Keep Hearing The Good News

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

Keep Hearing The Good News

Let me share with you what hearing and hearing the good news of the gospel did for one student in my congregation.

This student had done badly in her mid-year examination, failing three core subjects. Her parents then started playing my messages in their home and car as often as they could. As this girl listened repeatedly to the messages, her parents shared with me that they noticed a dramatic change in her attitude toward her studies. She started to place her hope and reliance on God, and peace began to replace the stress of school.

Six months later, in her final-year examination, to her delight (and that of her parents), she scored really well in those core subjects and received two awards: one for being among the top students in class and another for having made the best progress!

Beloved, whatever your challenge is today, continual listening to the gospel of Jesus always brings faith and peace, and always leads you to good success!

Far Above Every Negative Thing

He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Ephesians 1:20–21

Far Above Every Negative Thing

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God does not measure and judge you based on your performance today? Instead, He looks at Jesus, and as Jesus is, that is how He sees you. His Word declares that “as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).

Notice that it does not say that “as Jesus was on earth, so are we in this world.” That would be amazing enough because during Jesus’ ministry on earth, healing, blessings and abundance followed Him everywhere He went. Yet, that is not what the Word says. What it says is, “as Jesus is” (present tense). In other words, as He is right now, so are we in this world!

So just consider where Jesus is today. Right now, He is seated at the Father’s right hand, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” If I were you, I would take some time to meditate on this passage because as Jesus is, so are you right now, in this world. Meditate on how as Jesus is “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,” so are you! See yourself as Jesus is, far above every principality and power, far above every disease and physical condition, far above every kind of fear, depression and addiction, and begin to reign over every negative situation in your life today!

Be The Blessed Man

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7–8

Who wouldn’t want to be the blessed man described in Jeremiah 17?

In both good and bad times, the blessed man thrives and reigns. He is like a tree planted by the waters, with its roots spread out by the river. When the heat is on—when the competition heats up or when there is a financial drought—he doesn’t fear or worry. His “leaves” remain green, in other words, he stays young and fresh. And he continues to be fruitful—always succeeding and seeing the desired results, whether in his business, career, family life or ministry!

How do you enjoy the blessings of the blessed man? You look not to man but to Jesus alone. Looking to Jesus is to meditate on His Word, His unmerited favor and His gift of righteousness. Begin to truly put your trust and hope in Jesus, instead of in your own strength or other people. Then, get ready to thrive and be bountifully fruitful whether times are good or bad!

Not Your Love But His Love

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:10

The sum total of the law is to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind (Matthew 22:37–40). But let me ask you this: Has anybody ever been able to love the Lord with all his heart, all his soul andall his mind and?

The answer is obvious. Not a single person has been able to do that. And God knew all the while that under the law, no one could love Him that perfectly. So do you know what He did? He sent His Son Jesus. When He did that, He was effectively saying this to us: “I know that you can’t love Me perfectly, so watch Me now. I will love you with all My heart, all My soul, all My mind and all My strength.” And He stretched His arms wide and died for us!

My friend, take time to get this into your heart today: The cross is not a demonstration of our perfect love and devotion to God. The cross is God’s demonstration of His perfect love and His perfect grace (unmerited favor) toward us. Let me give you the Bible’s definition of love to make this even clearer for you: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” That’s the emphasis of the new covenant of grace (unmerited favor)—His love for us, not our love for Him. And when we focus on His love for us, we end up loving Him and others effortlessly!

Let The Holy Spirit Intercede For You

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

Romans 8:26–28, NLT

Sometimes, when our healing is not forthcoming, we just don’t know what else to pray. We’ve prayed from every angle we know how, using all the scriptures we know of, and yet, there doesn’t seem to be any breakthroughs.

I want you to know that God has given us a weapon that will break down every barrier. It’s praying in tongues. When you don’t know what to pray, pray in the Holy Spirit and allow Him to intercede for you. He knows exactly what the problem is and what the best solution is. He will not just plead for you in harmony with God’s will, but He will also rest your weary soul (Isaiah 28:11–12)!

My friend, allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for you, and see God cause everything to work together for the good of your body and health

The Prince Of Peace Is With You

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

Panic filled the storm-tossed boat as icy water crashed in. Within minutes, the disciples were screaming over the howling winds, “Jesus, don’t you care? We’re drowning!”

Sound asleep in the boat, the Prince of Peace awoke and rose to His feet at the cry of His disciples. Unfazed by the wind and waves, He pointed to the storm and said, “Peace, be still!” Immediately, the turbulent waters became as smooth as glass.

Beloved, if you’re grappling with a challenging situation right now, take heart. The Prince of Peace resides in you. No matter how bad the storm is, you are NOT going under, but going OVER to the other side safely!

When you feel overwhelmed, just cry out to Him. Feed on how He is your peace. Meditate on how He is with you and for you. His peace will flood your heart and bring peace to every stormy situation in your life.

Obey All Commands

Deuteronomy 8

1“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.

2Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

3Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

4For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell.

5Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.

6“So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.

7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills.

8It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey.

9It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.

10When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

11“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

12For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!

14Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

15Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!

16He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.

17He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’

18Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfil the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.