Laying a strong Foundation

"According to the grace (the special endowment for my task) of God bestowed on me, like a skillful architect and master builder I laid [the] foundation, and now another [man] is building upon it. But let each [man] be careful how he builds upon it, for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." (1Co 3:10-11)

Laying a strong Foundation

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Abide in the Vine

Help Restoring the Church of Jesus Christ

Truth that sets men free, can only be experienced when the Word of God is constantly obeyed and practiced.

TEACHING

MY IDENTITY AND AUTHORITY

AS A NEW MAN IN GOD'S LOVE

Session 1

Reigning through God’s Love and Power

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INTRODUCTION

EVANGELIZING LIKE A MASTER

Luke 6:40 (ESV) A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Learning something new is always important, however, who you learn it from is even more important than that. If you want to be a good evangelist that's fine, but why stop there? Search out the best and learn from them so you can become the best. The greatest evangelist who ever lived was Jesus Christ. In three short years He turned a messed up world outside in and right side up. If we truly want to be great in our evangelistic attempts, then we should go no further than to learn from the greatest of all, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Himself said that it would be enough for those who followed Him to be like Him. He also said to His followers that if they followed Him they would be accepted where He was accepted, and would be rejected where He was rejected.

Luke 10:16 (ESV) “The one who hears you hears Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects him who sent me.”

Jesus knew that we would not always be accepted so it's important to keep the following in mind while we are evangelising. We are to reject absolutely no-one, however please keep in mind that there may be those who will reject us. It's important to remember that they cannot reject you if you are truly acting on behalf of Christ. If you do experience rejection and know you have represented Him fully, it will be Christ they are rejecting, not you. Jesus reached the world through a truly amazing and most powerful demonstration of God's love. Jesus Himself was the ultimate model of what a true evangelist needs to be, so let's read on as we learn from His example.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD

GOD’S WORD NEVER CHANGES

As a believer you must always look to God’s Word as your ultimate guide and foundation. It is obedience to His Word and not the opinions of men that will produce the right results irrespective of your denominational background or upbringing. God’s Word is the final authority.

Psalms 119:89-92 (ESV) Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

The Word of God is fixed. Meaning it is cast in stone and it will never change. In fact, nothing can happen on the earth unless it is first fixed or settled in Heaven. The Word of God is like a framework or a blueprint. Since it was established it has been that way and it will never change. In fact, what it said 1000 years ago it still says today. You must decide if you are going to agree with His Word and obey it. You can’t get God to change His mind. However, He wants you to change your mind to agree with His Word. The choice is entirely up to you.

2 Timothy 3:16-17(ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Word of God is meant for:
- Teaching
- Reproof
- Correction
- Training in Righteousness
- Equipping of the Saints for Every Good Work

It is the Word of God that is our guide. We look to the Word for training in righteousness. The Spirit of God inspired people to write the Bible and the Bible is a library of books inspired by Him. We should also understand that not every word written is actually an instruction from God directly, since there are times when people share their own thoughts and experiences that might be contrary to God's way of doing things. However, God's Spirit will not disagree with Himself. So therefore we can be sure that if it is an instruction from God toward us, written in the Bible, that the Holy Spirit Himself agrees with it.

THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD AGREE

GOD’S WORD NEVER STOPS WORKING

In the beginning God said Light be and it is. Do we ever wonder if the sun is going to come up? In fact Scientist say that the universe is expanding in all directions.

Isaiah 55:11 (ESV) “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Lets take the word 'universe' and break it down:
- Uni – Single
- Verse - spoken sentence

We can therefore say that the Universe is a single spoken sentence. Our whole existence is held together by His Word. It cannot return back to God void. God does not continually have to say ‘Light Be’. On the seventh day He rested from His work and yet the sun still came up. His Word never stops working. The principle here is that God only has to say something once for it to come to pass. There are laws of God that we follow even though we don’t think about it. For example the law of gravity - we don’t go floating in air because we decide not to observe the law of gravity. The same with God’s Word, it never stops working even if we don’t observe it.

GOD’S WORD GREATER THAN OUR EXPERIENCES

The first step is to settle the Word of God in your life. Know it is true. It will never change. Start being obedient to it no matter what. God has already said all that He needs to say in the Bible. It is up to us as Christians to establish God’s Word here on earth. It is up to us to enforce the victory that God has already won over His enemy.

