ And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  ¹² And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.  ¹³ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  ¹⁴ Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

 

 

James 5:14-16 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁴ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  ¹⁶ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

 

 

6._______________________________________________________________________________

Galatians 3:25-27  (KJV)  25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

 

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18  (KJV)   ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 

 

Romans 8:13-15  (KJV)¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

 

 

John 1:10-13  (KJV)  ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. ¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  ¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

1 John 3:8-11  (KJV)  ⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.    Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.  ¹⁰ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  ¹¹ For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

 

Luke 22:25-27 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁵ And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  ²⁶ But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.  ²⁷ For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

 

1 Samuel 8 “ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹ Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.  ¹⁰ And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.  ¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  ¹² And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.  ¹³ And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.  ¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.  ¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.  ¹⁶ And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.  ¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.  ¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.  ¹⁹ Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;  ²⁰ That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

 

1 Peter 5:1-4 King James Version (KJV) 5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:  ² Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;  ³ Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.  ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 

Galatians 6:1-4 King James Version (KJV)  6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ² Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  ³ For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.  ⁴ But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

7.____________________________________________________________________________

1 John 3:8  (KJV)⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

 

John 14:12  (KJV)  ¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

 

 

Luke 10:18-20 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.¹⁹ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  ²⁰ Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

 

 

Mark 16:16-20  Version (KJV)  16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  ¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  ¹⁹ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

 

 

Matthew 4:23  (KJV)²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

 

 

Acts 10:38  (KJV)³⁸ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

 

 

8._______________________________________________________________________________

Revelation 3:20-21 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ²¹To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7 King James Version (KJV) ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

 

 

Romans 8:35-37                KJV) “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

 

 

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

9.__________________________________

Galatians 4  (KJV) “4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.  3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

 

 

10._______________________________________________________________________________

Romans 8:16-18  (KJV)  16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

 

Galatians 3:28-29  KJV)  ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.²⁹ And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

 

 

12.________________________________________________________________________

Colossians 1:12-14  (KJV)  12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

 

 

John 8:36  (KJV)³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 

 

Galatians 4 “⁹ But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  (KJV)12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

 

Galatians 5:24-26 (KJV)²⁴ And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  ²⁶ Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

 

John 8:50-52  (KJV)⁵⁰ And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

⁵¹ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.⁵² Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

 

 

Romans 6:8-10  (KJV)⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:53-55  (KJV)⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

 

 

Hebrews 11:5  (KJV)⁵ By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

 

 

13.__________________________________________________________________________

Romans 8  (KJV) 8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  ³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:  ⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  ⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  ⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.  ¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  ¹¹ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

 

14.________________________________________________________________________________

1 Peter 3:6-9  (KJV) ⁶ Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.  ⁷ Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.  ⁸ Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:  ⁹ Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

 

 

Ephesians 5:21-27  (KJV)  ²¹ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.  ²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  ²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.  ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  ²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  ²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

 

 

Colossians 1:23-25  (KJV) ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  ²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:  ²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

 

 

1 John 3:15-18  (KJV)  ¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  ¹⁶ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  ¹⁷ But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

Tony Evans – Biblical Manhood series

 

15._________________________________________________________________________

Galatians 3:26-28  (KJV)²⁶ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

 

2 Corinthians 5:20-21  (KJV)²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

 

2 Peter 3:13-15  (KJV)  ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  ¹⁴ Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. ¹⁵ And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

 

 

Jude 24-25(KJV)    ²⁴ Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,²⁵ To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

 

 

16._____________________________________________________________________________

Psalm 48:11-13 King James Version (KJV)  ¹¹ Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.  ¹² Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.  ¹³ Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.”

 

 

 

Psalm 91 King James Version (KJV)  91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  ² I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  ³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  ⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  ⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  ⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  ⁷ A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  ⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.  ⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;  ¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  ¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  ¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.  ¹³ Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.  ¹⁴ Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  ¹⁵ He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

 

 

 

Isaiah 5 King James Version (KJV)  5 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:  ² And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.  ³ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.  ⁴ What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?  ⁵ And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:  ⁶ And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.  ⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.  ⁸ Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

 

 

Isaiah 27 New Living Translation (NLT)  27 In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.  2 “In that day,   sing about the fruitful vineyard.  3 I, the Lord, will watch over it,   watering it carefully.  Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.   My anger will be gone.  If I find briers and thorns growing,      I will attack them;  I will burn them up—  5     unless they turn to me for help.  Let them make peace with me;      yes, let them make peace with me.” The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.      Israel will bud a blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!

