Doing it Like Jesus

And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, See that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. 

But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. NKJ Exodus 4:21 

• God is calling the followers of Jesus of this generation to exercise All the charismatic gifts found in the New Testament. 

Is this to make ministries look good? 

Sadly the gifts are often misused for this purpose but it is not the purpose of God. 

• God wants to make known to all people His supernatural power, love, reality, presence, wisdom and knowledge, so that many will believe and be saved through faith in Jesus.

Are charismatic gifts necessary for salvation? 

• Yes and no. You can go to heaven if you don’t pray in other tongues, if you don’t heal the sick, if you don’t prophesy and you don’t cast out demons.

  • But the salvation of others can often depend on believers who release the saving power of Jesus by using gifts like these. 

Moses was not sent to work miracles in Egypt to be delivered himself but to secure the release of a captive people.

• Does this mean that every believer must be constantly exercising all the nine Charismatic gifts on a daily or weekly basis? 

• If you are not operating at the same powerful supernatural level as Benny Hinn or Reinhard Bonnke, should you feel a failure?

• Of course not.

Of course we can all receive the gift of praying in tongues and use this for our private devotion, prayer, praise and intercession.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 (NKJV)   

• Praying in tongues opens your spirit to the supernatural moving of the Holy Spirit in a new way. This can and should lead to a deeper experience of God’s gifts which God wants to give you to bless others.

Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? 

But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful. 1 Corinthians 14:6 (NLT) 

 

• The supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit are intended to be used by all believers in all places in all kinds of situations.

When Moses delegated some of this leadership authority to 70 elders, God gave the gift of prophecy to all of the 70 and they began to prophesy in the meeting, with the exception of two who were not there. 

However, these two began to prophesy where they were, outside the meeting. Moses received a complaint about it but he dismissed the objection.

• Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" NKJ Numbers 11:29 

Jesus is our role model.  

When the Son of God lived as a man, he remained God but he laid aside his unlimited divine powers and relied on the Holy Spirit to supernaturally reveal information as and when He needed it. 

In his wonderful book on marketplace Christianity, Ed Silvoso tells how a newly converted Filipino taxi driver was led by the Holy Spirit to begin a personal mission to a bar called Sweet Moments.

• “Every day he would go into the bar, order a soft drink and pray peace over the place, its employees and customers. After a few days of doing this, he befriended the manager, Brian, who was a homosexual, a gambler, a drug user, a drug dealer and a pimp to 35 prostitutes....

This friendship grew. After a few days Joe was able to lead Brian to the Lord and baptise him at a nearby beach. 

• As Brian emerged from the water, the power of God came upon him and he experienced an instant transformation. All his homosexual drives disappeared. 

• He was also freed from gambling and drug addiction. He was delivered from all his vices and stopped being a pimp, which had supported his sinful lifestyle.”

• Soon the 35 prostitutes became Christians and then the lawyer who owned the bar was also converted. The bar became a dynamic Christian church and the newly converted taxi driver was the pastor and leader.

THIS IS A TIME FOR COURAGE

This is not a season for business as usual but for courage in a crisis.

Here is a copy of today's facebook post by my good Facebook Friend Philip Lye in Queensland Australia.

• Word for the Day - Be Courageous: 'Be strong and of good courage...' Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV

On the morning of September 11, 2001, United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco was hijacked by terrorists who claimed to have a bomb. 

When they received telephone confirmation that other planes with terrorists on board had hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, the passengers understood the hijackers' intent. 

Todd Beamer, a 32 year old businessman, picked up a seat-back phone and reached Lisa Jefferson, a Verizon Airfone supervisor. He told her that he and others were going to 'jump on' a hijacker who was guarding the passengers in the rear. Beamer asked her to pray the Lord's Prayer with him. He also made her promise to call his wife, Lisa, and tell her that he loved her and their two little boys. 

Dropping the phone after talking with Jefferson, Beamer said, 'Jesus, help me.' Then, after reciting Psalm 23, he said, 'Are you guys ready? Okay, let's roll.' Those were the unforgettable last words Beamer said before he and others rushed the hijackers. There were screams, then silence. 

