Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. 8 He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. 

1 John 4:7-8 AMP

 

God is love and only those who really know God have His agape love flowing out of them. 

 

In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.  1 John 4:9-10 AMP

 

God clearly demonstrated His deep love toward us when He sent His only begotten Son to die so that we might live.

 

Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. 12 No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!  1 John 4:11-12 AMP

 

If God loves us so much, then we ought to also love each other. Even though we cannot see God, we can walk in His love and His love can become fully developed and mature within us.

 

By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit. 14 And [besides] we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated) and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son [as the] Savior of the world. 15 Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God.

1 John 4:13-15 AMP

God makes His home in you and you make your home in Him when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

 

And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.  1 John 4:16 AMP

 

We know that God loves us because He says so in His Word and because we have experienced His love. If we want to continue to live in Him and He in us, we must continue to walk in love.

 

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].  1 John 4:17-18 AMP

 

As we continue to walk with God and as we continue to allow Him to work in our hearts, then love is brought into completion in us, because as He is, so are we in this world. We can then come boldly into His presence, with no fear of punishment, because we are confident of the love that God has for us.

We love Him, because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19 AMP

 

We love him because we know how much He loves us. He reached out to love us first, before we knew Him or anything about Him at all.

 

If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detests, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen. 21 And this command (charge, order, injunction) we have from Him: that he who loves God shall love his brother [believer] also.  1 John 4:20-21 AMP

 

God commands us to love our brothers and sisters. The most compelling proof that we love God is that we love our brothers and sisters as well. If we say we love God and yet we do not love our neighbor, then we are lying – we do not really love God at all.

 

 

10 A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil.

12 She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her.

13 She seeks out wool and flax and works with willing hands [to develop it].

14 She is like the merchant ships loaded with foodstuffs; she brings her household’s food from a far [country].

15 She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks.

16 She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.

17 She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm.

18 She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good; her lamp goes not out, but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust].

19 She lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

20 She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit].

21 She fears not the snow for her family, for all her household are doubly clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry. Her clothing is of linen, pure and fine, and of purple [such as that of which the clothing of the priests and the hallowed cloths of the temple were made].

23 Her husband is known in the [city’s] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

24 She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]!

26 She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

27 She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her, [saying],

29 Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.

30 Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city]!
Proverbs 31:10-31 AMP

Romans 12:1-21

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

 

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

 

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

 

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

 

7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

 

8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

 

10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

 

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

 

12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

 

13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

 

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

 

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

 

16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

 

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

 

18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

 

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 

 

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. NKJV

As Christians, we have a code of conduct to follow. God expects a certain standard of behavior from us that is different from the way we conducted ourselves when we were in the world. This passage in God’s Word gives us some practical guidelines that we need to follow concerning our Christian conduct.

 

Verse 6 says that we all have gifts that differ according to the grace that is given to us. Grace is God’s ability given to us – not indiscriminately – but according to His divine purpose and plan. Verse 8 says that the person who gives should give with simplicity and singleness (without strings attached and without an ulterior motive). We should give with sincerity (without dissimulation or self-seeking). Dissimulation is deception, dishonesty or pretense. 

 

Self-seeking means that a person only gives in order to benefit themselves and not others. The Lord wants us to give in order that we would be a blessing to someone else. When we give it should be generously, liberally and bountifully.

 

Verse 10 says that we should be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love and that we should honor and give preference to one another.

 

Verse 11 says that we should not be slothful in business. We should be fervent in spirit – never lagging in zeal and earnest endeavor. We must be diligent as we serve the Lord – everything we do for Him should be done well and to the best of our ability.

 

Verse 16 says that we should be of the same mind toward one another. We should not set our minds on high things, but we should condescend to men of low estate – we should associate with the humble.

 

 We must treat everyone the same way – not looking down on any person as being beneath us. We must not be haughty, snobbish, high-minded or exclusive, but we should readily adjust ourselves to people and things and be prepared to give ourselves to humble tasks. We should never overestimate ourselves or be wise in our own opinion.