 

 

Psalm 144:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)  Praise the Lord, who is my rock.      He trains my hands for war  and gives my fingers skill for battle.  ² He is my loving ally and my fortress,  my tower of safety, my rescuer.  He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.   He makes the nations submit to me.   O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,   mere mortals that you should think about them?

 

 

 

 

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1 John 3:15-18 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  ¹⁶ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  ¹⁷ But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

Habakkuk 1:13 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)  “

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You can’t watch wickedness.      Why do you keep watching treacherous people?      Why are you silent when wicked people swallow those who are more righteous than they are?”

 

See Leviticus and consider the immense preparation and care that the High Priest had to take before entering into the Holy of Holies

 

 

Hebrews 6 KJV  “⁷ Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:  ¹⁸ That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:  ¹⁹ Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;  ²⁰ Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

 

 

Ephesians 2:18-20 New Living Translation (NLT)¹⁸ Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.  19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

 

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New Living Translation (NLT)  19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

 

 

 

 

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Jeremiah 23:3-5  (KJV)  ³ And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.  ⁴ And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.  ⁵ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

 

 

2 Peter 1:2-4 (KJV)  2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

 

Nehemiah 9:20-22  (KJV)     ²⁰ Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.²¹ Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.²² Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

 

 

1 Corinthians 1:3-8 King James Version (KJV) ³ Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.⁴ I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; ⁵ That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; ⁶ Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:  ⁷ So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:  ⁸ Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

Luke 22:34-36  (KJV)  ³⁴ And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.³⁵ And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

³⁶ Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

 

 

 

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Deuteronomy 21:5 King James Version (KJV)  5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

 

 

Revelation 4:10-11 King James Version (KJV)¹⁰ The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,¹¹ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

Psalm 96:4 “For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.”

 

 

Psalm 35:27 ²⁷May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

 

 

John 14:15 King James Version (KJV) 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

 

1 Samuel 15:22 King James Version (KJV)²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

 

 

Psalm 34:1-3 King James Version (KJV) 34 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.² My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. ³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

 

 

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Psalm 103:16-18 New Living Translation (NLT) 16 The wind blows, and we are gone—     as though we had never been here. 17 But the love of the Lord remains forever     with those who fear him.  His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

 

Psalm 78:4-6 King James Version (KJV)  ⁴ We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. ⁵ For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:⁶ That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

 

 

Exodus 20:6 New Living Translation (NLT)⁶ But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

 

Isaiah 54:13 “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

 

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2 Corinthians 5:20-21 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  ²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

 

Colossians 1:12 King James Version (KJV) 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

 

 

 

Romans 4:4-8 King James Version (KJV)  ⁴ Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.  5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,  7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

 

Ephesians 4:29-32 King James Version (KJV)  ²⁹ Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

 

 

Hebrews 9:11-16 King James Version (KJV)  ¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  ¹² Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  ¹³ For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  ¹⁴ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ¹⁵ And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.  ¹⁶ For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

 

 

Luke 1:66-79 King James Version (KJV)  ⁶⁶ And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.  ⁶⁷ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,⁶⁹ And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; ⁷⁰ As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;  ⁷³ The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,  ⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.⁷⁶ And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;  ⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,  ⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,  ⁷⁹ To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

Ephesians 1:3-8   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.   7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence

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I Am who God Says I Am

In Love,  I am Blessed, (v.3), I am Chosen (v.4), I am Adopted (v.5), I am Accepted  (v.6), I am Redeemed (v.7), I am Forgiven (v.7), and I am Believing God.

 

Colossians 3:11-13 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)  ¹¹ [In this new creation all distinctions vanish.] There is no room for and there can be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [nor difference between nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [who are the most savage of all], nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [everything and everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person]. ¹² Clothe yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper].  ¹³ Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

 

 

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Galatians 2:9-10 King James Version (KJV)  ⁹ And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.  ¹⁰ Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

 

 

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 ¹⁸He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

 

 

Proverbs 14:31 King James Version (KJV)  ³¹ He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

 

Proverbs 19:17 King James Version (KJV)  ¹⁷ He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

 

 

Proverbs 21:13 King James Version (KJV) ¹³ Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

 

 

2 Corinthians 9:8-10 New Living Translation (NLT)  ⁸ And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say,  “They share freely and give generously to the poor.     Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” ¹⁰ For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then b read to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

 

 

1 Timothy 6:17-19 New Living Translation (NLT)  ¹⁷ Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.