Before you read this post, I would suggest you grab your Bible and read 1 Cor 11: 23-31 to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying about taking Communion and examining yourself before you take the Elements, for verse 27 says " therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord". Now I will share the revelation that the Holy Spirit shared with me concerning this subject........
As important as the Blood of Jesus is because it paid the price for our sin, I want to share with you about Jesus' body that was broken for you. To rightly discern Jesus' body is to recognize and see that those stripes that were laid on His body paid the price for my (and your) healing. (Isa 53:4-5 & 1 Pet 2:24). Rightly discerning those stripes leads to the understanding that healing for man's physical body is a finished work, there is nothing else that Jesus has to do for you or me to be healed. He's already paid the price for the healing of your body just like He has already paid the price for your sin. All I must do to be healed now is to receive my healing by faith in those stripes.
Next, I must judge my body according to what I have discerned from Jesus' body. When I look at my body and I see sickness there, then I am responsible to make a judgment concerning it's (the sickness's) right to be there. Therefore as I judge, I determine that if Jesus has already paid the price for my body to be healed, then this sickness is trespassing on my body and I judge that it has no right to be there, therefore I exercise the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:2) by resisting the sickness and commanding it to leave my body in Jesus Name. I am responsible to make this judgment then carry out the action necessary to fulfill the judgment. I pass sentence on that sickness by commanding it to leave my body and I enforce the sentence by holding firm in my faith as I look at those stripes on Jesus back and continue to look at the Word of God which declares to me from Genesis to Revelation that my God has provided healing for my body. As I look at these things, I know I have judged my body correctly by believing that my body should be healed and not sick. Sickness has no right to be on my body, therefore I judge that accordingly and command it to get off my body.
I now proclaim the truth of this judgment by praising God and declaring with my mouth, "that by His stripes I was healed, therefore I am", then I hold on to this verdict by faith until I see the sentence carried out. I must enforce this judgment and sentence until I see the finished work of healing that has already been done in Jesus' body and now is being done in my body.
If I'll do this, then I'll not be judged by God as one who has not enforced His judgment upon His enemy satan, but if I don't do this then I leave myself open to sickness, disease, and pain that will surely come and remain if the proper judgment is not made against it. God will judge me as one who has heard His Word, but chooses not to do it. Therefore because of my choice, the ruling that comes from God in His judgment of me is guilty of not enforcing His Word, and the result of that judgment is that sickness and disease will remain in my body as a trespasser because I refuse to run it out. If I do it God's way then I'll get God's results which is, I'll not be weak, sickly, or die prematurely (1 Cor 11:30).
Here in lies the truth of Communion. God wants us to take Communion often, so that we will rightly discern the body and blood of Jesus so that we can walk free from sin, sickness, disease, and pain. The next time you take Communion, judge yourself according to what God has revealed to us today, then walk free from whatever the enemy is holding against you. God has made the way for you to be free, the choice is all yours.
So let me close with this summary and try to smooth this out: Jesus' body was broken by the stripes that were laid upon Him so that your body could be whole. When you take communion, you rightly discern and judge those stripes on Jesus' body as full payment for your body to be whole (strong, healthy, nothing missing, nothing broken, fully complete). Next you examine your body to ensure that it is whole. If not (if sickness, disease, pain is present), you judge that sickness as a trespasser. You take authority over it and command it to leave, for it has no right to be there. Now you take the bread, which is the broken body of Christ for you, and you thank God for your healing, then you take and eat believing in your heart that you are healed because of those stripes. Then don't you let go of that thought, and hold fast to your faith until the manifestation of that healing comes to pass. Having done all to stand, just stand!! God is faithful and He will watch over His Word to perform it!!
Be Blessed and Be Whole
Friday, November 6, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
What Light Do You Read By?
Ps 119:105 declares this truth, "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my Path".
When you receive a bad report, (now you notice I didn't say IF you receive a bad report, I said WHEN you receive a bad report, because Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world YOU WILL HAVE tribulation", therefore you will so) what lamp do you turn on to see and read the bad report with? The God of the kingdom of this world's (2 Cor 4:4) lamp or the God of the Kingdom of Heaven's lamp?