LET THE WORD OF GOD BE MORE TRUE THAN YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES AND EMOTIONS

Psalms 138: 2 (KJV) I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Psalms 138: 2 (HCSB) I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your constant love and truth.

You have exalted Your name and Your promise above everything else.

If retained, this must mean that God’s fulfillment of His Word of promise surpasses everything else.
The point of this text is that God is faithful to His promises and is reliable to which He has promised.

THE WORD MADE FLESH

JESUS IS THE WORD

Often when we talk about the Word, we are talking about the scriptures, and there is nothing wrong with that. However to truly see the embodiment of those scriptures, all we need to do is look at Jesus.

John 1:1-3 (ESV) 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 were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

We can clearly see from the very beginning that Jesus was instrumental in the creation of the world. According to scripture, there is not one thing seen or unseen that exists apart from being created by Him. Everything starts with Him and everything ends with Him. He is the Word of God.

Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV) Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,…

JESUS IS THE EXACT REPRESENTATION OF THE FATHER’S CHARACTER AND NATURE.
HE IS PERFECT THEOLOGY

THE WORD ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE WAS SENT FOR

Jesus was sent by the Father to accomplish the task of destroying the works of the devil and setting the captives free. Only once He had achieved this through the cross and His resurrection did He return to the Father.

Since Jesus is the Word, He could not return to the Father before He had accomplished that which the Father intended Him to do.
The accomplishment of Jesus has brought us into a new Kingdom and has liberated us from the tyranny of the Devil.

Psalm 107:20(ESV) He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

Perhaps Jesus’s work is best encapsulated in His model prayer to His disciples in which He instructs them to pray for the Rule and the Will of the Father, on the Earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus saw every work contrary to the way it is in Heaven, as the work of the devil.

Since there is no sickness in Heaven, Jesus healed on the earth. Since there is no demon position in Heaven, Jesus cast out devils on the earth. Jesus was a living ambassador of a foreign Kingdom that was invading the earth and is now established through His finished work.

1 John 3:8 (ESV) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. He set people free from their physical afflictions and demonic influences. Jesus ultimately destroyed all the devils work when He hung on the cross and became our settlement. He settled the debt that we owed and by doing that He took away every legal right the devil had to afflict us.

HE SENT HIS WORD AND HE HEALED THEM

THE WORD OUR ROCK AND SURE FOUNDATION

For many years people have claimed to hear the voice of God and some have indeed heard His voice. Unfortunately some have not. This has given rise to many false religions and cults that are, in-fact, in plain contradiction with the written word and rely on twisting scripture to suit their beliefs.

2 Peter 1:17-19 (ESV) For when he received honour and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

Peter, John and James heard God speak audibly twice. (Baptism and Mount of Transfiguration).
According to Peter, the written word, not the spoken word, is a more sure prophetic word.

Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

Many people have heard voices, but just because you hear a voice, it does not mean that God is speaking to you.
Any voice you hear, or any leading you receive, has to line up with scripture.
Therefore scripture is a higher authority than any voice or vision.
We stand on what God says in His Word.

It is because of this that we hold to a more sure foundation, which is the Written Word of God, that has been expressed and lived out in the life of Jesus.

JESUS IS THE EXAMPLE FOR EVERY BELIEVER

WE ARE TO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE

THE FINISHED WORK

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD

GOD'S POWER REVEALED IN THE GOOD NEWS

God has revealed His Power in the Gospel because He has done what the Law could not do by making his righteousness available to us through that which Jesus did for us on the cross. The Good News is God’s power revealed.

Romans 1:16 (ESV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The word 'salvation' in the original text from the scripture above is the word 'soteria' and it means all of the following:- healed, delivered, protected, provided for and delivered from a life-threatening event.

The Gospel is the power of God for your healing
The Gospel is the power of God for your deliverance
The Gospel is the power of God for your protection
The Gospel is the power of God for your provision

In fact, what God has done is so complete that there is not an area in human life where God will not intervene with His power if we believe the Gospel.

THERE IS NOT AN AREA IN YOUR LIFE THAT GOD HAS NOT PROVIDED FOR IN THE GOSPEL

RECONCILED TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST

Through the Gospel God has reconciled man back to Himself so that man could return to the position of God's intended created value for man.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

All this is from God who reconciled us.
The old has passed away and all things are new
We have the ministry of reconciliation
In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself
God is not holding our sins against us
As ambassadors of the Kingdom, we are entrusted with the proclamation of reconciliation.

