Tag Archive for: die

A Sinner In The Hands Of An Angry God

To be honest with you, I thought innocently that God of the Old Testament behaved differently than in the New Testament because the covenant changed. This doctrine, that I am sure you also heard, has convinced me skillfully not to say deceitfully! I didn’t argue with it I just let it pass but deep inside I was not feeling good about belonging to “A GOD WHO KILLED PEOPLE” for a while until a better covenant came to pass.

This morning the Lord led me to read a certain passage in the gospels and the understanding he unfolded to me changed the whole formula and introduced me to the real God. What you are about to read here will wowy you and it will for sure bibidi babidi bou you!

In Luke 9:51, James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven to consume the Samaritans who opposed the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. They said to Jesus with a religious zeal, excitement and “feeling right about it” attitude: “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

Cool boys, I am happy and satisfied you wanted to be scriptural and never do a thing not backed up in the book of LIFE. Before proceeding I just want to throw this for free, is not it strange and weird to bring death out of the book of LIFE? James and John were right about two things: they were in a relationship with Jesus and they asked him if he would like to barbecue some Samaritan flesh because of opposition and second they knew that only God would command the fire to come down from heaven! No man can do that!

BUT … Elijah never called the fire down from heaven to consume the false prophets but to demonstrate that God is a living God and THAT fire consumed the ALTAR he built by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know if at that instant James and John forgot this IMPORTANT detail because they were religiously zealous and angry!

Once again, Elijah by the leading of the Holy Spirit called down fire from heaven on the altar and the Israelites who saw it were marveled and could have turned back to God if they had a chance to. But we will see that Elijah after this good glory demonstration didn’t give them any!

But He [Jesus] turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Religion wants to barbecue people, Jesus wants to unbarbecue you! … After I read that, my eyes were opened and I said, hmmm wait a moment! If God sent the fire using Elijah to demonstrate his presence to turn his people back to him, then he must have told Elijah to kill them all after that. Because Elijah was a prophet and he must be led by Holy Spirit to kill them all and slaughter each, after all, we have been taught that God of the Old Testament can do that easily because of “THE AVAILABLE COVENANT” back then!

I am not here to defend God but my bible says that Jesus is the same today yesterday and forever. God’s nature doesn’t change according to James 1: 16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every GOOD gift and every PERFECT gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” God is good and perfect and this will remain forever no matter how much doctrines will say differently with a religious zeal! Jesus is always about saving souls even in the Old Testament.

Could it be that Elijah started in the spirit and continued in the flesh? Why did Elijah killed the 850 false prophets and not gave them a chance to be God’s prophets? It was a very good potential opportunity that moment don’t you think? But it was lost forever because he got religiously excited!

To be honest with you I don’t know why Elijah killed them all but I am sure that Jesus doesn’t want a soul to be doomed but to be given chance after another to turn back to God! How many chances these false prophets were given to repent after that glorious demonstration? NONE.

In my opinion, Elijah started ministering good but got in the flesh. The Law of Moses commanded NOT TO KILL and it is a GOD GIVEN LAW. When you get religiously zealous, you want to add to the word of God or take from it. Elijah could have thought in himself, it is OK to kill them all “Exclusively”. Maybe because the Law of Moses at some point was confusing and unclear.

Bear with me to clarify this point with you please. Moses got the laws from God but after a while and because the Israelites were so hard and unbearable Moses ALLOWED things. At some point, leading very hard people drove Moses to permit some things to CONTROL the crowd under the name of GOD! But did God say that? In the beginning, no, GOD had clear laws, but later on, MOSES PERMITTED THINGS. No wonder why Elijah could have been confused.

They said to Him [Jesus], “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. Matthew 19

Moses permitted some laws beside the laws of God just to settle some issues to go have some good deep sleep. His church was a headache! BE TERRIFIED if you permit things that God’s nature doesn’t approve it.

