The Living Word

Easter is a most sacred time for Christians. Unlike Christmas, there is not often much media presence. There is usually only gift giving within the family. Many North Americans celebrate an extra couple of days off work or school and have special dinner with their families but do not understand the origins of the holiday. Many denominational Christians know the route answers as to Jesus death, burial and resurrection but do not possess any further knowledge.

 Certainly, I remember that when I was a child the main media showed Christian movies. Movies like The Robe, King of Kings, Ben Hur, later Jesus of Nazareth and the like were shown throughout the Easter weekend. My family were not Christians. I had some basic knowledge of God through Jehovah Witness studies and through Hollywood;s portrayal of Christians. I could not help but know there must be something more. I did not understand but I knew.

It was not until I was 22 years old that I understood the meaning of Easter. After embracing Christ as Saviour - the Holy days were no longer Holidays. The bunnies and frilly dresses did not even come into the picture except for being in the peripheral vision in church services.

I had been dead in trespasses and sins. I had been dead to God. I did not understand anything about God because I did not know Him. He was just a historical figure and maybe a distant caregiver. It was only after I was introduced to Him as my personal Saviour and dearest friend that I could understand that He died for my sin. He bore the beatings on His body for me. He was buried and rose from the dead triumphant over death, hell and the grave -  for me!

He took my place not because He had to - but because He delighted in me. He chose me. He chose to love me and was willing to give His life to purchase eternal life for me. I understood the words " I am the resurrection and the life" those words pierced my soul and do to this day. His resurrection is my resurrection. Because I was crucified with Christ, and was buried with Him, I too rose from the dead - alive to God - born again - born of the Spirit of the living God. Jesus spoke to Martha and Mary words of comfort - words of faith - words of hope:

John 11:²⁵Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

They did not understand. They perhaps thought - yes Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. They understood He could heal the sick and perform miracles. Who had ever known what was about to occur? When they rolled away the stone as Jesus had commanded and Jesus spoke to Lazarus to "come forth", it must have been pretty hard to believe until they saw his funeral clothed body position itself upright at the mouth of the cave. Only after they unwrapped him and saw him alive again did they believe - Jesus had raised the dead.

He could raise the dead because He was more powerful than death. He is life. Knowing Him is life - eternal life.

PRAYER

O LORD, I want to know you in a new dimension. Show yourself to me as the resurrection and the life. Teach me O Lord about the LIFE of Christ. Fill me fresh with your Holy Spirit. Take me beyond what I know in You. Amen.

Revelation 12:¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The weapons most noted in the book of Revelation are not the mighty scorpions or the beasts or the war horses. The most powerful weapons used are listed in the above scripture. The dragon that attacked the woman, the beasts that attacked the saints were defeated by weapons not made with human hands.

The BLOOD of the LAMB

The blood of the LAMB is the most powerful weapon that we have as a believer. A true Christian knows that only Jesus blood could cleanse him and make him Holy. Jesus blood poured out for us in His death on the cross made atonement for our sin. Jesus blood made atonement for our healing, deliverance, blessing. Every thing mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy 28 as a curse of the law has been atoned for - paid for - by Jesus shed blood on the cross.

Believing in the power of the blood gives us boldness to approach God`s throne of mercy but also boldness to declare to the devil and his demons - I am not my own. I have been bought with a price - the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This blood and the faith filled proclamation of this blood, scatters demons and sends them fleeing. They know that Jesus` blood sealed their fate to the lake of fire. They know that Jesus`blood opened the way for man to be restored back to God again. Jesus blood restores right fellowship with God. 

THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY

God`s faithfulness to us and His past faithfulness in giving us answers to prayer and victory are a remainder to the devil of his defeat. As we proclaim what God has done for us in the past, it rekindles faith in our own hearts and causes us to be thankful. As we begin to thank God for what He has done for us, praise will be a result. We can thank and praise God for victories of the past. Our words are like piercings that torment the devil. He can not stand to hear the glory of God. He can not stand to hear about his losses. When we brag on God, we announce the sure destiny of the devil. His fate is settled. He can not change it. 

