So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains 8 So you also must be patient. Establish your hearts [strengthen and confirm them in the final certainty], for the coming of the Lord is very near.  James 5:7-8 AMP

The farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. If he did not expect a harvest, he would not wait for it—he would go off and do something else and miss the time of harvest. The waiting is part of the expecting. There is a time period involved between the time of the seed being planted and the time of the harvest, but because you anticipate results, you have patience to wait. Religion and tradition of man always tries to neutralize the truth and the power of the word of God. Religion will tell you not to expect anything from God. Because of this, people have not gone to God for help, even though He has told all of us that He is waiting to hear from us; even though He has promised to answer us.

We should expect the things that God says we should expect. Our expectation keeps us focused and keeps our faith working. Our expectation causes us to not give up, but to have patience while we wait. If we were not patient and if we gave up, we would not be there when the harvest was ready to be reaped. Some people think they never received their harvest, but what happened was that they never had the patience to wait for the harvest to come and so they never reaped what they could have reaped! You get what you expect. Those who expect to receive will receive and those who do not expect to receive will not.

And so faith, hope, love abide [faith–conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope–joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love–true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13 AMP

Hope is a joyful, confident expectation, and faith is a conviction that whatever God said is what He meant and that He will do exactly what He said He would. Faith believes that whatever God said He would do He will do. Faith expects results.

And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, and the people became impatient (depressed, much discouraged), because [of the trials] of the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and we loathe this light (contemptible, unsubstantial) manna. 6 Then the Lord sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that He may take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of bronze [attentively, expectantly, with a steady and absorbing gaze], he lived.  Numbers 21:4-9 AMP

By the time the Israelites left Egypt, they had spent all their lives as slaves in Egypt. Until then, they had not experienced the saving and delivering power of God. They had been exposed to Egypt’s foreign gods and had no faith in the Living God. They had no faith in God that He was on their side. Because of this, they had no expectation that God could and would cause them to defeat the people of Canaan and possess their land and so they refused to go into Canaan and take their inheritance. Because of their unbelief, God had to keep them in the wilderness and outside of the Promised Land. Because of their bad attitude; because they did not trust God’s Word; because they did not expect God to see them through; when they experienced trials in the wilderness, they became immediately impatient, depressed, and very discouraged, and started to speak out against God.

When the Lord sent fiery, burning serpents among the people that bit them and killed many of them, suddenly they were prepared to acknowledge their sin. They asked Moses to ask God to deliver them from the serpents and the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery bronze serpent and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” Moses did as God commanded and the Bible tells us that when the people who had been bitten looked to the serpent of bronze with an expectation of God’s mercy and His healing and delivering power, they were healed and they lived! Obviously if someone did not believe God’s Word through Moses and they did not expect to be healed, they would not look at the bronze serpent and they would not live. The Amplified Bible says that those who lived looked at the bronze serpent “attentively, expectantly, and with a steady and absorbing gaze.” Because they expected to receive, they did. If you expect to receive God’s promise—you will receive exactly what you expected!

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 AMP

Fear does not come from God. God is the author of love and of faith, which go hand in hand. The Bible says that God has given us a spirit of love. There is no fear in love.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:14-18 NIV

We know and rely on the love God has for us. As we live in God and He lives in us, His love is made complete in us. Perfect love casts out fear. The more we become aware of how much God loves us, the less we fear punishment and death. If we don’t fear death, if we don’t fear God, if we don’t fear His wrath, then what else is there to fear? When we are confident in God’s love, we are also confident in His hand upon us—His hand of protection and provision. We have nothing to fear from man or beast, because we know—we have a revelation—that God is on our side at all times and in all things. We can go forward confidently—fearing nothing and no one!

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 NKJV

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

But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrews 10:38-39 NIV

Faith pleases God—fear does not! God is not pleased with the fearful, faithless person. Those who have no faith cannot be His, because the only way to come to God is to come in faith. If you are His, it is because you have faith in Him. God wants you to know Him—His nature and His character—that He IS and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It pleases God when you have faith in Him and when you press in to Him—believing that He is a rewarder. The whole foundation of your relationship with God is founded on faith in Him, confidence in His Word, and an expectation of receiving the rewards He has promised.