The lamp you turn on determines what you will see. If you turn satan's lamp on, you will see death. But if you turn on Jesus' lamp you will see the Father and you will see life. What lamp that you choose to turn on will determine your outcome. Now I hope you notice here that "you" are the one who determines what lamp you are going to turn on. You have to understand that your flesh will reach for satan's lamp, but if your spirit has been born again (John 3:3), it will want to reach for Jesus' lamp. The lamp you reach out for will show you who is in command of your steps. Your flesh, or your spirit.
The light that shines forth from the lamp that you turn on, will determine what you see. If your flesh turns on satan's lamp then you will see what Prov 14:12 declares, "there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death", but if your spirit turns Jesus' light on then you will see John 10:10 where Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly". So, what lamp do you want to read this bad report by? What light do you want shining on the report you are reading, the one that leads to life or death?
Now the really good news here is that you get to choose which lamp you are going to turn on and read this report by. This is the way God has made it for man. He said in Deut 30:19, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live". Now just in case you are undecided after you hear God's options, He gives you a hint on what to choose. Actually, it is more than a hint, it's a loud cry, "Choose Life".
If you read the bad report by satan's lamp, fear will rise up and direct you to make decisions that will lead you to death. But if you read the bad report by Jesus' lamp, then faith will rise up and direct you to make decisions that lead to life. God has said His people shall live by faith(Heb 10:38) so again He is telling us what lamp to turn on to see the bad report.
So if you are looking at a doctor's report and it says, " we have done all we can for you and there is nothing else we can do for you", the light you are reading this report by will determine your outcome. Satan's lamp will declare, "you will surely die, for there is no hope for you", but Jesus' lamp will declare, "you shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord" (Ps 118:17).
Now, what light do you want shining on your report? Make the choice today to reach for Jesus' lamp and turn the light of God on and live. Not just live, but live more abundantly, that's Jesus' promise and you'll only see that promise come to pass when you turn Jesus' light on.
When you receive a bad report, (now you notice I didn't say IF you receive a bad report, I said WHEN you receive a bad report, because Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world YOU WILL HAVE tribulation", therefore you will so) what lamp do you turn on to see and read the bad report with? The God of the kingdom of this world's (2 Cor 4:4) lamp or the God of the Kingdom of Heaven's lamp?
The lamp you turn on determines what you will see. If you turn satan's lamp on, you will see death. But if you turn on Jesus' lamp you will see the Father and you will see life. What lamp that you choose to turn on will determine your outcome. Now I hope you notice here that "you" are the one who determines what lamp you are going to turn on. You have to understand that your flesh will reach for satan's lamp, but if your spirit has been born again (John 3:3), it will want to reach for Jesus' lamp. The lamp you reach out for will show you who is in command of your steps. Your flesh, or your spirit.
The light that shines forth from the lamp that you turn on, will determine what you see. If your flesh turns on satan's lamp then you will see what Prov 14:12 declares, "there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death", but if your spirit turns Jesus' light on then you will see John 10:10 where Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly". So, what lamp do you want to read this bad report by? What light do you want shining on the report you are reading, the one that leads to life or death?
Now the really good news here is that you get to choose which lamp you are going to turn on and read this report by. This is the way God has made it for man. He said in Deut 30:19, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live". Now just in case you are undecided after you hear God's options, He gives you a hint on what to choose. Actually, it is more than a hint, it's a loud cry, "Choose Life".
If you read the bad report by satan's lamp, fear will rise up and direct you to make decisions that will lead you to death. But if you read the bad report by Jesus' lamp, then faith will rise up and direct you to make decisions that lead to life. God has said His people shall live by faith(Heb 10:38) so again He is telling us what lamp to turn on to see the bad report.
So if you are looking at a doctor's report and it says, " we have done all we can for you and there is nothing else we can do for you", the light you are reading this report by will determine your outcome. Satan's lamp will declare, "you will surely die, for there is no hope for you", but Jesus' lamp will declare, "you shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord" (Ps 118:17).
