Tag: jesus
THE SECRET PLACE
Psalm 91:1-4
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in Him will I trust.
Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with His feathers,
and under His wings shall thou trust :
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Woman of God, do you feel alone today,
longing for a touch of God in your life?
Today is that day for you.
Today is the day that Lord hath made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
He desires that you rejoice and be glad.
No, you can’t change the things going on around you, but God can.
He can also give you the grace and joy you need for the day.
Beloved, begin your day in the secret place of the Almighty,
and you will definitely abide under His shadow.
You will never be alone again. You will never feel forsaken again.
Tell Him how you feel, turn your day over to Him: today and every day.
Don’t waste them with doubts and fears.
You who are not saved, pray this prayer with me and mean in from the heart.
“Jesus, come into my heart and save my soul. Forgive me of all my sins. I desire to serve you. I turn my life over to you. Thank you for saving me, and I ask You to deliver me from all unforgiveness of others and from every other stronghold in my life. I will never be alone again.”
“Thank You, Lord, for saving and delivering me. I am saved!”
If you prayed this prayer with me, I now ask you to take another step and write me at:
LMCI
PO Box 9315
Greenville, SC 29604
Email me: jeanette@lmcigreenville.org
I will write you back.
Welcome to the family of God. You too are now a woman of God.
When you write, I will send you a booklet on the next steps.
Now, let’s go on with our study of the Scriptures.
When we abide under the shadow of the Almighty, we will be able to say
… He is my refuge and my fortress… Nothing will ever come your way that God can’t take care of. He not only wants you to give your troubles to Him, He also wants you to leave them with Him, and not take them back.
God’s presence is the only refuge from trouble.
He alone has your answer.
…in Him will I trust or confide…
Tell Him your situation.
It’s good at times, to confide in people,
But sometimes, woman of God, they will “blab”,
but God will never “blab”.
You can trust Him to silently begin to solve your problems
and give you joy along the way, through them.
Verse 3 says, …Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler…
Do you know that the enemy of our souls, Satan, has a snare or trap for all of us.
As we abide under the shadow of the almighty, He will make us aware of the traps and snares Satan has planed for us, so we can avoid them.
I’ve been told that some of my listening audience is incarcerated.
Well, your body may be locked-up, but your spirit can be free and stay free.
Verse 3 says also …He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence…(raging epidemic).
SARS is the most feared epidemic in our society today.
We need not fear. We only need to ask God for protection.
The Prophets foretold the epidemics would come, and wars and rumors of wars.
I feel Jesus’ coming is so soon we can almost feel His breath surround us.
Have you ever watched a mother hen cover her chicks with her feathers?
It is a precious sight to see the little one’s run fast to get under her feathers. She does this when danger is near.
Verse 4 reads …He shall cover thee with His feathers…
Woman of God, when you see trouble coming, don’t run from God,
but run to God. Get snuggled-in under His feathers.
Also in verse 4 it says …and under His wings thou shalt trust…
There is no love greater than a protecting, saving love.
…Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
We not only have protection from enemies, but so much more than that.
Picture to yourself what the shelter of the wing of the mother-bird is to her young, and it will tell you what the precious promise of our text means to the believer.
It means happy content and comfort.
The soul is happy in God.
Our life is hidden with God.
See how the young brood is hidden under their mother’s wing?
There is a nearness to the heart of God.
The young birds can feel the beat of their mother’s heart.
So the soul of the sheltered one beholds and feels the love of God.
Who can imitate it?
Only through God, can we really, really love.
This is not promised to everybody, but only to those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.
Those who abide in and are ever trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our time has gone by so fast.
I really enjoy our time together.
Woman of God, Trusting is the key to peace with God. Anything else is far short of what we can have.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
And remember, Nothing is impossible with God!
DESPERATE PRAYER
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
Mark 10:46 – And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus sat by the highway side begging.
Jericho means place of fragrance. Jesus was passing out of Jericho on His last journey to Jerusalem when He passed blind Bartimaeus. Jericho was the home of someone in the lineage of Jesus, a woman named Rahab, a Gentile harlot, who helped spies sent out by Joshua to spy out the land.
