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Tag: Bible Teaching
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The Heart of the Gospel
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The Cure for the Common Cold
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One Cup of Water
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Two Gardens -Melvin Kuntzman
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The Last First Meal
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Jesus: The Prince of Peace
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All Prayer
Call for UPCI Ministers – International Day of Prayer and Fasting – March 23-24
Call to Repentance: Pray for nation, the world and world-wide revival
Esther – a time when God worked through shadows. God’s name isn’t mentioned in Esther. He chose to work through men and women.
Prepare for the greatest revival and harvest of this generation.
Joel 2:15-21
(15) Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
(16) Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
(17) Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
(18) Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
(19) Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
(20) But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
(21) Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
Bobby Wade
To turn God’s favor to the Church as we repent for our mediocrity.
If we do, we will see Signs, Miracles and Harvest like we have never seen.
This International Day of Prayer and Fasting can turn tide in the favor of the Church and dislodge principalities.
If we do not heed pray, He will turn the Harvest to another.
James 5:16b, “The effectual [energetic] fervent prayer of a righteous [pure] man availeth much.”
Righteous men and women, pure in their spirit and motives, know that effectiveness in prayer has more to do with God and less to do with them.
It is God responding to the power, the energy, the life that is in the prayer of the righteous…
Prayer that is full of the Holy Spirit, understanding, heartfelt and full of passionate, fervent, zealous faith.
Ephesians 6:10-20
(10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(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.
“All Prayer” = With all kinds of prayer; prayer in the closet, with the family, the social meeting, the church service;
prayer at the usual hours, emergency prayer, prayers when you are tempted, or when you just feel like praying;
prayers of supplication for ourselves, or prayers of intercession for others.
All Prayer is the great weapon of our spiritual armor, and by this we may hope to prevail[1] – against our true enemy.
“…when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6).
“Pray, don’t pose.” –Mark F. Kuntzman
Old Song: “Prayer is the key to heaven, but faith unlocks the door…”
In January I was in a prayer meeting and saw a gold string/cord that attached to everyone in the room.
It was a prayer connection. We are all connected by prayer.
All Prayer will Elevate, Change and Shift your life into areas you didn’t know existed.
Some people will be intimidated by a truly righteous man or woman of prayer and faith. They will be try to drag you back down to their level of mediocrity.
They are satisfied with the common, the average, plain vanilla
But God’s Church was born of the Spirit and will stay in the Spirit…
We are Spirit born and Spirit led
The people of Nazareth event tried to drag Jesus down when they said, “isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
He had just come from a 40 day fast and prayer – All Prayer – has supercharged Him for ministry that made him unrecognizable to those who had seen Him grow up.
Don’t allow the enemy to drag you down to his level. He’s a surface traveler, slithering on his belly, feeding on the dust of the earth.
The Word of the Lord came to me and said:
You have been content to let others fight openly while you quietly fight behind the scenes, but now is the time to step up and lead on the battlefield as I begin to call my faithful officers to higher roles.
You may not think you are up to the task of this endtime revival and harvest, the enemy tries to remind you of past failures and weaknesses, but I want to remind you:
Ro. 8:32-39, “…Christ…maketh intercession for us.”
When Jesus places His intercession between you and your past nothing can pass through, reach around, or bypass His prayer for you and you are thoroughly freed from your past.
So, pray with All Prayer.
And while your praying, maintain a Pure God-Centered Motive.
Staying in a constant state of prayer, a constant God consciousness, can far outweigh what the natural eye can see.
It’ll allow you to navigate with spiritual eyes of understanding amd see ahead.
This is what Paul & Silas learned in Philippi:
Acts 16:16-21
(16) And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
(17) The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
(18) And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
(19) And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
(20) And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
(21) And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
Eli Hernandez on Pure Motives
Your motive is key to success both in spiritual maturity and in prayer.
The damsel with the spirit of divination was trying to appeal to any signs of pride and arrogance still attached to Paul and Silas
If they had fallen for her words and allowed the vexation to take root their covering of humility would have been pulled off making them vulnerable to satan’s attack.
Since God resists the proud, if Paul and Silas had given in to impure motives a jailer and his family would not have been saved.
Pure motives must be maintained in prayer, if not, pride and arrogance will come in and get in the way and change pure motives into impure motives over time.
We must humble ourselves to avoid becoming a target of impure motives.
David’s prayer should you mantra “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
David knew what it was like for his motives to go off course.
Because he knew how to repent he could make a course correction.
A pure motive will discern spirits, and we are told to “try the spirits.”
So, if what someone tells you doesn’t line up with the written Word of God, no matter how exciting, appealing or emotionally fulfilling it may be, don’t let it into your spirit.
If you listen to that false voice, you may miss your own Philippian jailhouse conversion story.
Try the spirits – don’t judge them – with the Word of God.
There is a difference. There are those who judge, reject, criticize, then go out to eat and talk about how wrong that person was.
And then, there are those who try the spirit, reject it because it contradicts the Word of God, but then go on and pray to God for that person to come in alignment with the Word of God.
Which one are you?
Lord, search our hearts…remove those tendencies in us to judge and criticize others.
Help us to try the spirits based on the unity of The Holy Ghost and the Word of God.
As we go into this International Day of Prayer and Fasting on March 23rd and 24th (from 6 pm – 6 pm)
Let us repent.
