*Today’s Scripture:*
“But as for me, I will keep watch for the Lord; I will wait for the God who will save me; my God will hear me.”
*Micah 7:7:*
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
*Lamentations 3:25-26:*
Oftentimes in life we find ourselves in a place of waiting, whether it’s to board a flight or for transportation, for a consultation, for results medical or intellectual, for deliverance, the deliverance of a baby or to be delivered from a situation or for a breakthrough.
And I’m sure that many people can agree, waiting isn’t always a pleasurable experience, especially if you are going through difficulties.
Unfortunately, in most situations we have no option but to wait.
For the nation of Israel, they were in bondage to slavery for 400yrs, through no fault of their own, but because God told Abraham that they would be because the evil of the wickedness of the Amorites had not yet warranted judgement or their destruction. (Genesis 15)
God however have promised that they would come out if slavery with untold wealth.
My friend’s humanity had been in bondage to sin since the fall of humankind in the garden of Eden for thousands of years and God until Jesus was born into this world to take the punishment of our sin upon Himself and liberated us from the power of sin, so we don’t have to be slaves to sin.
As it written: “For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God’s favor and mercy].(Romans 6:14 AMP)
And there was a shift of allegiance, the nation of Israel was delivered from slavery but to serve God not to do their own thing and so are we.
As it is written: “And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose].(Romans 6:18 AMP)
The Bible tells us that not only did they leave Egypt with wealth, but non amongst them were feeble.
As it is written: “He brought them out with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes”. (Psalm 105:37)
My friends, Jesus never only delivered us from the bondage of slavery to sin, He also took our poverty upon Himself so we can be enriched. (2 Corinthians 8:9), He took our infirmities and illness away. (Matthew 8:17)
He became a curse so that we as the Gentiles (Non-Jews) can receive the blessing of Abraham. (Galatians 3:13-14)
The good news my friends is that, because of what Jesus done for us, through His crucifixion, deaths and resurrection, we don’t have to wait for salvation to be free from the bondage of sin.
As it is written; “today’s the day of salvation”2 Corinthians 6:2, which emphasizes the urgency and immediacy of God’s grace and the opportunity for salvation.
It emphasizes the importance of responding to God’s offer of salvation without delay, highlighting the present opportunity for repentance and faith.
It serves as a call to action, urging individuals to embrace God’s grace and make a decision for Christ, rather than postponing it.
So, if you’ve been waiting for deliverance my friends, from addiction or affliction, illness, disease, poverty or lack, wait no more, your deliverance is in your mouth, a call away.
As it is written; For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 AMP)
I can confirm that, when I called upon Jesus, after 14yrs of drug addiction, I was instantly delivered, set free and got saved (confessed and received Jesus as Lord and Saviour) a week later.
Sometimes we find ourselves in captivity through no fault of our own and we need to wait for our release, like some of the people that were taken into captivity to Babylon in the days of Jeremiah.
People like Daniel and his friends, they were faithful to God even in captivity when they refused to eat was forbidden.
Their faithfulness led to them being favored, however they were also targeted.
Daniel’s three friends refused to bow to a golden image and were threatened to be thrown into a fiery furnace.
Even then, they stood firm in their belief and trusted God’s word that states; When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT)
And we all know the story, they trusted God, waited for Him to save them, and He did, not from the fire though, but in the fire.
Some of us are in the fire, my friends we are not alone, Jesus is with us, He is our fourth man in the fire and as we wait on God, we will come out, unscathed, not even smelling like smoke and God will be glorified.
Daniel, refused to obey a command not to pray and was thrown into the lions den.
I’m certain that if was thrown into the den for refusing to stop praying to God, then he most likely prayed more fervently in the lions den.
My friends, it is written, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.
Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT)
My friends the devil will try to get you to stop praying, because he knows that; “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].(James 5:16b AMP)
Don’t stop praying, irrespective of what you are going through, wait on God prayerfully and He will shut the mouths of the lions trying to devour you.
Daniel and His friends were aware from the prophecy of Jeremiah that they had to wait for 70yrs to come out of captivity.
The prophet told the nation of Israel, “build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce,” (Jeremiah 29:5)
My friends while we are waiting for Jesus to return, we should make our lives wherever we are, as comfortable and productive as possible, focusing on building a future there.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation, where we are beaten by life, in a dark dungeon, imprisoned and bound, even though we are doing God’s will.
Like Paul and Silas (Acts 16), instead of turning from God and complaining or cursing God, we should turn to God in prayer and praise.
And like with Paul and Silas, God will cause everything around us to be shaken, the prison doors will open, the chains will break, and the shackles will come off.
And what the devil planned for evil, will turn to good, just like with Paul and Silas, the prison warden and his household got saved and baptized.
My friends, while you are waiting on God, keep laboring in His field as a slave to righteousness, be faithful and don’t compromise your beliefs, stand in faith upon the promises of His word, pray fervently and praise Him.
And like the nation of Israel, at the right time the Lord will deliver you, you will be released from captivity, the fiery trials of life will not consume you, He will shit the lions mouths(your creditors won’t be able to devour you or your possessions) and you will be delivered out of the place of darkness, the dungeon you find yourself in, the chains will be broken and the shackles will come loose.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now therefore fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
*Joshua 24:14-15 KJV*
The past few days this has been very heavy on my spirit, we often hear people say, we all believe in the same god.
So, my thought is, I believe that Jesus is God, so unless you believe the same, we clearly don’t believe in the same God.
In the Bible in John 1:1-14: This passage establishes Jesus as the “Word” who was with God and was God, and who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus stated, “I and the Father are one,”(John 10:30)
When Thomas after Jesus’s resurrection, doubted when the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord.
When Jesus eight days later appeared in their midst, Thomas said: “My Lord and my God,” after seeing the resurrected Jesus, acknowledging His divinity. (John 20:28)
In the Bible Jesus is described as the image of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)
In the book of Hebrews chapter 1 in the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the express image of God, as the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, who upholds all things by the word of His power. (verse 3)
And then God the Father addresses Jesus as “God,” acknowledging His eternal sovereignty and divine authority. (verse 8)
The Bible also states that Jesus is the true God and eternal life. As it is written:
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (I John 5:20 NKJV)
And then again: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,” (Philippians 2:5-6 NKJV)
So, my friends, Jesus is my God, and I say to you today as Joshua said to the nation of Israel. “Choose you this day whom you will serve, as for me, Brendon Roper, I will serve the Lord Jesus, the Christ, my Lord and my God”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him.
But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.
So, when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them,
He that is without sin among you, let Him first cast a stone at her.
And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
*John 8:1-11 KJV*
The other night on a social media chat with a friend, she mentioned something that she has been experiencing chatting with guys that she wasn’t happy about.
And as I was about to comment, the thought came to mind that I was guilty of having done the exact same thing in the past, or similar.
And today’s scriptural text came to mind.
Then I was reminded about a post that recently went around on social media about a female Pastor having been chosen by the American president as a spiritual guide and many religious leaders were not happy about her appointment and literally were exposing her past sins.
In the post that was being circulated, the person that wrote it mentioned that it would be understandable if it was before she was a minister, but what they accused her of was things she done as a minister and according to them, that should disqualify her for the position.
Then a few things started downloading into my spirit, David who was anointed by God and referred to by God as a man after God’s own heart.
Committed adultery after he was appointed as king, the position that he was anointed for.
God sent the prophet Nathan to him, and he acknowledged and understood that according to the Law given to Moses, he was to die for the sin he committed.
However, God under the law, showed him mercy, not giving him the punishment he deserved, but unfortunately, he had suffered consequences for his actions, many consequences which we read about in the Bible.
Then the thought came to mind about Peter, who was called by the Lord Jesus Himself.
And having been discipled by Jesus for three years, chopped a guys ear off when they came to arrest Jesus.
Peter was a fisherman, not a skilled swordsman, so he clearly was aiming for the head and got the ear instead.
Many people talk about how Peter denied Jesus, but Peter’s action when he chopped that guy’s ear off showed that he was willing to die with Jesus, just as he said.
We are often quick to judge, yes, he had denied Jesus after, and I can’t help but think that it was more out of anger than fear.
Jesus rebuked him and healed the guy who’s ear he chopped off, I know what’s it like to assist people and then they turn state witness against you.
However, neither Peter’s action of chopping a guys ear off or denying Jesus, disqualified him from his calling.
Instead, when Jesus was resurrected, he named Peter specifically when He instructed the ladies to tell the disciples that he was resurrected.
And Peter was the one that preached at the first mass crusade that harvested 3000 souls and then the next that harvested 5000.
We are quick to disqualify people, quick to judge people, Mary Magdalene was judged and criticized by a religious leader when she broke a bottle of costly nard oil an anointed Jesus and washed His feet with her tears and wiped it with her hair.
Jesus said: “who has been forgiven much will love much,” she never counted the cost when it came to Jesus.
And she was at the cross when he was being crucified and at the tomb after, that’s the difference between religion and relationship.
My friends, Jesus said; “Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV)
The Bible states: “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again,” (Proverbs 24:16a NKJV)
Oftentimes we want mercy for ourselves and judgement for others, that’s the nature of humanity.
And sometimes we forget where the Lord delivered us from and we ourselves become religious and judgmental.
When I got a revelation of Jesus, there was only one commandment I hadn’t broken, and it was adultery.
And I used to literally get angry at people that committed adultery and judged them.
And then I ended up committing adultery as a Bible college graduate, while doing ministry.
I disqualified myself out of condemnation, my friends, it is written: “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 GNT)
God is love(1 John 5:8), He loves us and doesn’t want to punish us, however, He is just and must punish sin.
And He laid our sin upon Jesus, Jesus settled the debt of our sins, past present and future.
So, we are not punished for our sins, however, God will discipline and correct us, as it is written: “For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:12 NKJV)
And again; “And have you forgotten His encouraging words spoken to you as His children?
He said, “My child, don’t underestimate the value of the discipline and training of the Lord God, or get depressed when He has to correct you.
For the Lord’s training of your life is the evidence of His faithful love.
And when He draws you to Himself, it proves you are His delightful child.”
For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected? We all should welcome God’s discipline as the validation of authentic sonship.
For if we have never once endured His correction it only proves we are strangers and not sons.
And isn’t it true that we respect our earthly fathers even though they corrected and disciplined us?
Then we should demonstrate an even greater respect for God, our spiritual Father, as we submit to His life-giving discipline.
Our parents corrected us for the short time of our childhood as it seemed good to them.
But God corrects us throughout our lives for our own good, giving us an invitation to share His holiness.
Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11 TPT)
Unfortunately like with David, there were consequences to my actions, but thank God for His mercy, through which I never received the punishment I deserved.
In today’s portion of scripture, we read that the religious leaders of the day brought a woman that was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus who was at the temple at the time.
Interestingly they brought her alone, there are many sins we can commit on our own, but adultery isn’t one of them.
That shows that they already judged unfairly, the man involved was either one of them or bribed them.
They were sure to throw the book at her, reminding Jesus what the Law given to Moses stated, that her sin was punishable by death through stoning.
We read that Jesus knelt down and started writing on the ground, my friends the temple floor was made of cut stone.
Jesus writing on it with His finger, is symbolic of God writing the first set of the ten commandments with His finger.
By doing this, Jesus was indirectly letting them know, I AM He that wrote and issued the commandments.
We are not told what Jesus wrote in the dust on those stones, we can only assume it was most likely the commandments.
And as He wrote, we read that the crowd started dispersing, from the elders to the youngest as their own conscience convicted them, after Jesus said that the one without sin should cast the first stone.
My friends, the Bible is clear that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NKJV)
My friends, God does not condemn us, However, the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin.
As it is written: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
(John 16:7-8 NKJV)
As Jesus wrote, they probably remembered the times they broke the law, loving people or things more than God.
Hating or despising their neighbor or fellow human, dishonoring their parents or maybe even having committed the same sin as the woman they brought before Jesus.
And so, we read, that Jesus looked up at her, I can only imagine that at that moment, she was overcome with fear as He looked at her and she realized, here was one that was without sin and had the right to stone her.
However, He asked her a question, ” where are your accusers? Has anyone condemned you?”
And she responded referring to Him as Lord, that there were none and no one condemned her.
Then He said, “neither do I, go and sin no more.”
Right there, confirming and putting to practice the words He preached, when He said:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 NKJV)
Her reference to Jesus as Lord, means she believed in who He was and therefore was not condemned.
My friends there are some of you, reading or listening to the audio of this message that are in condemnation, because of past sins, and are punishing yourself unnecessary.
My friends, Jesus did not condemn that woman, because according to 1 John 2:2, Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, not just for a specific group or individual.
His sacrifice covers the sins of everyone, offering forgiveness and reconciliation to God, to all who believe in Him.
It is written; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I John 1:9 NKJV)
That is not only applicable to our sins before we get saved.
As it is written: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2 NKJV)
This portion of scripture was written to believers, as the Apostle referred to them as my little children.
And the Bible states: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12 NKJV)
So, before you judge or accuse anyone, whether an unbeliever or fellow believer, even a minister of God that has fallen into sin.
I say to you, what Jesus said to the accusers of that woman caught in adultery.
“He who has no sin cast the first stone.”
And I close with this Scripture: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:10 NKJV)
I need to clarify that grace is not a license to continue in sin, as Jesus said to the woman, “go and sin no more.”
The Bible states: “Awake to righteousness and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34), which means to be fully aware of your righteousness in Christ and therefore live a life free from sin; essentially, to actively choose to live righteously and not engage in sinful behavior.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
*Daniel 3:15-18 NKJV*
There are many people who currently find themselves in very difficult circumstances and the pressures of the world are trying to get them to compromise or make them believe that they are beyond saving and that no one can deliver them.
My friends, if you have put your trust in the One true God, the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel and of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ.
And you abide in His word, if you are a hearer and a doer of the word, you can be assured, that irrespective of what you are faced with, He is able to and He will deliver you.
The three Hebrew young men in our text today, were confident in God’s ability to save them.
From the moment they were taken into captivity, even in those circumstances, they refused to compromise and defile themselves in any way.
Their minds were made up and their obedience saw them being favored and promoted.
However, the favor that was bestowed upon them, just caused their enemies to be more determined to destroy them.
Some of us has taken the decision to stand firm in our beliefs and experienced the favor of God, however that has made the enemy more determined to destroy us, to force us to compromise.
My friends, our God is faithful, He is not a man that He should lie, He fulfills His promises and does what He says He will do.
These young Hebrew gentlemen saw God’s promise in Deuteronomy 28, that states, “if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord to carefully observe all His commands, you, would be set high above the nations and the blessing of the Lord will come upon you,” manifest in their lives even in captivity in a foreign land.
So, they had no doubt that what God promised in His word when He said; “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:2 NKJV)
Listen my friends, if you are a hearer and a doer of the word you will not fear because you will be like the wise man Jesus spoke about in one of His parables when He said:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV)
Obedience to the word of God will make you confident in His ability to deliver, you will trust His word knowing that it cannot and will not fail.
And so, you say, man of God, I am in a difficult situation, I am a believer that Jesus is the Christ, but I have been compromising regarding the word.
Well to you the Lord is saying;” Return to me and I will return to you,”(Malachi 3:7)
Listen if you backslid, then slide back, the Bible states; for thus says the Lord: “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord ; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord ;‘I will not remain angry forever.
Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.
“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord;“for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:12-15 NKJV)
My friends, God is gracious and merciful, but His grace requires acknowledgement of our sin and repentance and then He brings restoration.
Don’t be like Samson who kept disobeying the Lord’s instruction and woke up only to discover that the power of God was no longer active in his life. And ended losing his strength and vision, grinding the mill for the enemy.
But even then, when he called out to God, God delivered him and he ended up killing more of the enemy than during his lifetime.
The Bible states: “For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
Listen no one is excluded, whoever means whoever, saint or sinner, rich or poor, black or white, wrong or right, irrespective of religion or ethnicity. If you call on the name of Jesus, He will deliver you.
I am confident because He delivered me and therefore am confident that He will deliver me from what I’m currently facing and from whatever I will be faced with in the future.
The three Hebrews made up their mind that they were not going to serve any other gods nor bow down to the golden image.
My friends, your deliverance starts with your decision to trust God, even if you can’t trace Him.
They said: “our God is able and will save us.” Do you believe that God is able to and will save you?
Even though they were faced with certain death, in a fiery hot furnace, they said, “our God will save us and IF NOT,” that wasn’t a declaration of no faith in God, that was a true declaration of faith.
If you truly have faith in God’s ability to deliver, you won’t be afraid to lose your life.
Like our Lord, you will be confident in God’s ability and trust His promise to resurrect you, when Jesus returns.
Nobody can kill a true Christian, our life doesn’t end with physical death. I firmly believe that, that is why I know my God will deliver me.
Yes, He will deliver me, you can have that same assurance if your faith is in Jesus.
The man whose son was delivered from epilepsy, said to Jesus, “I do believe, help me in my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) And that’s what some of us should be saying.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
*1 Samuel 30:6 KJV*
There is a saying; ” When days are dark, friends are few.
We all have moments in life when we feel sad, down, despondent and distressed.
Sometimes the pressures of life can be overwhelming and can trigger a nervous breakdown, an angry outburst or an abrupt resignation.
My friends, irrespective of how pressured we feel, irrespective of how alone we feel or even are in our distress.
Irrespective of how impossible our circumstances my seem, or how severe the reality of it may be.
We always have someone we can call out to, who is able to assist us and deliver us out of any situation and turn our defeat into a victory.
In our foundational text today, David, of whom God said; “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”(1 Samuel 13:14 & Acts 13:22)
A man that was anointed by God to be the future king of Israel.
Finds himself in a situation, in distress, because his camp was raided, his people, including his wives and children taken captive and his loyal friends turned against him.
However, David didn’t quit, instead we read that he encouraged himself in the Lord.
Firstly I want to say, it doesn’t matter how much you love the Lord or how anointed you are, in this world, you will have troubles.
As Jesus Himself said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace.
In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.](John 16:33 AMP)
My friends like David and Jesus, when we are in great distress, we should encourage ourselves in the Lord.
How you ask? Great question, in the book of 1 Samuel 30:7, we read that David asked the priest to bring him the ephod.
The ephod was a priestly garment, used for priestly duties, which most likely included prayer.
So, when we read that David requested the ephod, it follows with the words,” Then David enquired of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 30:8)
So, David was clearly praying to God. Most of the Bible interpretations of verse 6, states that David, strengthened himself in the Lord.
When we look at the life of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus. When He was distressed, He went to the mount of Olives with three of His disciples to pray.(Mark 14)
He left them and continued a little further on His own and an angel came and strengthened Him and He prayed more earnestly.(Luke 22)
My friends, we encourage ourselves and are strengthened through prayer.
Prayer does not only allow us to express ourselves and what we feel to God, like Jesus did, it also enables us to hear from God, like David had.
In David’s case, the Lord directed him to pursue the enemy and recover all.
My friends, irrespective of how bad things are, God is able to turn it around in our favor and cause us to retrieve everything that was lost and more.
In Jesus case, He was strengthened for His purpose, if God doesn’t deliver us from it, He will give us the strength to endure and go through it.
Jesus had to endure death on a cross in order to experience the resurrection.
Whatever God allows us to go through, we can be assured that we will arise out of it, more glorious.
Listen my friends, if you are distressed, encourage yourself in the Lord, seek Him in prayer.
He will either direct you and give you the strength to retrieve it all and more.
Or He will send His angel to strengthen you, to endure.
Even so, you might have a Friday experience, where it feels like crucifixion day, BUT you can be assured, that Sunday is coming, and Sunday is resurrection day.
Our God is the God of the impossible, nothing is too hard for Him, He can and will make a way where there is no way.
Maybe you are listening to or reading this message and are saying, “man of God, I’m in distress but am not anointed by God, I’m not a believer.”
Well, don’t despair, you can still encourage yourself by praying to God.
The Bible states, “For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
Trust me, I can attest to that, as most of you know, I was in distress, high on cocaine, coughing chunks of blood, charged with attempted murder.
And when I fell on my knees and said, “God if you are there and Jesus, if you are real, I need your help?”
Then God supernaturally delivered me, healed me and kept me from prison.
He turned my life around, gave me the strength to endure and restored me.
Listen, this weekend past, my soul was sorrowful and the Lord, through His Spirit, reminded me about David.
And I am encouraging myself in the Lord in prayer, prayer ushers us into the presence of God and in His presence, there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)and the joy of the Lord is our strength.(Nehemiah 8:10)
This message is birthed from my experience.
Oh! I’m going to the enemies’ camp, and I’m going to take back what he stole from, because of Jesus, the enemy is under my feet and my victory is assured.
My friends, there’s no need to be in despair, fall on your knees and encourage yourself in the Lord.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.
*Mark 11:24 AMP*
In the natural, people would say, ” seeing is believing” or i’ll believe it when I see it.”
The quote, “seeing is believing” suggests that if someone sees something, they are likely to believe it.
Believing is Seeing, but Seeing is not Believing.
The nation of Israel, saw many miracles, they saw the plagues, they saw the parting if the Red sea, they saw manner fall from Heaven and water gush forth out of a rock.
But they still doubted, that God could give them the promised land and an entire generation perished in the wilderness, because of that, except for two Joshua and Caleb.
Unbelief caused and entire generation to die in the wilderness, because they chose to believe the report of the majority.
The ten spies that gave a report, said what they saw, that the land offered everything God said, but they allowed the giants they saw to cause them to fear.
Joshua and Caleb on the other hand, did not allow what they saw, to cause them to fear, because they, believed God’s word, that He would give them the promised land and they got to see what they believed.
There are many people, that irrespective how many things God deliver them out of or does for them, still refuse to believe in His ability to enable then to experience Heaven on Earth, or to heal them or prosper them.
It’s in the nature of the natural man to doubt. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, witnessed Jesus raise the dead, the widow of Nain’s son(Luke7), he heard about Jairus daughter (Mark 5) and witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus.(John 11)
Yet after the crucifixion and death of Jesus, when the other disciples told Him Jesus was resurrected and appeared to them.
He said; “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”(John 20:25 AMP)
In his case, Jesus met him at his point of faith, and eight days later appeared to the disciples while he was present and then told him not to doubt.
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NKJV)
My friends there are certain things that God will do to cause us to believe.
As it is written: “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did.” (John 2:23 KJV)
However, in the final days of His earthly ministry, Jesus emphasized the importance of praying in faith.
He explained that the one praying should “not doubt in his heart” but should have “faith that what he says is going to happen.” (Mark 11:23)
Why? Because those who doubt cannot “expect to receive anything from God.” (James 1:5-8.)
My friends the Bible states: “No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 GNT)
The Bible further states: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (I John 5:14-15 NKJV)
My friends, we will believe that we will have what we ask for in prayer if we believe it’s His will and His will is made known in His word.
That’s why it’s important to know His word, the Bible states: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will](Hosea 4:6a AMP)
If you know His word, you will know that it’s His will to heal because He sent His word and healed them(Psalm 107:20), Jesus is the word(John 1), and He went around doing good and healing all who were affected by the devil.(Acts 10) and by His stripes we are healed.( Isaiah 53 & 1 Peter 2:24)
We will know that it is His will to provide and supply our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
So whether your need is to pay your rent, your bond, school fees, transport, equipment for your business or ministry, food or clothes
God will provide, Jesus said that God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies and we are much more worthy than they.
So we can believe we receive what we need and then we can have what we believe.
My friends, it’s God’s will for us to prosper, as it is written: “Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].(3 John 1:2 AMP)
And He doesn’t want us to live in poverty, as it is written: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV)
Lsten, Jesus didn’t only come so that we can receive forgiveness of our sins amd go to Heaven and live eternally in God’s presence one day when we die.
He came so that we can have an abundant life and experience Heaven on Earth.
As He said, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
And when He taught His disciples to pray, in the prayer He told them to say; ” your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”(Matthew 6)
So my friends, I encourage you today, believe and receive.
“The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 3:9 GNT)
So, start by believing for your salvation.
Some of you listening to or reading this message needs to have a mind renewal, so you can believe God’s word.
As it is written: “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.
Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect.” (Romans 12:2 GNT)
Our thoughts become our words, our words become our beliefs, our beliefs become our actions, our actions become our habits, and our habits become our realities.
Believe and receive today, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Hebrews 11:1 KJV)
“Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.
Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
*Nehemiah 4:15-18 NKJV*
The dictionary describes the word guard as a verb, to watch over in order to protect or control. Or protect against damage or harm.
As a noun, a person who keeps watch, especially a soldier or other person assigned to protect a person or to control access to a place.
Everyone one of us has something to guard, whether it’s ourselves, our heart, our mind, our mouth.
Whether it’s our families, our possessions, our beliefs.
We have a responsibility to protect those entrusted to us and to control access to our thoughts, hearts, children and properties.
Most people build walls around their properties to guard it, with gates in order to control access.
In life upon this earth, there is a battle between the force of light and darkness, between God and satan.
And as the age we are living in draws closer to an end, it’s more important now than ever to be on guard.
One of the most important things believers in Christ needs to guard at this point in time is the truth of the gospel.
As believers we need to heed the instruction of the Apostle Paul, which he wrote to Timothy stating.
“Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14 NLT)
The “truth” refers to the gospel and sound doctrine.
Believers are called to protect the truth of God’s Word against false teachings and cultural pressures.
Previously Paul wrote to him saying: “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.
Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all.” (1 Timothy 6:20-21 NLT)
My friends, God’s grace is made available to us to triumph over sin and the forces of darkness.
As it is written: “So then, the law was introduced into God’s plan to bring the reality of human sinfulness out of hiding.
And yet, wherever sin increased, there was more than enough of God’s grace to triumph all the more!” (Romans 5:20 TPT)
So, shall we then continue in sin that grace may abound?
Paul replies with a resounding “God forbid” (Romans 6:2).
To desire to continue in sin shows a misunderstanding of this abundant grace and a contempt for Jesus’ sacrifice.
We have people perverting the truth of the word of God under the guise of grace.
As it is written: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4 ESV)
Therefore, my friends, we should carefully control the doctrine or teachings we give access to.
My friends, grace accepts us as we are, but grace won’t leave us as we are.
Grace accepts, the drug addict, the homosexual, the murderer, the adulterer, the drug dealer, the thief, the racist and bigot.
But it makes the power available to us, to transform us into the image of God’s son.
Grace caused Moses a murder to become a minister, enabled Rahab to go from being a prostitute running a brothel, to becoming a part of the people of God and being included in the lineage of Jesus.
Grace enabled David to repent from adultery and murder and call out to God and say, “Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalms 51:9-11 NKJV)
My friends, there’s no sin too great for God’s grace, no bondage that grace can’t deliver you from.
When I called out to God in my distress, a crack cocaine addict, coughing up chunks of blood charged with attempted murder.
Grace saved me and changed me from a sinner to a saint.
Grace changed the Apostle Paul, from a religious bigot, who persecuted the church, the believers in Jesus Christ.
To becoming what could be referred to as the greatest advocate of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Openly declaring: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 NKJV)
My friends we need to be on guard and defend the truth of the gospel, because therein lies the power of God to save, heal, deliver and set people free.
The truth is the good news of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
My friends, we should never let our guard down.
We should guard our mind, because the Bible states, “If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 CEVDCI)
And we should guard our heart, as is written: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
We can guard our mind and heart by staying focused on the truth of God’s word.
As it is written: “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV)
When our mind is focused on God’s word, which is truth, as Jesus said; “Your word is truth.”(John 17:17)
Then we won’t worry but will pray in every situation we find ourselves in and the peace of God will guard our heart’s and mind’s.
As it is written: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)
My friends, Jesus Himself is the Word (John 1) and the Truth (John 14:6)
When we guard the truth of the word, of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don’t only guard our heart and mind, it will enable us to put a guard on our mouth, to guard ourselves, our families and our possessions.
We have to be on guard, because the enemy, the devil, is constantly on the prowl, trying to attack.
As it is written: “Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.” (1 Peter 5:8 CEVDCI)
In our foundational text, Nehemiah and the people with him, were busy rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, they encountered resistance, the work was briefly stopped but then resumed.
The plans of their enemies were exposed and brought to nothing, so Nehemiah and the people, had to resume their work and be on guard and they rebuilt with one hand and a weapon in the other.
The leaders were behind the house of Judah, Judah means praise.
There are many of us, rebuilding the wall of our life, on the foundation of Christ and the word of God.
We have experienced resistance and some of us stopped briefly, the Lord however has revealed the plan of the enemy to us and the enemy has been overcome by Jesus, so his plans if stay in Jesus will be brought to nothing.
So, we need to be on guard, and continue to rebuild and with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God constantly beside us.
Our battles are not physical but spiritual and our weapons are not carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strong holds.( 2 Corinthians 10:4)
So we need to put on the full armour of God, as stated on Ephesians 6:10-18.
And we need to praise God in our trials, not for it but in it.
My friends, now is the time, more than ever to be on guard and protect our faith, by protecting the truth of the word, thus protecting ourselves, our families and our possessions.
I leave you with the words of Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
“Be on guard and stay constantly alert [ and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.” (Mark 13:33 AMP)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what.
*Psalms 119:112 CEVDCI*
If you don’t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you. (E. Stanley Jones)
“There is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind.” ( Lewis Gordon)
Many people, believers in Jesus included are overcome by life’s challenges and lose the battles they face, because of a wavering mind.
If you waver, you cannot decide about something or you consider changing your mind about something.
Most of the battles of life, are won and fought in our mind, everything we do or believe is based in how we think.
In today’s portion scripture, taken from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, the Psalmist declares, “I have made up my mind, to obey your laws forever no matter what.”
My friends, when we are undecided in life, we won’t accomplish anything and certainly won’t get anything from God either.
As it is written: “He who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does.
A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:7-8 ICB)
There’s a verse in the Bible that states: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a NKJV)
Yes, the full verse taken in context talks about a selfish person who is polite to his guest but inwardly his heart is resentful.
However, that first portion which was just quoted, also emphasizes the power of thought in shaping one’s life.
It can be used to inspire us to take control of our thoughts, and in turn, take control of our destiny.
The Bible states: “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (Proverbs 4:23 GNT)
My friends, we can change our life by changing our thoughts, and we can live victorious upon this earth by making up our mind to be obedient to and live according to the laws of God.
And it’s not a once off decision, daily we have to take the decision and chose to do so.
Transformation begins in our mind, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)
When we get a revelation of Jesus and believe in Him as the Saviour, as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, we get a fresh start and basically are created new and then are transformed into His image.
As it is written: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)
And again: “All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into His likeness in an ever-greater degree of glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 GNBUK)
Not only are we renewed and being transformed into the image of Jesus, we also are given the mind of Christ.
As the scripture says, “Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give Him advice?” We, however, have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16 GNT)
Having the mind of Christ means that we understand God’s plan in the world to bring glory to Himself, restore creation to its original splendor, and provide salvation for sinful mankind.
My friends, by grace through faith, not works of religion or self-effort we are saved, become a new creation, are being transformed by the Spirit who is Christ and given the mind of Christ.
The grace of God, then enables us to act on our faith and we need to make up our mind and do what the Bible says.
We need to put on the new man, as it is written: “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT)
We put on that new nature by meditating on the word of God, as it is written:
“In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.
Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions.
And the God who gives us peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 GNT)
When we set our mind on the things of God we will have peace, as it is written:
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV)
When we meditate on the laws of God, we will do what it says, and our ways will he made prosperous, and we will have great success as God told Joshua. (Joshua 1:8)
So, my friends, like the Psalmist, we should make up our mind to obey God’s laws no matter what.
When fears try to possess us, when disappointments try to discourage us, when the devil tries to destroy us.
When critics try to condemn us, or unbelievers try to deceive us, when gossipers try to ruin us or people try to persuade us to live an ungodly life.
Our mind should be made up, that we won’t turn away from God.
It’s so important for us to understand this, because if we don’t learn how to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), we won’t live the life Jesus died to give us.
A life of peace with God, peace with ourselves, great relationships, real joy and the ability to become all God has created us to be.
Jesus made up His mind that He was going to be obedient unto God, even unto death on the cross and now He is seated at the right had of God and He has been given the name above every name in Heaven and Earth, the only name by which people can be saved.
My mind is made up, to follow Jesus, I’m not turning back, I firmly believe that if I die in Him, I will be resurrected with Him.
The pain in all our lives may seem at times too great or even to severe for us to endure.
Nevertheless, we must have a made-up mind to serve the Lord through it all!
I’ve got my mind made up.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
*Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV*
Trust is defined in the dictionary as a noun, as the firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.
In life, whether we want to or not, we all have to put our trust in someone or something.
When you enter into a relationship or marriage, you trusting that your spouse will be faithful.
When you send you child to a day care or school or get a nanny, you trusting the person or people you leaving them with to care for and protect them.
When you book a ride, or get onto a taxi, on a bus, board a plane or a ship, you putting your trust in the person operating it.
When you enter into a contract and start employment, you are trusting the other party to honor their part of the agreement.
When we vote for people to govern us, we trust that they will act in our best interest.
Unfortunately, we have all had experiences where our trust was broken, where the ones we trusted weren’t reliable, truthful or didn’t have the ability to do what they promised.
With that many people developed an attitude that you can trust no one, even though we are forced to trust people, like pilots, employers, partners etc.
Then we have a tendency to put our trust in ourselves, our skills, our abilities, our knowledge, our strength, wealth or our possessions.
And even then, there’s a possibility that it could fail us.
If you doubt that, then think about people that were diagnosed with a terminal disease, had the best medical care available to them, some took great care of their health, eating healthily exercising, before, during and after their diagnosis, and lost the battle.
My friends, the only one we can trust fully, is the Lord, the creator of Heaven and Earth and everything that exist, the God of, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, the God of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We can be assured of His reliability, He told Noah that the earth will be flooded, instructed him to build an ark that would keep him and his family safe and to take livestock with to ensure their survival and to continue their existence.
He said it would rain for 40days, and nights and it did. (Genesis 9)
He told Abraham to leave his people and go to a place that He would show him and that he would prosper him and make a great nation out of him and that through him the nations of the earth will be blessed.(Genesis 12)
And He done what He said, He fulfilled His promises to Abraham.
He told Moses that He would deliver the nation of Israel from the bondage of captivity through him, and He did.(Genesis 3)
Daniel’s friends trusted His word that He gave Isaiah, a 100yrs before they lived, that states.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:2 NKJV)
My friends, God is reliable, we can take Him literally at His word, He controls the elements.
He is God alone, even though He used people, like Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, Peter, Paul and other believers to raise people from the dead.
He didn’t need them, when Jesus died, God Himself raised Him from the dead, as it is written:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11 NKJV)
And again, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”(Romans 10:9 NKJV)
My friends, we can trust God because we can rely on His ability to do whatever He promises and on His power to be able to do it.
We can trust His word, because His word is truth, as Jesus said: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”(John 17:17 NKJV)
Everything I mentioned thus far, should give us the assurance that we can trust God fully, with every fiber of our being.
As the author of our foundational scripture wrote, ” Trust the Lord with all your heart.”
The author continues, by saying: “do not lean on your own understanding.”
When we put our trust in God, we don’t have to try and figure things out or want to have to need to understand the why, why things happened that has happened.
We should trust, that if we are faithful to Him and we find ourselves in the fire or the lions den, that it will work out for our good.
As it is written: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
That incident of the three Hebrews that were cast into the fire, resulted in the king of Babylon acknowledging God as the true God and got them promoted.(Daniel 3)
My friends, I don’t know what you have or are going through, all I know is that if you trust God in the process, even though you can’t trace Him, it will work out for your good.
Jesus on the cross, felt forsaken according to Scripture (Matthew 27) but then He said, “Father into your hands I commit My spirit.” (Luke 3)
He trusted God even in death, knowing that God would resurrect Him as He told His disciples. (Matthew 16)
Abraham according to Hebrews 11, reasoned that God would be able to raise Isaac from dead, that’s why He trusted God when God told him to sacrifice Isaac.
He wasn’t leaning on his own understanding trying to figure it out.
He had faith, he trusted God, we know that from the account that is given, when he told the servants that they should wait, he and the boy would be back.
And said, to Isaac, that God would provide when he asked where the sacrifice was.(Genesis 22)
In our foundational text it says that; “in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”
When we trust God we need to trust Him fully, with everything, for our salvation, our provision, our health, in our relationships.
Basically, we need to rely completely on God for everything, place our confidence in Him in all aspects of life not just in certain situations.
We have to let go of control and accept that God knows what’s best and that He is in control, just like we trust that the pilot will get ius to our destination when we board an airplane.
We must believe that God will fulfill His promises, even in difficult times and put God’s will first in our life, above our own desires or plans.
And when we do that, the last part of our foundational text states, He will direct our paths.
The Bible states: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 NKJV)
And again: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18 NKJV)
My friends when we trust God, firstly for salvation and put our faith in Jesus, accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour, as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Through our faith in Jesus, we become the children of God (John 1:12) and as His children we are led by the Spirit of God and are not under the law, that is caught up in religion trying to obtain things from God in our own effort.
And our footsteps will be divinely ordered by Him, He will give us insight and vision.
So, I encourage you today to trust in God.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture: *
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
*I Timothy 6:12 NKJV*
Many of us has heard the phrase; “Life is a battle”, it is a metaphor that describes life as challenging and full of obstacles that require effort to overcome.
In many ways life is a battle. A battle against our self-destructive tendencies, our weaknesses and fears.
A battle against our mortal nature and the limits of time.
A battle against bad habits and people who try to pull us down
Life can be challenging and require effort to overcome obstacles.
Most people, believers and non-believers in Christ are engaged is some form of battle.
For some it may be a battle against fear or anxiety, a battle regarding their health, a battle to hold onto their marriage or employment, a battle with their children or a financial battle.
If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved.
In today’s portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul is encouraging Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.
My friends, contrary to some teachings, when we put our faith in Jesus, our battles don’t stop, we don’t board the pleasure boat of life or have access to a genie that pops up and say, “Your wish is my command.”
No, we board a battleship, and become part of the army of the Lord, to enforce the victory that Jesus obtained through His crucifixion, death and resurrection.
We enter into a battle against the forces of darkness.
As it is written: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;(Ephesians 6:12-17 NKJV)
As I heard a mighty woman of God say the other day, “we don’t put on armor to go to a coffee shop.
Many believers in Christ Jesus are being defeated in life because they are oblivious to the fact that we are in a battle.
We are not fighting to get victory, we fighting to take hold of the promises of God made available to us through the victory that was obtained by Jesus at the cross.
My friends, the Lord has not left us powerless, the Bible states:” For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (II Corinthians 10:4-6 NKJV)
We are not called to engage in physical fighting, it’s a spiritual warfare, where the weapons used are divine, not human.
It’s a faith battle, through which we lay hold of the eternal life to which we have been called, as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy.
Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly as He stated in the book of John 10:10.
He never only came to came to give us eternal life, which we obtained by grace through faith, not through any good works of our own so that none of us can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Faith is required to obtain the gift of eternal life, as it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
My friends, everything else Jesus obtained through His victory on the cross, we lay hold of the same way as we do of our salvation.
By grace through faith, believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth.
Grace enables us to take of God’s promises by faith.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”(I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV)
From scripture, grace clearly is given, not so that we can sit around and wait for things to happen.
Grace enables us to work harder, to put in the effort we need to take hold of the promises of God by faith.
The Bible states that we have all been given the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3)
And Jesus said: “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21).
So, we have all the faith we need, to make the impossible possible to go from poverty to prosperity, to go from sickness to health, from being broke, busted and disgusted to being rich, victorious and self-confident.
To see your marriage turn around or child being delivered, to obtain the promotion at work.
To get your needs met, to cast out demons.
So, you say, man of God, I do believe but that’s not happening.
Listen to what James the brother of our Lord wrote: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19-20 NKJV)
The works of faith involve acting on the word we are trusting.
For Abraham he had a word and then acting on it by leaving his homeland and simply following the call.
As you start to live by faith you will be stretched to do what the bible tells you to do.
Jesus gave a parable of the wise and foolish builders, about two men who built houses, one on a rock and one on sand.
Both structures experienced the same weather conditions, but listen to what Jesus said:
“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25 NKJV)
My friends, building our house on the rock starts by believing in Jesus, because Jesus is the Rock as it is written in the book of 1 Corinthians 10:4.
But then we have to apply the word in order to stand firm against the storms and in the battles of life, Jesus said, “the wise man, hears and does.”
When we hear the word of God our faith is stirred up, as it is written; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. “(Romans 10:17 NKJV)
My friends in fighting the good fight of faith, you need to do something, and that is to search the scriptures for the word pertaining to your situation.
Healing, finances, marriage, children, listen to it or read it allowed until you believe it and if you believe it and say it you will have what you say.
As it is written: “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says”. (Mark 11:23)
God said to Joshua: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)
The fight of faith my friends is simple, speak the word, meditate on the word, apply the word and your ways will be made prosperous, and you will have good success.
At times we need to apply fasting and prayer, as Jesus said; “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21 NKJV)
So, my friends, put on the full armor and gear up for the fight of faith.
By grace through faith in Jesus, you will receive the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness. (Acts 16:31 & Romans 10:10)
By meditating on the word, you put on the belt of truth, as it is written; “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”(John 17:17 NKJV)
Put on the shield of faith by listening to the word, to scriptures pertaining to your circumstance. (Romans 10:17)
Then use the sword of the Spirit by declaring the word of God.
The Bible states: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12)
Put on your gospel shoes by proclaiming the gospel, irrespective of your circumstances.
And finally, pray and praise God in your circumstances, when the Apostles Paul and Silas were imprisoned, they prayed and praised, and the earth shook, and the prison doors opened, and the chains broke, and the shackles were loosed. (Acts 16)
Praise is a powerful spiritual weapon, when the armies came against king Jehoshaphat.
He sent the praises out before the army and they got the victory.(2 Chronicles 20)
Note they didn’t praise after the battle, they praised as they entered the battle, because the victory was already assured.
Just like ours is because of Jesus. When praises goes up, the glory and the power comes down.
It’s not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)
My friends, the Lord has called me to equip you for the battle.
So that you can take hold of the eternal life that you were called to and possess what Jesus obtained the victory for, health, wealth, prosperity, righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Ghost.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
*Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV*
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
*Hebrews 10:36 NKJV*
I think we can safely say that everyone, from children to adults are aware of promises.
Parents makes promises to their children, that if they behave or pass, they will be rewarded for it, in relationships couples makes promises to each other, maybe a man makes a promise to marry a woman when they agree to be in a relationship.
Politians make promises to people in order to get their votes.
Companies makes promises to their employees, that they will get a bonus if they reach their targets etc.
Sadly many people break their promises.
My friends, people may break their promises or fail to keep them, however, we can trust God to keep His promises.
The bible states: “Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus.
In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.
God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us.
By His Spirit, He has stamped us with His eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what He is destined to complete.”(2 Corinthians 1:20-22 MSG)
According to theologians there are 7487 promises of God in the Bible, made to humankind.
There are some promises of God that are unconditional, and the fulfillment rests solely with the Lord.
Two examples are: after the great flood destroyed everything, God gave Noah (and the world) an unconditional promise that He would never again send a global flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:8–17).
Many years later, God unconditionally promised King David that his royal line would last forever (2 Samuel 7:16).
On the other hand, most of the promises of God are conditional, if a promise is conditional, fulfillment depends on certain requirements being met.
Therefore, we have a responsibility in order to see those promises fulfilled.
And that is what I feel laid on my heart to share, in order to encourage you to pursue the promises of God.
Many believers don’t see the promises of God manifest in their lives because they are not applying the principles of God’s word in order for it to manifest.
The first thing that we require, for any promise to be fulfilled is faith, we need to believe the promise.
The Bible states: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
God gives us a promise of eternal life, that is made available to everyone but has to be obtained by faith.
As it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)
It doesn’t mean we won’t die a physical death in this life, unless Jesus returns while we are alive.
However, we are assured that even if we die, we will live through faith in Jesus, as it is written: “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25 NKJV)
All we need to obtain the promise of eternal life, is faith in Jesus, no additional works.
As it is written: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
You cannot earn you salvation by obedience to the Mosaic laws or any religious rituals or through good works.
However, there is no such thing as Universal Salvation.
There is no such thing that everyone is saved automatically, because God wants them to be.
God always requires action by man. People need to realize that God has already done everything that He needs to do to get all of the people on the earth saved.
However, that does not mean everyone is saved or will be saved.
Jesus tells us clearly in Revelation 3:20, that He is standing at the door of the heart of man, knocking and that clearly indicates that He wants to come in.
The conditional part of the verse clearly states that the person on the inside is required to hear the knock and open the door to let Him come in.
There are conditions to people getting saved. People are required to act appropriately and let Christ in.
By putting our faith in Him, believing and trusting in what He done through His crucifixion, death and resurrection soley for our salvation.
The Bible further states: ” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
From that portion of scripture, we understand that confession, which is speaking or declaring, along with faith, is required for salvation.
Romans 10:17 states that “Faith comes by HEARING the Word of God”.
Proverbs 18:21 states that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof”
In other words what we say will influence what we have in our lives.
Jesus, in Mark 11:22-23, says: “Have faith in God. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him (according to God’s will)”.
Most of the promises of God, like healing, peace, deliverance, strength is obtained by believing and speaking.
The promise of prosperity and good success, along with believing and speaking, requires action, applying God’s word.
As it is written: “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to DO according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your MOUTH, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to DO according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:7-8 NKJV)
Note, let it not depart from your mouth, that’s confession or declaration.
If you are faced with a problem, whether it’s illness or financial challenges for example, you need to pursue God’s promise of divine health and prosperity by searching the Scriptures pertaining to it then declaring it until you believe it.
Romans 10:17 (ESV) says that “Faith comes by HEARING the Word of God, the more you say it out loud to yourself, the more your faith is stirred to a point where you actually believe what you say, then you will have what you say.
Faith my friends is not denial; HOWEVER, it is not speaking what you feel or see but what you want.
The Bible states in Joel 3:10, “Let the weak say, I am strong.”
Notice that strength is first something we confess with our mouths.
We SAY to ourselves, “I am strong.” Note, too, that the Bible doesn’t say we were strong or that we will be strong.
If it’s financial, we apply the same principle, except that we will need to do what the scripture says, like sow a seed.
The Bible states that every seed produces after it’s own kind(Genesis 1:12), a practical example is, if you plant tomato seeds you are not going to get potatoes.
HOWEVER, ff you have tomato seeds and want to harvest tomatoes, you need to plant the seeds, and you might have to prepare the ground or soil in order to plant the seeds and then you need to water the seeds in order to get tomatoes.
My friends, God has given us His word, that has everything we need in it, that is the seed and our heart is the soil as Jesus states in the parable about the sower.(Matthew 13)
In Joshua 1, God told him to meditate on the word that He may observe to do what it says.
The Bible states: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 NKJV)
My friends, God told Joshua; “that you may observe to DO according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”(Joshua 1:8)
If we truly have faith and believe something, we will act on it, faith requires action.
As it is written: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18 NKJV)
If you are in financial difficulty and you truly believe the word of God, you won’t question tithing and offering or sowing, you will apply it.
Now listen, when you decide to apply the word, tribulation will arise because of the word as Jesus stated in His parable of the sower.
Sadly, many people stop pursuing the promises when faced with trials or tribulations and therefore don’t obtain it.
In our first part of our foundational text the writer states that we must show diligence and not be sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Bible states: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NKJV)
And the second portion of our foundational text, says we need endurance so that after we done the will of God we will receive the promises.
When we decide to pursue the promise of God regarding financial prosperity, and we do the word, we apply it and tithe and give.
Suddenly people start cheating us, we go through financial challenges, that’s when we need to be diligent, to patiently endure, to continue applying the principles of giving and tithing.
That my friends is pursuing the promise and God assures us in His word that we will receive the promise.
Whether it’s for your marriage, your children, your healing, your deliverance or provision.
Make the decision to pursue the promises of God.
Believe the word of God pertaining to your circumstances, meditate on it, declare it and apply the word where needed.
As it’s laid upon my heart, you can have faith and gifts and achieve things, but if you don’t build your life upon the word of God, by doing what it says.
When the storms of life comes, whatever you built will crumble.
Fear is one of the reasons many people don’t obtain the promises of God.
Faith, overcomes fear and as the word states, “faith comes by hearing the word of God.”
Overcome your fears by faith.
Today, pursue the promises through the word.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures:*
The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewellery and for clothing. The LORD made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.
*Exodus 12:35-36 GNBUK*
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
*Exodus 12:41 NKJV*
There are many times in the King James version of the Bible where it uses the phrase, “And it came to pass.”
Basically, meaning that it happened.
In today’s portion of scripture, what God told Abraham regarding his descendants slavery and liberation, after 400yrs with the wealth of that nation, came to pass.
As it is written: The Lord said to him, “Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years.
But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them. (Genesis 15:13-14 GNT)
It came to pass just as God had told Abraham.
My friends, when God decrees a thing, or shows us something in a vision or a dream it will come to pass.
He told Noah that He would flood the earth and it would rain for 40days and nights and it came to pass.
He told Abraham that He would make him a father of many nations and that through his seed the nations of the earth will be blessed, and it came to pass.
Abraham’s descendants are numerous upon the earth and through Jesus the blessing of Abraham is bestowed upon the Gentiles.
He showed Joseph in two dreams that his brothers would bow before him and it came to pass.
He sent Samuel to anoint David to be the future king of Israel and it came to pass.
Even in the Greek Scriptures or New Testament, Jesus, being God incarnate, God in the flesh, told His disciples that He was going to be handed over, crucified, resurrected and it came to pass.
He told them that the temple would be destroyed and it came to pass.
Thus, saith the Lord; “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
And throughout the Bible in the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament and the Greek Scriptures or New Testament there are many, many things God said that had come to pass.
And that my friends should be enough to assure us, that whatever God promised in His word and has given us prophecies about or shown us personally, will come to pass.
I’m sure everyone of us has seen things come to pass that was laid upon our heart and that we believed was from God.
In my personal life, one example is us having our own real estate agency, it took five years since the time it was laid upon my heart and it came to pass.
Then there’s the ministry, I gave up on that believing that I messed up and supported someone else’s vision instead.
But, probably 20yrs later, since I intended to register a ministry, when I had no thought of it, the Lord instructed me to register a ministry and what was laid upon my heart after Bible College, came to pass.
My friends, many of you reading this message or listening to the audi0 , have disqualified yourselves as I had, or given up on a dream or vision the Lord has given you.
Well, I’m here to declare to you, whatever God has shown you, or said to you, or promised in His word, shall come to pass.
And this year God is going to do things in a super naturally way and many people will miraculously see things they’ve been believing for come to pass.
And that my friends, is to bring in the great harvest of souls, before the return of our Lord, which like everything else God said will come to pass.
Get ready, because soon you will say, my healing came io pass, my restoration came to pass, the financial breakthrough I’ve been hoping for came to pass.
The marriage and family I’ve been praying for, came to pass.
As the Bible says, Jesus will return, not as the Saviour but the Judge of the world this time.
So, make sure you put your faith in Him, because it shall come to pass.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David.
And David heard of it and went out against them.
Then the Philistines went and made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim.
And David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”
The Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”
So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there.
Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.”
Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.
And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.
Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.
*I Chronicles 14:8-17 NKJV*
There are many people who have stepped into the purpose they have been called for.
By that I mean they are doing what they either always knew in their heart they were meant to do or what was prophesied over their life.
And as soon as they stepped into what they were purposed for, they experienced many attacks.
And with that they feel like they could really do with a break, my friends what we need is not a break but a BREAKTHROUG.
In today’s portion of scripture, we read that David was just made king over all of Israel, which he was anointed by the prophet Samuel for almost 15 years earlier according to theologians.
From the Bible we know the journey from the time he was anointed to the time of its fulfillment he endured many battles.
He stated that he had to kill a lion and a bear to protect his father’s sheep as a shepherd boy, then we know that he defeated Goliath.
Thereafter he married the king’s daughter, lived at the palace and then unfortunately, things turned, and he lived life on the run constantly fighting battles.
Some of us can relate to that, life has been a constant battle, then just when it gets good, things turn and we constantly running, fighting battles just to survive.
Eventually the word given by Samuel is fulfilled and then, all the Philistines mobilized their forces to attack him, probably seeing a united Israel under David as a significant threat.
Again, some of us can relate to that, I most certainly can, after over 20yrs since I was called for ministry and finally having stepped into it and registering a ministry exactly two years ago, I suddenly seemed to have been attacked in every area of my life.
My friends, we are in a real battle, between good and evil, a spiritual battle, as scripture states;
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13 NKJV)
When we step into what God has called us for, we become a real threat to the enemy, our adversary the devil who goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
From the life of King David, we can learn a few things, firstly when he heard of it, he didn’t panic, he didn’t flee, he went out against them.
However, before he entered into battle, he inquired of God, something that seemed to have been his habit and which clearly contributed to his success.
When the Amalekites raided Ziglag, burnt it down and took the women and children captive, of which David’s wives and children we amongst them.
He never rushed into battle, he first enquired of the Lord. Honestly, I didn’t think that something to have been enquired about.
To me you get attacked you respond, but that’s probably why I’ve suffered a lot of defeat personally and couldn’t understand why God never had my back.
Oftentimes we too quick to respond because it seems like the right thing to do, and we tell ourselves, things like, if I’m right I’ll fight.
That’s not however what Jesus taught, he said to turn the other cheek, and rebuked Peter when he took out his sword and chopped a guys ear off.
The Bible states: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (II Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV)
David was a soldier, he knew what he was capable of, yet he never depended on his own abilities, his trust was fully in God.
I honestly am not afraid of any human being, I know I have the heart to take someone out, but therein lied my weakness.
And honestly, it’s only by God’s grace that some people are still alive that came up against me, if it weren’t for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, like many unsaved friends I know, I would’ve left a trail of bodies behind me and thought, they asked for it.
My friends, a carnal mind and attitude will keep us from receiving a breakthrough or from operating in the supernatural and seeing the miraculous.
People like Moses, who knew his capabilities, who physically killed a man but humbled himself, even being referred to in the Bible as the humblest man on earth. (Numbers 12:3) That is why he could be used by God in such a mighty way.
David as we know, was a great soldier and even trained champions that also defeated giants, was humble enough not to do anything without consulting God first.
My friends, the true battle ground, the place we will receive instruction that will guide is to victory and cause us to experience breakthrough, is on our knees.
That’s why Jesus, often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16) He was led by His emotions, even when Lazarus his friend whom He loved died.
He didn’t just rush off to his home, he waited three days. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and so should we be.
David engaged in battle only after he received instruction from God and overcame the Philistines.
My friends we can learn something else from David, and he never kept the glory for himself, he gave glory to whom it belongs.
He said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.”
And that’s how the place got the name Baal Perazim, God of the Breakthrough.
The Philistines we read left their gods, their idols behind and David gave a commandment for it to be burned with fire.
My friends, when God gives us Breakthrough, we have the power and fire of the Holy Spirit through which we can burn any demonic spirit that comes against us.
Listen my friends, from David’s encounter, we can see that the enemy doesn’t let up after we get a breakthrough.
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the Bible states; When the devil had finished every temptation, he [temporarily] left Him until a more opportune time.” (Luke 4:13 AMP)
That is why we must constantly be on guard my friends.
The Philistines once again attacks King David as we read in our foundational text.
And again, David inquired of God and God gave him, specific instructions which he had to follow and this time he drove the enemy way back.
And he became famous, and God brought the fear of him upon all nations.
My friends, when we are attacked, the Bible tells us what to do, “So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 AMP)
Listen my friends, if you are currently under attack, submit to God and inquire of Him in prayer.
Then get ready for breakthrough, because our God is God of the Breakthrough.
And when you receive the breakthrough, give him the glory thereafter of you are again attacked.
Again, inquire of Him and He will go before you and make you famous and instill fear of you in all the nations.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
‘And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord — since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty.
I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord.
‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord ’s temple was laid—consider it:
Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you. ’ ”
*Haggai 2:15-19 NKJV*
Many people, including believers in Jesus Christ, has been going through difficulties, getting or receiving less than what they expected and are in need of showers of blessings.
For many of us, we often don’t consider that the cause is directly proportionate to our own actions, the consequences of our own sins.
Modern ministers don’t preach messages on chastisement and repentance, for fear of offending their congregations and being labeled as legalistic by their peers.
Worried that they will be accused of preaching condemnation and not grace.
As individuals, we convince ourselves that the cause of our struggles, are a result of the economy, or we blame the government, or anyone but our own personal actions.
And therefore, we don’t come to a place of repentance and things get worst instead of better.
My friends, God, the creator of the universe, is a loving God, a merciful God, a righteous God, but, also a holy and a just God.
As a loving God, He desires the best for us, doesn’t want to bring punishment upon us, is merciful and gracious toward us and doesn’t desire for any of us to perish in wickedness but to come to repentance through the saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Whom He sent, out of His love for all of humanity, so that whoever believes in His Son, should not perish but have everlasting life.
He sent His Son, not to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved, not only from eternal condemnation, but from evils of this world, brought about by sin and rebellion. (John 3:16-17 paraphrased by me)
The same Bible, that talks about the love, grace and mercy of God, talks about the wrath, judgment, punishment and chastisement of God.
And His word makes it clear, that we have a free will, because of His love and that our choices, determines our experience. (Deuteronomy 28 & 30:19)
Now don’t choose to misinterpret this message and say that I am saying that every person suffering is being punished by God and that everyone prospering and has obtained great material wealth is being blessed by God.
Listen, the Bible makes it clear that we can suffer and will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Jesus called those people blessed.
And also, that the wicked do prosper, the prophet Jeremiah suffered for righteousness, for proclaiming the truth that God told him to.
And he asked the Lord the question that many of us probably has,” Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1)
Listen my friends, the Bible states: ” Be still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.”(Psalms 37:7)
Now that we have hopefully clarified that, the fact that righteousness people will suffer and wicked people will prosper. Let’s get back to the central purpose of today’s mesage.
In the Book if Haggai, God gave the prophet a word which he was to give to the governor of Judah, the high priest and the people.
Basically, to the government and church of the day as well as to the people at the time.
The people were saying that it wasn’t time to build the house of the Lord, they were clearly ignoring the work on the house of the Lord, yet they were busy building their personal homes and their private lives.
So, the Lord told them through the prophet to consider their ways in order to understand their current circumstances.
My friends, I believe the Lord has given me this message, to anyone who has ears to hear, for us to consider our ways.
Many are saying, it’s not time for them to accept the Lord or repent and build His Kingdom but are focused on their personal advancement.
When God gives a word of judgment, rebuke or chastisement, it’s not with the intention to bring condemnation or despair.
But it is attached with mercy, to show grace and bring hope of restoration and the promise of showers of blessings.
The book of Haggai shows us the results of what happens when the government, the church and people don’t take offense by, or reject, but accept chastisement and correction by the word of God and comes to repentance.
Listen, you might be saying this is Old Testament teaching, well let’s go to the teaching in the New Testament of the very Apostle who’s teachings of grace you preach.
He wrote: “And have you forgotten His encouraging words spoken to you as His children?
He said, “My child, don’t underestimate the value of the discipline and training of the Lord God, or get depressed when He has to correct you.
For the Lord’s training of your life is the evidence of His faithful love.
And when He draws you to Himself, it proves you are His delightful child.”
Fully embrace God’s correction as part of your training, for He is doing what any loving father does for his children.
For who has ever heard of a child who never had to be corrected? We all should welcome God’s discipline as the validation of authentic sonship.
For if we have never once endured His correction it only proves we are strangers and not sons.
And isn’t it true that we respect our earthly fathers even though they corrected and disciplined us?
Then we should demonstrate an even greater respect for God, our spiritual Father, as we submit to His life-giving discipline.
Our parents corrected us for the short time of our childhood as it seemed good to them.
But God corrects us throughout our lives for our own good, giving us an invitation to share His holiness.
Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it.”(Hebrews 12:5-11 TPT)
My friends when we accept the rebuke and yield to God’s correction, then immediately, from the time we make the decision to repent and act on His word.
Like with the people of Judah, the day they accepted the word.
Even though the seeds were still in the barn, meaning that it hadn’t been planted yet and there hadn’t been any fruit on any of their trees or vines.
The Lord declared that from that day they would be blessed.
It’s the same for us, even though our natural circumstances doesn’t reflect it, the minute we come to repentance the Lord pours out His showers of blessing upon our lives.
In our portion of scripture God tells the people pf Judah that He was the one that struck them with blight, mildew and hail in all the labors of their hands, yet they did not turn to Him.
For again, the Scriptures say, “If only today you would listen to His voice.
Don’t make Him angry by hardening your hearts, as you did in the wilderness rebellion.
The same people who were delivered from bondage and brought out of Egypt by Moses, were the ones who heard and still rebelled.
They grieved God for forty years by sinning in their unbelief, until they dropped dead in the desert.
So, God swore an oath that they would never enter into His calming place of rest all because they disobeyed Him.
It is clear that they could not enter into their inheritance because they wrapped their hearts in unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:15-19 TPT)
Hear the word of God, yield to the word of God and open yourself to receive showers of blessing today.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
*Joshua 1:6-9 NKJV*
For many people 2024 was a very tough and challenging year and we entered into 2025 facing the same difficulties.
And with that, many have become battle weary, if I can put it that way.
Many people don’t have the strength to endure. If you are one of those, then I believe the Lord is saying to us, what both Him and Moses, said to Joshua.
Be strong and courageous.
In our foundational text today, the nation of Israel was at the time, where they were to cross over into the promised land.
And at this time, there was a change in leadership, Moses had died, and Joshua was elected to lead them to obtain the land God promised them as an inheritance.
Joshua, was most probably overwhelmed, having served under a leader like Moses, through whom the Lord worked mighty miracles.
Joshua served under Moses faithfully for 40yrs, having fought battles, the first being shortly after they were delivered out of the bondage of slavery from Egypt.
Joshua was a faithful servant, he alone accompanied Moses up the mountain as far as he was allowed and then had to spend forty days alone while Moses went to the top to be with God.
Joshua is symbolic of Jesus, a servant leader, Jesus demonstrated servant leadership when He washed the disciples’ feet, he was a perfect example to them, practicing what he preached.
Joshua had to spend 40days alone, camped halfway up the mountain.
Jesus after the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, was led into the wilderness.
Great leaders are forged in places of isolation, that’s where our faithfulness is tested and when we face great temptation.
Fortunately for us, Jesus showed us how to overcome, by standing upon the word. The anointing enables us to endure, the word enables us to overcome.
Joshua’s task was to lead the nation of Israel into the promised land for them to obtain their inheritance.
Jesus’s purpose was obtain the victory, through the cross, for all of humankind, so that we can obtain our inheritance and possess the earth.
The Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian believers that he was praying for them and this was his prayer.
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
that you may know what the hope of His calling is, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:17-18 NKJV)
When the Apostle Paul appeared before King Agrippa, he shared the following words that the Lord had told him.
“I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,
to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’(Acts 26:17-18 NKJV)
My friends, when we put our faith in Jesus, we not only receive forgiveness of our sins, but we also receive an inheritance along with our sanctification.
Our faith in Jesus enables us to become children of God according to John 1:12 in the Bible and Romans 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory”(NIV).
For Joshua, leading the people into the promised land to obtain their inheritance was a major task and he obviously must have had some kind of fear from such a great responsibility placed on him.
That is why both Moses and God had to tell him to be strong and courageous, Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6 and God in today’s portion of scripture.
Jesus Himself, shortly before His crucifixion, prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and the Bible tells us, that He was greatly distressed to point of sweating blood.
In Luke’s account, an angel from heaven appeared to Jesus and strengthened Him. (Luke 22:43)
With Joshua, God first tells him to strong and of good courage, because he would be used by God to divide the land as an inheritance which God swore to their fathers to give them.
Then God repeats it a second time and adds, “be very courageous”, so that he may observe and do all the law which Moses commanded them and not to turn from it.
My friends, it takes courage to make the decision to live according to the word of God.
Not just to observe it, but to do it. In order to see the word of God work in our life, we have to work the word, we have to apply it.
If you are hungry and people serve you with food, if you just look at it and not eat it, your hunger won’t be satisfied. The same with the word of God.
God continues and tells him not to deviate from the word, not to compromise and tells him why, so that he may prosper wherever he goes.
Many of us have not prospered wherever we go, because we have deviated, from the word of God.
The good news though is, that when we repent and we apply the word, God restores, He is rich in grace and mercy.
Throughout the Bible we can see from the nation of Israel, every time they obeyed, they prospered, every time they disobeyed, they went into hardships, but when they repented, God forgave and they were restored.
God has always been gracious, when David committed adultery and had the woman’s husband killed.
God made him aware of his sin, he repented, was forgiven and even though there were consequences, he was restored and not stoned to death as the Law of Moses required. That’s Grace
God continues in His instruction to Joshua, telling him that the word should not depart from his mouth.
My friend, if you need strength to endure, confess the word, In Joel 3:10 we read, “Let the weak say, I am strong.”
Notice that strength is first something we confess with our mouths. We SAY to ourselves, “I am strong.”
Note, too, that the Bible doesn’t say we were strong or that we will be strong.
Salvation is made availability to us by grace through faith, but we obtain it by confession.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-9 NKJV)
My friends, if we return to God, receive his instructions and put the word of God in our heart.
Then like Job’s friend said to him, “You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.” (Job 22:28 NKJV)
So, the word of God has to be on our mouth, speak the word in your circumstances and watch it change.
When God wanted light, the Holy Spirit was hovering upon the darkness, God spoke light and light came into being.
Light overcomes darkness my friend, in the same way, when we speak the word of God, we will see what we say and overcome whatever darkness we are faced with.
God’s word in our mouth, is as powerful as God’s word in His mouth. We are made in His image, He spoke what He wanted and saw what He spoke, as believers the Holy Spirit dwells in us and He is ready to act on God’s word when we speak it.
God has given Joshua and us, through this portion of scripture, the instruction on how to be strong and courageous.
Observe the word, do the word, speak the word and then meditate on it constantly.
When we meditate on the word, we will observe to do what the word says.
Our actions will follow our thoughts, if we have evil thoughts, our actions will be evil and if we have Godly thoughts, it will reflect in oour actions to.
What’s in our heart, will come out of our mouth and reflect in our behavior.
The Bible states: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2 NKJV)
Constantly meditating on the word of God, results in speaking the word of God, which stirs up our faith as we hear the word of God and then causes us to apply the word of God.
And God tells us the outcome, as He said to Joshua. “For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
My friends, right there is the formula to prosperity and good success.
And our foundational text today ends with God asking Joshua and us.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”(Joshua 1:9 NKJV)
God told Joshua why he could be strong and courageous, because God would be with him wherever he would go.
My friends we too can be strong and courageous because Jesus gave us a promise when He said.
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)
God’s command is simple, Jesus said: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV)
My friends, thus saith the Lord; “be strong and courageous.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
*Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV*
The past few years many people have been subjected to what we can refer to as storms of life.
For some it’s been relationship storms, a rocky marriage, children that have gone off track, sibling disputes.
For others it’s been, a health storm, the diagnosis of a chronic or terminal illness or disease or that of a family member or close friend.
Maybe it’s unemployment, or an unfavourable work environment, challenges in their business or struggling financially because of the circumstances mentioned.
Then there are those who have been living in countries that have been affected by wars, corrupt governments, or living in communities where drug use and violence are prevalent.
And sadly, many are overcome by these storms or challenges, left without hope, depressed and stressed out about the future.
In today’s portion of scripture, the Lord Jesus gives a parable about two people who each built houses on different foundations.
One built his one a rock and is referred to as a wise man and the other on the sand who is referred to as foolish.
The houses are symbolic to people, to our life, the Bible refers to our bodies as the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. (1 Corinthians 5:19-20)
The foundations are what we choose to build our life upon, the wise man who built his house upon the rock, is the person that, hears and applies the word of God to their life.
So in essence, is someone who lives their life based on the principles of the word of God.
The one who built on sand, is referred to as foolish, the foundation of their house is built on sand, on something that is not solid, that can easily be blown away by the wind or washed away by water.
Those are people who build their houses on worldly principles, their trust is in things like material wealth, position or political or worldly power.
In the parable of the Lord Jesus, both houses were subjected to the same forces, rain, floods and winds.
However, the one house stood firm, while the other fell. The one that stood firm, was the one built on the rock.
There is a hymn with the lyrics, “On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand” from the hymn “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”. Written by Edward Mote in 1834.
The phrase “solid rock” is a metaphor that means someone provides a strong foundation of support and stability.
In the hymn, the “solid rock” is Jesus Christ, who is the foundation for Christians.
The hymn suggests that Christians should put their faith in Jesus and not rely on anything else.
Psalm 18:2, states “The LORD is my solid rock, my fortress”
My friends none of us are immune from the storms of life, every married couple experiences problems in their marriage, whether they say it or not, everyone has a child that makes wrong choices and goes off track, or have sibling rivalry at times, even pastors.
At some point most people’s jobs or companies have been at risk, or have found themselves working in unfavourable circumstances, whether it’s a horrible boss or difficult client.
In an economical recess, the majority of people have to deal with financial challenges or suffer losses and then everyone is affected by incompetent and corrupt governments when there’s power cuts and a water crisis.
We all get attacked by illnesses and diseases, most of us got Covid during the pandemic.
