IMPRINTS #3

Since the creation of this world, there has been an undeniable imprint upon the people of God.  Regardless of circumstances or the evil which tries to rear its ugly head …

“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. 
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.  2 Chronicles 32:7-8(NKJV) (also Read 2 Kings 18:16-2 Kings 19:1-19)

Battles are waged every day.  They are physical, mental or spiritual and mostly all three woven within each other. Regardless of the intensity of these battles the Lord God is with us and the enemy only has an arm of flesh.   In 2 Chronicles chapter 32 and 2 Kings chapters 18-19; Hezekiah makes a decision and that is to trust in the one true God who is mighty to save.  The King of Assyria endeavored to pose a great threat against King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. 

Hezekiah prepared physically for battle but he knew the real strength would come only through the Lord God and he knew the enemy could not stand against the one true God.  Hezekiah literally takes a letter that the King of Assyria wrote against the Lord God and spreads it out before God; a powerful imprint or encounter transpires as he states his case before the Lord (Isaiah 43:25-26).  Unstoppable faith arises and the prophet of the Lord (Isaiah) pays him a visit and confirms; because he prayed and sought God Almighty, He (God) heard and according to 2 Kings 19:35-37 … on a certain night an angel of the Lord went into the camp and killed the Assyria army.  Then the kings own sons killed Sennacherib (the Assyrian King) while he worshipped a foreign god (idol).

I am sure this was one imprint that King Hezekiah never forgot!

The same one true God Almighty is willing and able to go to battle for us…PTL!

IMPRINTS part #2

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18(NKJV)

Wow, the Lord knew Adam would be lonely and He created all these animals for Adam to care for, nurture and keep him company but none would be found comparable to Adam.  So the Lord pays Adam a holy visitation and an imprint is brought into his life which I am sure he never forgot!  You see a true imprint can never be washed away or forgotten.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 
Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said:      “This is now bone of my bones     And flesh of my flesh;     She shall be called Woman,     Because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:21-23(NKJV)

Then God Himself performs the first wedding ceremony!!

V 24-25 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

From the very beginning of time the Lord instituted a covenant that affects us all in one way or another.  Whether we are the off-spring of this covenant or we are married.  Nothing will ever remove the marriage union, not man, Politian or times.  The Lord set forth this covenant and no amount of man’s doings will ever abolish it.  Oh, yes they will try but I am telling you it will endure.  You see even in Biblical times those people tried to pervert it but Jesus said;

Mark 10:3-9(NKJV)
And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”
They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 
But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’  
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 
and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Things appear dark out there in regards to marriages; it is time to turn our hearts back and reestablish solid foundations for marriages to be built upon and take part in a Holy union that is a reflection of Jesus Christ and the Bride…that is without spot or wrinkle!

To be cont’d…imprints



PLAN A

How many times have we said; “if Plan A does not work we will go to Plan B”?  If we had a dollar for every time that was said we would all be rich!

There were times in life where I have had only Plan A and there was no back-up plan (Plan B) to be had and that is where trust must come in.  Dan and I raised three daughters two years apart.  We came to this time in life where for seven years – three girls were in college and three weddings took place.  One of our daughters wanted an outdoor wedding on Labor Day weekend.  We rented the park and began to make all the arrangements for the grandeur event to take place.  During this time one on my friends said; but what if it rains?  My budget was extremely skinny due to the fact of three in college and we had paid for a wedding two years earlier.  I looked at my friend and replied there is no Plan B, we will trust the Lord.  My mind began to mull realizing the budget would not afford us a wedding tent or an alternate location but I pushed that aside and trusted the Lord.  By the way not only was the wedding beautiful on the skinny budget the weather was absolutely perfect!

There have been times where I sought the Lord for an answer asking Him should I do this or should I do that.  No answer came…I struggled with this  and more than once I have sensed the Lord say; Penny, I am going to bless you no matter what you decide to do in this…but Lord only you know the future and I do not want to miss your “plan” for us.  Penny, I am going to bless you no matter what you decide to do in this.  Yes, there will be many times when we do not get a direct answer to a prayer, but understand this as long as you are not sinning (because that is against God’s will and His Word), He always has you covered. 

If we obey the Lord through the guidelines that are laid out in the Word (Bible); Psalms 31:15(NKJV) My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.

Having thus taken to the best resource by trusting in Jehovah, and having made the grandest claim possible by saying, “Thou art my God”, the Psalmist now stays himself upon a grand old doctrine, one of the most wonderful that was ever revealed to men. He sings, “My times are in thy hand.” This to him was a most cheering fact: he had no fear as to his circumstances, since all things were in the divine hand. He was not shut up unto the hand of the enemy; but his feet stood in a large room, for he was in a space large enough for the ocean, seeing the Lord had placed him in the hollow of his hand. To be entirely at the disposal of God is life and liberty for us.

