New Life For The Nations

God’s Idea of Greatness

Luke 3:20 “…he shut up John in prison.”

John  spent 30 years preparing for a six month ministry, followed by one and half years in prison before he was beheaded.  Many people would not consider his life very successful, yet Jesus said John was the greatest man who was ever born (Mt. 11:11).

John’s greatness didn’t lie in his own success, but in the success of another.  John stirred up the hearts of an entire nation in expectancy of their Messiah.  The ministry of Jesus owed much of its success to the work of John.  John had prepared a people to need their God (Mal. 3:1).

In our celebrity conscious society, few people want to be the backup singer or the announcer who introduces the main speaker.  We have adapted a mentality that unless we are in the limelight we have failed.  That’s not the way the Lord looks at things

When the Lord passes out rewards in heaven, we may be shocked to see how He evaluates greatness. Many  people who did not receive recognition while on earth will shine in eternity. The Lord will judge our works on what sort they were and not on what size they were (I Cor.3:13).

                                        Andrew Wommack

Nothing God did for us is CHEAP!                                

Some people who criticize grace as being cheap or dangerous are, in reality, suggesting that God expects us to reach a certain level of performance to earn His grace.

Herein lies the problem:  grace is unearned–it is a free gift.   It is not cheap as it cost God the death of His Son to offer it to us.  

Calling grace “cheap” is an insult to all that Jesus accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection for us.    Ed Elliot

 CHOOSING JOY

“And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.’”   Luke 1:46-47

Here, Mary makes a very clear distinction between her soul magnifying the Lord and her spirit rejoicing.

Our soul is the part of us that is considered to be our personality.  It is our intellect, emotions and will.  Our spirit is the part that gets changed at salvation and it is always operating in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:22-23).  That’s true whether our souls (feelings and emotions) ‘feel’ it or not.

Many believers wait until their emotions like praising the Lord before they enter into worship.  They think it’s hypocritical to act like they are rejoicing in the Lord if they don’t ‘feel’ it.  But our spirits are always rejoicing in the Lord.  It’s actually hypocritical to go by our feelings and not magnify the Lord with our souls when our born again spirits are already rejoicing.

Our born again spirits are always in tune with the Lord and walking in the joy of the Lord.  Our flesh is often dominated by what it sees and feels.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like praising the Lord, but the choice rests with our souls.  If we choose to praise the Lord, our emotions will follow.

The decision is yours (Dt. 30:19).  Today, choose to walk in the joy of the Lord.                       

Andrew Wommack

GOD IS GOOD

John 21:25 ‘And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.’

Every detail of every man’s life, who has ever walked on the earth, has not impacted the world as much as the few recorded details of Jesus’ life.  Jesus was not just a man, He was God  manifest in the flesh ( I Tim. 3:16).

In Acts 10:38 Peter gives a very brief, yet descriptive summary of the life and ministry of Jesus.  Jesus was anointed with power and with the Holy Ghost.

He used this power to do good, not evil.  This is one of the main characteristics of God and is one of the easiest ways to discern what is from God and what is from the devil.  God is a good God and devil is a bad devil  If it’s bad, it’s from the devil  If it’s good, it’s from God.

Tragedy can come from three sources:  God, Satan, and natural law.  God has used nature to bring judgment.  However, the New Testament believer is exempt from this punitive judgment of God since Jesus bore it for him.

Satan is the source of much of the calamity that people ascribe to God.  Many problems arise because people violate the natural laws that God put into motion.  If a person drives recklessly and kills himself, it’s not God or the devil that killed him.  He violated natural law and thus paid the price.

It is incorrect to believe that God controls everything and therefore always has some redemptive design in tragedies.  This type of thinking will lead us to ignore the devil, thereby giving him a freehand to destroy our lives.  It will also cause us not to use wisdom concerning natural laws, because we will think that nothing can happen unless God wills it.  We must remember that God is a good God.

                                                            Andrew Wommack

Why it is important to never give up on God’s goodness!

“I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;  Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14).

The Psalmist makes the powerful point that if he had given up on trusting in God’s goodness towards him, he would have given up.  Knowing God and the fact He is a good God helps us no matter what we are facing in life to hold on to Him and His ways because we can be assured to see His goodness manifest in our lives.

You never need to give up on Yourself or Life.

As long as God is a good God and He tells us He will never change.

“I the LORD do not change.”  Malachi 3:6

                                                           Ed Elliot

GUARD AGAINST DECEPTION

Matthew 24:4 ‘And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.’

Deception can be avoided or else Jesus would not have said, “Take heed that no man deceive you.”  Satan can only deceive those who allow him to do it.