The righteous live by faith! The righteous are righteous because of their faith! They have met God; they know God; they have come to know His nature and His character; they know how much He loves them; they know how much He has done for them and how much He has promised to do for Him. They have the absolute confidence in their Heavenly Father that a young child has in their loving, caring, earthly father. Our Heavenly Father wants us to know how kind and loving He is. Anyone who believes otherwise does not know Him and, therefore, is not one of His children.

Those who shrink back in fear do so because they have no faith in God and no knowledge of Who He is. God is not pleased with those who shrink back in fear, but He is pleased with those who believe, because it is this very belief that is your salvation.

In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). Ephesians 3:12 AMP

Because of Jesus; because He loves you; because of what He has done for you; because you trust Him; you have no reason to be afraid of the Father. It is the Father Who sent the Son to die and be raised up again to bring you and me into a relationship with Him. He initiated the relationship and the fellowship. He is the One Who desires to bless us. Because of Jesus, when you come into God’s presence to speak to Him, you do not expect Him to punish you, but you expect Him to receive you, hear you, answer you, and bless you. The more you know of God’s love for you, the more confident you become in that love and the more confident you become in your everyday life.

Fear has no place in your life. Because you have faith in God, your Father, you have confidence to go forth and do His will and live your life in faith and in peace!

For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and  seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit. 6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. 7[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. 8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. Romans 8:5-8 AMP

There is a mind of the flesh – the carnal mind – and a mind of the Spirit. The carnal mind caters to the appetites and impulses of the carnal nature. The mind of the flesh – with its carnal thoughts and purposes – is hostile to God. It does not, and cannot, submit itself to God’s Law.  Those who live the life of the flesh are not acceptable to the Lord. Those who are controlled by the unholy desires of the flesh are always focused on what their flesh wants, not on what is right or correct. The flesh, by itself, tends only to sin, not to righteousness, because of the sin nature that is in the flesh. The carnal mind is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit and is under the influence of the god of this world – Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4) – who would like nothing more than to utterly destroy your life. Those who yield to the flesh and the carnal mind end up with death and destruction.

Contrary to secular humanistic thinking, children left to their own devices, will not make the right choices. They will primarily lean toward sin and selfishness. If they are going to walk in righteousness they need a brand new nature and they need instruction in righteousness. They need the mind of the Holy Spirit, which is life and peace.

For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. 19 For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. 20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], 21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].  Romans 1:18-22 AMP

And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, 29 Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, 30 Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. 31[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless. 32 Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.  Romans 1:28-32 AMP

When you know the right thing to do and you do wrong – you develop a reprobate mind. You have deliberately chosen sin as a way of life and you now call what is wrong and bad, right and good, and what is right and good, wrong and bad. You will not see the truth and so you live a lie. You are self-deceived. You will have no excuse when you stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, and still you are not motivated to change or to find God’s will for your life before it is too late. People who think that what they are doing is acceptable will not be motivated to change no matter what. The devil loves to bring people to this place of deception so that he can take them to a lost eternity. God wants you to know the truth about yourself – even if it hurts at the time – so that you can receive the truth, act on the truth, and be spared eternal torment.
 
The only way to enjoy God’s eternal life, here on earth and in the world to come, is to yield yourself – your Spirit, your soul and your body – to the Holy Spirit and not to the flesh and the devil. Don’t follow the world, don’t walk like them, talk like them or act like them. Allow the truth of the word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit to penetrate your mind and heart so that you will be transformed into the image of Christ.

Better is he who is lightly esteemed but works for his own support than he who assumes honor for himself and lacks bread. Proverbs 12:9 AMP

There are people who place a higher value on appearance than on reality. They are both arrogant and ignorant. God says that it is better to have a job, and to work, and be able to support yourself and your family, even though people may not think much of you, than to act more important than you are and be hungry. There are people who don’t work, but they give themselves titles and act super-spiritual and demandingly expect others to meet their needs. This is unscriptural and ungodly and just plain wrong! All through God’s word, He places an emphasis on attending to your own responsibilities. Stay out of other people’s business and mind your own business.