How wonderful it is that even though we have a past, being sinners, Jesus passes through our lives with the sweet fragrance of salvation, if we will cry-out to Him in faith.
Bartimaeus was the son of Timaeus. The only thing we know about Bartimaeus, he was the son of Timaeus. The only thing we know about Timaeus, he was the father of Bartimaeus.
They were nobodies. They were unknowns until the Holy Spirit put them in the Bible. Jesus came to save us, nobodies and make us somebody: sons and daughters of God; a kingdom of priests.
Bartimaeus sat by the highway side, begging everyday, rain or shine. His day was the same old thing every day with no hope for things to be different. But one day, blind Bartimaeus heard about Jesus of Nazareth. He heard of the miracles and the signs and wonders. Someone must have told him about the teaching, preaching, and healings that Jesus did. Bartimaeus understood Jesus was the Jewish Messiah,the Son of David.
Bartimaeus heard a great noise coming from a crowd of people passing by. Bartimaeus asked, Who are all these people?
Mark 10:47 – And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Bartimaeus couldn’t see, but he could shout. He used his faith to cry out to Jesus. He was physically handicapped but his spirit and soul was determined to get the attention of Jesus and be healed. He cried out and asked, Have mercy on me. It was covenant prayer, confessing by faith. He knew who Jesus was: the promised Messiah, the seed of Abraham, the son of David, the Jewish Messiah, the One who came to give mercy to those who will believe in Him.
Everybody is not happy with a desperate person who knows who Jesus is and will not shut up.
Now, Bartimaeus is shifted to a seeking mode, he is seeking Jesus for his need. Some people stop after asking. Not blind Bartimaeus, he has faith that will not be quiet, he will seek his Healer.
Mark 10:48 – Many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
The number of people following Jesus, we do not know, but probably many of them did not have the understanding of who Jesus was, but Bartimaeus did, he knew Jesus was God, come in the flesh, Son of David,Virgin born Son of God.
This asking, seeking, confessing his faith, stopped Jesus, He stood still.
Mark 10:49 – And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise: He calleth thee.
Jesus stood still and commanded them to call Bartimaeus. Jesus wasn’ t ignoring Bartimaeus, but was listening to his faith cry out. Jesus stood still and let a blind man come to him. This would seem cruel to some who don’t understand that true faith will overcome every roadblock, every hindrance, every handicap. Desperate people do desperate things to get to Jesus. He didn’t say to Jesus, I can’t come to You, I’m blind. He got up and throwed off his beggar’s garment. He would never need it again. And he went to Jesus Faith never complains, faith receives.
Mark 10:51 – And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Why would Jesus ask a blind man a question like that? Couldn’t he see the man was blind? Bartimaeus had cried out and asked for mercy. he cried out again, seeking the Lord’s attention, now he is standing at the door, knocking for his miracle, crying, Lord, that I might receive my sight. God knows what we need before we ask, but we must ask and seek Him, and continue to knock until the answer comes.
Mark 10:52 – And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received h is sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Some people think God does not heal people anymore. But the Bible says, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Salvation of a soul comes by faith in Jesus. Bartimaeus was healed by his own faith. So was the woman with the issue of blood. If faith in Jesus still saves the soul, Will it not bring healing to the body? Will faith not bring answers to all our prayers, to all of our needs? Yes, it will . God responds to faith when we pray in His will: His Word is His will Barimaeus asked, seeked and knocked, and got his need met. So can we.
Matthew 7:7 – Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you;…
FAITH MUST INCREASE
Luke 17:5,6 – And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye might say uto this scamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Faith can increase. Our faith must increase. The responsibility is on us, not the Lord. We have the tools to make this happen. The Lamb of God made it possible to have a relationship with our Father God.
Faith comes from relationship through the Word and prayer.
The Lord told the apostles it doesn’t take much faith to move something.
Fellowship with the Lord through prayer and the Word produces thanksgiving, praise, worship, and direction concerning how we handle a situation.