Let’s wrap it. Yes, we read in the whole bible that the goodness of God issued some endings to wicked people and cities. So God in his sovereignty can terminate things. But in my opinion and understanding, God does this after he gives many chances because HE IS PATIENT, merciful and slow to anger. BUT when he finds that there is no more way to repent and that the cup of sin is full he takes some steps to demonstrate his goodness by cutting some things off. Doctors are good when they cut an infected organ in someone’s body if they know for sure there is no more option as hard as this is.

Did Elijah give chances to these false prophets? Was he long-suffering and patient with them? Let’s check our ministries if they are aligned with the nature of God or not.

Peter also got the “religious killing zeal” MODE ON for JESUS and dismembered the ear of an antichrist enemy in the garden of Gethsemane. Not knowing that Peter himself was an antichrist in this action. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

James, John, Peter, and Elijah were all zealous religiously and did things they thought approved by God. They were trying to show some love the best they knew how. It is not a devotion to disfavor God’s servants and their weaknesses, we are no better in many situations.

Bottom-line, Jesus shows his heart many times that he is for you not against you. He wants to save you and not destroy you. “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” Ezekiel 18:23.

You and I with a huge cloud of witnesses have misrepresented the true good nature of God at some point in our life. The Lord told me this morning: “When you understand my nature you read things right”. The Lord can forgive us all this mess and misrepresentation if we repent. God is always angry at sin not at sinners. Jesus was violent with sin issues and flipped the tables but never slapped anyone! Can we minister without chopping heads? Yes, it is possible if you know how loving God is!

A sinner in the hands of an angry God is the most beautiful experience at all. Because he lavishes you with his bounty goodness, unconditional love, many chances to be saved and redeemed to flourish beautifully before him for his glory. You will be undone by his beating heart for you! However, after experiencing his many goodness demonstrations if you decide to trample on the precious saving blood of Jesus and reject LIFE, whose fault is this?

Toni Francis

I Met Her In Traffic

I have been struggling a lot with the issue of relationships. Can you witness this with me? If so, continue reading this message to enjoy the good nuggets inside.

It started with a beautiful sunny morning, when I woke up energized, spent time with God, and dressed the best of my closet! I dress to impress me first not others. I am my first audience!

I ran to my car because as usual, I was a bit late to my work, I started the engine, put some rhythmic music, wore an attractive perfume with a generous smile! It was not on my focus list that day to meet or greet anyone. All I wanted was to reach my work, sneak into my place, turn on my computer and start working without announcing loudly my presence to my boss, if possible! (Danger: Don't try this at home lol)

I was close enough to my work, almost there, excited that I skipped some cars and saved some minutes when I suddenly entered a shortcut loaded with a long queue of cars. What’s going on? I said in frustration. I saw an officer coming toward handed me a violation ticket. Little did I know that I entered a wrong opposite shortcut and I broke the rules. I was not the only one guilty of ignorance. Many were in the opposite direction in that queue, whether by ignorance or on purpose, God knows! Bottom line, I caused traffic, I paid the penalty, I burned my time and others and surely I delayed my arrival. Thank God, things could have gone worse; I could have made an accident that caused my death! But I was given another chance to reconsider, to pay attention and to walk carefully.

You may be experiencing the same thing right now in your spiritual walk with God. You could be in the wrong direction of his will, trying some quick shortcuts and many of them are illegal in the spirit. There are always consequences for opposing God’s perfect will for your life. Let him adjust your ways, repent, pray and walk closely with him, ain’t a joke at all! Don’t miss your destiny in God.

That day, I met God’s mercy in the traffic, I was given a new chance to adjust my course of life on all levels. Today I fear and I tremble if I sense a slight shift in my directions from God’s perfect will for my life. Lord, have your ways in me!

Tony Francis
Glory to God

If Jesus was a CEO

Jesus runs the universe in his perfect wisdom and authority and preserves everything by the power of his word. It is wide and abstract for us to grasp and understand God’s position as the ruler of the world because we don’t understand its mechanics. But it is easier for us to catch this concept if the ruler of the universe becomes a CEO of a company. His first position is an unlimited authority and reign over the universe, his second position is about a limited authority and reign over a certain domain. But sometimes if we can understand the small picture we can have a glimpse of the bigger one! Earth is a shadow of Heaven!