AND THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO DEATH

Radical times call for radical faith. The early Christians - many of them were martyred for their faith. Extreme faith is the faith that holds onto God in spite of situations and maybe even because of them.

Luke 17:³³Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Choosing God and His Word and His way is an act of will. This is something we in the Western world have enjoyed as a freedom for about 1500 years. To we in North America, taking a stand for Jesus may mean that we do not partake of drugs or alcohol or engage in fornication. We may be mocked for this with words. There are countries right now in 2012 where people are beheaded because they refuse to renounce Christ. There are countries where Christians are hunted down and murdered just because they are Christians.I say this for two reasons; we must pray for them and give and care in any way that God allows us.They are part of the Body of Christ. We MUST care for them. They are part of us.

Also we must know that the same faith for Christ that lives in them - lives in us. Jesus Christ the Saviour and the LORD lives inside of us. He - Christ the Anointed one-lives on the inside of us. The only faith radical enough to stand is the faith of Jesus Christ Himself living on the inside of us. He lives in us - we must tap into that life and pray for strength and courage for whatever we may face.

PRAYER

LORD Thank you for the blood that covers me and keeps me and is a reminder to me of your victory over death and the hell and the grave. Thank you for my testimony. Thank you for all the times you have answered me, delivered me, healed me, helped me, provided for me... Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit - that Jesus Christ lives in me and by your grace live in me and through me. Let your priorities take priority. Be first and foremost. I give you all the glory. Amen.

Jesus used parables to teach the people because He spoke with such power their eyes were veiled to the truths He spoke because they did not fully recognize Him as the Messiah. He used ordinary things of their lives to teach them deep spiritual truths. He spoke about the parable of the sower. The sower soweth the WORD.

Mark 4:³Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

 ⁴And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

 ⁵And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

 ⁶But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

 ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

 ⁸And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

 ⁹And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 4:¹⁰And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

 ¹¹And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

 ¹²That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

 ¹³And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

 ¹⁴The sower soweth the word.

 ¹⁵And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

 ¹⁶And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

 ¹⁷And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

 ¹⁸And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

 ¹⁹And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

 ²⁰And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred fold.

TRUTHS TO KEEP FROM This parable.

1. Notice that the sower sowed the Word (verse 14) on all types of ground. His job is to do the sowing. The seed is the Word of God. That means that we should be sowing the Word of God into our own lives and into people's lives more than anything else.

2. We have to guard our seed. All of those mentioned received the Word with gladness and joy - but only one soil type is fertile and keeps the Word of God so that it comes to harvest. We can not let anyone snatch the Word away from us. That is we must cherish the Word of God and pray over it thanking God for it and asking Him to give us further revelation of it. If we have a grateful heart and a heart that is humble and right, we will realize that is is only by God's grace and mercy that we have any knowledge of the Word at all. It is His Word - He gives us revelation or insight as we press in to Him acknowledging Him as the author and the finisher of our faith. A sure way to guard the seed is to continually use it to thank and praise God - to offer it up to God as a sacrifice - we give back to Him what He has given to us.

3. PRAY for the transforming power of God's Word to do a work in our lives. Even in the good ground, there is a harvest of 30 or 60 or 100 fold. The seed is good. The soil is good. So why does some present 30, some 60 and some 100 fold? 

The Word of God has the power within itself to come to pass. He gives us the awesome privilege of sharing the Word when He gives us revelation of it. When God speaks it is prophetic. It is true because He says it. He may be speaking something that will occur - it may be the opposite of what can be seen or perceived in the natural, but as soon as God speaks it - it becomes true.When there was darkness all over the earth - God spoke. As He spoke, creation occurred. It was by His WORD that all things were created. He called those things that did not yet exist into existence by speaking Words. He sowed words and Light became manifest.