 

Verse 20 says that if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this, you will heap coals of fire on his head.  This verse is not referring to your hungry and thirsty friend, but your hungry and thirsty enemy! In the flesh, we want to fight back against our enemy, but God has a better way. He says that when you fight back, you will be overcome by evil, but when you respond with love and kindness, then you overcome evil with good.

 

We should hate that which is evil; be patient in tribulation; bless those who persecute us and not curse them; avenge not ourselves; repay no one evil for evil; overcome evil with good; and live at peace with all men.

 

God does not tell us to do these things to torment us, but to bring us into a place of blessing and victory. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path – let us take God’s Word and apply it in our daily lives.

 

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.  Psalms 127:1-2 NKJV

 

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

The word “house” here means a house in the greatest variation of applications, but it especially represents family. It could be used of your very own family or God’s family – the church. In either case, each member is a part of the whole house. You can try to build a family or a ministry, but unless God is at the helm of your vessel, even your best efforts will fail and come to nothing.

 

God is not our co-pilot. We need to make Him the pilot and we need to obey Him in everything. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is the architect and the builder. We must trust His judgment and His wisdom enough to follow it in spite of our own opinions to the contrary. God’s word is tried and proven and it stands as a rock and a testament to His truth and His faithfulness.

 

If you labor in vain – you labor uselessly. There is no fruit of your labor. The result you desired will not be achieved. Why spend all your efforts on something that is going to fail anyway? You need to step back, take your hands off of the helm and allow God to have His way – always, in everything. Only then will your efforts produce the desired result. You see – some people do nothing when they should be doing something, while others work really hard and yet they are both unfruitful, and they wonder why! You have to put an effort in, however, it must be led, guided and inspired by the Lord or it will be all your own efforts and it is destined to fail.

       

Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

If you serve and honor God in your life, He promises to watch over you and protect you in all your ways of obedience and service. Without Him, you are exposed to the elements. With Him, you are safe in the direst of situations. You cannot waste time worrying about your life. It won’t help one bit. All your worrying will be for nothing – you might as well just trust Him! You need to live your life, trusting in Him and He will take care of you.

 

It is vain for you to rise up early and to sit up late. There is nothing wrong with getting up early or going to bed late unless you are doing it because of fear or because you are relying on yourself alone. You might as well get some sleep because you cannot do everything yourself – you need the Lord’s help anyway.

 

It is vain for you to eat the bread of sorrows.

“Sorrows” is grievous or painful toil. Deuteronomy 24:19 says that God will bless the work of your hands. If you are a believer, if you are serving God with all your heart, He will bless the work of your hands. It is unprofitable for you to work and sweat and struggle by your own efforts. Trust God, obey Him, allow Him to guide your way and your work will be blessed and fruitful. You will reap a multiplied harvest of blessing.

 

For so He gives His beloved sleep.

You don’t need to worry

You don’t need to fret

God has never failed you yet

You can close your eyes and float away

As He watches over you until the light of day

You don’t have to stay up worrying about your way

He is in control every day

There is a rest for the people of God 

It is faith in His power, His wisdom, His love

God loves you so and He watches you close

Give Him your all and rest in His hands

 

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.  James 3:13-18 NIV

 

Everybody thinks that they are wise, but only if you compare your words and deeds to the Word of God, can you know for sure. Good deeds that originate from a humble heart are evidence that a person is wise. However, if a person harbors bitter envy and selfish ambition in their heart, then they are not wise at all, but they are foolish.

 

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?  Corinthians 3:3 NIV

 

Jealous and quarrelsome Christians are behaving like people who have not yet been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. They are worldly and they behave like the world. As children of God, we should live our lives in a way that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

 

NIV – He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction. TLB – Sinners love to fight; boasting is looking for trouble.  Proverbs 17:19

 

If you fight and quarrel and love it—you are a sinner and most likely an arrogant and boastful one at that. Pride and strife are partners. They usually go together. At the very least, a proud person will be touchy and defensive. At their worst they will aggressively pick fights with others. They are touchy and reactionary and it doesn’t take much to make them angry. Jesus tells us to love God and to love our neighbor. It is a very proud person who has little or no respect for God and who thinks nothing of fighting and striving with their neighbor.