Jesus, who knew no sin, was made sin for us so that we may become the righteousness of God in Christ. It was God's intention before the foundations of the earth to deliver man from the tyranny of his enemy. God did this by providing a way of escape for us, by sending Himself in the likeness of human flesh and condemning sin in the flesh, thereby satisfying justice, righteous demands and justifying man by His own blood on the cross.

Jesus was both fulfilling the Old Testament and making a new covenant through His sacrifice. Providing the blessings that come to the righteous as an inheritance to all who are in Him.

TOTAL REDEMPTION

REDEMPTION - GREATER THAN ATONEMENT

Redemption is greater than atonement because atonement was temporary. It only covered over sin. But what Jesus did, redeemed us, and sin was dealt with once and for all. Sin was defeated.

Hebrews 9:11-14 (ESV) But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

JESUS HAS SECURED FOR US AN ETERNAL SALVATION WITH HIS OWN BLOOD

Romans 3:23-25(ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

All are justified by God's grace as a gift through the redemption in Christ Jesus.

JESUS PAID IN FULL

When Jesus paid for your redemption, He paid in full, both for sin and healing. In His provision He provided for both salvation from sin and salvation from sickness. The word salvation means absolute deliverance from all harm and lack.

Psalm 103:2-6 (ESV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

Your soul needs to be reminded not to forget all the benefits of the Lord.
He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases.
Notice that forgiveness and sickness has been coupled together in this verse.
God has judged in favour of the oppressed.
The devil is the one who has oppressed us, and he has held us in bondage through sickness and in sin.

Jesus always attributed sickness to a work of the devil. Not once did He ever say: "My Father has given you this sickness to teach you something". On the contrary one of Gods names states that He is our healer, He is not our oppressor.

SICKNESS IS ALWAYS A WORK OF THE DEVIL

Isaiah 53 (ESV) Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne (Nasa) our griefs (choliy) and carried (Sabal) our sorrows (mak'ob); yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear (Sabal) their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore (Nasa) the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The Hebrew words sabal and nasa are synonyms and in plain English language they mean “To carry for someone something so that they do not need to carry it.”
So when it says that He would nasa or sabal our sickness and our sin that means He would carry for us what we deserved so that we don’t need to carry it.

Matthew 8:14-17(ESV) And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

In the above verse Matthew was quoting from Isaiah 53:4 and the words
"griefs" and "sorrows" were replaced with "illnesses" and "diseases".

Matthew concluded that the casting out of demons as well as the healing of physical diseases is what the prophetic word was about. The reason for this is that the word for "griefs" in Isaiah 53:4 is the Hebrew word "choliy", and it's primary definition is sickness. Under other circumstances it could also mean "griefs". As we can see the context of it's fulfilment leaves very little room for speculation.

Matthew was a first century jew who understood the Hebrew word choliy better than any english speaker today. He considered this event as confirmation of what the prophet had spoken of.

HE TOOK OUR ILLNESSES AND BORE OUR DISEASES

1 Peter 2:24-25(ESV) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

In Isaiah 53:5-6 we can see the prophetic word that has been restated here, almost as if it had been mis-quoted. But no, let us not forget that it was at Peter's house where he witnessed the fulfilment of Isaiah 53:4 in a physical demonstration.

Peter is not mis-quoting Isaiah 53:5-6 but, in fact, he is stating that this has been fulfilled. He is showing us that something has changed from the time this prophetic word was spoken to the time that he was writing the epistle, 1Peter. Something so drastic had happened that it shifted scripture from a promise made, to a promise kept. Isaiah said: "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities" and Peter said: "He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree" Isaiah said: "with His stripes we are healed" and Peter said: "By his wounds you have been healed" Isaiah said: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way". Peter said: "but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls"

THERE WERE TWO PARTS TO REDEMPTION

1. The beating at the whipping post was the first part where His physical body was broken for us, providing us with physical healing.

2. The death on the cross was the second, which provided for the salvation of our spirits and the establishment of the new covenant.

FULLY RESTORED

It was because of Adams disobedience that sin and the effects of sin came to all men. Cut off from the spirit of God. This caused mankind to adopt the wrong identity.