My friends, in these times, being a believer isn’t enough to carry you through, we are saved by grace through faith, believing in Jesus ensures us of the gift of eternal life when we die.
But it doesn’t make us exempt from attacks from the enemy or from trials, tribulations and persecution.
That’s where most people chose to misinterpret grace. Grace requires application of the word of God.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.
On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Paul taught justification by faith, so he didn’t labour to earn God’s favour, he doesn’t mention his hard work as an exception to admire, but as an example to follow.
My friends, the labour is not only about doing good works, but we also labour in prayer, as it is written: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” (Colossians 4:12 NKJV)
We labour in the word, as it written: “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” (I Timothy 5:17 NKJV)
I believe that the Holy Spirit has led me to share that, because many believers don’t realise that they have a part to play in order to stand firm in the storms of life and when faced with trials and tribulations.
When they hear grace, they think they are stepping onto a pleasure cruise ship and don’t realize they are boarding a warship.
My friends, we are in a battle that is why the Bible states: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” (Ephesians 6:11-17 NKJV)
As a mighty woman of God I was listening to the other day said, “I don’t have to put on amour to go to a coffee shop.”
Note, twice in that portion of script we are told to put on the full amour of God and then he mentions the word of God as the sword of the spirit.
In another portion of scripture, the Apostle states that in order for us to enter in the rest of God we must be diligent.
As it is written: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”(Hebrews 4:11-12 NKJV)
To be diligent is to put in a constant effort, to be attentive and persistent. Immediately after stating that we need to be diligent, he mentions the word of God, being sharper than a two-edged sword.
My friends, if you want the word to work for you and in order to stand firm in the storms of life, then you need to work the word.
In layman’s terms, you got to apply the word, be a doer of the word.
James the brother of the Lord Jesus, wrote: “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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25 NKJV)
My friends, make the choice today, to build your house on the rock, put your faith in Jesus and apply the word of God in your life.
I received the following today in a morning greeting that I would like to end with:
“When storms come your way, remember you know the Master of the wind.
When sickness finds you, remember you know the Great Physician.
When you heart gets broken, remember you know the Potter.
It doesn’t matter what we face or go through.
Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life. He is everything we need.
The Bible states that Jesus is the Word.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
This is a faithful and trustworthy saying; and concerning these things I want you to speak with great confidence, so that those who have believed God [that is, those who have trusted in, relied on, and accepted Christ Jesus as Savior,] will be careful to participate in doing good and honorable things.
These things are excellent [in themselves] and profitable for the people.
But avoid foolish and ill-informed and stupid controversies and genealogies and dissensions and quarrels about the Law, for they are unprofitable and useless.
After a first and second warning reject a divisive man [who promotes heresy and causes dissension—ban him from your fellowship and have nothing more to do with him], well aware that such a person is twisted and is sinning; he is convicted and self-condemned [and is gratified by causing confusion among believers].
*Titus 3:8-11 AMP*
We are living in a time period, where like in the days of Noah, the wickedness of humanity is great and the intent of the thoughts of the heart are continually evil as the Bible describes those days.
That is evident in our time with people trying to control population growth by releasing made viruses, with the increase of human trafficking and lawlessnes and open demonic activity, satanic worship, mockery of God by celebrities and governments approving unbiblical practices.
And people are going on with life as if everything is normal, as Jesus said we would, even as the people in Noah’s time before the flood.
Then, we have another type of people, those caught up in religion, some fanatical, believing that killing themselves or others is an act warranted by God and that they will be rewarded for it.
Others again are caught up in the law, trying to obtain salvation and righteousness with God, through strict adherence of religious practices.
Then there are those who have received a revelation of Jesus, got saved by grace through faith and now believe they have to follow the laws of Moses in order to be right with God.
The Apostle Paul spoke about them in the book of Galatians, and they are still around today.
False teachers who told the Galatians they needed Jesus and something else to be saved.
These people are against the Apostle Paul’s teachings.
Then there are those who have drifted from the faith, some because they get so busy with the things of God that they neglect their relationship with God.
Others unfortunately drifted because they are caught up with the things of the world, they get caught up with worldly activities, for example, playing golf, going hiking, which there is nothing wrong with, but they become so obsessed that they now compromise their church time for that and start believing they are not religious, that they are spiritual and that church attend
attendance is not important.
Others drift because they become discouraged in their trials and take their focus off the Lord and focus on their problems and like Peter when he took his focus off Jesus while walking on the water beacuse of the wind and waves, started sinking.
Others drift because of the love of money, as it is written: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
So, in today’s portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul, in his letter to Titus, is telling him that the gospel that they preach, is truth, it’s worthy, basically that he can rely on it as truth and can therefore confidently proclaim it, in order to encourage those who believed and accepted Jesus, to do good and honorable things, to do good works.
Now my friends, as believers, we are called to do good works, as it is written: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
This good works, is not to obtain salvation, for the Bible clearly states in the previous verses:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
It’s also not to obtain righteousness, for the Bible is clear, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV)
Righteousness is obtained by faith in Jesus’s crucifixion, death and resurrection as stated in the scripture, we just read.
Because it is written: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT)
The good works we have been created for, is out of gratitude to God for what Jesus had done and that draws people to God.
When for example, we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit those in prison, pray for the sick, care for widows and orphans.
They will then give glory to God, as Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV)
The Apostle Paul in our foundational text, tells Titus that doing good deeds are excellent, profitable and beneficial for all people.
And then He continues in what is our focal point of today’s message.
And that is not to allow ourselves to be distracted by getting involved in foolish disputes.
We should stay focused on and be grounded in the gospel of the Kingdom of God, that Jesus preached.
The good news He proclaimed, when He said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”(John 3:16-21 NKJV)
My friends, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven is a Gospel of Love, a Gospel of Grace, it’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, first to the Jew and then to the Gentiles. (Romans 1:15-17)
It’s a simple gospel, reliant on the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper and accompanied by power.
As the Apostle Paul said: “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (I Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV)
It is a gospel that has power and authority over demons and through which the sick is healed.
Ad it is written: “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2 NKJV)
The power of the gospel is available to all believers, not some, as it is written; “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.(Mark 16:17-18 NKJV)
And that my friends, is why we should keep our eyes stayed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and not get distracted by foolish and stupid controversies and genealogies and dissensions and quarrels about the Law, for it is unprofitable and useless.
As the Apostle Paul states in our foundational text.
People that allow themselves to be caught up in that, he says, causes division, they are twisted and are sinning and therefore are convicted and self-condemned, so they get pleasure out of causing confusion amongst believers.
Therefore, my friends, let us avoid foolish disputes, keep our eyes upon Jesus and boldly proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of Grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and do good works.
If you have a true revelation of grace, it will result in good works.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
*Ezra 6:15-18 NKJV*
In today’s portion of scripture, the nation of Israel after their time of captivity has ended, rebuilt the temple and after it’s competition, they dedicated and re-concecrated it and assigned the priest and levites to their divisions.
This is symbolic to many of us currently as believers, who at some point in our life, have been freed from the captivity of the forces of darkness and been rebuilding our lives for the purpose of God.
And usually this time of the year, at the beginning of the year, many believers go into a time of fast and prayer to re-dedicate their lives to God and consecrate themselves.
Now we understand, there has been a physical temple in Israel that was destroyed and then rebuilt and destroyed again and will be rebuilt for the third time.
That again is symbolic of many of our lives, note I said many not all, we’ve been through phases where we’ve been broken down, some of us self-destructed.
Then we called out to God, He restored us and again we found ourselves in a place of destruction and again are being rebuilt.
So now in our text, the nation of Israel were celebrating the completion of the rebuilding of the temple.
My friends, even though there is a physical temple that is being rebuilt, we as believers in Christ, are the living temple of God.
As it is written: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16 NKJV)
And like the nation of Israel, we who the Lord delivered from captivity and who have been restored by His grace, have a reason to celebrate the dedication of this house of God with joy.
The following lyrics from the song Amazing Grace beautifully states why we can celebrate with joy. Let’s read it:
“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.”
We once were lost in this world without hope, but now are found, were blinded by sin and the pleasures thereof, but got revelation of Jesus and now we see.
Were tormented by various fears, the fear of death, the fear of lack, the fear of loneliness etc, but now we have received a spirit of love, power and a sound mind.
And now through His word we have hope for the future and the assurance of His protection as long as we live and beyond the grave.
In our portion of scripture, we read that the children of Israel and the descendants of the captivity during the dedication, and joyous celebration, offered sacrifices, of bulls, rams, lambs and goats.
When King Solomon dedicated the temple when it was first built and completed, we are told that the king and the people offered sacrifices to God.
My friends, God doesn’t require animal sacrifices from us today, because as the book of Hebrews chapter ten in the Bible clearly states.
That God doesn’t delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, and Jesus completely fulfilled the will of God.
He offered His own body to God once, for all time. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, God has made us clean so that we belong to Him.
And verse 14 of Hebrews 10 states: “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
Even though God doesn’t require sacrifices from us, there are sacrifices that we can make in response to Jesus’ sacrifice for us, which pleases God.
Like sacrifices of praise and good works, as it is written: “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15-16 NKJV)
The Bible also states that we can offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, as it is written: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 NKJV)
Presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice means taking our body, our flesh, with all its desires and ambitions, and laying it down before God as an act of worship and submission to His Lordship.
Our giving can be a form of sacrifice that God receives, like Cornelius whose prayers and alms were received as a memorial before God. (Acts 10:4)
At dedication of the first temple, King Solomon offered thousands of animals after the glory of God filled the place.
Our giving definitely gets God’s attention as we read about Cornelius.
With our sin already forgiven through Jesus’ death, no more death or blood is required.
Instead, we offer our living bodies, every part of ourselves, as acceptable spiritual sacrifices to be used by God for His purposes.
As it is written; “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”(I Peter 2:5 NKJV)
If we talk in the context of spiritual sacrifice, Spiritual sacrifices include the believer’s prayers, praises, will, bodies, time, and talents.
Spiritual sacrifice is surrender of the will. And thus, we allow our life to be worship.
In the final verse of our foundational text it states that the priest and Levites were assigned to their divisions.
That means they were assigned for their duties to serve in the temple.
For the follower of Jesus, at the root, serving is ultimately a form of worship that is a result of one’s experience of the gospel and coming to Christ.
The Bible states: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (I Peter 4:10 NKJV)
The priests played the significant role of standing guard in God’s house, making sacrifices for God’s people, and instructing the people in God’s laws, so that they could enjoy God’s blessings.
When priests did their job, God blessed His people, but when they failed, God’s curses fell on the people.
The Levites assisted the priest and maintained the temple, they were the tribe responsible for the religious leadership of the Jews.
As believers in Jesus, we are kings and priest (Revelation 5:9-10), and as such we are to instruct people in God’s ways, so that they can experience the blessings of God and we are called to be leaders in society.
As such, our prayer should be: “Let My Life Be Worship” and we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to become a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
*Isaiah 49:15 NKJV*
Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. (Mother Teresa)
We live in a world, where sadly many people feel forgotten, forgotten by family, friends, ex-lovers, society and some even feel forgotten by God.
At times, even when you are called by God, have received dreams or visions that you know in your inner being were from Him.
Or you have a strong desire, placed in your heart, that you are assured is of God, regarding your purpose or calling.
Yet the reality of your life, is that of one that has been forgotten by God.
My friends, irrespective of your circumstances, maybe you have been holding onto a promise written in the word of God, or that you received prophetically more than once, and years have gone by, and it seems like God has forgotten about you and His promises.
When we read the stories about the patriarchs in the Bible, I’m sure at times the things they went through, caused them to have felt forgotten or that God forgot His promise to them.
Unless God gives us a specified time, like Noah with the flood where God told him that it would rain 40days and nights.
Irrespective of how much faith we have, we can feel forgotten, like Abraham who is known as the father of faith, who is a model of faith for three of the major religions upon the planet.
After God told him when He called him in the book of Genesis 12, that God would make him into a great nation.
In Genesis 15, when God came to him in a vision, and told him, not to be afraid as God was his exceedingly great reward.
He asked God what He would give him, since he was childless, he reminded God that God had not given him any offspring and that someone else would be his heir, that’s not his biological child.
Listen my friends, Abraham was already wealthy and had many servants, he took 318 trained servants with him to rescue his nephew Lot who was taken captive a chapter before.
So he was already a great nation, but, he never saw it that way, as he had no offspring of his own and obviously felt forgotten.
God then assured him, that his heir will be one that comes from his own body and pointed him to the stars and the sea sand to be a reminder of how many descendants he will have.
Well, it didn’t happen immediately, so him and Sarah got them a surrogate and I’m sure he thought good, he has an heir. But that wasn’t who God intended.
Sarah however, even after becoming a mom though surrogacy, probably felt forgotten and must’ve regretted her decision.
But then, when it seemed naturally impossible because of her age, God promised her a son and at the time He said, He done what He said, and she bore a son for Abraham.
My friends, nothing is too hard for the Lord, no matter how impossible it seems, no matter what decisions you made that you may regret.
God has not forgotten you; He will do what He said He will do, His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Joseph had two dreams in which God showed him that his family would bow before him.
They despised him, threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery, he was falsely accused and wrongfully imprisoned.
There, he interpreted a dream accurately for Pharaoh’s cup bearer and asked him to remember him when he was released.
And the guy forgot about him, until two years later, Pharoah had two dreams that no one could interpret and then the guy remembered Joseph.
My friends, people that you assisted, might have forgotten you, but they are soon going to remember you and your gift will make room for you.
Because God has not forgotten you and the dreams, He has given you will come to pass.
Moses was born in a tine of persecution, divinely spared, weaned by his biological mother, raised as Prince of Egypt, but had a passion for his people.
He however never knew his purpose and so his passion drove him to kill an Egyptian soldier and the next day he intervened in a conflict between two Hebrews fighting.
He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew? “The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?
Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and fled into the wilderness.
He was there for forty years and must’ve forgotten about his purpose, thought it impossible and that God had forgotten him.
Then he had a divine encounter and God used him to set the Hebrews free and made him ruler and judge over Israel.
My friends, you might have had a wilderness experience for years, forgot your purpose, think it’s not possible and believe that God has forgotten you.
Well, get ready for a divine encounter, the Lord is going to raise you up to set the captives free, as a leader of his people and many will be surprised many who have underestimated you.
The nation of Israel was in captivity for 400yrs, as God told Abraham they would be.
Maybe there were people amongst them that were aware of what God told Abraham and shared the story from generation to generation.
However, over the years, they obviously must’ve felt forgotten by God, however they cried out to God.
And God heard their cries, remembered them and delivered them from the bondage of slavery, because the time had come.
Approximately 200yrs ago, God heard the cries of humanity, the time had come for the One who was to deliver us from the bondage of sin and death, and Jesus was born into the earth.
And He declared; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”(Luke 4:18-19 NKJV)
My friends, the Hebrews cried out to God, if you find yourself in any form of bondage, call out to the Lord Jesus.
The Bible states, For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(Romans 10:13 NKJ)
I did and I was, delivered, healed and set free, to serve the Lord.
We are not forgotten.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].
*1 Corinthians 15:52 AMP*
Today I would like to encourage you with the following message that was laid upon my heart to share with but a specific pastor, but that I feel released to share with everyone.
In moment, God can change it, any circumstance, any situation, no matter how impossible it seems, no matter how dark it is, irrespective of the depth of the dungeon, the level of bondage or the prison we find ourselves in.
Many of us has just celebrated, coming out of a very tough and challenging year and entering into the new year.
We however don’t know what to expect, like the nation of Israel, when they were suddenly set free after the Passover.
Even though, they left with the wealth of Egypt and none of them were feeble, they entered into freedom into a wilderness.
They were instructed by the Lord through Moses, to turn around and set up camp in a certain place at the sea, making it look like they wandering around aimlessly.
My friends, to some people, observing your life, it seems like you are wandering around aimlessly and their hearts are hardened toward you, just like with Pharoah and the Israelites.
We read in that account of scripture in Exodus 14, that the nation of Israel left Egypt with boldness.
And while they were in the place the Lord directed them to and done as He instructed.
They were pursued by Pharoah and his army and they cried out to the Lord and complained to Moses, who told them to be still and see the salvation of the Lord.
My friends, most of us have entered into this year with boldness and great expectation, following the Lord’s instruction as was laid upon our heart.
However, some of the problems of 2024 has pursued us, such as bills or debt, or unresolved conflict, work or health issues or financial challenges.
And so, we find ourselves, crying out to the Lord, complaining to and about the pastors, saying every year they are saying or prophesying hope.
My friends, I want to say to you as Moses said to them, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
When the enemy was approaching, the Lord instructed Moses to tell the people to move forward, and for him to stretch out his hand, and said that they would pass through on dry ground.
My friends, those of us who are called as ministers of the word, should encourage the people to move forward this year and we should be ready to operate in the supernatural and see the miraculous as we obey and follow the instruction of the Lord.
And like the Israelites who thought they were finished, saw God in a moment part the sea and make a walkway through the waves.
God will make a way for us, in a moment, where there seems to be no way.
Some of us in doing what God had called us to do, found ourselves taking a beating last year, maybe not physically, and we ended in a dark place, in what seems like a deep dungeon, in shackles and imprisoned by our circumstances.
But late in the midnight hour, of 2024, we nevertheless prayed and praised God in our circumstances.
Listen my friends like Paul and Silas, in a moment, we will see the shackles come off, the chains broken and the prison doors of whatever has imprisoned us open.
Because, like the lyrics of the song, Holy Moment, in a moment everything can change, in a moment miracles are made.
One moment Adam was alone, without a suitable helpmate, and the Lord put him in a deep sleep and in a moment, he had a suitable helpmate, one just right for him, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and they were fruitful and multiplied.
One moment, Abraham was a father of a son born to him by his wife Sarah’s servant and Sarah was barren, probably living in regret from her decision, but they had a promise and even though they were both extremely old and in a moment, she conceived and within a year gave birth to Isaac.
If God has given you a word, hold into it, because Ina moment you will conceive and give birth to your miracle, this year still.
One moment, Isaac was mourning the loss of his mom, and his dad sent a servant to find him a wife.
And then Rebekah’s footsteps was ordered to the well and she done exactly as the servant asked the Lord, of the one that was the right one for his master.
Without any social media, knowing only what the servant told her about Isaac, Rebekah chose to go with them.
Isaac was at the very place, where the Lord provided a well for Hagar and Ishmael, the place she said she saw the one who sees her, where she had a revelation of the Lord.
And Rebekah approached with the servant, he ran toward them, expectant.
Expectation my friends is the breeding ground for miracles.
She saw him, covered her face and when they met, in a moment, her had a wife and immediately, he took her into his mother’s tent, and they knew each other.
One moment, Ruth was a widow, in a foreign country gleaning in a field, was recognized by Boaz, who enquired about her and favored her.
It was not by chance, that he was one of the relatives of her late husband that had the right to redeem her, the one that was meant for her, that’s why the other one never claimed her.
What’s meant for us, God will preserve for us.
Ruth’s mother-in-law, advised her, she done as instructed, availed herself to Boaz and he redeemed her.
And in a moment, she was a wife again, a co-owner of the field and became a mother to a child from which Jesus would be a descendant of.
One moment, Jesus was crucified and died and then in a moment, He was resurrected back to life.
One moment He was giving instructions to His disciples after his resurrection and in a moment, He was caught up and ascended into heaven, just like we will be when He returns.
Listen my friends, in moment whatever situation we find ourselves in, will be completely changed and wondrously transformed if our faith is in Jesus, 2025 will be a year of the supernatural and miraculous.
If our faith is not in Jesus, or we don’t cry out to Him, we will stay imprisoned in the darkness, bound, shackled and chained up.
The Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Bible states that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I called out to Him in my shame, in a moment He supernaturally delivered me from a crack cocaine addiction and now I am walking in His light ministering His word.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
*Luke 11:9-13 NKJV*
Oftentimes many people don’t ask God for what they desire, because of a wrong perception of God.
Some believe that everything has already been set out for us and whatever we are going through or faced with is our lot.
That if for example they are born into poverty that’s their lot, or if they have been born with a certain disability or have a child that has been born with a deformity, they should accept it and some even believe it’s a punishment from God for their sin and that they deserve it.
My friends, in today’s portion of scripture, Jesus encourages His disciples to ask, assuring them that they will be given what they ask for, obviously meaning in accordance with God’s will.
And by that, I mean, you can’t ask for someone else’s spouse, that’s not from God, because His will is made known in His word and His word states that we should not convert our neighbours wife or possessions.(Exodus 20:17)
However, we should and can ask for a spouse of our own, because His word states that He saw that it was not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18)
We were made to procreate as God told Adam and Eve and Noah and his family, to go forth and multiply and replenish the earth. (Genesis 1:28 & 9:7)
My friends, that can only be done naturally by two people that are not of the same gender.
It’s God’s will for us to be healed, because the Bible clearly states that God sent His word and healed them (Psalm 107:20) and again that Jesus bore our sins and by His stripes we were healed.( 1 Peter 2:24).
The Bible also states: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38 NKJV)
My friends, illness and disease is and oppression is clearly from the devil and according to Deuteronomy 28 it’s part of the curse.
The curse came upon the earth because of man’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden, but Jesus became a curse for us when He was crucified so that the blessing of Abraham may be bestowed upon us as Gentiles and so that we can receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.(Galatians 3:13-14)
Listen my friends, even generational curses are broken through the blood of Jesus and as believers in Him we have been redeemed from it.
As it is written: “For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation.
It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, but the precious blood of Christ—who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us.(1 Peter 1:18-19 TPT)
My friends we can ask to be delivered from poverty because that is also part of the curse as stated in Deuteronomy 28 and the Bible clearly states:
“For you have experienced the extravagant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was infinitely rich, He impoverished Himself for our sake, so that by His poverty, we become rich beyond measure.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 TPT)
Listen my friends, God gives power to obtain wealth, as it is written: “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”(Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV)
And as a believer we have the power of God as Jesus said: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NKJV)
We have power to be witnesses for Jesus and being stuck in poverty is not being a good witness of Jesus. Because He took our poverty upon Himself as stated earlier.
It’s not a sin to ask for or have a lot of money, it’s a sin to love money, you can be poor and love money.
I shared those few examples because that is what most people seek or are in need of and can clearly ask for.
Then Jesus continues to say: “whoever seeks will find.” The Bible states, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord .”(Proverbs 18:22 NKJV)
My friends, we have to be seeking in order to find, a wife is a good thing as that scripture states.
And it is written: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11 NKJV)
And we can only walk uprightly, by the powers of the Holy Spirit, not in our strength or ability, because that would be self-righteousness.
My friends what we should be seeking is the Lord, as it is written: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”(Isaiah 55:6-7 NKJV)
Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)
And the Bible tells us what the Kingdom of God is, as it is written: “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17 NKJV)
My friend’s righteousness has been made available to us because God placed our sin upon Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21) and is obtained by faith, as the Bible states that with the heart one believes unto righteousness. (Romans 10:10)
We cannot obtain salvation or righteousness by works as we are saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
True peace, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, peace in the midst of turmoil and calamity, is given by Jesus and can only be obtained by faith in Him. (John 14:27)
Peace and joy are also fruit of the Holy Spirit, as it is written: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)
So, seeking the Kingdom of God and it’s righteousness is seeking Jesus. And He said in our scripture, ‘whoever seeks will find.”
It doesn’t matter who you are, what religion you were born into, Jesus was given to the world because of God’s love for us, not to condemn us, but that through Him we may be saved. (John3:16-17)
Jesus continues further and day, “Knock and it will be opened to you, through prayer we are knocking on Heaven’s door and God says, if His people who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray, turn away from their wicked ways, He will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Listen through faith in Jesus, we are not only the people of God but the children of God.
As it is written: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12 NKJV)
Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9-10 NKJV)
Then in our scripture for today, Jesus continues and gives examples about earthly fathers and how they won’t give their children things that are harmful to them if they ask for basic provisions.
And further states that if we who are evil, can give good gifts to our children, how much more will the Father, God, not give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.
In that statement Jesus is basically saying, the thing we should desire the most and ask for, should be the Holy Spirit, because He is the power to obtain wealth, through Him Jesus was anointed with power to do good and heal the sick, through Him are empowered and we will be enabled to walk uprightly before God.
And through Him we will receive a revelation of Jesus, believe in Jesus and obtain the Kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace and joy, because those things are fruit of the Spirit.
As children of God the Holy Spirit, will lead us, as it is written: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Romans 8:14-15, 17 NKJV)
Listen my friends, through our faith in Jesus we already established that we are God’s children.
He is our Faither, and He will freely give us all things, when we ask.
As it is written; “For God has proved His love by giving us His greatest treasure, the gift of His Son.
And since God freely offered Him up as the sacrifice for us all, He certainly won’t withhold from us anything else He has to give.” (Romans 8:32 TPT)
My friends, I leave you with the words of Jesus.
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed.
*Acts 16:26 NKJV*
The Greek word translated as “suddenly” in the Bible means “without warning” or “unforeseen”.
Some say that these moments in the Bible are not random, but are the result of preparation, obedience, and anticipation.
There are many of us believers who have been in a difficult situation, in a place of pain, a place of bondage, feeling restrained and imprisoned.
For some it’s a physical pain, caused by an illness, disease or injury, for others it’s emotional, heartache, from the loss of a loved one, a divorce or breakup, or because of a wayward child bound by addiction.
Some are bound or restrained financially or in a tough working environment where they are unable to leave because of financial obligations.
And others are imprisoned by fear, lust, an abusive relationship or marriage.
Whatever it is, we are in need of SUDDENLY moment, in which the shackles are broken, the prison doors are opened, and our wounds are treated, and we are healed.
Unfortunately, as believers, like Paul and Silas, or Peter who also was imprisoned, and many people believers and unbelievers alike, we are in the place we at, not necessarily because we done anything wrong.
Maybe like them, it’s because we have chosen to do what we know is right, and we are suffering because of our belief.
If that’s you my friend, Jesus said; “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV)
My friends, pain, suffering, trials, tribulations have been part of everyone who was called by God’s journey.
But then they all experienced a suddenly moment.
Abraham left his people and his country, wondered in the land of Canaan, in the wilderness, went to Egypt and out of fear told Sarah to not say that she was his wife.
And because of her Pharoah favoured Abraham and gave him livestock and servants, through that incident, suddenly Abraham became very rich in livestock, silver and gold.
Listen my friends irrespective of our mistakes, failures, fears and short comings, God will suddenly turn our situation around like He did for Abraham. (Genesis 12-13)
Then Joseph, he was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, was falsely accused of attempted by rape and imprisoned and then suddenly, he was summoned by Pharoah and became the Prime Minister of Egypt. (Genesis 37-50).
Then there was Moses, who went from living in palace, murdered a man, ended up tending his father in law’s sheep in the dessert and the suddenly having an encounter with God and going from being a shepherd to performing miracles and leading an entire nation out of captivity.
Hannah was infertile, struggling to find self-worth, and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.
God heard her prayer and suddenly she conceived and gave birth to a son that was a mighty prophet of God and not one of his words fell to the ground.
She made a vow to God, honored it and bore five more children. (1 Samuel)
David was shepherd boy, going about tending his father’s sheep and suddenly was anointed as the future king of Israel.
From that time, it took 15yrs, and during that period was reticule from his brothers, had to kill a lion and bear to protect his father’s sheep.
Slayed a giant, had spears thrown at him by king Saul, had to live on the run and then suddenly was anointed to be king of Judah and seven years later king of Israel. (1 & 2 Samuel) Trust the process my friends, delay is not deny with God.
Now you might say, well that was them they were special, and I would say to you yes maybe they had a greater purpose than you and I.
However, my friends the Bible is full of stories about ordinary people who had suddenly moments, Rahab who was running a brothel in Jericho, when the walls came down suddenly she was accounted amongst God’s people amd is included in the lineage of Jesus.
I was a drug addict, involved in crime and suddenly I was supernaturally delivered and now am a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know what type of lifestyle you are living but if you are reading or listening to this message, like Moses, like Rahab, like me you going to have a suddenly moment and your life is going to change and God is going to use you for his purpose.
Ruth was a widowed foreigner working in a field and suddenly she was married to the Boaz the owner of the field.
Listen my friend, somebody has noticed you and enquired about you and suddenly you are going to go from being a worker to a co-owner of a company.
In the book of Mark 10 8n the Bible we read about a beggar named blind Bartimaeus, we called out to Jesus amongst the crowd, they tried to silence him, but Jesus heard his cries and asked him what he wanted Him to do for him, he told Jesus and suddenly, immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus.
Listen my friends, the whole world might be calling out to God and people might have been trying to silence you, keep calling out in faith. He will hear your call. For all who call upon the Lord shall be saved.
Because you can suddenly have your spiritual eyes opened, receive a vision for the future or for your business.
Maybe you like the woman with the issue of blood, have suffered for many years and your funds have been depleted, you heard about Jesus and have been pushing through.
She had to have been on knees to have touched the hem of His garment and suddenly, immediately, the blood stopped flowing and she received her healing.
I don’t know what is bleeding you dry, maybe it’s a bleeding heart, I want to encourage you, to stay on your knees and PUSH, Pray Until Something Happens and because suddenly, the bleeding is going to stop, and you will be healed.
The disciples of our Lord were praying together in the upper room waiting in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit.
And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind and the Holy Spirit came upon them like tongues of fire, and they received power just as Jesus said. (Acts 2)
And Peter preached a fiery hot message and suddenly 3000 souls were saved.
As believers we need to keep praying, the Holy Spirit has never left, He dwells within, and as we continue in prayer waiting on the Lord, suddenly we will be operating in the power of the Lord, in the miraculous and supernatural, with signs wonders and miracles following us.
My friends it’s the time of the latter rains where the Church of Jesus is going to suddenly rise up in power like the first century disciples, to bring in the end time harvest before the great persecution.
Listen there was man name Saul who was persecuting the church and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground” And ended proclaiming the gospel, building the church and writing the most books in the New Testament. (Acts 9)
That is the exact man we read about in today’s portion of scripture as Paul, who along with Silas was scourged, bound in shackles and put in the inner dungeon of the prison.
However, we read in the Bible that they prayed in their circumstances and suddenly the earth shook, the shackles came off and the prison doors opened, then the jailer and his household got saved.
Listen my friends, I have no idea what beatings you have taken as a minister of the gospel, how bound you are and what deep dungeon you finding yourself in.
This is not the time to have a pity party, instead, pray and praise, in you circumstances and suddenly God will shake things, and your shackles will be loosed and whatever doors has kept you imprisoned will be opened.
The doors of poverty and lack, unforgiveness and bitterness, anger and resentment or illness and disease.
Jesus came to set the captives free.
Maybe you are saying, man of God, I feel imprisoned and bound so tight, I can’t even pray.
Don’t despair God has people praying and interceding for you just Peter, when he was imprisoned, the church was praying for him.
And suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up and led him out. (Acts 12)
Peter thought he was dreaming, that’s what you will think when God suddenly frees you from whatever has been imprisoning you.
Don’t give up my friends, call out to the Lord, and if your circumstances are trying to shut you up, like blind Bartimaeus, call louder.
Because all who call upon the name of Lord will be saved. (Romans 10)
I did and I was, so can you, SUDDENLY your situation will change.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
*1 Thessalonians 5:18 AMP*
Many of us read or heard the scripture just quoted and have heard pastors ministering that we should thank God for everything.
My friends, that’s not what the scripture says, we can’t thank God for evil, like a terminal illness or disease, for poverty or lack, for someone who betrayed us in a relationship or for the death of a loved one.
Because those things are not from God, the Bible is clear that illness and disease are from the devil.
As it is written; how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38 NKJV)
God’s will is and has always been to heal, the Bible states; “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalms 107:20 NKJV)
Jesus is the word (John 1) and not only did He go around healing people when He was upon the earth, He empowered and instructed His disciples to do the same.
As it is written: “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2 NKJV)
Over and above that, from Bible we learn that Jesus’s crucifixion was not only for us to obtain the gift of eternal life and go to Heaven when we die.
He was scourged before He was crucified and made divine healing available to us.
As it is written: “He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 AMP)
Jesus after He was resurrected before He ascended into Heaven, said the following to His disciples.
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.(Mark 16:17-18 NKJV)
James the brother of the Lord wrote: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? 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.
And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:13-15 NKJV)
We also read that Jesus took our poverty upon Himself so that we may become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
That He became a curse so that the blessing of Abraham may come upon the Gentiles in Christ.” (Galatians 3:13-14)
God’s blessing to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 12:1–3: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’”
Here, Abraham is blessed, and that blessing includes the promise that he will have a great name (reputation) and that he would become a great nation (have many descendants).
God will bless those who bless him; furthermore, Abraham will be a blessing.
Through Abraham all nations on earth will be blessed.
The blessing of Abraham finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16) and the Redeemer of the world.
So why should we pray if we are suffering or if we are ill, or have lack, or to be comforted when someone dies, if we believe that it’s God’s will?
My friends God doesn’t expect us to give thanks for all things, but in every situation.
We give thanks in our illness because we believe that He sent Jesus so we can be healed, we give thanks and pray in our suffering because we know that He is with us in it and will bring us out of it , we give thanks in our lack, because we believe that He will supply our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
We pray and give thanks in times of death, knowing that He sent the Holy Spirit who is the Comforter to comfort us and as believers that we do not mourn without hope, for to absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and the scripture states and that when Christ returns the dead in Christ will be resurrected to be with Him forever. (2 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Jesus said; “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)
My friends we can give thanks in our situations, because we have peace in the knowledge that Jesus has overcome the world.
And the Bible states that as believers we are overcomers in Christ.
As it is written: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39 NKJV)
And again: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (I John 5:4-5 NKJV)
My friends, when we give thanks in our circumstances, we create an atmosphere to experience the supernatural and miraculous.
Jesus gave thanks for two fish and five loaves when there was a need to feed the multitudes and they experienced God’s supernatural provision. (Matthew 14)
In a time of death, at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, whom He loved, He gave thanks, and the resurrection power of God was made manifest. (John 11)
Paul and Silas knew that even in the most difficult times, they needed to praise and pray to God.
Their response of song and prayer, opened the prison doors, loosened the shackles and led the jailer and his whole family to believe in Jesus Christ! (Acts 16)
Listen my friends, if we give thanks to God in every situation and for all the things He brought us through, we will end 2024 and enter into 2025, experiencing the miraculous and operating in the supernatural.
2025 I believe will be a year of that we will see an increase of the manifestation of miraculous and supernatural in the body of Christ.
So, give thanks for all the things that God has brought you through.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
By faith Abraham, when he was called [by God], obeyed by going to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went, not knowing where he was going.
By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land, as in a strange land, living in tents [as nomads] with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.
All these died in faith [guided and sustained by it], without receiving the [tangible fulfillment of God’s] promises, only having seen (anticipated) them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
*Hebrews 11:8-9, 13 AMP*
There are many people who believe in God, responded to His calling, stepped out in faith not knowing where it would lead them.
All they have are the promises of God, either through a personal conviction, a prophetic word or according to the written word
My friends when we have a promise from God, whether it’s from a personal conviction, prophetic word or written in His word, from the time we receive the promise, to the time it manifests, there will be many challenges which will cause us to doubt.
Faith my friends, is not just a once off thing, we are saved by grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8,9) by confessing with our mouth and believing in our heart. ( Romans 10:9)
That’s how we are made righteous, by believing in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, like Abraham who believed God and it was counted as righteousness to him. (Genesis 15:6)
Then Abraham had to act on the word of God and leave his people and head for a place that God would show him.
Faith requires action, as it is written, Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17 NKJV)
For salvation, you are required to make a confession with y0ur mouth that Jesus is Lord.
And that’s what’s needed to obtain every promise of God, whether it’s for provision, healing, deliverance or restoration.
Confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart. If you believe what you say, you will have what you say. (Mark 11:22-24)
Salvation of the spirit is instant and so can healing or provision be if we believe, however some things are not instant.
Like the promise of God to Abraham of granting his descendants the land and of becoming a father of many nations, or that the world through him would be blessed.
On Abraham’s journey, he experienced many difficulties, like famine which caused him to have to go to another land and out of fear, told his wife to declare a half truth, that she was his sister but not disclose that they were married.
Fear at times comes upon us to get us to doubt and compromise our beliefs.
However, the Bible states: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
My friends, in order to overcome fear, we need to build our faith and get our mind focused on the promises of God instead of the reality of our circumstances.
And the Bible tells us how to do that. As it is written; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
My friends, when Abraham made a decision out of fear, God didn’t cancel His promise, instead He turned it around in Abraham’s favour and Abraham ended up being blessed with servants, cattle, gifts and got his wife back.
That’s grace right there my friends, there are people reading or listening to this message, that made decisions out of fear, God is going to turn it in your favour.
Oftentimes, when the promise is delayed, we tend to lean on our own understanding and make our plans, that’s what Abraham and Sarah done when they decided to let Hagar, one of Sarah’s servants, be a surrogate for them.
Unfortunately, it caused Sarah frustration when the servant thought herself better than her and ended up causing Abraham pain when Sarah told him to send the boy away at a later stage.
I’m reminded of a ministry that I was ordained in; we received a word from the Lord during prayer regarding a farm and that God was going to pay for it.
The Apostle that heads up the ministry stepped out in faith, searched for properties and came across a property that was exactly according to what he envisioned and put down.
Just like in Habakkuk 2, he wrote the vision. Then by faith put in an offer and took occupation.
However, we then done what we believed was logical and started appealing to companies for funding, as companies get tax rebates, and their BEE (Balck Economic Empowerment), status improves when they support programs that assist previously disadvantaged communities.
Well unfortunately they ended up having to move off the farm, however, delay with God is not deny.
They continued doing what they do, believing and a year later a family they ministered to, bought the exact farm cash for them.
My friends, faith without works is dead, God’s ways are not ours and neither are His thoughts ours, if He says He will do something, He will bring it to pass.
All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called for His purpose.
Even Ismael’s birth would contribute to Abraham becoming the father of nations.
So, we need to stay strong when we don’t see the fulfillment of the promises of God and keep the faith.
At times our faith will be tested, Abraham’s faith was tested when God told him to offer Isaac up as a sacrifice.
We might not have been asked to do something as drastic as that, however our faith is tested by trials.
As it is written: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NKJV)
Abraham experienced disappointment when his nephew he took in and who prospered under his care, split ways after their employees argued.
People who you helped build up will think nothing of parting ways once they prosper and think they got everything they needed from you.
However, from Abraham, we can learn not to hold a grudge and that those very people will be in need of us, as Lot had when he was taken captive. Abraham didn’t say good for him, instead he went to his rescue.
Sometimes the process we need to go through to see the promise fulfilled is not pleasant and therefore we will need to stay strong.
Joseph received dreams from God, shared it with his brothers who ended up despising him, threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery.
However, that was part of God’s plan to get him to Egypt where he would become the Prime Minister.
Then he was falsely accused of attempted rape, thrown into prison, but that again was part of God’s plan to get him connected to the cup bearer and exercise his gift.
Nothing is wasted with God my friends; He will use you wherever you at and ensure it works out for your good.
And your gift will make room for you, the ministry I mentioned, does deliverance and their gift opened the door for them to be blessed.
So, stay strong and trust the process; by continuing to serve in your hardships, your gift will make room for you.
I’m sure when Joseph was promoted, fear must’ve overcome Mr and Mrs Potiphar.
Listen my friends, God will raise you up before your enemies.
Sometimes God will even use your enemies to announce your promotion, like He had with Mordecai the uncle of Esther and Haman, who intended to execute him.
Sometimes, the struggles we go through is bigger than just us, it’s to bring about generational blessings.
As our foundational text states, that Abraham lived in the promised land as nomads with Isaac and Jacob who were fellow heirs of the promise.
They died in faith without receiving the tangible fulfillment of the promise.
I’m not saying that will happen to you, some things we are believing for we won’t see, however Abraham fathered eight sons from three women and was very wealthy and prosperous, and his name was made great and through him the nations of the world are blessed.
Even as we as gentiles, receive the blessing of Abraham through our faith in his seed, Jesus, who became a curse for us.
The journey wasn’t easy for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and Jesus.
But God fulfilled His promises to them and will do the same for us who believe.
So, stay strong.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord .”
Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
*Luke 4:16-21 NKJV*
As we commemorate the birth of Jesus, most people forget the purpose of His birth into this world.
Let us review the announcement of His bith in the Bible to the sherphards in a field.
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”(Luke 2:10-11, 13-14 NKJV)
The birth of Jesus, was announced by the angel of the Lord, as good news of great joy to all people, not to a selected few. And that good news of great joy was that a Saviour was born in the city of David, the anointed one of God.
And during that announcement we read that a multitude of heavenly host appeared and gave glory to God proclaiming peace and goodwill toward all men.
My friends, with the birth of Jesus, came peace, not amongst me but toward men. Peace from God to us, because Jesus was born into this world as the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice of our sins and not only our sins, but the sins of the whole world as stated in 1 John 2:2.
And as it is written in the book of Romans 3:23-26, that we all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, and are freely justified by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ, who God set forth as a propitiation, and forgive all previous sins in order to justify the sins of all who have faith in Jesus.( Paraphrased by me)
To justify, is to be just as if we had not sinned and that my friends is what grants us peace, knowing that God is not mad at us but mad about us. Through faith in Jesus, God no longer sees us as sinners but as righteous, being in right standing with Him.
Why? because as the Bible states: “God made Him (Jesus), who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him (Jesus), we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
Notice that peace, is toward men, not amongst men, that is why we atill have conflicts and wars upon the earth. The only way we are able to live in peace with people is through faith in Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace and who gives us unconditional and eternal peace.
In John 14:27, Jesus says, “I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid”. The world’s peace is often based on external factors like political stability or personal success, and can mask underlying turmoil. Jesus’ peace is a gift that transcends circumstances and is a result of being anchored in the unchanging nature of Christ.
Jesus is the seed of the woman that God said in the book of Genesis that would bruise the head of the serpent. His birth prophecy fulfilled that would bring peace between us and God from His birth and forever.
As it is written: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)
Man rebelled against God in the garden of Eden BUT the zeal and love of God toward humanity has made available peace to us, that is received by grace through faith.
God is the God if Peace, Yahweh Shalom, which basically means, nothing missing, nothing broken, total wholeness. Jesus’s birth was to bring total wholeness to all who would believe.
As He stated in our foundational text today, when He read from the Scriptures in the synagogue. ‘The Spirit of the Lord os upon me, to preach the gospel to the poor,’, that’s because He came to take our poverty upon Himself. As it is written; “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV)
The gospel is good news, many see it as too good to be true, because it’s a gospel of grace, God’s Riches At Christ Expense.
Jesus continued to state from that portion of Isaiah in Luke 4, that He came to heal the broken hearted.
My friends, many of us have had our heart’s broken, either through the betrayal of loved ones, through the death of loved ones or through disappointments. My friends, God doesn’t break heart’s, He mends broken hearts, always has.
As it is written: “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalms 147:1-3 NKJV)
Not only did He come to heal the broken hearted, but He physically healed all who were afflicted by the devil (Acts 10) and made available divine healing to us, as it is written: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”(1 Peter 2:24)
Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives, whatever is holding you captive, whether it’s a physical prison, God opened the prison doors for Peter (Acts 12)for Paul and Silas (Acts 16).
And He still does it today, He opened the prison doors for a pastor friend of mine, that was imprisoned for a crime he committed before as a gangster, before he got saved. When he put his faith in Jesus, he done less than a 3rd of his sentence.
I don’t know what is keeping you captive, maybe an addiction, an abusive relationship, poverty, sickness or disease, my friends Jesus came to set the captives free.
You can call on Him today as I have 28yrs ago while bound by drugs and He delivered me, healed me and set me free. And today 28yrs later I am still free, because if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:36)
As Jesus declared and the prophet Isaiah wrote: “He has sent me to tell the captives they are free, and to tell the prisoners they are released”.
Jesus continues with the words of Isaiah, stating that He was anointed to give recovery of sight to the blind.
We know from scripture that He healed the physically blind like blind Bartimaeus.(Mark 10) But He also opened the eyes of the spiritually blind, people like me and many others, who can now boldly say, “I blind but now I see.” Blinded by satan, to the goodness, grace and mercy of God.
Listen my friends, Jesus was born and anointed to set us free from oppression and depression, from any form of mental illness.
Another friend that has recently been ordained as a Pastor, was so far gone from crystal meth, his mom wanted to commit him to an asylum. His brother an Evangelist told her, he doesn’t need an asylum, he needs Jesus.
He was placed in a rehab after been arrested and while at the rehab, got a revelation of Jesus. He was restored, was employed with two criminal records, is married with two beautiful children and running a drug support group.
My friends Jesus was born into this world and came to set the captives free.
He ends by stating to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
The prophet Isaiah wrote the following: “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord , And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:2-3 NKJV)
Many are mourning the death of loved ones and Jesus was born so He could send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, because He alone is able to comfort us in our times of bereavement.
The favorable year of the Lord is also known as the year of Jubilee. That happened every 50yrs, where slaves had to be set free, and debt was cancelled.
Well Jesus came to free us from the slavery of sin, settled the debt of our sins in full, because He is the atoning sacrifice of our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
Jesus after reading that portion of scripture, said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”(Luke 4:21 NKJV)
Jesus my friends is our Jubilee, He came to set the captives free, put your faith in Him and experience true freedom.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*Today’s Scripture:*
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him.
For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking.
And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
*I Samuel 16:7, 10-13 NKJV*
“Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.” Author unknown
Oftentimes in life, we have a tendency to be so conditioned to either judge our circunstances or people for that fact, based on the reality of what we physically see.
In today’s portion of scripture, Samuel the prophet is sent by God to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be the successor of king Saul, bacause of his disobedience and rebellion unto God, more than once and instead of repenting, he continually made excuses for his rebellion.
It’s important to note, that Saul was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel, when the nation of Israel wanted a king, like every other nation.
In the book 1 Samuel 9, Saul is descibed as a man that was taller than any other person and that there was not a more hamdsome person amongst the children of Israel.
So I gather, when Samuel saw David’s brother Eliab, he must have been similar looking in appearance, tall and more hamdsome than his brothers and that caused him to believe that he must be the Lord’s anointed.
That assumption was based on his appearance and we understand from scripture, that David’s brothers were in the military, so that could also have been a contributing factor, he looked like the right candidate for the position.
God then immediately corrects him, and tell him not to look at his appearance or physical stature.
“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart “(1 Samuel 16:7)
Oftentimes we do the same, we look at people and assume things because of their physical appearance, their position, popularity and possessions and just assume that they are chosen by God.
It’s strange, the one God had chosen wasn’t even invited to the party, his own family clearly considered him unworthy.
Listen my friends, just because people haven’t included you in their circle, doesn’t mean that God has rejected you.
Eagles fly alone; pigeons flock together. Man’s rejection at times is God’s election.
As it is written: ” The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord ’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalms 118:22-23 NKJV)
And again: “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ (Acts 4:10-11 NKJV)
My friends, our physical appearance, our current circumstances, the suffering we might be enduring, how people treat us, doesn’t mean that we are being punished by God.
In fact, it could be because of the great purpose God has planned for us.
As Joseph said to his brothers that sold him into slavery: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Genesis 50:20 NLT)
So don’t take things personal, as it written, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”(Ephesians 6:12 NLT)
We are divinely empowered by God to deal with the forces of darkness.
As it is written; “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments;” (2 Corinthians 10:4 GNT)
My friends, don’t look at your circumstances either, Joseph saw himself as a prisoner, God saw him as a Prime Minister of Egypt.
David saw himself as a shepherd boy, God saw him as the next king of Israel.
Don’t let what you see happening make you despondent, as it is written; “For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 GNT)
We live our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises, not according to our circumstances.
Don’t also be taken up with anyone because of their social status, position or wealth.
I’m sure at the time Samuel went to anoint David, if anyone from that town saw them in the same place, they would disregarded David, not even notice him and would’ve honored Saul.
Yet Saul was rejected by God, even though he was originally appointed by God and David was appointed to take his place and it was from David’s lineage that the Saviour of the world was to be born.
I think about the fact, that if Saul had not allowed his insecurities that surfaced because of his disobedience and rebellion to get the better of him.
And if he had repented. The throne would’ve still remained in his bloodline through David who was married to his daughter.
God never replaced him with David immediately, because God is merciful and slow to anger giving us all an opportunity to come to repentance.
As it is written; “The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 3:9 GNT)
Listen my friends, Jesus took our sin upon Himself and He paid the full price of our sins, but if we don’t turn away from our sins, no matter what our position, social status or how much wealth we have obtained, we will perish in wickedness.
You can believe in God but if you don’t repent, you won’t be spending eternity in the presence of God.
As it is written: “Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe—and tremble with fear. You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless?”(James 2:19-20 GNT)
Right believing only produces right living if you have made up your mind to want to live right.
Saul and David both sinned against God, as far as I’m concerned from what’s written in the Bible, David’s sin was greater than Saul’s.
Having committed adultery and having the woman’s husband killed, both acts punishable by physical death.
Saul sadly refused to acknowledge his wrongdoing and made excuses instead of coming to repentance.
David, however, acknowledged his wrongdoing and repented and was shown mercy and grace, even under the law.
So don’t let anyone tell you repentance and confession of sins is not necessary.
After Jesus’s crucifixion, death and resurrection, the first century disciples still preached repentance and confession of sins.
As it is written: “But if we confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise and do what is right: He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 GNT)
And again: “I am writing this to you, my children, so that you will not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have someone who pleads with the Father on our behalf—Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
And Christ Himself is the means by which our sins are forgiven, and not our sins only, but also the sins of everyone.
If we obey God’s commands, then we are sure that we know Him. If we say that we know Him, but do not obey His commands, we are liars and there is no truth in us.
But if we obey His word, we are the ones whose love for God has really been made perfect.
This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did.” (1 John 2:1-6 GNT)
My friends, if you are not happy with your current situation, examine yourself as the Bible states in 2 Corinthians 13:5, if the Holy Spirit reveals anything you need to confess and repent of, do so.
If He doesn’t, don’t beat yourself up, trust the process, because your current situation is not your final destination, and better things are sure to come.
Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape and imprisoned. But ended up becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt.
David was not invited to the party, had to continue attending to sheep after he was anointed to be the future king.
Came up against a lion and a bear, both of which was preparation for with the giant he was to face which would make him famous.
What Jesus experienced was what Isaiah prophesied in the book of Isaiah 53:3-12, long before He was even born.
People, hid their faces from Him, turned their backs on Him, treated Him harshly, they didn’t care about Him and executed Him like a criminal.
Yet 2000yrs after His crucifixion, death and resurrection, the world is currently still reminded about His birth into this world.
And billions have and millions are still having a revelation of Him as the Christ, the anointed one of God, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, the Lord of lord’s and King of kings.
Listen even though David was not invited, they had to wait for him before they could sit and begin the celebration.
And from the moment he was anointed, the Spirit of the Lord came upon, even though he still had to go through a process before the manifestation of the prophecy.
Whatever God has anointed you for or prophesied over you, will come to pass at the appointed time, irrespective of what you are going through.
It’s not dependent on what we see, or the way others see, our current situation is not our final destination, greater things are to come.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?”
And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
*Genesis 18:9-14 NKJV*
On Monday past I had the honor to minister to some of the members of the South African Police Services at a local police station.
The message I am sharing with you today, is what was laid on my heart for them and which I feel led to share for today’s devotion.
It is however entirely different but has the same meaning.
Oftentimes in life we are faced with situations that seem impossible to change.
We look at the state of the world currently, wars, the escalation of crime, the lifestyles people chose to live and acceptance of things unbiblical.
We look at the situation in our country, corruption, bribery, electricity outages, water shortages, the condition of cities, suburbs and infrastructure that once functioned optimally.
Or maybe, for some, it’s their marriage, a wayward child that’s addicted, their current financial, circumstances or the diagnosis of a terminal illness or disease.
To the police I ministered to, it’s a situation of serving in a community where there have been years of gang violence, drug addiction and crime that has escalated in the midst of various forums joining together to combat crime and bring peace and transformation to the community.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to reach a point of despondency when things don’t seem to change, yet there’s been prayer weeks, peace marches, crusades and the deployment of wardens taken from the community.
My friends, this message is prophetic, I firmly believe the Lord is asking us the same rhetorical question He asked Abraham and Sarah.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
For them it most certainly must’ve seemed so, Sarah was almost 90yrs old and Abraham 99yrs old.
And clearly from her thoughts in our foundational text, there wasn’t any physical intimacy between them.
They had already years before done what others in their situation had and a surrogate, one of Sarah’s servants to conceive and birth a child for them and so had settled and given up any hope of Sarah ever conceiving.
And now, at the point beyond hope they have a divine visitation and are given the promise of Sarah conceiving and giving birth to a child within a year.
Many has given up hope of peace and the war coming to end in certain countries, of positive change and economic restoration and the restoration of certain infrastructures in our own country.
Some like Sarah and Abraham have ensured that they have they have their own water resources, installing boreholes and alternate energy solutions and are off the grid.
Unfortunately, the majority of the nation are not financially able to do the same.
In some marriages, they’ve reached a point in counseling where it seems like divorce is inevitable.
For some families all hope of their loved ones recovering from an addiction is lost.
And for many individuals’ financial relief seems like an impossibly especially since the year is ending in a few days.
Then there those who have been treated for a terminal disease where death seems eminent.
Today I want to declare to you, don’t lose hope, because God is going to turn things around.
Like the prophet Jeremiah we should say:
‘Ah, Lord God ! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” (Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV)
Because my friends there is nothing too hard for God.
Listen, our God is Yahweh Shalom, the God of peace, and when Jesus was born, the angels proclaimed peace toward men to the Shepherds in the field.
Yes, not peace amongst men but toward men, for there to be peace amongst men, they have to experience the peace of God, which passes all understanding that is given by Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Through a revelation of Him, anyone who believes in Him receives the Holy Spirit and the fruit of peace starts to develop in them.
In the community I ministered, approximately 20yrs ago a Pastor arranged a peace crusade and there was peace for many years, which even spread to other communities and another province that is dealing with the same circumstances.
God is the same God, and I know in my spirit that, the people in that community is having a divine encounter God Himself is going to bring lasting peace in this community because nothing is too hard for God.
Jesus said all things are possible to them who believe, if you dare to call upon Him, in faith, whatever situation you faced with, whether it’s relational, financial or physical, nothing is impossible for God.
Today of you reading this message or listening to the audio, then this word is for you.
You might be laughing like Sarah or doubting like Zechariah when the angel proclaimed to him that Elizabeth his wife will conceive.
Neither of those responses will stop God’s word from manifesting.
Thus, saith the Lord;” So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
Be like Mary when she had a divine encounter and received the word that she was about to conceive and give birth to a son that will called the Son of the Most High.
She said: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38 NKJV)
As a minister of the word of God, through this message, you are having a divine encounter and the situation you faced with, that seems impossible, that marriage, sickness, deliverance of that child, your financial situation, is going to change.
As Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(Matthew 19:26 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish,
but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
*Hebrews 6:10-12 NKJV*
Most people understand the concept of faith, both believers and unbelievers alike.
Many preachers are preaching about faith, motivational speakers are proclaiming it, letting their audience know that if you believe it, you can achieve it.
And so, we see a greater amount of people, actually accomplishing and obtaining the things they are believing for.
Those are the ones who understand that they have to apply their faith, that the difference between a vision and a dream is action.
You can believe all you want that you going to be a super star soccer player, but if you don’t start training and join up with a local club, you literally just dreaming.
It doesn’t matter how often you listen to motivational recordings or how much to confess it, until you apply yourself, you not going to see it manifest.
Anyone that made it to the Olympics as participant in the events trained hard to get there.
The Bible clearly states that faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)
Anyone that accomplished anything also understand, that no great accomplishment or achievement happens overnight.
You don’t just believe you going to be a soccer star, then go to one training session and play one match and suddenly are playing for an international league team.
You don’t run once around the block and then go on to win a marathon either.
And you can’t register at a medical school without the proper grades and neither do you become a surgeon by just being accepted by a medical school or university.
My friends from the time we believe for something and act on our faith, there will be many times that we lose hope.
Anyone that accomplished anything great, never did so without any challenges.
They persevered and overcame the obstacles and challenges, they are the ones that pushed through, they held on and never gave up.
As some would say, they pushed through the pain. Mentally, physically spiritually.
You see my friends, the first place where doubt arises is our mind, that is why the Bible states:
“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV)
My friends success or failure starts in your mind, with your thoughts.
“He who says he can, and he who says he can’t, are both usually right.” – Henry Ford
That quote from Henry Ford, whether it originated with him or not is irrelevant.
The concept behind it is what’s important, that whatever you say and believe you will have, positive or negative.
The Bible states: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45 KJV)
What people say is actually what they believe and what they believe is what they have.
So, we have to watch what we say, as it is written:
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23 NKJV)
So, it’s important when we are going through trials, like financial difficulty, a divorce, or our health is attacked, to watch what we say.
We will experience trials, but the Bible states: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:2-8 NKJV)
Listen my friends, you truly believe God will provide, or heal, or deliver, or set free or save, which He says in His word He will do.
Then don’t speak what you see or whatever the facts are, faith changes the facts, that’s why the Bible states, let the weak say I am strong.” (Joel 3:10)
Speak what you want to see not what you are experiencing. Because if you don’t, you never going to inherit the promises of God, like health, prosperity, restoration or reconciliation.
My friends in our trials, between what we are believing for and seeing the manifestation of it, besides patience.
We need hope, hope in God does not disappoint and hope is what will enable us to patiently endure.
As it is written: “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.(Romans 5:3-5 NKJV)
That is why in today’s portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul wrote;
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.( Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV)
Listen my friends the Bible states: “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT)
God promises, salvation for us and our families, deliverance, healing, provision and prosperity.
Delay with God does not mean deny, not now don’t mean never.
So, keep believing, keep hoping, be patient and you will see the promises of God fulfilled in your life.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture:*
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
*Matthew 25:31-40 NKJV*
Many of us have heard ministers of the gospel teaching or preaching on the Kingdom of God.
In Luke 17:20–21, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (NKJV).
The context of Jesus’ statement is a question put to Him by His Pharisee detractors who had asked when the kingdom of God would come (verse 20).
There are three popular interpretations of Jesus’ words in Luke 17:21 that the kingdom of God is within you (or among you):
1) the kingdom of God is essentially inward, within man’s heart;
2) the kingdom is within your reach if you make the right choices; and
3) the kingdom of God is in your midst in the person and presence of Jesus.
The best of these interpretations, it seems, is the third: Jesus was inaugurating the Kingdom as He changed the hearts of men, one at a time.
For the time being, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). One day, however, the kingdom of God will be manifest on the earth (Isaiah 35:1), and Jesus Christ will rule a physical kingdom from David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7) with Jerusalem as His capital (Zechariah 8:3).
Jesus mentions His miracles as definitive proof of the kingdom: “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).
In the book of Luke chapters 9 & 10 in the Bible when Jesus sent out the 12 & the 70. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:2 NKJV)
And also said to them: “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’(Luke 10:5-6, 9 NKJV)
My friends as stated, miracles and healing, was a demonstration of the Kingdom of God and still is today.
Jesus told His disciples to proclaim peace, because, when He was born into this world to establish the Kingdom of God, peace was proclaimed toward all men.
As it is written: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”(Luke 2:14 NKJV)
It wasn’t peace amongst men, that’s why we still have wars and conflict amongst men BUT peace from God toward humanity.
Because the wrath of God toward us was about to be appeased through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” is a verse from the Bible in Romans 14:17.
The verse means that the important things in the kingdom of God are: Living right with God, Peace, Joy in the Holy Spirit, and Stirring up goodness and peace and joy from the Holy Spirit.
When we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, we proclaim the gospel of peace and reconciliation with God.
It is written: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”(Isaiah 52:7)
And it’s repeated in Romans 10:15 “How shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
It’s good news because salvation was made available to us, not by works of religion but by grace through faith.
As it is written: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
It’s good news, because: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
And therefore, we can be righteous, in right standing with God, by faith.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
My friends it’s good news, because when we believe and open the door of our hearts to the Lord, will dwell in us through the Holy Spirit. (Revelation 3:20)
Ephesians 1:13-14 in the Bible says that when Gentiles believed in Christ, God gave them the Holy Spirit as a sign that He identifies them as His own.
When we receive the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ, the fruits of the spirit will develop in us.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are a biblical term that describes nine attributes of a person or community who lives in accordance with the Holy Spirit:
They are as follows: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.
And those are the attributes that will cause us to have compassion toward people and do the good works that God prepared in advance as our way of life and enable us to inherit the physical Kingdom that was prepared for us before the foundation of the world.
As it is written: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
Those good works my friends, is what Jesus describes in our foundational text.
Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison.
We might not all get the time to do all these things even though we should, fortunately we are able to do it by partnership with, and contributions to ministries and organizations that does.
So, receive the Kingdom by faith in Jesus and inherit the kingdom by doing the good works that God prepared for us as a way of life.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
*II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV*
In 2005, while doing my final year of a 3year ministerial diploma, I asked God the question, how do I pray and get results?
And the following message was dropped into my spirit and was the message I ministered for my practical that year.
I titled it, How ro Pray and Receive from God, but the dean of the college at the time, suggested, I title it Effective Prayer.
Currently I’m in a space where I find myself needing God to answer my prayers and I was reminded about this message.
At the time, in 2005 when this message dropped into my spirit, I can honestly say, God heard me.
And I feel led in my heart to share this message as many people are probably asking the same question I asked then.
How can I prayer and receive from God?
In our foundational text today, we read that the Lord appeared to Solomon to let him know that He heard his prayer, but, then says to him, ” When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:13-14)
Here God is giving the assurance, that even if there is a drought or famine brought upon by Him, they can turn the situation around through prayer.
Note however, He states, “if my people,” my friends everyone is created by God but not everyone is the people of God.
In the Bible in the Book of Genesis 17, we read about a man called Abraham, who God enters into covenant with and tells him that He would establish His covenant with Abraham and be God to Him and his descendants.
The covenant that was made was established through physical circumcision of all the males, which constituted them as being the people of God.
Even the males that were purchased theough slavery. They were to be circumcised and then would be God’s people. God my friends is impartial.
In the Book of Exodus 6, God tells Moses that He remembered His covenant with Abraham and that He will deliver the nation of Israel from the bondage of slavery of the Egyptians and He will take them as His people and He will be their God.
In order to be His people, they were required to obey His commands which He was to give Moses.
As it is written: “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people.
And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’(Jeremiah 7:23 NKJV)
According to the Bible, foreigners who committed themselves to the Lord and kept his law could expect to be blessed and welcomed into the community: (Isaiah 56:6-8)
Rahab and Ruth in the Bible, are examples of foreigners who became part of the people of God and were part of the genealogy of Jesus.
In 1 Kings 8:41-43, Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of strangers and foreigners who came to Israel to pray.
Today my friends, to be the people of God, we don’t need to be physically circumcised or adhere to the laws of Moses.
All we need to do is believe in Jesus, who cane to fulfill the Mosaic law, thus bringing salvation unto us.
It is written: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12 NKJV)
All this wasn’t part of my message at Bible college, but I felt led to include it, because many people are praying and not receiving because they are not praying to the God of heaven, the creator of all things and all beings.
As it is written: “To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” (Deuteronomy 4:35 NKJV)
And again: “I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,(Isaiah 45:5 NKJV)
Now that we clarified that, we can continue with our message.
In our foundational text God states, “if my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face.”
Prayer my friends, is a sign of humility, because we basically saying, “what I’m faced with is beyond my ability, I am at a point where I need divine intervention.
God continues to state, “and turn from their wicked ways.”
Repentance my friends, is required for us to be assured that we will receive from God.
Throughout the Bible, whenever the nation of Israel turned from God and they faced a drought or famine, or before God brought judgement upon them or even a foreign nation, like Nineveh.
God would send a prophet to preach repentance, John the Baptist, Jesus and the Apostles also preached repentance.
Repentance is a central theme in the Old Testament, where it’s often expressed through rituals like fasting, wearing sackcloth, sitting in ashes or wailing.
In the New Testament, the key term for repentance is metanoia, which usually means “change of mind” or “regret/remorse”.
Repentance is a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God.
It involves a change of mind that leads to action—the radical turning away from a sinful course to God.
Unfortunately, some ministers would cause us to believe that preaching repentance is preaching the law.
Yet the Bible states: “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
And some would even make a ridiculous statement that Jesus preached the law, when Jesus Himself is the embodiment of grace. (2 Timothy 2:1)
After Jesus’s death, the Apostles were still preaching repentance.
As it is written: Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NKJV)
After that, 3000 people got saved.
And again; “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9 NKJV)
Repentance my friends, brings about forgiveness. In our foundational text God says, “and turn away from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sins.
Which leads me to my next point, Forgiveness.
Unforgiveness can block you from receiving from God.
The Apostles saw that when Jesus prayed things happened, the blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked, the dead were resurrected.
So, they asked Him to teach them to pray, and in the prayer, He says: “Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation But deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:3-4 NKJV)
There’s a relation between prayer and forgiveness, as Jesus also said: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”(Mark 11:25-26 NKJV)
When Peter asked “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven time seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)
You can’t give something you don’t have, so you need to receive forgiveness, and it will make it easier to forgive.
The good thing is, the Bible states: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I John 1:9 NKJV)
Forgiveness my friends, enables us to receive from God, as in our foundational text God says, ” I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.”
If we repent, God assures us that He will forgive us.
After we repented and are forgiven, we need to believe in order to receive.
The Bible states: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
So, faith is required to come to God in prayer, faith is required for salvation, the Bible states that we are saved by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Faith is required to be in right standing with God, as it is written: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10 NKJV)
Jesus said: “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
My friends once we repented and received forgiveness and have forgiven and if we truly believe.
Then we will thank God for the outcome before we even see it.
That’s exactly what Jesus done, when He resurrected Lazarus from the dead.
As it is written: “Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.
And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”(John 11:40-42 NKJV)
I close with the words of the Apostle John:
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (I John 5:14-15 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?
For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here?
And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?
I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”
Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.
Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
Moreover, David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand.
And he drew near to the Philistine. So, the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you.
And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord ’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
So, David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
Therefore, David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. *I Samuel 17:26-37, 40, 43-51 NKJV*
In our text today, we read about the nation of Israel being intimidated by the Philistines but more so by one man, referred to as a giant, a man that was obviously huge in statue.
This man would daily intimidate the nation of Isreal and instill fear upon the army of Israel, challenging them to a personal battle, one on one that would determine the outcome of the battle raged against them.
My friends, many people are currently facing battles that seems overwhelming, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyway of overcoming or being victorious.
It might be relational, financial or regarding your health.
If that’s you and you are a believer in Jesus, the only begotten Son of the One true living God.
Then I want to encourage you, you need not fear, irrespective of who or what you are faced with.
Because our God is a covenant keeping God.
The meaning of COVENANT is a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement.
Examples of Covenants include the Marriage Covenant, which involves promises of fidelity and commitment; the Land Covenant, which involves promises of protection and preservation; the Blood Covenant, which involves promises of loyalty and brotherhood; the Religious Covenant, which involves promises of faithfulness and adherence to religious principles; and the Business Covenant, which involves promises of cooperation and collaboration for mutual benefit.
Unfortunately, these are all covenants made or entered into between human beings and are often not adhered to, compromised or broken.
And because of that, it’s difficult for us to even begin to comprehend, trust or believe in God’s faithfulness in covenant.
My friends the Bible states: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
My friends, throughout the Bible, there are examples of God entering into covenant with either humanity or individuals and fulfilling constantly fulfilling His covenant obligations.
At creation, we have what theologians refers to as the Edenic covenant, where God gives Adam, the first created man and his wife Eve, who was formed from his side, dominion and authority over all the earth.
This was a conditional covenant, whereby they were to tend the garden and refrain from eating from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Their position was assured by their obedience, so they had been given a free will, to obey or disobey.
God my friends is Love (1John 4:8) and as such, has given us a free will to reciprocate His love.
Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”(John 14:15 NKJV)
The Apostle John wrote: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (I John 3:21-23 NKJV)
Well unfortunately with the Edenic Covenant, humankind violated it, and they lost dominion and authority, sin entered the world and with-it death, and death spread through the entire human race, because of one man’s disobedience. (Romans 5:21)
God being gracious and merciful, entered into another covenant with Adam, which theologians refer to as the Adamic Covenant.
In the Edenic covenant, God told them that if they disobeyed and ate from the tree that was forbidden, they would surely die.
The Bible states, ” The wages of sin is death.”(Romans 6:23). Yet when they had, they never died immediately, because God sacrificed an animal, whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of their sins and to clothe them and cover their nakedness.
For it is written: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22)
Then God cursed the ground and Adam had to toil for his food and God said that there would-be enmity between the serpent, who led them into temptation and the seed of the woman who gave into the temptation.
And that the seed of the woman, would crush the head of the serpent.
My friends, that promise was fulfilled through the birth, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus to whom all authority in Heaven and Earth was given. (Matthew 28).
Thus, restoring the authority that Adam lost. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins and through His death the debt of our sins was paid in full and we can be clothed in the righteousness of God and obtain the gift of eternal life by grace through faith.
In the Bible we read about other Covenants God made with individuals, such as Noah after Noah had built an altar and made offerings to God of every clean animal after the flood.