Now, what light do you want shining on your report? Make the choice today to reach for Jesus' lamp and turn the light of God on and live. Not just live, but live more abundantly, that's Jesus' promise and you'll only see that promise come to pass when you turn Jesus' light on.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Who Do You Look Like?
I have to go beyond knowing (God's Word) to believing (God's Word). It's one thing to know something, but it's another thing to believe what you know. Here in lies the difference between receiving from God and not receiving. To step over from knowing to believing is the part that Jesus does in the born again believer's heart. Jesus is the One who will make a believer out of you.
(Look at Heb 12:2 then keep on looking at it until you believe it.) How will you know when you are a believer? When you act like one. What does a believer act like? He acts according to the Word. Whatever the word says, that is what he does, because he believes it. When you act according to the Word, you'll look just like the Word. Do you know what the Word looks like? It looks just like Jesus, for Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), therefore when you do the Word, you'll look just like Him and that is what He and the Father have wanted all along. So go and act like Him and let's you and me go and turn the world up side down, just like those who have gone before us. Let's go show the world what Jesus looks like!!
(Look at Heb 12:2 then keep on looking at it until you believe it.) How will you know when you are a believer? When you act like one. What does a believer act like? He acts according to the Word. Whatever the word says, that is what he does, because he believes it. When you act according to the Word, you'll look just like the Word. Do you know what the Word looks like? It looks just like Jesus, for Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), therefore when you do the Word, you'll look just like Him and that is what He and the Father have wanted all along. So go and act like Him and let's you and me go and turn the world up side down, just like those who have gone before us. Let's go show the world what Jesus looks like!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
My Hearts Desire Shared With You
I have just returned from South Africa and my heart is so filled with God and His purposes for man on the earth. God has captured my heart yet again in a new and fresh way. As I was before the Lord in prayer, a desire in my heart came forth and I want to share that with you, so that you might share with me and gain some understanding of what walking in close fellowship with the Lord will do to your heart. The following is what came forth out of my heart...........
" I not only want to live the rest of my life for You, I want to live it in the way that it pleases You the most. It's impossible to please God without faith, therefore You have declared "the just shall live by faith", for one purpose only, to bring pleasure to You. It is my hearts desire today to be one of Your children that brings pleasure to You in all I do and say. I want to be so consumed with You that there is room for nothing else. Take me Jesus to this place that my heart longs to be at. All I am is Yours Lord and that is the way I desire to live my life. Therefore what I do, We will do, for I choose to do nothing without You, therefore I choose this day to put my life into Your hands, and do with it as You please. But for me to say that I realize I must live my life at all times in a way that it is pleasing in Your sight, and the only way I can do that is to live by faith. Jesus help me with my journey of faith. I look to You, because You've already gone before me and shown me the way. There is no one who has pleased the Father with their life more than You. Help me live that same life before the Father. I long for it, it's my hearts desire. I will keep my eyes on You, Jesus for You said, "I am the Way,the Truth, and the Life". Who else would I follow for these things but You. Take me there Jesus, I am following You with all my heart. Take me to that pleasing place before the Father, the place of faith, where there is an aroma that comes up to the nostrils of God the Father and pleases Him. I desire to be that man today. I can't get there without You, so take me there, for I would have it no other way than me following You, for that is the Father's design for the life of the man He created, and I choose to be that man today. I am following You, Jesus. Let's go, I'm ready, and I'm bust'en at the seams."
This is the fellowship I long for with My heavenly Father and with my Savior Jesus. I've been walking with Them now for 30 years, and I'm hungrier now than I've ever been to live a life of faith that pleases God. I pray you have this same hearts desire, for this is why God made you. Come and join me on this journey, for there is plenty of room, because there are very few who choose to take it, but know that the Father is looking for the one that does. I pray He see you there..............Be Blessed!!!!
