Matthew 16:17 - Blessed art thou...for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven
Remember when you went to school and learned your ABCs? You learned them by using your five senses and your logical abilities to gather information and sort it out. That kind of knowledge is called natural knowledge and it's the only kind most people know anything about.
But in the kingdom of God, there's another kind of knowing. One that works its way from the inside out instead of from the outside in. It's called revelation knowledge.
Jesus spoke about this kind of knowledge in Matthew 16. He'd just asked the disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter had answered Him by declaring, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
"Blessed are you, Simon," Jesus responded, "because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father which is in heaven."
In other words, Jesus was saying, "Peter, you didn't learn this information through your physical senses. You received it another way. You received it directly from God."
If you've ever had a revelation like that, you know that when it comes, it changes things. It makes you see old things in an entirely new light. It gives you such unshakable confidence that, as Jesus said to Peter, "The gates of hell can't prevail against you."
But revelations like that don't come easily. You have to meditate the Word and search the Spirit of God for them because they are "hidden" in Him. The Bible says God has hidden His wisdom for the saints (1 Cor. 2:7-9). Notice, He's hidden it for you, not from you. He wants you to have it.
Don't think, however, that God is just going to drop great revelations into your lap while you're watching television. You have to seek Him.
If you're hungry for revelation knowledge, get yourself in a position to receive it by meditating the Word, praying and fellowshiping with the Lord. Begin to receive those revelations from Him. It's the most exciting kind of learning there is.
1 Thess 5:23 - 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
You are a spirit.
You have a soul.
And you live in a body.
With your spirit, you contact the spiritual world.
With your body, you contact the physical world.
And with your soul, you contact the intellectual world.
These are the only three realms you contact. There are no more.
Man is a spirit being who was created in the image of God, who is a Spirit (See Gen. 1:26; John 4:24).
You, too, are a spirit being. And it will help your faith to think like that because faith is of the heart, or the spirit, or the inward man. (The terms "spirit" of man and "heart" of man are used interchangeably throughout the Bible.) Faith is not of the head. Faith is not of the body. Faith is of the heart!
Confession: I am a spirit. I have a soul. And I live in a body. I am a spirit being created in the image of God. With my spirit I contact God. With my spirit, I believe God!
[ecko_quote source=" John 15:7"]If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you[/ecko_quote]
That word abide is so important. When Jesus told us to obey His commandments and keep His Word, He wasn't just telling us to follow a bunch of religious rules and regulations. My dear ones its relationship that matter.
He was telling us to allow His Word—which is a living thing!—to make its home within us. He was telling us to spend time with it, to meditate on it, to fill our minds and our mouths with it, and to let it guide our every action.
The Apostle Paul put it this way, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Colossians 3:16). Most believers don't have any idea what that means. That's one of the reasons they're so short on power.
Oral Roberts once said that when the Word is really abiding in you, when it's alive and producing like it should, you can hear it. You know what it's like when you get a song on your mind and you just keep hearing it over and over inside you? Well, when you start abiding in the Word, you're probably going to hear it in much that same way.
Many times, I've been in desperate situations, wondering what I was going to do when suddenly I'd hear a scripture down on the inside of me. Suddenly, I'd know exactly what the answer to my situation was. I'd be delivered by the Word of God that was dwelling in me.
So, invite the Holy Spirit to go to work on your behalf. Just keep telling Him, "Whatever You bring to my remembrance from the Word is exactly what I'm going to act on. I'm going to be obedient to every command of Jesus that You bring to mind."
Make a quality decision to abide in the Word. You'll soon discover that the Word is abiding in you.
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[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 17:20"]For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you[/ecko_quote]
Someone once said that the reason I can live like I do is because I have "special faith." But, you know, that's just not true. I don't have "special faith." God has given me the same measure of faith He's given to you and every other believer. The only reason my faith looks like it works better is because I use it!
If you've been living in the shadow of a mountain, waiting for God to give you some kind of special faith, make a change today. Step out and put the measure of faith you have to work moving the spiritual, physical, mental or financial obstacles Satan has brought against you.
Romans 12:3 says God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Believe Him! Step out in faith about that faith! Say, "Heavenly Father, I thank You that through faith in Jesus Christ, You have shared Your nature and Your Spirit with me. I am grateful for the measure of faith imparted to me as a believer.