Romans 5:12-14(ESV) Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Adam allowed sin to come into the world.
Sin brought death into the world.
Death came to all because all sinned.
Sin was in the world before the law of Moses.
Sin is not counted where there is no law.

Adam's transgression was greater than any other man because he represented all of mankind and brought all of mankind under sin's control by allowing sin to enter the world. He was a type of Jesus, because Jesus would represent all of mankind and bring mankind into a new way of life, free from sin.

Sin brought death into our world. This means that death was never God's plan. We think of death as a normal part of life but it was not what God intended for us when He created us. Death is the final destination of sickness. In other words, sickness left untreated will result in death.

Galatians 3:5-9 (ESV) Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The hearing with faith, not the works of the law, is why the spirit of God works miracles.
Abraham heard with faith. He believed God and righteousness was accredited to him.
God preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand when He said "In you shall all the nations be blessed"

What did God mean when He said all the nations shall be blessed? How would He bless them? What is the one thing that man needed to be blessed with completely?

Galatians 3:14 (ESV) so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

God knew the greatest blessing He could give mankind was Himself. There is no greater blessing than His Spirit. It was the promised Spirit that we would receive through faith that would bless us.

EVERYTHING COMES OUT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Romans 8:9b-11(ESV) Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

In Christ, even if the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.
The spirit that raised Jesus from the dead in you, will also give life to your mortal body.

If you are born again you have the Spirit of God with you always, because He has taken up residence in you.

GOD DOES NOT WANT VISITATION RIGHTS, HE WANTS HABITATION RIGHTS

God's plan was to bring us back into right standing with Him so that He could make us one with His spirit again. In doing this, God has taken up habitation in all those who believe.

Once we were reconciled to Him, all that was lost would be restored. God's desire is that we should be completely reconciled to Him, in Spirit, Soul and Body.

Reconciliation of the Spirit = The Rebirth.
Reconciliation of the soul = The Renewing of the mind.
Reconciliation of the body = The Healing of the physical body.

If Adam's disobedience could bring a spiritual death that resulted in people physically dying, then the physical and the spiritual are very much connected and not as disconnected as many might have believed.

James 2:26: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

The body cannot be alive without the spirit.
A faith that has no action is not faith.

The spirit is what powers the body. It is where our life comes from. Therefore it would makes sense then, that if our spirits were not connected to the source of life that they would be weakened through sin. When the spirit can no longer sustain the body the body dies. This is the Law of sin and death which was ushered in by Adam that Paul speaks about in the book of Romans.

Romans 8:2-4 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

If the physical act of disobedience could bring about spiritual death resulting in physical death, then is it not logical to conclude that one act of physical obedience on the cross, through Jesus Christ, could in the very least restore our spiritual condition bringing about a restoration to our physical bodies. Yes we can conclude that and much more.

YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

HOW DID JESUS DO IT?

JESUS DID NOTHING OF HIMSELF

The ministry of Jesus was earmarked by His union with the Father. Jesus was in the Father, and the Father was in Him. Even the works that Jesus did, were done by the Father through Jesus. Jesus Himself said He could do nothing of Himself, proving that Jesus did not do what He did as God, but as a man in right relationship with God empowered by the Holy Spirit.

John 5: 19-21 (ESV) So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Jesus did nothing of His own accord.
Jesus did what He saw His Father doing.
Jesus was given the authority to give life as the Father gives life.

Jesus did what He did, knowing that what He was doing, was in line with His Father’s Will. Jesus knew the Heart of the Father, and represented Him. Some people think that Jesus was seeing open visions of God the Father and performing what He saw. But what Jesus was saying is that He understood what His Farther would do in any given situation. The word in this verse used for 'see' is 'blepo' <991> and means to see, discern, or, of the bodily eye. Jesus was using this word in the same way that we would use it when someone explains something to us and we understand it. When you see or discern something you understand it.

EVANGELISM BY DEMONSTRATION

In Jesus ministry He relied mainly on the demonstration of the Word in order to confirm that what He was sharing with the people was in fact from God.

John 14: 10-11 (ESV) Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Jesus relied on the demonstration of power in healing as well as signs and wonders to provide a sign for those around Him that He was from the Father. This is why Jesus said, If you can’t believe Me, then at least believe upon the works.

