Your Words Can Set You Free

 Jesus demonstrated not only God's power, but also God's consistent commitment to healing.

Curses are conveyed through words. They must be cancelled through words. 
God wants to set you free with HIS words of blessing, but the devil wants to take you captive again with HIS words. 

You often do not hear the devil's words directly from demons, but from other people. There are people who attack you repeatedly with harsh words. It is good if you can avoid such people. 

But you hear the devil's words very often in your own thoughts. You must defend yourself by not agreeing with these thoughts.
 
The worst thing is when you repeat these witchcraft spells aloud with your own voice. Then you curse yourself.

What is the antidote and how does it work?

You can redefine yourself with truth. 

Have you sinned? Then ask God for forgiveness and he will forgive you. But that is only the beginning. Then you must forgive yourself. Please forgive yourself!

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:8–9 NRSV

Are you unsure whether you truly belong to God?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Do you believe in Jesus? He died for you. Have you given your life to Jesus? Then you are a beloved child of God. 

But it is possible that the message of Jesus is only a religious truth for you, but not a personal reality, not something you experience in your everyday life.

If you are in this religious no-man's-land, you can take these words of Jesus to heart.

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Rev 3:20 NRSV

Jesus does not want to offer you mere religious beliefs. A life based solely on doctrines is only religion.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NRSV

If you have truly found Jesus in your life, you can redefine yourself.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1 NRSV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17 CSB

Have you made peace with God? Then you can claim God's blessings in the Bible. You are no longer inferior, no longer a failure, no longer condemned. 

You can think words of blessing about yourself and speak them aloud, and you must. Bless yourself again and again, again and again, especially in bitter hours. 

Push with your thoughts and words against the current of your previous life.

Don't say, ‘My life is like this and will never change.’ NO. I am getting out of this mess!!! And my escape to freedom is already well underway!!

Knowing God. Taste and See

 I love cappuccino coffee. When I go out, I love to try a different café and taste the coffee. I have found there is good coffee, bad coffee and wonderfully delicious coffee. Sometimes I go to the same café on different days and I find delicious coffee on one day and ordinary coffee on a different day.

I talked about it to a café proprietor I know, and she explained it this way. It depends on who serves you. If a person who does not love coffee serves you, the coffee is not likely to be good. 

What is the message here? If you want to bring people to God, you must learn to love the taste of the Holy Spirit. You cannot be a good cook if you don’t enjoy your own food.

Christian service can become an end in itself. You can work hard at being a good Christian but in fact you are trying to conform to human ideas of being a good Christian. 

So often we can copy church leaders or copy one another, or be ruled by rigid ideas of Christian duty and morality.

In the New Testament, Jesus taught something quite different. He called his disciples to follow him personally, to be with him, to know him, to enjoy his company.

I find that I can also fall into this trap. I get consumed with doing good things for God, but I spend less time enjoying His company. I get spiritually and emotionally dry.

Jesus said:

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. Jn 10:27–28 NKJV

I can read my bible and feel the touch of God in my heart or I can just read the Bible. I can pray and tell God what I think or need, or I can tell God what I think he wants to hear, or I can ask God what He wants to tell me and expect Him to answer.

This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Ps 34:6–8 NKJV

Taste and see ….

God wants you to Experience the Holy Spirit

Perhaps you are striving to live uprightly and correctly and to make God's truth known. This is good, but the people around you will only recognise God's truth if they see and feel God's grace and love in you.

You can live virtuously and speak of God's grace and love, but if you don't experience and enjoy God's love, others will only hear religious talk.

Some may respect your virtue, but it will not awaken a longing for God's love in their hearts.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn 7:37–39 NIV

You can only pass on what you have received. If you have only received beliefs, you can only pass on beliefs.

Unfortunately, there are many in some churches who are satisfied with beliefs, but people in the world are not interested in beliefs at all. Many hunger and thirst for a reality that they can experience.

God did not send his eternal, infinitely loved Son into the world just to establish a religion. Do you want to experience God like the Lord's first disciples? Why not?

We already find models for our faith in the Old Testament.

Before the fall of man, Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden.

Then we see Enoch.

Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Gen 5:23–24 NIV

This man was certainly a hero of faith in a Bible story, but what does this have to do with us, ordinary Christians?

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn 7:38–39 NIV

This is how Jesus describes his intention for ordinary Christians, for us. How can this be anything other than an overwhelming blessing? If we don't experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit as a dramatic visitation, something has gone tragically wrong.

But for many Christians, being filled with the Holy Spirit is just a dry doctrine. That can't be!

Then we see Abraham.

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. Acts 7:2 NIV

Abraham knew no doctrines. He experienced a visitation of God's glory. When he believed and obeyed God, the world changed for ever.

We must not throw away the doctrines in the Bible and seek only experiences.

But so many cling tightly to commandments and Bible texts and are afraid of visitations from God himself. This is a tragic mistake.

If you want to cling to biblical commandments, then you should take this Bible verse seriously.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, Eph 5:18 NIV

Many Christians think this means they should never have a glass of wine, and they don't drink, but they ignore the second part.

Drunkenness is a dramatic experience that has negative after-effects, but when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, it should also be a dramatic experience, but with heavenly effects.

God wants to overwhelm you with all kinds of blessings because He loves you immensely and to bless those around you through your life.

The Touch of God

 God is love. He wants to touch you with his love. His touch is gentle. He does not want to hurt you. He wants to touch every part of you with his love.