The first day came! Jesus woke up in the morning, spent his time with his heavenly Father in prayer as usual then put his clothes on and got ready not to go to Jerusalem, Nazareth, any small village or a synagogue to preach, heal and cast out demons, but this time he went to his own registered company somewhere in the city! The Son of God has his own company now and he can’t wait to reach his office to salute his dear employees and get the business done to bring more glory to his heavenly Father in the business field.

What could his goals be? Will he run his company the same way other CEOs do? Who is going to hire to be on his team? Who will be his right hand assistant? He surely can’t fail, success is guaranteed! After all he never failed healing someone and never failed resurrecting the dead, he will surely never fail running his new business! How is he going to run his company? The world is waiting and watching closely to see Jesus in his new position as chief executive officer CEO.

His employees are the luckiest ones because they were given the chance to watch the Son of God running a business for the first time, not a spiritual ministry! Many launched their social media apps to tweet, post and broadcast the first activities of Jesus on his first day at work! And for the first time these employees will hashtag proudly things like #ILoveMyCEO #HisWordsAreMyCommandments #Obedience #WantToMakeHimHappy #MyCEOIsAlwaysRight …

You may think I went too far in my imagination about the Lord. After all he can’t occupy this position, he is a spiritual leader! But my dear friend, this Jesus living in you wants to take over and live through you whatever your position is! You could be the first one to give Jesus the opportunity to run your business on his terms! It is going to be so exciting and of course … supernatural!

Glory to God
Tony Francis

You can also watch this blog as a Vlog (Video Blog). Click here to watch it: If Jesus was a CEO

Taking up Your Cross

By Joe Tannous

I hear many people speaking about “taking up your cross”, and what they mean by saying that, is passing through hard circumstances, sickness, poverty, trials…. but I am getting into an understanding that this is not what Jesus meant. If we want to know about taking up the cross, we should look at Jesus and learn from Him, He is the leader, He said “Take up your cross and follow me”. Following Him, is not only walking behind Him, is learning from Him, is following His example, to walk the same path He walked. Now, Jesus faced hard circumstances, yes, but was that the cross? Absolutely not! He was rejected, yes, but was that the cross? Absolutely not! In some place He didn't find a place to sleep, but was that the cross? Absolutely not! The cross is DYING!!!! Through all this circumstances, Jesus was learning how to die, Jesus died long before being nailed to the cross, Jesus took up the cross all His life. Jesus would never be able to do one single miracle if He wasn't dead already. What did He die for even before dying on the cross? The answer is self, Jesus died to self, and that the example we should follow. Taking up the cross is dying to self; it is a daily thing to do. Every day I should die to self, I should die to my desires, my lusts, my will, and ask God to live in me, to show me His will, to walk in the Spirit, in union with the Spirit and not in the flesh, now this is what taking up your cross means. Even when we face bad circumstances, this is not the cross; this is only a way helping us to see the cross. The cross wasn't easy to Jesus, it cost Him His precious sinless life, and it won't be easy to us, it will cost us our lives. But dear friends, when you put your life away to Jesus, you will gain and save it to an eternal life. Jim Elliot said this:” He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. Give your life to Jesus completely, on a daily basis, because you cannot keep it, to gain what you cannot lose, which is eternal life with the master.

Blessings

Elisha’s Double Anointing

By Barbie Breathitt

Christlikeness From the Life of Elisha: Tests and Double Mantle

Tests and a Double Mantle

After Elijah trained his servant Elisha to look and see, listen and hear, and prophesy the word of the Lord, it was time for him to return to Heaven. The heavenly chariot of God carried Elijah away from Elisha into the spiritual expanse of Heaven's eternity outside of time. Elisha was told by Elijah, “If you see me when I am taken from you, [you will receive a double portion of my spirit]…”

Elisha had to pass many tests and persevere in order to walk in Elijah's double mantle (see 2 Kings 2:1-18). Elijah asked Elisha to stay in Gilgal, the place of cutting, circumcision, and the rolling away of reproach, but he refused. This is a picture for us that when God removes our past failures and reproach, we must walk through the gates of authority into the new place with God; and so Elijah then moved on to Bethel, the place or house of God, the gates of Heaven. Bethel was a place where people went to seek counsel from God. Elisha followed Elijah to Bethel to learn how to obtain God's counsel.