Jesus clearly taught the superiority of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness in word and in deed. He healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead and cleansed leapers. All to establish the will of God upon the Earth as it is in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (ESV) and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

It is clear from the statement that Paul had just made that he too believed that men’s faith in God should not rest on plausible words of wisdom, but on the demonstration of the power of God. This is a show and tell gospel

THOSE WHO BELIEVE WILL DO THE SAME

Just as Jesus used signs to show people the authority and power of the Kingdom of God; in like manner Jesus said believers would do the same.

John 14:12-14 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus said you would do the works that He did.
Jesus said you would do greater works then He did.
Jesus said this would happen because He went to the Father.
If you ask anything in His name He will do it.

John 17:18-20 (ESV) As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, Jesus's prayer was that we would be sent into the world in the same way that He was sent. Jesus prayed this prayer for disciples and for all who would believe, through their word.

John 20:21-22 (ESV) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

After Jesus’s resurrection He told His disciples that He was indeed sending them, even as the Father had sent Him. This was a fulfillment of what Jesus had asked for in John 17. Not only was this for them, but for all those who would believe, through their word. Today, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you are able to do the works that Jesus did. This is meant to be a sign to unbelievers of God’s goodness towards them.

Mark 16:17-18 (ESV) And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

SIGNS SHOULD FOLLOW THE BELIEVER,

AND IF YOU ARE FOLLOWING SIGNS AT SOME POINT THEY SHOULD BE FOLLOWING YOU

IT’S ENOUGH TO BE LIKE HIM!

JUST LIKE HIM

Jesus came to rescue us from an identity that was never meant for us. He came to show us what we were created to be. Jesus taught His own disciples that it would be enough for them to be Just like Him.

Matthew 10:23-24 (ESV) When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Luke 6:39-40 (ESV) He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

The disciple is not above his teacher or the servant above his master.
They called the master a demon/beelzebul. How much will they call you the same.
When you are fully trained you will be like the master.

Jesus clearly knew that there was a journey, a process to being a fully-fledged imitation of Him. He knew that we would need to learn and gain experience in our understanding before we could truly be all that we were created to be in the re-birth.

Jesus's own disciples followed Him with the expectation that He would train them to do all that He did. This was a common understanding, that you would ultimately be able to do everything your teacher taught you once you were fully trained.

HOW DO WE GAIN THIS EXPERIENTIAL UNDERSTANDING?

GROW UP INTO HIM

God has provided us with what we need to grow up into Christ. By His Spirit He is conforming us to the image of His Son.

Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Jesus gave the church these gifts for equipping the saints.
The saints are to do the work of ministry.
We are to build up the body of Christ.
We must all attain the unity of the faith and an experiential knowledge of the Son of God.
We must attain mature manhood equal to the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ.
We should no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
We must speak the truth in love.
We must grow up in every way into Him (Jesus)

THE MECHANISM OF GROWTH

What is the mechanism that the apostles used to help people grow up into Christ? The following will give you the understanding of the mechanism that Jesus taught His disciples and they in turn taught their disciples.

The terminology they used for this mechanism describes the process of growth from a child to an adult and the process one needs to go through in order to grow. The terminology they used was milk and meat or solid food.

Hebrews 5:12 -13 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

Those who have become dull of hearing are in need of milk once again because the milk is the basic principles of the oracles of God. The milk is the Word of God. The Word of God has the power to nourish us, but if we live just off the milk we will remain children.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

Paul is addressing the Corinthians about the state of their maturity. He is also stating that since they are governed by the flesh, they are not yet able to receive meat/solid food, but that they require milk. The fleshly minded need to receive the Word of God that is able to save their souls. The saving of the soul is the renewing of the mind.

James 1:19-25 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

I Peter 2:1-3 The milk (the Word of God) was clearly the prescription for carnality and immaturity in Christ. But just as sure as you need milk you also need meat solid food.

Any child when they are born lives off of their mother's milk, but after a while meat / solid food must be introduced so that the child's growth is not stunted but encouraged. Similarly, a believer that only lives off milk will stagnate their own spiritual growth if they do not partake in meat / solid food.

HOW DO WE PARTAKE IN THIS MEAT?

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

So here we can see that the writer of Hebrews is defining for us what meat is. It is for the mature. Those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice. Meat / solid food is not the same as milk. In contrast, milk is for babes in Christ and meat is for the mature. The mature are those who are constantly practicing their powers of discernment. What is clear is that meat has a lot more to do with action than milk. James, the brother of Jesus, said it like this:

James 1:22-25 (ESV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

When the milk is received it provides the encouragement needed to act in accordance with God's will, but until the Word of God is acted upon it is only a seed waiting to germinate.