For while we were yet with you, we gave you this rule and charge: If anyone will not work, neither let him eat. 11 Indeed, we hear that some among you are disorderly [that they are passing their lives in idleness, neglectful of duty], being busy with other people’s affairs instead of their own and doing no work. 12 Now we charge and exhort such persons [as ministers in Him exhorting those] in the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) that they work in quietness and earn their own food and other necessities. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 AMP

God tells us to be willing to help those who really need it, but He does not expect us to enable moochers! If people are in a difficult position because of circumstances beyond their control, we can and should help them as we are able, but if someone is lacking because they are too proud or too lazy to work, then they need to go hungry until they get up and work! Don’t feel that it is your responsibility to help a lazy moocher. They need to learn the lesson that you reap what you sow and if you won’t work, you won’t eat either. Encourage them to work and earn their own food and necessities.

He who tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits is lacking in sense and is without understanding. Proverbs 12:11 AMP

He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough. 20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich [at any cost] shall not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:19-20 AMP

Your work will be rewarded by your needs being met, but you are not very smart if you put all your efforts into things that do not produce. If you waste your time and efforts on the pie in the sky, you will be poor.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise!–7 Which, having no chief, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest. 9 How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down and sleep–11 So will your poverty come like a robber or one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless]. Proverbs 6:6-11 AMP

Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger. Proverbs 19:15 AMP

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread. Proverbs 20:13 AMP

It is not hard to be poor – all you need to do is……..nothing!

He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame. Proverbs 10:4-5 AMP

The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold. Proverbs 21:25-26 AMP

Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Ephesians 4:28 AMP

Lazy people, and people who do a sloppy job, will definitely be poor. Lazy people and thieves covet what others have, but righteous people work, earn a living, and have enough to give to others.

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and look well to your herds; 24 For riches are not forever; does a crown endure to all generations? 25 When the hay is gone, the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountain are gathered in, 26 The lambs will be for your clothing, and the goats [will furnish you] the price of a field. 27 And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your maids. Proverbs 27:23-27 AMP

Even when you have worked and experienced some prosperity, don’t get lazy. Be diligent and pay attention to your affairs so that you may continue to prosper.

For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren. 30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being]. Romans 8:29-30 AMP

But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot. 20 It is true that He was chosen and foreordained (destined and foreknown for it) before the foundation of the world, but He was brought out to public view (made manifest) in these last days (at the end of the times) for the sake of you. 1 Peter 1:19-20 AMP

God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere). Even before He created the heavens and the earth He knew everything that would take place on the earth and He also knew and loved every person who would ever be born. Before the foundation of the earth, He planned that, at an appointed time, His Son, Jesus, would be born, be crucified, and be raised from the dead to purchase man back from the clutches of death and hell – a redemption that would be eternally secure. Never again could the devil steal the souls of men as he did in the Garden of Eden. Every person who ever has, or is, or ever will live on this earth, has been foreordained, by God, to be purchased with the precious blood of Christ – molded into the image of His Son, justified, and glorified.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 KJV

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 KJV

Some people have erroneously believed that only certain people are foreordained by God to be saved, but the Word of God reveals the truth that God’s will is that all men would be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth and that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance! If God could have His own way, every person on earth would belong to Him and be His very own precious child. Unfortunately, the devil is working against God and His special creation – man – to try to keep people in bondage to death and hell. Every person on earth has the freedom of choice to choose righteousness or unrighteousness, heaven or hell, and God will not interfere with that choice, except to do everything He can to let them know that they have the option to choose life rather than death.

Ephesians 1:3-12 (AMP paraphrased) says that, because He loved us, Father God chose us and picked us out for Himself as His own, in Christ, before the foundation of the world so that we should be holy, consecrated, set apart for Him, blameless in His sight, and above reproach before Him. In His love, He foreordained us, destined us, and planned for us to be adopted and revealed as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will, because it pleased Him and was His kind intent. In Him we have redemption, through His blood and the forgiveness of our offenses, in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor, which He lavished upon us. In Christ, God not only inherited us, but He also gave us an inheritance. God works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His own will. We have been foreordained, chosen, and appointed beforehand, in accordance with His purpose, so that we, who first hoped in Christ and put our confidence in Him, have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory!

For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. Ephesians 2:10 AMP

God formed and fashioned you – recreated you in Christ Jesus – to do the good works that He planned beforehand and to take paths that He prepared ahead of time and walk in them, living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for you to live! Since He has already planned and destined, chosen and appointed beforehand, for you to life this wonderful life, live it – for the praise of His glory! This is the way He sees you: holy, consecrated, set apart for Him, blameless in His sight and above reproach before Him, adopted and revealed as His own children, redeemed, forgiven, inherited by Him and given an inheritance, justified, molded into the image of His Son, and glorified. It’s yours – take it and live it!