 

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.  James 3:16 KJV

 

Where you allow strife to exist—you also allow confusion and evil to manifest. This is why devils make stirring strife a priority. Learn to recognize when the devil is stirring strife and cut him off. The problem is that we look at the people we can see and we think that they are our problem, when really it is a spiritual problem and we have to deal with it in a spiritual way. We need to choose a path of peace. You cannot make another person behave one way or another, but you can control your own feelings, emotions and reactions. Eliminate strife and you will shut the door on the devil.

 

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Philippians 2:3 KJV

 

Humility is a good antidote for strife. A humble person is not concerned about winning the fight or being “right.” The wisdom that is from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. If you are wise, you will conduct yourself in such a way that you promote peace in your life and your relationships.

 

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:17-18 NIV

 

It doesn’t matter who tries to fight with you, you can make the choice to eliminate strife, live in peace and do right.

October 26, 2008 – November 4, 2008

Drs. Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne will be conducting a tour of the Holy land from Sunday October 26, 2008 through Tuesday November 4, 2008. This will be a memorable visit to the Holy city. This will not be just another religious pilgrimage, but an opportunity for the saints to connect with history and to walk where Jesus walked. We believe that the Lord will touch souls through this life changing event!

Speaker: Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne Jerusalem, Israel

ITINERARY

Saturday/Sunday, October 25 and 26
Depart Tampa to Tel Aviv – direct flights

Monday, October 27 Welcome to Israel!
Early morning arrival to Israel – The Holy Land! Breakfast at “Noet Kedumim” Biblical Gardens followed by a tree planting. Ascend to Jerusalem “The City of The Great King”. Welcome Prayer overlooking the Holy City. Visit the Time Elevator. Visit Mt. Zion and the Room of the Last Supper.

Dinner and overnight at Jerusalem Hotel Tuesday, October 28 Thirsting For the Living God! Ps 42
Spend a full day conference in Jerusalem with worship & teaching, attending the 2nd Jerusalem Assembly, meeting Members of the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) followed by a Gala Dinner Banquet.

Overnight at Jerusalem Hotel

Wednesday, October 29 From Destruction to Revival!
Visit the Scroll of Fire Monument, Yad Vashem – the newly remodeled Holocaust Memorial. Attend a VIP official reception at the Knesset! Afternoon visit to Mount Herzl (visionary of the modern Jewish State). Evening celebration and revival meeting in Jerusalem.

Dinner and overnight at Jerusalem Hotel

Thursday, October 30 Discovering the Holy City!
Visit Mt. Of Olives, The Garden of Gethsemane, enter the Old City via Stephen’s Gate, visit the Pool of Bethesda, The Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall. View the recent excavations at the City of David and the Pool of Siloam and the Garden Tomb. Upper Room Revival meeting: the mighty rushing wind of the Holy Ghost in the Upper Room and your very own Day of Pentecost.

Dinner and overnight at Jerusalem Hotel Friday, October 31 Ever changing landscapes!Tour Masada, the Qumran, see the Dead Sea Scroll Caves and Ein Gedi. Continue north via the Jordan valley and Beth Shean to the Galilee

Dinner and overnight at Galilee Hotel

Saturday, November 1 The Man From Galilee!Take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee; visit Capernaum, site of the Miracle of the Fish and Loaves, Enjoy St. Peter’s fish for lunch.

Dinner and overnight at Galilee HotelSunday, November 2 Ancient Cities!Visit Cana of Galilee, Nazareth, and the Mount of Megiddo. Dinner and overnight at Galilee Hotel Monday, November 3 Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea!Departing from Galilee, head south to Caesarea and other Biblical sites of importance before enjoying our last supper together in Jaffa overlooking a beautiful Mediterranean sunset.
Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for return to USA

Tuesday, November 4 remember to vote!
Early morning arrival 5 am in USA!