We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to the next place of testing to progress spiritually. We cannot remain complacent or stagnant; the river of God always flows.

Next, the sons of the prophets came to Elisha in Bethel and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?' And Elisha said, “Yes I know; be still!” Elijah told Elisha to remain in Bethel while he went on to Jericho. But Elisha said, “I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:3 NASB).

The sons of the prophets in Jericho, a place of fragrance and warfare, had also been shown that Elijah was going to be taken away from Elisha that day.

From Jericho, Elijah and Elisha traveled on to Jordan, a place of flowing down or descending, where fifty men of the sons of the prophets stood opposite them at the Jordan River. Elijah took his mantle, folded it together, and struck the waters of the Jordan, which divided, allowing both prophets to cross over on dry ground.

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to Heaven. Elisha saw it [the chariot] and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 2 Kings 2:9-12 NASB

However, Elijah did not hand his mantle onto Elisha; Elisha had to pick it up after Elijah was taken into Heaven.

What Was the Significance of Elijah's Mantle For Elisha?

The word mantle in Hebrew is addereth; its root word being adar, which is also the word for the last month on the Hebrew calendar. The month of Adar is the best time to remove any personal barriers to holiness, thus it is a time to create the potential for the greatest joy. Adar is the final month of the year, i.e. it completes the year, and hence it is a time of completion.The root meaning of adar is glorious, splendid, marvelous, and mighty. In a noun form it is rendered as a cloak or mantle.

He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over. 2 Kings 2:13-14 NASB

Jewish traditions indicate that the mantle that fell from Elijah was a tallith or prayer shawl. The tallith of a prophet or master teacher would have dark purple-blue threads in the corner tassel. People believed that the purple thread contained miracle power. This is why the woman with the issue of blood wanted to touch the hem of Jesus' tallith or garment. When she was healed, Jesus said, “Who touched Me?…I felt virtue leave Me.” Then He told her, “Your faith has made you whole,” not a purple thread (see Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48).

Elijah's tallith, mantle, or “adar” symbolized that Elisha had removed any barriers to his relationship with God. He was no longer the servant but now stepped into the place of the prophet he had served. Elijah's mantle was a doorway to God's power. Elijah told Elisha that if he saw him taken, he would have his desire to carry on the prophetic ministry with a double portion of his spirit.

The mantle is a symbol of joy and completion. Elijah left his mantle as a sign that he had completed his assignment. Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle indicating the start of a new year; he was picking up where Elijah left off and beginning his own ministry as a prophet. Elijah's mantle was a symbol of an agreement of power and authority between Elijah and God. Elisha's picking up Elijah's mantle symbolized that he was entering into the same agreement with God. When Elisha used Elijah's mantle to part the Jordan River, God established His agreement or covenant with Elisha.

What The Double Portion Looks Like

Everyone is at a different level of hearing and seeing in their spiritual understanding. Elisha had walked and been personally trained by Elijah for years. He had been tested and tried in spiritual disciplines. The sons of the prophets had been through training as well, yet they did not possess the level of seeing that Elisha had developed. Elisha saw the chariot of fire and the horses come to separate him from Elijah. He cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (2 Kings 2:12 NASB).

The sons of the prophets only saw the whirlwind the chariot created. The sons of the prophets were left wondering if Elijah had been translated to Heaven or if he had possibly been transported to another geographic location. They had to search for three days in the natural to come into peace. Elisha knew Elijah had been taken to Heaven because he saw beyond the natural into the invisible realm of the Spirit.

Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go'?” 2 Kings 2:15-18 NASB

The New Testament shares an example of the audible voice of God speaking from Heaven when Jesus foretold of His death. Some that stood by didn't hear anything. Others who were present in the crowd heard God's voice manifested in thunder, while still others thought it was an angel.

So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.” John 12:29-30 NASB

The names of both Elijah (meaning “the Lord is my God” or spiritual champion) and Elisha (meaning “God will save me” or protected) carries the record of what they represent, but not necessarily how they saw, if they are thought to be seers. Elijah's name means God is Jehovah or YHVH is my God. He functioned as the Father's recorder on earth.

In the case of God's servant Elijah, the chariot was a trans-dimensional carrier of God's servant. The chariot of God transported Elijah out of time into the eternal realm where Elijah had always existed in heavenly places. When the fullness of time came, God reached down to retrieve the recording of Himself He had placed within Elijah.

Elijah came to restore all things back to God. He was called to turn the hearts of the Fathers back to the sons, and to turn the sons' hearts back to the fathers', to make ready a people for God lest God curse the earth (see Malachi 4). Elijah's anointing was to restore righteousness and protect the earthly realm from being struck with a curse caused by sin.

Elisha's name means “GOD is salvation” or “My God is salvation.” He functioned under a double portion of Elijah's spirit.

Walk Like the Prophet Elisha

Elisha's eyes saw beyond the veil of the natural into the supernatural realm where God's army of fiery angels and chariots reside. His eyes were not limited by situations or hard facts. He knew to look beyond the natural to see God's provision. He trusted more in the realm of faith than what seemed to appear in the natural.

When fear blinded Elisha's servant, the prophet's prayer was able to open the attendant's spiritually blind eyes to see the coexisting spiritual realms of angels. Knowing that there are more for us than against us brings a peace beyond our present understanding.

Prayer delivers us from fear. Prayer opens our eyes to see God's ever-present answer, while at the same time prophetic decree will blind our enemies and place them at our mercy. For God to trust us at this level, it requires us to develop greater levels of obedience of compassion. God wants to trust us with the lives of our enemies. God tests and tries us until He knows that we will not execute our own judgment or harm people in any way.

When God delivers our enemies into our hands, we must return good for evil, blessing for cursing, and lovingkindness for abuse. The Lord is the only one who should ever move in judgment. He said, “Vengeance is Mine.” We have no right to be vengeful. It is God's place to vindicate us.

We are called to love our enemies, to be kind to those who persecute, use, and abuse our kindness. We should lead our enemies to salvation, and their eyes will be opened to God's saving word, loving spirit, and grace. It is time to love like God loves; see like God sees; obey what God's Word says, and then do what God does.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17 NASB

When Elisha's enemies came down off the mountain to pursue him, Elisha prayed. We should follow his example. Elisha's prayers struck his enemies with blindness. This removed the enemy's power and control. They were forced into a vulnerable place, wandering in darkness and confusion. The army had come to do the prophet great harm, but God protected him. The prophet placed his trust in God. In this new state of total dependence and humiliation, the enemy had to trust and blindly follow Elisha to Samaria. Elisha said, “Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek” (2 Kings 6:19 NASB). (Photo courtesy: Global Recordings Network)

When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria. 2 Kings 6:18-19 NASB

Elisha's enemies had to walk through the process of trusting the one they were sent to destroy. Once they arrived at the promised location, Elisha prayed that God would reopen their blind eyes. Their vision was restored. New vision was given in the midst of their enemies.

When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 2 Kings 6:20 NASB

Many of us have been wounded by an enemy or betrayed by a close friend, but we are to respond to them with God's lovingkindness and compassion.

Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” He answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?…2 Kings 6:21-22 NASB

Elisha told the King of Israel to respond according to the greatness of God's loving-kindness, to make his enemies the objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Elisha encouraged the king to feed the Arameans, to provide for and care for his enemies instead of killing them. The king prepared a feast for the enemy soldiers and they ate to their fill.