"I make the decision today to walk in that faith—to put it to work on the situations around me. I commit myself to operate in mountain-moving faith, for I know that it is impossible to please You without it (Hebrews 11:6).
"As I plant this faith and water it with Your Word (Romans 10:17), I expect it to grow and overcome the mountains in my life and in the lives of those for whom I intercede.
"Thank You, Father, that as I do this, nothing shall be impossible to me! In Jesus' Name. Amen."
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[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 4:4"]Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God[/ecko_quote]
The Word of God is to your spirit as bread is to your body. When your body feeds on physical food, it produces a physical power called strength. When your spirit feeds on the spiritual food of the Word, it produces spiritual power called faith. And just as you can't eat one meal and then feed on the memory of it for several weeks, you can't just remember what the Word says and stay strong in faith. You have to read it. Even if you've read it a hundred times, you need to read it again.
Remembering the Word of God isn't enough. You must continually feed on what it says. Get it out and read it. Go to church and hear it preached.
One day, you'll read a familiar verse...a verse you've read thousands of times before...and suddenly God will give you the greatest revelation you've ever had. A completely fresh revelation from that old familiar verse! And it's likely to be exactly what you needed to know about your current situation.
Yes, you can feed on the Word that is on deposit in your spirit. But remember this: You can't get continued results if you don't spend time in prayer and in the Word of God allowing the Spirit to nourish you daily.
Don't try to live on the memory of your last spiritual meal. Replenish the force of faith within you. Feast on the Word of God today.
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[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 15:6"]In this way, you say they don't need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition[/ecko_quote]
Cancer. Heart disease. Multiple sclerosis. When we think of killer diseases, those are the names that come to mind. But the truth is, there's a far more deadly killer on the loose in the Church today. And it's destroyed more lives than any of us can imagine. It's called tradition. Traditions rob believers of their healing. They steal the power from the promises of God. Here are three you should beware of:
It is God's will to heal you! It says so in His Word. If you don't believe that it is, then you can't pray in faith believing you'll receive. You're like the farmer who sits on his porch and says, "I believe in crops, but I'm not going to plant any seed this year. I'll just believe, and if it's God's will, my crop will come up." That farmer will never see his crop. Faith is the seed of healing--if you don't plant it, it won't grow. A prayer that includes the words, "If it be thy will" won't produce a healing harvest. You must know without a doubt that healing is always God's will for you.
The world is looking for a way out of sickness and disease, not a way into it. Let's break down those traditions and deliver a hurting world from the most dangerous killer of all.
[http://jonah.uec.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/JehovahRapha_1500_web.jpg
[ecko_quote source="Hebrews 13:8"]Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever[/ecko_quote]
Years ago, God spoke a phrase to me that I've never forgotten. I have been asking Him to teach me to walk in the spirit, to operate more fully in the supernatural power of God.
consistency lies the power, He said.
That revelation was tough for me. In the natural, I'm anything but consistent. My human nature tends to be up one day and down the next. But, praise God, I don't have to depend on my human nature to get me by. I have Jesus Christ living within me and He's the same yesterday, today and forever!
Jesus isn't fickle. He doesn't change His mind from one day to another. He's constant, and if you'll press into Him, He can cause you to be that way too.
Most believers don't do that. That's why there are so many "faith failures" around. They stand on the Word one day and fall off of it the next.
What we need to do is "continue." Jesus said if we'd continue in His Word, then we'd be His disciples. He said if we'd continue, we would know the truth and that truth would make us free (John 8:31-32). There's a revelation of God that comes from consistency that the inconsistent person will never see.
Determine today to be consistent. Don't try to base today on yesterday's Bible study. Base today on today's Bible study. Start with the Word today, stay on the Word all day, and end the day with the Word. Then tomorrow get up and do it all again!
There's power in constant consistency. So don't be an "off again, on again" Christian. Continue in the Word every day.
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[ecko_quote source="2 Corinthians 2:14"]Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place[/ecko_quote]
As you fight the good fight of faith today, remember this: Your mind is where the battle will take place. Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life. Will it be the Word of God or the lies of Satan?
The decision is yours.
If you want the Word to reign, make up your mind now to resist the devil when he comes to plant doubts within you. Refuse to surrender to the circumstantial pressure he brings your way. Decide at the outset that you will not succumb to this trial. Dig your heels in and stand immovable upon the promises of God.