" I not only want to live the rest of my life for You, I want to live it in the way that it pleases You the most. It's impossible to please God without faith, therefore You have declared "the just shall live by faith", for one purpose only, to bring pleasure to You. It is my hearts desire today to be one of Your children that brings pleasure to You in all I do and say. I want to be so consumed with You that there is room for nothing else. Take me Jesus to this place that my heart longs to be at. All I am is Yours Lord and that is the way I desire to live my life. Therefore what I do, We will do, for I choose to do nothing without You, therefore I choose this day to put my life into Your hands, and do with it as You please. But for me to say that I realize I must live my life at all times in a way that it is pleasing in Your sight, and the only way I can do that is to live by faith. Jesus help me with my journey of faith. I look to You, because You've already gone before me and shown me the way. There is no one who has pleased the Father with their life more than You. Help me live that same life before the Father. I long for it, it's my hearts desire. I will keep my eyes on You, Jesus for You said, "I am the Way,the Truth, and the Life". Who else would I follow for these things but You. Take me there Jesus, I am following You with all my heart. Take me to that pleasing place before the Father, the place of faith, where there is an aroma that comes up to the nostrils of God the Father and pleases Him. I desire to be that man today. I can't get there without You, so take me there, for I would have it no other way than me following You, for that is the Father's design for the life of the man He created, and I choose to be that man today. I am following You, Jesus. Let's go, I'm ready, and I'm bust'en at the seams."
This is the fellowship I long for with My heavenly Father and with my Savior Jesus. I've been walking with Them now for 30 years, and I'm hungrier now than I've ever been to live a life of faith that pleases God. I pray you have this same hearts desire, for this is why God made you. Come and join me on this journey, for there is plenty of room, because there are very few who choose to take it, but know that the Father is looking for the one that does. I pray He see you there..............Be Blessed!!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Mountain or Mole Hill? It's All In The Perspective
The mountain that stands before me may look big, but it is a small thing in God's sight. Therefore I need to look at the mountain through God's eyes ( spiritual eyes) rather than my eyes. How do you do that? You look at everything through the filter of God's word. Jesus said in John 6:63 "My words are spirit and they are (real) life. Look at something, then put the word of God over it and look at it again. You will see it now through God's eyes and that is the way God's children should live their lives. You will see it through God's perspective instead of yours and things look a whole lot different that way.
The more I look at God's word, the more I will renew my mind, and before long I will be thinking just like God thinks. If I think like God, then I'll see what He sees and things always look better from His vantage point.
If you see things the way God sees things then you'll do what Jesus said to do which is, "I assuredly say to you, whoever says to this mountain (now don't forget, you are looking at this mountain through God's eyes), Be removed and cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes those things he says will come to pass, HE WILL HAVE WHATEVER HE SAYS (because he will be saying what God says he has--the right to speak to the mountain in Jesus' Name)...Mark 11:23
2 Sam 7:19 says it all and puts the finishing touch on this word from God. It says to you and me,
"And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God.........."
What is the biggest mountain you are facing today? Now say, "this is a small thing in Your sight,
O' Lord", then blow the mountain away by speaking to it in Jesus' name. It has no choice but to move. (Oh yea, I forgot to tell you this one thing. You have to believe that it will move before it will. That's just the way faith works, but the good news is, IT WORKS!!)
You'll never look at a mountain the same way again. Be Blessed!!!!!!!!!
The more I look at God's word, the more I will renew my mind, and before long I will be thinking just like God thinks. If I think like God, then I'll see what He sees and things always look better from His vantage point.
If you see things the way God sees things then you'll do what Jesus said to do which is, "I assuredly say to you, whoever says to this mountain (now don't forget, you are looking at this mountain through God's eyes), Be removed and cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes those things he says will come to pass, HE WILL HAVE WHATEVER HE SAYS (because he will be saying what God says he has--the right to speak to the mountain in Jesus' Name)...Mark 11:23
2 Sam 7:19 says it all and puts the finishing touch on this word from God. It says to you and me,
"And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God.........."