Pray for our nation, our world,
Seek God’s face for revival and growth
Pray for a fresh outpouring of the supernatural
Check our motive.
All Prayer is Motivated Prayer – What motivates your prayers?
[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ephesians 6:18.
Categories
Image & Likeness
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “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. (24) Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”
Man is made up of spirit, soul, and body: see handout[1]
As Christians and ministers, we must understand the tri-part nature of man in order to help people at the root (the source) of what has plagued them for years (sometimes their lifetime).
Genesis 1:26-27, “(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
God created Man in His Image and Likeness:
- Image = Total Man (trichotomy)
- Imago Dei = “Image of God”
- Spirit = Transformed, New Creature, Born Again. This is where the Holy Ghost dwells. If unregenerated the spirit is empty of God’s presence and open to demonic spiritual attack.
- Proverbs 20:27, “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”
- When you receive the Holy Ghost, both your spirit and God’s Spirit are hermetically sealed together until the judgment seat of Christ.
- Soul = Mind, Will and Emotions. Subject to attack by tormenting, oppressive spirits through the thought life. Your mind sets your will. Your emotion is a direct result of your mindset.
- The Battleground: “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” (Ephesians 6:12).
- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, (3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (5) Casting down imaginations [carnal reasoning and fleshly calculation], 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.
- Body = Subject to attacks by spirits of infirmity (weakness and disease) through improper habits of health, nutrition, safety.
- Spirit = Transformed, New Creature, Born Again. This is where the Holy Ghost dwells. If unregenerated the spirit is empty of God’s presence and open to demonic spiritual attack.
- Likeness = goings and doings (choices we make)
- Free will
- Man, in God’s Image, chooses the likeness he pursues
- Mark 12:13-17, “(13) And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. (14) And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? (15) Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. (16) And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. (17) And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.”
- Whose image is on you, and what likeness do you display?
- Why does a man do the things he does?
- A key to life is to learn to accept responsibility for your actions: the likeness you choose.
PLEASE NOTE![2]
Unless there is an open door, evil spirits cannot freely attack. We do not pick up an evil spirit while walking down the street.
Many have opened the door before they were filled with the Holy Ghost and when the spirit level of God is low in their natural life, satan starts invading their mind.
Why? The spirit of the man has allowed the Holy Spirit of God to become low in their life.
You, through the power of the Holy Ghost, have the right to evict all unwelcome guests to your body, soul and spirit.
This brings us to the point of renewing your mind. We renew, or refresh, our body by sleep and nourishment.
Likewise, we need to renew our mind in the Holy Ghost. This can best be accomplished through prayer and praise.
Ephesians 4:22-24, “(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation [lifestyle = goings and doings] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God [Image of God] is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
The mind cannot maintain a common relationship with the Lord if the heart, for instance, holds to things, such as resentment, bitterness and hatred. Body, soul and spirit must be purged to maintain a productive spirit level.
“The Holy Ghost can only flow through you as pure as you are in your body, soul and spirit.” –Johnny Garrison
A sick body naturally can come under attack spiritually. God wants us to maintain body, soul and spirit to the very best of our knowledge.
We all will be held accountable for what we know to do.
There is a strong link between sickness and sin, or sickness and fear (anxiety), which manifests itself in what has been called “psychosomatic disorders” (mind-body).
James gave us an antidote for these issues:
(13 )Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (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 (James 5:13-16).
Christians who have obey the Word and God and follow Jesus with an undivided heart bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
That obedience is the best revenge of our past disobedience when we were the servants of sin.
As Christians we have a choice regarding whose Image and Likeness we choose to carry and model: Romans 6:15-23
(15) What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(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.
(23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
When you decide to carry the Image and Likeness of God you live in victory because of these truths:[3]
- You are separated from the power and enticement of sin: “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:2).
- You are alive unto God: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).
- The finished work of Calvary satisfied the demands of the Law and payment for our sin: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ…” (Romans 7:4).
- Sin no longer has control over you: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:12-14).
- There is still a battle going on between the Law of God and the law of sin, which presents a choice between the Image and Likeness you choose: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 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. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 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” (Romans 7:22-25).
- The Law of the Spirit is more powerful than the low of sin and death: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death…. 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” (Romans 8:1-2, 13).
- The victory Christ purchased for you helps you to approach every temptation from a position of victory: “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:…And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:6-7).
[1] Notes: Dr. Joe Nelson. Techniques of Counseling 1. Parkersburg Bible College. Fall 2001.
[2] Ibid. (italicized parts are directly quoted from the PBC notes from the textbook on page 101)
[3] Ibid. p. 105-106.
Categories
Jesus Is Alive Today
John 4:1-43
(1) When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
(2) (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
(3) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
(4) And he must needs go through Samaria.
(5) Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
(6) Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
(7) There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(8) (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
(9) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
(10) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
(11) The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
(12) Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
(13) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
(14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
(15) The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
(16) Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
(17) The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
(18) For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
(19) The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
(20) Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
(21) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
(22) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
(23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
(24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(25) The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
(26) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
(27) And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
(28) The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
(29) Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
(30) Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
(31) In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
(32) But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
(33) Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
(34) Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
(35) Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
(36) And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
(37) And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
(38) I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
(39) And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
(40) So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
(41) And many more believed because of his own word;
(42) And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
(43) Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
The Pillar and Ground of Truth 