God touches your spirit and your soul, your thoughts, and your feelings, but not only that. He also wants to touch your body. His touch is a healing touch. His love is a comforting love.

About 50 years ago there was a stirring of the Spirit of God among all kinds of people. Traditional Catholics and Protestants experienced the touch of God. Many drug addicts and hippies had amazing experiences and became followers of Jesus. I believe we are about to see something even bigger very soon.

At that time I was a young man and a newly converted Christian. We loved to sing this song.

God’s not dead, He is alive. God’s not dead, He is alive. God’s not dead, He is alive. 

I feel him all over me.
I can feel Him in my hands
I can feel Him in my feet
I can feel Him in the Church
I can feel Him in the street
I can feel him in the air.
I feel him everywhere.

It was literally true. We really did feel the Spirit of God in our bodies and all around us. 

I am now 74, and I still often feel the presence and the touch of God, but the glory has faded a little. I want a refreshing. I believe it is coming.

Many conservative Christians are nervous about dramatic or emotional experiences of God.

There are even many Pentecostal believers who see their bodies as something not entirely spiritual.

According to a popular doctrine, you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body.

Many people have died, or nearly died, and come back to life. They report that they have left their bodies and had amazing experiences. Outside their bodies they could see, hear and think with even greater clarity than their natural physical senses permitted.

We are spiritual beings. When your body dies, you don’t cease to exist. 

But is your body only an unimportant housing for your soul?
We can overvalue our bodies. We can be obsessed with feeling good and looking good. 

We can be obsessed with sex and sensual satisfaction.

But God made your body, and he loves every part of you. God wants to awaken your spiritual senses but also bless your natural human self, including your body.

Everywhere Jesus went, he healed physical ailments and disabilities.

In the Old Testament, the prophet David wrote.

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. Ps 63:1 NKJV

God loves you, not just your spirit. God loves you, every part of you, just as you are. 

 God wants to heal, refresh and bless your spirit, your mind, your soul and your body.
 

God helps His Children to Succeed

I love success. It feels good. God does not want his children to fail. God wants to help you progress in your work with your talents.

Jesus told of a rich man who entrusted three of his servants each with a considerable sum of money. They were to invest the money productively. They were to act wisely and diligently.

When the rich man returned from a long journey, the first two servants had invested with great success.

The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ 

“ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ Luke 19:16–17 NLT

“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ Luke 19:18 NLT

But the third was frightened and did not want to take any chances.

“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe.

I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ Luke 19:20–21 NLT

The rich man was angry and the anxious servant was fired.

Many say that Jesus accomplished everything on the cross and there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation.

This is certainly true. But a wise preacher once said:

Jesus didn't accomplish everything so that you could accomplish nothing. (Bill Johnson)

Success is good, but not always good.

If you use your talents to build a big pornography company, like Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, you will burn in hell unless you repent and receive God's forgiveness.

If you use your spiritual gifts to build a big church and get rich, but the members look to you instead of reaching out to the world as followers of Jesus, you go to heaven when you die, but not as a faith hero.

Success is good if your success is the work of God in you, through you and with you.

I love success. It feels good. God doesn't want his children to fail. God wants to help you progress in your work with your talents.

If your work is his work and your success is His success, you will be really successful.

GOD TRANSFORMS YOUR SHAME INTO BLESSING

"Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth,  Isaiah 54:4 (NASB) 

God remembers everything in your life, the good, the bad and the ugly. 

But doesn’t the Bible say that God forgets your sins when He forgives?

God decides not to remember your sin as sin. But God keeps a record of everything in your past and in your history for another purpose. 

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV) 

God keeps a record of your entire life for the purpose of healing the wounds in your soul. 

• Better than that, God uses the wrong things that have happened in your life to bless you and others.

When Moses died, Joshua took over the leadership of Israel. 
Before the Israelites miraculously crossed the Jordan River, Joshua sent spies into Jericho. 

• They narrowly escaped capture when they took refuge in a brothel. The prostitute Rahab protected them because she believed in the God of Israel. 
• When the city of Jericho fell, Rahab’s house was preserved and she was welcomed into Israel as a convert to the true God. 
• She became the grandmother of the grandfather of King David. 
• Rahab is one of only four women listed in the family tree of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. 

Jesus said to the self righteous Jewish religious leaders:

 ... Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. Matthew 21:31 (NIV) 

How many prostitutes have been encouraged to respond to the love of God by the story of Rahab? 

• God uses the record of our past lives to bless us and bless others.

I once heard a very interesting missionary preacher. He told a story of a church made up mostly of converted ex prostitutes. They were wonderful street evangelists. 

• As prostitutes they had hunted for men with shameless boldness. God used this same shameless boldness to make them wonderful evangelists. 

God forgets the sinfulness of your sin but He uses your sinful past to do wonderful things.

A quite different example is the Apostle Paul.

Paul’s sinful past was not adultery or witchcraft but self righteous religious pride. 

• Paul’s religious ambition drove him to be an outstanding biblical scholar but there was not humility of love in his heart. His religion led him to persecute and murder followers of Jesus. 
• Paul became an enemy of Jesus and an enemy of the God he thought he served. Then came the day when everything changed.

Acts 9:3-6 (NIV) 

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 

• "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 

God never forgot Paul’s sin. It is recorded in the Bible, the Word of God.

• Paul also remembered his sin.

1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NIV) 

• Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. 
• But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 

Paul was a living example of the mercy and grace that was at the heart of his message and his ministry.

If there is extreme shame in your life, be encouraged. 

"Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth ... Isaiah 54:4 (NASB)