What is the biggest mountain you are facing today? Now say, "this is a small thing in Your sight,
O' Lord", then blow the mountain away by speaking to it in Jesus' name. It has no choice but to move. (Oh yea, I forgot to tell you this one thing. You have to believe that it will move before it will. That's just the way faith works, but the good news is, IT WORKS!!)
You'll never look at a mountain the same way again. Be Blessed!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Religion or Fellowship, the Choice is Yours
Jesus went to the cross to get God's (the Father) man back to Him. However the devil has challenged and frustrated the recovery process each step of the way and one mighty weapon that the devil has used is Religion. The devil so likes religion for it has a form of God, but no power to it (2 Tim 3:5).
Man has bought into the lie of the devil and substituted religion for fellowship with God. Man was created to fellowship with his Maker. God desired to walk with him and talk with him. God created man for a place for His love, for that is who God is, Love. And man was the intended object of His love. Then satan deceived Adam and stole His man away from Him, and robbed God of the very fellowship He desired with His man.
But Jesus went to the cross and got His man back to the Father once again, and fellowship was once again restored between man and God. Now if we (man/woman) will walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), therefore we can walk hand in hand with God, which was God's original purpose for man.
But satan has introduced religion to man for the purpose of drawing man away from fellow shipping with God (that will probably rock a few boats in the theology harbor). Religion keeps man at a distance from God (the devil claims it will draw you closer). In religion you get a sense of God but you never know Him, because the only way that happens is by walking and talking with God, it's in fellowship with God that you get to know God. (Maybe now you'll understand Matt 7:21-23, especially verse 23). This (fellowship)is where God chooses to reveal Himself to man. He makes Himself known to man, and man is filled with the life of God, and then so chooses to live that way with his God.
There is no better place to be for a man than in living fellowship with God. But satan offers religion as a substitute for fellowship and the only thing man gains from religion is relationship (the legal right) with God and satan causes man to be satisfied with this, therefore he never seeks fellowship. There is no life that is produced in a man through relationship only. (You married folks already know this. The marriage license gives you legal right to be married (the relationship), but it's the fellowship of the married couple that produces life through that fellowship with one another, for this is where you truly get to know your mate).
Relationship is what opens the door to fellowship, where God is calling every man/woman to participate in, but most men stop at the door (relationship) and never continue on to fellowship and in this place (relationship) man is no threat to satan, and satan will continue his dominion over the man who stands in the doorway, but the man who moves from the doorway of relationship into fellowship with God will soon find out that the devil is under his feet and that he has dominion over the devil, and this is the truth the devil so desperately wants to hide from man, so he uses religion to get this accomplished.
Today is the day for you to break free of religion and come and walk and talk with God. When you get there, you'll find me there, and you'll not only have fellowship with the Father, but you'll have fellowship with me as well and I have come to find that I desire this fellowship as much as God does. (Why wouldn't I? His Spirit dwells within me. What He wants, I want).
Now the choice is yours. Turn loose of religion and turn towards God and join Him (and me) for fellowship. Get to really know Him. I'll see you there.
PS
The Lord just revealed this scripture to me today, which is a day after I posted the above message. It so fits into what God laid on my heart yesterday that I wanted to add it to the post today. The scripture comes out of my old Living Bible (not the new version) found in Ps 27:8 which says, "My heart has heard You (God) say, "Come and talk with Me, O' My people." And my heart responds, "Lord I am coming". That scripture so easily says what was on my heart when I wrote the above message. My prayer for you is that you join me in saying, "Lord I am coming."
Man has bought into the lie of the devil and substituted religion for fellowship with God. Man was created to fellowship with his Maker. God desired to walk with him and talk with him. God created man for a place for His love, for that is who God is, Love. And man was the intended object of His love. Then satan deceived Adam and stole His man away from Him, and robbed God of the very fellowship He desired with His man.
But Jesus went to the cross and got His man back to the Father once again, and fellowship was once again restored between man and God. Now if we (man/woman) will walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), therefore we can walk hand in hand with God, which was God's original purpose for man.