Ephesians 6:11 tells us to ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.’  Putting on the whole armour of God will protect you from the deception of the devil.  Just wearing part of God’s armour will not fully protect you.    Many Christians have been running around with the helmet of salvation on but nothing else.  There is more to overcoming the devil than just being saved.  We have to understand our righteous position in the Lord.  We also must possess faith, know the Word, and understand the gospel of peace.

The Christian life is a constant struggle against Satan, who is trying to corrupt us.  Most Christians are aware of the warfare, but they don’t know where the warfare is occurring.  The battle is in our mind. Just as the serpent didn’t come against Eve with brute force, but rather used words to deceive her, likewise Satan tries to corrupt us through thoughts contrary to the gospel.  Satan’s original tactic was deception and that is still his method of operation today.

One of the characteristics of children is that they are easily deceived.  They are gullible.  One of the things that must take place to move from childhood into sonship is spiritual discernment.  This comes from being grounded in the Word of God.

The way to recognize deception is not to analyze all the false claims but rather to become so familiar with what is genuine that a counterfeit will be easily recognizable.  Anyone who is truly grounded in the Word of God will not be deceived.                                                  
Andrew Wommack

God’s Love Isn’t a Reward

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”        Matthew 7:9-11

I don’t stop loving or providing for my children if they have been naughty, rebellious, or disobedient.  My love and forgiveness for them are unconditional.  If I refused to love, forgive, or provide for my children when they were disobedient or rebellious, I would be a negligent and abusive parent. As much as I love my children, it doesn’t even come close to how much God loves His children!

Being loved by God isn’t a reward for good behavior.  Rather, it’s a revelation of His heart that reveals His character and nature toward you.

Our character is shaped, molded, and transformed when we experience God’s character toward us.

                                               Ed Elliot

There is Only One Way To The Father

John 14:5  “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest;  and how can we know the way?”

Thomas knew Jesus.  He just didn’t realize Jesus was “the way.”  Likewise, people today know portions of God’s Word but they don’t realize that God’s Word is their way to victory.  Often, people cry out for God to speak to them while their Bible lays unopened on their nightstand.  God has spoken to us through His Word.  We just need to believe it and receive its truths as our way to victory.

Jesus didn’t say: “I am a way, a truth, and a life.”  He claimed to be the only way, truth, and life.  No man can come to the Father except through Jesus.  This means that anyone who claims to honor Jesus while advocating other ways to get to God, truth, or life, besides Jesus, is deceived or a deceiver.

Jesus’ claims about Himself, of which there is only one, left no room for other means to salvation.  He is either who He says He is, or He is the greatest deceiver of all time.  His own statements about Himself leave no other alternatives.  Therefore, other religions that recognize Jesus and His teachings as wonderful examples, but don’t believe He is the only way to achieve salvation, are false.

The word of God is a spiritual book written under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  It was not written to our head but to the innermost part of our heart.  This is why some people find the Bible so hard to understand.  They are trying to comprehend it using only their mind.  The Word of God has to inspire our heart before it can enlighten our mind.

                                   Andrew Wommack

How To Esteem Others More Than Self                                     

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  Matthew 25:32-46

When a kind act was done to someone in need, Jesus said it was done unto Him. The Lord deeply feels our hurts. When someone is neglected, Jesus says He is also being neglected. We have a high priest who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15). When we hurt, He hurts. When we are blessed, He is blessed. The God of the universe is intricately involved with every detail of our lives.

How can we esteem others better than ourselves when really we think we are better than others? Some people are better athletes than others. Some are better businessmen than others. Some are better speakers than others, and so forth.

First, we need to recognize that our accomplishments don’t make us better than others. There is a difference between what we do and who we are. Better performance does not make a better person. A person’s character can be severely wanting even though his performance is good.

Secondly, to esteem someone better than ourselves simply means to value them more than we value ourselves. To some that may seem impossible, but it isn’t.

That is exactly what Jesus did. If Jesus, who was God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16), could humble Himself and value our good above His own welfare, then we should certainly be able to do the same. It can happen when we die to self and live to God.

If we think only about ourselves, we will be selfish. If we get out of self and think more about the benefit of others than the benefit of self, then we will be selfless. It’s a matter of focus.

Andrew Wommack

Use Your Setbacks for a Comeback!

We all face setbacks in our lives at times.  When we are in a healthy relationship with God, it affords us the opportunity to recover from our failures.  No one is perfect but God.  Yet, He loves us with a perfect love that sustains and restores us when we need it.  His faithfulness to us is the strength we need to lean on.  We can turn our setbacks into glorious comebacks because His desires the best for His children.

Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us (so much that He died for us).  For I am convinced  (and continue to be convinced–beyond any doubt) that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the (unlimited) love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:37-39  AMP).        Ed and Laurie Elliott