“…Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. 2 Kings 6:22-23 NASB

Elisha's mercy triumphed over judgment. Great grace leads us to victory. The King of Israel's enemies were delivered into his hands. The King was eager to execute judgment and destroy his enemies, but the prophet carefully redirected his focus to blessing and not destruction.

Good will always triumph over evil. Love will also bring forth a better result than hate. Never greet your enemy in the same malignant spirit. Never return evil for evil but learn to bless instead of curse. We are not of this world, so we cannot respond in the spirit of this world. God is love so we must respond in the power of His might.

Barbie L. Breathitt Ph.D.
Breath of the Spirit Ministries
Email: [email protected]
Website: BreathOfTheSpiritMinistries.com

Back to Authority

I hear many believers asking and diligently seeking after their calling. Today I am going to tell you what your calling in life is. “Really? You know what’s my calling? Wow, did God give you a word for me?” Yes, he did, he gave me a word from his word.

I was amazed when I read in the story of the creation of man that God didn't say let’s make man in our image to express our love, peace, joy or wisdom although I believe all these wonderful divine attributes were embedded in Adam before his fall to display it but God said let’s make man in our image after our likeness to take DOMINION! God’s first and last calling for man is to rule and reign with him. You were created by God to rule, reign and take dominion! When the enemy tempted Eve to disobey God it wasn’t really in his mind to make Eve enjoy a delicious meal of a fresh fruit salad, he was after her authority. Why would the devil go after this authority if he has one? The answer is he didn’t. He lost his authority when he fell from heaven as Adam lost it when he fell from the Garden of Eden. Man has authority because he was under the authority of God because he obeyed God but he became under the authority of the devil when he obeyed the devil. You are under the authority of whom you obey! From that moment this authority belonged to the devil and he is still operating in it in our world today. The devil is a liar and will remain but if he spoke the raw truth for once it was in his encounter with Jesus: “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'” (Luke 4:5-8). The Lord knows this and he came to restore to us the authority, how? By kneeling to the devil? Not at all, but by kneeling to the heavenly Father whom all authorities come from.

Jesus the second Adam is flawless, sinless and full of authority. But same old same old, the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness to make him sin to disarm him from his authority and what he came for, but he failed! The first Adam was tempted in the garden in a perfect place; the second Adam was tempted in the wilderness among the beasts.  The devil will tempt you both in pleasure and in pressure for one thing: your authority! Those who are in Christ are translated from the authority and the kingdom of darkness to the authority and the kingdom of light. In Christ you have authority over the devil again in your personal life, in your realms of influence and in the things of God when it comes to minister to others and release the kingdom (Acts 10:38). What gave Adam this divine authority? He was after the likeness of God. The more you are Christ like the more you are established in authority. You can’t cast the devil if you are acting like a devil, Jesus said: “I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with me; there is nothing in me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.] (John 14:30)

I've always thought that since the devil took our authority the Lord definitely came to take it back from him and give it back to us. The authority that Jesus gave us as a church and individuals through his redemptive work on the cross and his resurrection isn’t from the devil but from God. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11).

In this illustration you will understand more how authority is greater than power. It takes a policeman just to raise his hand to stop a long queue of crazy beeping cars, motorcycles and camions. This is authority! This same policeman has also power (gun, physical force, backup) that he can use secondly in case his authority was disobeyed. However the devil is totally and always submissive to the name of Jesus released by faith. Jesus replied: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:18-20). Lightning is so fast, so quick and could be missed if you blink; it also speaks of instantaneous breakthroughs. Do you believe that the devil is cast in a glimpse of an eye when you subdue him in the name of Jesus? Let it be according to your faith!

