HEBREWS 4:12-16 “Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16. Do you come boldly before the throne of grace the way this verse instructs us, or do you come before the Lord in fear of judgment for some wrong that you’ve done? God loves you and has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). It would give the Lord great pleasure for you to boldly come to Him today and call Him “Abba Father” (Gal. 4:6).
EPHESIANS 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that, ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). The word Gospel literally means “good news.” It’s important that you understand that news is always something that’s already taken place. The dictionary defines news as “recent events or happenings.” If it hasn’t already occurred, it isn’t news. The reason it was so easy to believe the Lord for the born-again experience was that our salvation was presented as news. If we would have been told that Jesus might come and die for our sins, no one would’ve been born again. Even if we could’ve been persuaded that Jesus was willing to die for our sins, the devil would try to convince us that salvation certainly couldn’t be for us. When we hear that God has already provided salvation through the death of His Son, it’s easy to believe and receive. There’s no reason to doubt something that’s already happened. This is a key to receiving every benefit of our salvation. Anything that God has promised us has already been provided through the atonement of Christ. That’s where all the work of salvation was accomplished. Jesus only died once. He’s now seated at the Father’s right hand (Heb. 10:12). His atonement is complete. Everything is already a done deal. The Lord isn’t going to heal us; it’s already been done (1 Pet. 2:24). Joy isn’t something we need to ask for; it’s something we already have in our spirits. It just needs to be released. If you haven’t already done so, start viewing the Gospel as good NEWS. Believe that whatever you need is already yours in Christ, and experience the difference that believing the Gospel makes.
PSALM 50 “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof” (Ps. 50:12). Have you ever wondered why the Lord told us to give to Him? It’s not because He needs it. This is what He says in Psalm 50. He tells the people that He isn’t going to eat their sacrifices. He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills. What did He need their sacrifices for? If God was hungry, would He look to us to satisfy Him? Certainly not! Then why did He ask for the sacrifices? Why does He ask us to give if He’s not in need? God doesn’t want Sunday-only Christians who give Him only an hour or two per week. He loves us and wants to be involved in every part of our lives. We spend the majority of our time earning a living. How does He get involved in that part of our lives?. It takes faith in God and in His Word to give away a portion of what we have. That’s the reason He asks us to do it. It’s so we can move into faith in the financial part of our lives. Therefore, the person who wants to give and plans on giving when they have some extra cash is missing the main purpose of giving. It’s to thrust us into a realm of faith. If you wait to give until it takes no faith to trust that God will multiply it back to you, then you’ve missed the point. Give in faith to the Lord today. It’s your faith that He really wants.
ACTS 3:1-16 “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:16). Many people mistakenly think that miracles happen because of some special gift in an individual’s life. This has led them to believe that miracles don’t happen today because all the apostles are dead. However, there are still apostles alive today. Ephesians 4:11-13 says that apostles and prophets are given to the church until we become perfect and measure up to the fullness of Christ’s stature. That certainly hasn’t happened yet, so apostles must still be in the church today. Miracles never took place just because of a call on someone’s life. In the instance above, Peter says very plainly that it was the faith in the name of Jesus, which this paralyzed man had, that produced his healing. We certainly still have faith today, because you can’t please God without it (Heb. 11:6). We still have the name of Jesus with all its privileges and benefits. You can’t be saved without it (Acts 4:12). Therefore, faith in the name of Jesus is what produces results. People with special gifts only aid a person’s faith; they aren’t a substitute for faith. If this wasn’t so, then everyone would be healed through those who have the gifts of healing and miracles. That’s not the way it happens. The individual receiving the healing must believe too. Don’t let Satan deceive you, that because you don’t have any special anointing or callings, you can’t receive your miracle from God. If you have Jesus, and faith in what He can do, you have all you need to receive anything from God. Exercise your faith in Jesus today!
LUKE 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and overall the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Jesus didn’t give us power over Satan, but authority over his power. To be truthful, authority is greater than power. That’s a radical statement today. With all of the fitness magazines and karate movies, we are led to believe that we’ll have confidence in life when we have large muscles and great physical strength. This whole idea puts the emphasis in the wrong place.
Satan may be more powerful than us, but we have control over him. One demon was stronger than the seven sons of Sceva. Before the seven could reach the front door of the house, one demonized man overcame them, wounded them, and tore off all their clothes (Acts 19:16).
Jesus has given us authority through His name over all the strength of Satan and his kingdom. A policeman standing in an intersection simply raises his hand and traffic comes to a halt. He doesn’t have to be a big, muscular man. The cars, buses, and trucks are more powerful than the police officer and could easily run over him. Yet, the drivers of these powerful vehicles recognize the officer’s authority. They stop at a simple hand signal and go when he allows them to go. They know if they resist his authority, they’ll face the power.
The police officer simply calls the station and the police department will bring more officers, guns, and dogs if necessary to stop the lawbreaker. Power backs authority. When we as believers use the name of Jesus, all hell comes to a halt. We may not be big or physically strong, but Satan must stop. He knows if he runs over us, he’ll have to face the power—AGAIN. He faced it once, at the cross, and lost. Jesus has given us authority over all the power of Satan!
2 CORINTHIANS 9:1-15
“He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). This verse is saying that there’s a direct relationship between the seed we sow and the harvest we reap. Another way of saying this is: You can determine your harvest by the amount of seed you sow. In the natural realm, this is an indisputable fact. No one would argue that a farmer’s harvests are proportional to his sowing. We would consider a farmer crazy if he sowed very little seed but expected a big harvest. Yet in the spiritual realm, people do this all the time. Many people give very little money, if any at all, to the Lord and then wonder why He doesn’t supply their needs. That’s crazy! Big harvests demand big sowings. A farmer doesn’t just plant seed from what he has available. He predicts what his needs will be and then sows enough seed to meet those needs. He borrows money if he has to, but he sows enough seed to meet his projected needs. What are your needs? Is the money you’re giving to the Lord’s work enough to reap the harvest you want? If it isn’t, then you need to increase the money you’re sowing into God’s kingdom.
