Friday, September 30, 2011

The Word of His Power

Consider this:

'And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the WORD OF HIS POWER.' [Hebrews 1:3]

He upholds ALL THINGS by the WORD of His power.

What is the word of His power? "POWER."

Note that it is not the power of His word, but the very word of His power.

I've heard that the exact translation of Genesis 1 in Hebrew is more like "Light, Be! Light was." instead of the more familiar "Let there be light."

In Genesis 1, the word of light was "Light."

We know that God cannot lie. [Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2]

Why is that? Because if there was not a tree when He started to say 'tree' there would be one by the time the word was out of His mouth! He cannot lie because everything He says comes to pass!

Why Is This Important To Me?
Why? For several reasons, actually.

First, because we are one Spirit with the Lord, with the very Alpha and Omega. He is the Head, we are His body. And He said that we would do greater works than He did! [John 14:12]

Second, because He IS the WORD...

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.' [John 1:1-3]

Third, because He told us to speak to trees and mountains. Because Psalms and Proverbs are full of instructions regarding the power of words. Because the POWER of life and death is IN THE TONGUE. [Proverbs 18:21]

Jesus knew this because He IS the Word, and He knows how the system works.

Speak His Word into the earth.

'The Lord gives the command [word]; The women who PROCLAIM the good tidings are a GREAT HOST: "Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home will divide the spoil!" [Psalm 68:11,12]

Think of all the wonderful things He has said about and for us. His Word will come to pass...

'He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.' [Psalm 147:15]

Think about it. Uphold His Word in your life by your words...

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Who Says So? [re-post]

When you’re in a tough situation and all hope seems lost…when all you can think about is how much trouble you’re in, what are you going to do, there’s no way out…who says so?

Psalm 3 tell us exactly who says so…our adversaries! And we know that one of Satan’s names is The Adversary—in fact, that’s the literal meaning of his name!

1 O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.

2 Many are saying of [or to] my soul, "There is no deliverance for him in God." Selah.

And that’s just what those voices in your head say—there is no deliverance for you in God. You haven’t been good enough, maybe He wants to teach you something, maybe He doesn’t want to help you, you don’t deserve it, you don’t need deliverance, you will have to go through it for [fill in the reason], it’ll never happen for you, He might help others but He probably won’t help you this time, blah blah blah.

But we know two things: 1) we are the redeemed, the most holy ones whom God loves; and 2) we know that all of the promises of God are ‘yes’ in Christ—and we’re in Him, by God’s doing!

So never forget…anything other than God’s good and perfect will for you is a lie. Hopelessness, fear, despair, depression…lies, lies, lies. Impossible situations and circumstances…lies, lies, lies.

The Thief
Jesus clearly delineated what was NOT from His Father when he said "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” [John 10:10] There’s really no room for misinterpretation there.

Imagine a blackboard with a line down the middle—one side is entitled ‘GOD’ and the other ‘satan.’ Under God we have all of the promised blessings: Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, health, wealth, wisdom, love, hope, peace, the well-being of our children, angelic protection, joy [and all of the other fruits of the Spirit], etc.

Under the Satan side we have: anything that steals, anything that kills and anything that destroys. That pretty well sums it up.

Let’s read on and see what David’s response is…

3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

4 I was crying to the LORD with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.

5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

Hallelujah! He is our shield and the One who lifts our head! He helps us based on Who He is and who we are—accepted in the Beloved. [Ephesians 1:6]

Do Not Fear
In Isaiah 41:10, God says this: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

He will surely help us; He will surely uphold us with His righteous right hand. He has given His angels charge concerning us and they guard us in all our ways [Psalm 91:11].

By the 103rd psalm, David had it right…he instructed his soul—his mind, will and emotions—to bless the Lord continually and forget not His benefits. He then goes on to list those benefits and remind himself that He does not deal with us according to our sins nor reward us according to our iniquities! Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on us!

David understood that whatever contradicts the word of God is from the adversaries—that they prey on the soul with lies to discourage us.

But our hope is in God—He will surely help us!

So should we, when discouraged and hopeless, come to our spiritual senses and realize that these are lies from our adversaries—those who are arrayed against us in the spiritual realm. Despair is a lie, and we have authority over the liars! Trust in God!

Words of Comfort
Here are some words to help. Notice how often David puts his trust in his mouth…

'O my God, in You I trust, do not let me be ashamed; do not let my enemies exult over me.' [Psalm 25:2]

'But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, "You are my God."' [Psalm 31:14]

'He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.' [Psalm 40:3]

'But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.' [Psalm 55:23]

'In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can {mere} man do to me?' [Psalm 56:4]

'In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?' [Psalm 56:11]

'Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.' [Psalm 62:8]

'I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"' [Psalm 91:2]

Speaking Trust
When we speak our trust, it does a couple of things. First, Jesus said we have what we say [ref Mark 11, the whole book of Proverbs]. The Hebrew word ‘debar’ is translated both word and thing …so when we declare our trust in God, our words appropriate the angelic protection that God declared in His forever settled Word [Psalm 119:89].

Second, it tells our soul what to believe—in essence, we’re replacing the lies of the adversaries that tell us that there is no deliverance for us from God. We, like David in Psalm 103 are instruction our soul what to believe and what to do! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits…Hallelujah!

Jesus told us to pray “Your will be done, in earth, as it is in heaven…” He knew that God’s word was settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and that God spoke it with intent or purpose that it accomplish the thing for which He sent it [Isaiah 55:11; 46:10]. He also knew that the way to bring forth things in the earth is by faith—believing it in the heart and speaking it with the mouth. [Romans 10:9-11; Mark 11:22-24].

Put your trust in your heart and in your mouth. Speak the name of Jesus and tell the adversaries who are lying to you to shut up and get out. Then speak words of trust—have faith in God. He who believes in Him will not be disappointed. [Psalm 22:5; Romans 10:11; 2 Peter 2:6]