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.  1 Peter 3:7 KJV

In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God’s unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.]  1 Peter 3:7 AMP

God gives specific instructions to husbands and wives that, if obeyed and followed, would lead to a long, happy, and prosperous union. The biggest hindrance to any relationship is an attitude of rebellion against God’s word, an attitude of selfishness, and a tendency to see the splinter in one’s partner’s eyes whilst ignoring the log in one’s own eye (Matthew 7:3). The only person you can change is you! It would be especially useful to remember this before you take the plunge and enter into a marriage covenant with someone with whom you think needs some improvement.

Marriage is not a competition. Neither is it an opportunity to control or manipulate another person. It is not an occasion for one-upmanship. The bottom line is that you can either win – or you can be happy! You have to realize that on the day you said, “I do!” you became teammates on the same team – not opponents on different teams. If you want to win in life, you have to protect the unity of the team. We only win as individuals when we win as a team!

Today, we are speaking specifically to husbands. Many husbands get married thinking that they are going to automatically be the boss and that their wives will just have to submit and do whatever they say. In fact, many of them remind their wives to submit to them on a regular basis, without realizing that they have given her nothing to submit to! Men need to understand that they have a responsibility to love and appreciate their wives. When you were dating, you did not take her for granted – you were trying to impress her. Don’t stop nurturing your relationship just because you are married!

Husbands, love your wives [be affectionate and sympathetic with them] and do not be harsh or bitter or resentful toward them.  Colossians 3:19 AMP

Recognize your differences and appreciate them. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally different from men and this is not a bad thing. We all have our place and function in this world. Men and women were designed to complete one another not compete with one another. It is very important that husbands realize that their wives are physically weaker. This is not an opportunity or a reason for the man to dominate his wife, but rather for him to make sure to protect her and be considerate and gentle with her. Even though you are different in the flesh, you are equal in the Spirit. God does not consider only the outside and therefore treat you differently from each other, but He looks on the heart, sees everyone the same, and treats you the same. In the Spirit the same rules apply to men and to women. On the outside, women may be different from men, but they are definitely not inferior in God’s eyes. Men and women – we all have value.  

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, 27 That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things [that she might be holy and faultless]. 28 Even so husbands should love their wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 29 For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, 30 Because we are members (parts) of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ and the church. 33 However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly].  Ephesians 5:25-33 AMP

Husbands love your wives in the same way that Christ loves the church; love her unselfishly; prefer her above yourself; protect her; be prepared to give your life for her; love her like you love yourself; nourish, carefully protect and cherish her; leave your parents physically and emotionally and be permanently joined to your wife; put her needs above your own; learn what she needs; learn what’s important to her; you may never totally understand her, but love and accept her for the unique creation that she is; appreciate her; find out what her love language is; demonstrate your love for her in the way she understands love; be patient; be affectionate; be verbally positive and encouraging; don’t tear her down with your mouth; never harm her physically or emotionally; spend time communicating with her; care about what she cares about; help her in the house and with the kids; bring her gifts on a regular basis (they don’t have to always be huge or expensive gifts, they just need to be thoughtful); take her to dinner; buy her flowers, and dresses, and perfume; kiss her often; hug her; tell her you love her every day.  

Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.   Romans 8:1 AMP

There is no condemnation – no guilt – for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They are totally forgiven and the record of their sin has been completely wiped out by the blood of Jesus. Jesus bore the punishment of their sin. They are acquitted of any wrongdoing in the high Court of Heaven. There is no more accusation that can legally be brought against them.

Revelations 12:10 says that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. He is also a liar. He does not want you be forgiven or to receive God’s forgiveness. He wants you to be condemned to hell for your sin and if he can’t keep you from being washed in the blood of Jesus, he will try to keep you from the presence of God through guilt and condemnation. He wants you to remain in bondage to sin and guilt. He brings accusation and condemnation and tries to make you think that it is God Who feels that way about you.

However, the Word of God says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit certainly do not accuse the blood-washed Christian. John 3:17 AMP says that, “God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.” Jesus has no desire to condemn you to hell at all – that’s why He was born and that’s why He died – to love you, to accept you, and to save you from death and hell.

Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?  Romans 8:34 AMP

Jesus is at the right hand of God right now interceding for you, standing in the gap for you, asking – pleading – for mercy for you. There is no way He would be condemning you at the same time.

For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.  Romans 8:2 AMP

There are physical laws and spiritual laws. On the earth, there is the law of gravity and the law of lift. Even if you said that you didn’t believe in gravity and jumped off a building to prove it, you would still fall all the way down until the ground suddenly stopped your descent! The law of gravity worked on you. However, there is a law that transcends the law of gravity and that is the law of lift. If you climb into an airplane and start the engines and go fast enough, you will take off and fly through the air. In this case the law of lift transcends and overrides the law of gravity. Only if you run out of gas or if something goes wrong with the plane, that compromises the law of lift, will the law of law of gravity then take over, once again, and the airplane will make sudden and unfortunate contact with the ground.

In the same way, the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus transcends and overrides the law of sin and of death. The law of sin and death is in operation on the earth. However, Jesus holds the keys to death and hell and the law of the Spirit of life overrides the law of sin and death in the lives of all those who believe in Jesus and have received His eternal life and who obey His commandments.  

But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].  Romans 8:10 AMP

When Jesus lives in you, even though your body has the law of death at work in it, the law of life is operating in your spirit and your spirit is alive. Your spirit will never die, never be separated from the presence of God. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and you have eternal life living and working in your spirit right now.

Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.  2 Corinthians 4:16 AMP

Come join Evangelist Rodney Howard Brown this week and be a part of this explosive move of the Holy Spirit as we light fires at the Tabernáculo Internacional Church beginning Friday December 5, 2008 through Friday December 12, 2008. God wants to touch you too!

Saints from around the world will join Rodney Howard Browne at this powerful crusade.

Revival Ministries International is a ministry that crosses denominational boundaries and geographical borders to fulfill what the Lord has called it to do, to stir up the Church, telling her to get ready for the coming revival.

Rodney Howard Browne and his ministry team, under the banner of Revival Ministries International, travel about 46 weeks of the year, holding weekly meetings in cities across North America and around the world. They also pastor a church in Tampa, Florida, The River at Tampa Bay, which he founded and which now has 3000 members.

What is The Great Awakening Tour?The Great Awakening Tour is not just another Christian Conference.  This is a radical campaign to REACH a radical generation—to impact your community with the life-changing message of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many precious people have been praying for God to touch your city and this nation. We believe that The Great Awakening Tour is an ANSWER to those prayers. Only Jesus can bring peace and forgiveness and change a life, a family, a neighborhood, a city, and a nation! Don’t miss out. Register today and may God richly bless you.

Revival Ministries International is a ministry that crosses denominational boundaries and geographical borders to fulfill what the Lord has called it to do, to stir up the Church, telling her to get ready for the coming revival.

Rodney and Adonica, and their ministry team, under the banner of Revival Ministries International, travel about 46 weeks of the year, holding weekly meetings in cities across North America and around the world. They also pastor a church in Tampa, Florida, The River at Tampa Bay, which they founded on December 1, 1996 and which now has 3000 members.

2390 South Military Trail
West Palm Beach, Florida 33415
United States
(561) 966-7900

The G.A.T. Pre-Crusade Power Evangelism started last Saturday. Thousands have already responded to the saving message of Christ!

The Holy Ghost and Fire Meetings start this Friday Dec 5th – Friday December 12th. Please, come and be a part of December’s G.A.T. What a GREAT way to close out the year

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. 8 He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love.  1 John 4:7-8 AMP

God wants us to come to know Him more and more clearly. He knows that we can only come to know Him better as we allow Him to do a work IN us and He really wants to do His work in us! The process is that we come progressively to know Him by observation and experience as we press in to His word and His Holy Spirit. We get an ever-clearer knowledge of Him as we submit ourselves to His will and His life and nature are displayed through us. The more we yield ourselves to Him, the more usable and useful we become to Him. The evidence in your life that you know God and that you are coming to know Him even more is in your love walk. If you walk in love toward your fellow man and woman, you demonstrate that you are indeed acquainted with God.