And the Bible states: “And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”(Genesis 8:21-22 NKJV)
In Genesis 9:12-15, God sets a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of his covenant with Noah, his family, and all living creatures.
The rainbow is a reminder that God will never again destroy all life on earth with a flood.
The rainbow is a symbol of God’s grace and mercy, which He shows to all people.
In Ezekiel 1:26–28, the rainbow is a symbol of Christ.
In Revelation 4:2–3, John sees Christ clothed with a cloud and a rainbow on his head.
Jesus’ sacrifice was a pleasing aroma to God. It satisfied His wrath and demonstrated His love for us.
As it is written: “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2 NKJV)
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, satisfying the wrath of God that we might be saved.
Jesus was the blameless firstborn Son of God, making Him the only sacrifice that would have been acceptable to God for our sins and to save us from death.
Then we read about a covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 17 of which circumcision was introduced.
That covenant even included slaves that were obtained or bought, circumcision included them in the covenant.
My friends when David made reference to Goliath as an uncircumcised Philistine, he was making reference as one who was not in covenant with God.
The promises of God to Abraham is available to all, not through physical circumcision but through faith in Jesus.
As it written: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)
The circumcision God requires today is not a physical one it’s one of the heart.
As it is written: “For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?
And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” (Romans 2:25-29 NKJV)
In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people that are foreigners, or Scythians.
There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers. And Christ is all that is important.” (Colossians 3:11 ICB)
After Abraham, we read about the covenant God made with Israel through Moses who was the mediator between them and God.
The author of Hebrews claims that God has always intended to replace the old covenant of the Levitical priests with a new covenant centered on the work of Jesus Christ.
“In Christ we have a better covenant” is a phrase from the Bible, Hebrews 8:6, which states that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant with God based on better promises.
So, my friends through faith in Jesus, we are in covenant with God and like David we can boldly stand against any circumstances no matter how gigantic it may seem or be and we have the assurance to overcome.
Don’t let anyone, even a fellow believer deter or distract you with their words or insults as David’s brother tried to do.
Ignore them, focus on the reward God promises those who overcome by faith.
Faith in God’s ability and in the victory that Jesus obtained for us at the cross is all we require, irrespective of age or experience.
And remember the past battles God has given you victory in and know that the same God that delivered you then, will deliver you now.
When the enemy speaks, whether it’s through a summons, a threatening email, or words contrary to God’s word.
Respond as David did, in the name of the Lord. The name of Jesus is said to be the summation of God’s power and authority in the universe.
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-12)
Listen my friends, an entire nation was fearful because of the shouts of an uncircumcised Philistine, a person that was not in covenant with God.
While his words made them fearful, a young shepherd boy, was stirred up in faith and was given boldness to step up in faith and was victorious over that giant.
As someone said, the giants you face were not sent to defeat you but to show people the anointing on your life.
David said to that giant, this day the Lord will deliever you into my hand and this day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the air and the whole earth will know that their is a God in Israel.
David never had weapons, the Bible states: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (II Corinthians 10:4-6 NKJV)
My friends, our God is a covenant keeping God and will give us victory over every giant that comes up against us and all the earth will know that Jesus is God.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ”
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
*Matthew 26:36-44 NKJV*
There are times in life, when we feel sorrowful, when there’s a heaviness on our soul and we are totally distressed.
Sometimes it’s caused by the pain felt from the death of a loved one or the news of either yourself or a loved one, being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Sometimes it’s caused by the breakup of a relationship with someone you loved dearly, maybe even from a divorce for some.
Other times it’s from a place of hopelessness, where you are experiencing financial difficulty and have done everything in your power to get out of it but nothing seems to work in your favour.
My friends, as humans, believers or non-believers, saints or sinners, rich or poor, presidents or priest, princes or paupers.
Sorrow and brokenness are unavoidable.
In today’s portion of scripture, we read that Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the World, the only begotten son of the Most High God.
Was at place called Gethsemane, the word Gethsemane comes from the Aramaic gat shemanin, which literally means “oil press”.
It suggests that the garden was a grove of olive trees, at a place known as The Mount of Olives where there was an oil press located in the garden.
To me, that’s both interesting and relevant, because for oil to be produced, the olives needed to be pressed, hence the term oil press.
Frequently, especially in the Old Testament, we see anointing of oil as an important practice in the Bible.
In fact, one of the most quoted chapters of Scripture, Psalm 23, includes the phrase, “You anointed my head with oil.”
It seems, at first glance at the Old Testament Bible books, that olive oil, or anointing oil, had predominantly a religious purpose to symobolize someone or something that has been deemed holy and set apart for God’s purposes.
The pressure you under my friends, the pressing upon you, will bring forth the anointing in you that is setting you apart for God’s purpose.
In our text, when Jesus arrives at this place with His disciples, He instructs them we stay where they were while He went to pray.
However, He took three of them with Him and we read that He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
My friends, here we have insight to the humanity of Jesus, having had a soul, which is made up of our mind, will and emotions.
He felt love, joy and pain, as we do. And at this time, he felt sorrow as we all do, and some are currently feeling.
And He disclosed His feelings to the three He took with Him, His inner circle as some would say, Peter, James and John.
They we with Him and witnessed His transfiguration and saw His glory and they were with him when He resurrected Jairus’ daughter.
My friends, we don’t have to discuss our feelings with everybody, but we have to confide in people we trust.
Not necessarily to seek sympathy from them, but empathy, which is enabling them to understand our feelings.
Jesus literally confided in them, I’m sure they viewed him as many see their pastors, as someone without any weaknesses or challenges.
Listen my friends, men and women of God, even great ones, experience sorrow as Jesus clearly stated and even depression like Elijah, when he was fleeing from Jezebel and asked to die. (1Kings 19)
In our text today, Jesus says to the three disciples with Him that His soul was sorrowful even to the point of death.
At times the pressures of life can cause us to feel like wanting to die, in order to want to escape that feeling of deep sorrow.
In Elijah’s case, God sent Him an angel who had prepared a loaf of bread and a jar of water to strengthen him for the journey ahead.
My friends, bread symbolizes life and Jesus said, He is the Bread of Life (John 5:35)
Jewish leaders also referred to bread, or manna, as spiritual food. In this text, John records Jesus explaining He is the Bread of Life, the very Word of God made flesh.
Jesus teaches us to pray that God would give us daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
Bread is a form of sustenance, when God miraculously fed His people from heaven, He did so by giving them bread. (Exodus 16)
This petition of the Lord’s Prayer, then, teaches us to come to God in a spirit of humble dependence, asking Him to provide what we need and to sustain us from day to day.
Elijah was given water as well. In John 7, Jesus announced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as “rivers of living water”.
This represents the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in the lives of Jesus’ followers.
My friends when we are feeling depressed, we should get into the word of God and the Holy Spirit will give us power and we will be strengthened for the journey.
In our portion of scripture today, even though Jesus disclosed His feeling of deep sorrow to the three disciples with Him.
We read that He asked them watch with Him, further He says they should watch and pray, lest they fall into temptation.
When we confide in anyone, it is so that they can stand in agreement in prayer with us and pray for us.
Also, we should pray, because when you are feeling depressed or sorrowful, it’s easy to fall into temptation and seek comfort in the wrong things or places.
As we continue reading in our text, Jesus goes on further alone to pray.
My friends, when we feel deep sorrow, we should get into a place of solitude with God.
The Bible states: “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3 NKJV)
My friends Jesus identifies with our sorrows, because He experienced it Himself.
The Bible states: “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.(Hebrews 4:14-15)
It is written: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:18-19 NKJV)
As believers in Jesus, we are the righteousness of God and like our Lord we will experience sorrow, but like Him, we will rise up again.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
*Jude 1:3-4 NKJV*
To contend is to fight and to defend and if ever there was a time that we needed to defend the faith, the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is now.
To contend for the faith is to defend what is taught in the Bible against false teaching.
Our doctrine is a doctrine of grace and faith, salvation by grace through faith, not through any good works of our own so that none of us could boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Which was delivered to the first century disciples and over the centuries, to true believers of Jesus Christ.
When God destroyed the earth the Bible states, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8 NKJV)
The only way that people can be saved from God’s wrath is through God’s grace.
This is the first time the word “grace” occurs in Scripture, and it’s in the midst of the utter sinfulness of Genesis 6!
Noah is described as: finding favor in the eyes of the Lord, righteous, blameless in his generation, and walking with God.
Noah is not described as the perfect person, but one on whom God has bestowed His favor. Why did God do this? Because Noah was righteous.
Scripture is made clear that the only way to be righteous before God is through faith.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
And again: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.
For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”Romans 3:21-26 NKJV)
My friends the faith we are contending for, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes, first to the Jew then to the Gentile. ( Romans 1:16)
It is the doctrine about Jesus as the seed of the women that came and crushed the serpent’s head, that God mentioned in the book of Genesis.
About righteousness, by grace through faith like Noah.
About the blessing of God upon the nations, through the seed of Abraham. (Genesis 22:18)
The apostle Paul states that all who have the faith of Abraham are blessed with Abraham and are regarded as heirs because they are in Christ, the true “seed” of Abraham (Gal. 3:7–9)
So, the faith that we contending for is one that says that we not under a curse as believers in Jesus, but under the blessing of Abraham.
As it is written: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)
The faith that we are contending for, is one that states, that God is not mad at us, His peace was bestowed upon us at the birth of Jesus.
As the Angels proclaimed to the Shepherds in the field: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV)
It’s not peace amongst men, that’s why we still have wars, but peace from God toward men.
The faith we are contending for is one that states that Jesus was scourged before He was crucified and so divine healing was made available to us, as it is written: “By His stripes we were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24)
It’s the doctrine of faith that sates, that Jesus took our poverty upon Himself so that we can be rich.(2 Corinthians 8:9)
So, we contend against all these things by declaring the word of God, that we are forgiven, we are loved by God, God is at peace with us, we are healed, healing is our portion, we blessed not cursed, poverty is not our portion, our sins are forgiven and therefore we will not walk in condemnation, all because of what Jesus done for us, not because of what we do.
When the brother of James and of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, wrote this epistle, he specifically made mention of ungodly men, who turned the grace of God into lewdness, which is living without restraint, and is primarily associated with sexual sins.
The word lewdness, in the Greek means, unbridled lust, drunkenness, it’s a characteristic of worldly living and is spiritually defiling, it’s a work of the flesh and the Bible is clear that those who practice it will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Unfortunately, in today’s time, we have many people, professing to be ministers of the gospel, preaching hyper grace.
Dispensationalism has produced a new teaching called Hyper-grace. This teaching overemphasizes the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin.
It teaches that the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments are irrelevant to Christians today.
Hyper grace even teaches that everything which Jesus taught before His resurrection are part of the Old Covenant and therefore no longer applicable to us.
The devil, from the beginning twisted the word of God. The first false teaching appeared in the Garden of Eden, and it plunged the entire human race into sin.
The faith of many young people has been destroyed by a false teaching called Evolution.
False teachings have led many into bondage, delusion, disunity, division and destruction.
Unfortunately, throughout the entire history of the Church, there has always been ungodly men who somehow manage to get in, win the hearts of the people, and then introduce new teachings that mix the truth with error.
The only way to stop it is by earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints!
In the first century, the Apostle Paul had to contend for the faith against the Judaizing heresy in the church.
There were false teachers in the church who required Christians to be circumcised and observe all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament in order to be saved.
By doing this they undermined the Gospel of Christ and turned it into a counterfeit gospel.
And so, Paul had to write the book of Galatians to expose this false teaching.
My friends, don’t allow yourselves to be drawn into hyper grace or to be bewitched and go from grace to works.
But contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints, the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
We don’t want you to be lazy. We want you to be like those who, because of their faith and patience, will get what God has promised.
God made a promise to Abraham. And there is no one greater than God, so He made the promise with an oath in His own name—an oath that He would do what He promised.
He said, “I will surely bless you. I will give you many descendants.” Abraham waited patiently for this to happen, and later He received what God promised.
*Hebrews 6:12-15 ERV*
When we look at what is transpiring in the world, it’s easy to say to ourselves, that we are living in uncertain times.
And for the unbeliever, it doesn’t matter what time period you live in, there will be uncertainty.
My friends, in the uncertainty of our times, what we should be looking for is the certainty of God.
The writer of Hebrews knew that the people he was ministering to needed this kind of certainty.
So, in Hebrews 6:13–20, he makes reference to God’s promise to Abraham, who was a foreigner in a foreign land (Heb. 11:9).
God called him into uncertain times, but not without the certainty of Himself.
In every uncertain time, we have the certainty of God’s promise.
God’s promise to bring us through isn’t based on a hunch or a good feeling, but upon His very character as God.
That is why the Bible states in our foundational text; “God made a promise to Abraham. And there is no one greater than God, so He made the promise with an oath in His own name—an oath that He would do what He promised.
He said, “I will surely bless you. I will give you many descendants.”(Hebrews 6:13-14 ERV)
The writer of our text, who we understand to be the Apostle Paul, continues to state:
“People always use the name of someone greater than themselves to make a promise with an oath.
The oath proves that what they say is true, and there is no more arguing about it.
God wanted to prove that His promise was true.
He wanted to prove this to those who would get what He promised.
He wanted them to understand clearly that His purposes never change.
So, God said something would happen, and He proved what He said by adding an oath.
These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when He says something, and He cannot lie when He makes an oath.
So, these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety.
They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours.” (Hebrews 6:16-18 ERV)
We can have hope my friends and trust in God’s promises, because when we read through our Bible’s, we can see that every promise God made He fulfilled.
He made a promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, after what we refer to as the fall of man. And that promise was fulfilled in and through Jesus.
He made a promise to Noah, that the earth would never be destroyed by a flood and placed a rainbow in the sky, that today still reminds us of that promise.
He made a promise to Abraham, that He would bless him and grant him many descendants and we see the evidence of that today.
He made a promise to David which is found in 2 Samuel 7:11-16 and 1 Chronicles 17:11-15.
In summary, the promise is that: David’s seed will be the Son of God. David’s seed will build a house for God’s name. Which Solomon done. David’s seed will reign forever from David’s throne in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament we see the fulfilment of the promise to David.
Hebrews 1:5. A direct quote from 2 Samuel 7:14, we are told the seed is Christ. In Acts 2:25-32, note v30 and Psalm 132:11. The promise that God “would raise up Christ to sit on his throne” was confirmed by an oath. In Acts 13:23, the seed is Jesus the Saviour. Luke 1:30-33, Jesus the Son of God will reign for ever from the throne of David. Revelation 22:16 . Jesus is “the root and the offspring of David”.
Having an understanding of God’s promises affects:
Our attitude to the Old Testament. Our belief about life after death. Our understanding about the place and timing of reward for faithful people. My friends, the place and timing is upon the earth, not in heaven.
Our appreciation of the future role of Jesus Christ. Our understanding of God’s ultimate plan for this earth.
So, understanding and believing in the promises of God has a profound and positive effect upon the whole structure of our faith.
I felt it important to lay a foundation for us to believe why we can and should have faith in God’s promises.
Now, back to our foundational text, the Apostle Paul, encourages his audience which I’m sure we can all agree, is very relevant to us.
Not to be lazy, the sad thing is that many people are spiritually lazy when it comes to taking hold of the promises of God. Lazy to pray to fast, to meditate on the word of God and to do what the word says.
And so, they, lack faith and find themselves in a place of uncertainty without hope.
The Apostle Paul tells us, to be like those who, because of faith and patience, will get what God has promised.
Listen my friends, God’s word is full pf promises for us, the promise of salvation, of healing, of prosperity and yes, as important as praying, fasting, reading and applying the word of God is.
It can only be obtained by faith. As the Bible states: “I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things He had already planned for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV)
However, the Bible states: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
And again, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” (Jude 1:20 NKJV)
So, it’s important for us not be spiritually lazy and to set time aside to hear the word of God and pray in the spirit in order for our faith to build up.
And when we believe the word, we will do the word, act on what we believe and then we will be like the person who Jesus said, who built his house on the rock.
And we will be able to stand firm in times of uncertainty and the storms of life will not be able to destroy us.
And we will develop patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit and trust God even when we can’t trace Him.
James the brother of our Lord wrote: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NKJV)
My friends as we go through trials and tribulations in these uncertain times, let us hold onto our faith and wait patiently, for the Lord to deliver us out of our circumstances and like Abraham, receive what God has promised.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
Nevertheless, we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”
Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.
Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.*Nehemiah 4:7-17 NKJV*
There are many people, whose lives have been in ruins, some because of rebellion and disobedience to God and their refusal to repent, like the nation of Israel before their captivity.
Others have merely been victims of their circumstances, even in their faithfulness to God.
Yet, they have remained faithful to God in their trials, like Daniel and his friends.
My friends, whatever we suffer or go through, when we find ourselves in a place of ruins.
We can always be assured that God will restore, irrespective of whether our destruction was self induced or we were victims of our circumstances.
My friends, hatdtimes don’t last forever and before we even rebelled or entered into whatever form of captivity or bondage we find ourselves in.
God already had, our restoration in mind and had set a time for us to rebuild.
God planned our comeback before we even had our set back.
A hundred and fifty years, before the nation of Israel’s rebellion, before they were conquered, taken into captivity and the destruction of the temple.
God already had declared through the prophet Isaiah, that the temple will be rebuilt and even named Cyrus, a Persian king, as the one He would use to set his people free. (Isaiah 45)
Listen my friends, rebuilding and restoring, is God’s modus operandi, His method of doing things.
From the rebellion of humanity in the Garden of Eden, God already, before the foundation of the world, set in motion a plan for our restoration, which manifested and started with the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Those who were victims of their circumstances, who chose to continue to trust and obey, can attest to God’s faithfulness, even in times of bondage and captivity.
Many people have entered into this year and taken the decision as it was laid upon their heart, to rebuild their relationship with God, their lives, their health, their marriages, their families, their ministries and their businesses.
I got news for you my friends, that wasn’t your idea, that was God’s prompting, because, now is the time, for us to rebuild and be restored.
And the latter will be greater than the former. (Habakkuk 2:9)
Unfortunately, after we had taken the decision to rebuild, many of us encountered opposition, we’ve been going through challenges, which I can assure you is demonically inspired.
My friends, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, there is an adversary, the devil, who is out get you, to oppose you and discourage you, in order to stop you from rebuilding and being restored.
That is why the Apostle Peter wrote: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 5:6-11 NKJV)
In our foundational text, we read that Nehemiah and the people who were with him, encountered resistance and were opposed, as they were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and closing the gaps to keep the enemy out.
And many of us has been experiencing the same, as we have been trying to rebuild and trying to close the gaps, to keep the devil out.
We read, that Nehemiah and them prayed to their God and set a watch against the enemy, day and night.
My friends, when we are experiencing great pressure, it’s time to watch and pray.
The Bible states: “we have this confidence in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14)
Prayer my friends, is humbling ourselves before God. As it is written: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)
Nehemiah and them, set a watch against the enemy.
In the Bible, the word “watch” is often used in a metaphorical and spiritual sense to mean being vigilant, alert, and fully awake.
Jesus said to His disciples: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41)
When we pray, we are casting our cares upon God and He will give us a strategy, in the same way that Nehemiah came up with a strategy.
In our foundational text we further read: “Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
This is so profound to me, because, Judah, means praise and he is the one saying to Nehemiah that the strength of the labourers were failing and there was so much rubbish that the people were unable to build.
Listen, many of us currently don’t have strength left in us as and all around us, everything is in ruins, and we have so much rubbish we are dealing with, for the lack of a better word.
Well, the Bible states: “the joy of the Lord is your strength”(Nehemiah 8:10:) and “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)
So my friends if you need strength to carry on, then get into God’s presence. How?, you might ask.
Well, the Psalmist answers that for us, when he writes: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalms 100:4 NKJV)
My friends, you got to thank and praise God, in your circumstances.
In our foundational text, we read that Nehemiah positioned people at the lower wall and then set families, with swords and spears.
As leaders, we need position the people and prepare them witn the word, to enable them to defend themselves against the enemy.
Yes, our weapons are not against flesh and blood, but against powers amd principalities and spirtual wickedness in high places.(Ephesians 6:12)
So like the Apostle Paul, we need to encourage the people to put on the full armour of God, of which the Word of God is the sword of the spirit. (Ephesians 6)
Listen, we have to equip the people in the word, so that they can know the word, build their faith and apply the word and overcome the enemy.
Nehemiah encouraged the people not to be afraid, my friends, “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Nehemiah told them to remember the Lord, the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
Listen my friends, we need to remember that the God we serve, is a mighty God, a miracle working, yoke destroying, burden removing God, that He is mighty to save.
However, we need to understand that He is not moved by our circumstances, but by our faith.
That is why the Bible states: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (I Timothy 6:12 NKJV)
So, we need to rise up in faith and fight for what is ours.
Our foundational text ends with stating that they worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.
The Bible states: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (II Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV)
My friends, we have to continue to rebuild and as we do, we need to fight against every negative thought of defeat that comes against us and contradict the word of God by declaring God’s word pertaining to us, irrespective of what we think, see or are feeling.
Jesus came and gave us the victory to overcome and rebuild and be restored.
Because of Him, and through our faith in Him, we are more than conquerors.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture:*
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.
*I Corinthians 16:13-14 NKJV*
In life we are faced with many challenges and uncertainties and there are many things that are causing people to live in fear.
Things such as unstable economies, wars between certain countries, lawlessness and pandemics. These things directly or indirectly, affects everyone on the planet.
My friends, I want to encourage you through this message, not to fear.
Whether you are living in a country at war, whether you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness or disease, whether you faced with financial challenges and have been threatened with foreclosure, whether your marriage is in trouble.
In the midst of all this, we can have hope and overcome our fears. And that is by placing our hope, in God and our faith in His Son, Jesus.
Fear and faith, are both spiritual forces and you have a choice, which one controls you.
God my friends, out of His great love, by grace, has made available to us, a way to overcome fear. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
You see my friends, God sent Jesus to Earth, firstly, so that we don’t have to perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) To save us from eternal death and to show us how to operate victoriously upon this earth, without fear.
And that my friends, is by faith, faith overcomes fear.
As mentioned, God has made grace available to us, so that we can receive, His free gift of eternal life, by faith in Jesus. Not by religious works or rituals. The Bible states; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
And again: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NKJV)
When we receive that free gift, by faith, by trusting in what Jesus accomplished through His crucifixion, death and resurrection, nothing else.
Then the Spirit of God, dwells in us. The apostle Paul clearly taught that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Ephesians1:13-14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believe: “Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 declares, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
My friends God’s Spirit is not a spirit of fear, as it is written: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
If you are fearful, whether you believe in Jesus or not, then you need to repent and that is to change your thinking. Technically, repentance is a change of mind, not a turning from sin.
The Greek word translated “repentance” is metanoia, and the meaning is simply “a change of mind.” In common usage, however, we often speak of repentance as “a turning from sin.” There is a good reason for this.
From the convicting work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8), the sinner repents, they change their mind about sin, the Savior, and salvation.
When a repentant person changes their mind about sin, that change of mind naturally leads to a turning from sin.
However, when you are fearful, you need to change your thinking by taking your focus off whatever is causing you to fear and focus on what God’s word says.
For example, if you are fearful of death, remind yourself, that physical death is not the end as a believer and of the words of the Apostle Paul, when he wrote: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 NKJV)
He could say that, because He believed Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25 NKJV)
If you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, then don’t focus on the doctors report, focus on God’s word that states: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. (I Peter 2:24 NKJV)
If you are fearful about your bills that need to be paid, then meditate on the word of God, that states: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 NKJV)
If you are concerned about your business or a deal, meditate on the scripture that states:
“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 28:8 NKJV)
My friends, there is a promise in the word of God for every situation we are faced with.
So, we need to activate our faith, in order to overcome our fears, take hold of the promise and be victorious.
The Bible states: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
In our foundational text, we are told to “Watch”, as a verb, it is to look at or observe attentively.
And it continues, stating, “stand fast in the faith.” So, you ask in the faith of what?
Well, the Apostle Paul told them in the previous chapter when he wrote: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” (I Corinthians 15:1-4 NKJV)
Our text continues to state, that we should be brave, be strong. The Psalmist wrote: “Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalms 31:24 NKJV)
My friends, when we are courageous and stand in faith, God will strengthen our heart, if our hope is in the Lord.
Not only that, God has already given us His Spirit, to help us overcome. As it is written: “And we have the Spirit of God, so we have the Spirit of faith.
As it is written: And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,” (II Corinthians 4:13 NKJV)
A spirit of faith boldly declares what it believes and then takes action on what it confesses. It is speaking faith filled words in line with the scripture, that guarantees our victory from every circumstance and challenges of life.
My friends, we need to be proactive, the Bible next to our bed or in our car, won’t do nothing for us, if we don’t read it and apply it to our life.
In order for us to stand fast in the faith, we will have to read our Bible, study our Bible, memorize scripture, fast and pray.
The Bible is clear that faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)
Then finally, our foundational scripture states: ” Let all that you do, be done in love.”
The great test of the working of saving faith is this, it “worketh by love.”
As it is written: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”(Galatians 5:6 KJV)
Faith loves to rely on God and see Him work miracles in us.
Therefore, faith pushes us into the current where God’s power flows most freely, the current of love.
So, my friends, don’t be overcome by fear, stand fast in the faith.
It is written: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”(1 John 5:4-5 KJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture: *
*1Samuel 1 & 2*
In the book of 1 Samuel chapters 1 & 2 in the Bible we read the story of a woman by the name of Hannah, who was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah.
We are told that this man, would go annually to a place called Shiloh, to present offerings unto the Lord as prescribed or instructed by God in the Book of Deuteronomy 12.
My friends, those who believe in God, understand the principles of God and doesn’t need to be coerced into giving offerings where God directs them to.
This man Elkanah clearly applied the principles of God, HOWEVER, his one wife had sons and daughters and the other, Hannah, the one he loved was barren.
And we are told in the Bible, that, whenever he went to present his offerings, he would give his wives and children offerings to present.
The Bible states: “God gives seed to sow and bread to eat and that He will multiply our seed to sow.” (2 Corinthians 9:10)
Hannah we are told, was given a double portion by her husband, however, his other wife, probably because of it, would ridicule her and, that, would cause her to weep and not eat, because she was barren.
And her husband would try to console her and asked her if he was not enough.
Unfortunately, in those times, children were considered as being a blessing and having favor from God.
And so, Hannah, even though she knew she was loved, didn’t feel blessed.
And I can relate to that, as much as I know that God loves me, having no biological children of my own, does make me feel not blessed but this narrative, encourages me.
Abraham we are told in the Bible, was very rich (Genesis 12), however in Genesis 15, we read that the word of God came to him, stating that God is his exceedingly great reward.
And still Abraham asked God, what will He give him, as he was childless and had no heir of his own.
Money my friends, can’t buy everything, it has restrictions, certain things only God can give, and as much as many pastors might try to make us believe, money is not the blessing.
The Bible states, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow therewith.” (Proverbs 10:22)
The Blessing makes rich, but money is not necessarily a sign of being blessed by God, if it were then every drug dealer globally is blessed, as they have a lot of money.
So even though her husband not only told her that he loved her, and expressed his love by showing favour toward her, Hannah was unfulfilled, not having a child of her own.
That feeling of being unfulfilled and inadequate, was because, it wasn’t God’s will for her to be barren according to His word. (Exodus 23:26)
Listen, if you are not experiencing what God promises in His word, you will feel unfulfilled, because, you will know in your knower, that something is not right.
If you are ill, you won’t feel satisfied because God wants you healed, if you are single, you won’t feel satisfied, because God saw it’s not good for us to be alone, if you have lack, you won’t be satisfied, because God wants to meet our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
If you are poor, you won’t be satisfied, because Jesus took our poverty so that we may become rich.
Anything God intends for us to have, what we don’t, will cause us to be unfulfilled, until we turn to Him in faith and take hold of it.
Hannah understood, that as much as her husband loved her, what she wanted, only God could give her.
My friends what’s impossible for us, is possible with God and like Hannah when our spirit is distressed and we are faced with redicule, or circumstances that seems impossible, we should not run from God, but turn to God.
The Bible states: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NKJV)
We read, that Hannah went to the temple and prayed unto God, telling Him that if He gave her a male child, she would give him back, loan him to God, for the rest of his life.
We are told that as she was praying in her heart, her lips were moving but there was not sound, and Eli the priest was sitting and noticed that and thought that she was drunk.
However, she explained to him that she was in deep sorrow.
My friends, God hears the prayer of our heart, when we are in pain, emotionally and cannot express ourselves.
The Bible states: ” For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
I can confirm that, because I was saved from a 14yr drug addiction when I called unto God, while being high on crack cocaine and was supernaturally delivered.
And we are told in the story, that when Hannah left and they returned home, her husband knew her, that means they shared intimacy.
When we call out to God in sincerity, we develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.
God my friends, doesn’t desire religion, He desires for us to have a relationship with Him.
As we continue reading the story about Hannah, we are told she conceived and gave birth to a son, to Samuel.
Her husband we are told, continued to go up to Shiloh with his family annually as he always had done.
My friends, when you receive your miracle, don’t let your breakthrough, keep you from your commitment to God.
Remain consistent, we are told that Hannah however never went with, but it was for a purpose, she told her husband that she was weaning her son Samuel, waiting for him to get off breast feeding and being potty trained, so that she could fulfill her vow to God.
And he supported her decision, telling her to do as the Lord led her.
My friends, it’s important to have a partner that supports you in your commitment to God.
Well, we are further told, that, when the boy was weaned, Hannah took him and gave him to Eli the priest to be reared as priest.
And Samuel became a prophet of God, who the Bible tells us, that every word he gave, came to pass, not one word fell to the ground.
He was the one to appoint as God directed, the 1st king of Israel, as well David as his successor.
Regarding Hannah, after she gave him back to God, she bore three sons and two daughters, five more children.
Not that’s grace my friends, when we give oue lives back to God by surrendering to Him and receiving His Son, Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour.
By God’s grace, we receive the gift of eternal life and have access to the abundant life upon the earth, that Jesus died for is to have.
We have access to divine healing, divine protection, to wealth beyond what we can ask or think, to family salvation, debt cancelation, peace, joy and fulfilled marriages and relationships.
It’s time, for us to give our lives, our communities, our cities, our nations and the world back to God, if want to break the curse of barrenness over us.
Jesus is the way back to God, there is no other way.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
*Romans 12:1-2 NKJV*
The Oxford dictionary describes the word sacrifice as:
-An act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to a deity.
Similar: as an offering, oblation, self-sacrifice,
In Church-Christ’s offering of Himself in the Crucifixion.
As a verb, it’s to offer or kill as a religious sacrifice.
Animals were sacrificed in religious rituals for sin or as thanksgiving sacrifices.
And it’s also to give up (something valued)
In our times, animal sacrifice is not common practice for most of us, even though some religions and cultures do.
For most of us, a sacrifice, is giving up our personal recreational time, to study or go to gym, in order to accomplish a personal goal, it’s for self-gain.
My late Pastor used to say, “short term pain, long term gain and short-term pleasure, long term pain.”
There are many people today, that are willing to make personal sacrifices for worldly or material success.
However very few are willing to offer any form of sacrifice to God.
They will say we not under the Law, making reference to the Mosaic Law that God gave unto Moses.
And yes, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice that God Himself provided so that we don’t need to make any animal sacrifices to God for sin or anything else, like blessings or thanksgiving.
God doesn’t require that from us. What is pleasing to God, is when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice
The truest sacrifice we can make is to try and live according to His purposes for our lives.
Throughout the Bible we read about people that offered sacrifices to God, either as they were instructed or out of their own accord and we read about God’s response to it and how it benefited the person making the sacrifice.
In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the first sacrifice ever made was when God sacrificed an animal in order to make clothes for Adam and Eve when they discovered their nakedness, due to their disobedience and rebellion to the instruction of God.
The Bible states: For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23z NKJV)
And again, “Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.” (Hebrews 9:22 GNBDK)
So indeed God told them that if they disobeyed they would surely die. HOWEVER through His infinite mercy and grace, even though death entered the world and affects all of us.
God substituted an animal to die in their place. That was a prototype of what God would eventually do for all of humanity through Jesus.
The next time we read about a sacrifice is when Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God in Genesis chapter 4.
And we read that God rejected Cain’s sacrificial offering but accepted Abel’s.
My friends, there is an offering that God rejects, even in the Book of Malachi, God clearly tells the nation of Israel, that’s it’s wrong to bring the lame and the blind animals to sacrifice.
Don’t give God what you don’t want, God gave us His best and requires our best.
God told Cain that he wouldn’t have got offended if he done what was right. (Genesis 4:7)
Which tells me that they were aware of the sacrifice that God required, probably through their parents who after witnessing the horror of their sin when God sacrificed an animal in their place, possibly regularly made animal sacrifices both as a reminder and thanksgiving for God having spared them.
My friends, today’s portion of scripture makes it clear what type of sacrifice, the Lord requires of us.
To present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. The Psalmist wrote:
“You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings.
My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.” (Psalms 51:16-17 GNBDK)
Unfortunately religion and the world gives us a wrong perception of God, causing us to believe that offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, robs us from a good life.
Yet it actually gives us access to eternal life in the presence of God and allows us to experience the abundant life God has made available to us upon the earth through Jesus.
As Jesus said: “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!(John 10:10 TPT)
Unfortunately the devil is a deceiver and twist God’s word to cause us to disobey it and thereby granting him access to rob us of everything God gave us and cause us to suffer.
God’s desire for humanity was always the best, He ensured that He first made everything, including a private garden before He created humankind.
Then He gave us authority and dominion over everything and with it a free will to choose to obey and operate in that authority or disobey and suffer the consequences thereof.
Unfortunately Adam and Eve chose to disobey and the authority we had, was obtained by satan and they suffered consequences and a curse was borught upon the land.
HOWEVER! God in all His mercy and grace, set a plan of redemption in place for us and that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who gave His life, as a living sacrifice to settle the debt of our sins, and who became a curse, thereby making available the forgiveness of sins and blessing of Abraham to all by faith in Him.
All authority in Heaven and earth was given unto Him, and through our faith in Him, we are able to exercise that authority and have dominion over all things upon the earth.
My friends, when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, we are able to operate in the fulness of the glory of God in the same way Jesus had.
We are called to operate in the miraculous and supernatural, with the authority to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead.
So therefore, as the Apostle Paul wrote: ” Let us present our bodies unto the Lord as a living sacrifice and not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind and prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face.
For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?
If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!
In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.
So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.
But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth.
And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.
Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.
But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
*2 Corinthians 3:7-18 NLT*
What the world needs now is a church that reflects the glory of God upon the earth.
When I say church, I’m not talking about a ministry or congregation, I’m talking about the body of Christ, those who believe in Him and has accepted Him as their personal Lord and Saviour.
The purpose of God is and always was for His people to reflect His glory, so that other people and nations may be drawn to Him through them.
Now the question arises, what is the glory of God?
Glory is defined in the Oxford dictionary as high renown or honour won by notable achievements.
And as magnificence or great beauty and take great pride or pleasure in.
Now the nation of Israel, definitely in the time of Moses, because of the manner in which they were delivered out of the bondage of slavery, through signs wonders and miracles, clearly, held God in high renown and honour.
And, if for arguments sake, they hadn’t, the other nations that heard about it clearly did.
I say that confidently based on the following portion of scripture.
“Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.
“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.
For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt.
And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.
No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things.
For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:8-11 NLT)
And you know what? the time is coming when the world will once again know that the God of Israel is the supreme God.
Regarding God’s magnificence, let’s read what the Psalmist wrote: “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.
Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation.
All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power.
They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all he does.” (Psalms 145:3-13 NLT)
My friends, the glory of God as we read, is His high renown and honour which is clearly won by His notable achievements, it is His magnificence, which is reflected in His miracles.
And Jesus was the manifest glory of God upon the earth. As it is written:
“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.
When He had cleansed us from our sins, He sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.” (Hebrews 1:3 NLT)
God’s glory is reflected in us through the miraculous, as we read about the life of Jesus after having turned water into wine.
“This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.” (John 2:11 NLT)
It’s confirmed again at the resurrection of Lazarus, as it is written: “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?(John 11:39-40 NL
Describing God’s magnificence, which we already established is what glory is defined as, the Psalmist wrote:
“I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.” (Psalms 145:5 NLT)
My friends, Jesus operated in the miraculous, thereby reflecting the glory of God and as His followers, so are we to do.
As Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (John 14:12 NLT)
The Hebrew name for the Lord of glory is El Hakkavod.
The Hebrew word kavod originally meant “heavy, weighty,” as in reference to armor used in battle.
Over time the word be-came linked with wealth, honor, dignity, and power, and it eventually came to mean “glory.”
My friends, I will draw to a close with the words of the prophet Isaiah.
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
“Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.” (Isaiah 60:1-5 NKJV)
As we know, the times we are living in, seems to be growing darker and so are the people.
But we need not fear, because Jesus our light has come, and He will arise over us and by His grace, not the works of the Law, the glory of God will be upon us.
And we will reflect His glory, as the Holy Spirit transforms us, by His power into the image of Christ.
And as we operate in and reflect the glory of God, people will be drawn to Him from all nations, including our families, they will be drawn to us, even people of power, by the radiance of God.
Glory also means bright light, the transcendence that is all around God. The created light and brilliance around God is what His glory is all about.
As it is written: “Bless the Lord , O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.” (Psalms 104:1-2 NKJV)
Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NKJV)
And then to us as believers, He said: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV)
So, my friends, arise and shine, for the Glory of Lord is on you, therefore Reflect His Glory.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver; For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.
You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways. When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!
Then He will save the humble person. He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”
*Job 22:23-30 NKJV*
When we look at the current state of affairs globally, wars between certain nations, conflicts between people, gang wars in our communities, increase in illnesses and diseases, such as alzheimers and dementia, cancer, high crime and divorce rates, the amount of people who are confused about their gender even though they have been born with either male or female genetilia.
We can’t help but ask the question, what is happening?
Well, my friends, I can tell you what is happening, globally individuals and nations have turned away from God.
The enemy has subtly crept in, removing prayer from schools and removed laws that were based on biblical principles and concepts from constitutions, for the sake of acceptance and inclusivity.
Many individuals have become lovers of money instead of God, and religious organizations has created the concept of prosperity as being the blessing of God.
And with that, people have looked at those who have obtained great wealth as being close to or favoured by God irrespective of their lifestyles.
On the other hand, there are many who are serving God that has been suffering and going challenges causing them to doubt God’s word or having a misconception of grace, having a form of godliness, yet without God.
My friends, God is calling the world to return to Him so that He can build us up and remove our iniquity from us.
Iniquity is the dirtiness that lives in us when we’ve engaged in sin by transgressing God’s law.
My friends, God is calling us to return to Him, because He doesn’t desire for any of us to perish.
Unfortunately, it is not God punishing us and that has brought all this calamity upon us.
From the beginning, God’s intention for humanity was good.
Before He created humankind, He recreated the earth and made a place which had everything in it and then placed humankind in it.
Blessed them, told them to be fruitful and multiply, clearly God’s intention was to prosper us.
He told them to replenish the earth, that’s why He created us male and female, in order to reproduce and replenish the earth.
God told them to subdue the earth and gave humankind dominion over everything upon the earth.
BUT, then the serpent, used subtlety and caused them to doubt God’s intention and their identity.
You see my friends, the Bible states that God created humankind in His own image, yet the serpent told the women that they would be like God if they ate from the forbidden tree.
They had access to every tree, but he placed their focus on the one, they were told not eat off.
That’s exactly how the devil works today, he tries to get us to focuss on the one thing we don’t have, taking our focuss off everything that we do have.
And when we do, we become dissatisfied and bring calamity upon ourselves.
David brought calamity on himself, he had many wives and concubines but then desired and took another man’s wife, thus sinning against God, even though, he had a heart after God’s own heart.
Unfortunately, many of us, that has a heart after God’s own heart, too have compromised, because we set our eyes on what we shouldn’t have.
Nevertheless, even though there were consequences for Adam and Eve’s disobedience and rebellion and for David’s sin.
God being rich in grace and mercy, set in motion a plan of restoration for the forgiveness of the sin and rebellion of humanity, which was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
As it is written: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV)
And again: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
My friends, God made a way for us through Jesus to return to Him, by allowing Him to suffer for our transgressions, to be bruised for our iniquities and to pay the penalty for our sins.
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJV)
And God has ensured that our return to Him, is not difficult, it isn’t dependent on our ability and works but by grace through faith.
As it is written: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
So, we get into right standing with God or take hold of the righteousness He made available to us by grace, through faith.
As is is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”(Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
Through one man Adam, sin entered the world and fell upon all of humanity, but by the grace of God through one man Jesus, forgiveness was obtained for all of humanity.
As it written: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned.
For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:12, 15-19 NKJV)
Righteousness my friends, is available to all, however we need to choose it, by choosing to believe in God’s sacrifice that He provided for us in His Son Jesus.
And that is how we return to God and we will be built up and our iniquity removed far from us.
And prosperity restored unto us, through God who becomes our source of wealth.
And we will have our delight in Him and be able to confidently lift up our face to God.
And pray to Him, knowing that He hears us. As it is written: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.” (Psalms 34:15 NKJV)
And out of gratitude, like Abraham, after he got the victory and rescued his nephew Lot from captivity. We will tithe unto God.
And as our foundational text states, we will declare a thing and it will be established for us.
Our authority my friends, is restored through our faith in Jesus and so like God what He said He saw, like Jesus said and He saw, so because we believe, we will will see what we say.
In our foundational text, it states, light will shine on our ways and when we are cast down, exaltation will come.
Yes, our faith will be tested, we will suffer things, but we will be restored, lacking nothing and like Job, we will get back double for our trouble.
Our foundational text concludes by stating that God will save the humble person, and He will even deliver the one who is not innocent.
Even though we are guilty, God will deliver us, because, Jesus who was innocent, settled the debt of our sin.
The Bible states: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)
So, my friends, I conclude by urging you, to BELIEVE in Jesus and thus RETURN TO GOD.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures:*
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
*Numbers 23:19 NKJV*
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
*Isaiah 55:11 NKJV*
God said it; I believe it, and that settles it.
God’s Holy Word is infallible, it’s unfailing. No matter what anyone might say against it, no matter how many doubt it, what God has said is settled in Heaven and will manifest.
Many people today are living in fear and some boldly, contrary to the word of God, which is sin.
And the reason for that is, because they do not believe the word of God.
Some are living in fear of the end times, fear of lack, fear of illness, fear of bad things happening to them or their family and fear of death.
My friends, God doesn’t want us to be fearful, He want us to be faith filled.
The Bible states: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Spirit of God in you.
As Jesus said to His disciples; “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NKJV)
God my friends, has given us His Spirit, and the Bible states: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:8-11 NKJV)
From that verse, we are told that God is Love, so if His Spirit abides in us, love abides in us. And if love abides in us then we will obey God’s commands as Jesus said.
Secondly God’s love is perfect and the Bible states; “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18 NKJV)
So, if you are in fear, check your love walk and make the decision to walk in love. My Pastor always says:” You do the desiring; God does the producing.”
My friends, the Holy Spirit is our Helper, to help us as believers, but also to convict the world of sin.
As Jesus said: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7-11 NKJV)
Now the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, so that they can come to a place of repentance, to realise that God sent Jesus as the propitiation of our sins and not only our sins but the sins of the world as written in 1 John 2:2.
It is taught by many that ‘atonement’ is an exclusively Old Testament idea that means to “cover sin up”, whereas ‘propitiation’ is a New Testament truth that enables the actual putting away of sin.
Propitiation also, means the appeasement of God’s wrath. “to satisfy the wrath of God against sin,” “to turn away God’s wrath,”or “to offer a sacrifice that appeases God’s just judgment and righteous anger against us and our sin.”
Jesus is not simply “the propitiator”. but the “propitiation.” He is what satisfies the justice of God.
When Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God’s instruction, there were consequences, one of it was, that sin entered into the world.
However, God wasn’t taken by surprise, He already had a plan of restoration. Through Jesus, the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
In the first promise of the gospel in Genesis 3:15, God cryptically promised that the offspring of the woman would bruise/crush the head of the serpent.
And that promise, that word, was fulfilled through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, satan was defeated, his head was crushed and authority has been restored unto us, humankind.
My friends, God’s word is not restricted by or limited to time. If He said it, then it will manifest.
God said to Noah that he should build an ark because He was going to send rain upon the earth and destroy the earth by a flood.
At that time, it never rained before, HOWEVER, Noah believed God, started building an ark as God directed, according to theologians, it took 120yrs.
Well, the rains came, and the earth was flooded, BUT, Noah and his household was saved.
God said in His word, that the world will once again be destroyed, this time by fire (2 Peter 3:10).
My friends, whether you believe it or not, it will happen, HOWEVER, like Noah, if you believe it, you and your household can be saved.
You don’t need to build an ark or a bunker, Jesus is our ark, faith in Him will save us and our household.
As it is written: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 NKJV)
God called a man by the name of Abraham and said to Him that He will bless him and through his seed, the nations of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 22:18)
My friends, the Bible states that Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
Through our faith in Jesus, we are made righteous, as it is written: “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”(Romans 10:8-10 KJV)
My friends, God never only promised us salvation through Jesus so that we can go to heaven when we die and enjoy the blessings of God and experience health and well.
God never only sent Jesus for us to have eternal life but to have an abundant life.
Jesus said: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 KJV)
Jesus came so that we can have divine health, as it written: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”(I Peter 2:24 NKJV)
He came so that we may be delivered from poverty, as it is written: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV)
If you are single and lonely, God said: “it’s not good for man to be alone”(Genesis 2:18), if you have no children, God said: “non amongst you shall be barren.” (Exodus 23:26)
If you or any of your loved ones are bound in addiction or demonic oppression, like depression.
Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;” (Luke 4:18 NKJV)
My friends if you are reading or listening to the audio of this message, if you believe what God said, you will have what God said, not someday but now.
As it is written: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures:*
“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
*Numbers 23:19 NKJV*
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
*Isaiah 55:11 NKJV*
God said it; I believe it, and that settles it.
God’s Holy Word is infallible, it’s unfailing. No matter what anyone might say against it, no matter how many doubt it, what God has said is settled in Heaven and will manifest.
Many people today are living in fear and some boldy, contrary to the word of God, which is sin.
And the reason for that is, because they do not believe the word of God.
Some are living in fear of the end times, fear of lack, fear of illness, fear of bad things happening to them or their family and fear of death.
My friends, God doesn’t want us to be fearful, He want us to be faith filled.
The Bible states: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Spirit of God in you.
As Jesus said to His disciples; “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NKJV)
God my friends, has given us His Spirit, and the Bible states: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:8-11 NKJV)
From that verse, we are told that God is Love, so if His Spirit abides in us, love abides in us. And if love abides in us then we will obey God’s commands as Jesus said.
Secondly God’s love is perfect and the Bible states; “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18 NKJV)
So, if you are in fear, check your love walk and make the decision to walk in love. My Pastor always says:” You do the desiring; God does the producing.”
My friends, the Holy Spirit is our Helper, to help us as believers, but also to convict the world of sin.
As Jesus said: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7-11 NKJV)
Now the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, so that they can come to a place of repentance, to realise that God sent Jesus as the propitiation of our sins and not only our sins, but the sins of the world as written in 1 John 2:2.
It is taught by many that ‘atonement’ is an exclusively Old Testament idea that means to “cover sin up”, whereas ‘propitiation’ is a New Testament truth that enables the actual putting away of sin.
Propitiation also, means the appeasement of God’s wrath. “To satisfy the wrath of God against sin,” “to turn away God’s wrath, “or “to offer a sacrifice that appeases God’s just judgment and righteous anger against us and our sin.”
Jesus is not simply “the propitiator”. but the “propitiation.” He is what satisfies the justice of God.
When Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God’s instruction, there were consequences, one of it was, that sin entered into the world.
However, God wasn’t taken by surprise, He already had a plan of restoration. Through Jesus, the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
In the first promise of the gospel in Genesis 3:15, God cryptically promised that the offspring of the woman would bruise/crush the head of the serpent.
And that promise that word, was fulfilled through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, satan was defeated, his head was crushed and authority has been restored unto us, humankind.
My friends, God’s word is not restricted by or limited to time. If He said it, then it will manifest.
God said to Noah that he should build an ark because He was going to send rain upon the earth and destroy the earth by a flood.
At that time, it never rained before, HOWEVER, Noah believed God, started building an ark as God directed, according to theologians, it took 120yrs.
Well, the rains came, and earth was flooded, BUT, Noah and his household was saved.
God said in His word, that the world will once again be destroyed, this time by fire (2 Peter 3:10).
My friends, whether you believe it or not, it will happen, HOWEVER, like Noah, if you believe it, you and your household can be saved.
You don’t need to build an ark or a bunker, Jesus is our ark, faith in Him will save us and our household.
As it is written: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 NKJV)
God called a man by the name of Abraham and said to Him that He will bless him and through his seed, the nations of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 22:18)
My friends, the Bible states that Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)
Through our faith in Jesus, we are made righteous, as it is written: “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”(Romans 10:8-10 KJV)
My friends, God never only promised us salvation through Jesus so that we can go to heaven when we die and enjoy the blessings of God and experience health and well.
God never only sent Jesus for us to have eternal life but to have an abundant life.
Jesus said: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 KJV)
Jesus came so that we can have divine health, as it written: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”(I Peter 2:24 NKJV)
He came so that we may be delivered from poverty, as it is written: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV)
If you are single and lonely, God said: “it’s not good for man to be alone”(Genesis 2:18), if you have no children, God said: “non amongst you shall be barren.” (Exodus 23:26) If you or any of your loved ones are bound in addiction or demonic oppression, like depression.
Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;” (Luke 4:18 NKJV)
My friends if you are reading or listening to the audio of this message, if you believe what God said, you will have what God said, not someday but now.
As it is written: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
*Genesis 21:1-2 NIV*
There are many believers in Jesus, that either received a word from God, prophetically that was confirmed by God’s written word, or heard a word ministered, or read a scripture and it either resonated with them or made reference to what they are hoping for.
Let me clarify, maybe someone gave you a prophesy that God has brought you out of the darkness into the light and is going to use you in the healing ministry.
Or that, God is going to bless you with so much money that it will draw people unto Him.
Or that God is going to heal you, or you going to meet your spouse soon or if a married women or couple, you going to conceive and have a child.
Everything I just mentioned are promises that are in God’s word.
As it is written: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,” (Colossians 1:13 NKJV)
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV)
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” (Psalms 35:27 NKJV)
He sent His word and healed them And delivered them from their destructions.” (Psalms 107:20 NKJV)
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV)
He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22 NKJV)
No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.” (Exodus 23:26 NKJV)
My friends, every promise in the word of God, we are assured will manifest, if we believe.
Because it is written: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
When we read the account of the life of Abraham in the book of Genesis in the Bible.
We read that God called Abraham and told him to leave his country and his people and go to a place that God would show him.
And God said that He would make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great and that through him, the nations of the earth would be blessed. (Genesis 12)
We further read that Abraham was 75yrs old at the time and that he and his wife were childless.
In Genesis 15:6 we are told that Abraham “believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”
The apostle James cites this verse and claims that because of his faith, Abraham became the “friend of God” (James 2:23).
My friends, Abraham’s righteousness was obtained by faith and that’s exactly how we obtain righteousness today, no other way.
As it is written: “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10 NKJV)
As we continue to read about the account of Abraham’s life in the book of Genesis, we are told that he dwelled in the land of Canaan, one would even think that he was wondering aimlessly.
Sometimes our journey with God to people seems like we are wondering aimlessly, like we are all over the show, maybe we even feel that way.
Listen my friends, God said to Joshua: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.” (Joshua 1:3 NKJV)
People might think you just wandering around aimlessly, but they have no idea, you just marking your territory, familiarizing yourself with the terrain, learning the ropes, in preparation to subdue and possess.
We also read that Abraham went to Egypt in a time of famine, he basically pimped out his wife out of fear, but God turned that situation to his favour and he left Egypt with livestock and servants.
Listen, some of us may have made decisions out of fear, I want to say to you today, God is going to turn it around in your favour.
In the book of Genesis 13, we read that Abraham was very rich, listen my friends, when we believe God, we don’t have to chase after wealth, that’s part of the package.
There’s no poverty gospel, the Bible states: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)
Through Jesus, the blessing of Abraham has come upon us, so you don’t have to chase money.
Jesus said: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)
We already determined that we obtain righteousness by faith, righteousness has been made available to everyone, the Bible states: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
So, all we need to do is believe that, then we are righteous, and when we see ourselves as righteous, what does the Bible state?
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,” (Psalms 92:12-14 NKJV)
Now, let’s continue with Abraham, in the Book of Genesis 15 we read.
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”(Genesis 15:1-4 NKJV)
In Genesis 12, God said to Abraham that He would make him a great nation.
In Genesis 13, we are told Abraham was very rich, but with all that wealth, Abraham was still unfulfilled by the reality of being childless.
Then the word of the Lord came to him that God is his exceedingly great reward and Abraham, brought his concern before God.
My friends, firstly as believers, God is our exceedingly great reward, however there are many of us that are unfulfilled as believers.
And we can be honest to God about the things that concern us.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV)
God didn’t say to Abraham, “you ungrateful thing, I made you very rich.” No God assured him, that his heir will come from his own body.
The Psalmist wrote: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4 NKJV)
Let’s continue with the life of Abraham, in the book of Genesis 16, we read that Sarah is still childless and then comes up with the bright idea, that Abraham should sleep with her maid Hagar so that she can bear a child on her behalf.
Apparently, that was a common practice, Abraham agrees, I gather Hagar must have been attractive too and he is given permission by his wife to be with her, to him, it was probably too good to be true.
And God did say, his heir will come from his seed, so it probably made sense, since Sarah never conceived after all those years.
My friends, if something seems too good to be true, it often is. Oftentimes the solution to our our problems seems logical, like making a loan against your property to finance your business.
Or bringing an investor on board or going to a financial institution or joining a dating site.
Because God’s promise is taking time and so we think, that’s the way we probably meant to do it.
Listen, two things, delay is not deny with God and haste makes waste, impatience will cause you to make wrong decisions that will come back to bite you on the backside.
Sarah’s suggestion and decision caused them both grief.
The good news however is that our mistakes, won’t stop God’s purpose and sometimes He will even bless our mistakes, like He promised Abraham that He would bless Ishmael.
Obviously because Abraham probably done it out of ignorance, really believing that was how God intended to give him an heir and Hagar did conceive so he did have an heir.
However, the Bible states: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8 NKJV)
Listen, maybe like me you made wrong decisions, trying to make God’s word manifest through your own abilities and now are frustrated and dealing with things you shouldn’t be.
My friends, God is merciful and will deliver us out of it. His word states: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I John 1:9 NKJV)
Abraham the Bible states was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.
Thirteen years later, God then makes a promise to Abraham and Sarah that, Sarah will bare him a child and that God would establish His covenant through that child.
The Bible states, that Abraham questioned that in his heart and asked God to just bless Ishmael, since that obviously seemed like the simpler, logical solution.
Well, my friends, when God promises us something, it might seem impossible but as Jesus said and as we know from the story of Abraham, with God, all things are possible.
Whatever you are currently facing now, might not look possible, but I can assure you, if God promised it, all we need to do is believe it and that settles it.
Then we will see God’s promise fulfilled, whether it’s for debt cancelation, for supernatural provision, for healing, or for a spouse, a child, for deliverance or for business or ministry.
In today’s portion of scripture, it states that God was gracious to Sarah as He had said and The Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.
By grace, God will do for us as He promises in His word or as was prophesied to us in accordance with His word.
Our foundational portion of scripture ends with, “at the very time God had promised.”
Well, it is written: For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2 NKJV)
Now! my friends is the time, because Jesus is the ultimate promise God made when He said to Abraham, through your seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years and had suffered many things from many physicians.
She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.
And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”
*Mark 5:24-34 NKJV*
There are many people who have been battling with certain things that has cost them much and depleted them financially and physically, as they tried everyone and everything possible to overcome their circumstances.
Instead of their situation getting better, it got worse, that illness got worse, the marriage is worse, the addiction and behavior of that loved one is worse, the situation at work is worse, the debt is worse.
My friends when we seek a solution to our problems in fellow humans, even though God uses people, oftentimes we end up worse off than we were.
Thank God for doctors, who He has given wisdom to, sadly however sometimes the medication they prescribe to deal with an illness results in side effects, that leaves us worse off, so we have an additional problem to deal with.
Thank the Lord for marriage counselors, psychologist and psychiatrist, unfortunately sometimes some of them are unable to overcome their own relationship, psychological or emotional problems and advise people from a place of brokenness, leaving them worse off.
Thank God for lawyers unfortunately they at times end up costing you more, especially in divorced cases.
Thank God for financial institutions that make loans available when people need it, but then they end up in deeper debt and worse off.
The Bible sates: “Thus says the Lord : “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord .
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord .
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NKJV)
My friends don’t misunderstand me, I’m not against, counselors, doctors, psychologist, psychiatrist or lawyers assisting us and don’t believe God is either.
The problem is putting our faith in them and not in God to meet our needs through them.
God does use people, but He doesn’t need people, He is God alone.
He doesn’t need a pastor to preach to you for you to receive a revelation of Himself or Jesus.
He revealed Himself to Moses through a burning bush and Jesus revealed Himself to Paul directly.
He doesn’t need someone to provide for you, He opened the heavens and fed an entire nation with manna for forty years.
He used ravens to feed the prophet Elijah at the Brook Cherith.
He doesn’t need a doctor to heal a person or man to lay hands on someone to be healed.
In the Book of Exodus chapter 4, God tells Moses to put his hand in his bosom and when he put it in, it turned leprous and then instructed him to do it again and it came out healed.
The prophet Elisha, spoke to the Syrian army commander through a door, instructed him to go wash seven times in the Jordan and when he did, God healed him.
Jesus gave a word and a Roman Centurions servant was healed.
God doesn’t need us, but, He choses to use us, HOWEVER He has a problem when we shift our faith and place it in a person, science, medicine or an institution instead of Him.
My friends when our faith and trust is in anything, including ourselves, but God, we are sure to end up in a place of defeat.
However, when we shift our trust and faith to God, no matter how bad our situation, we are sure to overcome any situation.
Whether it’s healing, deliverance, salvation, provision or restoration, our God is able and willing to do it.
He is Jehovah Rapha the God who heals, He is El Shaddai, the all sufficient One, He is Jehovah Jireh, God our provider, He is Jehovah Mephalti, the one who delivers; releases or rescues us.
In our foundational text, we read about this woman with an issue of blood who had suffered for twelve years and spent all her money on physicians but grew worse.
BUT we read, that she heard about Jesus. My friends , the Bible states. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
She heard about this Jesus, who healed the sick, cured the lame, opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped the ears of the deaf and raised the dead.
And that stirred up her faith and she said to herself, “if I may only touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Note she didn’t say if He touches me, faith my friends reaches out to God, with expectation of receiving. It doesn’t wish that God would reach out to them.
It is written: “But how will people call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher (messenger)?
And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]? (Romans 10:14-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Well, my friends, I have been commissioned today to share this message with you, so that faith may arise in you and so that you may reach out to God and receive whatever you are in need of.
We read, that there was a great multitude of people, but she managed to get up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
This woman was obviously weak, a friend just mentioned last night to me about her daughter, that has been bleeding for about a week and that they were at the hospital, and she was on a drip.
Now I can only imagine how weak this woman was, having bled for 12years. Nevertheless, when she heard about Jesus, she said to herself, “if I could only touch His clothes,” and was determined to do what she said.
Faith without works my friends, the Bible states:” is dead.” If you truly believe something you will act on it.
If you believe that God is able to heal, deliver, provide and restore, then you will P.U.S.H
PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS
And like that woman you will touch Him.
We read that when she touched Jesus, “IMMEDIATELY, the fountain of her blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.”
It is written: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
Faith is evident my friends, as we continue reading, we are told Jesus, IMMEDIATELY, knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched me.”
Listen my friends, it doesn’t matter how many people are in need of a miracle, if you reach out in faith, you will tap into the power of God and get God’s attention.
The scripture tells us, that when Jesus looked at her, she feared and fell down before Him and told Him the truth.
When you feel God’s power working in you, it will bring you to your knees in reverential fear and cause you to confess the truth.
He already knows the truth; However, our confession brings forth salvation.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-9 NKJV)
Our portion of scripture concludes with Jesus saying to her; ” Daughter your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Listen my friends, the Bible is states; ” But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:12 NKJV)
Your faith in Jesus, makes you a child of God. Now it doesn’t end their Jesus says to her; “Go in peace.”
Peace, Shlama in Aramaic, Shalom in Hebrew. The root word of Shalom is “shalam”. One of the first uses of the word shalam in the Torah is in Exodus 21 and 22. In these 2 chapters, it is used 14 times.
In the translation of Exodus 21-22, shalam is translated as “make it good”, “shall surely pay”, “make full restitution” or to “restore”.
The ancient Hebrew meaning of shalam was “to make something whole”. Not just regarding practical restoration of things that were lost or stolen.
But with an overall sense of fulness and completeness in mind, body and estate.
So, I believe, that, that woman, that day, received total restoration from Jesus.
And then Jesus ends by saying; “and be healed of your affliction.”
Now you say, but the scripture states, that the moment she touched His clothes, Immediately the blood stopped flowing and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction, so why did Jesus say; “and be healed.”
Well, the thought that arose in my spirit, was to give her assurance, do that she wouldn’t feel condemnation, after the fear she felt when He looked at her.
So, you say, that was 2000yrs ago and Jesus was physically there.
Well, the Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV)
Listen, after Jesus’s crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven, in Acts chapter 3 we read that a man born lame, was healed through the Apostles Peter and John.
Here are three verses from that account: “Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
So, he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:6-8 NKJV)
If that’s not enough to stir up your faith, then let me tell you about my experience 28yrs ago.
After a 14yr drug addiction, the last 3 of which was a crack cocaine addiction which led me to a point of coughing chunks of blood.
I went home fell on my knees and said: ” God if you there and Jesus if you real, I need your help.”
And immediately, I felt peace, and a thought came into my mind, “everything is going to be alright.”
Well, I was immediately delivered from that crack cocaine addiction and healed from whatever caused me to cough up chunks of blood.
The Bible states: For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
If you are reading or listening to the audio of this message, hearing about Jesus and believe and you are in need of a miracle, then reach out or call out to Him.
My friends, God is still able to immediately deliver you from your affliction.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture: *
We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
*II Corinthians 6:1-2 NKJV*
Many of us understand from Scripture that there is a time and season for everything under the sun as stated in the Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
A time to be born, a time to die, a time to laugh, a time to cry, a celebrate, a time to mourn, a time to sow, a time to reap and so forth.
And from the growth process of the life of a human being, we realise there is a time of birth, infancy, childhood, teenage years and adulthood.
Basically, that there is a process, and certain things happen at certain times.
And because of that understanding, oftentimes we mistakenly wait for things that has already been provided for us, because we wrongly believe that the time will come for it to manifest.
And we religiously quote the scriptural verse from Isaiah 60:22, that states; ” At the right time I the Lord will make it happen.”
And so, when we suffer illness and diseases, poverty and lack, or are bound in addiction or lust or suffer abuse, we stay stuck in it because of wrong believing.
My friends, when you are hungry and starving, God doesn’t intend to make you wait for a week or month, He has already made provision and is willing and able to feed you now.
God doesn’t change, He is same yesterday today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8).
When the nation of Israel were in the wilderness and were hungry and complained, God sent manna from heaven and meat. (Exodus 16)
When they were thirsty, God provided water from a rock (Exodus 14), when they were pursued even before that by the Egyptians, God parted the sea and made a way for them immediately. (Exodus 14)
When a widow came to the prophet Elisha for help because her husband’s creditors came to collect and wanted to take her boys as slaves, Immediately God provided a miracle through the prophet with the oil.
Not just for her to settle the debt, but enough for her to live off. (2 Kings 4:4)
My friends, God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, far above what we can ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)
When the Syrian army commander with leprosy came to Elisha, believing for healing, God healed him immediately when he went and washed himself seven times in the Jordan as the prophet instructed. (2 Kings 5)
My friends the Bible states: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
God wants to provide, deliver, heal and save us now. Faith places a demand on God and is not restricted to time.
At the wedding of Cana, when Mary the mother of our Lord came to Him because they ran out of wine, Jesus said that His time had not yet come, but she ignored that and told the servants to do as He told them and there was an abundance of wine, six stone jars full.
Those stone jars we read, were 20 gallons a piece, which is about 75 litres each so there were about 476 litres of wine.
And that was for a social event, so why would God withhold or make us wait to settle our bills, or heal us or deliver us from anything?
The Bible states: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
Listen my friends, today’s foundational text clearly states, that we should not receive the grace of God in vain.
Why? because our salvation, healing, deliverance and provision is not dependent on us, but on God, who has already provided everything for us through Jesus.
Jesus was scourged before He was crucified, and healing was made available to us two thousand years ago.
As it is written: “Christ Himself carried our sins in His body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by His wounds that you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 GNT)
Hear that: Have been healed, healing was provided for us before we even experienced symptoms of illness, so we need to take hold of our healing by faith.
We don’t have to conform to illness, we need to be transformed into health by the renewing of our mind.
By meditating on God’s word that states we are healed.
The same applies regarding feeling condemned about sin, Jesus died and paid for our sins, for it is written; ” the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.”(Romans 6:23)
So, if we are convicted of sin, all we need to do is repent, make up our minds not to continue in it and confess it.
As it is written: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I John 1:9 NKJV)
If we confess our sins, we need to believe we are righteous because condemnation can make our faith of no effect.
The Bible states: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GNT)
Listen through Jesus, we have been redeemed from the curse of the Law and from generational curses as well.
As it is written: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV)
And again: “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT)
So, my friends, repent, change your thinking, stop believing the lies of the devil, that you are cursed and have to be delivered from generational curses. Jesus delivered us 2000yrs ago.
Believe that, and you will be freed from the bad behavior you learned from your ancestors.
Galatians 3 tells us that we were redeemed from the curse of the law, in the Book of Deuteronomy 28, we read that poverty is a curse.
And the Bible states; “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”(II Corinthians 8:9 NKJV)
Listen, Jesus never came merely so that we can go to Heaven one day, He came so that we can experience Heaven on Earth.
When He came, He established God’s Kingdom upon the earth. As it is written: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 NKJV)
My friends, Jesus said the time is fulfilled, that means the time of our deliverance, salvation, healing, provision and prosperity is now.
Therefore, repent from unbelief and declare with me: “My time us come.”
Father, I pray that whoever reads or listen to the audio if this message will receive a miracle now, in Jesus name. Amen
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture:*
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast. “And they took it.
When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
*John 2:1-11 NKJV*
It’s in our human nature to rebel and not always want to follow instructions for some reason.
Now I’m not saying everyone one is like that, but many people are.
For some reason from my childhood whether out of curiosity, rebellion or merely because, I thought I knew better, I would almost always do the opposite of what I was told.
I just didn’t like to follow instructions and honestly as I grew up, I even believed I was meant to give instructions not follow and mistook that as a leadership trait.
It didn’t help much that I came out of family that was self-employed, owned businesses and had employees, that probably made it more difficult for me when I entered the workplace, I hated being managed, it was absolutely difficult.
Working hard wasn’t the issue, we were taught to work from a young age, and we worked hard, our weekends were literally sacrificed being in retail.
Following instructions is what was hard for me, doing as I’m told, I gather even at school, one of the reasons why I was always in trouble.
When I received a revelation of Jesus, as my life was being transformed over the years, I started understanding the importance of submission and authority and following instructions clearly.
And more so a couple of years ago, when I watched a video clip of a guy that was piloting an airplane and the navigation equipment failed while flying in a storm and managed to get through it and land safely with the guidance of the air traffic controller via radio communication.
Many people, believers in Christ are not living fulfilled lives, the abundant life that Jesus died for us to have, merely because we are not willing to obey and follow instructions.
Some people have obtained financial success through self-discipline and effort, or by doing things their way, even if it meant compromising ethics and morals and so they convinced themselves that they don’t need God or to live according to His word.
Yet with all that wealth, many are either suffering from various chronic illnesses and diseases, are in unhappy marriages, have wayward children, undisciplined or addicted or that are in some or other form of bondage.
Now I know someone listening to or reading this message would say, hold on dude, their many people that attend church and profess to be Christians that are suffering the same fate.
And would say, “correctly so, firstly being a Christian or follow of Christ doesn’t exempt us from trials, attacks or the storms of life.
Jesus said, ‘in this world you will have tribulations but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”
In His parable about the man that built his house on the rock and the one that one that built his on the sand, both were subject to the same conditions, however the one that stood after the storms was the one that built his house on the rock.
He likened that person to one that heard and obeyed the word, someone that acted on the word of God, someone that applied it in their life.
Or because of unbelief, they don’t believe that God wants the best for them, or because of disobedience and rebellion. And so, they need to repent.
Unfortunately, some believers are experiencing difficulties because of their refusal to submit to God’s will for their life.
The Bible has many demonstrations of people that both obeyed and disobeyed God’s instructions and the results of either their disobedience or obedience.