Rodney Howard Browne shares a teaching on Pride

 

Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

Psalms 36:11 NKJV

 

Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that in life, we are faced with two kinds of enemies – those from within and those from without. Pride comes from within and the wicked man comes from without. The way that this particular verse of scripture is rendered in certain other translations of the Bible, is to the effect that the foot of pride – or arrogance – belongs to another person coming from without. However, pride and arrogance will seek to claim your life whether coming from the inside or the outside – whether it is in your heart or your enemy’s heart. Most of the time – the outside influences are less potent against us than inside influences. Because God has promised to protect us from without – and He always does a good job – but we are responsible to guard our own heart and unfortunately we don’t always do such a good job.

 

And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”Mark 7:20-23 NKJV

 

Rodney Howard Browne shows us that pride is an evil thing that comes from the heart of man, defiling him.It is as evil, in God’s eyes, as any other sin that man can commit. Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD.” Proverbs 6:16-17 says, that of the seven things that are an abomination to the LORD and that He hates, one of them is a proud look. Psalms 101:5 says, “The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.” Proverbs 28:25-26 says, “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”

When you trust in yourself you are proud and you are foolish. The Lord will not tolerate pride in your heart or in your look or in your actions. Pride is destructive. Pride will destroy your own life. Pride causes division between man and man – and man and God. Pride will separate you from the presence of God. The pride in your life will not allow God’s grace to reach you and without God’s grace, you are lost. If you wish to please God and preserve your soul, you must walk in humility.
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:17-19 NKJV

 

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.Proverbs 8:13 NKJV

 

If you have any fear or respect for God – you will deal with any prideful attitude that you have. You will treat pride like the sin that it is and you will humble your own heart before the Lord. You must lose your life – lay down your pride and your selfishness – to honor the Lord in your life.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.1 Peter 5:5-9NKJV

 

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.James 4:4-10 NKJV

Rodney Howard Browne shares a teaching on Faith

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 KJV

 

The Greek word for faith means a firm persuasion, belief, believe, trust, trustworthiness, confidence, acceptance, fidelity and moral conviction. It means reliance upon Jesus Christ for salvation. Faith has to do with what you believe and also the strength of that belief. The word faith is also used to refer to your belief system.

 

Simply put, faith means believing strongly in God and believing strongly that everything that He says is true. It means to be firmly persuaded. We must have faith in the grace and mercy of God. The only way we can obtain God’s grace and mercy is by faith – we cannot work for it. If you could earn God’s grace then you would not need faith in God. Our faith is essential – not only to ensure our salvation, but in order that we may receive the fulfillment of every promise of God that has been made to us.

 

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring– not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed– the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead– since he was about a hundred years old– and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Romans 4:16-21 NIV

 

Faith is not believing in God only — faith is believing in God without wavering. Faith calls those things that are not as though they are! Faith agrees with the Word of God and not with what we see or feel. Faith speaks the Word of God only — not doubt and unbelief. If you swing between faith and doubt then you don’t have faith at all. You can only have one or the other – not both. Doubt neutralizes your faith. Faith is only faith if you don’t have a plan B.

 

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8 NKJ

We don’t get from God the things that He has promised just because He promised them, we get them because we believe that His promises are true.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:8-17 NKJ

When we believe God’s Word in our heart then we will speak it out of our mouth. Faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing the Word of God. You will only be full of what you meditate upon. Luke 6:45 says that we speak out of the overflow of what is in our heart in abundance. And our confession must be in line with our faith or we will not get what we say we are believing for. The fruit of the work of the Spirit in our life is an increase in our faith and trust in God. The more we learn of God, the more we learn to trust Him, because He is faithful who has promised.

Foundation Scriptures: Luke 4:14-19The anointing—in many church meetings being held nowadays—as one preacher said, “is as scarce as hen’s teeth.” You need a magnifying glass to find it. There is little or no anointing present, yet many people claim to be anointed and to have the anointing! One of the first lessons that we need to learn about the anointing is that the anointing is not hype. In some church circles there’s a lot of Hollywood. There’s a lot of hype. At these meetings, you might expect that at any moment they would bring on the wrestlers and have a tag team match in the church. They have fleshly preaching, praying, singing, and dancing—a lot of hoopla—but very minimal, if any, results at all. The anointing is not about who can make the biggest noise—it is about changed lives. We live in a day and age of never-ending entertainment, where people want to come and sit in beautiful, air-conditioned auditoriums and be entertained and impressed on a Sunday morning and night. A minister can stand in the pulpit and scream and jump around or he can look dignified and professional, but if the touch of God is not on the minister’s life, he can forget it—lives will not be changed.