So the milk is the word of God and the meat / solid food is to do the word. This teaching comes from Jesus.

Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV) “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Jesus explains in the following passage of scripture what meat / solid food really is according to Him.

John 4:31-38 (ESV) Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Jesus himself taught that the meat/solid food was to do the will of His Father. The will of God is in the scriptures and in order to do the meat all we need to do is to receive the word/milk and do the word /meat and this is how we grow up into Christ in every way.

JUST DO THE BIBLE AND YOU WILL GROW

WALKING AS HE WALKED

ABIDING IN HIM

Jesus walked in love towards God and towards man. He had a great hatred for evil. We need to take our example from Jesus, and walk in love towards God and towards man.

1 John 2:6 (ESV) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The natural consequence of abiding in Jesus should be a lifestyle that reflects the nature and character of God. Jesus abided in the Father and as a result He represented the Father completely. In fact Jesus was the exact Carbon Copy representation of the Father.

John 14:10-12 (ESV) Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus abided in the Father.
Jesus relied on his works to prove that He abided in the Father.
If we abide in Jesus, we will do the same works as He did.
The works that Jesus did were from the Father, working through Him.
The works that we do, are from Jesus working through us.
We are able to do the same works that Jesus did because He went to the Father.

Jesus was able to do the works of his Father because he abided in him. Just as Jesus abided in the Father so we abide in Him. To 'abide' in this context means to be in Christ and to adopt His nature.

BELIEVERS WILL DO THE WORKS HE DID

John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus is the whole vine and we are a branch in the vine.
If we abide in the vine, but we do not bear fruit we are taken away.
If we abide in the vine and we do bear fruit we are pruned.
The purpose of pruning is to bear more fruit.
Parted from the vine we can do nothing.

Most people believe that we are pruned by the situation and circumstances of life. Some even believe that the trails of life are sent by God to prune us. The truth is Jesus said that his disciples were already clean. The word prune and the word clean are derived from the same root word and both mean to clean or clean up.

Basically Jesus told them that His Word had already cleaned them but He never said anything about hardships cleaning them at all. Trials do arise because of the Word. But the Word comes to prepare us for the trials and tribulations so that we may be ready to stand in the mist of the storm. When we are pruned or cleaned by the Word, we receive the needed instruction to succeed in bearing more fruit in our lives. When we look at the parable of the sower we can also discover that persecution arises because of the Word. It is important to remember that we have an enemy that cannot afford to let the Word produce fruit in our lives.

Because of this, satan will do everything he can to confuse, persecute and distract us in order to prevent the Word from producing fruit.

James 1:2-4 (ESV) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We should rejoice when we face trials because our faith will be tested.
The testing of our faith produces steadfastness, so let it have it's full effect.

LEAVING YOU PERFECT AND COMPLETE, LACKING NOTHING!

WALKING IN THE NEW NATURE

Before we come to Christ, we are governed by the desires of our flesh and motivated either by fear or reward. But now we have been recreated in our spirits to be just like Jesus.

Ephesians 4:17-24 (ESV) Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are to no longer walk according to our old self and it's deceitful desires.
We are to walk according to our new nature that we have put on in Christ.
This new nature is created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
This new nature is like God in every way, and has been given to us in Christ.
To understand this new nature we must look to the originator, God himself.

1 John 4:13-21 (ESV) By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The word of God clearly teaches us that God Himself is Love, His character and nature embodies love. He was Love from the beginning and He will always be Love forever.

In the beginning, when God created man, He said, "Let us go and make man in Our image and likeness." It was God's plan from the beginning for man to have His nature.

God created us to look like Him and to be like Him. We were intended to be a carbon copy of God. In fact, there is nothing in the known universe that was created in God's image and likeness other than us. Through the fall we became the opposite of what God intended for us to be. But now, through Jesus, our nature can be restored because we are now born from God Himself and are recreated after His image and likeness.

AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THE WORLD

LOVE, YOUR NEW NATURE

God is Love and as He is so are we in this world. Many people have made the mistake of looking for love when we were created to be Love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (ESV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

The Word is clearly teaching us that we can do all these things and still not gain anything without love. Faith can work without love, even gifting can work without love but it will profit us nothing.

