OBEDIENCE: POSITIONING FOR THE BLESSINGS OF GOD!

John 14:15 “ If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…”

Obedience is the decisions in our lives that position us for the Promises of God to take effect in our lives. It is loving obedience that causes us to “abide” in Him. That simply means to remain connected in fellowship with Him. John 15: 7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you will, and it will be done unto you.” In Psalm 91, a classic filled with a multitude of God’s promised blessings, the key to positioning ourselves for His blessings is stated as the one who “dwells in the secret place of the Most High” and “abides under the shadow of the Almighty.” Isaiah 1:19 “If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land…”
Let me share with you in two small examples how God is able to bless us and others through our simple obedience even to the small things in life.

Today I was driving down the road toward a business appointment, when I suddenly felt impressed in my spirit to pray for a friend of mine that I have recently reconnected with. I had no clue as to what specifics I needed to pray, so I began to allow the Holy Spirit to pray for me. When I don’t know how to pray, I begin to pray in the Spirit.(Romans 8:26) About ten minutes after I had finished praying, I called my friend to let him know the Lord had placed him on my heart and that I was praying for him! No answer!

About 30 minutes later he called me and told me the following. He had been working in Washington D.C. on scaffolding about forty feet in the air, when a pipe that secured the scaffolding to the side of the building broke loose and the scaffolding separated from the building and began to fall. It separated approximately five or six feet from the edge of the building and miraculously did not continue to fall. Somehow it stopped and he was able to scamper down the scaffolding as fast as his feet would carry him.

The reason he could not answer his phone was that he left it up on the scaffolding. The scaffolding began to fall just as I had begun to pray in the Spirit, and somehow God privileged me to be a part of His protective promise for my friend John! John’s response after he returned my call and realized what had taken place was “Isn’t the Holy Spirit awesome?” That is not coincidence; that is God!
Earlier this week, on the first day back from vacation I was working my way through a packed day filled with work that had piled up while we were away. As is my standard practice, I have a list of all the things I need to get done for the day, and when I complete each item, I practice asking the Lord what to tackle next. I had planned on spending a good portion of the afternoon on securing new business with a host of phone calls. Late morning after completing another task on my list, I asked the Lord what was next and I heard the following. “Go read your Bible and spend some time with Me.”

Maybe He didn’t realize that I was all backed up from vacation and really didn’t have the time at that moment. Perhaps I could find time later on that evening. He persisted and not being as stupid as I look, I decided to take a break and go refresh myself in the presence of the Lord. I picked up my Bible and began to talk with Him.

My cell phone rang about ten minutes into my time. I answered the phone and it was a customer of ours who said the following. “Ken, I want you to know I just got rid of one of my current vendors about ten minutes ago and you popped into my head to replace them at a cluster of our Properties. I want you to get started this week!” We started today and even before we finished our first job, he added three more onto the list for next week.

What would have happened if I decided to ignore the voice and keep on working? As I stated I had been walking in obedience for ten minutes and it appears as soon as I responded “Yes Lord!” this customer started thinking about me and called me to give us a lot of new business. That freed me up an entire afternoon to work on other items I had to do.

These blessings of God are available to those who “listen diligently unto the voice of the LORD God, to observe and to do all his commandments (Everything He asks you to do) …and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if you will listen and obey the voice of the LORD thy God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2 Loving Obedience positions us to secure the blessings of God both for ourselves and for others.

Fill out the comment section on the website with your examples of obedience procuring God’s blessings for you or for others!

One that loves God obeys God!

COMPASSION, MERCY AND GOD'S HEALING!

Psalm 145:8-9" The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works."



On one of my recent trips to Africa the day was rapidly approaching for the time of Ministry and I had NOTHING to say on my heart. I was having a very difficult time in getting through with sending or receiving emails when all of a sudden only one email broke through containing the above verse of Scripture. God spoke to my heart and I preached for seven straight days and the insight on God's Mercy and Compassion just kept pouring out from His heart to mine, to those in the meetings.



Incredible miracles were breaking out all over the place and I knew that I had discovered a part of the Heart of God that few people of our time had encountered. I knew that we had touched a part of the heart of God that few men rarely ventured into. We were pursuing the very heart and essence of God...not what He could do or be for us! We were no longer seeking a healing touch from God; we were seeking the Healer Himself! There is a vast difference in the search and the resulting treasure. 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (loyal) toward him." God is not only willing but eager to pour out His favor and demonstrate His power on behalf of all those who enable Him to do so.

When the people heard the truth concerning God's Heart of Mercy and Compassion and began to cry out for His Mercy and Compassion, tugging at His Heart strings, His Power began to flow! Just like the Bible stories, when you catch a hold of His heart, His Power begins to flow! Do you know that when you receive a revelation concerning His Mercy and begin to cry out you cause Jesus to take notice of you and your situation? Matthew 29:30-34 "...behold, two blind men sitting by the way side... cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David...And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight..." When they cried out for His Mercy...Jesus stood still! They stopped Him in His tracks and He focused His attention on them and their situation!