Glory to God
Tony Francis

An Amazing Experience

By Joe Tannous

One night I was walking home and while walking I was in conversation with the Lord. I asked: “Lord, let me see sin, the way you see it”. Directly after I finished my request, I heard the Lord saying in my spirit: ” Joe do you know what sin did?” and I know when the Lord ask me a question means that I don't know the answer very well, so I replied: “tell me Lord”. “Sin limited me” He replied:” and every time you fall into sin, it's limiting you.” I said: “Lord how did sin limit you, you are God.” “Joe, what do Philippians 2:7-8 say about me?” He replied. I knew these so I replied: “rather, he made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”. He replied: “now you know how it limited me. it made me a human, I, God, became a man because of sin” when He said that, I began to cry on the streets, I don't know what people thought about me, and I don't really care, but His words penetrates my heart like a bullet, oh God my sin limited you, because of my sin you became a man, you took a limited flesh…

But I didn't understand the fullness of His words back then, until few days that I understood. Just see that with me, Jesus was a spiritual being, He is God the Son, and God is spirit, so The Father is spirit, the Son is spirit and the Holy Spirit is Spirit, but Jesus because of our sin, made Himself nothing, the Son, left His nature as a spiritual being, and took a flesh, a limited flesh, no longer a spirit, but a flesh, came to earth, born as a human, lived as a human, died as a human, God became a man, God died like a man dies because of my sin and your sin. but the good news is found in verses 9, 10, 11 of that epistle, ” therefore God [the Father] also highly exalted him and given Him the name which above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father”. (The emphasis is mine) the Father exalted Jesus, Hallelujah! That was His reward for leaving His spiritual being, and now He will always have a flesh, for ever and ever, just like you and me. Sin made Jesus a limited flesh, sin limited God, and so it's limiting you.

Blessings

Has your soul become much discouraged because of the way?

By Katie Souza

“The people journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.” -Numbers 21:4

How many of you have become much discouraged because of the way? Have you been praying for your children to get off of drugs, but you are still getting phone calls from jail? Did you just lose your job and now you’re close to losing your home? Maybe you have been battling with sickness, or perhaps your marriage is on the rocks and the daily battle has caused your soul to be much discouraged because of the way.

This is a dangerous place to be. Look at what happened to the Israelites. The tiresome journey wounded their soul, then they began sinning out of those wounds. They spoke against God and against Moses by saying, “Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? There’s no bread here, there’s no water here, and our soul is loathing this light bread.” They were so wounded by their journey that they began to complain, criticize, and speak against God and Moses. They were so wounded by the journey, even their souls loathed the manna. They were actually complaining about the supernatural provision that arrived at their front door every morning.

Many times wounds in our soul will tempt us to sin by grumbling and complaining. Unfortunately, this can leave us wide open for an enemy attack. When the Israelites complained, God sent fiery snakes to bite them and many of them died! This all started because they let their souls get much discouraged because of the way.

How many of you know that when you get wounded, you start talking smack? You get angry, judge, criticize, and gossip about people. You start speaking negatively about your situation. You let yourself become overwhelmed, tired and depressed. The longer that goes on, the more it attracts demonic attacks, then those fiery snakes start really snapping at you. Next thing you know, everything gets ten times worse! A relationship totally falls apart, you get very sick, or even goes totally broke and lose it all! Unfortunately, it all started when you let the journey causes your soul to get much discouraged because of the way.

What is the first thing we do to get our soul healed? We repent for allowing ourselves to get wounded through the crises, then we also repent for any bitter thing we let come out of our mouth because of it. That is what the Israelites did. They went to Moses and said, “We’ve sinned, we’ve spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he will take away the serpents from us.” So they started the healing process by repenting.

Then the Lord told Moses to make a serpent and put it on a pole then have everyone that was bitten look upon it because then they would live. In John 3, Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The serpent represented Jesus so they were instructed to look to Him for their healing. The Scripture says when they did they would “live.” One of the meanings of that word is “to prosper.” The Bible says we are prospered and brought into health even as our soul prospers. When they looked to Christ, they got healed in their bodies but also in their souls, which happened to be their problem in the first place. Their souls had become much discouraged because of the way, but when they repented, when they looked to the healing power of Christ, they prospered in their health, even as their soul prospered!