Love describes our new nature and this is what we need to remember. We are not becoming Love but rather we are Love and we get to demonstrate or manifest what we are.

Often when you read this chapter, you will begin to judge your life by the standard of Love saying, "I need to be more patient." or "I need to be less irritated." What you end up doing is creating a whole new set of laws to live by.

When you do this you are denying the nature of Love that you were created with. You do not need to be more patient. You need to know that you have unlimited patience available to you in any given situation.

JESUS THROUGH YOU TO REACH OTHERS

THE LOVE OF GOD THROUGH HEALING

HAVING COMPASSION

Compassion is different from sympathy and empathy because it does not stand idle while people are treated unjustly. Compassion will rise up and defend the weak and the innocent.

Matthew 9:35-10:11 (ESV) And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

When Jesus saw the multitudes and saw that they were in great need. He ordained His disciples and gave them authority over devils to drive them out, as well as to heal the sick. He did this out of compassion. He saw the need and acted on it.

Jesus did not ordain the disciples because they had reached a level of spiritual maturity, but because there was a need that needed to be met. Jesus also did many of His miracles motivated by compassion.

Compassion is mentioned too often for us to ignore. It motivated Jesus to do many of the things that He did.

Jesus healed the sick because of compassion - Matt 14:14
Jesus healed the blind man because of compassion - Matt 20:29-34
Jesus healed the leper because of compassion - Mark 1:40
Jesus cast out devils because of compassion - Mark 5:18-19
Jesus fed the multitude because of compassion - Matt 15:32
Jesus raised the dead because of compassion - Luke 7:11-16

Whenever Jesus had compassion something miraculous happened. Jesus was motivated by compassion. Jesus truly loved us and was aggressive towards the things that would aim to rob us of the fullness of life God the Father wanted us to have.

It ultimately was His love for us that drove Him to the cross. It was at the whipping post and on the cross where Jesus destroyed the works of the devil once and for all. We are motivated by compassion because the love of God compels us to act on behalf of those who are now illegally being oppressed.

SETTING THEM ALL FREE

A careful study of the gospels will show that there was not one instance where Jesus ministered to any one that was sick or a demoniac and they did not get healed or delivered. Jesus never failed and He is our example.

Matthew 4:23-24(ESV) And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.

JESUS HEALED THEM ALL

Luke 4:40-44 (ESV) Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The Woman, the Male Child and the Dragon

WHAT ABOUT JESUS IN HIS OWN HOMETOWN?

Mark 6:1-6 (ESV) He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.

Notice it does not say, "Jesus tried to heal those of His own home town, but He could not heal anyone." Even though that is what is believed by many. What it does say is: He could there do no mighty works because of their unbelief, except he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them.

THE ONES HE LAID HANDS ON WERE HEALED

So you could say that He healed them all (all the ones He laid hands on). No one in Nazareth got healed on their own faith but rather on the faith of Jesus. The unbelief of the people of Nazareth likely kept them from coming to Jesus to be healed.

Even under these conditions, Jesus was still able to heal. So, if Jesus can heal even in His own home town after His own neighbours have become offended at Him, then so can you.

LESS IS MORE

Very often when you are praying for someone they will inevitably give you a whole history lesson about how this illness came upon them. Without being insensitive, the reality is that we do not need to know every detail. Jesus himself did not require a diagnoses in order to set people free.

Mark 10:51-52 (ESV) And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

At times Jesus asked what they needed and granted it to them and that was enough to get the job done.

Matthew 9:20-22(ESV) And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

At other times Jesus only needed to be touched in order for the sick to be healed. Jesus did not need to know anything about the sickness in order to know that whatever it was, it had to go.

JESUS WOULD HEAL WITH A COMMAND OR A TOUCH

HOW TO MINISTER HEALING:

Determine the problem: Name of sickness, symptoms or what the person is unable to do.

Attack: Cast out, evict, command the spirit of infirmity/name of sickness/ symptoms to leave. Lay hands where possible. Anoint with oil if available.

Check: Ask the person to check for changes. It’s good to do a check before you minister so that you have something to measure against. If there is no change, attack. If there is a slight change, attack. If there is a significant change, attack. If complete healing manifests, praise.

Praise: Give thanks to Jesus and testify of what happened.