The Lord may want us to continue to supplicate or intercede over a matter; or He may tell you to claim a Scripture verse. Then again, He may tell us to plant a seed for a need. Or He may tell us to speak to the problem and tell it to be plucked up by the root and be planted in the sea.
This is an illustration of the use of faith, power, and authority, touching the anointing through obedience.
Obeying God, doing something He told you to do releasesyour faith and God’s power with authority.
Sometimes, God won’t ask you to do anything but to speak to something. Sometimes God will impress us or say to us, Don’t pray about this matter anymore, speak to it.
There can be a root of sickness growing in our body. The Lord may lead us to speak to this sickness and command it in Jesus’ Name to die.
Jesus cursed the fig tree with words in Mark 11 and it died from the roots.
We cannot control the will of people, the Lord will not do that. But if a spirit is driving someone to do things against their will, we can command the spirit to loose them.
Speaking in the authority of Jesus’ Name causes devils to cease their demonic attacks. “I command the spirit of fear to leave God’s people now, in Jesus’ Name!” We have delegated authority to use name of Jesus.
Matthew 8:7-10 – And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the Word only and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and i say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
The military man, a centurion, understood authority and speaking commands: he said, Jesus, just say the word, You don’t have to go to my house, just speak it, and healing will come.
We have delegated authority to speak to the things that have grown up in our way. Things try to take root in our lives: unforgiveness, sickness, lack, fear.
As we seek the Lord, He will tell us how to deal with every situation.
OUR PRAYER: Lord, help us to use the faith we have, so that it may increase. Lord, give us understanding, and delegated authority. Lord, baptize us with Your power. Lord, use us for Your glory. Lord, send forth labourers into YOUR harvest. Lord, YOUR KINGDOM come, YOUR WILL be done in earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
FAITH REWARD
In Mark 5:34, Jesus said unto the woman who had touched His garment, “Daughter thy faith has made thee whole of the plague.”
Jesus stood still to the cries of Bartimaeus. When noone seemed to care Jesus heard the cry of faith. Jesus asked the blindman, “What would you have Me to do unto you?’ Bartimaeus answered, “Lord, that I might receive my sight.” Jesus said, “Go your way, your faith has made you whole.” And immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus.
Luke 18:1 – Men ought always to pray and not loose heart, or loose their faith.
Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please God. He will reward us with faith if we will seek Him. The Lord responds to faith. Faith releases God’s power.
Pastor Roy
HOW TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD
Most of us know we can’t hide from God, because He sees and knows all.
He continues to deal with those who run from Him, because it’s not His
will that any should perish. He will continually, draw them to Himself, but we do
have a will of our own. He will draw us but His desire is, that we come to Him freely. This is why
He gave us a choice.
When we do come to Him, and receive Him as our personal Savior, He then, deals with
us: first, as babies, on milk; and then expects us to grow-up.
When we raise our children, we expect things out of them, but we do have to teach them. If they don’t grow up properly, we begin to have trouble with them and they can cause us much heart ache.
Well, God has guidelines and rules, similar to the rules we enforce on our children.
We offer our children many advantages. Most of the time they don’t see that until they grow-up. This is the samewith God and His children.
Some of our advantages of being God’s children are:
1-
His giving of His only begotten Son’s life for our Eternal life
2-
A personal relationship with Him where we can communicate through prayer, and see our prayers answered
3-
The precious promises in His Word
4-
The way to live a victorious life here
5-
Healing and deliverance
6-
The fruit of the Spirit
7-
We can operate in His gifts
8-
Heaven, when we leave here
9-
We will rule and reign with Him in the future Millennial Reign of Christ
And much, much more.
But, we have a part to play in this, which is the difference in having the favor of God, that
we all want, or we could receive the judgment side of God which brings with it much trouble.
We are always telling our children, when we send them out to play, “Stay out of trouble.” You got it! —– With God It’s the same. We know if we break the rules, we are in trouble.
Today we are going to learn:
How to stay out of trouble with God:
Many of us have tried to make a deal with God. We say “If You will do this, I will do that.”
This is not how God operates. We have His Word: if we will do this, He will do that. We’re always trying to ‘get the cart before the horse’ (so to speak).