Romans 4:¹⁷(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

 ¹⁸Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

 ¹⁹And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

 ²⁰He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

There are two parts here. There is the speaking of those things that God has promised. We know the promises of God because He has given us His Holy WORD. He also breathes on the Word quickening the understanding of it to us so that we might have comprehension of it. Even as Abraham did not stagger (doubt or be overcome by the impossibility of it) at the promises, so we also must not fix on the tremendous awesomeness of the promise and how it is impossible - but on the truth that God has given this promise and what He says will always come to pass.

LINE up with the Word of God - We should embrace the Word of God and take hold of it in our hearts. We should let it be the plumb line of our lives. The plumb line is a tool that allows us to measure the straightness of a wall. The natural eye can be off when it comes to measuring straight lines. The plumb line is the line that assures exactness; when we believe what God says, instead of just what we see or feel, we have a sure foundation. God's Word is true. God's Word is the standard. The Word of God is the expressed will of God. The Word of God demonstrates the will of God for us. 

We MUST speak the word of God. Just as God spoke with creation, we too must speak and align our words to the Word of God. If God says it, we should say it. If God says it in His Word that is what we should confess (say out loud) pray and believe for. God's Word is the plumb line for our speech. If our words are negative or contrary to the Word of God - we would be counter productive. We can not say what God says and then just turn around and say what we think or feel or what the world says and expect to have the results God's Word promises. 

The words we speak have tremendous power to loose blessings or to bind them. The way to release the blessing in our lives is to speak the WORD of God. If we confess it (speak it and pray it often) it will get down into our spirit so that it is not just what we think God says but we will KNOW it is what God says. If we know God's will, we will have boldness as we come in prayer and throughout our daily lives as we will have the assurance of God's will.

PRAYER

O LORD, I want to hear from heaven your Word. O LORD I want to speak the WORD and confess it and become one with it. Make me a living epistle. Let the Word of God so transform me that I become a blessing to those around me. Quicken your Word to me Holy Spirit. Let my heart and life be good ground for the Word of God to produce fruitfulness. Let the Word of God produce 100 fold fruitfulness in my life. Let the WORD be such a transforming power in me that others will want to know you because of what you have done for me and in me. Let my words align with Your Word. O LORD, give me revelation of the Word of God. Holy Spirit come breathe on the Word of God and make it life to me. Amen.

Psalm 103

 ¹Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

 ²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

 ³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

 ⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

 ⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 ⁶The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

  Psalm 100:⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Truly FORGIVENESS is a prime reason we give thanks to our Saviour and our Lord. Salvation and knowing that our sins are forgiven keep us praising and thanking God. Only someone who knows where he was before God showered His light on him and brought him to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ can sing a song of praise. If you do not know the one who set you free, you can not dance before Him with all your might thanking Him for the Blood that saves you and that keeps you and that will keep you.

To know His HEALING means that You have encountered the Christ that died on Calvary and by His wounds you were healed. His healing is for the body, the soul and the spirit. 

 ^{1 Peter 24}Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

An old song we used to sing in our church "Freedom in the Blood of Christ, Freedom in the Blood of Christ, Freedom in the Blood of Christ, Freedom in the Blood of Christ... The Powers of darkness tremble. They have to bow their knee. For my spirit, soul and body, His victory is complete, And there is only one freedom. Freedom in the Blood of Jesus Christ." The truth is that Blood shed for us - salvation, healing and deliverance.

 He CROWNETH THEE WITH LOVINGKINDNESS AND TENDER MERCIES

He pours out on us a flood of mercy and love. He pours out over us the blessings He had prepared for Adam and Eve before the Fall. He pours out every good and perfect gift that we could ever want or need. There are showers of blessings coming down towards us. All we have to do is look at what God has given and is giving and will yet give. He blesses His children. He satisfies our mouth with good things. He puts the high praises of God in our mouths. He gives us the RHEMA WORD of God to speak forth bold proclamations of God's Word. 

