Gospel Faith
Isaiah 54
1Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Many years ago a certain Church couple was trying to have a baby but had been unsuccessful. They began to wonder why they could not conceive and they started to question their very belief in God.
They decided the best thing to do would be to go to their Pastor and talk to him about and see what he had to say regarding the matter.
When they met with the Pastor he told them that they should get some scriptural evidence that they could stand on that proved the barren womb was under the curse and that they had been set free of that curse because of what Jesus did for them.
“Receiving is all about convincing yourself”
This is exactly what the couple did. They found some scriptures to stand on and this is what they did for three months, but with no results.
The couple once again returned to the Pastor and had some questions for him. They asked why they still could not get pregnant and wondered if God even wanted them to have a baby. It was at this point that the Pastor decided that he should meet the couple at their home.
The couple thought this was a great idea and asked him for supper. The day came for the Pastor to come over and they discussed the couples desire to get pregnant. After supper, the Pastor asked the couple to give him a tour of their house; so of course they consented to the Pastor’s request.
“Faith and believing must work together in order for you to walk in what God has promised you in the Bible”.
After the couple had shown the Pastor around the house he abruptly stopped, looked them square in face and said “You are not believing God to have a baby!” The couple was astonished at the Pastor’s remarks and became offended. But the Pastor once again said “You are not believing God to have a baby!”
The Pastor continued by saying “if you were believing God to have a baby you would have a room for the baby, bottles for the baby and so on so forth. Well, don’t you know, the Husband and Wife went out that very night and bought baby supplies and three months later they were pregnant, glory to God!
So I’ll leave you with this “How are you believing?”
How Not To Worry
Matthew 6:33-34
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Worry, it plagues the society we live in and it has intruded our Christian faith. We believe in the Word of God but the worries of this world control us to point of where we sometimes ask, where are you God?
The world we live in has many variables such as our families, jobs, bills and the list goes on. Where worry creeps in is when we start to focus ourselves on these things. We become worried about where the money is going to come from? How I am going to pay the doctor’s bill?
The problem is that our focus is what we need rather than who we need. We often even mis-quote the scriptures and say that God will meet all our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus, when what it really says is that He will meet your NEED, because all you really need is Jesus.
We often think that God is going to bless us to help us out of our current situation; when in all reality He already has. He has already established the fact and truth that His Word is above every situation and circumstance, putting above His own name.
His Word is described as being alive but it is only alive in our lives when we act upon it. God blessing is tied into the action of doing His Word. We no longer have to be worried, because it is worry that causes us not to take action.
Instead, if we would take a bible verse that deals with what we are in need of and act on it we would see the Glory of God operating in our lives.
Song Of The Redeemed
PSALM 137
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?
Life can sometimes take us captive. It can take what we hold dear to us if were not careful. Most people hold their lives so dear to themselves that they believe what they have and who they know is who they are.
We love to worship and praise God when things are going well. We love to thank God for all He’s given us when there is no pressure or opposition. See, it’s easy to sing when you’re standing on the mountain top. It’s easy to sing when things are just the way you want them; but what about when opposition comes?
I remember the night my Grandfather died and my whole family was in Hospital. There was a lot tension, crying and worrying. I remembering sitting with my Grandmother and wondering what was going on? Why were we here? I didn’t realize that my Grandfather was in another room dying and that I would never see him again.
That night is still so vivid in my mind; it is almost like it happened yesterday. I can still remember my Sister and I sitting on opposite sides of Grandma and her saying “Don’t worry, it’s going to be alright”, which I think was more for her comfort than ours.
Many years past by and my Father and I were talking about God. He was telling me how important God was and how you must recognize Him as the focal point of your family, if you are going to overcome all the tests and trails that the Devil brings.
My Dad brought me back to the night when his Dad and my Grandfather died. He told me the night his father died he realized his true father was God. I realized that my Dad was trying to tell me that my confidence and strength had to be in God the Father because if it was not, my confidence was in something that would not always be there for me.
We need to realize that when test and trials come the Devil is going to ask us the same question he asked the Israelites “Can you sing your song of Joy now?” It is as the Word says; the joy of the Lord is our strength!
JAMES 1:2-4
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.