But satan has introduced religion to man for the purpose of drawing man away from fellow shipping with God (that will probably rock a few boats in the theology harbor). Religion keeps man at a distance from God (the devil claims it will draw you closer). In religion you get a sense of God but you never know Him, because the only way that happens is by walking and talking with God, it's in fellowship with God that you get to know God. (Maybe now you'll understand Matt 7:21-23, especially verse 23). This (fellowship)is where God chooses to reveal Himself to man. He makes Himself known to man, and man is filled with the life of God, and then so chooses to live that way with his God.
There is no better place to be for a man than in living fellowship with God. But satan offers religion as a substitute for fellowship and the only thing man gains from religion is relationship (the legal right) with God and satan causes man to be satisfied with this, therefore he never seeks fellowship. There is no life that is produced in a man through relationship only. (You married folks already know this. The marriage license gives you legal right to be married (the relationship), but it's the fellowship of the married couple that produces life through that fellowship with one another, for this is where you truly get to know your mate).
Relationship is what opens the door to fellowship, where God is calling every man/woman to participate in, but most men stop at the door (relationship) and never continue on to fellowship and in this place (relationship) man is no threat to satan, and satan will continue his dominion over the man who stands in the doorway, but the man who moves from the doorway of relationship into fellowship with God will soon find out that the devil is under his feet and that he has dominion over the devil, and this is the truth the devil so desperately wants to hide from man, so he uses religion to get this accomplished.
Today is the day for you to break free of religion and come and walk and talk with God. When you get there, you'll find me there, and you'll not only have fellowship with the Father, but you'll have fellowship with me as well and I have come to find that I desire this fellowship as much as God does. (Why wouldn't I? His Spirit dwells within me. What He wants, I want).
Now the choice is yours. Turn loose of religion and turn towards God and join Him (and me) for fellowship. Get to really know Him. I'll see you there.
PS
The Lord just revealed this scripture to me today, which is a day after I posted the above message. It so fits into what God laid on my heart yesterday that I wanted to add it to the post today. The scripture comes out of my old Living Bible (not the new version) found in Ps 27:8 which says, "My heart has heard You (God) say, "Come and talk with Me, O' My people." And my heart responds, "Lord I am coming". That scripture so easily says what was on my heart when I wrote the above message. My prayer for you is that you join me in saying, "Lord I am coming."
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Are You a Seeker of the Truth? Don't Ever Stop!
I've been led of God to share with you a letter I wrote to an individual that I know and respect very much. This person is seeking the truth about God and His Word, but is challenged by what they already know about God and their willingness to change their thoughts and move on to higher ground with God. There are many who read this blog site that find themselves in the same situation and that is why God wants you to see this. So read on.............
My letter begins;
I've been thinking about last Thursday evening and also about our phone conversation last night and I have asked God to help me explain to you where you find yourself when you are hearing things from other believers (like ----, -----, myself and others) that you don't understand or personally believe. I know it can be an awkward situation for you, but also it's an opportunity for you to grow in the Lord. The devil will do all he can to discourage you from learning more about your Lord, because he knows you will become a tougher opponent the more you learn and grow. He would rather you argue and challenge the messengers God puts before you and keep you right where you are at.
So God has put something on my heart for you that I'm going to share with you and I am believing that you will receive it in the right spirit so that it will be a help to you instead of a stumbling block. Here what the voice of the Lord is saying. I'll be writing by the influence of the Holy Spirit so receive the content of it from Him and not from me. I am just the messenger that God is using to get this information to you. Be Blessed!
When I (Terry) speak while I'm ministering to someone, I am speaking from a position of revelation that I have received from the Lord. (Ex: 1 Pet 2:24 "by His stripes you were healed". What you believe about that scripture and what I believe about it maybe very different because of the revelation, the light of the word, that has been exposed to me verses how much light you have received about that word. It's not that God favors me more than you, it's that I have dug deeper and made myself available to whatever truth God would share with me about it and when He did I received it as truth and just accepted it without fighting it by trying to make it conform to what I thought about it. When God finds an open heart, He pours out His Truth into it.)