HE RENEWS MY STRENGTH

In His presence is joy unspeakable and glory and pleasure forevermore. It isn't that anything else is ever needed - His presence satisfies. In His presence we will find our fulfillment. We were created to be in His presence. We are renewed in His presence. We Are rejuvenated, refreshed, restored, resurrected. In His presence is LIFE and abundant life. There is an endless supply of this LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, JOY, BLESSING. This is the abundant life. We can tap into it now - in His presence. As we thank God for what He has done for us, we can thank Him for what He will yet do. We can thank Him for His faithfulness and have FAITH ignited all at the same time.

PRAYER

I give YOU thanks today, LORD God Almighty, Who was, and is and is to come. I give you thanks for the blessings you have given to me. I thank you for saving me, for healing me, for redeeming me, for baptizing me in the Holy Spirit, for anointing my head with fresh oil. Thank you for your touch on my life. Thank you that You are so good to me. O I just thank you. I praise your name. You alone are worthy to receive all glory - O LORD. Amen.

 It was about twenty years ago. I was in church at an evening prayer meeting. I was praying but the meeting hadn't started yet. Clearly and distinctly I heard God speak to me: " I can take all things in your life and turn them for your good and for my glory." I recognized that I heard God speak but just went on about the evening in usual fashion just as though perhaps a friend had waved and said hello. I thought about it later that evening. I didn't understand the significance of those words. I didn't understand it was like a foundational teaching that God would give me. Like a life jacket in an airplane it simply rested behind me - seemingly unimportant until absolutely required.

Over the years, many times The Holy Spirit has breathed fresh on those words and quickened them to me. I have had them quickened to me with power - like the rip chord torn from the lifejacket in the moment of free falling.

Yes - the Holy Spirit would breathe fresh on these words and with the remembering of them touch my spirit with supernatural grace - abounding grace to be able to continue on in victory - unscathed by the present difficulties.

I have held to these words with tremendous affection knowing that my LORD had given me a treasure. These RHEMA words of God have been a constant source of faith and hope and encouragement. It would be enough if they had come to comfort me once or twice, but God in His amazing love for me would allow me to remember thousands of times each time with fresh intensity the meaning of those words. The words themselves hold within them the power to bring about the very thing they speak of. The words themselves because He spoke them to me for a reason have within them the power to release supernatural faith and grace into my life.

This RHEMA Word has been a life long word for me. It has not just been for a situation or a season but it is a foundational word that God has used to teach me about His nature and His character and His ways. He has used this word not only to bless me but also to empower me and allow me to speak to others with full confidence and assurance that what God has done for me, He will surely do for others.

Romans 8: ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:³Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

 ⁴Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

 ⁵For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

PRAYER LORD I believe that you can take all things and turn them together for my good and for your glory. I believe you are able to turn it all for my good and your glory. Amen.

^{1 Timothy 6: 20}O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

The first and second books of Timothy are the Apostle Paul's intimate letters to his dear son in the faith. He is writing from his heart to his dearly beloved son. He is instructing him and encouraging him but mostly charging him. This term is not used very much - maybe hardly ever at all. In some denominational churches there is the giving of a charge and although it may be read as though it is very important - it is seen as just a ritual without deeper meaning. A HOLY charge is given when a recommendation or a statement is not enough. A charge is a command. It comes from someone in a position of authority to make that command. Like a general can command anyone in his army - but only gives orders as necessary - so is this command given to Timothy. All of the charges of Paul to Timothy are necessary for success as a Christian and as a Christian leader. Paul had taught Timothy and trained him but know he was commanding him. Paul was in prison and was imparting into Timothy all that he could. He had told him about being a bold witness, taking care of his health and the proper operation of the church. He told him what to beware of. He was imparting the things God had taught him to Timothy.

We can learn two ways. We can learn the hard way through experience and sometimes errors and our own dumb decisions. We can learn by listening to the things others have learned. Paul was trying to save Timothy by imparting into him.