• That day brave civilians, complete strangers, rose up against impossible odds and tried to save the aircraft. In doing so, they made the ultimate sacrifice. United Flight 93 crashed into a large field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 on board. Of the four hijacked planes that morning, theirs was the only one that failed to hit its target. 

 Those heroes showed courage - at the highest level. Whatever you are facing today, be courageous, 'for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you'.

CAN YOUR HEART THINK?

Supposing it were technically possible, would you want a brain transplant to save your life? 

But who would you be? 

• Would you be the person died and gave the brain or would you be the person who received a new brain?

We believe the brain is where you think and which therefore defines who you are. But the Bible never says that. In the Bible it is the heart which defines who you are.

• Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)   FOR AS HE THINKS IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his HEART is not with you.    

• Proverbs 14:10 (NKJV)  The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

• Luke 6:45 (NKJV)   A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Over 40 years ago a South African heart surgeon named Christian Barnard transplanted a heart and saved a life. Now it is almost a routine operation. 

The Bible says we think with our heart, meditate in our heart, love and hate with our heart and we believe or doubt with our heart but we know better. 

• That is just symbolic language. A heart transplant is just a technical operation involving a muscular organ that pumps blood. OR IS IT?

•  We have become accustomed to seeing science exposing and correcting naive literal interpretations of the Bible. 

Of course we all know that the brain in our head is full of nerve cells which enable us to think. When we read in the Bible that our heart thinks, we assume this is an old fashioned and symbolic use of language. The best Bible dictionaries and commentaries agree with this view. We have come to think that heart is a powerful muscle that pumps blood and nothing more. 

But then something very strange happened.

In 1988, Claire Sylvia, a 47 year old American woman had a successful heart and lung transplant. After her recovery, she unexpectedly remarked to an interviewer: “I’m dying for a beer right now.” This astonished her because she had never liked beer but the 18 year old boy whose heart she received was definitely a beer drinker. 

  She also discovered she had acquired a taste for Snickers Bars, green peppers and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which she never liked before. It turned out the dead boy also loved these foods. Then her daughter observed she walked like a man and she was more assertive than before.

• Claire traced the family of the boy who gave her his heart and wrote a book about her personality changes. This opened a new field of research which is still in its early stages. Other amazing stories emerged.

A little girl received a new heart from another girl who had been murdered. She had vivid nightmares about the murder of the other girl. A psychiatrist took her stories seriously and the police were called in. The detailed account of the murder led the police to find and arrest the killer.

You can find a number of similar stories on the following web pages.

• DOES THE HEART REMEMBER? PEARSALL

• STORIES OF HEART AND PERSONALITY TRANSPLANTS

Relatively new research is telling us that there are many that the heart has a huge number of nerve cells and the heart includes a second brain, possibly over half the size of the brain in your head.

Now read these Bible texts and see what they say to you.

• Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)  ... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your HEART that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the HEART one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 

  • Psalm 51:10 (KJV)  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

  • Ezekiel 11:19 (NKJV) Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,

  
  

A NEW START FOR DISAPPOINTED BELIEVERS.

God is calling failures...

• Hebrews 12:2-3 (TLB)  Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God.

• If you want to keep from becoming fainthearted and weary, think about his patience as sinful men did such terrible things to him.

In this life we need courage. A life without courage can only be full of disappointment and mediocrity.

Jesus was the Lord in Heaven, the Eternal, Holy, Almighty Son of the Heavenly Father.

• He dared to come into this world as a human being, to be born as a baby boy.

• He dared to grow up in a village of small minded gossips where he was tormented because they thought he was an illegitimate child.

• He dared to preach the truth and provoke the religious leaders, knowing this would lead to his arrest and cruel execution on the cross.

• He dared to trust a small group of followers to be the founders of a new movement which would transform the world for God.

• He dared to choose you and me before the foundation of the world, so that as Christians we would be His representatives on earth.