Disobedience unfortunately had consequences and obedience had rewards or resulted in rewards or were beneficial to those who obeyed and followed instruction.
Adam and Eve disobey, and it resulted in them being removed from the presence of God and in hardships, hard labor and pain and even their one son murdering the other. And obviously in the fall of humankind.
Then Noah’s obedience, following God’s instruction to build the ark, led to him and his family, his household being saved from the flood.
Abraham’s obedience, acting on the word of God and leaving his family and going to where God instructed him.
Was accounted to him for righteousness and he went from being childless to fathering eight sons and he was rewarded with great wealth and through him the nations of the earth are blessed from his seed, Jesus Christ.
Moses’s obedience to go back to Egypt was rewarded with God performing miracles through him and using him to lead the nation of Israel out of captivity.
Samson’s disobedience caused him to lose his power, have his eyes gorged out and enslaved, grinding wheat in a mill.
Our disobedience can cause us to become weak, lose our vision and hope for the future and be held captive by the devil, keeping us in bondage to sin and going around and around, grinding aimlessly for the benefit of others.
However, from the time Adam and Eve we see God God’s grace and plan of restoration.
And from Samson, we see God’s mercy when we call out to him and Hus grace to enable us to finish strong.
King Saul, the first king of Israel’s disobedience to follow the instruction and making excuses for his actions instead of repenting, caused him to lose the throne, his family never succeeded him, and he ended up in constant battles until his death.
Then we see the obedience of other people to the instruction of God, like Elijah who was instructed to go to the Brook of Cherith, where God protected him from Jezebel, provided for him supernaturally through ravens and supplied him with water from the brook in a time of drought.
My friends, if God instructs us to go to a place of isolation, He will strengthen us for the journey, protect us and feed us supernaturally and refresh our spirit with living water.
Then God instructed him to go to a widow at Zarephath and God instructed her to provide for him.
Their obedience benefited both of them, she experienced a miracle of supernatural provision throughout the drought am the blessing of the prophet residing in her house. And he was accommodated and fed.
My friends, obedience to God’s word and instruction, benefits anyone who applies it, irrespective of race, creed or gender.
The Syrian army general, when he obeyed the word of prophet Elisha and went to wash himself seven times in the Jordan and instructed, was healed of leprosy.
In today’s portion of scripture, we read that Jesus’s mother approached Him at a wedding feast and told Him they were running out of wine.
Even though Jesus said to her that his time had not come. Her faith in Him was not restricted by time.
Faith in Jesus my friends, places a demand on God and creates an atmosphere for a miracle amd is not restricted to time.
My friends, because of what Jesus done for us at the cross, the Bible states that we can boldly aproach the throne of grace l, knowing that we will obtain, mercy and grace in our time of need.
Mary, the mother of iur Lord, was confident in her faith, irrespective of Jesus’s response, she said to the servants, ” Whatever He says to you, do it.”
He told them to fill the water pots of stone with water and they done it, then He told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast and they did and then they witnessed a miracle.
My friends, when we do what Jesus says in His word or what He instructs us to do through the Holy Spirit, we will see the supernatural and experience the miraculous in our life.
Jesus told a blind man to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam and when he did, his eyes were opened.
He told a lame man at the pool pf Bethesda, to get up, pick up his matt and walk and as he acted on the word he was healed.
He told ten lepers to go show themselves to the priest and as they went, they were healed.
He told Peter to launch out and cast their net in the deep and when Peter done according to His word, they caught a boat sinking, net breaking harvest.
When He, told Peter to go down to the lake and there he would find a fish and in it, he would find a count to pay their temple tax, when Peter did, he found it was as the Lord said.
Listen my friends, anything the Lord tells you, if you do it, you will experience the supernatural and miraculous as I sated.
What is the Lord telling you to do today? Whatever He says to you, DO IT.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
*James 1:2-4 NKJV*
Joy is defined in the Oxford dictionary, as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
And happiness is the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.
The biblical definition of joy says that joy is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us.
Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God’s presence and from hope in His word.
As Galatians 5:22 states: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”
True joy is a limitless, life-defining, transformative reservoir waiting to be tapped into.
It requires the utmost surrender and, like love, is a choice to be made.
In our foundational text, the Apostle James, the brother of our Lord, tells us to count it all joy, when we fall into various trials.
My friends, when it seems as though we are facing nothing but difficulties, I’m sure that we can all agree it’s not pleasurable and the emotion we experience is not happiness.
My friends the Bible states: “the just shall live by faith,”(Romans 1:17)not by feelings. Rejoicing is a choice, the Psalmist wrote: “I will bless the Lord at ALL times.”(Psalm 34)
The Bible says, “rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4)
Not sometimes, not only when things are going well, not only when we are feeling healthy, not only when the relationship or marriage is good, not only when the businesses is prospering.
But in the midst of our circumstances, when the rain is falling, in the storms of life when the wind is blowing, we can rejoice if our house is built on Christ the solid rock, because the storms will pass but we are assured that we will stand.
My friends, I need to clarify, we don’t rejoice for the trials but in spite of the trials and count it all joy, because we know our faith is being tested and it is for a purpose.
When our faith is being tested, the Apostle James tells us that the testing of our faith produces patience.
And patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Paul and Silas chose to rejoice and prayed and praised even after having been scourged and imprisoned.
In the darkest hour, in the deepest dungeon of the prison, they rejoiced, and the earth shook and the shackles came off and the prison doors flung open.
So, my friends in the midst of your trials, take a decision to count it all joy and rejoice.
Even in the midst of death, at the tomb of Lazarus, with a decaying body inside, our Lord gave thanks to the Father and then called Lazarus forth.
So again, I say to you, count it all joy, rejoice in the Lord, give thanks and call forth your miracle, whatever it is you are believing God to resurrect.
My friends when we count it all joy in our trials and take the decision to rejoice by faith and give thanks knowing that God is in control and hears us.
Our faith will produce patience and when we allow patience to have its perfect work, the Apostle states, that we will be perfect and complete.
Basically, that we will have peace, not the type of peace the world gives, but the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that we receive from our Lord Jesus.
The peace of God, Shalom, nothing missing, nothing broken, total wholeness, or as the Apostle puts it, lacking nothing.
Therefore, my friends, if like me you are going through trials, let us count it all joy and take the decision to rejoice in the Lord, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.
He will give us the strength to endure when we rejoice by faith, and we can be assured that it will work out for our good.
The shackles will come off, the prison doors will open and every dead area in our life will be resurrected.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”
*Luke 24:49 GNBUK*
In these times where everything is literally available to us almost instantly, we are not able to wait for anything.
In generations past there were no boutiques where you could just walk in and buy clothing, it was made for people.
There were no drive throughs where people could buy food, and some generations even had to hunt for food.
There were no fast-track education programs, no online purchasers and no air freight that enables us to receive things from other countries.
In certain era’s people depended on telegrams etc.
Thank the Lord we are not living in those times, however, we seemed to have lost the ability to wait for what we have.
Anything you look forward to is worth waiting for, if you use the waiting time wisely.
True love is worth waiting for, unfortunately we don’t like being alone, so we rush into relationships to satisfy the desires of our flesh.
Wealth quickly gained is quickly wasted, easy come, easy go!
But if you gradually gain wealth, you will watch it grow.
When hopes and dreams seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing.
Sadly, I’m one of those people that don’t like waiting, the type of person that would say, “Lord grant me patience now.”
Unfortunately, I’ve painfully learned, that with God, things will happen in His time not mine.
When someone quotes the scripture to me, ” at the right time, I the Lord will make it happen.”(Isaiah 60:2)
I immediately respond with:” Now! faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of this unseen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Or ” Now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1)
And when things don’t happen now, I get disappointed and start doubting God and my purpose.
Certain things in life we understand, there’s a set time and we condition ourselves to wait.
Like the birth of a child from the time of conception, that it basically takes nine months.
Or to complete a course, etc. However, when it comes to the manifestation of prophetic words for example to be fulfilled, most times we are not given a time period.
Please note I said most times not all times. And also, when God places something in our heart or reveals something to us in a dream or vision.
God told Noah that He was going to flood the earth, He never gave a time, and according to theologians it took approximately 100yrs before it happened.
I can imagine his wife saying: “babe, are you sure you heard from God?” And his family, friends or neighbours, thinking, “shame, this dude is still at it believing for something that clearly isn’t going to happen.”
Joseph, had two dreams of his parents and brothers bowing before him, shared it and ended up being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery and eventually imprisoned.
He probably thought, “eish I miss interpreted that dream.” Even though he interpreted other people’s dreams and it manifested.
What about David, the prophet rocked up at his house and declared that he wass going to be king of Israel.
The Bible states that, not one of the words that Samuel spoke fell to the ground.” (1 Samuel 3:19)
So, David was probably confident that it would happen, and I sometimes imagine, the next day him hearing the cock crow and its normally time to get up and take the sheep out to pasture and he decides to sleep in.
And his dad Jessie a half an hour later goes to check and ask if his okay and he says, “yes, I’m going to be king, so I’m not going to shephard the sheep.”
And Jessie probably saying, “well dude, this isn’t the palace, while you under my roof you operate on my rules, so get your rusty dusty out of bed and go tend to the sheep.”
And eventually a few years later, his nation are preparing for war and his dad sends him to take supplies for his brothers in the army and he defeats Goliath.
Then as he passes through the streets, people are shouting his praises and he thinks, oh yes, the time has finally come.
And then his bubble is burst because the king tries to thrust a spear at him, and he needs to flee and ends up living on the run.
My friends sometimes, it seems like we have finally arrived, and the prophecy is being fulfilled and then, we find ourselves faced with challenges we didn’t anticipate.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick.( Proverbs 13:12) So it’s easy to feel disappointed and go into depression if we don’t read the part that follows, that states: “a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
And yes, even people used of God get depressed, Elijah prayed that he might die. (1 Kings 19)
Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He wrote the book of Lamentations.
Just over a year and half ago, I was led to register a ministry and a few months ago I received a few international requests and it was like, the things that has been prophesied over my life over the years are finally manifesting.
And probably like David when the people shouted saying; “Saul killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands.”(1 Kings 18) I felt elated, extremely happy and excited that finally my time has come.
However, there seems to be so many delays and challenges that I find myself facing, which honestly has deferred my hope and caused me to start doubting God and my calling.
Thank the Lord for people of God that ministers the undiluted, unadulterated word of God.
While listening to a message, the man of God preaching on faith says: “Do you think that when Paul and Silas were scourged and imprisoned.( Acts 16).
That Paul said:” Oh God isn’t with me; I don’t think I’m called?” No, he never doubted, because he had a revelation and received a word from the Lord.”
That is why, he and Silas could pray and praise, even in the deepest part of the dungeon, in the midnight hour.
David when he had fled from Saul and the palace, maintained a relationship with God and kept enquiring of Lord, especially in his darkest hour when his camp was raided, and his family were taken captive. (1 Samuel 30)
My friends, trust God even when you can’t trace him, delay with God is not deny, not now is not never.
Yesterday, today’s portion of scripture came to mind and I felt in my spirit not to despise the time of waiting.
It is written: “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)
My friends, after Jesus’s resurrection, before His ascension into Heaven, we read. “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”(Acts 1:4-8 NKJV)
My friends, let’s us not grow weary or become impatient, because there is a purpose for our waiting.
The disciples had to wait, to be empowered and the power was to be effective witnesses for the Lord.
To evangelize with power, Jesus already gave them authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons, before even His crucifixion, when He sent out the 12 then the 70. (Luke 9 & 10)
And in John 20:22, we are told that they already received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them.
However, they were to wait for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as stated in Acts 1:5.
In Acts 1:12-14 we read that they returned to the upper room where they were staying and continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of the Lord and His brothers.
My friends in our time of waiting, we should be united in prayer and supplication.
Note, the women were with them, we are all one in Christ my friends, as it is written:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NKJV)
And while they were waiting united in prayer and supplication in Acts 2, we read:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
Note, the tongues of fire sat on each one of them, not on some, not on the 12 Apostles only, not on the men only and they were all filled Holy Spirit.
Thereafter, Peter preached his first fiery gospel message and 3000 got saved and later in Acts 4, we read that they grew to 5000.
Listen my friends don’t despise the time of waiting, Peter went out with the 12 and the 70, so he had preached before and had healed the sick and cast out demons.
But after they obeyed the Lord and waited united in prayer and supplication.
The power of the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they saw revival taking place.
I know it my knower, that when the Lord releases me, I will be ministering with the fire of the Holy Spirit and thousands and hundreds of thousands are going to believe in Jesus.
Jesus waited 30yrs, to do 3yrs of ministry and over 2000yrs later, His ministry is still growing.
Wait I say, upon the Lord, be anxious for nothing, pray about all things and trust God’s timing.
Whether it’s in ministry, business or relationships.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
In the book of 1 Samuel 30 in the Bible we read about David, who after being rejected by the Philistines to join them in battle against Saul and the nation of Israel.
Returned to a place called Ziglag, just to find that their camp had been burned and their families taken captive by the Amalekites.
We are told that David and his men wept until they couldn’t weep no more.
Then David’s men, turned against him and wanted to stone him.
However, David encouraged himself in the Lord, then requested the priest to bring him the ephod, which was a priestly garment that the priest wore in order to communicate with God personally.
He enquired of the Lord whether he should pursue the enemy, and the Lord told him to do so.
Along the way, 200 of his men, a third of his army couldn’t continue because they were worn out and stayed behind, while David and rest of the men pursued.
In their journey they came across an Egyptian slave that the Amalekites left behind because he was ill, he hadn’t eaten or had water for 3days and they fed him, then asked him for directions to where the enemy was.
He led them to the place where the Amalekites were and where they were celebrating the victory of their spoils.
Then, we are told that David and his men fought them, from sunrise until the evening the next day, 400 of the Amalekites fled and the rest were executed by David and his men.
And they recovered everything they stole and more, since the Amalekites had raided other places as well.
Upon their return, when they reached the men who couldn’t continue with them, some of the guys who did go into battle didn’t want to share the spoils.
However, David made it clear that those who went and those who stayed to look after their goods, were to share equally.
Thereafter, David took some of spoils to his friends in Israel, to the places where they assisted him during his time on the run from Saul.
1 Samuel 30*
My friends in life, rejection at times is God’s protection, by the Philistines rejecting David and his men, they were protected from fighting against their own people.
Rejection is also God’s direction, it caused them to return to their camp where their families were taken captive, in order to retrieve them.
My friends, we are not immune to attacks as the chosen of the Lord and when we experience attacks in life, and when those close to us turns against us, we can learn from David, not to turn from God but to turn to God.
It’s okay to weep, Jesus wept when Lazarus died but then we need to take a decision and turn to God in our distress.
David didn’t get the priest to enquire of God, he requested the ephod and enquired of God himself.
Listen, we don’t need someone else to pray on our behalf, we have a direct relationship with God through Jesus, He is our ephod.
The Bible states, “We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven.
He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold on to the faith we have. For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses.
He was tempted in every way that we are, but He did not sin.
Let us, then, feel free to come before God’s throne. Here there is grace. And we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:14-16 ICB)
My friends, the answers we seek in our times of distress is to be found on our knees, God will instruct us on what to do when we turn to Him.
What we can learn from our text, in our pursuit to take back what the enemy stole, that those who walk with us and are suffering the same losses we have, will grow weary along the way.
And sometimes we need to leave them to rest in the Lord, while we continue in our pursuit to take back what the enemy stole.
There are many fellow believers who have had the enemy take their wealth, their health, their spouses, their children, stole their peace and joy, who are battle weary.
So, we need to stand in the gap for them.
Another thing we learn from this portion of scripture, is that no matter what we are going through, there are others worst off than us, like the Egyptian slave.
And we should never grow weary of doing good and assisting those in need, even in our trials, whether they are not of the same faith.
It’s in assisting others, that we will get direction on where to get back what the enemy stole.
Listen my friends, the devil isn’t just going to return your stuff without a fight.
So be willing to enter into battle and be prepared for a long one. David and his men fought from before sunrise to the evening of the next day.
Our battle isn’t a physical one, the Bible states: “Our fight is not against people on earth.
We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness.
We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world.” (Ephesians 6:12 ICB)
And again: “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds.
We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 GNBUK)
Our amour and weapons are found in Ephesians 6, the helmet of salvation, which is a gift from God, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
The belt of truth, God’s word is truth (John 17:17) and Jesus is the word (John 1), so whatever the word says about us is truth, and his word says we are blessed, we are righteous, we are sanctified, we are justified, we are healed, we victorious, we are more than conquerors, we have authority and power.
The shield of faith, to quench the fiery darts of the enemy, so we need to build ourselves up in the most Holy faith, by praying in the spirit. (Jude 1:20) and by hearing the word of God. ( Romans 10:17)
By declaring the word of God, which is the sword of the spirit, not speaking our problems or what we feel but speaking the word of God pertaining to our circumstances.
And then, putting on the gospel shoes, proclaiming the good news of Jesus, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the goodness of God to others, even in our trials.
My friends, it’s time to gear up for battle and take back what the enemy stole, your health, your wealth, you wife or husband, your children.
But it starts, with putting on the helmet of Salvation.
God sent Jesus, the seed of a woman, that bruised the head of the serpent, was victorious over sin and death and through whom we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The enemy is defeated, we need to rise up and take back what he stole by the fire of the Holy Spirit and by force through the word.
And when we are victorious, we need to bless those that assisted us in times of difficulty. We are blessed to be a blessing.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
*I Timothy 6:12 NKJV*
The Christian life is not only about being saved by grace through faith. ( Ephesians 2:8,9).
It’s about living by faith as the Bible states:” The just shall life by faith.”(Habakkuk 2.4)
We are saved by grace through faith, made righteous by faith (Romans 10) and can only take hold of what God has promised for us through Jesus by faith. (Hebrews 6:12)
And then we called to called to stand firm in our faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Standing firm in our faith is believing what the word of God says, when our circumstances or feelings or the reality of what is happening in our life, is contradicting God’s word.
For example, it’s continuing to believe that you are healed by the stripes on the back of Jesus (1 Peter 2:24), even though the doctor diagnosed you with an illness and you taking medication but still feel ill.
It’s believing that God will supply all our needs according to riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:13)
Even when the bills are not paid, and you received a summons, and they want to repossess your goods.
It’s believing that your spouse or children will be saved even when you have challenges in your marriage or you children are wayward. (1 Corinthians 7:14; Acts 10:31)
My friends, our faith will be tested, (James 1:2). From the time we ask in prayer and believe for something, before what we are believing for manifest, our faith will be tested and our adversary the devil will try to get us to doubt God’s goodness and His word.
In such a time we are called to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and we do that by taking captive every negative thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
And watching our words, not declaring our circumstances but proclaiming what we are believing for.
The Lord promises again and again in His Word that He will strengthen us. He knows that, as human beings, we often feel our weakness to the point where we don’t believe we CAN be strong.
In Joel 3:10 we read, “Let the weak say, I am strong.” Notice that strength is first something we confess with our mouths.
Thursday past I never felt like praying, reading or declaring the word and I didn’t. I allowed my feelings to get the better of me.
Friday, I received news that tried to break my spirit and discourage me, but the word of God in me allowed faith to arise and brought peace upon me.
Today, I woke up discouraged and the devil put a thought in my mind, that declaring the word of God isn’t effective, so don’t bother.
Then the thought came to me, “when soldiers trained for combat finds themselves in a battle, in active combat.
They don’t question whether the training they received works, they apply it and the chances of their survival and victory increases.”
So, I had to take the decision to apply what I know, which is listen to the word, as faith is activated by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
Then to pray (James 5:13) and praise God in my pain, as it has the power to open prison doors and break the shackles, as it had for Paul & Silas.(Acts 16)
And then to continue in my declarations because by our words we will be acquitted. (Matthew 12:37)
My friends, the battle is the Lord’s, it’s not by power or by might but by His Spirit. (2 Chronicles 20:15)
At times The Holy Spirit will lead us to be stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (Exodus 14:13) and other times, to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) and to fight the good fight of faith.
The Psalmist wrote: “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle. (Psalms 144:1 NKJV)
Unbelief, kept an entire generation from entering the promised land, don’t allow it to keep you from obtaining victory over your circumstances.
Have faith in God, He is more than able, through our faith in Jesus, we are more than conquers and our victory is assured.
And we are battling in our faith, like the father with the epileptic son, let us declare.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!
*Psalm 27:13-14(21st Century King James Version) *
Oftentimes in life, the challenges seem to be too much, unfortunately even if we are called by God as believers in Christ , we are not excempt from lifes challenges.
In Jesus’s parable about the wise and foolish man, the one that built his house on the rock, who he said is a person that hears his sayings and does them. (Matthew 7:24)
Even though the wise man built his house the rock, on the revelation of who Jesus is, which we understand from His response to Peter when he stated that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.(Matthew 16)
Both the wise and the foolish builders were subjected to the same conditions.
The rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon both houses.
However, the one founded upon the rock, didn’t fall. (Matthew 7:25)
In the book of Matthew 5:45 in the Bible, Jesus stated that God causes the sun to rise upon the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and unjust.
And so, we understand, and have experienced with the Covid pandemic, that none of us were exempt from it and its effects.
Okay, I have heard someone say, they never got Covid and I don’t doubt it, but they were also affected by the lock down and I am certain, also experienced the pain of losing loved ones to it.
Some of us never only contracted the virus, we suffered financial loss and have experienced various other challenges since.
There has been a shifting and it feels as we have been shaken and sifted.
It is in times like these my friends, when many seem to be fainting.
What does it mean to faint? The word has definitions of being exhausted and weary, but there is one more definition in the Greek for the use of this word, which is to be utterly spiritless, or to fail in heart.
Jesus describing the things that will take place upon the earth in the last days stated:
“People will faint from fear as they wait for what is coming over the whole earth, for the powers in space will be driven from their courses.” (Luke 21:26 GNT)
I’ve witnessed fear overcome many people during the Covid pandemic and many turning to God, but now are sadly right back to living the same ungodly lifestyles.
My friends, my intention is not to instill fear upon anyone but to make you aware that according to the Bible, worst times are coming and there will be believers upon the earth at that time.
In the Book of Revelation chapter 9 in the Bible, the Apostle John talks about the fifth trumpet where locust will arise with the power that scorpions have after a star falls into the Abyss.
And many people will want to die because of the pain they will experience, but death will flee from them.
However, the Bible states: “They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God’s seal on their foreheads.” (Revelation 9:4 GNT)
So, from that verse, it’s clear that there will be believers upon the earth.
In our portion of scripture, the Psalmist obviously going through challenges that must’ve seemed unbearable states:
“I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)
My friends, no matter what challenges we are currently faced with and even if we should be upon the earth during the tribulation at the sound of the fifth trumpet.
If we believe the promises of God, we will not faint.
The Psalmist believed to be David, in his trials, probably remembered the prophecy of Samuel who anointed him as a future king of Israel. (1 Samuel 16:13)
And I believe he was confident because, he knew that Samuel’s words always came to pass.
As it is written: ” So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” (I Samuel 3:19 NKJV)
My friends, I know that many prophets today miss it, even if they don’t acknowledge it, so we can’t depend on their words.
HOWEVER, we can place our hope on the written word of God.
For He said: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”(Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
It is written: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
His word states: “And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9 KJV)
So, in the midst of our trials, we should keep doing good and the Bible tells us what is good and acceptable to God.
As it is written: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying— a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”(I Timothy 2:3-7 NKJV)
Doing good is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and as we continue to do so we are assured that we will reap a reward in due season.
In our challenges, not only should we continue doing good, but we should consistently pray.
As it is written: “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
(Luke 18:1 KJV)
In the context of the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18), “always pray and not faint” means to pray without giving up/never stop until we get the result, that is, once we decide and begin to pray for a purpose, like the widow.
As believers, we can be confident that when we pray according to His will which is revealed in His word, we will have what we pray for.
As it is written: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us:
And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15 KJV)
God’s will is to heal (Psalm 107 & Mark 16:18), to prosper us (Psalm 35:27), for us to have a wife or husband(Genesis 2:18), to have children.(Genesis 1:26)
And God desires for us to have a long life and experience Heaven upon the Earth.
As it is written: “That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.” (Deuteronomy 11:21 KJV)
Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
My friends, even in the tribulation we will not faint as we know that afterward, we as believers will reign upon the earth for a thousand years with the Lord.(Revelation 20:4)
Again, there will be believers upon the earth that will be beheaded for being witnesses for Christ and not accepting the mark of the beast, as stated in that portion of scripture.
But we need not faint, as we will be resurrected like Christ. (Romans 6:5)
So, I end with the words of the Psalmist: ” Take courage, Wait on the Lord.”
Waith upon the Lord in service as one that waits upon people at a restaurant and also wait patiently for Him to grant you a breakthrough.
As it is written: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Todays Scripture:*
Delight yourself also in the Lord , And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
*Psalms 37:4 NKJV*
Delight in the Oxford dictionary is defined as a noun to please (someone) greatly. And as a verb as great pleasure.
As people, there are times when we desire to please someone greatly, as a child it could be a parent, or a teacher.
To some it could be an employer, a boss or manager, a pastor and for most of us, when we are in love, it’s to greatly please the person we are in love with.
We also take great pleasure in various things, for some it might be food, pastries, cakes.
Some take great pleasure in exercise, or in clothing, shopping, travel, or a specific hobby.
My friends when we try to greatly, please people, there is always a chance of being greatly disappointed and unappreciated.
Oftentimes who we idolize, ends up destroying us.
And the very things we find great pleasure in, oftentimes ends up leaving us unfulfilled.
Our desire to greatly please someone or the things we take great pleasure in, is often a substitute for a greater unfulfilled desire.
Like to be loved or to be accepted. And that often stems from not knowing that we are loved and accepted by the one true, living God, the creator of the universe Himself.
And if we ever do come to that realization, we will shift our delight to Him.
We will desire to greatly please Him and find great pleasure in doing His will.
And when that happens my friends, our desires will change, because He will place His desires in us.
Delight is also defined as a high degree of gratification or extreme pleasure in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
True gratification and extreme pleasure my friends, can only be found in God.
To “delight in the Lord” is to enjoy all the blessings found in Him, because they are from Him, not merely because they are to our benefit.
It’s often said that the person who delights in the Lord, values the Giver more highly than His gifts.
When we have a revelation of God’s goodness, of His love for us, that caused Him to give His only begotten Son, conceived by His Spirit and born through a woman.
As an atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only our sins but the sins of the world as stated in the Bible. (1John 2:2)
And when we understand that Jesus blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. (Hebrews 9:22)
That Jesus paid the debt of our sins with His life, so that we could receive the gift of eternal life in the presence of God.
As it is written: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NKJV)
The Bible further states: “Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ERV)
Righteousness my friends, has been made available to us, through faith in Jesus’s crucifixion, death and resurrection.
As it is written: “If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.
Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God.
And we openly say that we believe in Him, and so we are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 ERV)
Over and above that, Jesus Himself, is the manifest word of God (John1) that was sent to heal us and deliver us from our destruction. (Psalm 107:20)
The Bible states in Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”.
My friends, the Bible states that before He was crucified, Jesus was scourged. He endured that suffering to make divine healing available to us.
As it is written: “Christ carried our sins in His body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 ERV)
It didn’t stop there my friends, we know from the Bible and historical reports, that Jesus’s hands and feet were were nailed to the cross.
And so as believers in Him, we can lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. (Mark 16:18)
And wherever we tread our feet, we will possess for the Kingdom of God, as we put on the gospel shoes and proclaim the good news, of what God done for us through Jesus.
When He hung on that cross, the Bible states.
“The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse.
He changed places with us and put Himself under that curse.
The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.”
Because of what Jesus Christ did, the blessing God promised to Abraham was given to all people.
Christ died so that by believing in Him we could have the Spirit that God promised.” (Galatians 3:13-14 ERV)
And as we know from the account of His death in the Bible, that they pierced His side and blood flowed, which, as stated earlier was for the forgiveness of our sins.
Let’s not forget, that they placed a crown of thorns upon our Lord’s head, so that we can receive a crown of righteousness when we enter into God’s presence.
My friends, what I just described to you about the crucifixion of our Lord, should be enough to cause you to desire to delight yourself in the Lord.
To want to greatly please Him and what pleases God you may ask?
Well I’m glad you did, the Bible answers that: “Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who sincerely try to find Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ERV)
My friends, as we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will place His desires in our heart.
And what is God’s desire you say? Again, I’m glad you asked and again I will let the Bible answer that.
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,” (I Timothy 2:3-6 NKJV)
My friends, if we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, our desire will not be to see anyone perish in wickedness and we will tell everyone the truth about God’s love, which He proved when He sent Jesus to die for us.(Romans 5:8)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
Paul commends the Berean church for being more noble than the church in Thessalonica because of their response to his message.
They tested Paul’s teaching against the guidelines of God’s Word and Paul commended them for seeking guidance and direction from the Lord, not men.
Their heart response to Scripture was one of accepting and believing it.
They were prepared to be led wherever the Word of God led them.
They obviously regarded the Scriptures as the authoritative test of truth.
Man’s words were to be measured by God’s words (Isaiah 8:20).
It is a mark of the work of the Holy Spirit when people search the Scriptures to be persuaded of the truth.
Are we measuring man’s word by God’s words or by the number of followers someone has or things they obtain?
Jim Jones at his peak had 3000 followers. He had a place called Jonesville and 900people died with him, believed to have committed suicide.
My friends we are living in a time where information is at our fingertips.
It’s important to search the scriptures for yourself and rightly divide the word of truth.
Focus on Jesus not any man or woman.
Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Jesus was the only one that could say follow me.
I am very passionate about encouraging people to be very cautious about what they hear or are being taught.
I recently read something written by someone whose teachings I followed for years, he literally stated, we don’t need to confess our sins or repent.
That is against what Jesus and the Apostles taught in the dispensation of Grace.
Honestly, I’m not even taken up by anyone even if they are operating in signs and wonders.
Jesus said: “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24 NKJV)
So, my friends, I encourage you to search the scriptures for yourself and I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy.
“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV).
This profound Bible verse calls Christians to a dedicated and diligent approach to understanding and living out the teachings of the Bible.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”
*Acts 16:16-35 NKJV*
There are times in life, when it seems as if God is unjust.
Times when your response in a situation, even though it was right, offended people but then the situation turned against you.
And suddenly, life lashes out at you and you are pain, and end up in a dark place, in some form bondage in spiritual dungeon.
My friends it’s normal in those times, when you punished unjustly, or are suffering because of someone else’s actions. To feel let down and angry toward God.
Maybe you’ve been accused of something at work that you never done and suddenly you are left unemployed.
Or you end up in divorce you never wanted and weren’t the cause of and are affected, emotionally and financially.
Or you serving God faithfully and are in an abusive marriage.
Or maybe you’ve had people turn against you for no reason at all, or reason’s you don’t understand.
My friends, in life, bad things happen to good people.
Joseph was doing good, taking food to his brothers, when they threw him a pit and sold him into slavery.
David was playing the harp to soothe Saul and Saul tried to pin him to the wall with a spear, by throwing a spear at him. Causing David to have to flee from his wife, his home and his people.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace for honouring God and refusing to bow to an idol.
Daniel was thrown into a lions den for praying and Jesus was crucified for, healing the sick, raising the dead and preaching the truth.
All these things, can easily cause us to believe that God is unjust.
Earlier today I was praying and thought about an incident that occurred and how the situation was turned against me, things were made up against me and I was punished, and it affected my work.
And thinking about that stirred up anger in me toward God.
Those are all circumstances that were basically beyond either the people in the scriptures mentioned involved or our control.
And that my friends is a God problem.
In life we aren’t always in control of what happens to us, we are however in control of how we respond to what happens to us.
What we go through, can either make us better or bitter, sadly from what surfaced in me today, clearly showed that I allowed my experience to make me bitter.
However, what God reveals, He heals and I believe He will deliver me from unforgiveness, bitterness anger and resentment, that I clearly allowed to brew in me.
What we need to understand my friends, is that the Bible states; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
Joseph’s encounter, turned out for the salvation of his people in a time of famine, David’s encounter enabled him to raise up an army of champions while on the run.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel’s experience caused Gentile kings to acknowledge God’s supremacy.
Jesus’s experience made salvation available to all of humanity.
And my experience pushed me into full-time ministry.
Now to our text for the day.
Paul and Silas were on their way to prayer, a woman possessed by a spirit of divination hindered them, she literally was proclaiming the truth, but it agitated Paul.
I couldn’t understand that, why would Paul get agitated by a woman that said: ” These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
She was affirming who they were, however, as believers, they were called to cast out demons, as Jesus stated in Mark 16:17.
And the spirit working in her was clearly demonic and it was her time to be delivered from it.
That demonic spirit clashed with the Holy Spirit in them. Just like with the Garasene demonic in Luke 8:26-39, when Jesus stepped on the shore.
Demons cannot stand in the presence of God.
Jesus came to set the captives free and as His followers, we are called to do the same.
Well, from our portion of scripture, we see that Paul and Silas are scourged and imprisoned, not only imprisoned but shackled and put in the inner part of the prison.
This seems so unfair and unjust, these guys were doing the Lord’s work and ended up suffering for it.
You see my friends, grace didn’t keep them from being scourged or imprisoned.
Grace, gave them the strength to endure and enabled them to pray and praise in their trials.
Grace, my friends, empowers us in our struggles and enables us to overcome.
They way out of bondage, out of a place of darkness, or a wilderness experience, is not by getting angry at God, as I hard, but by praying and praising God in our pain.
Notice I said, in our pain, not for our pain, complaining will just keep us where we at longer, like the Israelites in the wilderness.
Prayer has power to release us from a place of bondage or whatever is imprisoning us.
Listen, it was the prayers of the church offered to God for Peter when he was imprisoned and bound in chains between two guards that set him free during the night.
Pual and Silas were praying and praising in the midnight hour, my friends, we got to pray when we find ourselves bound and in darkness and God will open the neccesary doors for us.
As they praised, the other prisoners heard them, they were a testimony to them, even in our trials we can testify to those around us, who are in bondage to sin, by our attitude.
The foundation shook and the shackles came off, praise my friends will shake your circumstances and set us free.
That’s not the highlight of the story my friends, what the devil planned for evil God turned for good.
The jailer or warden and his household got saved and baptized from Paul and Silas’s prison experience.
My friends, the circumstance you currently finding yourself in, the pain you are experiencing, the bondage you in, when God delivers you out of it, will be a testimony to others and bring many to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
And you will find favour and be cared for and fed, by the very ones that were instructed to hold you captive.
Listen, your problem is a God problem, darkness must give way to light, it might be night, but dawn is coming, there is an expiration on your bondage and captivity.
My friends, dawn is breaking forth for us and with it the command for us to be set free.
Jesus came to set the captives free and who the Son sets free, is truly free.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
The purpose of this message is, the hope to give a clear understanding of the works of faith.
When God called Abraham and told him to leave his people and go to a place that God would show him.(Genesis 12)
When he packed up and left that was faith, he believed God and that was accounted to him for righteousness.(Genesis 15:6)
When we get a revelation of Jesus and respond to the tugging in our heart and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour.
That’s faith, and by believing in our heart that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead by God, we are made righteous, that is we are in right standing with God.(Romans 10)
When God told Abraham to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him and he left and placed Isaac on the altar, that was works.(Genesis 22)
And through that act of works Abraham was justified and called a friend of God.(James 2:21-24)
Our justification however, is by the blood of Jesus, as it is written:
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.(Romans 5:8-9 NKJV)
When God calls us into full-time ministry and we step out and leave our employment, that’s works.
When Jesus called the Apostles and told them to follow him, when they chose to, that was faith.
When He sent them out to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, heal the sick and raise the dead. (Luke 9)
When they went that was works.
Faith and works go hand in hand.
When the Bible states that we are saved by grace through faith and not through any good works of our own, so no of us could boast.(Ephesians 2:8,9)
It means that no amount of self effort, religious rituals or good works can earn salvation.
It is a gift of God, as it is written, “The wages of sin is death BUT the gift if God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23) and like any gift can only be received.
When the Apostle Paul stated that Abraham was justified by faith not works (Romans 4:1-5), he basically means that it wasn’t by religious rituals. The Law wasn’t given yet, so Abraham wasn’t justified by works of the Law.
When James states clearly, in the form of a question, that Abraham was justified by works when he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac—until the moment God said “stop,” in Genesis chapter 22.
That works, is obedience to the instruction of God.
When we obey the command of Jesus to go out and make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-20)
When we feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the sick, we are walking in the good works preordained, for us.(Ephesians 2:10)
Of courses when we are saved by faith, we cannot go back to religious works to try to be perfect and earn things from God.
If we decide to go back and practice the Mosaic Law, abstaining from certain foods, observing certain days etc., we bring a curse upon ourselves.
As it is written: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.(Galatians 3:1-14 NKJV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse, HOWEVER when decide to practice the Mosaic law after receiving salvation by grace through faith.
We place ourselves under the law, under the curse and back into bondage.
The works of faith, therefore my friends, is obedience to the instruction of God(not the law), but through the leading of the Holy Spirit and doing the good works, He pre-ordained for us.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].
To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.
*1 Peter 5:6-11 AMP*
There are many people, globally, that are going through and have been going through a lot of challenges, trials and tribulations.
Many of whom are believers, some who have been faithful in their belief, walking in obedience and practicing the word of God.
For some of us, it has been a period in which we have been humbled, stripped of the pride we once had, of being independent, self-sufficient, of our performance in the workplace or our service in ministry.
God has not humbled us to break us, but to make us into what He called us to be, in order to exalt us.
The Bible states: “Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor.” (Proverbs 18:12 CEVDCI)
In our foundational text today the Apostle Peter, is encouraging his audience to humble themselves in order for God to exalt them at the appropriate time.
To cast all their cares upon God, their worries, concerns and anxieties.
Basically telling them what Jesus said, when He sated: “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 CEVDCI)
Then he instructs them to be sober, (well balanced and self-disciplined), to be alert and cautious at all times.
And he explains why to them, that the enemy, the devil prowls to see who can devour.
Many people are being devoured, believers at that, because of a wrong perception of grace, thinking that it’s okay to live life outside the confines of the word of God and still serve God.
As John Bevere puts it, “our modern church has developed a deceptive thought process, one which has been conceived and brought forth by an unbalanced teaching of grace.”
Back to our text, the Apostle Peter continues and states that we should resist the devil.
My friends, when we submit to God, grace becomes available to enable us to resist the devil.
John Bevere, quoting Hebrews 12:28 which states, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Hebrews 12:28 NKJV)
He explains; “that grace is a force that enables us to serve God acceptably.
It is the essence of the power to live a life of obedience to God which is proof of our salvation.”
My friends when we submit to God, as stated the grace of God will enable us to resist the devil, then we will be able to stand firm in the faith against satan’s attacks, as we understand that we are not the only ones going through trials.
But he encourages us with the words, “after you have suffered a little while.” My friends the hardships won’t last forever.
As the saying goes; ” tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
My Pastor always says; “You do the desiring; God will do the producing.”
The Apostle Peter in verse 10, ensures us, that the God of all grace, who called us to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen and establish us.”
The Amplified bible adds, “making us what we ought to be.”
Faith my friends, like grace is an active force, however we need to apply our faith.
As it is written: Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18 NKJV)
James clarifies that statement in the following portion of scripture when he states:
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” (James 2:21-24 NKJV)
So, then my friends, standing firm in our faith, requires action on our side, to make the decision to obey God and not compromise.
Once we make up our mind to submit to God, He will empower us by His grace.
Then we will be able to resist the devil and stand firm in our faith and end up being victorious at the end of our trials.
I am literally seeing this manifest in my life currently.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
*Joshua 1:8 NKJV*
True prosperity is the ability to apply the power of God to meet any need—spiritual, mental and physical. (Kenneth Copeland)
There are many people, believers amongst them, me included, that are not operating in the prosperity of God.
Unfortunately, prosperity for most people is material wealth, an abundance of money, lavish houses, luxury cars, expensive clothing and jewelry.
Now, that is a part of being prosperous, however, there are many rich people that would give all their money if they could be healed from a terminal illness or disease, for peace of mind, for a faithful spouse, to have a child delivered from addiction or from biblical unnatural sexual attraction or preferences.
Please note, financial wealth is part of prosperity, but not prosperity itself, God is not against us having money or material wealth, He is against it having control over us.
The Bible is clear that God delights, He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants (Psalm 35:27) and that the blessing of Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10:22)
True biblical prosperity would be riches without sorrow, wealth with health, inner and outer peace and a sound mind.
And I think that we could all agree, that, that is what most, if not all people desire.
It’s the same with success, you can accomplish great things, be a billionaire and fail in your marriage or in raising respectable children.
My friends, God desires for us to be prosperous and successful and in today’s portion of scripture, He tells Joshua, the man chosen to succeed Moses and lead the nation of Israel into the promised land. How to prosper and have great success.
And I believe, that’s His formula for every person, that desires true prosperity and success.
He instructs Joshua not to let the Book of the Law depart from his mouth.
Simply put, don’t stop confessing or declaring the word, specifically God’s word.
My friends, God’s word in our mouth is as powerful as God’s word in His mouth.
And as believers in God and Jesus, we believe that God created the world by His words.
As it is written: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3 NKJV)
God spoke what He created into being, and the Bible states that God made us, humankind, in His image and likeness.
And if we are made in His image and likeness, then we have the ability to speak things into existence.
My friends, there is power in our words, Jesus said: “But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37 NKJV)
Therefore, it’s important for us to watch what we say, as the Psalmist wrote: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalms 141:3 NKJV)
The Psalmist obviously understood the power of words.
Jesus said: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23 NKJV)
Whatever we say, positive or negative, if we say it in faith, we will see it manifest.
Let me give you two examples from my own life experience.
I’ve mentioned this before, when I was a young man, before I received a revelation of Jesus.
A friend and I were in conversation, and I said to him, “I want to be connected from Pretoria to Cape Town, meaning in the criminal world.”
And he said, “I want to get to the top, even if they must shoot me.”
Well about seven years later, just before I got saved, I was affiliated with people involved in crime from Pretoria to Cape Town and he did get to the top and they had shot him on his way up. By the grace of God, he survived it.
That’s the negative, now let me share a positive example.
Another friend and I were in conversation a few years ago, on our way to do a crusade and the person he was renting the sound from, kept calling him for the money, which at the time he never had yet.
Then, he said to me, “I wish had my own sound,” and I said to him, “and we need a tent and a truck.”
The next day after he ministered, on youth day, a man came up, took the mike and said prophetically, he saw a combi and a truck, following it.
A year later, my friend was blessed with a tent, a truck, sound and was given a combi to use for crusades.
That wasn’t even a prayer, it was just a conversation, so I have no doubt from those two incidents, that our words have power.
Forty years before God told Joshua this, Joshua and Caleb were part of a group of twelve spies who went to scout the promised land.
Ten as we know, came back and gave a negative report and Joshua and Caleb gave a positive report, believing that they could have what God said.
And they were the only two, from those spies and their generation, that entered the promised land.
God told Joshua, to let the words of Law of this Book, not depart from your mouth. Why?
Well, the Bible states, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
My friends, the more we speak the word, the more we hear it and the more we hear it, we will believe it and then see the promises of the word of God manifest in our lives.
Repetition brings forth revelation, which produces manifestation.
It’s important to say what the word of God says and not what the world says, if you have a terminal illness, you can either agree with the doctor’s report which is a fact.
Or you can agree with the word of God that states that He sent His word and healed them (Psalm 107:20) and by the stripes on Jesus back we were healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
The word of God is truth (John 17:17), if you say what the word says, the truth will change the facts.
Faith is not denial; it’s speaking the things that are not as though they are.
It’s agreeing with the word of God regarding your circumstances not agreeing with the facts.
Jesus said: “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19 NKJV)
Don’t say what you have, say what you want, as it is written in Joel 3:10, “Let the weak say, I am strong.”
Notice that strength is first something we confess with our mouths.
In today’s portion of scripture, God continues by telling Joshua to meditate in the Book of the Law, day and night.
God was telling Him to declare the word of God and focus His mind on it, continually.
The Psalmist wrote: “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law, he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”(Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV)
And the reason God told Joshua to meditate in the Law, was so that He could observe and do according to what is written in it.
The word of God my friends, don’t only need to be spoken, it needs to be applied in order for us to prosper in everything we do.
As it is written; “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” (Deuteronomy 29:9 NKJV)
James the brother of the Lord wrote: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.”
Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18 NKJV)
A simple analogy or comparison. Every athlete currently participating in the Olympics, believed that they were going to partake in it.
They probably, consistently thought about it and spoke about it. But they had to apply themselves and train hard for it.
And the ones that achieved medals as top finishes, are obviously the ones that pushed themselves harder.
The same applies to God’s word, the more dedicated you are to applying it, the more prosperous you will be and success you will have in applying the power of God to meet any need, spiritual, mental and physical.
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so that none of us can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
However, the type of vessel we become for God, is dependent on our dedication, declaration, meditation and application of God’s word.
Jesus is the Word, He done everything for us to be able to prosper and have good success.
The choice is ours to believe and obtain it by faith and application of the word.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
Today’s Scripture:
And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. MATTHEW 28:18-20
The purpose of this message is to clearly inform the believer about the importance of water baptism & the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Every person who comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus, is called to be a disciple of Jesus and thus practice and follow His teaching.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was baptized by John the Baptist, that was a baptism for the repentance of sins, even though He was without sin, He said to John: “we must do as Righteousness requires.” And at that time, we read that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, so He was Baptised both with water and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:13-17)
In John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus a religious leader: ‘Except a man be born again – of water and the Spirit – he shall not enter into the kingdom of God’.
Please note that Jesus didn’t mean we have to be water baptised in order to be saved. Remember the thief on the cross couldn’t go get baptised, the Bible clearly states that we are saved by grace through faith. (Ephesian 2:8&9) However here we see the importance of both baptisms)
From John 3:22 we read that Jesus also had people baptised HOWEVER from John 4:2 we read Jesus was superintending, or behind, the disciples and the baptizing, but He was not doing the actual physical baptizing.
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus instructs the disciples saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,’ In Mark 16:16. He says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Water Baptism as part of Discipleship was clearly important for Jesus to continually make mention of it.
“As soon as Jesus was baptised, He went up out of the water.” Matthew 3:16. Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion under water. The book of Acts shows us that this was the norm for every believer. “…then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. (Acts 8)
Jesus dedicated children; He never baptised them. We Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Our Sins, babies can’t acknowledge their sins.
The Apostle Peter taught, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Following Paul’s conversion, Ananias said to him, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins” (Acts 22:16).
In Acts 16:30-33 we read: “He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.” Paul & Silas done what Jesus commanded and so as Disciples of Jesus we should do the same.
As we see, Christ not only commands believers to get baptized, baptism is also a gift He graciously gives for our benefit and blessing. Here then are three reasons to get baptized: (1) to obey Christ’s command, (2) to publicly profess faith in Christ, and (3) to formally commit yourself to Christ and His people.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16) Jesus is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. (Luke 3:21-23a) Jesus Himself needed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for ministry
In the scriptures above we read about John making reference to Jesus baptising with the Holy Spirit & Fire and then Jesus being baptised and the Holy Spirit descending upon Him and thereafter, He starts His ministry. In the book of Mark 1:9-12 also mentioning Jesus’s baptism we read that He was immediately led by The Holy Spirit into the wilderness.
The only thing necessary to receive the Holy Spirit is that you must have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Once you’ve confessed Jesus as your Savior, God gives you the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to be a certain denomination or be a pastor or evangelist to receive the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13 NLT) “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.”
Receiving the Holy Spirit is not the same as being baptised by the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21-22 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.) The disciples received the Holy Spirit after the resurrection of Jesus, However Jesus said to them “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” (Luke 24:49 NLT)
Now we already established from Ephesians 1:13 that we receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus and from the following scripture, we can establish that He is our Helper, that reveals the truth about God and lives in us as believers: (John 14:15-17 GNT) “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive Him, because it cannot see Him or know Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and is in you.)
In John 16:5-11 Jesus tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit I was with you at the first, and so I didn’t tell you these things. 5 But now I am going back to the Father who sent me, and none of you asks me where I am going. 6 You are very sad from hearing all of this. 7 But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.
8 The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment. 9 The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn’t have faith in me. 10 They are wrong about God’s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won’t see me again. 11 And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.
Previously we stated that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and that when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour, through our faith in Him we receive the Holy Spirit, that He comes and dwells in us as believers.
And after they were filled with Holy Spirit, Jesus commanded them to wait for the Holy Spirit so that they will receive power.
Then in Acts 2 we read that on the day of Pentecost, while the disciples were praying, there was a divine manifestation where they saw what looked as tongues of fire and it descended upon EVERYONE OF THEM and they ended up speaking in other tongues, specifically in other languages, foreign languages that was understood by people from other countries and thereafter Peter preached and 3000 people got saved.
Exactly what Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will empower them to be His witnesses.
That experience at Pentecost is what believers refers to as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in togues.
Now I need to emphasize that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for everyone, as we read in Acts 10, when Peter ministered to Cornelius & his companions, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and the Jews with Peter heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God.
The fact that God imparted the Holy Spirit upon them was a sign that there was no longer a division between circumcised and uncircumcised.
God’s gift is available to all, note we don’t read that there were tongues of fire either, but they clearly received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and then were water Baptised into the new Christian community.
So, from the 2 examples above we read that they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with evidence of speaking in other tongues, at Pentecost, during prayer, that is how I received it while praying in my room. And then Cornelius and His companions received it while Peter was ministering to them. Therefore, Jesus is the one that baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire as John the Baptist prophesied or declared.
So, believers can receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit without anyone touching them. However, there are scriptures in which people received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.
We can’t put God in a box, at Pentecost and in Cornelius home, the Holy Spirit came upon the people and that wasn’t the first time God placed His Spirit upon people for service, in Numbers 11:16-25 we read that God placed His Spirit upon 70 of the elders of Israel and they prophesied, that was for them to assist Moses.
But then with Joshua, he received the spirit of wisdom when Moses laid hands upon him, that is what ministers refer to as the impartation and we read that the Apostles done the same.
Herewith are 4 verses which confirms the statement above:
Deuteronomy 34:9
Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Acts 8:17-19
Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 9:17
So, Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 19:6
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
My friends, it’s important for every believer to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to be effective witness for Jesus and for service as His disciples as scripture teachers us.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witness for Jesus.
To speak and interpret tongues as we read in 1 Corinthians 14
Then to be able to pray in the spirit which is for self-edification (1 Corinthians 14:4)
And to enable the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf when we do not know how to pay (Romans 8:26-27
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ONE OF THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS MADE AVAILABLE TO BELIEVERS
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
*Today’s Scripture:*
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,
*II Corinthians 4:13 NKJV*
Many people currently find themselves in what seems to be in a place of impossibly, to them and to others that know their circumstances.
Maybe it’s the diagnosis of a terminal illness or disease, a marriage on the brink of divorce, where counseling seemed to have failed, or maybe a marriage that has already ended, but you are hoping for reconciliation.
Maybe it’s for the deliverance of a child that’s been lost to addiction, that has ended up in a place where they are clearly mentally insane, talking to themselves, lost without hope.
Maybe is a financial crisis, you haven’t been able to make the deadlines on your mortgage payments and the bank has threatened to foreclose.
Or the rent is due, school fees isn’t paid and there isn’t any money to put food on the table.
My friends, today I want to encourage you, to BELIEVE FOR IT.
In in so doing, don’t speak your circumstances, speak what you are believing for.
The scripture says in (Joel 3:10) let the weak say I am strong. That is to say, you should not speak negatively, no matter your present condition.
So, dare to speak and act positively at all times.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23 NKJV)
My friends, our words are important. Jesus said: “But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”(Matthew 12:36-37 NKJV)
You can’t believe for God to save your marriage, heal you from a terminal illness, deliver your child from addiction, prosper you in business or meet your financial needs and when someone ask you; “how are you?”
Then say, “oh there’s no hope for my marriage, the doctor has given me three months to live, there’s no hope for this child, I’m tired of this business, I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills.”
And then expect God to come through for you.
The Bible clearly states: “But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:6-8 NLT)
Jesus said to His disciples to have faith in God, not the counselor, even though it’s good to seek Godly counsel.
Not in another person, not in a doctor, even though we are not space cadets, we understand that God uses doctors, so we go to the doctor, if need be, but our faith shouldn’t be in them, they don’t have the final say in anything, God does.
Not in the bank or some rich relative, not that it’s a sin to loan, the Bible states: “If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.” (Exodus 22:25 NLT)
However, we must ensure that our faith is in God as our source, not people.
My friends, whatever we are believing for, we should believe that we received it and ensure that we are walking in forgiveness.
Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:24-25 NKJV)
Notice something very important in Jesus’s statement. After telling them to believe that they received, He tells them to forgive.
Forgiveness is connected to receiving what you are believing for.
God said: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”(2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)
In the verse just quoted, God says, “if they turn away from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.”
Repentance my friends, brings about forgiveness, which brings healing.
When you receive forgiveness, it will be easier for you to forgive others.
The Bible states: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 KJV)
Jesus, when His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, clearly because they noticed that whatever He prayed for He received.
Healing of every disease and sickness (Matthew8:35), provision to feed the multitudes (Luke 9:16) and even raising the dead. (John 11)
Jesus, teaching them to pray, in His pray states: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Forgiveness my friends, follows the request.
Whatever we ask for in prayer, or declaration we make regarding our request, if we believe we received it, we thank God for it.
That’s what Jesus done when He fed the multitudes, He gave thanks before the bread and fish multiplied.
And when He raised Lazarus from the dead He said: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”(John 11)
Listen my friends, you can believe for it, God is able to move the immovable, break the unbreakable and from the impossible enable us to see a miracle.
As the lyrics in the song by CeCe Winans states.
I love the part that says: “We know that hope is never lost (Oh)
For there is still an empty grave
God, we believe no matter what
There is power in Your name
So much power in Your name”
My friends whatever we are praying, asking or declaring, we have the name of Jesus to back it.
Jesus said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-13 KJV)
And again: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24 NKJV)
And finally, remember with God delay is not deny, just because it doesn’t happen after you prayed or declared it. Doesn’t mean God is not in it.
Just keep praying and believing, in 1 Kings 18 in the Bible, God told the prophet Elijah to tell Ahab the king that it was going to rain.
After Elijah told him, Elijah went up mount Carmel, prayed and sent his servant to look out, but nothing happened, even though God said it.
Elijah never gave up, he continued to pray and the seventh time, the servant responded that there was a cloud the size of a man’s hand. Thereafter it rained.
As I heard someone say; “God says it, I believe it and that settles it.”
May that be our attitude my friends, as we put our faith in God.
As it is written: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (I John 5:14-15 NKJV)
So take hold of God’s promises in His word, pertaining to your circumstances and BELIEVE FOR IT.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture:*
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” *Revelation 3:21-22 NKJV*
The message that is laid upon my heart for today and for our partnership letter for August is, Overcome.
There are many people who have been faced with and are currently facing things that they need to overcome.
Some need to overcome the feeling of disappointment from a failed marriage, relationship or business or from rejection.
Others have to overcome the spirit of fear, the fear of failure, of losing your health, your job or your spouse.
Some are trying to overcome an illness, financial challenges, addiction, lust, a lack of faith, unforgiveness toward someone or even a feeling of anger toward God.
Unfortunately, the reality of life is, that there will always be something that we will face and need to overcome.
Many people have a misconception, that, because they believe in God, serve God, do good deeds or accepted Jesus by faith, that they will live a life, free of trials, tribulations and challenges and won’t have to overcome anything.
That my friends, is contrary to what Jesus taught and what we see from the lives of everyone that was called or chosen by God in the Bible, including Jesus and those He called to be His disciples.
In today’s portion of scripture, in the last book of the Bible, Jesus, making reference to the churches makes a promise to those who overcome.
And that promise, is that we will be seated with Him on His throne when we overcome, as He was seated with the Father when He overcame, through His crucifixion, death and resurrection.
From the narratives of the life of Jesus, we see that He had to overcome many things, even before the cross.
Ridicule from the crowds, rejection from the religious leaders of the day and even being mocked upon the cross.
My friends, Jesus is our example, He never made any false promises to His followers.
As we read from the following excerpts taken from Got Questions on the net.
In Luke 14, Jesus lays out the terms of discipleship. There were great crowds following Him. Everyone loved the miracles, healing, and free food.
Jesus was cool, the talk of the town, and the latest fad. But He knew their hearts. He knew they desired the benefits of what He did rather than an understanding of who He was.
They loved His gifts, not the life He was calling them to. So, He explained what it takes to be one of His followers.
Jesus gave some illustrations and said a lot in those simple illustrations.
He quickly put an end to the idea that He offered some kind of welfare program.
Although the gift of eternal life is free to anyone who asks (John 3:16), the asking requires a transfer of ownership (Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:24).
“Counting the cost” means recognizing and agreeing to some terms first. In following Christ, we cannot simply follow our own inclinations.
We cannot follow Him and the world’s way at the same time (Matthew 7:13-14).
Following Him may mean we lose relationships, dreams, material things, or even our lives.
Now, some person who believes that they are wise and know the scripture will say, ” Listen my brother, the Bible states that we are already seated with Christ in heavenly places.”
And I would say, “correctly so, however, since we are physically here upon the earth, that means, we operate from a place of rest in Christ with heavenly authority upon the earth, over powers and principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places.
What Jesus is promising us, is a seat in His presence with the Father, after our life upon this earth, if we overcome.
However, when He addresses the churches, He makes a few promises that we obtain when we overcome.
Like that we will eat from the tree of life. (Revelation 2:7) and the tree of life we understand from the book of Genesis, is symbolic of eternal life.
Well, Jesus referred to Himself as the Bread of life (John 6:35) and the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26) and said that anyone that hears His words and believes in the One who sent Him, will have eternal life. (John 5:24)
Jesus promised that the one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. (Revelation 2:11)
The second death is the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). This is the judgment over everything that is tainted by sin.
However, Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24 NKJV)
My friends, through the shed blood of Jesus, forgiveness for our sins was made available to us, as He is the atoning sacrifice of our sins, not only ours, but the sins of the world. (1 John 2:2)
Jesus also promised to give hidden manna to those who overcome (Revelation 2:17), as stated earlier, He referred to Himself as the Bread of life, basically the one who will sustain us on our journey of life upon the earth.
And He also mentioned that we will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
And since Jesus is the Word (John 1) and the Bread of Life, therefore, the word of God is our hidden manner. The True Bread of Heaven.
In Revelation 2:17, along with manner, Jesus says that He will grant us a white stone and give us a new name that no one knows.
Well, apparently according to theologians, at the time that the book of Revelation was written, when a judge issued a verdict, a black stone represented a guilty verdict and a white stone represented innocence and no condemnation.
Well, my friends, the Bible states, that there is no condemnation to those in Christ. (Romans 8:1)
And that any person that is in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and through our faith in Christ as we get transformed by His Spirit, the world won’t refer to us by what we were, like murderer, thief, robber, liar, cheat, adulterer.
But by what we have become through our faith in Jesus, child of God, righteous, holy, sanctified and justified, just as if we had not sinned.
Jesus continues and states that those who overcome and keeps His works until the end, He will give authority and power over nations. (Revelation 2:26)
The Bible states: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
We are created for good works and should continue in them but are not saved by good works, but by grace through faith, so none of us can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Now, I believe Jesus was referring to when the new heavens and the earth is established, when mentioned authority and power of nations.
However, I also believe, that He gives us authority over nations, to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of the nations.
As it is written: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.(Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)
And again: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NKJV)
Another promise Jesus makes when we overcome, is that He will clothe us is white garments and will not blot our names out of the Book of Life.
My friends, white garments testify of purity and righteousness. The Bible states: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
And: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9 NKJV)
And also: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV)
My friends, God placed our sin upon Jesus and made righteousness available to us, so that through the confession of our sins, He removes all unrighteousness from us and grants us righteousness through our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
And thereby our names are written in the Book of Life.
Jesus said to His disciples: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:19-20 NKJV)
Jesus promises those who overcome to be a pillar in the temple of God. (Revelation 3:12)
Our faithfulness in our trials and temptations shapes us into a pillar that becomes stronger and stronger.
Then we will be a part of the temple of God as described in Revelation 21.
A pillar that can also strengthen, bear, and be a support for others. Making us a useful tool for God.
And in today’s portion of scripture, Jesus promises that when we overcome, we will sit with Him on His throne. God’s grace has given us the opportunity to be part of the bride of Christ!
As part of that bride, we will sit together with Him on His throne, judging and reigning over the earth!
Now how do we overcome? I’m glad you asked. This what the Bible states:
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (I John 5:4-5 NKJV)
Jesus said: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
*Romans 8:28 AMP*
Oftentimes we go through things that we don’t understand, and we can’t make sense of it.
It’s normal then to start doing introspection, to see if there’s anything we done that resulted in it.
And there are times, when we will find that what we are going through is a direct consequence of our actions.
In that case, we know either how to or understand, that we need to take corrective measures.
However, the difficulty is when, you are going through a difficult patch, done introspection and it’s clear that what you are experiencing is not the result of consequences of your actions.
When you literally doing or done everything you know but nothing seems to change and, in some circumstances, you find yourself even worst off when you are doing what you know is right.
Well, my friends, if that’s you, then this message is for you.
As I’ve heard someone once say, when you are going through something, examine yourself, if there is something you need to repent of, repent.
If there’s nothing, then don’t look for demons, just trust the process. You see bad things does happen to good people.
Job suffered for righteousness; Joseph was imprisoned for doing what was right.
Jesus said: “Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God’s love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever]. (Matthew 5:10 AMP)
So as believers, even when your walk is right with God, you will suffer persecution, you will go through trials and tribulations.
Grace won’t exempt us from trials and tribulations, but it will give us the strength to endure in our trials and overcome.
What we do need to realize however, is that all things, even our bad decisions will work together for our good and be used for the purpose God has called us for.
Abraham and Sarah’s impatience which led them to make a bad decision of letting her servant conceive a child for them.
Which was a common practice in their time, merely contributed to the fulfillment of God’s promise to him that he would be a father of many nations.
Of course there were consequences, the greatest probably for Abraham, was having to send his son Ishmael away.
However, God promised Abraham, that He will bless Ishmael and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly.
Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery out of jealously, when he took food them, as we read in the Bible, that his brothers were working but he was home.
He was obviously favoured by his father, and even though he was obedient to his father and doing something good for them, they turned against him.
Well David had a similar experience, obeying his father, taking supplies for his brothers and was insulted for it.
Yet in both cases, it worked out for their good. Joesph staying home enabled him to watch his father manage the farm and servants, and that obviously enabled him to know how to serve and manage Potiphar’s house.
His refusal to give into seduction by Potiphar’s wife, ended with him being imprisoned.
However, he found favour in prison with the warden, had a divine connection with Pharaoh’s cup bearer, exercised his gift and his gift made room for him, opening the door to the palace and resulting in him becoming Prime minister of Egypt.
David ignored the insults of his brother, and his experience as a shepherd and obedience to his father, gave him an opportunity to step up and defeat Goliath, resulting in him marrying the king’s daughter and his family being exempted from taxes.
In both Joseph and David’s cases, their families who were nasty to him, benefited.
Joseph understood that what he went through was allowed by God and meant for all of their good.
My friends everything, we go through, will work together not only for our good but also for our families.
Jesus was persecuted and suffered crucifixion on a cross and died. But though it, all of humankind benefited.
God extended His peace toward us, we were reconciled to God, freed from the curse pronounced upon us, healing and God’s blessing was made available to us and authority over the devil and all things was restored to us, with the free gift of eternal life with God, made available to us by faith in Jesus.
The Apostles Paul and Silas were scourged and imprisoned and through that, a jailer and his household received salvation.
God has used my teenage rebellion and drug addiction and deliverance thereof, to bring hope, deliverance and salvation to many people over the years, through the sharing of my testimony.
And I know that everything I’m currently experiencing, will end with me being a blessing to my entire household and the body of Christ.
My friends, when the word of God says all things, it means all things, including our acts of disobedience, will work together for our good.
Even king David’s adulterous affair, though he suffered consequences, the second son born to him from the very woman, succeeded him on the throne.
And Jesus came from the lineage of Solomon Mathew 1 and in Luke 3 it states Nathan, who were both the sons of Bethsheba from David.
Both of the Davidic lines – that of Solomon and Nathan – unite in Zarrubabel by the marriage of Salathial to the daughter of Neri of Nathan’s line.
So, Jesus became the heir to the rights and privileges of the whole house of David.
That was just thrown in for biblical scholars who would want to dispute.
The bottom line, the point I’m making, is that God will work ALL THINGS, together for our good.
So, trust God in the process of your calling, knowing that ALL THINGS will work together for good.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
*Proverbs 9:10 NKJV*
We are living in a very scary time, where there is no fear of God upon the earth.
Jesus said: “no one will know when the end will be, not the angles nor the Son, only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36)
But He also mentioned certain things, which are prevalent in our times, wars, rumours of wars, that people will hate believers for His name, false prophets, lawlessness, persecution etc. (Matthew 24)
And said when we see these things, we must know the end is near.
My friends, I’m not saying the end is tomorrow, next month, next year or even in the next decade of 50yrs.
But I am saying, we certainly are in the closing of the ages, and I believe in the last century if not sooner.
Jesus mentioned, that in that time, it will be like in the days of Noah, people will be going around doing life as normal, eating, drinking, celebrating, marrying and suddenly, the end will be upon us.
Listen, even if the end is not in our lifetime, in the next 50yrs, the end for every person is the day they die.
Death and life run parallel to each other and at any moment, irrespective of age, gender, religion or status, you can cross over.
The question is, are you certain, when you do, that you will be in the presence of God?
The good news is that you can know, as it is written: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (I John 5:13 NKJV)
You might be reading or listening to the audio of this message and say: “I don’t believe there is anything after death, you just cease to exist.”
My friend, don’t wait to die to find out, eternity is a long time to be wrong.
Jesus spoke about the end and gave a parable about the wheat and the tares, and at the end that there will be a separation and the tares will be thrown into the fire.
He said that it will be those who His angels will gather out of His Kingdom, who practices lawlessness. Note in His Kingdom.
They will be cast into the furnace, where there will be wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13).
Unfortunately, there are fellow ministers who won’t agree with this message and accuse me of preaching turn and burn.
The truth is my friends, that if you don’t turn, you will burn. You will perish in sin because of unbelief in Jesus, the atoning sacrifice of our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of the world. ( 1John 2:2)
The scariest thing currently, is that as a result of a lack of fear of God, people are not turning from sin.
So, you say, “God is not a God to be afraid of but a friend of, and that I’m preaching condemnation and there’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ.”
And I say to you, “rightly so, for those who are in Christ there is no condemnation, and we need not fear the judgment of God, we have passed from judgment to life through faith in Jesus. (John 5:4)
For the believer, the fear of God is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this:
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’”
This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.
Our foundational text states: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom.
True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous.
Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that.
A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin, even in the life of a believer.
Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing.
I have recently, experienced the chastisement of the Lord in my life and understand that the reason why God done it, is because, He loves me too much to let me end up in hell.
That chastisement has literally brought me to a place of fearing God, where I am extremely cautious of doing anything that is contrary to His will.
I understand, know and believe that God always forgives when I sin, because the punishment of sin was placed upon Jesus.
However, I am well aware that there will be consequences for my sins.
God loves me and I know that nothing can separate me from His love, which is in Christ Jesus.(Romans 8)
But I’m also well aware, even as a believer in Jesus, if I refuse to confess and repent of my sins, I will end up as those that Jesus spoke about, a worker of iniquity.
Jesus was very clear when He said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (some versions says, you workers of iniquity)(Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV)
For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31).
My friends, this message is not to condemn you, but to encourage you, to have a reverential fear of God. To bring you to a place of repentance.
I know that there are those who would tell you, that you don’t need to repent or confess your sins.
The Bible however states differently, as it is written what Jesus done and said, before His ascension into Heaven.
“And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:45-47 NKJV)
Throughout the New Testament, there is a message of repentance right up to the Book of Revelations.
When Jesus said to the church at Ephesus: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5 NKJV)
God my friends is calling us to repentance, for unbelievers, those who don’t believe in Jesus, to change your thinking, believe in Jesus, be saved and accept the forgiveness of your sins, so that you don’t have to fear the judgment of God.
And to the believers, to change our thinking, focus on righteousness, which will enable us to turn from sin and live in holiness.
Jesus is coming back for a church, without spot and blemish.
It is written: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9 NKJV)
And again: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:9-10 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me And lead me in the everlasting way.
*Psalms 139:23-24 AMP*
The one thing that every believer is aware of about King David, is that God referred to him as man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14)
The Bible states that David served God’s purpose in his generation (Acts. 13:36).
One of the important reasons why God called David a man after His own heart is that he was always willing to do His will and fulfil His desires(Acts. 13:22)
David devoted his life to fulfilling God’s purposes on earth.
When we look at the life of David, it’s clear that he wasn’t perfect. I personally found myself wondering, how God could refer to David as man after his own heart and then David, committed adultery and still had the woman’s husband killed to cover his sin.
However, when we look at the life of David, we will see that He was quick to repent.
When we read Psalm 51, we see that David understood that God is merciful, loving and forgiving.