Now, the position I am speaking from may be different from the position of understanding that the person I am ministering to is at. This was always the case when Jesus ministered to people when He walked this earth as a Man. The people that heard Jesus said such things as Mark 1:22 states, "and they were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes" (ministers of the word in a religious setting, what we call the church). Verse 27 says,"then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him".
Mark 4 gives another good example. This is when Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves in the middle of the storm. He first spoke to the storm (how does that make you feel?), then He spoke to His disciples in the boat with Him who were afraid they were going to die. Jesus says to them in Verse 40, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have NO faith? (would you be offended if Jesus asked you this same question? How about if Jesus asked you this same question through the mouth of another believer today. Jesus and the Father dwelling in the believer's heart, and that believer steps up and does and says what Jesus does and says, because Jesus is living His life through that believer who is submitted to Him and is directing his steps as well as his mouth, for Jesus is filling his mouth with His words and as the believer speaks he sounds just like Jesus, because that's who is doing the talking. Jesus is using the heart, the mouth and the voice of the believer who is standing there ministering in Jesus' Name, and now it's the Father and Jesus who dwells in the believer's heart that is doing the work.)
Now back to what Jesus said. "how is it that you have NO faith?" Verse 41 (of Mark 4), and they (the disciples, those who walked with Jesus and believed him to the level of their understanding) feared exceedingly and said to one another, "who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!".
When you fear something you don't understand you can become offended at what you see and hear, and you actually turn against it instead of receiving it. That for the most part is the condition of the church (the body of Christ) today. Jesus will be working in their midst through a believer that actually believes what Jesus has said to him through His Word and is willing to do it, willing to act just like Jesus, for he is doing nothing more than acting out the One who lives within him. And many are offended by the messenger, and therefore do not receive the Truth of the Word spoken, nor do they receive the promise of that word.
The man or women who is standing in the midst of Jesus, because they are standing in the presence of a believer who is declaring God's word by the leading of the Spirit that dwells within him, this man or woman has the same choice that every man or woman who has ever come into contact with God and His Glory has ever had and that choice is either to humble yourself and receive from the Lord by believing Him (which is "by faith") through the word that is being proclaimed before them through this believer, or be offended at the messenger and his message because it doesn't look and sound like the Jesus you have come to know through your previous religious training and understanding of Him. So you turn away from Jesus in anger and frustration by turning away and turning off from the believer who is standing before you speaking the very words of Jesus. And just as those same types of people kicked Jesus out of their midst because they were offended at Him, they will kick this believer out of their midst and will not receive what God was offering to them.
God will send His believing ones into the midst of His church (His body), to speak His Truth and to do His Word. Much of the Church responds the same way the Jews responded when Jesus was in their midst. Some believed and received, but many were offended and turned away from the very one who could save them (help them).
The question you must ask yourself today is, "which person do I choose to be?" Believe and receive, or be offended and not believe and therefore not receive.
Be careful not to strike out at the messenger when he says something that on the surface sounds offensive to you, for what you are feeling at that moment is that two edged sword, the word of God, cutting into you and doing what only the Word can do, and that is to make you a believer just like the believing one who brought the word to you.
I pray you hear the voice of God in this message and it's intended mission to penetrate your heart with the Truth. The choice is yours, that is always God's way. You are seeking for the Truth, and that is why God has used me this way and I'm glad He did.
Be Blessed,
Terry
My letter begins;
I've been thinking about last Thursday evening and also about our phone conversation last night and I have asked God to help me explain to you where you find yourself when you are hearing things from other believers (like ----, -----, myself and others) that you don't understand or personally believe. I know it can be an awkward situation for you, but also it's an opportunity for you to grow in the Lord. The devil will do all he can to discourage you from learning more about your Lord, because he knows you will become a tougher opponent the more you learn and grow. He would rather you argue and challenge the messengers God puts before you and keep you right where you are at.
So God has put something on my heart for you that I'm going to share with you and I am believing that you will receive it in the right spirit so that it will be a help to you instead of a stumbling block. Here what the voice of the Lord is saying. I'll be writing by the influence of the Holy Spirit so receive the content of it from Him and not from me. I am just the messenger that God is using to get this information to you. Be Blessed!