In today's Scripture it is stated that "The Lord is gracious..." This means that the Lord is disposed to show favor. This is the same Lord Jesus who during His earthly ministry "went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." Matthew 14:14 Today the Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of God "that he might be a merciful (compassionate)and faithful high priest..." Hebrews 2:17

He continues today in healing sick bodies, tormented minds and bruised emotions because He is still moved by Compassion. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Compassion is defined in the Greek and Hebrew as "loving tenderly, showing mercy or compassion, eagerly yearning from deep within." The same word is used interchangeably throughout the Scriptures. The Mercy of God can then be defined as "the deep eager yearning from the heart of God (His core essence; 1 John 4:16...God is Love!") to remove the source of distress in someone's life.

God's Mercy and Compassion is not something that God does; it is Who He is! Ths essence of God is what motivates or moves His heart to respond to our needs. God doesn't heal to show off or demonstrate His power. He does it because He can't help but respond, because of His Mercy, to those who will allow Him and whenever we make it possible for Him to do so.

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT WHAT GOD CAN DO. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT HE YEARNS TO DO!

MARK 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. By showing His Compassion in the healing of the sick, Jesus unveiled the very heart of God to help the people, and the multitudes came to Him for help. The enemy and some church people are shouting that the age of Miracles is past, until they have almost silenced the Truth of God's Word that Jesus has Not Changed!

Today's pulpits are more concerned and focused on the Power of God rather than concentrating on the Heart of God. We wrongly focus on the power of God instead of HIS WILLINGNESS TO USE THAT POWER FOR US.

READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY AND READ IT OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU GRAB A HOLD OF THIS TRUTH:

IT IS NOT FAITH IN GOD'S POWER THAT RELEASES YOUR HEALING. IT IS FAITH IN HIS LOVE, HIS MERCY, HIS COMPASSION AND HIS WILL!

Allow me to give you the Bombard paraphrase to ponder...

"The Lord is gracious and naturally disposed to pour out His favor upon you. He is full of compassion and of great mercy. He can't help Himself but pour out of His innermost being, the essence of Who he is, that being Love, in order to remove any source of distress in your life, including sickness, infirmity and disease. This He will do on all who allow Him by walking in obedience to His eternally established principles and take Him at His Will as revealed in His Word, believing in its final authority! Above all remember that His tender mercies, compassion and love reign supreme as the primary motivation over all that He does!" Psalm 145:8-9

GET A HOLD OF THE HEART OF GOD; GET HEALED!

IS HEALING GOD'S WILL?

1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Whenever I want to know God’s will in most any matter, the first place I look obviously, is in the Bible. The Bible is The Manufacturer’s Handbook and it reveals to us God’s Will in most areas of our lives. If you want to know His will regarding the mission trip to Africa or exactly how much money to give in the next offering, then you need to talk with the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into all truth regarding those kinds of matters. (John 16:13)

If you need to know God’s will for your eternal destiny, loving others, proclaiming the Good News or Divine Healing, then we dive into the riches of His Written Word. In regards to healing, 1 John 5:14 states that if we are to be confident that he will heal us of our sicknesses, diseases and infirmities, then we NEED TO KNOW HIS WILL pertaining specifically to this matter. We must know what His will is concerning any matter if we are to receive from God.

James 1:6-8 states that we are to “…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.”If we are unable to know God’s will on any specific matter then it is impossible to ask God “in faith”and to be single minded on the eventual outcome. The Bible states that a man that does not know His will is unable to “receive anything from God.” If you want the possibility of God healing you, then you must know it to be His Will!

Even more specifically, I dive into the Gospels and listen to the Words of Jesus and watch His life and actions toward those who are sick. Jesus said “He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”John 14:8 If I want to know how God responds to the sick, I observe His characteristics as evidenced in the life of Jesus. “Behold, I have come to do your will O God.”Hebrews 10:7 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38”

Do you know the only time Jesus would not or could not heal EVERYONE who came to Him for healing was when He was faced with incredible unbelief attempting to minister to those in need in His own home town. “And he could there do no mighty work, except he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching…”Mark 6:5-6

When I discovered this event, I learned that people can literally thwart the healing power of God from flowing. It says He COULD NOT DO, not that he didn’t want to but that he Couldn’t heal many people. Notice His response to this unbelief. “He went round about the villages teaching…” When He encountered unbelief and was unable to fulfill the will of God for healing these people, He began to teach them on faith, believing and receiving from God.

Every other time when people came to Jesus for healing, He never refused them. Sometimes the Providence of God was released and Healing flowed. Other times people were healed in response to their own faith. God may choose to heal you through Divine Choice (Providence; Mark 3:1-6) but He will always heal those who come in Faith asking! Matthew 9:29 “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.”

