Jesus said, If
you love Me, you shall keep My Commandments. John 14:15. So many people,
today, want to live a modern, secular lifestyle, but still wear the
title of a Christian. They are no more than the pagans or heathens
who worship an idol or false god. He that loves the world, the
love of the Father is not even in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is
of the world and the world will pass away, but He that does the will
of God shall abide forever. I John 2:15-17 They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. II Timothy 2:19
How
can we possibly
live the life God called us to live? No matter how hard we try, it
always seems to be a bit out of our reach. The Apostle Paul told the
Romans in chapter 7 how whenever he would try to do good, evil was
present and he would fall short. But God provided a way for us to walk
in His ways. It is not by our works, but through faith. The
just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4 Not by
works of the law. For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9
Faith
is a revelation.
By
faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice unto God...Hebs11:4
How did Abel know what to offer in sacrifice to God? It came by
revelation. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
Word of God. Romans 10:17
I have often heard whole sermons from the text: (As it it is written, I have made thee (Abraham) a father of many nations,) before Him Whom he believed, even GOD, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Romans 4:17. Now to hear preachers preach, the verse is taken to mean Abraham called those things that be not as though they were, but if you read this according to its context, Abraham believed in GOD WHO calls those things that be not as though they were.
I believe this is where the deceitful lie came up in the 80' and 90's to "Name it and Claim it". And this lie gave birth to the prosperity doctrine that took over many televangelists and people in the church world. One televangelist who was very much a propagator of this lie recently came forward and made a public confession and repented of his part in this.
But lay that aside and this is still a powerful portion of Scripture. Abraham believed in HIM - in the very One Who spoke, “Let there be light.” And there was light. Gen. 1:3 When God speaks, nature obeys. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalms 33:9 And why does nature obey? It is because nothing can stand before the Word of God. And when we surrender ourselves to the Word of God through faith, the will of our flesh can no longer stand before the Word of God. It must obey.
So, when God says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is not that you have to figure out how to work this out on your own. You have to recognize that He has given the Word and by faith, you can walk in the fulfillment of it. When Jesus commanded the paralytic to "Take up his bed and walk", the man could not naturally do this in himself. But because Jesus is the Word, the paralytic's body had to obey the commandment of God.
Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7 The key here is ASK. In my lifetime, I've heard countless believers COMMAND the Lord. I have often heard preachers tell the devil where to go and what to do. I believe that commanding the devil certainly comes with a level of authority and relationship with the Lord, but more often the devil doesn't move because that man or woman is operating in a spirit of pride and not in sincerity and a true walk with the Lord.
I have heard so often in the ministry of Brother William Branham, he would pray, "Father, I ask that the devil leave this person." I don't remember many times hearing him COMMAND the devil to come out. There's something about humility that causes the heart of God to be moved.
God wants us to ASK. How often did Jesus say, "Ask"? As a child when I would want something from my mother or father, I knew if I walked up and said, "give me this" or even "I want that", I probably wouldn't be as likely to be given it, unless I asked, "may I please have that?" It is a level of respect and we as children of God often mistake our LEVEL of respect and think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Oh how often I have proved the Lord by following His simple command: ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE. Just the other day, after searching high and low through my house for something, I stopped and prayed, "Lord, this is so insignificant, but You promised, SEEK and you shall find. I have been seeking and I'm asking You to help me find." I hadn't even finished my prayer, before the Holy Spirit directed me to look in a drawer and there it was.
He just wants us to take Him at His Word and He'll take us at our word. A good friend of my mother's, Mrs. Dot Bell once told me: "I'm nothing. He's everything. But when Everything takes hold of a willing nothing, something good is bound to happen."
I have often heard whole sermons from the text: (As it it is written, I have made thee (Abraham) a father of many nations,) before Him Whom he believed, even GOD, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Romans 4:17. Now to hear preachers preach, the verse is taken to mean Abraham called those things that be not as though they were, but if you read this according to its context, Abraham believed in GOD WHO calls those things that be not as though they were.
I believe this is where the deceitful lie came up in the 80' and 90's to "Name it and Claim it". And this lie gave birth to the prosperity doctrine that took over many televangelists and people in the church world. One televangelist who was very much a propagator of this lie recently came forward and made a public confession and repented of his part in this.
But lay that aside and this is still a powerful portion of Scripture. Abraham believed in HIM - in the very One Who spoke, “Let there be light.” And there was light. Gen. 1:3 When God speaks, nature obeys. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalms 33:9 And why does nature obey? It is because nothing can stand before the Word of God. And when we surrender ourselves to the Word of God through faith, the will of our flesh can no longer stand before the Word of God. It must obey.
So, when God says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is not that you have to figure out how to work this out on your own. You have to recognize that He has given the Word and by faith, you can walk in the fulfillment of it. When Jesus commanded the paralytic to "Take up his bed and walk", the man could not naturally do this in himself. But because Jesus is the Word, the paralytic's body had to obey the commandment of God.
Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7 The key here is ASK. In my lifetime, I've heard countless believers COMMAND the Lord. I have often heard preachers tell the devil where to go and what to do. I believe that commanding the devil certainly comes with a level of authority and relationship with the Lord, but more often the devil doesn't move because that man or woman is operating in a spirit of pride and not in sincerity and a true walk with the Lord.
I have heard so often in the ministry of Brother William Branham, he would pray, "Father, I ask that the devil leave this person." I don't remember many times hearing him COMMAND the devil to come out. There's something about humility that causes the heart of God to be moved.
God wants us to ASK. How often did Jesus say, "Ask"? As a child when I would want something from my mother or father, I knew if I walked up and said, "give me this" or even "I want that", I probably wouldn't be as likely to be given it, unless I asked, "may I please have that?" It is a level of respect and we as children of God often mistake our LEVEL of respect and think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Oh how often I have proved the Lord by following His simple command: ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE. Just the other day, after searching high and low through my house for something, I stopped and prayed, "Lord, this is so insignificant, but You promised, SEEK and you shall find. I have been seeking and I'm asking You to help me find." I hadn't even finished my prayer, before the Holy Spirit directed me to look in a drawer and there it was.
He just wants us to take Him at His Word and He'll take us at our word. A good friend of my mother's, Mrs. Dot Bell once told me: "I'm nothing. He's everything. But when Everything takes hold of a willing nothing, something good is bound to happen."
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