WE CAN STAY OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD BY BEING OBEDIENT: Our relationship with
God, and our anointing has much to do with our obedience to Him.
Acts 5:29,32
– Then Peter and the other Apostles answered and said, We ought to obey
God rather than men.
And we are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.
John 15:10 —- 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.
And
1 John 3:22 —- And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
Matthew 7:21 —- Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
God Word is very clear about how to follow His will—we must trust and obey.
One of my most quoted Scriptures is found in Proverbs 3:5,6 —-
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own
understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct thy paths.
We are instructed to trust and obey and leave the rest to Him.
He can cause circumstances around us to change. All He wants usto do, after trusting and being obedient, is to do good when it is in our power to do so; but the most important of all requirements, is to spend
time with Him each day.
SEEKING THE LORD CAN KEEP US OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD:
This is where we get direction, and are refreshed by His presence.
How can we know what He desires of us, unless we have a relationship with Him?
Seeking Him, by spending time with Him, and praising and worshipping Him, brings relationship.
It can keep us out of trouble, even though, most of our trouble, is brought-on by our decision
to ‘do it our way’.
Acts 17:27 — That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far away from every one of us.
2 Chronicles 15:2 — The Lord is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.
Lamentations 3:25 — The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.
And
Ezra 8:22 — The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all that forsake Him.
WE CAN STAY OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD IF WE LIVE IN THE SPIRIT AND NOT THE FLESH:
Romans 8:12,13 —- Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Or we could say, we are not obligated to our carnal or old sinful nature, to do what it begs us to do.
Verse 13 — For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body (that is die to self), ye shall live.
Let’s explain it this way. If you keep on following theold sinful nature, you are lost and you will perish, but
if through the power of the Holy Spirit you crush it and it’s evil deeds, you shall live.
You might say, ”This is hard to do”. Well, — I can tell you, it can be done, with the help of Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to help you.
Look at Titus 2:11,12 —- For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
WE CAN STAY OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD IF WE TAKE THE WALK OF LOVE:
1-
Brotherly love
2-
Loving God
Let’s start with brotherly love:
There are probably many words that are the opposite to the word love, but the most prominent is hate.
There are others that could describe the lack of brotherly love, like despise, judgmental, unforgiveness,
and the list goes on. I ‘m sure you could think of others right-off, and you would be right, but this will do for
now.
1 John 2:10, describes those
who love their brother (talking about other believers), as abiding in the
light. — He that loveth his brother
abith in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling (or error) in him.
1 John 4: 7,8 —- Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is love.
E M Bounds, on prayer, says,
“By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, and to do everything in harmony with the law of love.”
We need divine aid to act brotherly.
Jesus, our perfect example, was and is a devoted friend. He gave His life willingly that we might live. He
gave us Eternal life.
We need to judge our love walk.
JUDGING OURSELVES CAN KEEP US OUT OF TROUBLE WITH GOD:
Corinthians 11:30,31,32 —- For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (or are dead).
For if we judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be
condemned with the world.
To judge self, is when the believer sees self as God sees him. He will renounce or forsake self.
It is replacing the self life with the Christ life.
To judge self is to deny self. This is more than self-denial. Self-denial is denying one’s self of the gratification or enjoyment of the flesh. If we practice self-denial only, it is treating the symptom and not the cause.
But when we judge self, we are attacking the cause.
*To judge self, is to lose the self-life and find the Christ-life:
Galatians 2:20 — I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
*To judge self, is to no longer be self-conscious, but to become Christ conscious:
Matthew 28:20 — Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:and, lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Amen.
*To judge self, is to no longer be self controlled, but become Christ controlled:
Acts 9:6 — And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me do?
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told
thee what thou must do.
*To judge self, is to no longer practice self-esteem, but to esteem others better than self:
Philippians 2:3 — Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
*To judge self, is to become selfless or unselfish.
We are to search-out our lives, to see if there be any wicked way in us, and get rid of it, by askingGod to cleanse or take it out of us, so we can stay out of trouble with God and be a part of that Church without spot or wrinkle.