When thoughts come that are contrary to God's will, cast them down. And above all, don't worry. Worrying is meditating the thoughts of Satan.
When you recognize you are worrying, stop it immediately. Replace worried, fearful and doubtful thoughts with the Word.
Be assured, Satan will continually try to tell you that your situation is hopeless. He will persistently peddle doubt, defeat, and discouragement. But if you won't allow him to sell you his goods, his commission will be zero. If you don't buy his lies, he can't cause them to come to pass in your life.
God has promised that He will always cause you to triumph in Christ. You are guaranteed victory over any adversity you face today. Make up your mind right now to be a winner and you'll spread the knowledge of victory in Christ everywhere you go.
[http://jonah.uec.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/stock-vector-man-carrying-a-heavy-burden-a-huge-rock-vector-clip-art-illustration-with-simple-gradients-man-228367237.jpgKenneth Copeland
[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 6:31"]Therefore, do not worry and be anxious[/ecko_quote]
God is vehemently against worry. Jesus preached against it. Paul preached against it. The whole Bible preaches against worry because it was designed by Satan to produce stress, strain, and death.
Yet many of us still act as if it's an option as if we're free to worry if we want to. But we're not! Worrying is a sin. It's one of those things the Word of God directly commands us not to do.
What are you supposed to do then with all the concerns you have about your problems? In 1 Peter 5:7, God says you should "cast them all upon Him." All. Not 75 percent of them. Not all of them but the ones about your kids. All of them!
Your confession every morning should be, "I do not have a care in this world because I've cast every one of them onto my Lord."
Let me illustrate how that works. Let's say you were standing about 20 feet away from me and I tossed my car keys to you. If someone else were to come to me and say, "Pastor Jonah, I need the keys to your car. I need to use it," I would say, "I can't help you. I cast my keys over on him. I don't have them anymore."
That's what you need to do with your worries. You need to cast them over on the Lord and not take them back. If Satan brings a worried thought to your mind, saying, "What if this terrible thing happens?" then you can tell him to talk to God about it. It's in His hands, not yours!
Once you do that, changes will start to take place in your life. Problems you've been fretting about for years will start being solved. You'll no longer be tying God's hands with your worrying. His power can begin to operate because you've acted in faith and cast your cares on Him!
Remember, though, God will not take your cares away from you. You have to give them to Him. Then you have to replace those worries with the Word. You are the one who has to keep your thoughts under control. But you can do it. The Greater One dwells within you. He is able to put you over. Commit to it. You'll never have to worry again.
[http://jonah.uec.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/happy.jpg]Kenneth Copeland
[ecko_quote source=" Matthew 14:28-29"]And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water....[/ecko_quote]
It’s easy to be so afraid of making a mistake that you never get around to stepping out on faith. You can spend all your time wondering, Is this faith? Or is it a presumption? What if I exercise my faith for something and find out later I’ve missed God’s will?
Don’t worry. God can handle any mistake you can make. I know because I’ve made plenty of them. When I did, I’d just go to the Lord and He’d tell me, Stay on the Word, son. Together we’ll overcome this thing. And we always did.
If you act on the Word out of the sincerity of your heart and you steadfastly stay with the Word, Jesus will never let you down...no matter how many dumb mistakes you make. He proved that the night Peter jumped out of the boat in the middle of the lake.
Have you ever stopped to think about that incident? Peter hadn’t been praying or seeking God’s will before he did that. On impulse, he just blurted out, “Lord, if it’s You, bid me come.”
What was Jesus supposed to say? He couldn’t very well say, “It’s not Me.” I suppose He could have said, “Wait a minute now. You don’t have the faith to get out here. You’d better stay in that boat or you’re going to drown for sure.”
But He didn’t say that to Peter—and He won’t say it to you. If you want to get out and walk by faith, He’ll get out there with you and pick you up when you start sinking. He’ll walk you back to the boat if He has to.
It’s better to risk being presumptuous than to waste your life in the boat of unbelief! If you have to, just dive into the water and say, “God, help me!”
Don’t let fear keep you from taking that step of faith. Come on, get out of the boat today!
[http://jonah.uec.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/step-out-of-your-boat.jpg]Kenneth Copeland