In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. 12 No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!  1 John 4:9-12 AMP

The essence of love is this: not that we loved God first, but that God loved us first and sent Jesus – His only begotten, unique Son – to die for us long before we met Him, long before we ever even came into the world. For all that God has done for us and loved us so greatly, we owe it to Him to walk in love to other people. Even though no one on the earth has actually seen God, they can see Him in us when we walk in the love of God.

By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit. 14 And [besides] we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated) and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son [as the] Savior of the world. 15 Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God. 16 And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.  1 John 4:13-16 AMP

We know that God loves us because He tells us in His word that He does and He also demonstrated it by sending Jesus to die for us. When we have faith in that love, we walk in the blessings of that love and God, Himself, comes to make his permanent dwelling in us!

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].  1 John 4:17-18 AMP

Because we know how much the Father loves us, we have an expectation that we will be able to stand confidently before Him on the Day of Judgment with no fear of punishment. The more our love walk matures, the more confident we are of God’s loving acceptance toward us and that He will hear and answer our prayers. When we need to ask Him for something, He will accept us and receive us.

We love Him, because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detests, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen. 21 And this command (charge, order, injunction) we have from Him: that he who loves God shall love his brother [believer] also.  1 John 4:19-21 AMP

When we know that God loves us then we can reach out and love others. So many Christians are fighting with their brothers and sisters in the Lord, rather than loving them. They say that they love God, but by their actions, they demonstrate that they do not. When we are yielded to God’s will, we will obey Him in everything. If He says, “Love your neighbor,” then we should take it to heart and do exactly that. This is not optional – it is a command. If we don’t love our neighbor then we don’t love God. If we love our neighbor, then we do love God.

Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? 14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? 16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros–a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra–a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. 20 Then He sternly and strictly charged and warned the disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 From that time forth Jesus began [clearly] to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the high priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised from death. 22 Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You! 23 But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.  Matthew 16:13-23 AMP

Jesus was Who He was – the Son of God, born to die as a sacrifice for the sins of every man – and He could not and would not deny it. He could not deny that He was the Son of God just because some people were offended by it, but He did not go around announcing it either. Privately, He asked His disciples who they thought He was and Peter, always quick to speak and reveal what was on his mind, replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus acknowledged Peter’s answer with a blessing – he was blessed because he had heard from heaven. No person showed him that Jesus was the Christ – it was revealed to him by the Father Himself. Every one of us must receive revelation and direction from heaven concerning the things of God. You cannot just listen to what other people have to say and blindly follow them – they might be very wrong. When the blind lead the blind, they both fall into the ditch (Matthew 15:14). Read God’s word for yourself and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you. Judge every situation according to your own born-again spirit and not your head.

Romans 8:6-7 AMP says, “Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. 7[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.” Your carnal mind – the mind of the flesh – tries to reason and make sense of things without the Holy Spirit and fails hopelessly. If you follow your carnal mind it will result in death – spiritual death, premature physical death, and finally, eternal death. This is because the mind of the flesh cannot and does not submit itself to God’s Law. On the other hand, the mind that is yielded to the Holy Spirit results in life and peace, now and forever.

Do you know that it is possible to yield to the Holy Spirit one minute and then to the devil the next? Peter found out the hard way. Jesus knew very clearly what His purpose was and even how He would suffer and die. When He shared it with the disciples, Peter pulled Him aside and rebuked Him. Peter did not want Jesus to die and Jesus, in Himself, did not want to die a painful death either, but He had committed Himself to the will of the Father. When Peter rebuked Him, he was not speaking the will of God over Jesus’ life. It was a voice from hell trying to talk Jesus out of His mission. So Jesus turned away from Peter and addressed the devil. He said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.”

Be very careful that you do not yield yourself to the devil, to be used by him. The devil is always going to try to speak to you and drop little thoughts into your head that are contrary to the will and the word of God. Do not receive these thoughts and suggestions and definitely do not speak them out and do them! Be yielded only to the Holy Spirit. Do and say only what He says to you. How do you know the difference? You must spend time reading and absorbing the word of God, spend time praying in the Holy Ghost, and spend time in God’s presence in worship. Lay aside your preconceived ideas, let your mind become still and listen to your own spirit – that is where the Holy Spirit will speak to you – and then you will be more yielded to the Lord and not the devil in your thoughts, speech and actions and your life will bring glory to God.