1 Timothy 6: ¹²Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

 ¹³I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

 ¹⁴That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

 I invite you to reread the letters to Timothy as though the Apostle Paul himself were speaking directly to you. Invite you to take the words into your heart as a HOLY charge from God to keep that which has been committed to you. The truths you have been taught and that you yourself have learned are to pass on to some one else. Keep it first. Pass it on to others also.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit come breath on me and fill me fresh. Bring to my remembrance the things you have spoken to me and taught me. Bring to my mind the things that you have spoken to me in the past. Keep me with a teachable spirit so that you might easily teach me now. I want to learn from you. Teach me. I want to keep those truths you have given me and pass them on to others. Give me grace. Amen.

John 15^{: 7}If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

 ⁸Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Jesus said that if we abide in Him we could ask whatever we will. This is a tremendous promise. God cares about what we desire. God cares about what we will. He tells us to ask Him so that we might receive. The key to this passage is that we must first abide in Him. Abiding in Him includes sharing His heart. Abiding in Him means drawing our strength from Him. Abiding in Him means living in the love of God. It must be our habit. It must be our lifestyle - living in the love of God. This is doing what He commands.

 John 15: ⁹As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

 ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

 ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Just as Jesus lived in the love of God and was saturated with the love of God to overflowing, so we too must live a lifestyle of love. This means living and loving. Keeping Jesus commandments is a demonstration of our love for God in action.

 John 15: ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

 ¹³Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

We show God that we love Him by obeying Him. We show God we love Him by loving others as we love our own selves. Love is a continuous action. We are to live forgiving and giving and sacrificing for others. Jesus laid down His life for us and so we must die to self to serve and give and demonstrate love by our actions, by our words , by our continuous flow of the love of God in us and through us.

1 Corinthians 13:⁴Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 ⁵Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 ⁶Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 ⁷Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 ⁸Charity never faileth:

Love gives and is patient and kind. Love is never jealous but rather wanting the best for someone else. Love is never self serving. Love is long suffering and thinks the best of the other. Love believes the best and embraces the truth. Love - true love - the Love of God - never fails. 

PRAYER

LORD fill me with your love to overflowing. Let me abide in your love. Let me be a lover of God and of people. Flow through me. Let me love others with your heart of love. Let me truly love my neighbour as myself. Show me how to love with your love. Give me your heart for others. Show me how to obey your commandment of love. Amen.

Mark 4:¹⁴The sower soweth the word.

Mark 4:²⁰And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

We can speak the Word of God and it releases the power of the seed to bring forth a harvest of 30, 60 or 100 fold.

I am assuming we are sowing into good ground. We have the potential to bring forth a 100 fold increase of the WORD of God in our lives.

Let`s say we are sowing in the WORD of God into our own lives and that we are doing it with purpose. That is, we believe and we speak the Word, we pray the Word and we thank God for the Word. This is modern day living by faith -  Word of God seed sowing.If we sow words on Faith - we will produce faith. If we sow words on prosperity, we will produce prosperity. If we sow seeds on strength, we will produce strength, The principle of the seed is that it always bears fruit after its own kind. What do you need more of today? That is the Word that we should be sowing. If we sow and keep sowing continuously we will also be continuously harvesting. 

Ecclesiastes 11:¹Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

Ecclesiastes 11:⁴He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

We should sow and keep sowing. Notice that the sower in the parable sowed on every kind of ground: rocky, thorny and good. He just kept sowing. How much the more should we be sowing to the good ground of our hearts? 

We know that there is power in God`s Word so we confess it. We speak it. We believe it. By faith, we receive it.  As we do these things we activate the seed in our lives. It will not return void. It will produce fruit. It is time to sow. Do you have your seeds ready yet?

PRAYER 

 LORD, I pray that you quicken the WORD to me so that it will produce in my life after its kind. Give me good seed. Help me to have the WORD first place in my heart and mind. Bring it to my remembrance. Quicken the scriptures to me and let them produce fruitfulness in my heart. I want to bear much fruit for your glory and honour. Amen.

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