He understood that God desired truth from the heart, that the sacrifice that pleased God was a broken spirit and a contrite heart (broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent).
He acknowledged that He sinned against God, he wasn’t in denial, but, he also knew that by confessing his sins that God would forgive him, cleanse him and purify him.
The Bible states: “If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises] and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].
If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 AMP)
My friends, we are all sinners, and even as believers we will falter and sin, but then, we are assured through the Apostle John, that we have Jesus defending us and who intercedes for us.
As it is written: “My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action].(1 John 2:1 AMP)
Jesus is able to do this, because He was the sacrifice for our sins. The atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us.
As it is written: “Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And He is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.(1 John 2:2 ERV)
In our foundational text today, the Psalmist who is believed to be David, asked God to search him thoroughly and know his heart.
The reason for this is that he wanted God to reveal if there was anything in his heart, that would affect his relationship with God.
What David was basically doing, was self-examination. Self-examination is important in all areas of life, especially in spiritual matters.
We must examine ourselves to ensure we are truly in the faith, as it is possible to be self-deceived.
He continues to ask God to test him and see if there are any anxious thoughts. Anxiety my friends, is caused by a lack of trust in God.
Jesus said: “Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’
For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”(Matthew 6:31-34 AMP)
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)
Not only did David ask God to search his heart and know his anxious thoughts. He asked God to see if there are any wicked or hurtful ways in him.
My friends, David understood that what God reveals, He heals. When we ask God to search our heart, the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin to bring about repentance.
The Greek word translated in Scripture as “repentance” means literally to “change your mind.”
Repentance is not guilt, remorse or even sorrow. While these things may lead to repentance, repentance itself involves a change of direction followed by the active decision to choose God’s way.
As I change my mind about my actions, confessing that they are in opposition to the revealed will of God, I am admitting ownership of my sin.
And ownership means, acknowledging my participation in sin, despite the external influences that might contribute to my behavior.
In other words, repentance requires that I set aside the “victim mentality” and declare myself the perpetrator.
God always welcomes the repentant sinner into His arms, showering us with forgiveness and mercy.
Just like any relationship, walking with God is moment by moment. We will sin again, it is inevitable.
But when we do, and we feel the prick of our consciences, which is actually the Holy Spirit convicting us, then we simply confess it right away.
The sooner we confess sin, the sooner our intimacy is restored.
Conviction is not to bring about condemnation but restoration.
In Psalm 51, David writes: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.” (Psalms 51:10-13 NKJV)
David understood that He needed the Holy Spirit, in order to live a life pleasing to God.
The Holy Spirit is a powerhouse; only He can change us. We Christians have Him living inside of us, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. (Romans 8:11)
Too often, though, we set up our own rules on how we will change, what we will change, and when we will change. God gave us the Holy Spirit to do that.
We need only depend on Him and surrender to Him. Surrender is not a one-time experience. We must regularly check our hearts through the Holy Spirit to ensure that we don’t construct “barriers” between us and the Lord.
Our foundational text ends with the words. “And lead me in the everlasting way.”
At the core of our identity, God wants to be there loving, leading and guiding.
So my friends, we should ask God to search us and then if the Holy Spirit convicts us of any sin, we should repent, change our mindset.
Put our faith in Jesus and receive forgiveness for our sins, and then allow the Holy Spirit to restore and transform us and conform us into the image and likeness of Jesus, the first born of many of God’s children. (Romans 8:29)
When we believe in Jesus, we are given the power to become children of God. (John 1:12)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
*Ephesians 4:1-4 NLT*
As believers in Christ, we all have a calling upon our life, for the purpose of establishing God’s Kingdom upon the earth.
Our callings all differ, for some it’s in the fivefold ministry, to serve full-time in order to equip the saints for service.
For others, it’s in the marketplace, or in public service.
Irrespective of what our calling is, we are required by God, to walk worthy of our calling.
Our calling is a Heavenly calling and in order to walk worthy of that calling, we need to look to Jesus as our example and be faithful, even as He was faithful to God.
As it is written: “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.”(Hebrews 3:1-2 NKJV)
Because it is a heavenly calling, we haven’t chosen our calling, but it’s been given to us, by the grace of God and therefore, He empowers us, by the Holy Spirit and grants us the neccesary gifts and the ability to fulfill it in a manner that He requires.
As it is written: “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.
We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT)
Walking worthy of our calling, is walking in humility, we need to be humble as Jesus is our example.
As it is written; “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV)
When we take the decision to walk in humility, it will produce obedience to God and we won’t have a problem submitting in humility to one another.
And then God, not man, will exalt us at the right time in the area of our calling, because promotion comes from God. (Psalm 75:6-7)
As it is written: “Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble .
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time,” (1 Peter 5:5-6 AMP)
Humility will also cause us to be gentle and treat each other with respect.
Which in return, will enable us to be patient with ourselves in our walk with God and with others, knowing that God’s call is transformational.
It’s progressive, meaning it develops gradually, so we will stumbe and even fall at times, as will others.
But humility will cause God to grant us more grace as stated earlier.
Walking worthy of our calling, is walking in love. We can only walk in love if we are confident that God loves us, which He does.
As it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17 NKJV)
If you are on this planet, you are included in that statement, God loves you. It’s important for you to know that.
Because if you do, you will love God, you will love yourself and not live a life of guilt and condemnation and it will be easier for you to love others.
My friends, when you have a revelation of God’s love for you, you will love Him and others and by doing that, you will be obeying the commands of God.
When asked which the greatest commandment was, Jesus stated: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”(Matthew 22:37, 39-40 NKJV)
Jesus said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:34-35 NKJV)
So, walking worthy of the calling bestowed upon us, is to walk in humility, patience, love and finally, as the Apostle Paul stated, in unity.
When we come together in unity, the scriptures tell us that God will command a blessing on us. As it states in Psalms 133, “How good it is, how pleasant, when the people dwell as one.”
When we stand united in anything, we will be able to accomplish anything.
We all have different callings, but, as believers in Jesus Christ, Yeshua, we are one body and called to one glorious hope for the future as the Apostle Paul stated.
The Apostle Paul states, be united in peace. And in his letter to the church in Rome, he wrote: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18 NKJV)
Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9 NKJV)
My friends, repent, make up your mind to humble yourselves and submit to God, believe in His Son Jesus, and He will empower you by the Holy Spirit, to walk worthy of the calling to which He has called you.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted.
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,
To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:
To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], The oil of joy instead of mourning, The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So, they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God], The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up and restore the former desolations.
And they will renew the ruined cities, The desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations.
*Isaiah 61:1-4 AMP*
The word ruin as a noun is defined as the physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed.
And as a verb, to reduce (a building or place) to a state of decay, collapse, or disintegration.
Unfortunately, there are many of us, that as we look around us, in our cities, states and country on the whole.
As well as in our personal lives, our relationships, finances and maybe physical structures like homes or office buildings.
All we see are ruins?
Well, my friends, I’m here to announce to you today, that God is busy rebuilding the ruins.
People whose lives are in ruins because of addiction or failed marriages, broken families, financial ruins, or bodily ruins caused by illness and diseases.
Whether it was caused by rebellion against or willing disobedience to God, self-inflicted or from an attack from satan and his cohorts.
Because of His love for us, because of His mercy and grace toward us, God is rebuilding and restoring the ruins.
In today’s portion of scripture, the first two verses is what Jesus proclaimed in Luke 4:18, in the synagogue and stated that it was fulfilled.
Through Jesus, God set the restoration of humanity in progress. Peace was declared toward us by the angels to the Shepherds in the field.
And reconciliation was made between God and humankind, authority was restored unto us, and the Kingdom of God or Heaven was established upon the earth, thus restoring the ruins.
That’s the good news Jesus came to proclaim, including the fact that He came to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted.
My friends, only God can mend broken hearts, whether it’s from failed relationships, a divorce or the death of a loved one, His Spirit is available to us to comfort and restore us.
Jesus came to set the captives free, those who are spiritually and physically bound, by demonic forces and in religion.
He cast out demons and empowered His followers to do the same, He freed people from condemnation as we read in the narrative about the women caught in the act of adultery.
He asked her: ” Where are those who condemn you?” And when she responded there are none, He said,” Neither do I.”
The Bible sates, ” There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ.” (Romans 8:1)
True restoration begins when we make the choice and take the decision to call upon Jesus and put our faith in Him.
Through faith in Jesus, we are made righteous, put in right standing with God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to have power over sin and live a life of holiness, pleasing to God.
And get delivered from demonic possession, oppression, operate in divine health, and be free from poverty and lack.
God not only sent Jesus to restore and rebuild us spiritually, physically and materially, but also emotionally.
He sent Jesus to restore our joy, through the Holy Spirit, the fruit of joy is developed within us and the joy of the Lord is what strengthens us.
The Bible states:” in His presence there is fullness of joy, and we have unlimited, unrestricted acces to the presence of God, because when Jesus died, the veil was broken.
Those who put their faith in Jesus, will be called trees of righteousness, strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice and right standing with God, as the Amplified Bible puts it in today’s portion of scripture.
It declares that they will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise up and restore the former desolations.
My friends, when we put our faith in Jesus, God uses us to take back and restore what the devil has stolen.
Our finances, family, business and reputation. God is merciful and as such, whenever we mess up, there’s rebuke, judgment to bring repentance followed by restoration.
The nation of Israel when they rebelled against God, was rebuked, judged, sent into captivity in Babylon which brought about repentance and which led to restoration, which God already pre-ordained.
In the same way, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were judged and God already had their and our restoration in place, before they even sinned.
As it is written, “Jesus is the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world.”
Before Israel even sinned and was sent into captivity, God already declared the rebuilding and restoration of the temple through the prophet Isaiah, 150 years before it was destroyed and even mentioned a man Cyrus by name that He would use to do it.
Listen my friends, God has appointed divine helpers, to assist us to rebuild the ruins and given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to do so.
I love the end part of our foundational text today, in verse 4, it states: “And they will renew the ruined cities, The desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations.”
It is written: “For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors.
It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold; it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw.” (1 Peter 1:18-19 GNT)
My friends, through the precious blood of Jesus we are freed from any generational curses.
In fact, the blessing of Abraham is bestowed upon us, as it is written:
“But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, “Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God’s curse.”
Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.
(Galatians 3:13-14 GNT)
Not only are we free from generational curses, but from the curses under the Law of Moses and the blessing is a generational blessing.
As God refers to Himself, as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It is written: “Remember that the Lord your God is the only God and that He is faithful.
He will keep His covenant and show His constant love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and obey His commands,” (Deuteronomy 7:9 GNT)
My friends, God has begun restoring and rebuilding the ruins 2000yrs ago through Jesus.
And He is still restoring and rebuilding the ruins now, so if you haven’t yet, put your faith in Jesus and restore and rebuild the ruins of your life and that of your family.
As it is written: “Then he led them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your family.”(Acts 16:30-31 GNT)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*:
However, I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, [who has been] my brother and companion and fellow soldier, who was also sent as your messenger to take care of my needs.
For he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.
He certainly was sick and close to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
*Philippians 2:25-27 AMP*
Many people have been burdened down with sorrow the past few years. Having experienced many troubles, the death of loved ones, illness and diseases, martial and family problems, divorce, battling with an addiction or dealing with family members with addiction.
Financial problems, challenges in business or their place of employment. Retrenchments, demotions, in our country, power outages and water cuts.
And for those who are believers in Christ, they cannot understand it, they thought that Christianity was about the removal of struggling and suffering, not realizing that, in essence it was the addition of grace to get through it all.
Jesus never said follow me and you will have no problems. He said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].(Matthew 16:24 AMP)
Yes, He did also say; “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.
For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”(Matthew 11:28-30 AMP)
Note, He said, “my yoke is easy to bear and my burden light,” not there’s no yoke or burden.
He also said: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace.
In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.”
[My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.](John 16:33 AMP)
As the Hymnal goes: “God has not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing kindness, undying love.
Unfortunately, many ministers, present the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Gospel of Grace, the goodness of God that we don’t deserve, in a way that causes people to believe that they are boarding a pleasure boat, not realizing they are getting onto a battleship.
And so, when they go through trials and tribulations, they become disappointed in God or end up in condemnation, thinking something is wrong with them.
In today’s portion of scripture, Paul refers to Epaphroditus, as a brother, companion and fellow soldier.
Paul who ministered grace, never had any misconception about what being a follower of Jesus entailed, the Lord showed him that he will have to endure suffering.
As the Lord said to Ananias; “Go, for this man is a [deliberately] chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will make clear to him how much he must suffer and endure for My name’s sake.”
(Acts 9:15-16 AMP)
When writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul instructed them to put on the whole armour of God. ( Ephesians 6:11-13)
My friends when you accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, you are saved by grace through faith, but you are responding to become a soldier in Christ in the army of God.
To fight against forces of darkness and enforce the victory that Jesus had obtained at the cross.
The Apostle Paul also understood, that grace didn’t mean you are exempted from discomfort or will be instantly delivered from your affliction.
But that grace would be sufficient to give you the strength to endure, give you peace in the storms of life and grant you contentment in all circumstances.
So, in our foundational text, we are told that this brother and companion, this fellow soldier who labored with Paul to minister the gospel.
Was sick, basically to the point of death. BUT Paul says:” GOD HAD MERCY ON HIM.”
My friends, the devil has intended to take many of us out, tried to kill or destroy us.
But MERCY SAID NO.
The death of your loved ones, the illness and disease, the martial problems or divorce, the addiction, financial problems, retrenchment, demotion or failed business was meant to destroy you, even kill you.
BUT MERCY SAID NO.
As Jesus said: “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. (John 10:10 AMP)
The Apostle Paul continues to say, that not only did God have mercy on Epaphroditus but also on him, so that he would not have sorrow upon sorrow or basically add sorrow to the troubles he was already facing.
Listen my friends, MERCY SAID NO, not only to save us, but for those we care for, so that they don’t have to experience more sorrow than they already enduring.
As it is written, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].” (Acts 16:31 AMP)
Through our faith in Jesus, mercy doesn’t only save us from the punishment we deserve, but also grants us access to the grace of God, God’s goodness that we don’t deserve.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*:
The Lord said to Satan, “From where you have come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”
Then Satan answered the Lord , “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?
You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.
But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So, Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.
But put forth Your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh [and severely afflict him]; and he will curse You to Your face.”
So, the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”
So, Satan departed from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome boils and agonizingly painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will].
Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.
*Job 1:7-12; 2:5-10 AMP*
Oftentimes in life we go through many trials, even as believers in God and Jesus.
Sometimes in all honesty, it seems like as believers, you seem to go through more trials.
The more faithful you desire to be to God; the worst things seem to get.
The more you stand upon the word of God, the more you seem to be tested.
And everyone deals with this situation differently.
In our foundational text, we read part of the story of a man called Job, a story that many people are familiar with.
About a man that, reverenced God and who God boasted to satan about and then permitted satan to test him after satan assumed that Job’s faithfulness was based on God’s goodness toward him.
And he believed that if God allowed Job to experience suffering and adversity, that Job would curse God.
From the narrative of Job, we see that he suffers many losses, financial and even the death of all his children.
And through it all, he doesn’t curse God. Then satan says, that’s because his life wasn’t threatened personally, people will do anything to save themselves.
God then permits satan to test Job further, to be able to attack his body, which he wasn’t allowed previously, but not to take his life.
And then, at that point, with Job in agony, Job’s wife makes a statement: “Curse God and die.”
And as scripture states, Job rebuked her as being foolish.
Now we know many theologians, has given various commentaries on Job, even through the lense of grace and offered different theological insights about the life and test of Job.
We read Job’s story and see the faithfulness of Job and see his wife as someone evil, an instrument of the devil.
And her comment, telling Job to curse God, is exactly what the devil expected or tried to get Job to do, so it’s understandable that we would look at her as the devil’s advocate.
However, we neglect to see that she too suffered what Job had, except, her physical body wasn’t attacked.
His financial loss affected her, the death of their children probably had a greater effect on her than him, as she bore them in her womb and had to endure the labour pains when she birthed them.
What I’ve noticed is that it’s easy to encourage other people in their trials and to make judgements, as long as it doesn’t affect you.
And even if you experienced similar things, as Job’s wife did, we all deal with situations differently.
I look at this story, and wonder, was Job’s wife not maybe telling him to do what she probably already done and hoped to die herself.
In all honesty, even though the Bible states that God will never put us through more than what we can endure and will show us a way out of it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Or more accurately, no temptation that is uncommon to man. However, we all have at times experienced things that seem unbearable.
Now I doubt if we all have been like Job, who said, ” Though He slay me, I’ll trust him.”
We might not all admit to it, but I’m certain that most of us probably cursed God in it.
I’m not proud of it, but I sadly have, on more than one occasion and literally expected or hoped that God would kill me.
Many of us, when confronted with hardship, adversity, injustice, misfortune, and/or affliction develop anger towards God.
Oftentimes we blame God when what we have lived for comes up empty. Especially when we stand on God’s word and the outcome isn’t what we hoped or expected.
Like a loved one not healed from an illness or disease or never survived an accident after we prayed believing.
Or people cheating you and getting away with it, even though you are a tither and then still seeing them prosper.
When hardships seem overwhelming, God is often a scapegoat. Job was in unrelenting pain, and his wife’s reaction was, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).
Of course, Job’s response to her as being foolish and having to accept adversity and disaster is the right thing to do.
However the reality is, it is not what we always do.
Andrew D. Lester, in the Journal of Pastoral Theology, lists several reasons why people get angry with God. He writes that it often arises when God is blamed for a tragedy or event.
We become enraged at God if we think God should have protected us in the way that we think He should have, if He didn’t answer our prayers in the time frame that we specified, or if we no longer feel His presence.
People can also become frustrated with God when they demand and don’t receive a plausible explanation for why God did or didn’t do something that was expected.
Self-will often stands behind a person’s anger towards God. It erupts when our power and control over people and situations are disrupted.
In our Bible we don’t hear about Job’s wife after that, except when he mentions that his breath is repulsive to her in Job 19:17 & that if he has coveted or been with someone else’s wife, that his wife should then be given to another man Job 31:10
Which basically means that she was still around.
My friends, we clearly should not curse God in our adversity, however, if we do, God is merciful and if we confess and repent He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
And fortunately for us today, we have Jesus as our advocate. As it is written: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.
He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (1 John 2:1-2 NLT)
To me, when we find ourselves in a place where we curse God, it exposes what’s in our heart.
And like the Psalmist we should pray and say: “God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way— the path that brings me back to you. (Psalms 139:23-24 TPT)
Or as David prayed after he committed adultery with Bethsheba and was exposed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalms 51:10-11 NKJV)
My friends NO MATTER WHAT you’ve done, you can’t erase God’s love and He will never let you go, as stated in the lyrics of the song by Ryan Stevenson.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “ There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!”
So, he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
*I Kings 18:41-46 NKJV*
Many people have been experiencing a season of dryness in their life, a form of drought for a while.
As believers, in their spiritual life, for some believers and non-believers, it’s been a period of drought in their businesses or finances.
My friends, if that’s you, I’m here to declare to you, I hear the sound of abundance.
In today’s portion of scripture, the nation of Israel had a drought for three years, then the Lord told Elijah that He would send rain.(1 Kings 18:1)
In today’s portion of scripture, Elijah tells Ahab the king, to go eat and drink, basically to go celebrate, because he hears the sound of the abundance of rain.
My friends, faith is not believing what you see, but seeing what you are believing for.
Faith doesn’t wait for the manifestation before giving praise or celebrating, it’s celebrating before you see the manifestation because you believe the word of God.
Whether it’s for your healing, financial breakthrough, promotion, a job or a spouse.
Take hold of God’s word about it, say what the word says, not what you see, as it is written: “Let the weak say I am strong”(Joel 3:10)
When making a declaration of Faith, you don’t say what you have, you say what you are believing for and then start to celebrate as if you have it.
The problem with many people, they don’t see what they believing for, because they allow doubt and fear to stop them, they allow what they see to determine what they believe.
Ahab went and ate as Elijah instructed him to do, even though he was known as a wicked king, he acted on the word.
The word of God my friends, will work for anyone, the rain falls on the just and the unjust, on the righteous and unrighteous, on the evil and the good.(Matthew 5:45)
So when you receive a word from God, rest in it, that’s what we learn from Ahab.
We are then told that after Elijah gave Ahab the word he went and prayed.
From him we can learn a few things, when God gives us a word, we need to humble ourselves in prayer and pray it into manifestation.
And if we don’t see the results, we should be persistent in our prayer until it manifests.
Elijah sent his servant seven times to look out and every time the servant said he saw nothing, Elijah tarried in prayer.
Jesus gave a parable about persistent faith, being persistent in prayer( Luke 18)
There is an acronym, an abbreviation believers use called P.U.S.H, which means, Pray, Until, Something, Happens.
When the going gets tough, the tough don’t quit, doubt or throw in the towel, they get on their knees and pray until they see the manifestation of what they are praying for.
On the seventh time, the servant returned and said, I see a cloud the size of a man’s hand.
Listen my friends, do not despise small beginnings, also don’t be disappointed with what seems like small breakthroughts.
A crack in a dam, results in a dam bursting and water gushing forth.
When the servant came back with the report, Elijah didn’t say oh no, or doubted and continued praying.
He knew from that report, that his prayer was answered, and God’s word had manifested, so he told his servant to tell Ahab to prepare his chariot and go down before the rain stops him.
My friends, get ready, prepare yourself, because there’s a sound of abundance.
We read that in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and then there was a heavy rain.
Listen my friends, every storm doesn’t come to destroy you, some come to clear your path.
The dark clouds and wind is what brings the rain forth.
You heard the saying: “it’s always darkest before dawn.”
It might be dark and windy currently, that’s because, abundance is about to break forth.
In the final verse of our text it states:” Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” (I Kings 18:46 NKJV)
The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah [giving him supernatural strength]. He girded up his loins and outran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel [nearly twenty miles].(1 Kings 18:46 AMP)
My friends, abundance is coming and with it God is going to give you supernatural strength to run with the vision or purpose He has given you.
You will surpass kings, those that are in positions of power and authority.
The name Jezreel in Hebrew means, “God sows”,
It is written: “Now He who provides seed for the sower and bread for food, will provide and multiply your seed for sowing [that is, your resources] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [which shows itself in active goodness, kindness, and love].
You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous,
(2 Corinthians 9:10-11a AMP)
Jesus gave a parable about the sower and the seed and mentions the seed being the word.(Matthew 13)
So, the abundance and supernatural strength is to enable and empower us to take the word of God to the nations.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.
But the Law came to increase and expand [the awareness of] the trespass [by defining and unmasking sin].
But where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness which brings eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
*Romans 5:19-21 AMP*
Many believers in Christ are familiar with the portion of scripture just mentioned, specifically verse 20 that states: “where sin abounds, grace abounds more,” as some versions of the Bible puts it.
From that verse, we understand that sin, cannot stop God’s grace, the more sin increases in the world, the more God’s grace is made available to sinners.
Sin as stated, clearly cannot stop God’s grace, however, the truth is, that grace will not stop us from all the consequences of sin.
Before I elaborate on that, it’s important for us to know that sin never came through the law, the law brought the reality of human sinfulness out of hiding.
The law brought an awareness of sin, so that we as people could see our sinful nature and in so doing realise our need for a Savior and bring us to repentance.
Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18).
Sin had its beginning with Lucifer, probably the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God, and that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Renamed satan, he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.”
Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and against His command, note, there was no law at the time
Only an instruction from God not to partake of the tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil, thus giving humanity free will, the right to choose to obey or rebel against God.
Since that time, sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from him.
Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam sin entered the world, and so death was passed on to all men because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Now that is referred to as inherited sin, like the characteristics we inherited from our parents.
Adams sin was thus imputed upon us, we were credited with the guilt of Adam’s sin(Romans 5:18)
After Adam’s sin, everyone was subject to death, even before the Mosaic Law was given, because of imputed sin, which affects our standing before God.
The Good news my friends, is that God used the principle of imputation to benefit mankind when He imputed the sin of believers to the account of Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for that sin, through death on the cross.
Imputing our sin to Jesus, God treated Him as if He were a sinner, though He was not, and had Him die for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2).
Jesus bore the penalty for sin, but He never became a sinner.
He was treated as though He were guilty of all the sins ever committed by the human race, even though He committed none.
God then imputed the righteousness of Christ to believers and credited our accounts with His righteousness, just as He had credited our sins to Christ’s account (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Hopefully that clarifies the issue of sin and grants you an understanding that through Jesus, the penalty of sin was dealt with, sin however was not done away with, as is evident in the world today.
Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ must pay the penalty for their personal sins, as well as inherited and imputed sin.
However, believers have been freed from the eternal penalty of sin, hell and spiritual death.
We now also have the power to resist sinning. Now we can choose whether or not to commit personal sins because we have the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
When we do sin, the Spirit convicts us and we have the opportunity to confess repent and be forgiven.
Once we confess our personal sins to God and ask forgiveness for them, we are restored to perfect fellowship and communion with Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
So by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus, we are made righteous, (are in right standing with God) and are assured of eternal life.
Our sins are wiped away, we will not suffer the consequences of inherited, imputed or personal sin, However as I mentioned grace doesn’t exempt us from all the consequences of sin.
A simple example is a person who is in prison, hears the gospel, believes in and receive Jesus as the substitute for their sin, is instantly forgiven, has the assurance of eternal life, but isn’t instantly released from prison.
Many have received Jesus on death row and were still executed just like the sinner on the cross next to Jesus. However, they entered into eternity.
In the same way, when we sin as believers, willingly or through weakness, grace is available for us to confess and be forgiven, in that way grace is greater than and abounds over sin.
However grace will not exempt us from consequences. You can believe in Jesus, but if you choose as a believer to commit a murder or any other crime punishable by the laws of the country you live in.
You will be forgiven if you confess and even repent, but you will suffer the consequences.
So, we are all sinners, and we continue to struggle with sin even after we are saved.
We will never know a total absence of sin until we are with the Lord in glory: “When Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2)
The Bible states: “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (1 John 5:18)
Some misinterpret that verse to mean that Christians can attain sinless perfection.
After all, John says that “no one who lives in Him sins” (1 John 3:6) and that “no one who is born of God sins” (1John 5:18).
Based on those verses, they reason, sin must be a thing of the past.
We know that, when John writes that believers do not continue to sin, he is not referring to sinless perfection because of what he writes elsewhere in the same epistle.
To believers John says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
If John is not referring to sinless perfection, what does he mean that believers do not continue to sin?
Very simply, he means that believers will not continue practicing sin as a way of life. There will be a difference between the old life without Christ and the new life in Christ.
The murderer who was characterized by their crime is a murderer no more; they have a different way of life.
The sexually promiscuous person who was characterized by their immorality, is a fornicator no more; their behavior patterns have changed.
The child of God who was a former murderer may still struggle with anger, but they no longer lives according to the pattern of murderers.
The child of God who was formerly sexually promiscuous may still struggle with lust, but has broken free from the old life of immorality.
“All who have this hope in [Christ] purify themselves, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
The believer, therefore, sees a decreasing pattern if sin in their life.
My friends for as long as we are alive and have breath, God’s grace is available to us to receive forgiveness of our sins, irrespective of what our sins are.
Grace was always available from the garden of Eden where God substituted an animal and shed it’s blood, by sacrificing it to die in place of and to pay the penalty of Adam and Eve’s sin.
Grace was available to Noah and His family, when God destroyed the earth with a flood because of humanity’s sins.
God consistently showed grace even under the law to the nation of Israel, every time they rebelled and were unfaithful to Him.
Whenever they sinned, there was judgement, consequences and grace to restore.
And as believers in Christ, even though we are not under the law, when we sin, there’s conviction, chastisement, forgiveness, grace and restoration through repentance.
Grace will always be greater than sin, so there’s no need to die in sin.
Today is given, tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us, receive God’s grace while you are able to, Grace has a name, and His name is Jesus.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Timothy, in the presence of our great God and our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is destined to judge both the living and the dead by the revelation of His kingdom—
I solemnly instruct you to proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what!
Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not.
Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit —with wisdom and patience as you instruct and teach the people.
*2 Timothy 4:1-2 TPT*
As I was seeking and asking the Lord for the word for the partnership letter for the ministry for July, earlier this week.
What dropped in my spirit or came to mind, was STAND UPON THE WORD.
And that, I find to be extremely relevant to me currently, as like everyone else, I’ve been experiencing tremendous challenges in my personal life, in business and ministry.
I’m not ignorant to the fact that many believers are currently going through storms, and many have thrown in the towel and many more are considering doing so, feeling let down by God.
My friends, the word states: “Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour.
Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith.
For you know that your believing brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing the same kinds of troubles you endure.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 TPT)
I can tell you right now, this past week I’ve seen the devil attack people including myself, trying to instill fear, to cause us to either back away from what God has given or promised us.Or to doubt God’s faithfulness to us and complain against God.
I’ll share three things I’ve experienced this week to that regard.
The first one is of one of my clients, after many challenges over the past few months.
God came through for the person in a way that even they acknowledged could only be Him.
Then a day before taking hold of that promise, the person receives a mail regarding their employment, that immediately caused them to decide to let go of what God blessed them with.
The second was while sitting in a car outside a home waiting for my niece and witnessing someone receive a summons, at that home at that moment.
It caused my heart to sink, feeling absolutely sad for the person who received the summons, wishing I was able to assist.
Then the same evening, I received a letter of notification that was issued during the day.
My friends, the Bible states, faith comes by hearing the word of God(Romans 10:17), which basically means that, our faith is activated when we hear God’s word.
Sadly, the opposite is true as well, fear comes by hearing the contradiction to the word of God.
In the three instances mentioned, the devil instilled fear as the mail was received, the summons was issued and the letter of notification and calls were received.
Fear is instilled through the facts and the truth is, that we will have trouble and experience tribulations, whether we are believers or not, in right standing or not, as Jesus said.(John 16:33)
And weapons will be formed against us and tongues will rise against us in judgement, HOWEVER, the Bible is clear they won’t prosper.(Isaiah 54:17)
In all honesty, the very evening I received the letter of notification, I wasn’t overcome by fear, my response was, it is what it is, God will come through.
The fact is, this is the situation I’m faced with, the truth is, my trust is in God and His word.
And His word is truth(John 17:17), and His word states, that He will supply my every need according to His riches in glory in Christ(Philippians4:18), that I should not fear as I will not be shamed(Isaiah 54:4) and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper, that God will never leave or forsake me.(Hebrews 13:5)
And the truth my friends, will change the facts. It is written: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
Thus says the Lord: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
The Psalmist wrote: “I will worship toward Your holy temple And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” (Psalms 138:2 NKJV)
My friends, God’s word is more certain to come to pass than a bank guaranteed check.
You can trust His word, above any person’s promises, no matter how wealthy they are, above your job security, above your partner, mother or father’s word.
People will fail you, but God’s word never fails.
As someone said: “God said it, I believe it and that settles it.”
You see my friends, the client that received the mail regarding their employment, their situation directly impacts me, as I put in great effort over many months and need my money, I labored hard for.
However, I’ve learned a long time ago, to trust in God only for my provision, no matter how certain or secure something looks.
The letter of notification, did impact me negatively and brought instant stress on me, HOWEVER, I took a decision, (as the Apostle Peter stated, “be decisive stand against the devil in your faith)
As I said, I took the decision not to complain or speak the negative but to proclaim the word of God in the midst of the crisis.
A crisis my friend is always an opportunity for God to show up and show Himself strong.
In the Bible we read about when the Israelites left Egypt and was in the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds or Red Sea.
And Pharoah and his army decided to pursue them. And when they saw Pharoah and his army, they were afraid and cried out to the Lord.
And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Standstill, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.
For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” (Exodus 14:13-16 NKJV)
My friends, Moses said to them to stand still, I’m saying to you today, to STAND FIRM ON THE WORD OF THE LORD.
What does God’s word say about your situation? Find that word and declare it over your situation.
God’s word is full of promises, for healing, deliverance, provision, restoration, companionship, whatever you are in need of.
If you hear and do God’s word (Put it onto practice), you will be like the person in the parable of Jesus, that built their house on the rock, and it stood firm in the storm. (Matthew 7:24)
In our foundational text, the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to stand on the word no matter what.
And then to rise to the occasion and preach whether it was convenient or not.
And that is exactly what I found myself having to do this week.
That very evening, I was called upon to go minister with a friend to someone in need and I went without telling them anything of what I was facing.
You can stand on God’s word, because you can trust His word as He and His word are one and Jesus is the word.
If our faith is in Him and we behold Him, we will come out victorious.
Your back might be against the wall, but it’s not over, if you stand on God’s word, He will make a way for you.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us by His divine power.
For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing Him, who has called us by name and invited us to come to Him through a glorious manifestation of His goodness.
*2 Peter 1:3 TPT*
In life people seem to constantly be in need of something.
In need of money, of provision, of healing, of deliverance, of comfort, of emotional, moral or physical support.
And many look to others to fulfill their needs, the poor are looking at the rich, the ill at doctors and science, the possessed at psychologist, the emotionally distraught at psychiatrist and many get caught up in lust to fulfill our physical needs.
Yet God, the creator of all things and beings, the Bible tells us in today’s portion of scripture, has by His divine power, given us everything we need pertaining to life, as stated in the New King James Version of the Bible.
When He sent His Son Jesus out of His love for the world, to save us from eternal destruction, from bondage to sin and from an unfulfilled life.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NLT)
My friends whatever we are in need of, God has made available to us through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus the Bible tells us, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
Jesus never only came to make available the free gift of eternal life to us and to free us from the bondage and power of sin.
He also came to liberate us from poverty, so that we don’t have to be in need of money, but so that we can have more than enough and meet the needs of others.
The highest form of being blessed is not to get but to give. The Bible states that Jesus became a curse when He was crucified, so that the blessing and promises of Abalraham may be bestowed upon the Gentiles, i.e the non Jews.( Galatians 3:13)
And God said to Abraham, that He would bless Abraham to be a blessing.(Genesis 12:2)
And when we put our faith in Jesus, by believing that He died for our sins, that same blessing is bestowed upon us.
It doesn’t mean we don’t ever have to accept or receive anything from others, even from those less fortunate than us.
Jesus never lacked anything, everything was at His disposal, He prayed and food multiplied, when they were required to pay temple tax, He sent Peter to get it from the mouth of a fish, when He required a donkey, He sent His disciples to the exact place where they would find one and tell anyone who asked to say, that the Master is in need of it. (Mathhew 21)
And when He needed a place to host the last supper, He sent them to find a specific man and that he would take them to a room already set-up. (Luke 22)
Yet in Luke 8, we read those women supported Jesus’s ministry from their own resources.
Jesus was humble enough to receive, because He understood that by receiving from them, it enables them to be in a position to be blessed.
The Bible states: “You must each decide in your heart how much to give.
And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need, and plenty left over to share with others.” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8 NLT)
Through Jesus, divine healing has been made available to us; the Bible states: “He sent His word and healed them And delivered them from their destructions.”(Psalms 107:20 NKJV)
In John 1 in the Bible, we read that Jesus is the Word and it further states: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38 NKJV)
Illness and disease are an affliction of the devil and when Jesus was scourged before He was crucified, it made divine healing available to us.
As it is written: “Christ Himself carried our sins in His body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by His wounds that you have been healed.”(1 Peter 2:24 GNT)
Not only did Jesus come to make available the free gift of eternal life to us and free us from the bondage and power of sin, deliver us from poverty and make divine healing available to us.
He also came to deliver us from demonic possession, as we read in the Bible that Jesus spoke a word and the Canaanite woman’s daughter was delivered from demonic possession.
He cast out demons from many who were possessed and from a demonized man in Matthew 8. In Luke 4 we read that demons were coming out of many.
He also gave His disciples power and authority to cast out demons and heal diseases. (Luke 9:1)
Jesus reading from the book of Isaiah said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 NKJV)
My friends, He came to mend the broken hearted, He came to comfort us and asked the Father who sent His Spirit after He ascended into Heaven to do the same.
He came to set free those who were oppressed, the devil tries to keep us oppressed and depressed.
Jesus said: “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 GNT)
My friends God through Jesus gave us everything we need to enjoy life in all it’s fulness.
Now you might be reading or listening to the audio of this message and think to yourself.
I know many believers in Jesus, who are in lack, who are ill, who needs deliverance and are depressed.
Sadly, the reason for that, is because many have been converted but not discipled.
Jesus never said: “go into the world and make converts,” but “go into the world and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19)
Webster’s definition of a disciple is “a pupil or follower of any teacher or school.”[i] A true disciple is not just a student or a learner, but a follower: one who applies what he has learned.
In our foundational text, it states that everything we could ever need for life and GODLINESS has been deposited in us by divine power.
And unfortunately, we are giving people the assurance of eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus but not teaching them how to obtain the abundant life Jesus came to provide.
We are teaching how to obtain things by faith, through prosperity teachings they are obtaining material wealth and sadly some because of the lust for money has fallen.
As it is written: “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10 GNT)
Listen the Bible states: “Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” (Psalms 35:27 NKJV)
As my Pastor always says, God is not against us having money, He is against money having us.
I’m not against faith or prosperity preaching, but if that’s the central focus of our preaching, we have missed it.
Jesus had access to everything, but He never went through Jerusalem in a fancy Roman carriage pulled by 12 Arabian horses.
He told the people: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”(Luke 12:15 NKJV)
Material wealth is not the blessing of God, it is one of the things produced by the blessing.
The Bible states: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22 NKJV)
God doesn’t give material wealth and then poor health or a broken marriage, or undisciplined children that causes you sorrow.
If we want the abundant life that Jesus came to give, to manifest in our life, we need to operate in godliness.
Dictionary dot com defines godliness as: “the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness:
To be wise is to live in godliness, reflecting the nature of the kingdom of God in the course of everyday life.”
When we make disciples of Jesus, we are teaching them the principles and disciplines that Jesus applied.
We have to let them know that they are made righteous not by doing good deeds, or through strict observance of religious practices but by grace through faith in Jesus.
That God placed our sin upon Jesus so that we can be the righteousness of God in Him.
That the righteousness God made available to us is obtained by faith, by believing in our heart and salvation by the declaration of our faith. (Romans 10)
Then we obtain what is know as positional righteous. Which means, legally God sees us righteous, in right standing with Him.
Spiritually we are righteous instantly through our faith in Jesus.
However, our behavior needs to change as we still operate in our sinful nature.
That’s where what we refer to as practical righteousness has to be applied, by meditating upon the word of God and applying it to our life.
A disciple as we read, is one that not only follows but applies the teachings.
So, it’s important to know the word of God, as the Bible states, my people perish through lack of knowledge, in order to apply the word of God.
So yes, as many would say, right believing produces right living. So we teach people to see themselves as righteous.
However, we are well aware that there are people who know that they are righteous because of their faith in Jesus, amongst them ministers of the gospel.
Who’s lives unfortunately don’t reflect the righteousness of God, they are living ungodly lives.
The Bible says about them: “For some godless people have slipped in unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, and who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. Long ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation they have received.” (Jude 1:4 GNT)
So practical righteousness is obtained by more than believing, you have to apply discipline to your faith.
Faith without accompanying action is dead as stated in the book James 2 in the Bible.
Now, we are not judging anyone, as we all are aware that there is a battle between our spirit and flesh and at times like the Apostle Paul, we do the things we don’t want to. (Romans 7)
The problem is when we refuse to acknowledge our sins, sadly, pride and arrogance causes us not to want to repent.
The Bible states: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:9-10 NKJV)
Through repentance we allow God to correct us and transform us by the power of His Spirit into the likeness of Jesus, thereby producing godliness within us.
Then we reflect Jesus’s character.
My friend’s God has given us everything we need, even the divine power to live godly lives, in order for us to enjoy the abundant life, Jesus died to give us.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
*John 1:14, 17 NKJV*
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see that there was a balance in His life, Jesus was full of grace and truth.
In our society today, we find amongst ourselves as believers, many who are either full of grace without truth, or full of truth without grace.
Grace as most of us are aware, is the goodness of God we don’t deserve, because Jesus took the punishment, we do deserve upon Himself.
Grace is God’s, unearned, undeserved and un-merited favour upon us.
So Jesus was full of grace and proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, letting the people know, that God’s promise of establishing His Kingdom upon the earth was now being fulfilled through His coming.
That, as the angels pronounced to the Shepherds in the field at His birth, there is no longer enmity between God and man but that God has extended peace and goodwill toward all of humanity.( Luke 2:14)
Jesus made the following proclamation from the book of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah), Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor .
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”(Luke 4:18-19 AMP)
He further proclaimed: “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.
Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation];
but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced],
because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].(John 3:16-18 AMP)
That my friends, is the message of grace, God is not mad at us, He is mad about us, and because of that, He anointed Jesus and Jesus came and took our poverty upon Himself so that we may become rich.
As it is written: “For you are recognizing [more clearly] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [His astonishing kindness, His generosity, His gracious favor], that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich (abundantly blessed).(2 Corinthians 8:9 AMP)
That was the good news to the poor, because of Jesus, we don’t have to be bound by poverty.
Jesus came to set the captives free, those who are held captive by the power of sin.
Because He was sent as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, not only our sins, but the sins of all the people of the world.(1 John 2:2)
The Good News is that, God made forgiveness for our sins and salvation available to us, through faith in Jesus, not through works of the law, by strict observance of religious rituals or animal sacrifices.
As it is written: For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].(Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP)
Jesus came to give recovery of sight to the blind, yes He prayed for the physically blind and they saw, but it was also to open the eyes of the eyes of the spiritually blind, so that they could awake to righteousness and not sin.
As it is written: “Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.(1 Corinthians 15:34 AMP)
When the Bible says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not,” it means that the more you realize that you are indeed righteous in Christ, and that you are righteous apart from your works, the more you will be empowered to live righteously.
My friends, we are righteous, not by what we do, but by what God done for us, as it is written:
“He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].(2 Corinthians 5:21 AMP)
Righteousness is not obtained by what we do, that’s self-righteousness, Godly righteousness is obtained by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word [the message, the basis] of faith which we preach
— because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God],
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God];
and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.”(Romans 10:8-10 AMP)
Jesus came to demonstrate the Kingdom of God and that God made physical healing available to us through Him.
As it is written: “He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.”(1 Peter 2:24 AMP)
The Bible states: “And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people [demonstrating and revealing that He was indeed the promised Messiah].(Matthew 4:23 AMP)
He came to lift the burdens of spiritual oppression and depression as He said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.
For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 AMP)
So, as we can undoubtedly see that grace came through Jesus.
But it is also written: “And truth.” Jesus said: “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6 AMP)
He also said: “Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17 AMP)
My friends, the word of God, includes the Law of God.
The Bible tells us in John 1, that Jesus is the Word of God, Jesus Himself said, “Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets;
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you and most solemnly say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke [of the pen] will pass from the Law until all things [which it foreshadows] are accomplished.
So, whoever breaks one of the least [important] of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever practices and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
“For I say to you that unless your righteousness (uprightness, moral essence) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20 AMP)
Jesus spoke the truth about the judgment of God: He said: “This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]:
the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
For every wrongdoer hates the Light and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned.
But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—
accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”(John 3:19-21 AMP)
And again: “Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’(Matthew 7:22-23 AMP)
Jesus preached the truth regarding repentance: He said: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways and live changed lives], you will all likewise perish.”(Luke 13:5 AMP)
Jesus was full of grace and truth and demonstrated grace when confronted with truth.
As mentioned earlier, the law is truth: so, when a woman was brought to Jesus that was caught in the act of adultery.
The religious leaders of the day reminded Jesus about the truth of the law.
And Jesus demonstrated grace when He said to them, that the one without sin should cast the first stone.
When they all departed, Jesus asked her where the ones were that condemned her.
And when she responded that there were none, He told her neither does He, even though as being without sin, He had the right to condemn her and stone her to death.
Grace triumphed over the truth of the law.
Then He told her, to go and sin no more(John 8), grace does not condemn, grace forgives, but grace does not encourage a sinful lifestyle.
My friends, God loves us enough to accept us as we are, for who we are, but won’t leave us as we are.
Grace without truth, creates lawlessness and truth without grace, brings condemnation and drives people away.
Like Jesus, we should be balanced and minister grace and truth, in love.
The best way we can show love is to share the truth of the gospel.
Apart from Christ, people are dead in their sins and destined for an eternity in hell (John 3:16–18; Romans 6:23).
But in Christ they can receive new life and eternal salvation (Romans 10:9–15; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
We share the gospel because we love the people for whom Christ died.
We speak God’s truth, because of His love and in a way that clearly and unapologetically communicates both truth and love (1 John 4:10–12).
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse.
Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles,
Or the Lord will see your gloating and be displeased, And turn His anger away from your enemy.
*Proverbs 24:16-18 AMP*
The Oxford dictionary defines fall as a verb, to move from a higher to a lower level, typically rapidly and without control.
The Miriam Webster dictionary defines it as: to commit an immoral act, to move or extend in a downward direction, to decline in quality, activity, or quantity or to to assume a look of shame, disappointment, or dejection, amongst other things.
The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God, to a state of guilty disobedience.
The fall refers to the rebellion of God’s image-bearers in the garden of Eden.
Genesis 3 is a threshold in the Bible’s storyline.
While dwelling in a sacred space and surrounded by the blessings of God, Adam and Eve did what God had forbidden.
God had made them in His image, but they defied His word and sought a kind of knowledge in an unsanctioned way.
Made for communion with God, they experienced alienation.
Made for trust and hope and life abundant, they descended into sin and shame. They fell.
That, however, did not take God by surprise, God is Omniscient, all knowing, He knows the beginning from the end.
He knew about their fall, before they even made the choice to willingly disobey Him.
And He had already prepared for their restoration, as one evangelist would put it, before they had their setback, He planned their comeback.
We know that, because the Bible states that Jesus is the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world. ( Revelation 13:8)
He came here as the Only Begotten Son to fulfill a mission, to be as a Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, to bring about salvation to all mankind.
And so, through one man’s disobedience sin entered the world, causing us to be born into a fallen world.
But the Good News my friends is, “For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.
But the Law came to increase and expand [the awareness of] the trespass [by defining and unmasking sin].
But where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness which brings eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:19-21 AMP)
God made righteousness available to all, by placing our sin upon Jesus.
As it is written: ” He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].(2 Corinthians 5:21 AMP)
And that righteousness is obtained by a confession of faith, in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
As it is written: “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.
For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 GNT)
Salvation, the Bible is clear, is obtained by grace through faith, not good deeds.
As it is written: “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith.
It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 GNT)
Now once we obtain righteousness by grace through faith, does that mean we will never sin and fall?
Well on the contrary, our foundational text today, makes it clear, that a righteous person will fall, many times.
That’s because, even though we are instantly saved and made righteous. Our sanctification is a process.
Justification happens all at once; sanctification happens over a lifetime.
Justification sets people free from sin’s penalty; sanctification means being set free from sin’s power.
Justification is something that God does for us; sanctification is what God does with us.
Justification is by grace through faith, while sanctification is by grace applied in life.
So in that process of transformation into the image of Christ, not by works, but by beholding Jesus, by applying grace and seeing ourselves as the righteousness of God in Him.
We will stumble and fall, BUT as our foundational scripture states, we will rise again.
Righteous people are not those who never fall. They do not escape the suffering that attends in this fallen world.
Righteous people rise again even after falling seven times. In the Lord’s grace, the righteous can rise after a fall.
And every time we rise from a fall, we grow stronger and are able to encourage others.
Jesus told Peter in Luke 22:32 to “strengthen his brothers.” But this could not have happened without Peter falling and then being restored to the Lord.
Peter did much more for Jesus Christ after his fall than he did before.
In our failures we lose our vanity, pride, self-confidence and rash impulsiveness.
After we are restored, we gain humility, new confidence in God, a willingness to use our experience to help others.
My friends, almost every man or woman of God, that has been used powerfully by God had fallen.
The Bible states about Moses: “Moses was a humble man, humbler than anyone else on earth.”(Numbers 12:3 GNT)
That my friends, was after he had fallen. After his fall, he was humbled, as he went from being a prince in Egypt, to a shepherd in the wilderness.
And after he was humbled, he saw the glory of God manifest in his life and he was honored.
As it is written: ” pride comes before the fall, humility comes before honor ”
Sin doesn’t cause us to fall from grace, but it does have consequences.
In Galatians 5:4, the apostle Paul uses the phrase “fallen from grace.”
Some think that when a person has “fallen from grace,” it means that they have lost their salvation, but that’s not what Paul meant.
He is issuing a warning to Christians, to not enslave themselves again to the law.
For, it is the grace of God that saves us; it is the grace of God that sustains us; and it is the grace of God that’s going to present us to the Father holy and blameless on that day of glory.
Our righteousness does not come from ourselves, but from God. We are to contend for the faith and persevere.
But, ultimately, our security does not rest on us. We need not fear that we will fall away from God, for it is He who keeps us upright. We rely on His power, not our own.
He is able to keep us from falling (literally, He keeps us unfallen), and He is able to present us faultless “before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24 KJV).
Amid all the pitfalls of this world, including the false teaching so rampant everywhere, our Savior is able to keep us from sin and error.
There are false teachers that have stumbled into sinful lifestyles, but God is able to preserve His own.
One day we will stand in His very presence, fully sanctified and blameless (Colossians 1:22).
True Christians will struggle with sin and when we do sin, God has made a way for us(1 John 1:8–9).
We will fail. But we can trust that our God is faithful and able to keep us in His grip and to present us blameless before Himself.
When you fall: Know that God will never take His love away.
In our foundational text, not only are told that the righteous will fall and rise.
We are also told not to rejoice and gloat when our enemy falls.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore, the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
So, when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
*John 11:1-7, 14, 17, 20-22 NKJV*
There are many believers in Christ, who has been serving Him faithfully and given Him of their best.
And yet, found themselves faced with a situation, where they needed Jesus to intervene and called upon Him.
They are well aware of the Word of God those states:” Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Maybe like in my case, they have personally experienced that, or witnessed it.
They are also aware of God’s love for them and their family and even experienced His tangible presence in their home.
Yet when they called upon the Lord, in their time of distress, He never showed up at the time they expected and now, it seems too late
Their situation has gone from bad to worst.
My friends in our foundational text today, we read the story of a man named Lazarus, who was a friend of Jesus, according to the scripture, Jesus loved him.
We also told that he had two sisters, and the one was Mary, the very woman who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and His feet with her hair.
From one portion of scripture, in the book of Luke chapter 7, we are told that this woman was a sinner.
My friends, Jesus came into this world save sinners, as it is written: “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.
But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners.
Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT)
I can personally testify to that, as an ex-drug addict and criminal, my testimony is proof that God can save anyone, that He is truly merciful, and no one is beyond salvation.
From the account in the Book of Luke in the Bible of Mary having anointed and washed Jesus’ feet.
Jesus explains the cause of her actions, as being that of one who has been forgiven much, my friends, when the Lord had delivered you from a place of deep darkness and you have experienced His grace and mercy, you won’t be embarrassed to publicly display your gratitude.
People think we are mad when we stand on street corners and minister publicly and testify, thinking that we are crazy, but when they hear our testimonies, they get to understand.
And others, as Timothy wrote: “realize that they too can believe in Him and receive eternal life.”
The greatest promise is this one, from the lips of Jesus Himself in Mark 3:28.
Jesus pledged, on His honor, that all your sins, no matter how grievous, can be forgiven.
There is no sin under heaven so terrible that it cannot be forgiven.
Martha on the hand, in another portion of scripture, was one that served Jesus and His disciples when they were in their home. (Luke 10)
If you read further in the book of John 11 on the account of the resurrection of Lazarus, it’s clear that Martha was familiar with the scriptures.
That is clear from her conversation with Jesus when He said to her: “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23-24 NKJV)
My friends what I love about this portion of scripture, is that it shows us, that in one household, you can have both a saint and a sinner, religious and unreligious and that both are in need of the Saviour.
And so, as we continue in our foundational text, we are told that, Jesus arrives four days late.
His friend, whom He loved, according to their message to Him, had died, because He wasn’t there.
And Martha makes that known to Him, how often don’t we say to the Lord, if you would have appeared in my situation when I called, I wouldn’t have been in this place of darkness of the soul, heartache and despair.
But then, what I love most about this portion of scripture, is that in a place of brokenness, of disappointment, Martha makes a great statement of faith.
When she says to Jesus: “But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
My friends, when you have fellowshipped with and served the Lord, you would have experienced things, that even in darkest the moments, will cause you to know, in your knower, that all things are possible with Him.
Maybe Martha’s confidence was based on the transformation of the life of her sister Mary, who went from being demon possessed, to traveling with Jesus when He went proclaiming the Good News about God’s Kingdom, from one city and village to another. (Luke 8)
Or from the stories Mary must have told her of the miracles that Jesus performed on His crusades.
As it is written: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
And so, we know from scripture, as quoted earlier on, after that declaration of faith, Jesus said to her, ” Your brother will rise again.”
My friends, Jesus does not respond to self-pity or emotional outburst, He responds to your declaration of faith.
As I write and minister this word, I find myself in a situation, that after having called upon the Lord, hoping and trusting with the knowledge that He is able to save and deliver me out of it, has gone from bad to worst.
However, like Martha, I am well aware, that EVEN NOW, irrespective of how impossible it seems, my Lord is able to do a miracle.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed
*Today’s Scriptures:*
This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.
*Matthew 24:14 AMP*
Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to preach to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.
*Revelation 14:6 AMP*
When Jesus was upon the earth, what did preach?
This is the thought that came to me Wednesday, as was making breakfast.
My responding thought was immediately, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
But then, I was reminded about a statement a very dear pastor friend made in a text dialogue with me about a week or less ago. He stated that Jesus preached the Law.
And so, since Wednesday, this message was impressed upon my heart.
So, what does the Bible state? Let’s read.
This is what Matthew says: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matt. 4:23; emphasis added).
The teaching and the preaching we know and would expect.
Jesus preached Repentance in order for the people to enter in the Kingdom of God.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the only way anyone participates in this Kingdom is by believing in Jesus Christ and living a life that demonstrates the reality of that faith (1 Cor. 6:9-11, 15:50)
Your belief according to that scripture, should be reflected in your lifestyle.
Preaching repentance, is not preaching condemnation, true repentance is to change your mindset, from making the choice to turn away from a life of sin to choosing to accept the forgiveness of our sins, which was made available to us by God, through the shedding of the blood of Jesus.
As it is written: “In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment].(Hebrews 9:22 AMP)
Preaching repentance, isn’t preaching the Law. Jesus never preached the Law, He was subject to the Law of Moses and abided by the Law, in order to fulfill the Law.
If Jesus preached the Law, then He would’ve immediately agreed with the religious leaders of the day, when they brought the woman caught in the act of adultery to Him, that she must be stoned.
So, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, is the Gospel of Grace, the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
As it is written: “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?(Romans 2:4 NKJV)
And this is the goodness of God: “He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].(2 Corinthians 5:21 AMP)
When Philip the evangelist preached “the Good News about the Kingdom of God,” men and women believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12).
This “gospel of the kingdom” called them to turn from their sin, trust in Jesus Christ and begin a new life, symbolized by baptism.
When John the Baptist and Jesus preached; “Repent the Kingdom of God is at hand,” that’s exactly what happened.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, the Gospel of Grace, brings people to repentance.
When Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God coming near (Mk. 1:15), He is referring to something truly revolutionary.
He means that God’s promises to establish His Kingdom are beginning to be fulfilled, and that God will one day usher in a new creation, which has even now been inaugurated through Jesus’ resurrection (Col. 1:18; 2 Cor. 5:17).
This new creation will be a place of perfect righteousness and peace, a place in which all wrongs will be made right (Rev. 21:1-5)
While this Gospel of the Kingdom has striking global implications, it is fundamentally a message about what Jesus has done to save sinners.
Jesus said that unless a man is born again—a new birth that can only come through hearing the gospel (1 Pet. 1:23)—he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
We will get back to that in a moment after we look at a very important message Jesus proclaimed and that is as follows.
“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.
Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation];
but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced],
because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].
This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]:
the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
For every wrongdoer hates the Light and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] nactivities will be exposed and condemned.
But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].” (John 3:16-21 AMP)
Most ministers quote the first two verses, including me, in order to get people to know about the Love of God for them, which was proven when He sent Jesus to die for us. (Romans 5:8)
And we ensure that they understand that Jesus never came to condemn us, but to save us, as verse 17 clearly states.
We also ensure that believers, are reminded or know that there is no condemnation to those who believe in Jesus, as it is written in the Book of Romans 8:1in the Bible.
We further let them know, that sin is not what causes people to go to hell, unbelief is, which is basically what verse 18 states.
And unfortunately, I, in error have told people that they won’t go to Hell for sin because sin has been dealt with and imputed upon Jesus.
And the Bible does state that God placed our sin upon Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21)
And yes, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and Jesus has settled the debt of our sins in full, past, present and future through His death.
So, if you reject Jesus, you reject God’s substitute for your sins and go to hell for your sins, through unbelief.
John 3:19-20 states that people reject Jesus who is the Light, because they prefer darkness and don’t want their sins exposed.
Verse 20 basically states that those who desire to do right or live right, morally, ethically and spiritually, will come to the Light, so that his works will be shown, basically because of His help and their dependance on Him.
So, what made me realize that I was in error by telling people that won’t go to Hell for sin, was another communication with my friend, that literally, brought the following to light.
That even though I am a believer, even a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God or Heaven, if I choose to live and immoral lifestyle, I will not enter God’s Kingdon, which means I will go to Hell.
And it will not be because of unbelief but because of sin.
Sin my friends, is disobedience to God. And if we willingly disobey God, we can preach and God will still save, deliver, heal and set people free through us.
Because the gifts and calling of God is without repentance. (Romans 11:29)
“Without repentance” means that God won’t change His mind about what He has called you to do. If God has called you, that calling is still there, whether or not you have obeyed.
Moses, disobeyed God’s instruction and struck the rock instead of speaking to it.
God still worked a miracle through him, and water gushed forth. (Numbers 20)
However, Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the promised land because of that act of disobedience. (Numbers 20:12)
God saw his disobedience as unbelief, so to sin is seen as unbelief.
My friends, if we willfully continue in sin, we will not enter God’s Kingdom
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26-29 NKJV)
That portion of scripture states that we are insulting God’s grace, by willfully sinning.
My friends, we should be careful about, what doctrines we preach and expose ourselves to. As it os written:
“Do not be carried away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace and not by foods [rules of diet and ritualistic meals], which bring no benefit or spiritual growth to those who observe them.” (Hebrews 13:9 AMP)
Yes, that verse talks about food, basically regarding the Law, we should not put people back under the Law or preach condemnation.
The Gospel of Grace is what strengthens us.
However, we need discernment and be careful not to distort the grace of God.
As it is written: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door].
They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4 AMP)
Grace my friends, accepts you as you, for who you are. BUT will not leave you as you are.
Grace will take a sinner and transform them into a saint, a murderer into a minister, a prostitute into a prophetess, an unrighteous person unto righteousness and an addicted adict and criminal, into am evangelist.
The Gospel of the Kingdom says: ” “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls . For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 AMP)
When you come, you assured of forgiveness of your sins, your past sins are taken away through faith in Jesus.
God removes them as far as the east is from the west, meaning His forgiveness is immeasurable.
Your sins and lawless deeds, He will remember no more.”
It also says: ” Once you accepted Jesus as His substitute for sin, if you sin and confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
And that when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and all the sins of the people of the world.”( 1 John 2:2)
The Gospel of Kingdom of God tells us not to judge others (Matthew 7), to pray for our fellow believers if we see them sin(1 John 5) but we should judge ourselves and when we fall short, God will discipline us.
As it is written: “But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly [recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behavior], we would not be judged.
But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined [by undergoing His correction] so that we will not be condemned [to eternal punishment] along with the world.(1 Corinthians 11:31-32 AMP)
The Gospel of the Kingdom says that we should speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
Jesus loved the people and told them the truth about Hell.
Speaking the truth in love is speaking that which is doctrinally correct and that which proceeds from a biblically committed life to a person who is in need of correction.
When we quote the scripture that states: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor (perversely) effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior].(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 AMP)
We are not judging or condemning anyone, we are reminding ourselves that once upon a time, we fell in that category BUT the grace of God changed our behavior and that grace is available to all, that you don’t have to continue in that lifestyle.
That you cannot change yourself, but that God can change you by the power of the Holy Spirit, by grace through faith in Jesus.
That’s the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, God hates sin but loves sinners and doesn’t desire for any of us to perish eternally.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the Gospel of Grace, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is Grace.
As it is written: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived.
It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, he [our brother and Your friend] whom You love is sick.”
When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death; but [on the contrary it is] for the glory and honor of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Now Jesus loved and was concerned about Martha and her sister and Lazarus [and considered them dear friends].
So [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed in the same place two more days.
So, then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.
But let us go to him.” So, when Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to You.”
Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise [from the dead].” When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So Jesus, again deeply moved within [to the point of anger], approached the tomb.
It was a cave, and a boulder was lying against it [to cover the entrance]. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an offensive odor, for he has been dead four days! [It is hopeless!]”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe [in Me], you will see the glory of God [the expression of His excellence]?”
So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes [toward heaven] and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
I knew that You always hear Me and listen to Me; but I have said this because of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You have sent Me [and that You have made Me Your representative].”
When He had said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
Out came the man who had been dead, his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] cloth wrapped around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and release him.”
So then, many of the Jews who had come to [be with] Mary and who were eyewitnesses to what Jesus had done, believed in Him.
*John 11:3-6, 14-15, 17, 21-23, 33-35, 38-45 AMP*
Currently there are many people globally, believers in Christ as well as non-believers, who have or are having traumatic experiences.
Suffering from an illness, or a loved one that has fallen gravely ill.
In a stormy marriage, or a marriage that has ended in divorce.
Going through financial difficulties, with the threat of foreclosure on their properties.
At risk of losing their jobs, or having lost their job. In a business that’s been struggling since the Covid pandemic and now seems like it’s shutting down, or maybe has shut down.
Many believers who have been experiencing of these things, has called out to the Lord in pray with the hope of restoration, because of their personal relationship with Him and who are aware of His ability to heal, to save, to provide and deliver.
Unfortunately, there seem to be no response and for some, their situation has now got to a point of death, a point where all hope is lost and where restoration seems impossible.
They are heartbroken, feel forsaken by the Lord and cannot understand why He never came through for them, after having had such a close relationship with Him, giving their best and having served Him faithfully.
My friends, today my intention is to encourage you through this message, to bring hope to your soul and stir up your faith.
Your situation might be dead and decayed by now and any attempt to salvage it, seems hopeless.
My friends, my God gives hope to the hopeless and faith to the faithless.
What seems impossible to us, is possible with Him, because with Him, all things, not some things, are possible. He is the God of the impossible.
Listen, God loves you, irrespective of your circumstances, that illness, your struggles, your challenges that you are facing, does not mean He is not concerned about you.
The Bible states, that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, no trial, no tribulation, neither death nor life, powers or pricincipalities. (Romans 8)
In our foundational text, we are told, that Jesus loved and was concerned about Martha, Mary and Lazurus and considered them dear friends.
Yet He delayed, delay with God my friends is not deny, not now is not never.
Your situation will end in the glory of God so that other believers would believe in the power of God.
All things, not some things, will work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
Whether it’s the physical death of a loved one, a divorce, an illness, a child or loved one that is an addict, a sequestration.
God will use it for His glory and all who are around you and witnessed what you went through will believe in Him, through your unwavering faith.
Jesus even though, He was going to resurrect Lazurus, identified with the pain of His friends and those who mourned with them and He wept.
He is identifying with our pain too and is angered by our suffering and therefore will cause us to arise from our circumstances.
Listen, when He arrived in Bethany, Martha said to Him that if He were there, her brother would not have died.
Then, she made a declaration of faith, when she said. “Even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to you.”
Listen my friends, the Bible states, that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us.
And also, that whoever, calls upon His name, shall be saved.
Therefore, no matter what it looks like in the natural, whatever we ask the Father in the name of Jesus will be done.
There are people around us, some to support us, others to spectate.
Well, God is going to use some of those that came to spectate to participate in the removal of whatever is blocking our miracle.
Just as He used those at the tomb of Lazarus to remove the stone.
Today my friends, if you find yourself, dead in you circumstances, surrounded or entombed by darkness, bound by oppression or depression.
I command you in the name of Jesus, Yeshua Hamashiach, “COME OUT!”
And as with Lazarus, you will come out, still bound, maybe hopping or moving at a slow pace out of that place of darkness, your face covered, your vision impaired and not able to see clearly.
Again, there are those who have been spectating, who will be participating in loosing you, unwrapping you and releasing you and setting you free from that bondage you are in.
God has divine helpers, standing by.
Listen, when Jesus Himself was in a tomb, Mary his mother and Mary the sister of Lazurus and a few ladies who were restricted by the Law to go attend to His body.
The minute they were able to, when the Sabbath ended, they went to tend to the body of Jesus.
Before they got there, the earth shook, and the stone rolled away.
Well, my friends, there has been a lot of shaking in the earth these past few years, to move out of our way, whatever has been keeping us shut in and entombed.
Those who desired to tend to us, who have been restricted from doing so because of restrictions that were upon them.
Will not find us in the state they expected, and won’t even recognize us, as we arise by the power of the Holy Spirit and be brought from death into life and the garments, we have been wearing in the grave are removed.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life and when you call upon His name He will bring you from death to life.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures:*
My son do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline]; Nor despise His rebuke, For those whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
*Proverbs 3:11-12 AMP*
In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed!
So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces, He also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children.
This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children.
Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God?
We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?
While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.
At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain.
Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
*Hebrews 12:4-11 MSG*
There is a subject much avoided, and that is Christian discipline.
We would rather talk of blessing, prosperity, Christian love, grace, etc.
Discipline isn’t something we take pleasure in, in fact, most of us despise being disciplined.
As a child after my dad’s death, I became very rebellious and acted out with terrible tantrums and unfortunately, when that behavior spilled over at school, I often would be disciplined.
I attended a private school from standard 3, which was grade 5 in today’s equivalent to standard 6, grade 8 and they had no issue discipling us in those days.
Discipline was normally carried out by means of a leather strap by the brothers and in high school with a cane by some teachers.
The fact that I often got spanked, was a clear sign that I never learned from the discipline, I despised and rejected it.
On one occasion, while attending a school in Eldorado Park, immediately after I got disciplined with a cane for playing truant or bunking school as some would refer to it.
I walked straight out of the school and got into a cousin’s car and left, during school hours.
Discipline is defined in the Oxford dictionary as the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
With God, however when it comes to disciplining, believers in Christ, who are considered as His children, according to John 1:12.
When it comes to correcting our misbehavior, there’s a big difference between punishment and discipline.
While punishment focuses on making someone suffer for breaking the rules, discipline is about teaching us how to make a better choice next time.
God will not punish a believer for sin, because sin has already been dealt with and the punishment for it was placed upon Jesus.
On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our sin. He did not deserve to die, but He willingly took our place and experienced death for us.
Jesus’ death was a substitution, “the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:18), the innocent for the guilty, the perfect for the corrupt.
Jesus took our place in that He was made sin for us. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Now even though we won’t be punished for sin as believers, because we accepted God’s substitution for the punishment of our sin, there are consequences when we choose to sin and God will discipline us when we sin, like any normal, loving parent will do.
Now let me clarify, when I responded and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, after God supernaturally delivered me from a crack cocaine addiction by grace.
Even though I was instantly forgiven for all my sins, past present and future, there were still consequences from my sin, which God delivered me out of.
My friends, the Bible states that the goodness of the Lord leads to repentance (Romans 2:4), that is God’s grace, like delivering me out of addiction when I called upon Him, high on drugs, is what led me to repentance.
To a change in my mindset regarding Him and Jesus and what led me to believe in and receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
God’s grace is available to all, there are many people who have called out to God and who does daily, who are not even followers of Jesus and haven’t accepted Him as their personal Lord and Saviour.
Who gets delivered out of their troubles, but don’t repent.
And unfortunately, that leads to their destruction.
Again, let me clarify, I’ve seen many guys arrested for crimes, end up in a case or on waiting trial, pray and come off that case.
Unfortunately, when they do, they think it was because of their expensive lawyers or the bribes they paid and continue in their lifestyle of crime.
Then later in years end up either in prison for a long time or dead.
Because they were unrepentant and didn’t accept the grace made available to them and despised correction.
But then, I can share a testimony of an anointed man of God, a personal friend, that was involved in a shooting, had serious charges against him, murder, attempted murder, possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
He repented and accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior while on trial and when he was sentenced, the judge told him, I don’t know who you pray to, but that he was going to sentence him to 99yrs in prison, however while in his chambers, he had a change of heart and ended up sentencing him to 15yrs.
Of which he ended up doing 4years and eight months. You see, he was forgiven but there were still consequences for his sin.
However, because of the mercy of God, he never received the punishment he deserved.
And when he was sentenced, he did not despise the correction of God, he remained faithful to God in prison.
I know guys, who also accepted the Lord, ended up in prison but then got involved in the prison system and ended up doing their full sentence.
You see my friends, when we despise the discipline of God, we delay our deliverance and we don’t experience, the true freedom in Christ and remain in some form of bondage.