When I (Terry) speak while I'm ministering to someone, I am speaking from a position of revelation that I have received from the Lord. (Ex: 1 Pet 2:24 "by His stripes you were healed". What you believe about that scripture and what I believe about it maybe very different because of the revelation, the light of the word, that has been exposed to me verses how much light you have received about that word. It's not that God favors me more than you, it's that I have dug deeper and made myself available to whatever truth God would share with me about it and when He did I received it as truth and just accepted it without fighting it by trying to make it conform to what I thought about it. When God finds an open heart, He pours out His Truth into it.)
Now, the position I am speaking from may be different from the position of understanding that the person I am ministering to is at. This was always the case when Jesus ministered to people when He walked this earth as a Man. The people that heard Jesus said such things as Mark 1:22 states, "and they were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes" (ministers of the word in a religious setting, what we call the church). Verse 27 says,"then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him".
Mark 4 gives another good example. This is when Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves in the middle of the storm. He first spoke to the storm (how does that make you feel?), then He spoke to His disciples in the boat with Him who were afraid they were going to die. Jesus says to them in Verse 40, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have NO faith? (would you be offended if Jesus asked you this same question? How about if Jesus asked you this same question through the mouth of another believer today. Jesus and the Father dwelling in the believer's heart, and that believer steps up and does and says what Jesus does and says, because Jesus is living His life through that believer who is submitted to Him and is directing his steps as well as his mouth, for Jesus is filling his mouth with His words and as the believer speaks he sounds just like Jesus, because that's who is doing the talking. Jesus is using the heart, the mouth and the voice of the believer who is standing there ministering in Jesus' Name, and now it's the Father and Jesus who dwells in the believer's heart that is doing the work.)
Now back to what Jesus said. "how is it that you have NO faith?" Verse 41 (of Mark 4), and they (the disciples, those who walked with Jesus and believed him to the level of their understanding) feared exceedingly and said to one another, "who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!".
When you fear something you don't understand you can become offended at what you see and hear, and you actually turn against it instead of receiving it. That for the most part is the condition of the church (the body of Christ) today. Jesus will be working in their midst through a believer that actually believes what Jesus has said to him through His Word and is willing to do it, willing to act just like Jesus, for he is doing nothing more than acting out the One who lives within him. And many are offended by the messenger, and therefore do not receive the Truth of the Word spoken, nor do they receive the promise of that word.
The man or women who is standing in the midst of Jesus, because they are standing in the presence of a believer who is declaring God's word by the leading of the Spirit that dwells within him, this man or woman has the same choice that every man or woman who has ever come into contact with God and His Glory has ever had and that choice is either to humble yourself and receive from the Lord by believing Him (which is "by faith") through the word that is being proclaimed before them through this believer, or be offended at the messenger and his message because it doesn't look and sound like the Jesus you have come to know through your previous religious training and understanding of Him. So you turn away from Jesus in anger and frustration by turning away and turning off from the believer who is standing before you speaking the very words of Jesus. And just as those same types of people kicked Jesus out of their midst because they were offended at Him, they will kick this believer out of their midst and will not receive what God was offering to them.
God will send His believing ones into the midst of His church (His body), to speak His Truth and to do His Word. Much of the Church responds the same way the Jews responded when Jesus was in their midst. Some believed and received, but many were offended and turned away from the very one who could save them (help them).
The question you must ask yourself today is, "which person do I choose to be?" Believe and receive, or be offended and not believe and therefore not receive.
Be careful not to strike out at the messenger when he says something that on the surface sounds offensive to you, for what you are feeling at that moment is that two edged sword, the word of God, cutting into you and doing what only the Word can do, and that is to make you a believer just like the believing one who brought the word to you.
I pray you hear the voice of God in this message and it's intended mission to penetrate your heart with the Truth. The choice is yours, that is always God's way. You are seeking for the Truth, and that is why God has used me this way and I'm glad He did.
Be Blessed,
Terry
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