JESUS HEALED WITH A COMMAND OR A TOUCH

WE SHOULD DO THE SAME

DEALING WITH FAILURE

REASONS FOR FAILURE

The only true failure is failing to respond. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Jesus spoke of several things that could be the True reason for Failure

UNBELIEF

Matthew 17:19-20(ESV) Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

TRADITIONS OF MEN

Mark 7:13 (ESV) thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

ENTANGLEMENTS

2 Timothy 2:4 (ESV) No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

NOT RECOGNIZING ALL THAT IS WITHIN YOU

Philemon 6 (ESV) and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

LACK OF ENDURANCE AND PATIENCE

Hebrews 10:36 (ESV) For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

DOUBLE MINDEDNESS

James 1:5-8(ESV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

NOT ESTABLISHED IN THE LOVE OF GOD

Ephesians 3:17 (ESV) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

FEAR OF FAILURE

1 John 4:18-19 (ESV) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

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DISCIPLINES AND DECLARATIONS!

THE TONGUE HAS POWER

What we speak carries power, it will have either a positive or negative consequence in our lives.

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Whatever circumstance you face, you have the choice to speak l life or death over it.
What we say will bear fruit.

James 3:3-5 (ESV) If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

OUR WORDS ARE SO POWERFUL THAT IT HAS THE POWER TO DIRECT OUR LIVES.

IT CAN SET THINGS INTO MOTION

SPEAKING THE WORD OF GOD

Speaking out God’s word is a powerful weapon which can strengthen our faith. It will also redirect our situation to God’s will.

Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Ephesians 6:17 (ESV) and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God is a powerful weapon which will assist when a breakthrough is needed in spiritual warfare. Choose a Bible verse that God has spoken to you, or is significant to your situation that you wish to change.

Personalize it by changing the wording to relate to you and your situation.
Use the present tense. Have the mindset that it is finished.
Speak in Tongues Daily
Boldly confess the Scriptures over your life daily.

Bellow is an example of how we have taken a series of scriptures and personalized them as part of daily declarations.

Father, Your Word is true.

I believe your Word. I can do what is says I can.

I believe what it tells me about who I am.

I acknowledge every good thing that is in me, that is also in Christ Jesus, who lives through me.

It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

I died, was buried, and was raised up with Him.

I sit in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers, even sickness and diseases. I command sickness to GO! and it flees. I tell poverty to GO! and it goes.

God has given me the ability to create wealth so that I may establish His

Kingdom on the earth. I’m healthy, strong and an overcomer, because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I tread upon serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall by any means hurt me, nothing will touch my family or come near my household.

I have the authority over all the ability of the enemy.

Every weapon the enemy attempts to form against me will not prosper.

I do not have fear, but I have the spirit of Power, Love and a Sound mind.

I am patient, I am kind, I don’t rejoice in evil doing.

I am not irritated nor am I envious. I don’t look for love I am love.

I have clarity of thought, because I keep my mind on Jesus and He is praise worthy.

I stay in perfect peace.

The Law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. I’m free from sin.

Sin no longer has dominion over me, cause I walk in holiness, not in sin.

I walk in His righteousness, I walk in life, not sickness nor death.

I have life abundant!

I have enough life, to give away.

I have life, I have health, I have wisdom, I have strength, I have wealth.

I have love.

I am a life giving spirit that flows constantly into eternity.

I am blessed with every spiritual gift which is from heaven.

Jesus is Lord, over me, and over my house.

He is Lord of my health, and finances, Lord over my family and my property.

Everything I own belongs to Him, and therefore the devil can’t touch it.

Jesus is KING!

The anointing that is in me does not come and go.

Where I go, it goes. The Spirit and the Father dwells in me.

I am so full of God there is no room for anything else.

I am full of life.

When people get around me they get infected with life.

They get healed.

I will make disciples of every nation, telling them that the Gospel is the Power of God unto salvation. I will not use persuasive words, but I will use the power of demonstration so that their faith would rest on the power of God. I do the same works that Jesus did and greater because He went to the Father. My light shines so that all men can see the Father’s love and glorify Him. Amen!

GO!

Hendrik Vorster

Help restoring the truth to Jesus’ church (Act 3:21-23)

Website: http://hvwitness.wixsite.com/cojc/ministry-1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JesusChristChurch7

email: info.cojc@gmail.com

Cell: +27 83 6872408

“Restoration to the original is always the best. Radical return to the way the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated and gave it to His disciples.”

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