In our foundational text, it states that we should not reject the discipline of God, nor despise His rebuke.
The problem is, many of us despise His rebuke, sometimes not openly but even in our heart.
Now I need to clarify something, God doesn’t discipline us with, illness, disease, poverty or lack, because those are things Jesus took upon Himself on the cross.
However God sometimes allows us to go through that, that isn’t discipline it’s a trial, but then many of us despise God for it.
And we start proclaiming our self-righteousness, maybe even call God a liar.
I’ve been cheated on numerous occasions and have been going through financial difficulty and honesty have been angry with God.
And said things like; “I’m a tither and you are a liar, because Your Word says that you will rebuke the devourer and you will supply my every need.
In all honesty in this trial, God revealed many things to me, pride was one, I honestly believed I was an effective estate agent because, I worked hard and therefore God blessed me.
Unforgiveness, bitterness, anger and resentment, was in my heart and that surfaced, as I’ve seen the very people that cheated me get away with it.
Covetousness was in my heart, specifically coveting other people’s wives.
Now please understand, God never allowed these things to surface to condemn me, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ.(Romans 8:1)
God allowed it to surface so that I could confess and repent, so that He could deliver me from it and I could come forth purified and ready for service.
You see my friends, had I not gone through this trial, I would not have done, introspection and judged myself and known what’s in my heart.
The Bible states: “But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly [recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behavior], we would not be judged.
But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined [by undergoing His correction] so that we will not be condemned [to eternal punishment] along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32 AMP)
Now I understand that portion of scripture is regarding judging ourselves when taking communion and whoever has been sitting under the teaching of grace, will be quick to point out that taking communion unworthy, is not as seeing yourself righteous because of Jesus, which we are.
However, my friends, I believe God’s word isn’t complicated, it’s simple and it’s clear.
Communion is an opportunity to examine ourselves and then confess our sins that is revealed and be cleansed from all unrighteousness as stated in 1John 1:9, with the knowledge that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins.(1 John 2:2).
Listen, if you taking communion for example, knowing you are in an adulterous relationship or stealing at work, or dealing drugs, or fornicating with no intention of repenting.
I don’t care how righteous you see yourself, God will discipline you in order for you to come to repentance.
Not because He takes pleasure in your suffering, but because He doesn’t want you to end up in hell and suffer for eternity as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:32)
I am responsible to God and desire to see you free, so I need to preach the truth so that you can be set free from bondage and experience the abundant life God intended for you.
My friends, if you choose to willingly continue in any form of sin, like drug dealing, adultery, fornication, stealing, drunkenness, murder, or homosexuality, you will not eneter the Kingdom of God as stated in the Bible. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
If you are involved in any of those things or battling with it, God still loves you and you shouldn’t stay away from God or church, He will discipline you of you battling with that issue, He will correct you in love and deliver you from it.
That’s why Jesus came, to set the captives free, we are all held captive by something and even though our spirit is saved instantly our souls are being transformed daily and we learn to discipline our flesh.
Discipline is beneficial to us, as it enables us to become self-disciplined.
Self-disciplined people are:
DECISIVE – The disciplined person prefers to be in control and will typically not hesitate to call the shots.
DETERMINED – The self disciplined person sets goals, pursues them and achieves them. They will not compromise their standards or beliefs to do so, but otherwise willingly make sacrifices to achieve their goals.
Discipline teaches us to reverence God, to respect Him and enables us to be obedient to God.
Jesus was disciplined and never sinned. Here is what I mean. Hebrews 5:8 says, “[Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered.”
It doesn’t mean Jesus sinned, it means that in every trial, He chose to obey God, so through the trials we learn obedience.
Daniel and his friends also chose to obey God in their trials, Daniel was a disciplined person in prayer as was Jesus.
Disciplined people won’t easily compromise, so personally I need to repent for despising God’s discipline and thankfully He is gracious and forgives and restores.
One thing I lack in my life is self-discipline, if I hadn’t, I would be walking around with a six pack, not a full pack.
However, by the grace of God, through His love for me, I’m being disciplined.
God disciplines those He loves; I am certainly loved. So are you.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?”
*Luke 18:8 AMP*
Unfortunately, what I’ve noticed since the Covid pandemic, is that many people, amongst them many who profess to believe in God and Jesus, have given up their belief.
They seem to have lost faith in God. They might not openly say so, but it’s made clear by their actions and from their words.
Yes, there might be an increase in people who streamed church services, or religious platforms, which I believe, stemmed from the fear of dying and most are now tuned in for motivation, which I suppose has its benefits.
As the Bible states: “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” (Romans 10:17 NLT)
Hopefully they are tuned in to people that are preaching the good news of Jesus, as that is what activates faith in God.
Many people have lost faith in God it seems, after suffering the death of loved ones, or battling with a terminal illness for a long time and not seeing their healing manifest yet, after praying for a while.
Some because of finding themselves in financial difficulty since the pandemic, in spite of them praying and tithing.
So, they feel that God isn’t there or doesn’t listen to their prayers.
Today’s portion of scripture is taken from a parable that Jesus told His followers, to teach them about persistence in prayer.
The parable was about a woman that approached an unjust judge for justice against an enemy.
She continually came to him, but the judge ignored her and eventually, because of her persistence, saw that she got justice.
He concluded, that if an unjust judge would grant someone justice, then God who is just, will grant us justice quickly.
Hence, we should persevere in prayer and not give up.
His final question was, would He find this kind of persistent faith when He returns.
My friends, if we truly believe that God is just, we will remain persistent in prayer, even if the answer is not what we expected.
We all expect our loved ones to live when we pray, unfortunately, the reality of life, is that death is inevitable and unavoidable, that every person that was born into this world will die at some point.
Yet we find it difficult, especially as believers in Christ, to accept the death of a loved one.
Even though we believe in Heaven and believe the words of Jesus, that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but has eternal life and that He has gone to prepare a place for us.
Honestly, when my mom died after I’ve prayed for her for almost a month and a nephew a week before her, I was mad at God, I lost faith in God and stopped praying, for six months.
Until one morning, while on a trip in London, after a night of heavy drinking, I found myself praying.
God is true to His word that states: “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”(Philippians 1:6 NLT)
My friends, we won’t always understand God’s ways, the Bible is clear about that, however that doesn’t mean we should stop praying and believing.
For as long as I am alive, I will pray for people to be healed if they ask, because God does heal, it was my mother’s time and she is with God, enjoying Heaven, because of her belief in Jesus.
I chose to believe that God is faithful, that He heard my prayers over the years for my nephew and I believe that He gave him the opportunity to call on him on his way to the hospital and just like the guy who called on Jesus on the cross beside Him, he entered into paradise.
You have the right to believe differently, I believe God is faithful and that all things, not some things, works together for the good of us who believe in Him and are called according to His purpose.
I might be getting on in years, but I won’t stop praying for a wife and children of my own, I just read an article about a 93yr old man getting married to a 67yr old woman, his 5th wife.
And many of us know about two famous actors, the one became a father again at 79yrs old and the other at 83yrs old.
Even though I’ve been going through challenges for a while, with people cheating me and others treating me unfairly, I’ll never stop praying and ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ or doubt God’s goodness.
As a hymnal states:
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through.
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.”
My friends God doesn’t tempt us with evil, but He does test us, as it is written: “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV)
And again: “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10 NKJV)
Now before you jump and say, my brother, we are in a dispensation of grace, here are scriptures for you to ponder on.
“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being.
But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it.
And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 TPT)
And again: ” Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials.
Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].
And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 AMP)
Listen my friends, I’m encouraging you today, to remain persistent in your faith, for your breakthrough, your healing, the deliverance of your children, for a godly spouse, or the salvation of your spouse, the restoration of your marriage, for children of your own, or whatever it is you are believing God for.
Failure to persist in our Christian Walk indicates that we were never Christ’s to start with.
In our foundational text, we see that Jesus will be looking for a faith that is not exhausted or weary but a faith that is full of passion and steadfast.
He is looking for a persistent faith. The word persistent means to have continual effort, to hold on with a bulldog grip and to be in steady pursuit of.
So be persistent in your faith. As I heard a pastor say: “Winners don’t quit and quitters can’t win.”
My friends, God hasn’t and won’t quit on you, so don’t quit on Him.
Persevere and be persistent in your faith.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38 NKJV
As I was preparing this message, realized, how apt this message is for me at this very moment in time.
Last week after I spoke to my eldest sister regarding where I am at and the decision I feel led to take, to get out of the property industry and she told my second eldest sister that.
Who in turn contacted me and during our conversation, she advised that maybe I should hold on until I got something else.
Unfortunately, even though that is wise counsel, that isn’t how God operates, the walk with God, is a Faith-walk.
In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, which many theologians describe as the Hall of Faith, we read that faith is the tangible evidence of what we hoped for that was not physically visible at the time.
Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.
That portion of scripture explains, that it is by faith that believers understand that the Universe was created by the Word of God, that God spoke it into existence.
We are further told in that portion of scripture, that Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice to God than Cain by faith, which makes me realise, that our tithes and offerings, is considered as an act of faith and a declaration that we believe that God is our source.
We read about Enoch, that was raptured by faith and that assures me that our faith in Jesus as the Saviour of the World, will ensure the same for us should we be upon the earth when He returns.
My friends, that portion of scripture makes it clear in verse 6, that without faith it is impossible to please God.
We are told that Noah prepared and built the Ark by faith, and I am comforted, that in the same way, our faith in Christ will prepare us for the retribution to come upon the Earth and ensure that we are saved.
By faith Abraham obeyed God when he was called and left, not knowing where he was going.
God doesn’t always reveal everything to us when He gives us a vision, He gave Abraham a promise and showed Joseph the end but not the process.
And even with me, he placed a knowing in my heart during a time of prayer while in Kenya, shortly after I was saved regarding ministry and then confirmed it through a direct prophetic word then and on numerous occasions after.
Unfortunately, I tried to do it over the years, according to my own understanding, through my own efforts, not fully surrendering and using the excuse that God calls every person differently.
Peter, James and John left all to follow Jesus and the Apostle Paul worked and ministered, so I decided that I am called to work and do ministry.
Unfortunately, in all honesty that was a decision made from a lack of faith that God would provide and my faith was not fully placed in God’s provision but attached to properties I had been mandated to sell.
In 2020 during the Covid pandemic, I took my hand off the plough slowly regarding ministry, by actively deciding to not travel with the ministry I was serving in for crusades and focus on opening my own real estate offices to sustain me.
And since then, I’ve worked harder than ever, but have gone through the worst financial storms ever and like Jonah who went his own way, found myself in a place where I have put everyone on board with me at jeopardy.
To be clear, while Jonah was on board, heading away from what God instructed him, everyone on board was affected by the storm and were at risk of being shipwrecked, until he repented and was willing to surrender his life and let them throw him overboard.
I received this in a post from a message, from one of my cousins, not knowing where I am currently at: “Sometimes God closes doors because it’s time to MOVE FORWARD.
He knows you won’t move unless your circumstances force you. Trust the transition, God’s got you”
And then, it was immediately followed by another message from her: “I AM the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea.” Isaiah 43:16
Earlier in the week, I received a message with the following quote: “Everything will change when your desire to move on, exceeds your desire to hold on.” Alan Cohen
To me that is confirmation that I need to let go, put my faith fully in and trust God and pursue the ministry He has called me for, and He will open the way.
I have no idea how God will do it and honestly, I’m tired of trying to figure it out or need to know, I simply, like Abraham have to step out in faith.
Last week I received a second request for evangelism and discipleship training in an African country.
Earlier in the year, a woman that operates in the prophetic, received a request for training from a pastor in the north of that country, who she knows from having ministered there and she immediately referred them to me.
This time, a bishop from the south of the very country, emailed me on the ministry email, requesting the same.
Ironically, I know a pastor in that country that I have desired to sow into toward the renovation of his church and thought about going there personally.
The first time, I restricted myself by restricting God and offered to do the training live through a social media platform.
BUT, not realizing that they are in rural areas and don’t possess the necessary equipment and facilities for us to do that.
This time, as I communicated, I done basic costing for travel and accommodation and thought I’d be okay, because I had commission coming through, I’d be able to go.
HOWEVER, the commission I depended on did not materialize and as I kept communicating, the cost of the training conference and crusade increased, as they don’t have their own sound, a screen or projector and approximately over 200 pastors will be attending the training to be equipped and needs to be fed, three meals a day as they are from different areas.
The strangest thing, while at a friend, we were talking about ministry, this came up in conversation and she advised that she has a projector and screen for me to use, just like that, R6300 off the budget, beside the cost to take it as check-in luggage.
Then on Thursday, another Pastor asked me how business is going and also about the ministry and when I told him about the request, he said I should get them to forward me a quote for the food cost and menu, there is a possibility that they could assist.
This is all a reminder, that the currency of Heaven is faith, and that where God guide’s He will provide.
My faith is stirred and am I am no longer anxious about it, as I am reminded about my pastor’s words: “If God is in something, no one can stop it and if He isn’t, no one will need to stop it, it won’t happen.”
I have been reminded about the crusades I served in, there were times when we travelled without the funding for the sound, when there was no tent or equipment in that ministry at the time.
And how God continually provided, for every crusade. And we progressed, from four, to eight and at one point ten crusades in a year.
That ministry now has their own tent, chairs, sound equipment and truck and is having their first stadium crusade, this month, where over 40 000 people registered.
Registration is free and everything has been provided for. This is something that we felt in our spirit years ago was where the ministry was headed.
Our faith is in the same God.
The difference is, I was not the one that needed to stand in faith for everything, I just stood in agreement, now I am the one having to do the believing.
The good thing is, that the Bible states: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3 NKJV)
My friends, we have all been given faith for the service God has called us for and to live by. And we have enough faith for anything we require, I say that based on the words of Jesus.
“So, Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20 NKJV)
All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed and we have all been given a measure of faith, so we have all the faith we need.
God will not require anything from us that He has not empowered us for.
Faith is required to receive salvation and eternal life with God.
The Bible clearly states that eternal life is a gift of God that is received by faith, not obtained through works.
As it is written: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 6:23 NKJV) And again: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
How we then receive God’s gift of eternal life and salvation, is explained to us in the following scripture: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV)
Salvation is obtained by grace through faith, believing and speaking and so is everything else, healing, provision, your children’s deliverance.
As Jesus said: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23 NKJV)
I feel led to share this, when the Bible states: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) When the Word of God is proclaimed it activates your faith, it triggers it so that you can receive, salvation, healing, deliverance or provision.
Now the Bible also states: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:17-26 NKJV)
Now that you might think, is a contradiction as we are saved by grace through faith, not works, well, you have a part to play in salvation, and that is to make a declaration of faith.
Even in ministry, the Bible states: Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV)
We have to communicate the vision, but we don’t have to manipulate anyone, God already has people on whose heart He has laid to support the vision, just as He had in the wilderness, when He instructed Moses to build a tabernacle.
As it is written: “Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.” (Exodus 35:21 NKJV)
If we have to manipulate anyone, then our faith is not in God, and we are clearly not living by faith and God’s soul has no pleasure in us.
Listen my friends, God hasn’t changed, in the New Testament or Greek Scriptures, it is written: “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV)
God owns everything and everyone (Psalm 24:1) God chose Cyrus a Persian King, a hundred and fifty years before he was born, to provide for the rebuilding of the temple and after Jesus was born, when He was approximately 2years old, the men that came and paid homage to Him and presented gifts, were foreigners. God has divine helpers for all of us.
SO HAVE FAITH
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
Today’s Scripture:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].”
Genesis 2:16-17 AMP
The purpose of this message as with any message that I minister, is not to bring condemnation but clarification, with the intention of bringing people to repentance in order to bring about restoration in their lives. Restoring them to what God intended for them to be.
Many believers are aware that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. (Romans 8:1)
They also understand that they are righteous, not because they live right but because God placed our sin upon Jesus who knew no sin, so that we may be the righteousness of God in Him. ( 2 Corinthians 5:21)
And that we obtained the righteousness of God, when we took the decision and placed our faith in Jesus, by believing that He died for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10)
Many believers also sit under, the teaching of grace but sadly don’t have a proper understanding of grace, that grace has been made available to us, with the intention of bringing us unto repentance.
Repentance was ministered under the law of Moses and was the message that the prophets often had to share, not to bring condemnation to the people but to make them aware of and to get them to change their mindset firstly about the difference between the way of God and the way of the world.
And to give them a choice to live according to the way of God, in order for them to get to experience the goodness of God and live a life of, prosperity and abundance, in good health.
That life was made available to them but was achieved through obedience to the laws of God as stated in the book of Deuteronomy 28 in the Bible.
In that chapter, God through Moses tells them about the benefits of obedience and the consequences of disobedience.
Because God is a loving God, from the beginning at creation, He gave humankind the choice of obeying Him, that is why, He placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil there.
He didn’t create us to be robots, He gave us free will so that we can choose to obey Him.
He never wanted humankind to know or experience the consequences of evil that comes with disobedience.
Before the Earth was recreated and man was created, satan and a third of the angels rebelled against God and were cast out of Heaven.
Then God created humanity in His image, with only the knowledge of His goodness but the choice to obtain the knowledge of evil and clearly explained the consequences of it.
Well, almost everyone knows the story, as the following portion of scripture explains for those who don’t:
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned
— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”
Reading that on its own, will leave us without hope, so we therefore continue with that portion of scripture as it states.
“But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:15-19 NKJV)
From that it’s clear that even though we are born into a fallen world where sin is dominant because so the disobedience of one man.
Righteousness as stated early was made available and can be obtained by grace through faith, because of the obedience of Jesus.
We therefore receive righteous as a gift not because of works. HOWEVER we need to maintain that righteousness by daily submitting to God’s will according to His word.
Even under grace, there us consequences for sin, that’s clear from what happened to Ananias and Sapphira.
Listen of we miss it and give into temptation to sin, or even willingly sin because of rebellion, forgiveness is available as stated in 1John 1:9 and we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1John 21-2)
However, like David, we receive forgiveness but are not exempt from consequences.
As my Pastor always used to say,” you have the freedom to choose, but you don’t have the freedom to decide on the consequences of your choices.”
When we confess and truly repent, make up our mind not to continue in sin, then we experience God’s mercy and don’t receive the punishment we deserve.
David didn’t continue to commit adultery after God confronted him about His sin and he repented.
For his sin under the law, he was to be stoned to death, but God was merciful and allowed him to live.
However, there were consequences l, actually severe ones for his sin.
The Bible states: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV)
We open the door to the devil when he deceives us and cause us to reason and doubt God’s instruction, by twisting God’s word like with Eve.
For example, he will cause us to think, what’s wrong with fornication if it’s two consulting adults and both are not involved.
We are human and we have natural needs, so we then start doubting God’s goodness toward us.
Listen, God made sex pleasurable, but it was meant to be enjoyed in the confines of a marriage and the primary reason.
Was for procreation, to partake in the miracle of the reproduction of humankind.
The reason why God forbids fornication is, firstly because sexual intimacy forms a souk toe with the person you get sexually active with.
The Bible states that when a man and woman get married the two becomes one flesh, so as we all know, they are still two separate people, therefore the tie is a soul tie.
And that is the case with anyone we sleep with, as it is written: Aren’t you aware of the fact that when anyone sleeps with a prostitute, he becomes a part of her, and she becomes a part of him? For it has been declared: The two become a single body.” (1 Corinthians 6:16 TPT)
Beside the soul tie, God knows we can get sexually transmitted diseases, which can lead to lifelong illness and premature death.
Therefore, my friends, even though God loves us, He is just and therefore had to punish sin.
And even though, He laid the punishment of our sins upon Jesus, He wants us to know, that disobedience even though there is forgiveness has consequences.
So that we can avoid unnecessary heartache and hardships, God desires the best for us.
As it is written: “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the best of the land; ” (Isaiah 1:19 AMP)
Obedience brings rewards, disobedience has consequences.
If you are reading and listening to the audio of this message and the Holy Spirit has convicted you of disobedience, then come to repentance, receive forgiveness and be restored.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
Be blessed
*Today’s Scripture*
“Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow, and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
In the same way, my words leave my mouth, and they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
“So, you will go out from there with joy. You will be led out in peace. When you come to the mountains and hills, they will begin singing. All the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
Large cypress trees will grow where there were thornbushes. Myrtle trees will grow where there were weeds.
All this will happen to make the Lord known, to be a permanent reminder of His goodness and power.”
*Isaiah 55:10-13 ERV*
Oftentimes we underestimate the power of God’s word.
That is very evident, as we see how panic-stricken people are globally, especially with what is happening in the middle east.
And even within our country, many are fearful regarding the outcome of the elections this week.
Sadly, even self-professed believers in Jesus, seemed to be concerned about what will happen if a party with ungodly principles continues in power or is placed in power.
Many are fearful of the agenda of the World Health Organization, putting laws in place in order to have world domination over people.
Others are fearful because of the global and local economic situation, some are doing things under duress and living under stress, anxious about their basic needs and bills being met.
Yet God’s word is clear, it states, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”(II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
Our fears are from a lack of knowledge or trust in God’s word. As it is written; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6 NKJV)
Therefore, my friends, we need to ensure that we are knowledgeable about God’s word, the Bible states; Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)
The Bible also states: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:38 KJV)
A lack of knowledge of the word of God is what causes us to be fearful and not have faith that irrespective of our circumstances, He is in control.
You see my friends, if we have knowledge of the word of God, we will know, that things will be shaken, God’s word declares it, and that’s what’s happening now currently upon the earth, the fact that He said it, should give us comfort that He is in control.
As it is written: “And as members of the church of the Firstborn all our names have been legally registered as citizens of heaven!
And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in His eyes!
And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant with His blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat; blood that continues to speak from heaven, “forgiveness,” a better message than Abel’s blood that cries from the earth, “justice.”
Make very sure that you never refuse to listen to God when He speaks! For the God who spoke on earth from Sinai is the same God who now speaks from heaven.
Those who heard Him speak His living Word on earth found nowhere to hide, so what chance is there for us to escape if we turn our backs on God and refuse to hear His warnings as He speaks from heaven?
The earth was rocked at the sound of His voice from the mountain, but now He has promised, “Once and for all I will not only shake the systems of the world, but also the unseen powers in the heavenly realm!”
Now this phrase “once and for all” clearly indicates the final removal of things that are shaking, that is, the old order, so only what is unshakable will remain.
Since we are receiving our rights to an unshakable kingdom, we should be extremely thankful and offer God the purest worship that delights His heart as we lay down our lives in absolute surrender, filled with awe.
For our God is a holy, devouring fire! (Hebrews 12:23-29 TPT)
Jesus said: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:25-28 NKJV)
My friends according to God’s word, this is not a time for us to look down in distress, but to look up and rejoice because our redemption from the system of this fallen world is near and for the Kingdom of God to be fully established upon the earth.
That is why the disciples stood firm even in the face of physical death, because they understood that they will be resurrected when He returns to rule even as He was resurrected.
They also believed His word that if they died physically on earth, they would be with Him in Heaven and that He prepared a place for them, as He said.
They saw Him resurrected and ascend into Heaven, so therefore they believed that He is a man of His word.
The Bible my friends’ states: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
The reason why many of us are in distress and depressed, overcome by fear and questioning whether God will meet our basic needs, is because we are not listening to the word of God, regarding our circumstances.
BUT are more focused on the messages we receive of notifications of arrears, or focusing on the reality of our situation, that we are alone, maybe some have symptoms of illness, or our bank account is overdrawn.
Yet God’s word is clear that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
That He sent His word to heal our disease (Psalm 107) and by the His stripes we were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
That He saw it wasn’t good for man to be alone and gave Him a helpmeet. (Genesis 2:18)
Strangely the Bible states in Genesis that everything God created He saw was very good, except for man to be alone.
The Bible states: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord.”(Proverbs 18:22 NKJV)
And again: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalms 84:11 NKJV)
Yet the devil tries to deceive us and cause us to doubt God’s word and start reasoning and end up compromising through fornication and then self-sabotaging.
Listen my friends, God is a man of His word, if we read in the book of Genesis, when He created everything, that whatever He said, He saw.
And throughout the Bible, when He said to Noah the earth will be destroyed by a flood, it was, when He said to Abraham that He will bless Him to be a father of many nations, He did.
When He said that Sarah will conceive and birth a child, she did, even at the age of ninety-nine.
When He said that Abraham’s descendants will be in bondage to slavery for 400yrs and that He will liberate them, and they will leave with the wealth of that nation. It happened as He said.
When He called Gideon a mighty man of valor, that will liberate his people from their enemy, it happened as He said.
When He told Samson’s parents, that they will have a son and that he will conquer the Philistines.
Even in Samson’s rebellion and disobedience, it happened, sadly Samson suffered because of his rebellion and disobedience.
When He said David will be King of Israel, He was and when He said that there will be a descendant of David upon the throne who will reign forever, even after his rebellion, there is, and His name is Jesus.
He said to the serpent in the garden of Eden, that the seed of the women will crush His head and Jesus, even though divinely conceived, was birthed through a woman and crushed satan’s head.
God said the nation of Israel will be surrounded and attacked but never destroyed and so it shall be, because He is clearly a man of His word.
He said that the anti-christ will arise and so he will, but He said Christ will return, the enemy will be totally defeated and those who put their faith in His Son, will be upon the earth with Him, for a thousand years before the judgment.
You can be assured it will happen, yes, the dead in Christ will rise and those who remain will be transformed.
God is a man of His word, so if He said it, I believe it and that settles it.
I also believe that every prophetic word that is in accordance with His will for my life will manifest, I’m already seeing it manifest because:
HE IS A MAN OF HIS WORD
Listen, in our foundational text it states, that we go forth in joy and be led out in peace and Cypress trees will grow where there were thorn bushes and Myrtle trees where there were weeds.
Things might have been or are, dry, hard and barren in our lives but it’s about to be fruitful so that we can bring in the end time harvest.
Get ready my friends, we are living in exciting times.
OUR GOD IS A MAN OF HIS WORD
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob, And He who formed you,
O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity]; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
*Isaiah 43:1 AMP*
Many if not all of us, when someone we admire, respect or hold in high esteem, recognizes us and greets us by name.
Whether it’s a popular person, or someone you have a crush on, or the director of a huge corporation you work for, or a pastor of a mega church, if you realize they know your name, you feel exhilarated, very happy.
There’s something about being acknowledged by someone of status that makes us feel good.
Well, maybe you haven’t experienced that and somehow don’t feel important or even feel insignificant.
Or maybe, you have family, like aunts or uncles that don’t even remember your name.
That can cause you to feel disappointment, like being at a family function and an aunt says, what’s this child or guy’s name again?
My friends, today I’m here to encourage you, that irrespective of who doesn’t know your name.
The Most High God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, the Omnipotent, (all powerful), Omnipresent, Omniscient, (all knowing), God.
The one who created the stars, who brings them out in multitudes and calls them by name(Isaiah 40:26). HE KNOWS YOUR NAME.
He knew you before you were conceived in your mother’s womb, before you even existed.
He created you for His plan and purpose. As it is written: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument],
And before you were born, I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”(Jeremiah 1:5 AMP)
Jeremiah was appointed to be a prophet, maybe your purpose is to be a parent, a caregiver, a teacher, a businessperson, whatever it is, you have a divine purpose, you not upon this earth by chance or accident.
The Psalmist wrote: “For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, and intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written, the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalms 139:13-17 AMP)
Listen my friends, you are a designer original, you were intricately and wonderfully made.
Your height, the colour of your eyes, of your skin, the texture of your hair, was all made for the purpose God has created you for.
Maybe you are reading or listening to the audio of this message and say, I hear what you say, but I’ve messed up terribly and don’t think God knows my name.
Well, maybe you heard about a man named Moses, he was born into slavery, adopted and raised as royalty, committed a murder and ended up in the wilderness tending sheep.
And one day, forty years later, right in the wilderness, he heard a voice call out his name, Moses, Moses, from a burning bush.
My friend, maybe you messed up, and find yourself in a wilderness, today, the Lord is calling out to you from a fiery hot message, all you have to do is say here I am.
If God can take a murderer and turn him into a minister, then God can use you for His purpose.
Throughout the Bible God used people that wouldn’t have been considered by us, Abraham was an idol worshiper, Jacob was a deceiver, that’s what His name meant.
And God changed it to Israel, which means, “one who prevails with God.”
In today’s foundational text, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, “this is what the Lord, your Creator says, Oh Jacob, the one who formed you, Oh Israel, do not fear, I have redeemed you from captivity, I have called you by name, you are mine.”
Listen God will change your name and your character.
It is written: “To Everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows but the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).
Maybe like me you were called, a rubbish, a druggy, a crook, a murderer, useless, by people, because of things they’ve seen or heard.
But after I received a revelation of Jesus, in a wilderness situation as a drug addict and responded to the call of God on my life, after He supernaturally delivered me from addiction.
He changed me and now I’m known as a man of God, an Evangelist, one who preaches salvation and through whom God saves souls and gives eternal life.
I’m righteous, sanctified and justified, just as if I had not sinned.
Not only does God change your character, He restores your reputation, people don’t refer to Moses as murder today but as a deliverer.
In the wilderness not many knew his name, but God called him by name and today over 4000 years later even we know his name.
God said to Abraham, “I will make your name great” and it is written; “that Jesus became a curse so that the blessing of Abraham may be bestowed upon the Gentiles”, the non-Jews.
God knows your name; He is calling you by name and He wants to make your name great.
When Jesus was upon the earth, there was a man, short in stature, he was a tax collector, considered worse than a sinner, because he collected taxes on behalf of the nation that was oppressing his people and he extorted them.
This man heard about Jesus and when Jesus was in his vicinity, He climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus.
And we read in the Bible, that when Jesus got to where he was, Jesus looked up and said to him; “Zacheus, come down, for today I must stay with you.”
The Bible tells us that Zacheus was a wealthy man from extortion, and yet Jesus called Him by name to fellowship with him.
My friend, maybe you want to know this Jesus, but don’t feel good because you accumulated some wealth through ill-gotten gains, drug dealing, tender manipulation, thievery, bribery or corruption.
And you are trying to get a glimpse of this Jesus, from a place of obscurity.
Listen, He is well aware of your location and shortcoming, He knows your name and He is calling out to you, because He want to fellowship with you.
He wants to come and dwell in your heart, He says: “Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and continually knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me.”(Revelation 3:20)
God told, Jacob, Israel as he was later known, not to be afraid, because He redeemed him from captivity.
Through Jesus we have been redeemed, we were created by God and are formed by him, but through a man Adam’s disobedience, we were taken from God and through Jesus’s obedience we were redeemed to God.
Jesus came to set the captives free, to free us from captivity to sin, from illness, poverty and eternal condemnation.
HE KNOWS YOUR NAME AND IS CALLING OUT TO YOU AT THIS MOMENT
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
I stand in awe of the Holy Spirit, without Him we can do nothing, with Him we can set the captives free.
He was the active force of power in the life of Jesus and is available to us.
Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit before He started His ministry.
As it is written: “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased. (Luke 3:21-22 NKJV)
Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 NKJV)
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17 NKJV)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:7-15 NKJV)
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5 NKJV)
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NKJV)
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
HOLY SPIRIT, WE NEED YOU
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Scripture*
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
*Romans 8:28 NLT*
I love this verse, even though it states for those who love God, it is not based on our love for God but on His love for us.
It’s not what WE do, that causes God to be pleased with us, it’s His love for us that makes Him pleased with us.
I say that, based on what God said about Jesus, before He even started ministry.
As it is written: “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 NKJV)
The Apostle John wrote: “We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19 NKJV)
In my life, going out and ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, the good news about God sending Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only our sins but the sins of the World.( 2John 2:2)
And about the peace that was established by God, toward us as humankind through the birth of Jesus.
As the Angels proclaimed to the Shepherds in a field, when they announced the birth of Jesus.
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”(Luke 2:14 NKJV)
As I was saying, the reason why I am passionate about sharing that good news with the world, the good news about God’s love toward us, toward the world, that caused Him to send His only begotten Son, the only One who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born into this world, upon this planet through a woman.
He never sent His Son into this world, to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.( John 3:16-17)
The only reason I consistently have been proclaiming this gospel, for the past 27yrs, is not because of my goodness or my love toward God.
But because of His goodness, His love toward me me. For the Bible states that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. (Romans 2:4 NKJV)
It’s His goodness toward me, that I experienced when He supernaturally delivered me from a crack addiction and then made the opportunity available to me, giving me the choice, to accept His Son as my Lord and Saviour.
That’s how much God loves us, He gives us a choice, always had.
As it is written; “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;”(Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV)
I chose Jesus and I chose life and true to His word, God has made everything work together for my good.
The mess I was in, is the message I preach and through my testimony, many people who are addicted can have hope.
I used to sell beer in the informal settlements when I managed one of our family bottle stores for my uncle and a few years ago, I used to minister in one of the very informal settlements in Roodepoort.
I used to go to communities, alone to score drugs, today, I go to some of the very communities, alone to minister the gospel.
So let me encourage you my friends, the mess you find yourself in, will be your message.
The test you are going through, will be your testimony that will help you overcome and draw others to the Lord.
When God says,” All things,” then He means, all things, not some things, will work together for your good.
Even your mistakes you made.
So today, if you haven’t yet, turn to Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, He will make all things new and God will ensure, that all things will work together for your good.
REMEBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AMD JESUS IS LORD
From, me Brendon at God Equip Ministries.
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
*Isaiah 43:2 NLT*
There are many people that currently find themselves, in what could be referred to as a hard season.
For some it’s emotional, stemming from the death a loved one, or a divorce, or because of a child or loved one that is battling addiction or going through a difficult time.
For others, it’s a hard season financially, there has been challenges in business, or maybe, they are unable to perform in the workplace, or they’ve been through a retrenchment or were fired from their place of employment.
Others again, has been battling with their health, fighting a terminal disease or have a chronic illness.
Whatever the reason, in this hard season, you find yourself, wondering, where is God? Does He hear my prayers or even care?
My friends, today my intention is to encourage you, that God is with you, in this season.
In today’s scripture, He says to His people through the prophet Isaiah, that; “when you go through deep waters, I am with you.”
So, when you are overcome with fear because you are being pursued by debtors, or received a bad report and it feels like there’s no way out and life is drowning you.
Don’t despair, call out to God, and by that, I mean, to the one true living God, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or call upon the name of His Son, Jesus, our Lord and Saviour and you will be saved.
He will make a way where there is no way, in the same way that He had for the nation of Israel, when the Egyptian army was pursuing them, and the sea was before them.
To them it seemed like, their only option was to drown or die?
BUT! Then they got to experience God’s deliverance, when He supernaturally parted the Sea of Reads, made a way for them where there was no way for them to pass through and cross over.
And then, with the very waters that He parted for them, He drowned their enemies.
My friends, my God is Jehovah Mephalti, the Lord my deliver.
I know because when I called upon Him and upon the name of His Son, in my affliction from addiction, He supernaturally delivered me.
He is the same yesterday, today and forevermore, He still delivers, He done it over 4000yrs ago for the nation of Israel, over 27years ago for me and is willing and able to do it today for anyone who calls upon Him.
He promises in our foundational text, when we go through rivers of difficulty, we will not drown.
I don’t know what difficulties you are currently facing, but I am here to declare to you today, do not despair, beyond that river of difficulty, lies the fulfillment of God’s promises to and for you.
We read in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua chapter 3, that the Jordan was overflowing when the Israelites had to cross over into the promised land.
Before they crossed over, they cleansed themselves.
Ephesians 5:26 tells us, that we are cleansed “with the washing of water by the word.”
The Word of God is able to purify us. The words of Christ have the power to cleanse us as Jesus said;
“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).
My friends, listen to word of God and prepare yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit, and step into the river and cross over into your promised land today.
Finally, God says to us in our foundational text, “when you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, the flames will not consume you.”
Many of us are currently walking through the fires of oppression, circumstances are trying to force us to bow down to the idols of this world.
However, if we stand firm, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel’s three friends.
And declare in the midst of being faced with the fire of oppression; “our God will save us, IF NOT we shall not bow.
You see my friends, to some, that might sound like they were being doubtful, however, that was a true declaration of faith in God.
Because they were saying, irrespective of the outcome, we will remain faithful to our God and not compromise.
Jesus said: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:25 NLT)
Those Hebrew boys probably knew that scripture from Isaiah 43 and took God at His word and they were not burned, neither did the fire consume them.
When we take God by His word, I can assure you, Jesus, the Son of the living God, the fourth man in the fire with the Hebrew boys, will appear and our persecutors will bear witness to our deliverance.
My friends, every season has a beginning and an end, even though God is with us in this hard season, it shall end.
It may be Winter, but, be assured, Spring is coming. And with Spring, all this are made new, new things blossom.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures:*
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
*Isaiah 66:13 AMP*
But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother tenderly caring for her own children.
*1 Thessalonians 2:7 AMP*
Yesterday on the 12th of May, we celebrated Mother’s Day in our country.
And my second eldest sister Chantel, Chanty as I refer to her, said to me; “Where’s the devotion? Why don’t you do a Mother’s Day one?”
In all honesty, I wasn’t prompted to do a devotion and at the time, I was at my eldest sister Helen’s place having lunch when Chanty stopped there, on her way to have lunch with her mother in law.
And wasn’t feeling in the mood to a devotion, I just wanted to relax and enjoy my Sunday lunch.
Well needless to say, when I got home yesterday, her words convicted me and again when I woke up this morning.
So after my prayer time, I felt it impressed on my heart to do a devotion on Mothers.
In our foundational text today, I find it interesting, that God, the creator of the universe, makes the comparison of comforting His people, to that of a son being comforted by his mother.
He uses the metaphor of mothers to describe the ways He loves and cares for His children.
In my personal life, when I think about the love my mother gave me, and many of you have either read or heard me say this.
I often find it difficult, to comprehend that God could love me more than my late mother.
I received unconditional love from my mother and trust me I never deserved it, because I was a wicked young man, even toward my own mother.
My mother used to correct me, nag me to do the right things, to go to church and even to get confirmed in our faith.
She would call my late grandfather for me and even brought a social worker to speak to me when I refused to go to school.
And irrespective of how difficult I was, she never gave up on me and would always ensure that I eat, going the extra mile and making different food for me because I was fussy.
My mom even ended up in an accident which led to her death on her way to cook for me.
It was ironically during this period before Mother’s Day, when she called to let me know that she was coming to the house to make me vegetable Bryani, because she was going to her sister in Pretoria for Mother’s Day.
A mother’s nurturing nature, reminds us of the God who gave us life in the first place and nurtures us as we learn, develop and grow.
Now I understand, everyone, reading or listening to this message, hasn’t had the same experience with their biological mother.
However, I am certain, that in your life, you have had someone reach out and step up as a motherly figure.
With that, I’d shared the following excerpt that I found on the internet:
“Being a mother is about so much more than growing a baby for nine months — it’s about unconditional love and support, a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.
It’s about encouragement and honesty and selflessness.
There are a million different ways to be a mother, but not all of them begin with giving birth.
A mother can be a stepmom and an adoptive mom and a foster mom.
But she can also be that family friend, who has helped to support you for so long, that you forgot you aren’t actually related. ( Excerpt from Sheknows.com)
In using the mother image, to describe the care and comfort that He extends to us, the Lord is reminding us, in a very loving way, that we are totally and completely dependent on Him for our very life and well-being.
Yet we are aware, that there are mothers who, for whatever reason, abandon their children, if that is what you have experienced, thus says the Lord:
But the Lord says, “Can a woman forget her baby? Can she forget the child who came from her body?
Even if she can forget her children, I cannot forget you.
I drew a picture of you on my hand. You are always before my eyes.”(Isaiah 49:15-16 ERV)
My friend, you are not here by chance or accident, God meant for you to be hear upon this earth, at this time, for a specific purpose.
As it is written: “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I chose you for a special work. I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 ERV)
And again, as the Psalmist wrote: “You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart.
When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there— you saw me before I was born.
The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began.” (Psalm 139:13-16 GNT)
Listen my friends, a mother is important, even if she was meant to just give birth to you, you wouldn’t have been here without God choosing her, she could’ve aborted you, but God meant for you to be born.
And even if your mother was an absent mother, God already prepared someone to raise and nurture you just like He had chosen Mary, not only to give birth to but to raise His only begotten Son.
Our Lord and Saviour, who was divinely conceived, was mothered, motherhood is a divine calling and can only, like any other calling, be successfully accomplished by the grace of God.
Maybe you are reading or listening to this message and say, I failed as a mother, well, it’s never too late to become the mother God intended you to be, turn to God, receive His forgiveness by grace through faith in Jesus and God will restore your relationship with your kids.
I thank God that the last 5years, of my late mother’s life, she saw my life transformed and I could be the son God intended me to be and got to show her my appreciation.
Maybe you are a woman and saying, I have no biological children of my own, that my friend doesn’t mean that God hasn’t called you to be a mother.
There are children that need to be mothered, step-up, that could be your divine calling.
I pray for all mothers, biological or otherwise, may the grace of Lord Jesus, the love God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon you, now and forever more.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people,
“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.
*Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”*
And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
*Nehemiah 8:9-10,12 NKJV*
Oftentimes in life, we find ourselves faced with circumstances that makes us feel sorrowful.
Unfortunately, even as children of God, because of our faith in Jesus.(John 1:12)
We are not exempt from sorrow.
When the reality of our life, does not line up with the truth of God’s word, it can cause us to be sorrowful.
We might be well aware of what God’s word states about Him supplying all our needs(Philippians 4:19), however our bills are in arears, there’s no groceries in your cupboards, or fuel in your tank.
You hear the pastor preach, that we were healed by Jesus stripes.(1Peter 2:24) However, after much prayer, even though you believe, you still battling with a terminal illness or disease.
You read the scripture, “ask and it shall be given unto you”(Matthew 7:7), you have been asking but after months, you still employed, broke, busted and disgusted.
These are but a few things that can cause you to feel sorrowful, along with loneliness, martial challenges, children or loved ones on substance abuse or barreness.
The sorrow you are feeling, has made you despondent, as a believer it has maybe even added guilt and condemnation, causing you to search your life and regret past decisions and transgressions, believing that God is punishing you for them.
My friends, don’t doubt your faith or God’s faithfulness, don’t listen to the lies of the devil, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
In our foundational text today, after the priest read God’s laws to the nation of Israel, in a time of obedience, after their captivity.
They were moved to sorrow, being confronted by their neglect and violation of the law.
My friends, many believers in Jesus understand, that we are not under the law but under grace.
However, the law has a purpose and that is to show us our transgressions, in order to lead us to repentance.
Jesus never came to abolish the law or the teachings of the prophets, He came so that it may be fulfilled.( Matthew 5:17)
Without the law, we will not have a proper understanding or truly appreciate God’s grace and the salvation made available to us by grace through faith.(Ephesians 2:8-9)
What I love about our God, the one true living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Is that even under the law, He showed grace, as the people were comforted by Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites.
As they explained that, “the joy of the Lord is their strength,” basically saying to them, the same God who punishes sin, also blesses and delights in obedience.
So the same knowledge of the law that would convict them, to make them feel remorse for their sins.
Was the same knowledge that would set them free, to understand God’s grace, His goodness toward them, and set them free and empower them, to walk in obedience, and delight in doing the will of God.
Jesus said to His followers: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:9-13 NKJV)
According to Jesus words, abiding in His commandments, which He stipulated is love, our joy will be full.
You see my friends, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, which is produced in us through obedience to God’s commands.
The gifts are given and are without repentance, but fruit is produced.
As it is written: ” But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
There is no law against such things as these.” (Galatians 5:22-23 GNT)
The fruit of joy is what will strengthen us, as today’s the prophet, priest and teachers of law said to the people in today’s scripture.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” My friends it’s the joy of the Lord that will strengthen us to endure and cause us to stand firm in our trials.
While we wait for the manifestation of the truth of the word of God in our lives.
And even if it doesn’t manifest, like the Apostle Paul, we will be able to encourage others in our trials, and say, ” Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.”(Philippians 4:4)
The joy of the Lord will enable us to look beyond our current circumstances as both the Apostle Paul and Jesus had done.
The Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians during his first imprisonment, yet throughout his letter, there is a joyful undertone.
Paul desperately pursued Christlikeness, that in life, he abided in Christ, holding onto His commands and teaching grace from his knowledge of the law.
But he also rested in the fact, that no matter how much joy he was able to derive from abiding in Christ.
A second, far surpassing joy awaited him on the other side of any of the horrors this life may hold.
About Jesus, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.
He did not give up because of the cross!
On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for Him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.
Think of what He went through; how He put up with so much hatred from sinners!
So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up.”(Hebrews 12:2-3 GNT)
And with that, I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul and Nehemiah.
“Rejoice in the Lord always and again, I say rejoice, ” for ” The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.
The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.
About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.
Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.
Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.
And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
*Luke 15:11-24 NLT*
At this moment in time there are many individuals, communities and nations, that are in a place of finacial, economic and social ruin and are in desperate need of restoration.
In today’s portion of scripture, Jesus sharing one of three stories with the people listening to Him, to show God’s love for sinners and His desire to restore them.
In this particular story, He mentions a father that has two sons and that the younger wanted his portion of what he would receive upon his fathers death.
In the story we are told that the father, divides his wealth between his two sons and the younger one leaves home and heads off to a land far away.
There, he spends his inherited wealth on good times, wasting his money on a wild lifestyle, in our times we could say on a lifestyle of sex with multiple partners, excessive parties, dringing and drugging.
And so, as his money ran out, a famine broke out at the same time, in the land he was in.
Oftentimes especially when we are young, we become anxious to obtain material things, we desire instant wealth, just to live irresponsibly and satisfy our flesh.
Well, the Bible states: ” wealth in the hands of a fool will destroy him/her. Proverbs 17:16 paraphrased by me.
When we are young, we think we are wise and know it all and believe money will solve everything.
Yes, money can make life easier, it can bring pleasure and afford us comforts.
Money is a necessary commodity in the world we live in and can be used to do good.
God isn’t against us having money, He is against money having us.
As I’ve heard is said: ” Money makes a good servant, but a lousy master.”
Listen my friends, the Bible states, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT)
I’ve sadly found that scripture to be so true, seeing many gifted men and women drift from God and because of it end up suffering pain and loss that money can’t resolve.
The Bible states, “There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.” (Proverbs 14:12-13 MSG)
Some versions of the Bible states: “that leads to destruction” and others states, “that leads to death.”
In the case of the prodigal son, as we refer to him in the Bible it was destruction, for many in the communities we serve, the love of money has set them on the path to death.
My friends, as long as we are alive, we will always have an opportunity to change our path as we read in today’s story.
When we die it’s too late, as Bible states: “Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment.
But when we die, we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many!
And now to those who eagerly await Him, He will appear a second time; not to deal with sin, but to bring us the fullness of salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28 TPT)
This young man in our foundational text, we are told, came to his senses and realised that even the servants in his father’s house were better off.
There are many of you reading this message or listening to the audio of it, that needs to come to your senses and realise, that you will be better off serving God.
Repentance in Christianity means a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God.
It involves a change of mind that leads to action—the radical turning away from a sinful course to God.
What this young man done, was repented and so after realising in his mind, he purposed in his heart to go back to his father’s house and confess and ask to be accepted as a servant.
We then read, that when he returned, His father saw him, from a distance, the father was obviously looking out for his return.
Our scripture states that the father was filled with love and compassion.
Listen my friends, the father represents our God, for it is written: “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17 AMP)
Our scripture further states, that the father ran toward him, embraced him and kissed him.
Thus says the Lord to you reading or listening to this message:
“I am the Lord, and I don’t change. You are Jacob’s children, and you have not been completely destroyed.
But you never obeyed my laws. Even your ancestors stopped following me.
Come back to me, and I will come back to you.” This is what the Lord All-Powerful said. “You say, ‘How can we come back?’(Malachi 3:6-7 ERV)
And again: “Come near to God and He will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives.
You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.” (James 4:8 ERV)
And finally, the father instructed his servants to bring the finest robe in the house, to get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.
My friends when we repent and come to God the Father, He gives us a robe of righteousness.
All because of Jesus, as it is written: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GNT)
The ring was a symbol of authority, that enabled the son to have the authority to purchase whatever he needed.
Through Adam’s sin, humankind lost our authority, but through Jesus Christ obedience, all authority was restored unto us.
As is it is written: “Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20 GNT)
And the father told them to put sandals on the son’s feet, servants never wore sandals, sons did.
The son came back, willing and expecting to be a servant, but the father restored him to sonship.
The Bible states: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
(John 1:12 NKJV)
My friends I come to a close with the words of Jesus:
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”(Matthew 4:17 NKJV)
Jesus came to restore God’s Kingdom upon the earth and repentance gives us the opportunity to be restored to operate in God’s Kingdom upon the earth.
Repentance restored the prodigal son as an individual, as we read in today’s story.
Repentance saved a prison warden and his family as you can read in Act 16:31 and can save you and yours.
Repentance saved the entire nation of Nineveh from Gods judgment, as we read in the book of Jonah.
So repent, be saved and get restored.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*Today’s Scripture*
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
*Isaiah 1:19 NKJV*
In the scripture just stated, the specific verse, the Lord, God the Father, through the prophet Isaiah is letting the nation of Israel know, what will cause them to experience and partake of the good of the land.
He tells them if they are willing and obedient.
God is the author and source of all the blessings in our lives. In order for us to live in His blessings and become a partaker of them, we must be submitted, spirit, soul and body, to Him.
We are able to make the choice to serve God or not, it is our option, God does not force us.
However, if we choose to resist the Spirit of God and if we rebel against Him, our lives will be destroyed.
It is important that we are obedient to the Lord, but we must also be willing to serve and obey Him in everything.
Willingness has to do with the ability to go along with the Lord in what He tells you to do while obedience means to do it His way.
Though the Lord is clear in his instructions. This will require the Israelites to be intentional about how they live.
They must be wholehearted participants in pursing to obey Him. If they do so, He will bring prosperity to them.
He will give them all they need, including safety and security from their enemies.
Willingness refers to us consenting in our wills to the Father.
As Jesus did when He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” (Mark 14:36 NKJV)
Willingness also refers to a desire to obey; not coerced, not cajoled! A willing spirit is what sustains us; keeps us from falling in life.
Obedience is defined by the Oxford dictionary to our being submissive in our actions.
To be compliant with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
The Bible tells us that Abraham obeyed God, left his home, and went without any directions from God as to where he was headed.
When God called, Abraham acted. He did not hesitate, argue, question, or waver. He simply obeyed. As soon as he heard the call of God, he arose and followed God; he acted decisively.
Abraham did not know where he was going. He did not know where following God would lead him. He just believed the promises of God; therefore, he acted upon his belief.
He believed; therefore, he obeyed. If you truly believe God, you will obey God.
There is no such thing as belief without obedience, not genuine belief. Obeying God requires believing God.
Abraham because of His willingness and obedience saw God’s promises fulfilled in his life and ate of the good of the land.
The Bible states: “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.”(Genesis 13:2 NKJV)
Jesus However is the ultimate example of obedience to God’s will.
Jesus said, “I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will,” (John 5.30 NLT).
“I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me,” (John 14.31 NIV).
But the obedience of Jesus was most clearly seen on the cross. As it is written: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV)
My friends, from the lives of Abraham and Jesus, we can see that if we are willing and obedient, we will benefit both here in this life upon the earth and eternally.
Obedience to God is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22)
The Bible states: “For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
Remember what it says: “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt?
And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?
And to whom was God speaking when He took an oath that they would never enter His rest?
Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? So, we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest. (Hebrews 3:14-19 NLT)
From that scripture we can see that their disobedience was a result of their unbelief.
So, if you truly believe God’s word, you will be willing and obedient.
Jesus is the word and God said about Him. “Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!”(Luke 9:35 AMP)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
I was reading a message of Elaine Tavolacci, titled BRING BACK THE WAR ROOM, wherein she made reference to the movie of the same name and below is an excerpt from her message.
“The Lord is showing me that many of you need to get back to the War Room.
You need to get back to that place of meeting with God. You need to get back to prayer and intimacy.
You need to get back to speaking the Word, praying the Word and living the Word.
You need to stand on the scriptures once again, and not allow anything to move you off course. Some of you need to come back to your first love.”
This so resonated with me, this week I’ve been listening to teachings from Kathryn Kuhlman, and I felt, at this point, I don’t need public ministry, I need to get back to a place of deep intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
For a while I felt that we need to teach believers that they need to take action, apply works to their faith, by searching for scriptures pertaining to their circumstances and set time aside to go into prayer and pray what the word says about what they need or are believing for.
Whether it’s, for healing, provision, restoration of relationships or their marriage, deliverance or salvation for their families.
Some people unfortunately see that as works, however faith teachers like Kenneth Copeland, has always taught these principles and I’ve applied it over the years.
I think even though many pastors have been saying it, most believers, specifically new believers, don’t realise, when they accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
They are boarding a battleship, not a cruise ship. We are called to fight the good fight of faith.
It’s called the good fight of faith, because we already have the victory through Christ.
Through His finished work on the cross and have been given grace to empower us for the battle.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
*John 14:21 NKJV*
There is a saying: “The proof is in the pudding”, it is an expression that means the value, quality, or truth of something must be judged based on direct experience with it—or on its results.
The word manifest by dictionary dot com, is defined as a verb, meaning:
“To make clear or evident; show plainly: or to prove; put beyond doubt or question:”
Many of us are currently facing circumstances where we need God to manifest Himself, to reveal Himsel in the midst of our challenges.
We need God to show up, so that everyone can know that He is with us, and He is God.
My friends, there are many incidents in the Bible where God manifested Himself in times of difficulty.
Like when He liberated the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He manifested Himself as their deliverer Jehovah Mephalti.
As their banner Jehovah Nissi, when they were at war with the nation of Amalek after the Exodus. (Exodus 17:15).
He manifested Himself as their provider, Jehovah Jireh, in the wilderness when He fed them with manner from heaven and brought forth water from a rock.
And before that, to Abraham in Genesis 22, when He provided a ram in place of Isaac for a sacrifice.
In Exodus 15:26, He decrees that He is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals and manifested Himself as such, not only to the Israelites in the Bible but to a commamder of the army of Syria in 2 Kings 5.
In today’s portion of scripture, Jesus, firstly lets His followers know, that the manifestation of their love for Him is in their obdedience to His commands.
Earlier Jesus said to them:” “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;
but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17 NKJV)
My friends, our obedience to God’s commands is not only the manifest evidence of our love for Him, but, is what allows the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives.
And that is God Himself manifesting in our life, since our God is a triune God
As Jesus continued saying, that those who love Him, will be loved by His Father and by Him and that He would manifest Himself to them.
Now Jesus didn’t mean we need to obey the Mosaic law, no, His commands are simple, as He said to them previously: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 NKJV)
Jesus, when asked what the greatest commanded was said:
As it is written: ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV)
Listen my friends, in the words of Jesus Himself, it is evident that love is the force that enables us to obey His commands.
And God won’t expect from us that He didn’t give us.
For as 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He first loved us.”
It is the effectual love of God that first changes our hearts in order to make us capable of love.
And it is His example of love that reminds us again and again of our need to love other people.
It is written: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:8-9 NKJV)
So, my friends, whatever we are faced with, God will manifest and save us from.
He manifested Himself to Daniel’s three friends in the fire and to Daniel in the lions den, because they refused to compromise even when their lives depended on it.
He manifested Himself as Jehovah Akal Esh, a consuming fire, in the days of Elijah, to prove that He alone is God.
So, whether you faced with a life-threatening disease, or are in need of provision, or need deliverance, if you act or acted in obedience by faith in Jesus, through the grace God provided for us to do so.
God will manifest and will make it clear and prove beyond doubt, that He is God and you are His.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “Through [Christ] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles [peoples] for His name’s sake.” (Romans 1:5-6)
The ultimate goal of all God’s dealings is that His name (or the name of Christ, who is His image) would be known and admired and cherished and praised above all other realities.
That is why God is about to manifest Himself to us.
So, get ready.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures*
My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance.
And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
*James (Jacob) 1:2-4 TPT*
So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.
*Galatians 6:9 GNT*
There are currently many people, who’s faith is being tested, they are going through trial after, trial, challenge after challenge, as they overcome one, then suddenly another arises.
They seem to be facing nothing but difficulties in life and I’m the first to admit, the past few months, that’s been the story of my life.
My faith and patience have been tested to the point where I physically wanted to hurt certain people in my industry, so that they could understand my apology and humility was not driven by fear of them, but by a reverence for God.
That’s the thing about this God that I serve, He takes murderers like Moses and makes them ministers.
Moses was transformed from being a man that killed a guy and buried him in the sand (Exodus 2:11-12) to later being referred to as a man that was humbler than anyone else on earth. (Numbers 12:3)
Trials and tribulations have a way of humbling us. God won’t tempt us with evil, but He does test our faith.
Pride will cause us to want to say; “you don’t know me, I’ll murder you, but the fruit of the Holy Spirit being developed in us, will produce perseverance in our trials and cause us to say; “God is in control, vengeance is mine says the Lord.”
And we will humble ourselves to the point of apologizing to people that wronged us, in Moses’s case even to intercede for the very ones that opposed him. (Numbers 12)
In the same way that precious stones like diamonds are formed under intense heat and pressure and gold is purified and tested for genuineness by fire.
Trials and tribulations test our faith, builds our character and gives us the strength to endure.
As our foundational text states, “when your faith is tested it stirs up within you the power of endurance.” (James 1:3 TPT)
Perseverance my friends, will enable us to obtain, the victors Crown of Life.
As it is written: “Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12 AMP)
So, when life is one trial after another, we should see it as an opportunity that will lead us to experience the greatest joy that we can.
The Chinese word for crisis is Wei Ji 危机 Wei means crisis while Ji means opportunity.
In the ancient Chinese philosophy, opportunities often arise from crisis.
So, my friends, the crisis you find yourself in, is creating opportunities for you.
Therefore, don’t focus on the crisis, but instead, be on the lookout for opportunities in your crisis.
It is written: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”(Romans 8:28 NLT)
A friend I was on a chat with yesterday, was just saying that the good thing about the Covid pandemic, is that it forced us to think out of the box and created an opportunity for many people to work remotely.
She is currently able to visit her daughter in another country and still work while she’s there.
Proof that God certainly causes all things to work together for our good.
Our foundational text from the Book of James, ends stating, that as our endurance grows stronger, it releases perfection into every part of our being, until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
Then in the second scripture in our foundational text, the Apostle Paul encourages the Galatians not to become tired of doing good, because if they don’t give up, the time will come when they will reap the harvest.
Winners don’t quit and those who quit cannot win.
And with that, I close with the words of the Apostle Paul, after making reference of all the people who endured and overcame in Hebrews 11, what we refer to as the Hall of Faith.
He writes: “As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds.
So, we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into.
Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.
We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.
His example is this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!
So, consider carefully how Jesus faced such intense opposition from sinners who opposed their own souls, so that you won’t become worn down and cave in under life’s pressures.” (Hebrews 12:1-3 TPT)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed, they were very dry.
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So, I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Again, He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also, He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’
” So, I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
*Ezekiel 37:1-10 NKJV*
There are many people who have been going through a valley experience for a while.
A valley is a low place between two hills or mountains, and in life we will have both valley and mountain top expierences, in fact to get from one mountain top to the next you need to pass through a valley.
A valley is not a place where people would normally build or chose to live in, because they would be more at risk in times of floods.
A valley is not a place where an army would normally set up camp either, because they would be more vulnerable to attack and easily be defeated.
A valley is a place where we pass through at times. The Psalmist wrote: “Though I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil “
He didn’t say, though I camp or live in the valley of the shadow of death.
My friends, as mentioned we all will have a valley experience, some of us are currently in one and have been for a while, others sadly have set up camp in the valley.
The valley of divorce, the valley of unemployment, the valley of illness and disease, the doctor diagnosed you with a terminal illness and told you, you have a few months left and so you just decided to give up and wait in the valley and die.
Listen my friends, your situation is real, it’s a fact that you are divorced, unemployed, facing foreclosure in your business, that you haven’t been making sales or reaching your target, that your marriage is in a mess, that you have a terminal disease.
However, the truth can change the facts, and God’s word is truth, Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your truth.Your word is truth.”(John 17:17 NKJV)
And since Jesus is the Word of God as stated in John 1, He is the Truth and the way out of your valley and one who can bring life to your dead circumstances.
As it is written: ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
In our foundational text today, the prophet Ezekiel explains that God took him in the spirit to a valley of dry bones and the bones were very dry.
To us that could be a place of visions or dreams that died, a marriage where the passion has died, an illness that you have been battling for as long as you can remember, a period of financial lack for decades, a business that failed many years ago, an addiction for years.
And God asked him if those bones can live? And his response was, ” oh Lord you know.”
I love his response, it tells me when you are doubtful, or don’t have anything positive to say, don’t say anything negative, rather say God you know.
Because God is Omniscient, He is all knowing, not the doctor, the pastor, the evangelist, bishop, prophet or apostle.
Even regarding the end times, Jesus said, no one knows, not even the Son, only the Father.
So, in your situation, turn to the one who knows, trust in God, believe in God only, in His report found in His word.
He is the God of the impossible, Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”(Luke 18:27 NKJV)
Well in our text today, God instructs the prophet to prophesy to the dry bones and tell them to hear the word of the Lord.
Listen my friends, you got to prophesy to your circumstances, to prophesy is to say what will happen, not what you see.
So, you need to speak to your circumstances, say what you want to see that’s in accordance with God’s word.
God told the prophet to tell the dry bones, to listen to the word of the Lord.
God’s word my friends, is the final authority and His word states that God will supply our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus(Philippians 4:18), so speak that over your bills.
God’s word states that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed (1 Peter 2:24), whatever we put our hands will be blessed (Deuteronomy 15:10), what God has joined together no man will put asunder(Mathew 19:6),
through the wife the unbelieving husband will be sanctified and vice versa (1 Corinthians 7:14), believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved (Acts 16:31),
your children will be taught by the Lord (Isaiah 54:13), the blessing of Abraham is upon us because Jesus became a curse for us(Galatians 3:13),
I therefore reject poverty because it’s part of the curse ( Deuteronomy 28). I shall not die but live( Psalm 118:17)
Listen my friends, when God saw darkness, He prophesied light and light came forth. (Genesis 1)
It is written: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV)
God said: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)
Jesus said: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23 NKJV)
Now I know, someone is saying, “my friend, if we behold Jesus we will be healed, delivered, be prosperous,”
And to you I say, ” Yes Jesus is the word, you behold Him by beholding the word, for the entrance of the word brings light, that is gives you revelation of what God done for us through Jesus.”
Hence why God told Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)
Joshua needed to meditate on the law which is the word of God and by meditating on it he would act on it.”
If we meditate on the word, even if it’s the law, we will receive enlightenment and see that Jesus fulfilled the law and so we can obtain our healing, deliverance, restoration etc, by grace through faith.
Now back to our word for today, the prophet prophesied God’s word and we read that there was a rattling, basically a shaking and the bones came together, and sinew and flesh came upon them and skin covered them. Just as God said.
Currently everything that can be shaken in the world is shaken, but we need not fear, all that shaking is bringing the body of Christ together.
God then instructed the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy breath to enter into the bodies that were formed from the bones.
My friends, Jesus asked God to send the Holy Spirit after He ascended into Heaven and at at Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers.
And the Bible states: “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10-11 NKJV)
God’s Spirit dwells in us, and He is the resurrection power of God, so we need to prophesy for the Holy Spirit, the breath of God to come into our circumstances.
Our scripture today ends by stating that they lived, those dry bones came alive, stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
In these end times, God is raising up an army from what was seen as dry bones, dry bones are arising, in our lives, in our businesses and in our ministries, as people have been praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes.
And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
*Acts 16:25-33 NKJV*
There are many people who currently find themselves in a place of restraint, of bondage, of extreme difficulty and because of it, they are in extreme physical or emotional pain.
For most, it isn’t because of anything they done wrong, it’s just unfortunately the effect of what is to transpire upon the earth.
Like the nation of Israel, when they were in captivity in Egypt, it wasn’t punishment for anything they done, but part of what God said to Abraham.
As it is written: Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
And also, the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”(Genesis 15:13-14,16 NKJV)
Some people are suffering through war currently in the middle east and its unfortunately prophecy being fulfilled.
The world will suffer and go through the tribulation, however after that, will be the 1000 years reign of peace with Jesus.
My friends it might be challenging now, but if we belong to God, it will end well and like with Job, we will receive double for our trouble.
Some people are suffering for doing the right thing, Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the fire for obeying the law of Moses and refusing to bow to an idol.
Daniel was put in a lions den for refusing not to pray and Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching the gospel.
God’s people are not immune to suffering and persecution.
However, Jesus said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 5:10 NKJV)
My friends, we are not in control of what happens to us; HOWEVER, we are in control of our response.
The Apostle Paul and Silas, finding themselves in prison, prayed and praised, in the midnight hour, in their darkest moment, in the deepest dungeon in the prison and still, chained with shackles.
And we read that suddenly, the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains was loosed.
My friends when prayer and praise go up, God’s power comes down and suddenly, immediately in a moment, our circumstances can change.
It might seem late in the midnight hour for you regarding your health, your marriage, your mortgage, your bills or the situation with your children.
If so, then keep praying and praising God, not for your circumstances, but in it.
God is able to change whatever you are facing in a moment, irrespective of how long you’ve been going through it.
The nation of Israel were slaves for 400years and in a moment, they were free with the wealth of Egypt.
They were at the sea of Reeds, with the Egyptian army in pursuit of them, and in a moment, God parted the sea and made a way where there was no way, for them.
Joseph was in prison and in a moment, his gift made room for him, and he became the prime minister of the country he was a foreigner in.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace, and in a moment an Angel that looked like a Son of God appeared and they never even smelled like smoke when they came out.
Daniel was in a lions den and in a moment the lions mouths were shut.
Sarah was barren for 99yrs and in a moment, she conceived at the word of the Lord and a year later she gave birth and, in a moment, her life changed, and she became a mother.
The nation of Israel was under siege and experiencing famine and in a moment, God caused the enemy to flee, and they had abundance.
A man that was lame since birth, was brought into the presence of Jesus and in a moment, he picked up his matt and walked.
Ten lepers called out to Jesus and in a moment, they were healed as they followed his instruction and went to show themselves to the priest.
Ruth was a widow labouring in the field and in a moment, Boaz saw her, and her circumstances changed, she ended being married and became the co-owner of the very field.
Four fishermen laboured all night and then Jesus instructed them to go out and cast their nets again and, in a moment, they had a net breaking, boat sinking harvest.
A young man was coughing up chunks of blood from a crack cocaine addiction, called out to God and Jesus and in a moment, he was supernaturally delivered, and his life was changed to the point that, 27yrs later he is delivering this message to you.
I have no idea what you are facing my friends, but I know that if you call out to God in prayer and praise Him, in a moment, your circumstances can change.
The Bible states that all things work together for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.
Paul and Silas’s imprisonment worked out for good, not only for them but for the warden and his family.
In a moment, everything changed, and they received the gift of salvation and were baptised.
If you are listening to the audio or reading this message, I declare to you that in a moment, everything is going to change, God is going to turn it around in your favour and people will witness it and get saved.
Jesus’s crucifixion, death and resurrection made it possible for anyone’s life to be able to be changed, from a sinner to a saint, in a moment.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.
I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come.
Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:
If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
*Revelation 22:7, 12-21 NKJV*
We are most certainly living in perilous times and many people, from what is happening in the world believe that we are living in the end times.
Of course, no one can say with certainty that it is the end as Jesus said.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36 NKJV)
However, Jesus did give signs of the times of the end to His disciples in Matthew 24 and many of these signs have been evident in recent times.
The Book of Revelation also concerns itself with the end of days and is filled with visions and images that point to Jesus’ return as the ultimate King, where He will restore His people and usher in the new creation.
This promise motivates every generation of God’s people to remain faithful in the midst of persecution and hardship.
The author believes all the tensions of this day will erupt into a climactic battle between good and evil, with good ultimately triumphing and evil suffering.
And in the final chapter of this book, said to be written by the Apostle John, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples.
We read the Angel of Lord relaying the words of Jesus, that He is coming quickly and that the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of the book is blessed.
My friends, it’s easy to continue in life thinking to ourselves, this book was written roughly 2000yrs ago and Jesus still hasn’t come.
Firstly, the Bible states, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:8-9 NKJV)
We should live with the end in mind, even if Jesus doesn’t come in our lifetime, our life could end at any moment.
As it is written: “Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment.
But when we die, we will be face-to-face with Christ, the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many!
And now to those who eagerly await Him, He will appear a second time; not to deal with sin, but to bring us the fullness of salvation.”(Hebrews 9:27-28 TPT)
Therefore, we should plan as if Jesus is not returning in the next 100yrs, but, live as if He is returning tomorrow.
In our foundational text, the Angel of the Lord states that He is coming, and He is coming to reward everyone according to their work.
That to me is interesting, because He states according to your work, not according to my grace or your faith.
My friends there is a place for works, as it is written: “For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].(Ephesians 2:10 AMP)
Grace enables us to do the good work God has prepared us for, as the Apostle Paul wrote:
“But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect.
In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.”(1 Corinthians 15:10 AMP)
As we continue in our text, we read that the Angel says:” Blessed are those who do His commands,” not who hear, they will be ones who have the right to the tree of Life and enter through into the city gates.