Sit down today and get quiet. Take time to repent and forgive any sin that was involved in your soul getting discouraged during your journey. Then, do what I did after the TV shoot. Look to Jesus and decree that his Dunamis power is making you excellent of soul! Keep it up until you experience a real shift, then watch the flow of blessing enter into your life and turn your circumstances around!

For information and resources on Soul Healing please visit www.expectedendministries.com today!

Mary, highly favored

Why did God Almighty choose Virgin Mary, the little girl from Nazareth, to be the mother of his only son Jesus Christ? What was in her that attracted him to perform great deeds in her life and to entrust her? The qualities that prepared Mary for greatness can be imparted to you also because God is no respecter of man.

Humility

In his salutation and throughout their conversation, Archangel Gabriel mentioned to Mary more than once that she is highly favored by God. Why was she highly favored by him? Maybe because she was so beautiful that God wanted to bless his son with a beautiful mom or maybe because she was the only virgin in her town? No, Mary caught the attention of heaven because she was a humble vessel for such a high calling & mandate. She was favored because she was humble “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” James 4:6. Mary also confirms this by saying: “For He took notice of His lowly servant girl” Luke 1:48. Humility is obeying and serving God and saying yes to all of his will not a part of it no matter the high price of it “Mary responded, “I am the Lord's servant. May EVERYTHING you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38. Jesus Christ is the highest model of humility and in the light of his humility other humilities look like pride, Philippians 2:7-10.

Treasuring God’s Word

Another great quality that was attached to Mary is that she was serious about God’s word, promises & prophecies. You often read this about her: “Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Luke 2:19. In her Magnificat, Mary recites the promises of God about the promised Messiah & the plan of salvation, she knew it well and she was expecting it. Because she disciplined herself all her life on meditating on the word of God she became a vessel of the truth, a vessel of the promise. God looked at her from eternity and said: “Man, this girl loves my word; she really knows how to meditate on it until she can get pregnant with it and birth it. I will reward her now with the LIVING WORD, Jesus himself”.

Mary was a great woman of God but in all her greatness she always knew her place & her position and never exalted herself like Lucifer did to be an object of worship, Isaiah 14:14-15. What a grace! When the wise men came to the house, it is written that they bowed to baby Jesus only “They entered the house and saw the child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped HIM.” Matthew 2:11. In her magnificat, Mary clearly called God her savior “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1:47. Calling God your savior means you need salvation! Being virgin doesn’t mean you are not a sinner, my sister was a virgin before she got married but she is a sinner who needs God’s salvation, can you see the difference? Jesus died for all humanity on the cross including his mother who was the first to receive her salvation at the feet of the cross. Do you want to be like Mary? Be the first one at the feet of the cross and receive your salvation.

Are you highly favored? I mean, are you humble & do you treasure God’s word in your heart? If yes, then get yourself ready for greatness!

Glory to God
Tony Francis

Death & Life according to God’s word

 By Joe Tannous

The bible teaches us that “death” is being away from God, it's not when your body dies, it's when your spirit dies. That's why Jesus said to that man “let the dead bury their own dead, but you, come and follow me.” Well, see this with me: How can dead people bury dead people? This can't happen. What Jesus was saying is that a dead person is not according to the worldly system, the one who can't breathe anymore. For Him, a dead person is the one who is away from Him, the one who does not have a real relationship with Him. God has created you to fellowship with you, to spend time with you, to hear you, to speak to your life, to show you how much you mean to Him & the list continues. 

You cannot declare “oh yeah I know God”, while you are not having a read relationship with Him. If you love someone, all that you want is to spend time with him/her. The same is with God, He is standing on your door, at your heart, knocking until you hear & when you do hear Him knocking, please do not reject Him, open the door for Him. He wants to build that relationship with you, an everlasting one, do not reject His voice today, your life is so precious to Him, but you will not find that anywhere else except in Him, anything else seem to be life but in fact it leads to death over death, but in Jesus and yes in Jesus, this relationship between You & Him will lead you to recognize life over life over life… because He is the life. Amen