Observe the following Scriptures and see the Will of God on display in Jesus’life…

Mt 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

Mt 14:36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

Mr 6:56 And wherever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

Luke 4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

Lu 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Lu 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Matthew 8:16-17 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

David was a man who pursued and discovered the very heart of God and the Holy Spirit revealed to him a very special fact. Let these words sink deep into your heart today.

“Praise the LORD, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Psalm 103:2-5

Since Jesus is the “…same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Heb 13:8, He has not changed and still desires to heal you today. In Acts 10:34 the Bible states “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” Simply put, this means if God forgives all of David’s sins and heals all of his diseases, He will do the same for you! God does not love you any less than He does David!

Let me leave you with this thought. If you are convinced that God might not want to heal you, then why are you going to the Doctor and shaking your fist in the Face of God’s Will?

Settle in your mind….That God wills to heal You of all your sickness, disease and infirmities!

“I am the Lord that healeth thee!” Exodus 15:26

SICKNESS AND DISEASE ARE RUNNING RAMPANT. WE NEED TO LOOSE THE WORD OF GOD REGARDING DIVINE HEALING. I’M CONFIDENT THERE IS SOMEONE IN YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE WHO NEEDS A TOUCH FROM GOD TODAY. GET THESE WORDS IN YOUR HEART. IF YOU DON’T NEED THEM TODAY, REST ASSURED THAT YOU WILL SOON. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!

There is healing in the Name and provision of Jesus!

What to Do in Times of Trouble!

Deuteronomy 4:30 “When those bitter days have come upon you in the latter times, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. 31For the Lord your God is merciful—he will not abandon you…nor forget the promises he has made…”

Jesus said “…In the world you will have tribulation…” John 16:33 All around me I am hearing the heart cries of people whose lives are being torn apart through trials, tribulations, turmoil and distress. Don’t be surprised because Jesus told us that those things were inherent in the world we live in. Tribulation is part of the sin infested world in which we live.

What is a Christian to do when trouble or calamity strikes? May I just share a few simple truths with you today? Tonight I rehearsed what the Lord has trained me to do as I have uncovered various principles in His life giving Word.

1) Check Your Current Connectivity… John 15:3 Jesus said that “…apart from me, you can do nothing.” I have learned that when trouble comes my way it’s time to stop and listen to the Voice of the Lord. Tell me Lord what do I have to do? Where have I gone wrong? I know that fiery darts (trials) are going to come my way, but they don’t have to get through unless I have broken the hedge of God’s protection. Ecclesiastes 10:8 “He that…breaks a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”

When they have broken through, I immediately go to him so that He can honestly assess my current connectivity. Isaiah 59:2 “…your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Herein lies a major key. When I am walking in un-confessed OR un-repented sin, I have been separated from the ability to hear His voice (His directives or plan of victory or escape) or receive of His Divine ability and power in my situation. That sin which has not been dealt with breaks my fellowship (intimacy) with God. 1John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth”

I allow Him to be honest with me…How’s my relationship? How’s my walk and my testimony? Letting God be honest with us is often very difficult, because His light exposes everything, and sometimes I look pretty ugly to myself.

2) Give Him Lordship Over All…Matthew 6:33 “Put God and His Kingdom first and everything else will be given to you.” Tell Him that you don’t want lordship over this situation or any situation in your life. Admit you aren’t able to handle it by yourself. Paul said that “…in my weakness, His strength is made perfect…” Proverbs 3:6 states “In all your ways acknowledge Him…”

3) Seek His Direction… Proverbs 3: 6 continues in stating that when you acknowledge Him, “He will direct your paths.” This is a difficult process which seems to take a lifetime of practice and submission to His Lordship, beginning with even the smallest of troubles. It’s also helpful to be connected with a Brother or Sister in the Lord, who is willing to remind us to seek the Lord and His directives. When He issues your directions, obey them, for without your loving obedience, you will be handling your trial on your own!

4) Rehearse His Names.. There is something in the makeup of God that causes Him to show up when His name is revered and proclaimed. David called on his deliverer when he faced and defeated the giant. Paul and Silas sang praises to His name in the prison and the walls fell down. Elijah called on His name on Mount Carmel and defeated the prophets of Baal. Jesus called on His name on the Cross and claimed victory over death, hell and the grave. Psalm 22:3 states that He “…inhabits the praises of Israel.” When His Name is called, He shows up on the scene and rescues His people.
Call on the Comforter, the Healer, the Deliverer, the Provider, the Champion, the Almighty, the Turner of Hearts, the Savior!

5) Expect His Victory… even in the appearance of defeat. Remember His Word! Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” No matter what the source of your situation, (self, world, devil or the Lord) He will work it out for your good! You will get the ultimate victory and He will get glory! 2Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ…”

No one ever said that this life would be free from heartache and hardship, but rest assured that He will go through it with you, if you allow Him! You don’t need to go it alone.
If you know someone today who is under assault, please share these words with them! God will use you greatly!