The great truth is this — all that concerns the believer is in the hands of the Almighty God. “My times”, these change and shift; but they change only in accordance with unchanging love, and they shift only according to the purpose of One with whom is no variableness nor shadow of a turning. “My times”, that is to say, my ups and my downs, my health and my sickness, my poverty and my wealth — all those are in the hand of the Lord, who arranges and appoints according to his holy will the length of my days, and the darkness of my nights. Storms and calms vary the seasons at the divine appointment. Whether times are reviving or depressing remains with him who is Lord both of time and of eternity; and we are glad it is so.  “My Times Are In Thy Hand”

A SERMON
(No. 2205)

Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, May 17th, 1891, by
C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

You can count on the fact; Psalms 16:6(NKJV) The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

TRUST

THE GREAT EXCHANGE

The Lord is ready willing and waiting to do a great exchange.  Many people who once loved and served the Lord have drifted away, fallen into compliancy or lost all hope and given up.  But God never breaks His promises.

Hebrews 6:15-20(TMSG)
Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. 
When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. 
When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee— 
God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. 
It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God 
where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Today I encourage you run to God…He truly is waiting for you and will do a great exchange…you can count on that!  The Lord wants to gather you back!

Ezekiel 11:16-21(TMSG)
“Well, tell them this: ‘This is your Message from God, the Master. True, I sent you to the far country and scattered you through other lands. All the same, I’ve provided you a temporary sanctuary in the countries where you’ve gone. 
I will gather you back from those countries and lands where you’ve been scattered and give you back the land of Israel. 
You’ll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. 
I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart.  Then you’ll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!
“‘But not those who are self-willed and addicted to their rotten images and obscene idols! I’ll see that they’re paid in full for what they’ve done.’ Decree of God, the Master.”



Violence that can Explode the Impossible

Ephesians 6:18

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,…

The last several weeks I have written blogs on the Armor of God and studying prayer is a fitting way to end this blog series on the Armor of God.

The Lord has given us as believers the power to overcome evil, to build up and spur one another on to greatness and victory! We do not have to walk around hopeless, but hopeful. We are His royal priesthood. Know who you are and the authority you have in Jesus. Prayer will not only loose Heaven’s provision in your life and marriage, it will loose Heaven’s abundance into your life and marriage.

Years ago I read a book that was written by Jack Hayford on prayer, I must have loaned it out because it is no longer in my bookcase. If memory serves me correct this was a short book that packed a punch in efforts to wake up the believer in regards to the power of prayer.  I wrote down a few statements from this book this one being my favorite: 

“The kingdom of heaven which Jesus set up as a powerful movement or reign among men (suffers violence) requires of them an equally strong and radical reaction.  The violent then who take it by force are people of keen enthusiasm and commitment who are willing to respond to and propagate with radical abandonment the message and dynamic of God’s reign.”

In my walk with the Lord I determined a long time ago if there is anything that I am going to be passionately radical about it is prayer. Even as a very young girl I remember kneeling by my bed storming the “Gates of Heaven” as some would call it.  As the years have pasted and I have grown older I cannot relent or give up regardless of what my natural eyes may or may not see.  Something within me spurs me on to believe pray is; Violence that can Explode the Impossible (Jack Hayford)!

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) says;  "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

(NIV) MT. 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

971. biazo, bee-ad'-zo; from G970; to force, i.e. (reflex.) to crowd oneself (into), or (pass.) to be seized:--press, suffer violence.

Violent:  physical force or activity used to cause harm, damage, or abuse, exhibiting intense emotional or mental excitement: passionate intensity “heat” (Webster Dictionary).

Force:  to compel to do something or to act, to obtain  by coercion; to bring forth, as with effort; to move or drive against resistance; to break down by force; to press or impose; as one’s will.  Strong-effective-powerful-vigorous (Webster Dictionary).

We are to follow the example of Jesus and that includes the example of how Jesus prayed.  Jesus exhibited passion when he prayed and His heart was revealed as He prayed.

Hebrews 5:7-9 (NKJV)  who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Vehement or strong:  2478. ischuros, is-khoo-ros'; from G2479; forcible (lit. or fig.):--boisterous, mighty (-ier), powerful, strong (-er, man), valiant.

Cries:  G2906/G296 outcry, tumult, grief, clamour, cry

John 11:33-36 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

Wept:  burst into sudden tears, then silently wept, wailing, heaving of the bosom-and the cry of a soul in agony.

Groaned: to utter a deep prolonged sound of disapproval or pain.  G1690/G1722 to snort with anger, murmur against

Troubled:  G5015 to stir or agitate

There are times in our lives when we just do not know what words to pray and there are no words that we could possible formulate from our mouth that seem adequate for the intensity of the situation. That is when we can allow the Holy Spirit to move within us and pray through us.

Romans 8:26-27(ESV) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 

We have a promise and rested assured, the Lord always keeps His promises.

Acts 2:38-39(ESV) And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 

Acts 2:1-4(ESV)
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Think of Prayer as: violence that can explode the impossible!