James the brother of the Lord wrote: “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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25 NKJV)
And Jesus said: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25 NKJV)
My friends, if we intend to stand firm in these perilous times, we will need to be more than hearers but doers of the word of God.
Then the Angel describes the characteristics of those who are outside, they are referred to as dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murders, idolaters and practice lies.
However, our Lord is merciful and extends an invitation to all and says WHOEVER desires, (no one is excluded), let him drink of the water of life freely.
My friends, God has made eternal life in His presence available to all.
It cost Jesus His life, His side was pierced, and blood and water flowed from His side, so that we can drink freely from the fountain of Calvary and receive the gift of eternallife.
It is written: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NKJV)
As believers we are called for good works, HOWEVER we aren’t saved through good works.
As it is written: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
Salvation is obtained by believing in and confessing your faith in Jesus.
As it is written: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10 NKJV)
If you do believe in Jesus and have received the gift of salvation by grace through faith, you need not fear the end times, instead it will cause you to jump for joy.
As it is written: “And at last, when you see how the Son of Man comes—surrounded with a cloud, with great power and miracles, in the radiance of His splendor, and with great glory and praises—it will make you jump for joy! For the time of your full transformation has arrived.” (Luke 21:27-28 TPT)
Then you will be able to confidently say: ” Come Jesus Come.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses.
*1 Timothy 6:12 AMP*
What does it mean to fight for something you believe in?
Part of standing up for what you believe in is learning to be courageous.
Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. Many courageous people are afraid, but they act anyway because they know it’s important.
If you really believe in your cause, you need to act on it despite your fear.
Anyone living upon this planet, rich, poor, young old, irrespective of religion, gender or ethnicity, has or will face challenges that requires faith.
The Oxford dictionary defines faith as complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
OR a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
The Bible states that: “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 CEVDCI)
My understanding is, that faith gives us confidence to get what we hope for and then causes it to manifest in our life.
In today’s portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, tells him to fight the good fight of faith and to take hold of the eternal life to which he was called.
The believers in Jesus as the Messiah, those who believed that eternal life is received as a gift by grace through faith in Jesus.
Faced a lot of resistance by those who believed that eternal life was obtained by strict observance of the law of Moses, by religious practices and who didn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah, the One anointed by God, the Saviour of the world.
Oftentimes in life, the challenges we find ourselves faced with, can easily cause us to doubt our faith in things God called us to and what Jesus’s crucifixion, death and resurrection made available to us.
We call out to God and get delivered out of a situation or listen to a message preached that causes us to believe in Jesus.
Then we read in the Bible that Jesus died for our sins and that we have the power to overcome sin but then we fall into sin, and we doubt.
Or that God sent His Word to heal our disease and that Jesus is the word and by His stripes we are healed.
Then you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, and you are overcome by fear and doubt the truth the Bible states.
You hear that Jesus took your poverty upon Himself so that you may be enriched and for years after you declare your faith and have been tithing, you struggling to make ends meet.
You read that everything you put your hands to is blessed, but the reality you are experiencing is that there’s a challenge with every transaction you made.
You believe what God has put together; no man can put asunder but then your spouse cheats on you.
You believe, that through you, your household shall be saved if you believe in the Lord Jesus and are baptized, but, after you got saved your children seemed to have gone more wayward.
You believe with God you have favor, but then it seems like everyone you come across, despises and rejects you.
My friends that might be the facts of your experience, faith doesn’t deny the facts, faith says, these are the facts but the truth will change the facts and the word of God is truth, as Jesus stated.(John 17:17)
My friends, we were called to be heirs of salvation( Hebrews 1:14), to eternal life through faith in Jesus(John 3:16), to healing by the stripes Jesus endured( 1 Peter 2:24), to the promise of salvation of our family (Acts 16:31), to be blessed because Jesus became a curse(Galatians 3:13), to not be barren( Exodus 23:26), to not be alone(Genesis 2:18), not to be divorced (Matthew 19:16) and for what we put our hands to, to be blessed(Deuteronomy 28).
Those things are all promises we receive through the covenant of the blood of Jesus, it’s the inheritance of the saints, those who believe in and have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour.
Unfortunately, there are spiritual forces that will try to prevent us from obtaining it.
As it is written: “We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world.” (Ephesians 6:12 CEVDCI)
But we need not fear, for God has given us His armor which you can find written in Ephesians 6.
It is written: “For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims .
Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide.
We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God.
We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 TPT)
My friends, the devil has no power over us and so the only way he can overcome us is through instilling fear in us.
The first thing the devil uses to instill fear in us is through our thoughts.
You can’t stop a thought from entering you head just like you can’t stop a bird from dropping it’s mess on your head.
But you can stop it from making a nest in your head, in the same way you can take every negative thought captive.
Another way the devil tries to defeat us is through words, by threats from people or messages received via emails or text messages or even a summons.
When that happens my friends, we should fight the good fight of faith in conflict with evil.
It’s called the good fight because we have already been given the victory.
So how do we fight this faith? Firstly, when we receive a thought that contradicts God’s word, we need to repent, that is to change our thinking and meditate on God’s word, what it states about our circumstances, whether it’s for provision, healing etc.
The Bible states:” The battle belongs to the Lord”(Deuteronomy 20:4) and again;” not by power or by might but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4)
However, that doesn’t mean we just sit back and do nothing.
It’s a fight of faith and faith without works is dead, it’s ineffective. (James 2)
So, we have a part to play as there is no reaction from heaven without an action from earth.
Basically, with anything as you probably heard people say about the lottery, if don’t have a ticket you don’t have a chance.
You can believe all you want that you will win, but you have to take action and buy a ticket or else you believe in vain.
Likewise, whether we are believing to lose weight, reap a harvest in agriculture or get a job, it requires action.
Therefore, we should pray in the spirit and declare the word of God. Praying in the spirit is praying the will of God(Romans 8) and it builds us up in faith.(Jude 1:20)
The Bible states: “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective].
It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 AMP)
The word of God has power; therefore we need to declare the word pertaining to our circumstances.
The Bible states that God created the world by His words, He spoke it into existence.
God never spoke what He saw, He spoke what He wanted to see. He saw darkness and said:” Let there be light” and then light appeared and overcame the darkness.
My friends, you might see poverty, lack, illness or disease, don’t say what you see say what God says.
He will supply my every need according to His riches in glory in Christ, Jesus took my poverty upon Himself, by His stripes I am healed. Whatever you desire to see.
Jesus said: “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power] but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].(Mark 11:23 AMP)
My friends, I don’t know what your mountain is, but you need to speak the word of God to it until you believe what you say. Then you see what you say.
That is fighting the good fight of faith and taking hold of what God promised, of the good confession of faith and of the etrnal life that you declared publicly.
In our foundational text the Apostle Paul states:” the confession of faith.”
Salvation is obtained by believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth. ( Romans 10)
And that is exactly how, your healing, provision or deliverance will manifest.
We need to be persistent in our faith, like the woman in the parable of the unrighteousness judge in Luke 18.
So, fight the good fight of faith.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
O Lord, you the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.
*Psalms 16:5-6 NKJV*
Oftentimes we hear people talk about inheritance and if you are like me, the first thing that comes to mind is material wealth or property that was left to someone, usually by a family member that passed on, specifically money or property.
However, when we look at the definition of the word inheritance, we will discover that it isn’t only the above.
Inheritance could also be an attribute, basically a quality or characteristic of someone, like maybe, they inherited the blessing that was upon someone or inherited their ways, positive or negative.
Inheritance could also be genetic, like inheriting someone’s looks for example, we all inherited our parents or ancestors’ genes.
And then, you could also inherit someone’s title, like in a monarchy, someone inherits the title of King or Queen.
In today’s portion of scripture taken from one of the Psalms believed to have been written by King David.
This particular Psalm is referred to as a Mictham of David, pronounced miktam, meaning one of the golden Psalms, believed to have been written in a time of distress.
In the verses leading up to that specific verse, David opens by asking God to preserve him and declares that he put his trust in God.
My friends when our trust is in God, we can be assured of His protection in our times of distress.
David continues and acknowledges that apart from God there is no goodness in him.
He has come to the realization that, even though he isn’t good, God is good, just as James the brother of Lord acknowledged, that every good and perfect gift is from above, it comes down from God.( James 1:17)
The Apostle Paul seemed to have had the same realization as King David as he wrote: ” For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will do, I do not do; but the evil I will not do, that I practice. (Romans 7:18-19 NKJV)
My friends, when we acknowledge that we are not good and realise that only God is good, as Jesus proclaimed. (Luke 17:19)
Our realization of God’s goodness will bring us to repentance. As it is written: “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4 NKJV)
The Bible states that we are saved by grace through faith, not through any goodness or good works of our own, so that we cannot boast or take credit for our salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
My friends, when we acknowledge that, we will see the goodness in others, especially fellow believers, even as King David stated in the Psalm in verse 3 specifically, that he delighted in the saints.
Understanding God’s goodness will cause us to appreciate our fellow believers and we will also realise that serving other gods is futile and only leads to sorrow and destruction.
So even in our trials, like King David, we will come to a place where realise that, even the struggles we go through or hardships we endure through our faith in God, is far more bearable than if we never believed in Him.
And thus, we will refuse to follow the ways of non-believers.
And that revelation my friends, will bring us to a place of contentment in every situation.
Both King David and the Apostle Paul seemed to have got to that place.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough.
I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.” (Philippians 4:12 GNT)
Contentment my friends, is found in the realization that God is our inheritance, as King David discovered and stated in our portion of scripture today.
Therefore, I’ll repeat what he wrote: “O Lord, you the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” (Psalms 16:5-6 NKJV)
The good news my friends, is that, that inheritance is made available to everyone by faith in Jesus.
As the Apostle Paul stated: “So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’(Acts 26:15-18 NKJV)
The inheritance of the saints is eternity with the Lord in heaven, something Paul often refers to in his writings (Galatians 3:18; Ephesians 1:11, 14; 5:5; Colossians 3:24).
Ephesians 1:18 illustrates this concept clearly, speaking of “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”
My friends, through our faith in Jesus we become children of God as it is written: “But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—(John 1:12 AMP)
Through our faith in Jesus, we also become joint heirs with Him in God’s Kingdom, which He came to establish upon the earth. As it is written:
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”(Romans 8:16-17 NKJV)
God said to the priests in the days of Moses: “I am your portion and your inheritance” (Numbers 18:20).
David understood that this was a promise given not only to the priests, but also to all who would trust God to be the portion of their inheritance.
It is written: “May kindness and peace be yours from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Jesus was the first to conquer death, and He is the ruler of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us, and by His blood He set us free from our sins.
He lets us rule as kings and serve God His Father as priests.
To Him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6 CEVDCI)
Therefore, when we believe in Jesus as the Christ and Messiah, we are priest of God and God is our inheritance.
After stating that there was nothing found in the pagan gods, David explained the good he received from Yahweh the God of Israel.
He said: “you are the portion of my inheritance:” David was the youngest son in a family with many sons.
He could expect no inheritance from his family; yet he took joy and comfort in the fact that God was the portion of his inheritance, and he knew that he had a good inheritance.
The lines that marked out his inheritance had fallen to him in pleasant places.
So put your trust in God, believe in Jesus and obtain your inheritance.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
That evening, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s cross to the east side.” (Some Bible versions reads other side)
So, they left the crowd, and His disciples started across the lake with Him in the boat. Some other boats followed along.
Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
Jesus was in the back of the boat with His head on a pillow, and He was asleep.
His disciples woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?”
Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.
Jesus asked His disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don’t you have any faith?”
Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”
*Mark 4:35-41 CEVDCI*
There are many people, especially believers in or follows of Jesus, that are currently going through what would be referred to as a storm of life.
Equally, many are in what some would call, the eye of the storm. Basically, deeply involved in a difficult or controversial situation which affects or interests a lot of people.
In today’s foundational text, we read that Jesus tells His disciples that they should cross over to the other side of the sea of Galilee.
They then head off in a boat with other boats following. And suddenly a fierce storm arises, and the boat was about sink.
However, during this storm, Jesus was asleep.
My friends, many of us have received a word from the Lord and decided to step into the boat, basically to act on His word and join Him in ministry.
There are others, who have chosen to respond to the call of salvation and be His followers.
After taking the decision and expecting to experience a journey of smooth sailing on calm seas.
We find ourselves in a storm of life, that not only affects us, but those connected to us, as well as fellow followers of Jesus.
From what we are experiencing in this storm, our boat seems to be sinking, maybe the bank is threatening foreclosure on a property, or the business seems to be about to shut down, a terminal illness has struck, the marriage you in seems likely to end or there seems to be no hope for your addicted child.
You either in the boat with Jesus in full-time ministry or following Him closely and He seems to be asleep in your storm. Unperturbed of what’s happening.
And so, in fear you call out to Him, believing that He doesn’t care that you are about to drown in your circumstances, just like the disciples in the boat.
In our foundational text, we read that Jesus got up and ordered the winds and waves to be quiet.
My friends, when we are faced with a storm in life and we call out to the Lord, even in fear, we can be assured that He will save us.
For it is written: “All who call out to the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 CEVDCI)
And I am a witness to that, as most of you know, in a time of coughing chunks of blood from a crack cocaine addiction 27yrs ago, during this very period, when I called upon God and asked Jesus if He is real, He supernaturally delivered me from a 14year drug addiction.
In our scripture, we read that after Jesus ordered the winds and waves to be quiet, He asked the disciples why they were afraid and questioned their faith.
These were His disciples, they were believers, they witnessed Him perform many miracles, He was physically with them in the boat and yet they were afarid.
Many of us, have been serving the Lord, experienced His miracles, at least I have through my deliverance, salvation and the transformation of my life.
Yet! In all honesty, I find myself in a storm that has caused me to be fearful.
So, I recently had to acknowledge, that the reason of my fear, is a lack of trust and faith in Jesus and His ability.
The Scriptures say no one who has faith will be disappointed, (Romans 10:11 CEVDCI)
My friends there will be challenges when we follow Jesus, He Himself said that in this world we will have trouble but that we need to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. But in Him we can have peace.( John 16:33 NIV)
In Him my friends we can have peace in the storm, even though we will be tested because of the word, as Jesus sated in the parable about the sower and the seed. (Matthew 13)
Don’t give up my friends, because of hardships and remember that you are not the only one in a storm.
The disciples were the only ones in the boat but not alone in the storm, there were other boats.
The Bible states: “But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith.
You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are.
But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone.
That’s why He appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in His eternal glory.
You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm.(1 Peter 5:9-10 CEVDCI)
Listen my friends, Jesus said to His disciples; “Lets cross to the other side.” They didn’t know it, but they had to go through a storm to get there.
Many of us has received a word from the Lord, personally or prophetically, what we didn’t realise, is that we would have to go through some storms before it manifest.
However, whatever God says, will happen, we can be assured of it, because it is written:
“So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; “It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 AMP)
In our foundational text we read, that when the wind stopped and everything was calm, they were more afraid than ever and asked; “who is this that even the winds and waves obey Him.”
The fear they had in the storm and the fear they had after the storm was calmed, was different.
The fear after, was a reverential fear, it was great respect for Jesus.
My friends, that storm that you are facing, is not to break you but to make you, to give you an understanding that Our God is a mighty God, everything is subject to Him, He is Omnipotent, all powerful.
He is not only with us in the eye of the storm at its fiercest, but He also cares and has power over the storm and will order the winds and waves, whatever is causing the storm we in, to seize.
Then we too will reverence Him and say who is this man that everything obeys Him?
When you choose to believe in and follow Jesus, you can have peace in the eye of the storm.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
*Matthew 4:17 AMP*
The Kingdom of God arrived 2000 years ago, and all people are called to be its citizens and celebrate the Lord Messiah as its eternal and supreme King!
The Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God enables us as its citizens through faith in Jesus, to access the free gift of eternal life (Romans6:23), divine provision (Philippians 4:18), that doesn’t mean you don’t have to work, it simply means you not restricted to the global economic circumstances.
Then divine healing (Luke 10:9), so you have access to the Heavenly Kingdom’s health care.
This Kingdom will be eternal and vanquish all others to become the only Kingdom. (Daniel 2:44)
So, my friends, change your thinking, forsake your sins, believe in Jesus and access all the benefits of The Kingdom of Heaven while you are upon the earth.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
“Therefore, I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying can add one hour to [the length of] his life?
And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Therefore, do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’
For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
*Matthew 6:25-34 AMP*
Many people are anxious and concerned about feeding and clothing their families and about their mortgage payments.
In today’s portion of scripture, Jesus literally gives us the cure for anxiety in verse 33.
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
(Matthew 6:33 AMP)
My friends it’s simple, receive the King (Jesus), enter the Kingdom of God and live according to its principles.
Then God will take care of you and supply your needs.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
John the Baptist preached repentance, basically instructing the people to change from within, by changing their thinking.
The purpose of the message was to prepare the people, for the re-establishment of The Kingdom of Heaven upon the Earth.
He was preparing the way for Jesus and we, as believers, are to do the same in preparation for His return.
John lived a life of simplicity, he basically had nothing, yet people were drawn to the message he preached.
He didn’t have to go to crowded places to preach, the crowds came to him.
When we preach repentance and the message of the Kingdom, people will come to listen.
*Today’s Scripture*
“Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This is the one who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the road for the Lord, Make His highways straight (level, direct)!’”
Now this same John had clothing made of camel’s hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.” *Matthew 3:2-4, 6 AMP*
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures*
The Lord corrects the people He loves and disciplines those He calls His own.”
*Hebrews 12:6 CEVDCI*
Don’t fail to correct your children. You won’t kill them by being firm, and it may even save their lives.
*Proverbs 23:13-14 CEVDCI*
Discipline is defined in the Oxford dictionary as: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
Discipline provides people with rules to live their lives efficiently and effectively.
When you have discipline in your life you can make small sacrifices in the present for a better life in the future.
Discipline creates habits, habits make routines, and routines become who you are daily.
In the times we are living in there is a subject much avoided and it is Christian discipline.
We would much rather talk about, blessings, prosperity, grace, love or anything else.
The truth however is that as believers, as children of God, even though we cannot be punished for our sins because Jesus bore the full extent of the punishment of our sins upon Himself.
We can however be disciplined because of sin, there is a difference between punishment and chastisement.
Punishment is done out of anger and wrath; chastisement is done out of love.
Punishment is issued to establish rule and authority, chastisement is for correction with the intent of restoration.
God chastises us, because He understands that if we are left undisciplined to continue in our sins, we will end up in greater misery.
I was just telling one of cousins yesterday, that my late grandfather once came with a sjambok, which in South Africa is a stiff whip, to sort me out when I was out of line with my late mom.
And one of my uncles came in at the time and stopped him before he could give me a whipping.
However, looking back, I wonder if that had not happened, would I have gone on to do the things I did later in life.
I probably would’ve been saved from a lot of trouble.
I believe many people from our communities end up in prison because of a lack of discipline.
God disciplines us as believers, because we are His children through our faith in Jesus.
When we refuse His discipline, we open the door to the devil, who is waiting eagerly to attack us.
It is written: “Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times.
That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. (1 Peter 5:8-10 AMP)
My friends, it’s important to understand that everything we go through is not God’s discipline, like suffering illness, disease poverty and lack,
God doesn’t use disease or poverty when He disciplines us, the devil brings those things upon us, so we can come against it and learn from the word how to overcome it.
Jesus bore our diseases and whatever Jesus bares, we don’t have to bare.
Jesus also bore our poverty and because of that we can become rich, by His supply, favour and grace.
So, God clearly doesn’t use such things to teach us a lesson, and before we judge, it doesn’t mean that anyone going through that has opened the door to the devil.
Believers will get attacked, the Bible states, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:19 NKJV)
I want to emphasize that God never punishes us as believers for our sins, because Jesus was the substitue for our sins.
Jesus bore the chastisement of our sins and took upon Himself the full extent of the punishment of our sins.
However as stated, He does discipline and correct us. As it is written:
“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?
He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one he accepts as His child.” (Hebrews 12:5-6 NLT)
And again: “Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will]. (Revelation 3:19 AMP)
So it’s important when we are being disciplined by God to repent. As it is written:
“So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day]; (Acts 3:19 AMP)
Repentance brings about restoration, hence why whenever God’s people went off track, He sent someone to tell them to repent.
The prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples preached repentance.
God will use people to discipline us, to correct us and He does it because He loves us.
God used the prophet Nathan to correct David and the prophet Jeremiah when the nation of Israel were going astray and then the nation of Babylon when they refused to repent.
When God disciplines, it’s always with the intention of restoration, even when our parents discipline us it’s with the intention of making us a better person.
How we respond to discipline is important, Saul despised discipline and correction and lost the throne.
David accepted it, repented and even though there were consequences, remained on the throne and had a deeper understanding of God’s love, grace and mercy.
The Bible states: “Poverty and shame will come to him who refuses instruction and discipline, But he who accepts and learns from reproof or censure is honored.” (Proverbs 13:18 AMP)
And again: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11 NIV)
My friends, accept God’s discipline and step into times of refreshing and produce a harvest of righteous and peace, living a life of total wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
The heavy burdens that are upon many and the yokes attached shall be broken by the anointing of God.
Jesus is the Anointed One and when we put our faith in Him, His anointing comes upon us and removes all burdens and breaks all yokes upon us.
As He said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.
For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 AMP)
*Today’s Scripture*
Though your people Israel were as many as the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will return.
Destruction has been decreed, and it will be overflowing with righteousness.
For the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, will complete the destruction He has decreed upon the whole land.
So hear what the Lord Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, has to say: “My Zion-people, do not be gripped with fear over the Assyrians who oppress and abuse you, as the Egyptians did long ago.
After only a brief moment, I will end my indignation against you, and it will fall upon them to their destruction!”
The Lord Yahweh, who commands angel armies, will wield His whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.
And once again He will raise His rod over the waters, as He did in Egypt.
In that day the Lord will remove the heavy burden from your shoulders and break off the yoke of bondage from your necks because of the heavy anointing upon you!
*Isaiah 10:22-27 TPT*
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Todays Scripture:*
“Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. (A rock as most versions state)
When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.
“But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand.
When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”
*Matthew 7:24-27 TPT*
Just about everyone understands or has the knowledge that when a house or a building is erected or being built, a foundation has to be laid first.
The foundation that is laid depends on the structure you want to erect.
For low-cost housing, the foundation isn’t too deep, because they often use hollow ash bricks, a type of building block to build them and the roof trusses aren’t too strong since the roof is zink sheetings.
Then for a house that’s built with solid bricks, the foundation has to be deeper and stronger.
For a double storey, you need to reinforce the foundation and for a high-rise building, they first basically dig down deep and put in basements depending on how high the structure is they intend to build, the higher the structure the deeper the foundation.
Now many of us also understand that the ground the foundation is built on is also very important.
The more solid the ground, the more solid the structure, the more secure the building.
If you are building on rocky ground, sometimes you need to blast the foundation.
In today’s portion of scripture, Jesus gives a parable about two types of people, wise and foolish and likens them to people who built houses.
One built on sand and the other on a rock, He continues as we read that both structures experienced harsh weather conditions.
However, the one built on the sand was destroyed and one built on the rock stood.
My friends, our lives are built on foundations and those foundations are basically the principles we were taught and live by.
Some of the foundations that were laid are not as solid, normally like in low-cost housing, the government decided on the foundation and building materials.
They need to build mass houses, so they use the simplest and cheapest materials.
If you live a home that was built by the council, buy it and want to build a doubled storey, you either have to break down the existing structure or reinforce the foundation in order to ensure that your house won’t fall in on you.
If your house was built on a clay ground, clay seems to move and cause the walls to crack and then contractors do what they call underpinning to secure the foundation.
Now many of us hasn’t laid our own foundations of our lives, our foundations were laid by our parents or the people that reared us or influenced our lives.
However, we all at a certain stage in our life have the opportunity to choose to rebuild our lives and when we do so, it’s important to ensure that our foundation is solid.
In our country many are aware of structures, even shopping malls that were built and caved in because of developers that took short cuts and used low quality building materials to maximize their profits.
Unfortunately, in such cases, the structures fell apart.
My friends when we chose to rebuild the foundation of our lives, we need to ensure that the foundation we build on is strong and the materials we use is of the best quality, so that we could weather the storms of life and leave a structure that will stand for generations that follow.
The Bible states that a good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children. (Proverbs 13:22)
So, we need to build in a way that will benefit generations after us.
Now back to our text, the house that stood was the one that was built on the rock.
My friends building our lives on the rock, is building it on the revelation of Jesus, on the knowledge of who He is.
Jesus told Peter, after asking His disciples who people say He is and then asked them who they think He is.
When Peter said, ” you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God ” Jesus responded by saying to Him, Peter(Ciaphas), which means rock.
” Upon this revelation, I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail.” (Matthew 16)
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the corner stone of the foundation that was laid, in layman’s terms, it’s the first stone laid, the main stone, from which the foundation and structure is built. (Ephesians 2:20)
My friends, when we build our lives upon the foundation of the revelation of who Jesus is, recognizing Him, not just as a prophet as most of the people had when Jesus asked who people said He was.
But as the Christ, God’s anointed, The Messiah, the Saviour of the world, the only begotten Son of the Living God, the only one that was born in the flesh but conceived through the Holy Spirit.
Irrespective of the storms we face in life, we will stand firm. Yes, my friends, even as believers we will face storms.
In our foundational text, both structures were exposed to same weather conditions, as believers we are not exempted from the storms of life HOWEVER we are assured of surviving it and standing firm through it.
So if you haven’t yet, then I encourage you, to build your life on the true foundation, on the revelation of Jesus.
Because currently upon the Earth, everything that can be shaken is being shaken and there’s only one foundation that is secured enough to withstand the shaking and trembling.
How do we build upon this foundation? Beside the revelation of who Jesus is, we need to hear and do what the word of God states as Jesus mentioned.
So basically, when we hear the word of God it ignites our faith, but then we need to act on it.
If it says repent, we need to repent, that is to change our thinking and align it with God’s word.
If it says be baptised, we need to be baptised, if it says give, we need to give, if it says, don’t fornicate or commit adultery or don’t steal or kill, we need to adhere.
If it says, go and make disciples by proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the nations, we need to do it and share our faith in order for others to get a revelation of who Jesus is and have the opportunity to build upon the Rock.
As the words of Edward Mote, I say; “On Christ the Splid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Today my friends if you are reading or listening to the audio of this message, again I encourage you, to ensure that you build your life on a firm foundation.
Christ is our firm foundation, so build on the revelation of who He is and on the Word of God, because He is the Word of God, so act on the Word.
Jesus said if you love me, you will obey my commands, and His commands are simple.
“Love the Lord your God with all your, heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself on these are all the laws and commands of God.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scriptures*
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. *John 5:19-20 NKJV*
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. *John 5:30 NKJV*
but so that the world may know [without any doubt] that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me [and act in full agreement with Him]. Get up, let us go from here.
*John 14:31 AMP*
It’s imperative today to ensure that we have a direct relationship with God and do only what He shows us and says we should do.
Throughout the Bible we read about God giving specific instructions to people.
To Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, to Noah regarding the ark, the blueprint in building it and what to take aboard.
To Abraham, instructing him to leave his country and to Isaac to remain where he was at and plant seed during a time of famine.
To Jacob on how to produce spotted and speckled sheep in order to prosper.
To Moses, regarding what he should say and do in order to liberate the nation of Israel from the bondage of slavery.
Then again, regarding the collection of the manna from heaven, the construction of the tabernacle, the garments, duties and responsibilities of the priest and the various laws they were to abide by.
To Joshua regarding the city of Jericho.
To Samson’s parent’s, instructing them regarding his hair, abstinence from alcohol and intermarriage.
To Samuel, to find and anoint Saul as the 1st king of Israel and through him, specific instructions to Saul regarding battle.
To Gideon, Elijah and all the prophets.
We read about David enquiring of the Lord before pursuing the people that took his people captive, on whether to rescue them or not.
For most of us, we would think, how could he even pray about that?
My friends, from all these people, we can clearly see that God enters into personal relationships with people.
We also get to see the benefits of obedience and the consequence of disobedience.
And that wasn’t only in the Hebrew scriptures or Old Testament, but, in the Greek scriptures or New Testament as well.
As we read from the narratives of Joseph, instructed to take Mary as his wife, then to leave for Egypt and when to return to Nazareth.
The three wise men that were led to take gifts to present to Jesus’s parents.
My friends, God doesn’t have favorites, anyone can have access to Him that desires to, as Jesus said whoever seeks will find, whoever ask will be given, whoever knocks, the door will be opened to. (Matthew 7)
And as scripture states: ” whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13).
Salvation is available to all, a personal relationship with God is available to all.
God desires to have a personal relationship with all of us and has a specific plan and purpose for each of us.
So, it’s important to connect with Him, by setting quiet time aside to pray to Him and meditate on His word, so that we can hear from Him.
Of course God is not restricted, He can speak to us through dreams and visions.
But in order to know it’s God, we need to familiarize ourselves with the word of God, because His will is always aligned to His word.
Jesus is the Word and He said:” my sheep will know my voice and another’s they will not follow.”(John 10)
My friends, if we do what God says and what He shows us, we can be assured of peace and prosperity.
And when I say prosperity, I don’t specifically mean, financial gain, I mean that you will have any given need met at any given time.
You will be fulfilled and have peace, irrespective of trials and tribulations, because you will be fulfilling your divine purpose.
It is said, “Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah].”(Hebrews 3:15 AMP)
And today God is saying: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.
For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”(Matthew 11:28-30 AMP)
To some of you God is saying: “Yet from the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and ordinances and have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:7 AMP)
And to others He is saying, “Be still and follow my leading through my Spirit, as the Israelites had to follow the pillar of cloud and fire and move when they moved and stopped when they stopped.
For it is written: “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “ Abba! Father!”(Romans 8:14-15 AMP)
Too many people, believers, are doing what their heart tells them to do and the Bible clearly states that the heart is deceitful.”
So don’t do what your heart tellls you, or people tell you BUT what the Father says.
For thus says the Lord: “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord , ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you.
Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you,’ says the Lord , ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord , ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’(Jeremiah 29:11-14 AMP)
MY FRIENDS DO ONLY WHAT THE FATHER SAYS
If He is saying to you to rest, stop, wait, then do that. Be led by His Spirit nothing and no one else.
Jesus’s obedience led Him through the cross, to the throne, to be seated at the right hand of the Father.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
I made all of your hard work useless by sending mildew, mold, and hail—but you still did not return to me, your Lord .
Today you have completed the foundation for my temple, so listen to what your future will be like.
Although you have not yet harvested any grain, grapes, figs, pomegranates, or olives, I will richly bless you in the days ahead.
*Haggai 2:17-19 CEVDCI*
In the Book of Haggai, the Lord speaks to the nation of Israel through the prophet and instructs them to continue with the rebuilding of the temple, which they started after the return from exile in Babylon.
However, after having faced various challenges, the work stopped after two years and was neglected for about fourteen years.
During this time, the people went about taking care of their own needs, building their own personal homes, while God’s temple was lying in ruins.
They were harvesting less than what they planted, never really had enough to eat or drink, their clothing wasn’t sufficient, and their earnings seemed to vanish like money in a pocket with holes.
And even though these things were happening to them, they refused to turn to the Lord in repentance.
As clearly, they were functioning under the curse because of their disobedience, by allowing their challenges with the Samaritans to stop them from continuing to rebuild the temple.
Oftentimes through the challenges we faced in life, the enemy distracts us, and we take our focus off the work and things of the Lord in the establishment of His Kingdom upon the earth.
We go into survival mode, take our hands off the plough and focus on our own needs.
And unfortunately, we end up in a rut, working but not producing what we should, living in lack because we allowed fear to overtake us and stopped trusting in God.
It is written: “But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man’s relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him. (Hebrews 10:38 AMP)
However, God consistently reaches out to us, to repent, that is, to change our way of thinking and get our priorities right.
To seek His Kingdom and His way of doing things, in order to restore us.
In the Book of Haggai, we read that the people repented and resumed the work on the temple and then God promised restoration.
He made a declaration, that He would richly bless them in the days ahead.
My friends, when Jesus was upon the earth, He preached repentance and the message of the Kingdom of God, telling the people that if they seek God’s Kingdom and His way of doing things, then everything they needed would be added.
We are the temple of God and Jesus is the foundation, when we take the decision to repent, to change our way of thinking and accept Him as Lord and Saviour.
Then we build upon the true foundation and God promises to restore and bless us in the days ahead.
Some of us may have taken that decision, accepted Jesus by faith, but then allowed the cares of this world to cause us to stop, our hearts were not in it any longer and we found ourselves in a place of hardship.
If that’s you, the Lord is saying:” Return to me and I will return to you and I will richly bless you in the days ahead.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
“There was a judge in a certain city,” He said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.
A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’
The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy.
I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end.
So, don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?
I tell you; He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”
*Luke 18:1-8 NLT*
There are currently many so-called believers, people who believe that Jesus died for their sins.
Who have been praying for a while regarding certain circumstances in their life and have become weary, beginning to doubt God’s word regarding their circumstances.
Their faith has diminished, and they are losing hope. If that is you today, then I want to say to you, don’t give up, P.U.S.H, Pray Until Something Happens.
Especially if you are praying in alignment with God’s word and will. Provision, healing, restoration in your marriage, deliverance and salvation for your family, is all part of God’s will according to His word.
In our foundational text, Jesus gives us the parable of the persistent widow.
He starts by saying that we should always pray and not lose heart.
To not lose heart means to not faint, to not give up, or to not let your faith melt.
The parable is about a widow who repeatedly goes to a judge to make her case.
This parable gives us a reason to keep on trusting and praying, “Thy kingdom come,” even as we wait in a world where the victory that Jesus already obtained at the cross has not yet manifested in our lives.
The parable teaches the necessity of patient, persistent, and persevering prayer, much like the Parable of the Persistent Friend (Luke 11:5-13).
A mention of prayer precedes both parables.
Persistent prayer is about trusting Christ to lead and guide us.
We seek a deeper relationship with God and cling to our faith through all the obstacles and discouragement we encounter.
Persistence and perseverance in prayer are huge challenges but God hears our prayers.
The following scriptures encourages us to be persistent in prayer. Ephesians 6:18 – “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
James 5:16 – “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Never stop praying.”
In Luke 2:36-39 we read about an amazing woman in ministry named Anna. She was a prophetess who at the age of 84 was persistently praying night and day for the redemption of Jerusalem.
To pray without ceasing, we need to have the understanding and belief that “God is right here with me and He is with me at all times.”
Elijah prayed seven times, continually until it rained, God told Him to tell Ahab it was going to rain, yet He still had to persevere in prayer for the manifestation. (1 Kings 18)
The Bible states: “Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!
Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”(James 5:17-18 NLT)
Listen my friends, we need to persevere in prayer no matter how long we have been praying for.
The Bible states in Isaiah 60:22, “At the right time, I the Lord with make it happen.
If it hasn’t happened yet, then it’s not the right time, delay with God doesn’t mean deny.
Daniel prayed and after twenty-one days the angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that God heard him the first time, he humbled himself and prayed for understanding. (Daniel 10)
My friends we are in a spiritual warfare, the Bible states: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT)
But we need not despair, for it is written: “We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does.
The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments,” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 ERV)
So, my friends, if you are a believer and you haven’t received the provision you prayed for yet, or your marriage isn’t restored yet, or your family member is not delivered or saved yet, or your healing hasn’t manifested yet.
Then as Paul said to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith.”(1 Timothy 6:12)
PUSH, Pray Until Something Happens.
Jesus ended the parable with the question,” When the Son of Man returns, how many people upon the earth will He find with faith?”
If you are not a believer in Jesus, then maybe like the prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah, you are praying to the wrong God.
Try praying to Jesus, because it is written; “whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved”!
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Moses said to the Lord , “Here I am leading 600,000 people, and you say that you will give them enough meat for a month? Could enough cattle and sheep be killed to satisfy them? Are all the fish in the sea enough for them?”
“Is there a limit to my power?” the Lord answered. “You will soon see whether what I have said will happen or not!”
Suddenly the Lord sent a wind that brought quails from the sea, flying three feet above the ground.
They settled on the camp and all around it for miles and miles in every direction.
So, all that day, all night, and all the next day, the people worked catching quails; no one gathered less than fifty bushels. They spread them out to dry all around the camp.
*Numbers 11:21-23, 31-32 GNT*
“The only limits that exist are the ones in your own mind.” – Anonymous.
“You limit yourself by reducing the number of viewpoints you see.” -Meir Ezra
Currently many people have demands placed upon them, that seem merely impossible to meet.
For many, it’s a financial obligation, mortgage payments, school fees, medical bills.
For others, it’s to ensure the salaries of their staff members and for staff members it’s to meet the deadlines and targets set by their employers.
In the political arena, leaders are being pressured by their constituents to meet their basic demands.
In the religious sector, people are looking up to the leaders for assistance in a struggling economic environment and for solutions to the socioeconomic problems they are facing.
And so, whether you a single person, the bread winner of a home, a parent, a political or religious leader, you are seeking a solution to the problems you faced with.
Unfortunately, we seem to be limited regarding a solution, by our income, our view points and by the resources available to us.
In today’s portion of scripture, the nation of Israel turned to Moses who God selected to lead them out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness, toward the promised land.
Their diet was restricted to manna that was provided by God from Heaven and they craved for certain foods that they had become accustomed to in Egypt and one of the things was meat.
So, they started complaining to Moses, that’s the nature of humans, when we are going through a wilderness experience, whether it’s an economic crisis, a pandemic or a dry season, we tend to complain and turn against our parents or leaders, placing the blame of our circumstances on them.
In our foundational text, Moses does what every leader or person that find themselves in a situation beyond their control should do, he turns to God with the problem.
My friends, Jesus said:” “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 GNT)
The Psalmist wrote: “God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 GNT)
My friends, when we turn to God in times of distress, we can be assured that He will help.
And so, if we read the entire chapter, when Moses turned to God, God told him, to tell the people, that not only will He provide them with meat for a day or two, or a week but for an entire month, in such a magnitude that they will be sick of it.
Then in our foundational text, we read Moses’s response to God based on the facts and his limited perception.
My friends, oftentimes we place limits on God based on our own limitations and on the facts, that’s how we are wired.
We have bills to pay, and we know what our income for the month is, so we panic because we limit God to either our salary, or the resources we have available to us to enable us to cover the debt, such as an overdraft facility.
Thus says the Lord my friends: “My thoughts,” says the Lord , “are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours.
As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 GNT)
We see a similar situation to what Moses faced, when Jesus was upon the earth and ministered to people in a remote place.
His disciples came to Him and advised that He send the people away, so that they can go to the nearby villages and buy themselves food.
Jesus tells them to feed the people and they ask Him how that would be possible, based on the resources available to them.
Like Moses and the disciples of Jesus, we place limits on God based on the reality of our circumstances and the facts available to us.
Listen my friends, the Bible states: ” The just shall live by faith.”(Habakkuk 2:4), not by facts.
Faith my friends changes the facts.
God’s response to Moses was a question, asking him if there is a limit to His power?”
And I believe, God is asking us that same question, regarding the situation we are faced with.
God is all powerful my friends, there is no limit with Him. Through His power, He can do far more than what we can ask or imagine.
As it is written: “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this.
He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination!
He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you.” (Ephesians 3:20 TPT)
God doesn’t only ask Moses the question, He continues and says to him; “you will soon see whether what I said will happen.”
When God says it my friends, that settles it, whether you believe it or not.”
Zechariah didn’t believe the Angel of God when he was told that God heard his prayer and His wife Elisabeth would bear a son.
His unbelief didn’t stop God’s word from coming to pass, neither will ours.
If God’s word says that He will supply our every need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:19) then He will.
In our foundational text, we read that God caused a wind to blow and it brought quails from the sea, and it flew low enough for them to catch it and it settled on the ground for miles in every direction.
God is causing the wind of the Holy Spirt to blow and He is about to bring great provision to us, more than what we can imagine.
The disciples of Jesus not only witnessed but partook in the miracle of feeding 5000 thousand with two fish and five loaves.
Not only will we witness God’s miracle of provision, we will partake in it and be distributors in meeting the needs of others
It’s so strange, Moses witnessed God deliver them from slavery, with 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.
He witnessed God grant them favour, causing them to leave with the wealth of Egypt and feed the entire nation with manna from heaven daily and He still limited God.
The disciples witnessed Jesus perform many miracles, including providing a net breaking, boat sinking harvest of fish and they still limited Him when He told them to feed the people.
Many of us have witnessed God’s power and are currently limiting Him in our situation.
Listen my friends, God is not limited to our thinking or resources.
A few weeks ago, someone dear to me was going through something and I turned to God and said to Him that I am unable to assist them financially, that’s why I’m calling on Him.
God never sent me the money to assist the person, but He sent some else, laid it on that person’s heart and allowed me to witness His provision the very next day.
So, I can assure you, there is no limit to what God can do.
Believe in Jesus, with Him there is no limit.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Then in the middle of His teaching, the religious scholars and the Pharisees broke through the crowd and brought a woman who had been caught in the act of committing adultery and made her stand in the middle of everyone.
Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the very act of adultery. Doesn’t Moses’ law command us to stone to death a woman like this?
Tell us, what do you say we should do with her?” They were only testing Jesus because they hoped to trap Him with His own words and accuse Him of breaking the laws of Moses.
But Jesus didn’t answer them. Instead, He simply bent down and wrote in the dust with His finger.
Angry, they kept insisting that He answer their question, so Jesus stood up and looked at them and said,
“Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire throw the first stone at her.”
And then He bent over again and wrote some more words in the dust.
Upon hearing that, her accusers slowly left the crowd one at a time, beginning with the oldest to the youngest, with a convicted conscience.
Until finally, Jesus was left alone with the woman still standing there in front of Him.
So, He stood back up and said to her, “Dear woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one here to condemn you?”
Looking around, she replied, “I see no one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Then I certainly don’t condemn you either.
Go, and from now on, be free from a life of sin.”
*John 8:3-11 TPT*
One of the main ways that the enemy will paralyse, disable and disarm people, especially believers, is to put a burden of guilt and shame on them.
And cause them to believe, that they are unworthy of receiving any good, that God is out to get them and will never accept them, that they are beyond redemption and deserve the hardships that they are experiencing.
Sadly, most of those feelings stem from religious teachings and what some would refer to as the Law.
One thing we don’t have to remind people of, is that they are sinners, that’s something we all know.
Personally no one had to tell me that I was a sinner, I was well aware that the lifestyle I lived, was morally unacceptable and that I was breaking not only the laws of God but various laws of the land, having been involved in a life of crime.
And with that, after I was confirmed, through what I considered at the time to be nagging from my late mom. Having been a requirement in the Anglican faith.
I would avoid church at all costs, even when I attended funerals and owned a funeral business, I’d stand outside the church.
I knew, or at least believed I didn’t belong. I found the most judgmental people growing up, to be the religious ones, the church goers.
I was also very aware that I could go to prison for the things I was involved in, we used to say, “If you are not willing to do the time, don’t do the crime.”
Honestly, I knew many friends that went to prison, and I always thought, well, even if I should get 20yrs I’m young, I can get out at 40, but at the same time I used to think, I’m not going to let them take me alive.
I even understood that an early death was a great possibility and a reality as many friends I knew, that lived the same lifestyle died young, having been killed.
We even joked calling each other the devil and saying to each other, you definitely going to hell.
However, I don’t think we realized the reality of hell.
So, with all that, my impression of God was of a divine being, ready to punish anyone that done wrong and when certain things happened to me, like a family member dying or a car or motor bike accident, I actually believed I was being punished by God.
As a child, when I would do wrong, my mom probably intending to prevent me from doing it again, would say, ” God is going to punish you.” That was most likely her way of trying the instill the fear of God in me.
But, like getting a hiding constantly at school, after a while, you don’t actually care and just accept your punishment.
And I believe that is exactly how the woman in our foundational scripture today felt when she was caught in the act of adultery.
She accepted the punishment for her sin, I say that, because we don’t read about her pleading for her life.
What we do read is that religious leaders cane and interrupted, Jesus’s sermon, broke through the crowd and placed the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery right in the middle of everyone.
Now that is exactly what religious bigots do, they interrupt anyone preaching the good news, which is what Jesus preached, the Good News about God’s love for the world.
Religious bigots will also expose your sins and put you in the spotlight for everyone to see.
They are also not impartial, they show favoritism and are selective of who they expose, as we all know that adultery is the one sin you cannot commit on your own, but she was brought alone before Jesus.
The man she was caught in the act with, was most likely, a wealthy businesses man or even a fellow religious leader that’s why they let him go.
Religious bigots are not only in the habit of interrupting anyone who preaches the Gospel, they like to make it known, how well versed they are, that they know the scriptures.
These dudes were reminding Jesus about the law of Moses.
And once they make you aware of their knowledge of the scriptures, they will demand an opinion from you in order to test you or trap you so that they can call you a false teacher.
What we can learn from Jesus, our Lord and Saviour is that we shouldn’t be quick to respond to fools, as it is written:
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)
The self-confident fool thinks too highly of himself and his opinions, and he shares them freely.
Jesus, we read first ignored them bent down and wrote in the dust.
By doing that, He humbled Himself, then when they persisted, He rose up and answered them and bent down again.
The answer He gave though came in the form of a question, a basic one, saying that anyone who hasn’t sinned or thought of sinning as stated in the Passion Translation to throw the first stone at her.
Grace my friends won’t expose your sins but will make you aware of your sins.
We are all sinners, for the Bible states: “for we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 TPT)
Religion condemns but grace saves, as we learn from our text.
When they heard Jesus’s words, they all walked away from the eldest to the youngest.
The longer you live the more, you become aware of your sins and more condemned you feel.
Sadly, right in their midst, was the one who could free them from condemnation and save them from the power of sin and grant them salvation.
As it is written: “For here is the way God loved the world—He gave His only, unique Son as a gift.
So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life.
“God did not send His Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be it’s Savior and rescue it!
So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in Him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 TPT)
And that’s exactly what that adulterous woman experienced that day.
We read that when Jesus looked up at her, now I’m sure when she looked into His eyes.
She saw the One who could condemn her, as he was the only one without sin.
However, instead He asked her if anyone condemned her and when she said no, He said to her, “neither to do I condemn you.”
Thereby demonstrating to her and everyone else, that He never came to condemn but to save.
That woman was saved from physical death and from it we can truly see that where sin abounds, grace abounds more.
As it is written: “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.
But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.”(Romans 5:20 NLT)
Our foundational text ends with Jesus telling her, “Go and from now on live free from a life of sin.
He was able to tell her that, because He was about to pay the price for her sins and the sins of the entire world through His death upon the cross at Calvary.
As it is written: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.
He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:1-2 NLT)
And again: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 6:23 NLT)
My friends, the adulterous woman was not condemned, her sins were forgiven, and her life was spared.
God doesn’t want to condemn us but to save us and enable us to live a life free from sin.
The weight of our sin is no longer ours to bare, Jesus took it all and paid the full price on Calvary.
Through faith in Jesus, you can receive forgiveness and don’t have to live with shame anymore.
By his blood we’ve been made free, by His blood we have been redeemed.
Because of His redemption there’s no more condemnation.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Because he had many herds of sheep and cattle and many servants, the Philistines were jealous of him.
So, they filled in all the wells which the servants of his father Abraham had dug while Abraham was alive.
Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become more powerful than we are.”
So, Isaac left and set up his camp in Gerar Valley, where he stayed for some time.
He dug once again the wells which had been dug during the time of Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death.
Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.
Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley and found water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel.”
Isaac’s servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity.”
He moved away from there and dug another well. There was no dispute about this one, so he named it “Freedom.”
He said, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land, and we will be prosperous here.” *Genesis 26:14-22 GNT*
If you say that someone is digging in, you mean that they are not changing their mind or weakening their efforts, although they may be losing a contest or facing difficult problems.
In times of war, armies are known to dig trenches as lines of defense, to protect their soldiers from open attack on the fields.
Normally those trenches are dug in places where they decided to take a stand in order to prevent the enemy from taking or occupying a specific territory.
At times, trenches are dug during the battle, some armies are known to dig three to four lines of trenches with different defenses, so having barbed wire for example to make it more difficult for the enemy to penetrate.
There are many people currently, who have been going through battles for a while, some are battling emotionally because of traumatic events they’ve experienced.
Others are battling an illness or disease, then there are those battling to save their marriage, and many are battling financially.
There are those who have taken the decision to dig in but have become battle weary.
My friends in life we need to dig in, in order to overcome the attacks and challenges we face.
But it’s also important, whether we are faced with challenges or not, if we want to accomplish anything to be willing to dig in deep to obtain it.
In our foundational text, we read, that Isaac, the son of Abraham, after obeying God and staying on the land he was at, during a time of famine.
And after planting seed in the hard dry ground, having reaped a hundred-fold return that very year and becoming prosperous, through his obedience to God.
He experiences challenges, because the people around him became jealous and decided to fill the wells that his father dug.
That obviously must’ve made it difficult to feed his live-stock and irrigate the land he was living in and growing crops on.
Then, he was asked to leave the area he was staying in, because they became threatened by him.
Sadly, in life, jealousy causes people to try to sabotage us in order to prevent us from prospering and because they feel threatened by us, they will remove us from their presence.
Oftentimes, it will be someone in a position of authority that will feel threatened by you, when they see God’s favour upon you.
The manager, the boss even pastors in ministry, becomes threatened by you because of their own insecurities.
We read in our portion of scripture that Isaac, doesn’t resist, he merely moves on.
And then decides to reopen, the wells his father Abraham had dug and name them what his father had.
The first well he instructs his servants to dig, creates a quarrel and the shepherds from that region claim it belongs to them.
My friends, everything starts with a decision and when you take the decision to act and dig, in order to restore, whether it’s your life, your marriage, your business or relationship with God.
Be assured that you will encounter resistance, there will be people that will want to lay claim to what is yours.
We read, once again, that Isaac, doesn’t fight over it, he merely moves on and digs another well.
Sometimes in life my friends, we just have to cut our losses, move on and keep digging.
However, when we decide to persevere, you can rest assured that your struggles won’t simply just end there.
As the saying goes; “another level, another devil.”
Isaac, after moving on and digging another well, found, that again they quarreled over that one.
Ironically, in today’s text we are told that Isaac named that well Enmity.
The first time we read that word in the Bible is when God, after the disobedience of Adam and Eve tells the serpent that He will put enmity against the serpent and the woman and against their seed.
So, we can expect resistance from the devil my friends, he doesn’t want us to obtain what God has given us.
The Bible states, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that other believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.
But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will Himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation.” (1 Peter 5:8-10 GNT)
Listen my friends, the devil doesn’t have the power to destroy us, Jesus defeated him 2000 years ago and brought restoration to humanity and restored our authority upon the earth and over the devil.
But like with Jesus, the devil will try to stop us from fulfilling our destiny and ruling and reigning as God intends us to.
The devil will try to lure us to fulfill our fleshly desires, as he done when Jesus was hungry.
Through carnality, trying to get us to satisfy our flesh.
But the Bible is clear, “The “carnal mind” is “enmity against God” (Romans 8:7).
And the devil will try to stop us by tempting us with worldliness, like when he offered Jesus all the worldly kingdoms which he obtained after deceiving Adam and Eve.
Again, the Bible is clear, “The friendship of the world is “enmity with God” (1 John 2:15 1 John 2:16).
My friends there’s enmity between us and the devil but he will try to cause enmity between us and God.
Our foundational text states that Isaac moved away and went and dug another well.
The Bible states: “So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.”(James 4:7 GNT)
When we chose to walk away from disputes, we are submitting to God and resisting the devil and we can be assured that he will flee.
In the final portion of our foundational text, we read that there was no dispute over the next well that Isaac dug.
And he named that well Freedom, saying, “the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land and we will be prosperous here.”
So, don’t grow weary and keep on digging my friends, who knows you might just be one dig away from your freedom, freedom from the bondage of sin through a revelation of Jesus, freedom from that illness and disease, freedom from an abusive relationship or from poverty and lack.
Jesus came to set the captives free. And who the Son sets free is truly free, true freedom can only be found in faith in Jesus Christ.
My friends, in the Bible we read that Jesus overcame the temptations of the devil with the word of God.
So, you need to dig into the word and take hold of your freedom or if you have not, then turn to and put your faith in the Word, Jesus is the Word and obtain your freedom.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
B blessed
Greetings in the name that is above every name, in the heaven’s above, upon the earth and under the earth, the only name by which people can be saved, the name of Jesus.
*MINISTRY UPDATE*
Firstly, I want to thank the Lord, God Equip Ministries is officially a year old.
As we enter into our third month of the year, regarding ministry I have been continuing with devotions, written and audio on various social media platforms such as, Facebook, and our webpage.
Then on LinkedIn, devotions on effective leadership, all still under my personal profiles and audio messages on WhatsApp.
Thereby doing what the ministry has been birthed for, equipping the saints.
Our objective for the month of March, is to by the grace of God, run two training sessions, record it and make the links available for anyone to access.
And to set up LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Tik Tok accounts under the Ministry in order to get the gospel out.
As we all know, even though the message doesn’t change, the methods does and if we are going to be effective as a ministry to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations, then we have to adapt to technology.
In order to obtain this objective, our Website will have to be upgraded which will make it easier to post on one platform that will feed to the others.
The Bible states: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)
So even though I had become anxious, because, I hadn’t accomplished everything I intended to in our first year of ministry.
I’ve been reminded of the scriptures that states: “A person may have many ideas concerning God’s plan for his life, but only the designs of God’s purpose will succeed in the end.” (Proverbs 19:21 TPT)
And again: “Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision And engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets So that the one who reads it will run.
For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, Because it will certainly come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:2-3 AMP)
When you know are doing what you are called to do and are walking in God’s purpose for your life and the vision you have, is in line with God’s word BUT it tarries, where there seem to be delays.
It’s so easy to be tempted to make things happen, by raising funds and appealing to people for sponsorships and donations, as I’ve seen many ministries do in order to accomplish what they set out to do.
However, one thing that’s been impressed on my spirit is the following scripture: “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.” (Psalms 127:1 AMP)
I firmly believe that the Lord has been saying to me that if I accomplish our goals through, manipulation, hinting to people of influence or appealing for funding from anyone, which as a Non-profit we are able to do.
Then I am building the ministry in my own strength and building my own kingdom not God’s.
Again, nothing wrong in appealing to people, the nation of Isarel, were told to ask the Egyptians.
In this ministry however, the only time I’ve ever appealed to anyone was December, to my personal household, sisters and their children to support various feeding schemes.
And that is because they asked me to let them know when we do our next feeding, after they saw the post of the outreaches we had done, and they wanted to contribute.
I also mentioned it in our partnership letter as well, to give anyone who felt led to sow toward it and to the board members to make them aware of what was being done.
One of the board members and I, personally contributed toward that and then the Lord enabled us to contribute toward an additional outreach and feed an extra three hundred kids, as another ministry sowed into us. To God be the glory.
Being a board member or partner in this ministry, does not mean that you obligated to sow, your prayers is what we covet most, the Bible is clear, nobody should give out of compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9)
As a ministry we had a few people reach out to us to assist them with family members that’s been battling with addiction, and we have referred them to Ministries that are equipped for that purpose and again we thank the Lord for what He has done through divine partnerships.
As you know, bedside equipping people and sharing the gospel, we do pray for people as request are received and do house visitations.
This year we haven’t resumed home fellowship groups yet but have been doing personal visitations upon request and the Lord has provided to enable us to do so without having to place any obligation upon the people.
As an individual or ministry, I would never want people thinking that they need to pay to receive anything from God or feel restricted to ask for prayer, or ministry in the homes or for their families, or for training because they are not able to contribute.
I believe, God gives us all divine helpers, Jesus was present in the Synagogue services when they took up offerings, but we don’t read that He took up offerings, during His public ministry, on outreaches or crusades.
The little boy with the five loaves and two fish, willingly gave and so did the women who sowed in Jesus’s ministry.
As it is written: There were also some women with Him. Jesus had healed these women of sicknesses and evil spirits. One of them was Mary, who was called Magdalene. Seven demons had come out of her.
Also with these women were Joanna, the wife of Chuza (the manager of Herod’s property), Susanna, and many other women. These women used their own money to help Jesus and his apostles.” (Luke 8:2-3 ERV)
Where God guides, He provides and in my personal capacity and on behalf of the ministry, I thank every person on whose heart the Lord had laid it on to support this ministry in any way, through prayer, through serving or financially.
May the Lord bless and prosper you abundantly and keep you and your family in good health.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
Ps If you feel lead to sow into the ministry our details are below.
FBN CHEQUE ACCOUNT
*Account holder*: God Equip Ministries Account no*: 63040543274
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT WE WILL NEVER MAIL ANYONE ASKING FOR MONEY OR DONATIONS, IF YOU EVER RECEIVE SUCH AN EMAIL OR MESSAGE, IT IS NOT FROM US
Blessed regards
EVANGELIST BRENDON ROPER
*Today’s Scripture*
Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree, which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Gideon said to Him, “O my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’
But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
*Judges 6:11-13 NKJV*
There are many people who have heard of or read about the miracles that God has performed for people in the Bible.
Amongst them are those who believe in the God of Israel, that He exist, however that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are His followers.
The Bible states: “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” (James 2:19 NLT)
Others of us, believe in Him and His son Jesus, because we had a divine encounter, in my case through having been supernaturally delivered from a crack cocaine addiction, after praying and asking if God exist and Jesus is real.
So, whether we read about miracles, believe that God exist or are His followers, many of us are asking, where is this God of miracles or where are all His miracles that we heard about.
Even though we’ve been told by ministers of the gospel or fellow believers and read in the scriptures, that God is with us.
Our current circumstances have caused us, like Gideon in our foundational text, to question that truth.
And I say truth, because, even though, He seems absent in our circumstances, He is very present.
Simply because He says in His word, ” I will never leave you or forsake you”(Hebrews 13:5 & Deuteronomy 31:8)
And again: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
So, whether we believe it or not, feel it or not, God is with us, because we exist in Him and if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, His Spirit abides in us. (Acts 17:28, John 14:17)
My friends! When we find ourselves going through challenges, not only is it natural for us to question and doubt that God is with us, it’s also natural to believe that God has forsaken us.
Now, I know that might not be you, but honestly, like Gideon, recently, I’ve been feeling like God has forsaken me.
And even though I’ve experienced a miracle, by instantly being supernaturally delivered from a crack cocaine addiction and witnessed countless of people’s lives transformed over the past 27yrs, after receiving what to me is the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of salvation by grace through faith, in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
I still find myself, asking where the God of miracles is, or where are His miracles we heard about, regarding supernatural provision, the blind seeing, the lame walking, the deaf hearing and the physically dead being raised.
All works that the prophets of old, Jesus and the Apostles done and what I’ve heard happened through other believers, to the likes of Charles Spurgeon, Kathryn Kuhlman, Reinhard Bonke and others.
My friends, as far as I am concerned, Gideon’s question was valid and so is any of us asking these questions.
After all, Jesus did say: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”(Mark 16:17-18 KJV)
And again: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12 KJV)
And in the book of Romans 8:11, the Apostle Paul states that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, dwells(abides), in us.
He wasn’t one of the twelve disciples that walked with Jesus, but after his transformation, through what believers refer to as his Damascus experience, he done the works Jesus done, that Jesus said believers would do.
You know what I love about the character of God, He doesn’t get angry with us when we question or feel forsaken.
The angel never rebuked Gideon, in fact God used Gideon and miraculously delivered the nation of Israel from the oppression of the Midianites.
God deliberately had him reduce the number of their army right down to 300 men, so that they would not think that they got victory over the enemy in their own strength or abilities.
My friends, I don’t know who God has removed from your presence or what He has stripped you of, or what circumstances you find yourself in.
Maybe, like Gideon and I, you feel like God has forsaken you.
Listen, it’s a set-up, because even in your unbelief, you are about to see, the God of miracles manifest in and through your life.
For some of you, reading or listening to the audio of this message, it will be the miracle of salvation that will lead to a transformation of your life.
For others, it will be deliverance from financial oppression, an illness or disease you’ve been suffering from, some will be delivered from depression and others will experience unusual supernatural miracles, as the people did when Jesus walked the earth, and when the Apostles ministered the gospel.
Some of you as believers, will see the supernatural and miraculous manifest, as you minister the undiluted, unadulterated, gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Grace through faith in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For our God, is the God of miracles.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts [to be used by believers for the benefit of the church], but especially that you may prophesy [to foretell the future, to speak a new message from God to the people].
For one who speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to people but to God; for no one understands him or catches his meaning, but by the Spirit he speaks mysteries [secret truths, hidden things].
*1 Corinthians 14:1-2 AMP*
After addressing the church at Corinth and emphasizing the importance of love over every spiritual gift.
The Apostle Paul in his letter, encourages the Corinthians to cultivate the spiritual gifts, as it will benefit the body of Christ, especially prophecy.
He then compares praying in tongues and prophecy, stating that the first doesn’t benefit the body, as they don’t understand what the person is saying and the latter though, benefits all.
Now, it’s important for us to understand, that there is speaking in tongues, which is what the Apostles done in Acts 2, when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit with togues of fires.
In that case, speaking in tongues, was speaking in different foreign languages that the various cultures understood.
Then there is speaking in tongues in the heavenly language, and in the book of 1 Corinthians 14:27, the Apostle Paul states that it should be done orderly, by two or three people and there should be an interpretation.
In verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul says that we should pray to be gifted to translate when we speak in tongues.
Now, I understand that there are people that believe that these gifts were only for the early church and have seized, because Apostle Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 13 that it will when all things come into perfection.
My problem with that personally is, that, firstly things can only come into perfection when Jesus returns and secondly in my Christian walk over the past 27yrs, I’ve not only experienced some of these gifts but also witnessed it.
Now let me say, that in all honestly, I was very skeptical about people praying in tongues, I questioned it and thought that the people that prayed in tongues were demon possessed.
But I love God’s grace, when we question because we don’t understand, He will always confirm and when it manifested in my life during my personal prayer time, on my knees in my bedroom, I thought that I was demon possessed.
Then at that very moment, I went quiet and opened my Bible and the first scripture that my eyes fell on and I read was in 1 John 4.
That stated test the spirits, no evil spirit will acknowledge or glorify Jesus and I realised that when I prayed in the spirit, I had continually said glory to God, thank you Jesus.
Now, as mentioned, there is the tongue of man and the tongue of Angels, the heavenly language, the tongues of man is when you speak in different known languages, as the Apostles had at Pentecost and people from those cultures understand you.
The heavenly tongues, when given in a church setting is when someone speaks and there is an interpretation but is done in an orderly fashion.
Then the tongues Apostle Paul mentions in our foundational text, is what some of us refer to as praying in the spirit and that is for self-edification, as he states in 1 Corinthians 14.4.
And that my friends is what, is laid upon my heart to share today.
The past 2 weeks has been extremely challenging for me and I honestly got to a place where I was battling to pray, as the Bible states, ” hope deferred makes the heart sick.”(Proverbs 13:12)
Unfortunately, recently my hopes have constantly been deferred and I felt, what’s the use of praying.
And then, I came across verse 2 of our foundational text, but didn’t at the time think it was for a message, just thought it’s for me.
Yesterday after an appointment, I went to my eldest sister’s place intending to work on something for the ministry, that I need to complete and found that I just couldn’t get into it, neither could I pray.
So, I decided to put on earphones and listen to praise and worship and as I done that, I was praying in the spirit.
And I was reminded about today’s verse and felt prompted to share a message on it.
I believe that many people are currently despondent and like me, have been battling to pray.
And so, I believe that through today’s message, the Lord is reminding us, that, we have a Helper, the Holy Spirit and through Him we have the gift of tongues that’s available to us for edification, to build us up.
As it is written: ” “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” (Jude 1:20 NKJV)
My friends, when we are weak and don’t desire to pray or know what to pray anymore, at that moment, as we submit to God and surrender to the Holy Spirt, He intercedes for and through us.
As it is written: “And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness.
For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for.
But the Holy Spirit rises up within us, to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.
God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet He also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, His holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.” (Romans 8:26-27 TPT)
Jesus told His Apostles that He will have to leave, but will not leave them unattended as it is written:
“Loving me empowers you to obey my commands.
And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me and He will never leave you.
The world won’t receive Him because they can’t see Him or know Him.
But you know Him intimately because He remains with you and will live inside you.” (John 14:15-17 TPT)
After His crucifixion, death and resurrection, before His ascension, He said to them:
“And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.”(Luke 24:49 GNT)
And at Pentecost my friends, that promise was fulfilled. (Acts 2)
My friends, the Holy Spirit is our Advocate (John 14), our Intercessor (Romans 8)
And the one that empowers us with the gift of tongues, to edify us.
The Apostle Paul said to the Ephesians: “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers and ask for everything you need.
To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.” (Ephesians 6:17-18 ERV)
My friends, in order for us to be able to access the gift of praying in tongues, we need to receive God’s free gift of salvation, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Then, we will receive the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts.
Now you are saying, “man of God, I believe in Jesus but have not received the gift of tongues.
Don’t despair, merely ask as Jesus said: “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.” (Matthew 7:9-11 NLT)
Today, simply call upon Him and say, “Spirit Pray.”
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour.
Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith.
For you know that your believing brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing the same kinds of troubles you endure.
And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in His eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, He will set you firmly in place and build you up.
*1 Peter 5:8-10 TPT*
There are many people that have suffered, either financial loss, relationally through a divorce, through their health or the loss of a loved one.
The cause of the loss for some of us, not all, has been caused by us opening a door for the enemy to attack, at least in my case I know it is.
My friends, before you stop reading or listening further, I assure you that this is not a message of condemnation.
It’s a message of restoration, brought about through repentance for some, as the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and the believer of righteousness.
Restoration for a sinner, a non-believer in Jesus Christ, starts with repentance, acknowledging that we are sinners in need of Saviour and accepting the truth, that Jesus died in our place for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
And so, through our faith, by believing in our heart, we are restored unto righteousness as stated in the book of Romans chapter 10.
In the opening verse of our foundational text, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy that he should be well balanced and always alert, in the Amplified version it states be self-discipled.
And he states the reason for that, is because our enemy the devil is constantly roaming around looking for prey to devour.
Now, the devil cannot simply devour us unless we give him an opening through willing disobedience to the word of God, as Adam and Eve had done in the Garden of Eden.
In book of Ephesians 4:27 they were told not give place to the devil and sadly many times as believers we do by compromising, especially when it comes to lust of the flesh.
Again, this is not a message of condemnation, as believers as long as we are alive, we will sin, but the good news is that when we do:
The Bible states: “You are my dear children, and I write these things to you so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we continually have a forgiving Redeemer who is face-to-face with the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2 TPT)
And again: “But if we freely admit our sins when His light uncovers them, He will be faithful to forgive us every time.
God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and He will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9 TPT)
So, we should each examine ourselves when we are going through trials or suffering loss and if we have sinned, simply, confess, repent, receive our forgiveness and know that we are cleansed from unrighteousness.
This doesn’t mean we can habitually sin, if we do, we don’t have a proper understanding of grace, as it is written:
“God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone.
This same grace teaches us how to live each day as we turn our backs on ungodliness and indulgent lifestyles, and it equips us to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12 TPT)
My friends, there is a spiritual war for the souls of humanity and as believers, we are soldiers in this war and as such we need to be alert and self-disciplined, if we are not we will be knocked about and defeated by the devil.
The Apostle Paul tells Timothy in the second portion of our foundational text, to take a decisive stand against the devil. And each one of us needs to do the same.
He continues by telling him to resist every attack, with strong vigorous faith.
James the brother of Lord wrote: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”(James 4:7 NKJV)
We are to resist the devil by submitting ourselves to the authority of the word of God.
We will always be tempted but when we are, like Jesus we are able to overcome our temptation through the word of God.
Being tempted isn’t a sin, giving into temptation, opens the door for the devil.
Again, I remind you that we are in a war, hence why the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians told them to put on the full amour of God.
And in it states the following: “In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one!” (Ephesians 6:16 TPT)
Faith in the finished work of Christ, when the devil attacks us with illness will enable us to declare, “by His stripes we are healed.”(1Peter2:24)
Or when going through financial difficulties and suffering lack, you can declare,” Jesus took my poverty so that I can be rich (2Corinthians8:9), or “my God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Or when your marriage is being attacked: “what God has joined together no man can put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6) and even if it ended in divorce, (your latter shall be greater than the former. (Haggai 2:9), God will give another spouse with better a character than the last.
Or if you are suffering from a broken heart, through a divorce or death of a loved one. “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)
Faith my friends, isn’t denial, it’s stating this is the facts, but the truth is that the facts will change according to the word of God.
The Bible states: “So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.” (Romans 10:17 AMP)
At this point I want to make something clear, not everyone suffering is suffering because they have opened the door to the devil.
No, some are suffering because of their faith: As written: “Indeed, all who delight in pursuing righteousness and are determined to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be hunted and persecuted [because of their faith].(2 Timothy 3:12 AMP)
Faith in Jesus doesn’t make us exempt from attacks or persecution, as Jesus stated:
“But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.” (Mark 4:17 NLT)
My friends as believers, we will suffer troubles, and before you wallow in self-pity, in the 3rd portion of our foundational text, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy that believers around the world, were enduring the same troubles.