Are You Tired of Hype?

I have attended some large charismatic meetings, where the “who’s who in the charismatic zoo” have been present, and yet the anointing was not manifest. It’s almost like some ministers are afraid that if the Holy Ghost showed up, they might not know what to do. So instead of displaying their spiritual ignorance, they would rather close the meeting down or get into some fleshly works program such as loudly binding the devil or hyping up a service some other way. Then at least the starving sheep might feel that they were dished up something, even if that something was really nothing at all, other than stale doughnuts.

In some Bible schools, they endeavor to teach students how to preach with formulas, but in my estimation that’s equivalent to teaching a pig to sing! You can be taught all the theory concerning the art of preaching, but if there is no anointing or touch of God on your life, it will just be hype.

Some people think that shouting is the anointing, or being professional in your communicative ability is the anointing. However, just stirring people’s emotions, will not bring change. God wants fat hearts -not fat heads. The Gospel is not an intellectual thing it is a spiritual thing.

There are many people who profess to be theologians, but they do not even believe in the virgin birth, the blood of Jesus, or the cross, etc. What good is theology if you don’t believe in God? The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1 -5, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The scripture says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). I told the Lord in the first part of my ministry, that if He was not going to do anything—I was not going to do anything. He told me that it was a case of Him waiting on me—not me waiting on Him. And He said if I would just give Him an opportunity to move, He would move. If we want to be anointed, we must firstly preach the truth of the Word of God with power, not hype.

Secondly, we must neither do nor say anything unless the Lord directs us. We must move when He says move and stop when He says stop. These are lessons that take time to learn, but if we will be patient and put our flesh under and allow our spirit to rise up, we will see the results in our lives. We need to shut our head up and let our heart lead.

When we rest on the Spirit of God, He will anoint us and His anointing will be on us at all times, in all situations, with no hype, but only the genuine article.

Foundation Scriptures: Psalms 139:1-16 Vs.1 O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. Vs. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Vs. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Vs. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it
completely, O Lord. Vs. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Vs. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Vs. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Vs. 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Vs. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, Vs. 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Vs. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light be come night around me,” Vs. 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Vs. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Vs. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Vs. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Vs. 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Sometimes we feel as if God is so far from us that He does not hear us or care, but that is a lie from hell. God always hears us. He knows us even better than we know ourselves. There is nowhere that we can go to hide from Him because He is everywhere—in the darkness, in the light, in the heavens, on the earth and under it! We cannot escape His eyes, or His ears, or His love, or His care. God sees into the darkness as if it were daylight.

God made and formed us in our mother’s womb. In fact, He knew everything about us before we were even conceived. The miracle of birth is indeed that—a miracle. It is very hard to hold onto evolutionary beliefs as you wonder at the miracle of your newborn baby. How could something so perfect and marvelous be a result of chance and a blob of amoebae? We see an imposing building and we know there was an architect who designed it and a builder who built it. We see an impressive piece of art and we know that an artist somewhere conceived and created it. But the most intricate, specialized creation ever—you and me—some people think just happened by chance. You have to have more “faith” to believe in the evolutionary theories than you need to just believe that there is a Creator and that He did, indeed, create us perfectly—spirit, soul and body. If God watched over us so carefully as we were forming in our mother’s womb and if He knew our days before we even existed, how much more does He watch over us now! He loves us dearly, cares for us tenderly, and is very near to us all the time. No matter what you feel or see, God is very near to you, watching over you, listening to you, and making your way straight before you. You cannot run away from Him. You might as well surrender and let Him have your life and make something beautiful out of it. He is the Master Planner and He has plans for you!