James the brother of our Lord wrote: “My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble.
But this gives you a reason to be very happy. You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering.
If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good.
You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.” (James 1:2-4 ERV)
In the final portion of our foundational text, the Apostle Paul tells “After your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in His eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. “
Listen, everything must come to an end, our suffering has to come to end, and God will give us double for our trouble, like with Job.
God is gracious and merciful, He always restores, individuals and nations.
He restored Moses from a murder in the wilderness, to a leader to lead His people out of captivity of Egypt.
He restored, the nation of Israel from the captivity in Babylon and the temple and said the latter would be greater than the former.
He is merciful, even to heathen nations when they repent, like Nineveh in the time of Johan.
He sent Jesus 2000 years ago to restore all humanity, enabling us to enter into a personal relationship with Him and restore our authority upon the earth.
Listen if you are suffering because you are doing right, this is what Jesus said.
“Great blessings belong to those who suffer persecution for doing what is right. God’s kingdom belongs to them.” (Matthew 5:10 ERV)
Get ready for great blessing, because God will restore.
And if you are reading or listening to the audio of this message and are convicted of sin.
Then, repent and He will restore you to righteousness and then restore everything else in your life.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father.
He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.
The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you.
So, you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you.
For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.
“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches.
As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless.
If a person is separated from me, he is discarded; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned. *John 15:1-6 TPT*
As humans we were created and birthed into this world to be fruitful.
The very first words God, the creator of the universe spoke unto humankind, as we read in the Bible was:
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” *Genesis 1:28 NKJV*
And again, after He destroyed the earth through a flood: “So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1 NKJV)
Yet many people are living a fruitless life, unproductive or not achieving the desired results.
In today’s portion of scripture, Jesus proclaims that He is the true sprouting vine and His Father the one who tends to the vine.
I love The Passion Translation of this portion of scripture because, it states that the Father cares for the branches that is connected to Him and lifts up and props the fruitless branches.
That is very encouraging to me, because the Father doesn’t just discard of the fruitless branches.
My friends, God is merciful and gracious and isn’t quick to discard of anyone, He lifts us up and supports us to assist us to be fruitful.
And gives us special attention and a chance to prevent us from being cut off, as we learn from the following parable that Jesus gave.
Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.
Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer.
If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’ (Luke 13:6-9 NLT)
Listen my friends, in order for us to be fruitful and not be discarded, we will experience a lot of discomfort, as God digs around us, to remove anything that is hindering us from being fruitful.
And our life won’t have a pleasing aroma to it, as we are being fertilized.
I remember one of my late uncles saying to me, “Brandy, the grass always looks greener on the other side, but it takes a lot of fertilizer to make it green.”
So, if you have been experiencing a lot of discomfort and your life is giving off an unpleasant aroma, don’t despair, you are receiving special care, which is part of the process of fruitfulness.
So, some of you are saying, man of God, I’ve been living a fruitful life but have been going through many challenges recently.
Well, my friends, in today’s portion of scripture, after saying His Father lifts up and supports the fruitless branches.
He continues and says, He prunes every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.
God knows our potential and always desires to bring the best out of us.
Pruning is not a punishment, it’s a reward. Spiritual pruning enhances spiritual growth by removing whatever inhibits spiritual growth.
Spiritual pruning my friends, is a painful process, freedom from pain and suffering is a promise of a believer’s future glorification.
Pain and suffering unfortunately are part of our present sanctification.
The pain of spiritual pruning is the result of our reluctance to give up whatever inhibits our growth.
Whenever the Father prunes us, we lose part of ourselves, of who we are, and it changes who we are.
In the end of last year, I said to God; ” I’m not asking for the gifts of the Spirit, which will draw attention to me, I’m asking you to develop the fruit of the Spirit in me, to be evident in my life.”
My friends, I had no idea what I was praying, because I’ve been going through some major pruning since.
In our foundational text today, Jesus states we are cleansed by the words He speaks but then continues to say that we must remain in life-union with Him or else we will be fruitless.
Now I understand you might be thinking, I know people that are not in life-union with Jesus that have very fruitful lives.
My friends, don’t confuse worldly success with fruitfulness. The are many successful people who are living unfulfilled lives and asking the question, why am I here, what’s the purpose of my life or human existence.
Human meaning my friends, finds it’s fulfillment in relationship to God and becoming an extension of the character of God.
When cut off from God, we cannot fulfill the purpose for which we were created.
The Bible states: “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus?He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.”(Ephesians 2:10 GNT)
So, my friends, today I urge you to get connected, to the vine, go through the pruning process, surrender your will to God’s and live a fulfilled life, experience true power by becoming an extension of who God is and bear much Godly fruit.
Unfortunately, if you chose to live a disconnected life from the vine, who is Jesus, like a dead branch you will be gathered up and thrown in the fire.
Those are the words of Jesus, not me.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly.
As a result, he was very successful.
After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah.
He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls.
When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city.
Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first.
He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.
“Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!
He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!”
Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people. Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven.
And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers.
So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.
That is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land.
*2 Chronicles 31:21-32:1-3, 5, 7-8, 20-22 NLT*
In this world we are living in, many nations are constantly upgrading their armory.
They also understand that there is strength in numbers and therefore form alliances with other nations that has a common interest with them.
And with that, they have the confidence to attack their targeted enemy.
Now this strategy is not only used by nations in war.
Corporates sometimes form alliances to strengthen their financial status to have influence on the markets.
Gangs on the streets, make alliances to fight a common enemy using the phrase, ” the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Unfortunately, in life, there will always be people out to destroy us no matter how faithfully we serve God or how much we try to avoid it, we will have to face conflict.
And as I mentioned, there will those who will try get others to turn against us.
When we were on the streets, there was slang saying, ‘ hy vuta bras.’ Simply put, he went to fetch his friends for you.
In today’s portion of scripture, we read about a king of Israel that done what was pleasing to God.
He cleansed the temple, restored the priesthood, got the nation to repent from idolatry and became very successful as a result of it.
My friends, God rewards obedience. However, that doesn’t make you exempt from attacks.
After having done things God’s way, their nation came under attack.
My friends, God doesn’t promise that weapons won’t be formed against us, He promises, that it won’t prosper. (Isaiah 54:17)
King Hezekiah had insight, he understood, that the Assyrians attacked Judah, and they were next.
And with that, he made preparation, oftentimes we are defeated because of ignorance, it’s not that we didn’t see something coming, we just neglected to prepare for it.
The Bible states, “my people are destroyed through lack of knowledge”(Hosea 4), Pastor Ray always says:” God has given you a brain, use it.”
My friends, the Bible states, “faith without accompanying action is dead.”(James 2:26)
In our relationship with God, we have a part to play and by that I don’t mean works of the law.
If you are believing God for a job, after you prayed, you have to prepare your Cv and send it out. Or go job hunting, from door to door.
As a business developer, I fasted and prayed every day, but I had to make calls, search for corporates I was targeting online and set up appointments and go see the clients.
As a real estate agent, I have to do valuations, presentations, advertise and literally go show people that enquire properties.
As an Evangelist, I have to pray, prepare a message and then go and preach.
The Bible states:” Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].”(Ephesians 6:13 AMP)
After king Hezekiah strategized with his leaders, they fortified their town and built their armory, He encouraged them in the Lord.
He never hyped them up or made them feel secure in how impenetrable their city was and how much armor they have or the number of soldiers that signed up.
No, he told them not to be afraid of the size of the army that was approaching them and reminded them that they are merely humans.
He further reminded them, that they had the Lord, the God of Israel, that will help them. Great leaders put their faith in God not in their ability, people or things.
As the Psalmist wrote: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.”(Psalms 20:7-8 NLT)
And again: “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”(Psalms 146:3-5 NLT)
My friends, God is all we need, one man with God is a majority. That is why we should cling to God.
As Joshua said to the nation of Israel. “Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now. “For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you.
Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as He has promised.” (Joshua 23:8-10 NLT)
And that word proved true, years later in the life of Samson, as it is written: “As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists.
Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.” (Judges 15:14-15 NLT)
My friends don’t be discouraged if you don’t have many people supporting you or standing with you, when you are facing any battles.
Sometimes God will remove people from your presence, or cause them to remove you, so that when you are victorious, He will get the glory not you or anyone else.
That’s what He done with Gideon, when the Midianites came against them. As it is written: “The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you.
If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.”(Judges 7:2 NLT)
God reduced their army from 22 000 to 300. Our victory my friends, don’t lie in military might or our own strength.
As the prophet Zachariah said, “The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6 GNT)
In the days of Hezekiah, after he prepared, he prayed and God sent and angel to destroy the Assyrian army, He is still the same God.
From the life of Samson and Jesus we are given examples, that even a large detachment of solders will be unable to stand against us.
In Jesus case He didn’t even have to use force.
As we read in following portion of scripture. “The Pharisees and the leading priests had given Judas a large detachment of Roman soldiers and temple police to seize Jesus.
Judas guided them to the garden, all of them carrying torches and lanterns and armed with swords and spears .
Jesus, knowing full well what was about to happen, went out to the garden entrance to meet them.
Stepping forward, He asked, “Who are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. (Now Judas, the traitor, was among them.)
He replied, “I am He.” And the moment Jesus spoke the words, “I am He,” the mob fell backward to the ground!” (John 18:3-6 TPT)
Some may trust in chariots, BUT we will trust in the Lord, the God of Israel.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture:*
The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”
“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!
And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”*Acts of the Apostles 9:11-16 NLT*
Many people have a wrong perception of what it entails to be a follower of Jesus Christ and being chosen by God.
Most non-believers, have a perception that the gospel is all about receiving Jesus in order to be prosperous and have no problems in life, sadly because that’s the message that’s been preached by the majority of preaches.
With that, many people who are financially independent and have obtained material wealth, don’t think they need Jesus and are skeptical of anyone ministering the gospel.
Other’s again readily stream to the alter with the belief that it will be an end to all their problems.
And then with the first challenge they face they turn away.
Jesus spoke about these in one of His parables when He said: “Here, then, is the deeper meaning to my parable:
The word of God is the seed that is sown into hearts.
The seeds falling on gravel represents those who initially respond to the word with joy, but soon afterward, when a season of difficulty and harassment of the enemy comes to them, they wither and fall away, for they have no root in the truth and their faith is temporary.” (Luke 8:11,13 TPT)
My friends, it is true that Jesus took our poverty upon Himself so that we can become rich.(2 Corinthians 8:9)
However, that doesn’t mean that every believer is going to be living in a mansion and flying a jet plane, as we all have a different path and purpose.
That is clear from our foundational text, Paul was not called to live in a mansion and ride Arabian horses.
Both Peter and Paul were chosen by Jesus and they both had different experiences.
Peter’s first encounter with Jesus was one of supernatural provision and he experienced it again after Jesus’s resurrection.
Peter ministered in mass crusades where the Bible states that in one 3000 people were saved and 5000 in another.
Paul’s first encounter with the Lord, blinded him and he done prison ministry, from inside.
Sadly, as believers we see someone who people freely sow generously into their personal life and ministry and who ministers in crusades as chosen by God.
And the minister that consistently, is faced with trials and tribulations and has financial struggles as one that’s not chosen.
My friends it is also true that Jesus said: “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me.
I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine.
Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please.
You will find refreshment and rest in me.” (Matthew 11:28-29 TPT)
But He didn’t mean that we will never have challenges or not suffer various trials and tribulations.
In fact, He was very clear, that following Him will bring many challenges. When He said:
“Be on your guard! For there will be those who will betray you before their religious councils and brutally beat you with whips in their public gatherings.
And because you follow me, they will take you to stand trial in front of rulers and even kings as an opportunity to testify of me before them and the unbelievers.
“A brother will betray his brother unto death—even a father his child! Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death.
Expect to be hated by all because of my name but be faithful to the end and you will experience life and deliverance.” (Matthew 10:17-18, 21-22 TPT)
And again: “And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me.
For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!”(John 16:33 TPT)
My friends, if you are a believer and like me, most of your Christian walk has been full or trials and tribulations.
And most of your ministry has been one on one ministry to people.
It doesn’t mean that God has not chosen you or that someone else that has a mega is more anointed.
No, the devil has made me believe that and I became despondent, believing that lie.
But God, in His infinite wisdom has given me peace that it wasn’t the case.
Firstly, through a movie I was watching where a woman who was imprisoned, tells her father when he visits.
That it doesn’t matter whether she is innocent or guilty, a fellow prisoner encouraged her to accept that it was part of her fate and that enabled her to experience peace in her circumstances.
Those words reminded of a very dear friend, who after my brother-in-law and 2 other friends were cold bloodedly murdered in front of us.
Was one of eight of our people who were sentenced to prison for public violence, as the state, under the apartheid government turned the case against us.
Since the victims were non white and the accused were all Caucasian. Sadly two of our people who were sentenced were also Caucasian.
My friend immediately handed himself over to start his sentence, while some appealed, he said that’s the path God set out for him.
I was young at the time, which was a blessing, as I was underage to be charged and very far from God and didn’t understand it until now.
Then through today’s portion of scripture, the Lord reminded me, that Paul was also His chosen vessel.
And that even though he suffered much, he took the gospel to most of the then populated world and was the one selected, to write most of the books of the New Testament or Greek Scriptures.
So don’t compare yourself or your walk with God to anyone else’s.
My friends, irrespective of what you might be going through God is in control.
If you are reading or listening to the audio of this message and have not accepted Jesus and your Saviour.
I leave you with the following words of Jesus and you can make an informed decision.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life.
And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways.
For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life.
But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep.
For even if you were to gain all the wealth and power of this world—at the cost of your own life—what good would that be?
And what could be more valuable to you than your own soul?
I, the Son of Man, will one day return with my messengers and in the splendor and majesty of my Father.
And then I will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew 16:24-27 TPT)
JESUS IS STILL IN CONTROL
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
He did what was pleasing in the Lord ’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.
He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple.
He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.
Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God.
They abandoned the Lord and His dwelling place; they turned their backs on Him.
“That is why the Lord ’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes.
Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured.
But now I will make a covenant with the Lord , the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us.*2 Chronicles 29:1-2, 4-6, 8-10 NLT*
Many people are suffering, within our nation, amongst our people and globally.
Because they have done what is evil and turned their backs on God, thus opening themselves and their families to the wrath of God.
My friends, God is merciful, kind, good and loving. HOWEVER, He is also just and as such cannot allow sin to go unpunished.
When we choose to do what is evil and turn our backs on God, we open ourselves to be attacked by the devil, who whether you believe it or not exist.
God, in the beginning created all things and when He formed humans, He gave them authority over everything upon the earth and with it the choice to obey Him.
They had a free will and unfortunately gave up their authority when they gave into temptation and chose to disobey God’s instruction.
God however wasn’t taken by surprise, He is Omniscient, (all knowing) and knew what they would do and had already, before the foundation of the world, set in motion a plan for the restoration of humanity.
Revelation 13:8 speaks about Jesus the Lamb of God that was slain from the foundation of the earth.
Immediately, after the disobedience of Adam and Eve, because of His grace and mercy.
God set in motion His plan of restoration. However, there were consequences for their disobedience.
They had given up their authority and was cast out of the presence of God.
In His plan of the redemption and restoration of humanity, He chose a man Abraham through which He would birth a nation, whom He gave laws unto to enable then to live victorious in a cursed world.
They too, were given the choice, to live in the blessing He always wanted for humanity, through obedience to His laws or suffer the consequences of the curse through disobedience.
When they obeyed, they experienced the blessings of God, which brought them wealth without sorrow, and they were victorious over their enemies.
When they chose to disobey, they suffered illness, disease, poverty, lack and were overcome by their enemies.
In today’s portion of scripture we read about a man Hezekiah, who became King over the nation of Israel at a time when they were suffering because of their disobedience and rebellion against God.
And his first cause of action, was to summon the priest and he instructed them to purify themselves and the temple.
Then, He summoned the nation and reminded them why they were suffering the things they were experiencing.
And said to them, that he was going to enter into a covenant with the Lord, God of Israel.
My friends when we read the book of 2 Chronicles and about the life of Hezekiah, we will notice that, his actions, broke the chains of bondage over their nation and that, he was victorious over his enemies.
One person can make a difference, in a family and in a nation.
As it is written: “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for [the sake of] the land, that I would not destroy it, but I found no one [not even one].(Ezekiel 22:30 AMP)
My friends, God never found one upon the earth, but there is ONE, who came from heaven to earth, that was able to break the chains, bring redemption and restoration to humanity and He is Jesus.
He was found worthy, stood in the gap and made a covenant with God, which enables us to reign upon the earth.
As it is written:” Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals.”
And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, “Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break it’s seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.”(Revelation 5:5, 9-10 AMP)
My friends, I want to clarify something, as individuals we do not and will not be punished for the sins of our parents or ancestors.
The Bible is clear, that each person will be punished for their own sins.(Ezekiel 18)
And furthermore, Jesus’s blood redeemed us, even from any generational curses.
As it is written: “For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.”(1 Peter 1:18-19 AMP)
HOWEVER, we can suffer consequences because of the choices of our parents and leaders as we currently are in our nation.
Many children are suffering because of their parents bad decisions. BUT we are able to break those chains and change our circumstances personally.
Daniel and his friends choice to obey God’s laws, enabled them to live comfortably, even be elected to parliament, in a foreign nation that took their people into captivity.
Today God is saying to you, if you desire to break the chains of bondage in your life and live victoriously upon the earth and spend eternity with me in heaven.
I’ve made a way for you and it’s obtained by grace through faith.
As it is written: “For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift from God that brought us to Christ!
So, no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.”(Ephesians 2:8-9 TPT)
And again: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NLT)
Accept your freedom, put your faith in Jesus Christ and break those chains.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Likewise, unless you surrender all to me, giving up all you possess, you cannot be one of my disciples. *Luke 14:33 TPT*
Surrender is defined in the Oxford dictionary as to stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.
Or to give up or hand over (a person, right, or possession), typically on compulsion or demand.
Surrendering requires trust, a trust that goes beyond what we can comprehend.
Biblically it is an invitation to relinquish control and place our faith in God, the One who knows the beginning from the end.
As we surrender, we acknowledge that God’s ways surpass our own, and His plans for us are far greater than what we can fathom.
Surrendering is not giving up on God or ourselves; it is trusting Him even when we don’t understand what’s happening, realizing our miniscule status in the vast universe, and becoming humble.
True surrender happens when we completely trust God.
Surrendering to God’s authority through acknowledging Him in all our ways has a transformative effect on our lives.
It frees us from the burdens of self-reliance and the limitations of our own understanding.
By surrendering to God, we open ourselves up to His guidance, His wisdom, and His transformative power.
One of the hardest things for people in the process of surrendering to God’s will for their lives is having to accept that there’s no such thing as being in control.
Choosing not to fully surrender and wanting to be in control can have eternal consequences on us, even as believers.
The Bible warns Christians that they can “fall from grace”, through not fully trusting in the finished work of Christ and trusting in our ability to keep the law.
As it is written. “If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh —you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!(Galatians 5:4 TPT)
And that we can be “cut off” from salvation, my friends, there’s no once saved always saved doctrine.
Yes the devil cannot snatch you out of God’s hand, eternal life is eternal and irrevocable for as long as you continue to believe in Christ and live a surrendered life to Him.
But if we choose to turn away and to put our trust in our ability then we no longer are surrendered to Him.
And if we are not surrendered to Him then we will surrender to our flesh.
And it is clearly written, under the gospel of grace, that we will not enter the Kingdom of God.
As the following portion of scripture states, “Surely you know that people who do wrong will not get to enjoy God’s Kingdom.
“Don’t be fooled. These are the people who will not get to enjoy His Kingdom:
those who sin sexually, those who worship idols, those who commit adultery,
men who let other men use them for sex or who have sex with other men,
those who steal, those who are greedy, those who drink too much, those who abuse others with insults, and those who cheat.
In the past some of you were like that. But you were washed clean, you were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ERV)
(That’s not my opinion, that’s directly from the Bible)
So once we surrendered and accepted Jesus as our Saviour, irrespective of our past sins, or lifestyle, we were given access into heaven and have been forgiven, delivered and cleansed, by grace through faith.
However if we shift our faith from Him and revert back to the law and trust in our own self righteousness, we fall from grace and will be cut off.
As it is written; “But don’t act as if you are better than those branches that were broken off.
You have no reason to be proud of yourself, because you don’t give life to the root. The root gives life to you.
You might say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree.” That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe.
And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Don’t be proud, but be afraid.
If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, He will not let you stay if you stop believing.
So you see that God is kind, but He can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following Him.
But He is kind to you, if you continue trusting in His kindness. If you don’t continue depending on Him, you will be cut off from the tree.”(Romans 11:18-22 ERV)
Surrendering is about accepting God’s grace and putting our faith in Jesus.
My friends Jesus wasn’t out to please the crowds or taken up with numbers.
For Him it wasn’t about quantity, it was about quality, that is why He clearly told His listeners that there is a cost involved in following Him and becoming His disciples.
He said things like, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24)
Taking up our cross and denying ourselves, is surrendering our will and ways to His, depending on His ability not ours and trusting Him even when it doesn’t make sense and we find ourselves suffering under persecution for our faith.
“Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.
Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples.
If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job.
If you don’t, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. ‘You began to build but can’t finish the job!’ they will say.” (Luke 14:26-30 GNT)
My friends Jesus made it clear, there is a cost involved in following Him and that cost is a life totally surrendered to Him.
Charles Spurgeon, said; “cost what it may, it is worth what it cost.”
Listen my friends, eternity in the presence of God and not in Hell, is worth the cost of surrender.
Heaven and Hell is real, whether you believe it or not, don’t wait until you dead to find out.
Pastor Ray always would say, “I’ll rather die and find out it’s not real, than die and find out it is real, eternity is long time to be wrong “
At this point, it is impressed on my heart to share the following:
Do not use what Jesus said about surrendering all to Him and loving Him more than your parents, brothers, sisters and wife as an excuse not to assist you family in need in order to tithe(read Mark 7:9-13) or to leave your wife.(Ephesians 5:25)
Sometimes without realizing it we make that mistake in all sincerity, believing that’s what God wants us to do.
I gave money to pastors and churches that I should’ve used to assist my family that were in need, out of ignorance.
I also gave up my funeral business out of ignorance, believing I’m doing it for God, then they cut my lights and telephone because I couldn’t pay the bills and a cheque I sowed into a church bounced.
My friends, by surrendering everything to God, means not making an idol of anything or anyone, holding nothing, not family, a spouse, a business or ministry as more important than Him.
And being willing to use whatever resources we have for His purpose and glory.
Surrendering everything to Jesus, will be rewarded.
As it is written: “Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!”
Jesus said, “I can promise that everyone who has left their home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farm for me and for the Good News about me will get a hundred times more than they left.
Here in this world they will get more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms.
And with these things they will have persecutions. But in the world that is coming they will also get the reward of eternal life.” (Mark 10:28-30 ERV)
We often neglect to quote the part that states; “with these things they will have persecutions.”
Today I personally say; ” Lord I surrender and I urge you my friends to do the same, if you had not yet, then start by surrendering to the Jesus as Lord and Saviour, surrendering all you possess to Him and become His disciple.
Jesus was our example of fully surrendering everything to God, even His life and dying through crucifixion.
He was however, resurrected and rewarded by being exalted to be seated at the right hand of God and given the name above all names, the only name by which people can be saved.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.”
And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there.
But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die.
He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
He lay down and slept under the juniper tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.”
He looked, and by his head there was a bread cake baked on hot coal, and a pitcher of water.
So, he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Get up, and eat, for the journey is too long for you [without adequate sustenance].”
So, he got up and ate and drank, and with the strength of that food he traveled forty days and nights to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God.*1 Kings 19:1-8 AMP*
Strength is defined in the Oxford dictionary as the quality or state of being physically strong.
But also, as the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure.
As individuals we all have different levels of physical strength and endurance to endure or withstand pressure.
No matter who we are, how spiritual we are, how strong we know we are, we all have moments when we feel physically and emotionally drained.
We just find ourselves in place, without strength and without hope.
In today’s foundational text, we read about the prophet Elijah, who literally stood up against idolatry, called upon God and performed a miracle where all the people saw fire consume a sacrifice in a pit filled with water.
And Elijah out 400 prophets of Baal to death.
And shortly thereafter, receives a message from the queen, threatening his life.
Which causes him to flee, separate himself from his servant and wonder off into the wilderness, where he sat down under a tree and literally asked God to kill him.
My friends, I’m not sure about you, but I can identify with this mighty prophet of God.
There were many times in my walk with God, where I’ve seen God move mightily, through prayer, in home fellowship groups, ministering on the streets or in crusades I’ve served in.
And then, almost immediately thereafter, I find myself under attack and facing challenges, either in relationships, in business or financially.
And like the prophet, felt it’s just too much and fell into a state of depression, where I’ve also asked God to kill me. On numerous occasions.
And like anyone that has ever gone through something that seemed too much to endure at the time and felt depressed, you separate yourself from everyone, you just want to be alone and then end up sleeping.
Your body basically shuts down and I suppose falling into a deep sleep, helps us to escape the reality of what we are dealing with.
When my mother died, I had many moments during that week, where I didn’t want to see anyone and locked myself in a room.
There was just one attack after another, I was dealing with a situation where we were cheated from our commission, l had debtors on my back and two deaths in our household within a week.
All this, at a time when I was serving God faithfully, in fact at a time when I was most faithful to God.
The Bible states; “No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—
He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well,
so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding and will overcome temptation with joy]. (1 Corinthians 10:13 AMP)
In simple terms God won’t put you through more than what you can deal with.
However, when we in it, like the prophet Elijah, we don’t feel like we have the capacity to overcome.
And truthfully in our own strength, we don’t. However, the Apostle when he was going through something and never received relief after praying three times fervently:
Wrote, that God said to him “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation];
for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.”
Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.
So, I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength]. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 AMP)
Jesus Himself, when the time drew close for His crucifixion, prayed for God to let the cup pass Him by.
He was in so much distress, that the Bible states, that He sweated drops of blood.
My friends, God at times doesn’t prevent us from having to go through things, but He will strengthen us in order for us to endure it.
With both Elijah and Jesus, He sent an Angel to strengthen them.
In our foundational text, the Angel woke Elijah and told him to eat and there was bread baked on a hot coal and a pitcher of water.
My friends, we learn in John’s gospel that Jesus Himself is the very Word of God.
He calls Himself the “Bread of Life,” promising that whoever comes to Him will never hunger or thirst.
When we come before Him and fill ourselves with God’s Word, we can receive His salvation and be strengthen by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we are weak, God will send us a messenger with a fiery hot word about Jesus, the bread of life, and refresh us with His Spirit so that we may be strengthened for our journey that He has set about for us.
If you are reading this message or listening to the audio and are in need of strength, then God has sent me to bring to you the Bread from Heaven, His Word, The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And He will accompany it by His Spirit to strengthen you.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings.
Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.” *I Samuel 10:8 NKJV*
Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for [if you had obeyed] the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”
*1 Samuel 13:13-14 AMP*
Obedience is basically defined as the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person.
When we choose to obey our parents, our teachers or the laws of our country, we are basically showing respect.
Obedience is one way we show God that we believe He will do what He said He will do.
It’s one way we can outwardly show our attitude toward God.
He does forgive us when we mess up, but He desires that we strive first to not mess up. That is how we demonstrate true belief.
When we obey God we are showing both respect and expressing our love for Him.
As it is written: “We show our love for God by obeying His commandments, and they are not hard to follow.” (1 John 5:3 CEVDCI)
When we love God we are empowered to obey His commands, as Jesus stated.
“Loving me empowers you to obey my commands.
And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and He will never leave you.
The world won’t receive Him because they can’t see Him or know Him. But you know Him intimately because He remains with you and will live inside you.” (John 14:15-17 TPT)
Obedience to God’s word is rewarded disobedience has consequences.
As it is written: “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the best of the land; (Isaiah 1:19 AMP)
Obedience enables us to walk in the blessing of God, whereas disobedience opens us up to the curses upon the earth.
As it is written: “Today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the Lord your God.
Always obey them, and the Lord will make you the most famous and important nation on earth, and He will bless you in many ways.
The Lord will make your businesses and your farms successful.
You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young.
You will have plenty of bread to eat. The Lord will make you successful in your daily work.
The Lord will help you defeat your enemies and make them scatter in all directions.
The Lord your God is giving you the land, and He will make sure you are successful in everything you do.
Your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full. If you follow and obey the Lord , He will make you his own special people, just as He promised.
Then everyone on earth will know that you belong to the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.
The Lord will give you a lot of children and make sure that your animals give birth to many young.
The Lord promised your ancestors that this land would be yours, and He will make it produce large crops for you.
The Lord will open the storehouses of the skies where He keeps the rain, and He will send rain on your land at just the right times.
He will make you successful in everything you do. You will have plenty of money to lend to other nations, but you won’t need to borrow any yourself.
Obey the laws and teachings that I’m giving you today, and the Lord your God will make you a leader among the nations, and not a follower.
You will be wealthy and powerful, not poor and weak. But you must not reject any of His laws and teachings or worship other gods.
Israel, today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the Lord your God.
And if you don’t obey them all, he will put many curses on you.”(Deuteronomy 28:1-15 CEVDCI)
These promises were given to the nation of Israel but is applicable to everyone, especially us as followers of Christ.
Just like the law of gravity is applicable to all, and has the same effect on all, so it is with the laws of God.
In today’s foundational text, we read that Saul, who was selected by God as the 1st king of Israel, because the people wanted a king.
Was instructed by the prophet Samuel to go ahead of him to Gilgal and wait for him for seven days to arrive in order to offer sacrifices of peace.
And how Saul, when Samuel never pitched at the exact time that was given, became impatient and offered the sacrifices himself.
Something that only a priest was allowed to do. His impatience caused him to disobey God’s word.
My friends, delay with God is not deny, not now does not mean, not ever.
How often do we act impulsively because we haven’t seen God pitch when we expected.
God promises that He will supply our every need and then the due date for a mortgage comes and the first thing we do is run to people or financial institutions for a loan to pay it.
And we find ourselves in more debt, under more pressure.
If we read through Samuel chapter thirteen it states that, when Samuel had not arrived the people started leaving Saul.
Saul depended on the people instead of on God, many ministers and ministries depend on numbers because they believe the more people, the more offerings they receive and thus shift their dependence from God to man.
Thus says the Lord : “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5 NKJV)
My friends, if people choose to leave because things never manifested when you or they expected, because the word of the Lord was delayed and never manifested yet.
Let them go, one person with God is a majority. God is always looking for at least one man in a place, to take a stand for Him (as we read in Ezekiel 22:30).
An important lesson we can learn from Saul’s decision in disobeying God, is that it never only affected him, it affected everyone connected to him.
Saul disobeyed the commands of God. His heart was not after God’s heart, and as a result, he missed out on all that God had for him, and not just for him, for his kingdom, for those who lived under his leadership, they missed out because Saul did not keep the commands of God.
My friends one person’s disobedience or obedience does impact many, positively or negatively.
As it is written: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19 NKJV)
God says that “a man after my heart, will do all my will.” As it is written: “But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’(Acts 13:22 NLT)
To be after God’s heart means to be willing to obey, even when the thing commanded is exceedingly difficult.
David wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t morally pure, but, he had a repentant heart.
The repentant heart only comes into play after a stumble, because the command at that point is to repent.
My friends today, I say to you, trust and obey God’s commands, be patient and if you have messed up, confess and repent.
God is faithful to forgive and restore.
“Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.
Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.
And this is His commandment: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them.
And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.” (1 John 3:20-24 NLT)
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*1 Kings 18:21 NLT*
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow Him!” But the people were completely silent.
When there’s a lack of response from people, that means there is an unwillingness to choose and sadly in life we have to make choices.
God said to the people of Israel: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.
Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)
Joshua said to the nation of Israel. “If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today.
Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living.
As for me and my family, we’ll worship God .”(Joshua 24:15 MSG)
My friends, remaining silent about anything is already making a choice.
As the saying goes. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Standing by, remaining silent and just watching when our nation decides to make a case against Israel of genocide after they were attacked, makes us guilty of what they doing.
As it is written: “Because you robbed and killed your brothers, the descendants of Jacob, you will be destroyed and dishonoured for ever.
You stood aside on that day when enemies broke down their gates.
You were as bad as those strangers who carried off Jerusalem’s wealth and divided it among themselves.” (Obadiah 1:10-11 GNBDK)
Lord today I personally make a choice not to remain silent and publicly declare that I am not in agreement with the decision and action of the government of South Africa, even as a citerzen of South Africa in their case against Israel.
*Today’s Scripture*
When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world.*John 16:21 RSV*
Just like a woman giving birth experiences intense labor pains in delivering her baby, yet after the child is born she quickly forgets what she went through because of the overwhelming joy of knowing that a new baby has been born into the world.*John 16:21 TPT*
The word travail according to the Oxford dictionary is described as, painful or laborious effort.
Travail is hard work, especially work that causes pain or requires an extra amount of exertion.
Many people the past year has been travailing, in their business or workplace, for breakthrough, for their children or a family member to be delivered from an addiction or for their families salvation, for a marriage to be restored or for their healing.
Travail in today’s portion of scripture relates to the labor of child birth, in the Passion Translation it states that the women experiences intense labor pains in delivering her baby.
When we see women giving natural birth in movies, we often hear them being told to push.
My friends, many of us have been travailing as mentioned, now we are about to birth our miracle, however, now is not the time to quit, it’s time to push. *P* pray *U* until *S* something *H* happens.
Over the festive, going into Christmas and right through into the new year, while everyone was celebrating you’ve been in travail, the experience for you has been painful as you were expecting breakthrough but nothing happened yet.
The operative word as you’ve probably heard me mention before is yet.
Listen when a woman comes to her full term, in some cases, they have to induce labour and apparently according to some women that is extremely painful, a procedure is done or a tablet is given to start the labor process.
And that my friends is what has been happening to some of us, labor has been induced, so now we need to travail in prayer.
As in pregnancy, their is a travail before the blessing and we need to travail in order to prevail.
When we travail in prayer, we are saying that we are eager to do whatever it takes for our breakthrough, restoration or healing to take place.
Beyond its physical meaning, travail can also have psychological implications, as in “the travail of the soul.”
Isaiah 53:11 (KJV) uses the word travail in reference to the agony of soul the Messiah would suffer when He bore the sins of the world.
When Jesus was about to fulfill His destiny, we read in the Bible in the book of Matthew chapter twenty six, that He went to a place called Gethsemane where He prayed earnestly, to the point where He was sweating droplets of blood.
My friends He was travailing before He prevailed, yes, He had to endure the process of the crucifixion, because without a crucifixion there could not be a resurrection.
Paul expressed spiritual and emotional travail when he wrote to the Galatians, “My children, of whom I travail again until that Christ shall have been formed in you, I was wishing indeed to be present with you presently and to change my tone, because I am perplexed as to you” (Galatians 4:19–20, RSV).
He also spoke of his “labor and travail” in describing the hard work he did to pay his own expenses and not be a financial burden on anyone (2 Thessalonians 3:8, KJV).
A woman has to endure the labor pains and go through the birthing process in order to experience the joy of childbirth.
But as Jesus said in today’s portion of scripture: ” once she delivers the child she no longer remembers the anguish because of the overwhelming joy of a child being born into this world.
For many of us now, that find ourselves in a place of travail, the process isn’t pleasant.
My friends during this time: “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.
He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for Him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right-hand side of God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:2 GNBUK)
Listen, when your breakthrough manifest, when that child or family member is delivered from their addiction or affliction, or your marriage is restored, or the doctor gives you the report that you are healed.
Or you meet that life partner you’ve been waiting for or have that child you’ve been hoping for.
You can be assured, that the anguish you are feeling is nothing compared to the joy that you will be experiencing.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries *B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
[1] Elisha replied, “Listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver.”
[2] The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, “That couldn’t happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!”
But Elisha replied, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!”
[17] The king appointed his officer to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled to death as the people rushed out.
So everything happened exactly as the man of God had predicted when the king came to his house.
[18] The man of God had said to the king, “By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost one piece of silver.”
[19] The king’s officer had replied, “That couldn’t happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!” And the man of God had said, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!”
[20] And so it was, for the people trampled him to death at the gate! *2 Kings 7:1-2;17-20 NLT*
There are many people, who have been through much and have been hoping for the year to end with a breakthrough for them.
For some it’s financial, others relational, some have been having health issues.
And so, we have come to the close of 2023, entered into 2024 and their situation has not changed.
My friends, God is not restricted to time, He is not on our time line, at the right time however, He will make it happen. (Isaiah 60:22)
Irrespective of what your circumstances look like, God is able to turn it around by tomorrow this time.
I know it seems impossible, but with God all things are possible, what is impossible for man is possible with God. (Matthew 18:26)
In today’s portion of scripture, the prophet Elisha tells the king that the economic situation they were faced with, due a severe famine that was caused because their city that was under siege for a very long time, by the king of Aram.
The situation was so bad, that people were eating their own children.
When the prophet Elisha gave the king the word from the Lord, the officer assisting the king, didn’t believe that it was possible and said, “even if God opened the windows of Heaven, it couldn’t happen.”
My friends, when God says something, it will come to pass whether we believe it or not.
Our unbelief will not stop God’s promises from manifesting but can prevent us from participating.
From today’s portion of scripture, we read exactly that, regarding the King’s officer.
So, if you received a word when you enquired of the Lord, in prayer or through a minister of the Lord and have been expecting your situation to change and it hasn’t.
Don’t despair because God is able to turn it around and tomorrow this time, you could go from rags to riches.
From the brink of divorce to total restoration in your marriage, from a terminal illness to divine health.
When Jesus was crucified and died, the Saturday his mother and friends mourned him and the very next day while going to the grave, they received the news of His resurrection.
My friends, God is able to drastically change any situation in a day.
So don’t stop believing what you have been believing for, irrespective of how things look, because, tomorrow about this time, your circumstances can change.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
I greet you all in the wonderful name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
*MINISTRY UPDATE*
As all of you are aware, from last month’s partner letter, for the month of December, the word I believe I received from the Lord, was God of the impossible.
I was believing God at the time to support two organizations with three hundred hot dogs each by faith, which didn’t seem possible at the time.
However, regarding the ministry, God done the impossible as we ended up supplying nine hundred hotdogs and distributing nine hundred and ten booklets of the Christmas story that we received.
I ended that letter stating that this year still, like with Isaac, we will receive a hundredfold return on the seed we have sown this year.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this letter on the 31st December 2023, for me personally that part of the word had not yet manifested.
I say not yet, because, God is the God of the impossible and anything can happen between now and midnight.
If any of you had received a 100 fold return on your seed, please share your testimony
*THANKSGIVING*
I want to firstly thank God for His faithfulness regarding the ministry and in my personal life, for literally carrying me through another year.
Then I want to thank you, the partners for your support, whether financially or in prayer, because God uses people to accomplish His purpose upon the earth.
*WORD FOR JANUARY*
The word that is placed on my heart for January 2024 is abundance.
*Scripture*
For You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net; You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on us.
You made men (charioteers) ride over our heads [in defeat]; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a [broad] place of abundance [to be refreshed].
*Psalms 66:10-12 AMP*
2023 for me personally has been an extremely difficult year, as the scripture above states.
It was a time of testing and refining. And indeed, there was a heavy burden on me, having stepped out in faith and starting God Equip Ministries.
I’ve had many challenges with people, separation from close friends, I’ve had people in the industry I’m in, literally bully me and clients turn against me as they were pressured themselves.
Again, as the scripture above states, you made men ride over our heads in defeat.
In my personal capacity, unfortunately I was defeated by everyone that came against me. Some outright cheated me.
Honestly, this year I’ve been in the fire of oppression, I’ve been through troubled waters and rivers of difficulty.
However, the Lord was clearly with me, because that’s the only reason why I am still standing and able to continue to serve and worship Him.
Yes, He had allowed people to defeat me in battles this year and I believe that was for character building.
I had to humble myself and forgive, forget and let go, with extreme difficulty.
Basically, in 2023, I feel like I’ve been to hell and back, but, God has broadened my horizons and developed my character.
Through it all, I am at a place of peace and am fully convinced that I am entering into a place of abundance to be refreshed.
That my friends, is my word for January 2024 and for the year 2024, what I sense in my spirit, for me is going to be a year of overflowing abundance.
And the following are the scriptures I’ll be standing on and declaring throughout 2024.
*You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.” Psalms 23:5 AMP*
*How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You allow them to drink from the river of Your delights.” Psalms 36:7-8 AMP*
*You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalms 65:11 NLT*
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
Ps If you feel lead to sow into the ministry our details are below.
FBN CHEQUE ACCOUNT
*Account holder*: God Equip Ministries *Account no*: 63040543274
BFR
B blessed
*Today’s Scripture*
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. *Romans 6:23 NKJV*
This is a time of the year, where people all over the world, whether openly or not celebrate Christmas and exchange gifts.
People are either giving or receiving a gift. However not everyone has a gift to give or will be receiving a gift.
My friends, over two thousand years ago, God gave humanity the greatest gift of all, when He was born into this world in the person of Jesus.
His gift was given out of His love for humankind and is for everyone, whether, black or white, wrong or right, a saint or a sinner and irrespective or what religion you were born into.
As it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17 NKJV)
That scripture states that God loved the world, not some, it includes everyone that was and ever will be born into this world.
And He gave His Son, so that we can receive the greatest gift of all, which is the gift or eternal life through Christ Jesus.
At this time, whether theologically correct or not, the world is reminded of and celebrates the birth of Jesus.
Unfortunately, not many are aware of the purpose of His birth, which was to save humanity from our sins.
As it is written: She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:21 AMP)
Now my friends, you need to understand, if you are born into this world, you are unfortunately born into sin and take on the sinful nature which was passed onto us through the disobedience of the first man created by God, Adam.
As it is written: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 AMP)
If you say you are not a sinner then you are calling God a liar, because it is written: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)
My friends, sin is not just to kill, steal or commit adultery, it is anything that transgresses or in simple terms goes beyond the limits or the laws of God.
So, if God commands us to pray, or read our Bible, or love our fellow beings and we don’t, we are sinning.
Sin is not only what we do, but, what we neglect to do as just explained, however it’s also what we think.
As Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that if a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind.” (Matthew 5:27-28 ERV)
My friends, DON’T DESPAIR, in spite our sins, God loves us. Because He is a loving God. For it is written: ” God is Love.” (1John 4:8)
However, the same Bible that tells us, God is Love, also states that God is just.
As it is written: “The LORD is your mighty defender, perfect and just in all His ways; Your God is faithful and true; He does what is right and fair.” (Deuteronomy 32:4 GNBUK)
So as a just God He must punish sin, to deter people from perishing eternally, just as people are punished for breaking the law of any country to keep others safe.
As we read in our foundational scripture, the wages of sin is death, and so God being just had to deal out the punishment for sin.
However, because of His great love for us, He doesn’t want to punish us, so He had to come up with a solution.
And His solution my friends, was to come into this world as a man, in the form of Jesus and take our punishment upon Himself.
Through the death of Jesus, the debt of sin, past, present and future, for all humanity was paid.
The Bible states: “But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses death ruled over the whole human race, even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam did when he disobeyed God’s command.
Adam was a figure of the one who was to come. But the two are not the same, because God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin.
It is true that many people died because of the sin of that one man.
But God’s grace is much greater, and so is His free gift to so many people through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:14-15 GNBUK)
My friends, Jesus died and paid the price for our sins and was resurrected and purchased a place for us in Heaven, making available unto us the free gift of eternal life by the grace of God.
Like any other gift, it can only be received, you can’t earn it and you don’t deserve it.
No amount of religious rituals, self effort or good works, as important as it is, can earn you eternal life.
For it is written: “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 GNBUK)
We can only receive it my friends, by faith.
Saving faith is not head knowledge, just believing that God exist, the Bible states: “You can believe all you want that there is one true God, that’s wonderful! But even the demons know this and tremble with fear before him, yet they’re unchanged— they remain demons .” (James (Jacob) 2:19 TPT)
Saving faith is not temporal either, you believed you will wake up today, if you reading or listening to the audio of this message that means you woke up and so you don’t need to believe anymore.
True saving faith, is believing in and trusting in Jesus alone for salvation in order to spend eternity in the presence of God.
As it is written: “They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your family.” (Acts 16:31 GNBUK)
My friends, God has made the greatest gift of all available to us, you however have the choice to receive it or not.
As it is written: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.
Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.
Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)
How do I receive it you say? Well the Bible states: “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” (Romans 10:10 NLT)
If you truly desire to receive the greatest gift of all. Then say this prayer.
Father God, thank you for love that you proved when you sent Jesus to die and save us from our sins.
Jesus I believe that you died and paid the price in full for my sins, past, present and future.
And I believe that God raised you from the dead and that you purchased a place for me in Heaven.
Through my declaration of faith, I receive the free gift of eternal life today. Thank you for saving me from my sins.
Holy Spirit, come into my heart, lead me, teach me and transform me into the image of Jesus.
In Jesus name, I pray. AMEN
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
“For the [judgment] day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you [in retribution]; Your [evil] dealings will return on your own head. *Obadiah 1:15 AMP*
Jesus was born into this world to save us from sin.
As it is written: “She will give birth to a son and you are to name Him ‘Savior,’ for He is destined to give His life to save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 TPT)
When He comes again however, Jesus will return to judge all mankind – the living and the dead.
The living includes all who will be alive when He returns.
The dead includes everyone else, all who have lived and died physically.
Jesus said that everyone who has died will be raised from the dead and be judged.
As it is written: “Don’t be amazed when I tell you these things, for there is a day coming when everyone who has ever died will hear my voice calling them back to life, and they will come out of their graves!
Those who have done what is good will experience a resurrection to eternal life. And those who have practiced evil will taste the resurrection of judgment!” (John 5:28-29 TPT)
My friends, as much as I love to encourage people, I am burdened to share the truth, the undiluted, unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To call people to repentance, because God doesn’t desire for anyone to go to hell, but, for all to be saved, that Is why Jesus’s return has been delayed.
As it is written: “This means that, contrary to man’s perspective , the Lord is not late with His promise to return , as some measure lateness.
But rather, His “delay” simply reveals His loving patience toward you, because He does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance.
The day of the Lord will come and take everyone by surprise—as unexpected as a home invasion.
The atmosphere will be set on fire and vanish with a horrific roar, and the heavenly bodies will melt away as in a tremendous blaze.
The earth and every activity of man will be laid bare.
Since all these things are on the verge of being dismantled, don’t you see how vital it is to live a holy life?
We must be consumed with godliness while we anticipate and help to speed up the coming of the day of God, when the atmosphere will be set on fire and the heavenly bodies consumed in a blaze.
But as we wait, we trust in God’s royal proclamation to be fulfilled.
There are coming heavens new in quality, and an earth new in quality, where righteousness will be fully at home. (2 Peter 3:9-13 TPT)
My friends, even if Jesus doesn’t return in our lifetime, at some point we are all going to die and if you didn’t repent, sadly, it will be too late.
As it is written: “Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment.
But when we die we will be face-to-face with Christ , the One who experienced death once for all to bear the sins of many!
And now to those who eagerly await Him, He will appear a second time; not to deal with sin, but to bring us the fullness of salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28 TPT)
So, my friends, I urge you to repent and live eternally in the presence of God.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
Hello my name is Brendon
PARTNER LETTER SEPTEMBER 2023
Hi everyone, I greet you all in the wonderful and glorious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Happy Spring to all those in South Africa and wherever else you have entered into the season of Spring.
Spring is a time of new beginnings, when flowers and trees begin to blossom. And so, I pray that each of you may experience newness in your lives.
As I asked the Lord what the word for the partners of God Equip Ministries is for this month, what dropped into my spirit was Growing in the Knowledge of Jesus.
Then I searched for the scripture pertaining to that and read through various commentaries regarding it.
And now I will expound on it as the Holy Spirit leads me.
Our scriptural text is found in the book of 2 Peter 3:17-18 and is as follows:
“Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men [who distort doctrine] and fall from your own steadfastness [of mind, knowledge, truth, and faith], but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be glory (honor, majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
*2 Peter 3:17-18 AMP*
From our portion of scripture, verse 17 is a warning given by the Apostle Peter, based on the fact if we read through 2 Peter 3, that there were people who were distorting scripture.
He is telling his readers that since they are made aware of the false doctrines that are being preached, they need to be on guard so that they would remain steadfast and not be led astray.
My friends, in the times we are living in, with so much knowledge made available to us, literally at our fingertips and so many people flooding the internet and social media with various doctrines, we should be more cautious than ever.
Jesus Himself warned His listeners about those would come to lead the people astray when He said: “For there will be imposters falsely claiming to be God’s ‘Anointed One,’ and false prophets will arise to perform miracle signs to lead astray, if possible, those God has chosen to be His.”* (Matthew 24:24 TPT)
My friends, we cannot blindly follow anyone, even if they are performing signs wonders and miracles. It’s important for every believer to be knowledgeable in the scriptures.
And that is why the Apostle Peter, after warning his readers, continues to say in verse 18, that in order to avoid being led astray that they should grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This text says that we must grow “in the grace and knowledge of Christ.” This means that we increasingly become aware of the fact that salvation is by grace alone, and that God therefore deserves all the glory.
Grace is not merely the way God draws us to Him in the beginning. It is also the way we grow and stay in our steadfastness.
We can never grow apart from the grace and knowledge of our Lord, and we never grow out of God’s grace. The more we understand God’s grace, the more we will grow in the knowledge of Jesus who came to reveal the Father to us.
Grace is demonstrated from the beginning, when instead of Adam and Eve instantly dying for their sin and the shame of their nakedness being left exposed, God substituted and animal to die and used it’s skin to cover their shame.
It was a typology of what God would do for us through Jesus who would die as a substitute for our sins and clothe us in His righteousness.
As it is written: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GNBUK)
God also demonstrated grace when Cain killed Abel by placing a mark on him, which was a mark of God’s protection, of God’s preserving grace and in the book of Revelation we read about God’s people being marked to protect and preserve them during the tribulation.
We must also grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. This means knowing more about Jesus, but more importantly, knowing Jesus in a personal relationship. To grow in the knowledge of Christ means that we learn to know Him more experientially.
But the Apostle Peter also makes it clear that our spiritual growth and our progress in the Christian life must be a continuous maturing in grace and an ever-increasing knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Spiritual growth is an ongoing process of becoming more like the Lord Jesus. As more grace is added to the grace we have already received, the more we mature in the faith and change into the beautiful image and likeness of the Lord Jesus
Just as we need physical exercise and nourishing food for our bodies to grow and develop, s0 also we need spiritual exercise to mature in the faith. We need the milk and meat of the Word to become strong in the Lord and carry out the work that God has prepared for us to do.
So my friends, I appeal to you, like the Apostle Peter, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
B blessed
Partner Letter October 2023
*Foundational Scriptures*
if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
*Colossians 1:23 NKJV*
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
*I Corinthians 15:58 NKJV*
*What does steadfast in faith mean?*
To be steadfast is to be firmly fixed and not subject to change, to be firm in belief and determination, and to be loyal and faithful. Likewise, to be immovable is to be unyielding and incapable of being moved or diverted.
According to dictionary.com, steadfast means to be fixed or firm in a direction or purpose – unwavering.
The word for steadfast in the original Hebrew word is chesed (pronounced kheh’-sed) and it refers to God’s devout loving-kindness, mercy, and faithfulness at the very core of His character and actions.
*Why do we need to be steadfast in faith?*
We need steadfast faith to keep us in pursuit of the Lord even when life gets difficult. There is no shortage of distractions that seek to subtly pull us away from God. Worldly pressure can ensnare us through intimidation to fit its mold.
The Bible states: “Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12 AMP)
*How do you remain “steadfast and immovable” during a trial of faith?*
You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith. You exercise faith in Christ.
You pray, as it is written: “Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2 AMP)
And again: “With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18 AMP)
You ponder the scriptures, as it is written: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful. (Joshua 1:8 AMP)
You repent, scripture call us to repentance, reminding us of the glorious grace and mercy of God that awaits us if we but repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Acts 20:20-21, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
You keep the commandments, Jesus said: “Don’t think that I have come to destroy the Law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have come not to destroy their teachings but to give full meaning to them.
I assure you that nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter until it has all been done.
“A person should obey every command in the law, even one that does not seem important. Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches others not to obey it will be the least important in God’s kingdom.
But whoever obeys the law and teaches others to obey it will be great in God’s kingdom.” (Matthew 5:17-19 ERV)
Now please don’t misinterpret this, Jesus fulfilled the law, so we are not to practice Judaism, and are not required to follow ceremonial laws or dietary laws, even though dietary laws won’t harm us.
We are however meant to live according to the moral Laws in the Bible. Not to try obtain salvation or to be justified or made righteous.
That is obtained only by grace through faith in Christ. We keep the commandments because we are righteous and have been justified.
And you serve others. Jesus said: But this is not your calling. You will lead by a completely different model. The greatest one among you will live as the one who is called to serve others, because the greatest honor and authority is reserved for the one with the heart of a servant. For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served but to serve and give his life in exchange for the salvation of many. (Matthew 20:26-28 TPT)
So my friends, remain steadfast in your faith.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
BFR
B blessed
WORD FOR NOVEMEBR 2023
*Foundational Scripture*
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:14-17 NKJV*
As believers, Jesus has asked the Father and He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us as it is written:
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—
the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you. *John 14:16-17 AMP*
From the Amplified Bible we read that the Holy Spirit is our Helper, to help us un the work that God has called us for.
He does this by distributing the Gifts of the Spirit to us which are listed as follows in In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
The gifts have been categorized as those that promote the inner growth of the church (apostle, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, teaching, word of wisdom/knowledge, helps, and administration).
And those that promote the church’s outer development (faith, miracles, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
These gifts are given as the Holy Spirit chooses, by grace for the edification of others.
The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, to comfort us when we go through trials and tribulations and in times of bereavement.
He also will strengthen us in those times as He is our Strengthener.
The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, He will defend us and give us the words to say as Jesus said in the following portion of scripture.
“When they take you and turn you over [to the court], do not worry beforehand about what to say, but say whatever is given to you [by God] in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit [who will speak through you].(Mark 13:11 AMP)
The Holy Spirit is our Intercessor, He prays for us, through us, when we don’t know how to pray.
As it is written: “In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26 AMP)
He is our Counselor, as it is written: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.(John 14:26 RSV)
The Holy Spirit is our Standby, to be relied on in emergencies, a ready, reliable, and available reserve.
If you’ve ever been on “standby” for an airplane, you simply wait nearby until an opening is available—then you take that opportunity. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is standing by, just waiting for an opening in our lives.
Therefore, my friends, it is important for us to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us.
If we do, then He will develop what is referred to as the fruit of the Spirit within us which is as follows:
“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 AMP)
The fruit of the Spirit my friends is very important, yet sadly many of us covert the gifts of the Spirit.
The reason for that is because the gifts of the Spirit, draws attention to us and the danger of the gifts without the fruit is that our gifts will take us where our character can’t sustain us.
The gifts are given but the fruit is developed and as we read, Love is the first fruit and from it all the others flow.
If we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit we will submit to the Holy Spirit and He will enable us to keep the Lord’s commands.
As Jesus said; “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.”(John 14:15 AMP)
When we develop the fruit of love, we won’t be fearful as the Bible states, ”Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is His punishment that makes a person fear. So His love is not made perfect in the one who has fear. (1 John 4:18 ERV)
Another advantage about allowing the Holy Spirit to develop the fruit of love in us, is that it will activate our faith, for true faith expresses itself in love. (Galatians 5:6)
So my friends I urge you to allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.
If you led by the Holy Spirit, you won’t be confused about what’s truth or not and neither will you have to wonder about the future.
As Jesus said: “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth].
For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].
He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you.”(John 16:13-15 AMP)
Ps If you feel lead to sow into the ministry our details are below.
FBN CHEQUE ACCOUNT
*Account holder*: God Equip Ministries
*Account no*: 63040543274
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
BFR
B blessed
*WORD FOR DECMEBER 2023*
Dear partners the word given me for the month of Dember 2023 is:
*God of the impossible*
*Today’s Scripture*
Now there was a famine in the land [of Canaan], besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.
The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I will tell you.
Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the Lord blessed and favored him.
*Genesis 26:1-2,12 AMP*
For many of us 2023 started off difficult, some of us found ourselves in what could be described as a season of famine, still trying to recover from the effects of the Covid pandemic.
And if we are honest with ourselves, thought it basically impossible to get out of, let alone recover from the circumstances we found ourselves in.
However, as believers, we know the scripture that states, “all things are possible for them who believe.” (Mark 9:23)
And therefore, as believers many of us have seeked direction from God.
Some, made decisions based on reason and logic and oftentimes that is good, after all God has given us a brain.
Well, my friends, as we enter into the last month of 2023, though many of us are thankful to have got through this year and even though there currently seems to be a turnaround, some of us still find ourselves faced with the impossible.
My friends, the Bible states: “what’s impossible with man is possible with God.”(Luke 18)
In today’s portion of scripture, we read that there was famine in the land of Canaan and it specifically makes mention, besides the previous famine that occurred in the days of Abraham.
And that, when the current famine occurred, Isaac, Abraham’s son went to a Philistine town.
And while he was there, he was most probably contemplating going to Egypt as his father Abraham had done, during the famine in his time.
Reason and logic must’ve told him that is what your father done, so that’s what you need to do.
For some us, our experience in the beginning of this year seemed like a deja vu moment, I know for me it was, I was experiencing almost the exact same thing I had when our economy went into recession between 2008/2009.
At that time the real estate industry was hit hardest and prior to that I took money against my mortgage to start two businesses in order to ensure a sustainable income, as I was about to go into full-time ministry.
So, I wanted a backup plan, that seemed like the logical thing to do and I done all my homework for lack of a better word and felt confident I was doing the right thing.
Well, I didn’t foresee a recession coming, even though there were many signs that I should not loan against my property, but I thought it was fear instead of instinct or a prompting from God and made my decision based on logic.
Needless to say, I found myself in a financial rut when we entered into the recession and ended up maxing out my credit card, then selling my car to sustain myself and buying a second-hand car with the difference.
Sadly, all those decisions, which seemed like the logical thing to do, were all fear based.
This year after, taking the decision during Covid to open my own real estate offices to sustain me while doing ministry, I found myself back in the same situation. Broke busted and disgusted.
You see my friends, the Bible states, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)
Ironically all this, again at a time that I felt led to enter into full-time ministry and which was confirmed by a word from someone that the Lord has used on a few occasions to share with me.
Well after the recession, I vowed never to loan money from any person because of a previous disappointment from someone that l loaned money from and spoke about it, after offering to lend me the money.
I also took the decision never to incur debt again, so that wasn’t an option.
However again, I intended selling my car to pay the arrears on my mortgage and mentioned it to someone who asked a very logical question, “how will you work?”
That was God’s way of saying to me, don’t do the same things you done previously, even though it enabled you to survive.
Like He told Isaac in today’s text not to go down to Egypt.
So, Isaac adhered and we read that he sowed where he was in a time of famine.
Well, my friends, the Bible states: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
I pursued my prompting to start a ministry, while working, all the time searching for alternate employment to generate a stable income.
Well, I never got alternate employment even though I’m currently submitting an application for a position overseas.
However, the Lord had sustained the ministry and I throughout the year, I’ve personally sowed whatever I could to do what I’ve been led to do in the ministry. Obviously because I believe in the call of God on my life.
And recently, after entering into a time of fast and prayer for the past three weeks, three days a week and which I intend to continue doing until I feel prompted that the Lord is directing me otherwise.
I started seeing a turn around and while I enquired of the Lord what the message should be for myself, the ministry and partners, all six of them(lol), for December.
Today’s portion of scripture came to mind and I felt that the Lord is saying: “You will receive a hundredfold this year still.”
So, my friends, it isn’t over until God says it over, the disciples and those in Jerusalem who witnessed the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, thought it was over.
BUT THEN 3DAYS LATER, GOD RESSURRED JESUS.
Many of you are thinking, next year is our year, well my friends, don’t doubt God’s ability, my God is the God of the impossible, this year still we will receive a hundred times as much as we sowed throughout the year.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
Ps If you feel lead to sow into the ministry our details are below.
FBN CHEQUE ACCOUNT
*Account holder*: God Equip Ministries
*Account no*: 63040543274
From me Brendon @ God Equip Ministries
B blessed
*Today’s Scripture*
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
*Luke 2:14 NKJV*
The one thing many people globally are currently desiring at this moment is undoubtedly peace.
What most people don’t realise is that peace has been made available to us 2000years ago.
By that I don’t mean, peace between men, (humans). If that were so we wouldn’t be experiencing wars and personal conflict.
Firstly, the peace that was made available was between God and humanity.
As it is written: “All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between Himself and us.
And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with Him.
I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and Himself.
In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And He gave us this message of peace to tell people. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ERV)
We were by birth, vessels of the wrath of God and enemies to God as the nature of satan, who is the adversary of God, was injected into our DNA when Adam fell to sin in the Garden of Eden.
However, we are able to enter into peace with God when we are reconciled with God through the mediator Jesus Christ.
For it is written; “there is one God, and there is One who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself to redeem the whole human race.
That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved,”(1 Timothy 2:5-6 GNT)
Romans 5.1 speaks about the peace that comes to us when we are reconciled with God through the mediator Jesus Christ.
Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and He now declares us flawless in His eyes.
This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us.”(Romans 5:1 TPT)
However even as believers in Christ, as we have all experienced, even though we have peace with God, many believers don’t have inner peace.
We are constantly in conflict with ourselves as we desire to live in a way that pleases God but at the same time we have fleshy desires that causes us to have a guilty conscience, as we are unable do what is pleasing to God.
However, the good news is that, not only did Jesus enable us to obtain peace with God through our faith in Him.
He came and gave us His peace, as it is written: “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
(John 14:27 AMP)
So, we are able to experience peace in every circumstance and strength in our challenges.
But some of you are saying, “listen dude, I am a believer in Jesus, I’ve accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour, but, I am not at peace, neither haven I been for years.
Listen my friends, in order for us as humans to have peace with God we need to take hold of it through faith in Jesus.
And once we are at peace with God, in order to experience the peace of God, which is not the same as worldly peace that is based on circumstances.
We need to develop it as it is a fruit of the Spirit, not a gift, the gifts of the Spirit are given, the fruit is developed.
In the book of Galatians 5:22 the first three gifts stated are love, joy and peace.
Ironically peace is one of the things that the Kingdom of God is about.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of rules about food and drink, but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy.(Romans 14:17 TPT)
God made righteousness available to us and we receive that by faith in Jesus.
As it is written: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GNBUK)
“And what is God’s “living message”? It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach.
For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will experience salvation.
The heart that believes in Him receives the gift of the righteousness of God—and then the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation.(Romans 10:9-10 TPT)
Now, from that it is clear, righteousness is a gift we receive by faith and as stated earlier the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We’ve also read in the scriptures that peace and joy are fruits of the Holy Spirit. And I stated fruit needs to be developed.
Peace and joy go hand in hand, if you have joy, you will have peace.
The Bible tells us that the joy if the Lord is our strength or gives us strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
And the Psalmist wrote; “in God’s presence is fulness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11)
And how do we get into His presence? The Bible states: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalms 100:4 NKJV)
The last part of that verses states; ” and bless His name.”
Why you ask? Because the Bible states: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10 NKJV)
My friends through thanksgiving and praise and blessing the name of the Lord, you will enter His presence and there you will have joy and experience peace.
And it’s not a once off thing, or when things are going good, the Psalmist wrote: ” I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalms 34:1 NKJV)
My friends, when the devil tries to rob you of your peace, through circumstances and in challenging times, don’t get anxious but start praying, thanking the Lord and praising Him, not for your circumstances but in it. Then you will experience the peace of God.
As it is written: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)
In your challenges the Lord of Peace, Jesus Himself, the Prince of Peace, will bestow His peace upon you and comfort you through His Spirit, if you are His follower.
That’s exactly what we read He done for His disciples, when they were facing difficulty and were challenged and afraid after His crucifixion and death.
As it is written: “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19-22 NKJV)
Once you are at peace with God and have inner peace, then you need to try to live in peace with others.
As it is written: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:18-19 NKJV)
It is sometimes not possible or easy to live in peace with everyone.
But we should make an effort as far as possible, with godly wisdom to live at peace with all, even when people persecute you and mock you
If you are reading this message or listening to the audio and haven’t ensured your peace with God, then do so now by placing your faith in Jesus and accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour.
And if you have and are not experiencing His peace at this moment, then, pray, start praising God, give Him thanks and bless the name of the Lord.
Jesus is the name of the Lord, He is the Prince of Peace and has come to give us His peace.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*
*Today’s Scripture*
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
*Luke 2:14 NKJV*
The one thing many people globally are currently desiring at this moment is undoubtedly peace.
What most people don’t realise is that peace has been made available to us 2000years ago.
By that I don’t mean, peace between men, (humans). If that were so we wouldn’t be experiencing wars and personal conflict.
Firstly, the peace that was made available was between God and humanity.
As it is written: “All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between Himself and us.
And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with Him.
I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and Himself.
In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And He gave us this message of peace to tell people. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ERV)
We were by birth, vessels of the wrath of God and enemies to God as the nature of satan, who is the adversary of God, was injected into our DNA when Adam fell to sin in the Garden of Eden.
However, we are able to enter into peace with God when we are reconciled with God through the mediator Jesus Christ.
For it is written; “there is one God, and there is One who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself to redeem the whole human race.
That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved,”(1 Timothy 2:5-6 GNT)
Romans 5.1 speaks about the peace that comes to us when we are reconciled with God through the mediator Jesus Christ.
Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and He now declares us flawless in His eyes.
This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us.”(Romans 5:1 TPT)
However even as believers in Christ, as we have all experienced, even though we have peace with God, many believers don’t have inner peace.
We are constantly in conflict with ourselves as we desire to live in a way that pleases God but at the same time we have fleshy desires that causes us to have a guilty conscience, as we are unable do what is pleasing to God.
However, the good news is that, not only did Jesus enable us to obtain peace with God through our faith in Him.
He came and gave us His peace, as it is written: “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
(John 14:27 AMP)
So, we are able to experience peace in every circumstance and strength in our challenges.
But some of you are saying, “listen dude, I am a believer in Jesus, I’ve accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour, but, I am not at peace, neither haven I been for years.
Listen my friends, in order for us as humans to have peace with God we need to take hold of it through faith in Jesus.
And once we are at peace with God, in order to experience the peace of God, which is not the same as worldly peace that is based on circumstances.
We need to develop it as it is a fruit of the Spirit, not a gift, the gifts of the Spirit are given, the fruit is developed.
In the book of Galatians 5:22 the first three gifts stated are love, joy and peace.
Ironically peace is one of the things that the Kingdom of God is about.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of rules about food and drink, but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy.(Romans 14:17 TPT)
God made righteousness available to us and we receive that by faith in Jesus.
As it is written: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 GNBUK)
“And what is God’s “living message”? It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach.
For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will experience salvation.
The heart that believes in Him receives the gift of the righteousness of God—and then the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation.(Romans 10:9-10 TPT)
Now, from that it is clear, righteousness is a gift we receive by faith and as stated earlier the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We’ve also read in the scriptures that peace and joy are fruits of the Holy Spirit. And I stated fruit needs to be developed.
Peace and joy go hand in hand, if you have joy, you will have peace.
The Bible tells us that the joy if the Lord is our strength or gives us strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
And the Psalmist wrote; “in God’s presence is fulness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11)
And how do we get into His presence? The Bible states: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalms 100:4 NKJV)
The last part of that verses states; ” and bless His name.”
Why you ask? Because the Bible states: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10 NKJV)
My friends through thanksgiving and praise and blessing the name of the Lord, you will enter His presence and there you will have joy and experience peace.
And it’s not a once off thing, or when things are going good, the Psalmist wrote: ” I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalms 34:1 NKJV)
My friends, when the devil tries to rob you of your peace, through circumstances and in challenging times, don’t get anxious but start praying, thanking the Lord and praising Him, not for your circumstances but in it. Then you will experience the peace of God.
As it is written: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)
In your challenges the Lord of Peace, Jesus Himself, the Prince of Peace, will bestow His peace upon you and comfort you through His Spirit, if you are His follower.
That’s exactly what we read He done for His disciples, when they were facing difficulty and were challenged and afraid after His crucifixion and death.
As it is written: “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19-22 NKJV)
Once you are at peace with God and have inner peace, then you need to try to live in peace with others.
As it is written: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:18-19 NKJV)
It is sometimes not possible or easy to live in peace with everyone.
But we should make an effort as far as possible, with godly wisdom to live at peace with all, even when people persecute you and mock you
If you are reading this message or listening to the audio and haven’t ensured your peace with God, then do so now by placing your faith in Jesus and accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour.
And if you have and are not experiencing His peace at this moment, then, pray, start praising God, give Him thanks and bless the name of the Lord.
Jesus is the name of the Lord, He is the Prince of Peace and has come to give us His peace.
REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND JESUS IS LORD
From me Brendon at God Equip Ministries
*B blessed*