• He knew we would often fail but in spite of that he dared to entrust us with His name and His mission.

  We must not let Him down.

But you can trust Him, that He will not let you down. He was the originator and creator of your faith, not you. He called you and you responded by receiving Him.

• John 1:12 (TLB)  But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.

Then you probably made a wonderful discovery, that the love of God was a great liberation, that you experienced a wonderful personal closeness to the Spirit of God, something you had no idea of before you knew Jesus.

But then you encountered hard tests and disappointments. You may have been badly misunderstood by friends or family or you had bad experiences in church or you experienced deep rejection from people you expected to support you.

You may have set out to do something for God but failed or other Christians let you down, perhaps even betrayed you. Perhaps you made some really bad mistakes. You may have chosen the wrong job, the wrong church to join or the wrong person to marry.

You husband or wife may have betrayed you or you were badly mistreated by you church leaders. Perhaps your parents or your children turned against you or it may be that your life is in ruins because of your own sins.

You may have struggled for years with failures and disappointments until you seriously doubted if you would make it to heaven. 

Or you may have lowered your expectations of success and fulfilment in this life while you grimly waited until the time when death would open the door to a merciful release into heaven.

But right now God wants to speak to you. He wants you to know that He still has a plan and a purpose for your life on this earth.

God wants to raise up and restore His disappointed children to a new life of blessing and breakthrough enabled by His power and perfect love.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross to save you from your disappointment. Jesus is right with you now, calling you to believe and hope again, to dare to love again.

He is calling you, as He called His beloved Peter long ago, to rise up from his shame and defeat to become the first great preacher of the Good News in the early church in Jerusalem.

WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

Jesus preached the Good News of the Kingdom, so we must embrace HIS agenda. 

What did Jesus teach us about the KINGDOM?

IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KING IS THE HEALER OF ALL THINGS.

Matthew 4:23 (ESV)  And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS A RIGHTEOUS KINGDOM.
To live in the Kingdom we must turn from evil.

Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Repentance also means to change you mind, to change your thinking, to think like God thinks.

WE MUST SUBMIT TO OUR GOOD KING AND LEARN HIS WAYS.

“The King of Love my shepherd is whose goodness faileth never. I nothing lack if I am his and he is mine for ever.”

• Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

• And do not be conformed to this world, 

  • but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ONE. IT IS A KINGDOM OF UNITY.

• 1 Corinthians 10:17 (NKJV)  For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

• John 17:20-21 (NKJV)  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

  •  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

• You may be stuck with a way of thinking you learnt from your church but you are not open to fresh inspiration from the Holy Spirit and from ideas from believers outside your tradition.

• If so, you need to REPENT, think again, listen to God and listen to inspired thinking from believers outside your denomination or local assembly.

GOD IS LOVE AND HE LOVES NOT ONLY YOU BUT THE NATION WHICH YOU BELONG TO. 

• Patriotism is of God because God is love and He loves your nation and your people.

BUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS INTERNATIONAL AND OUR PRIMARY CITIZENSHIP IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

• Galatians 3:28 (NKJV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

• There must be no discrimination amongst God’s people. Patriotism must not be contaminated with sinful pride, racism, prejudice or exclusive nationalism. 

• I also thank God that He has raised up women as wonderful preachers and teachers of the Kingdom in our generation as He also did in Bible days. 

• I thank God for Cindy Jacobs, Heidi Baker, Wendy Alec, Mother Teresa, Jackie Pullinger, Joyce Meyer, Basilea Schlink, Corrie ten Boom and many other wonderful women who have built and are building the Kingdom of God.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS A KINGDOM AT WAR.

• Matthew 10:7-8 (NKJV)  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

• Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

We have an enemy, Satan, the adversary of God. The Kingdom of Darkness afflicts people with sickness; demons possess and destroy lives. 

• We have received the free gift of forgiveness, a new life and the right to exercise the authority and power of Jesus. 

  • We must use this power to heal and restore lives, to rescue people from the prisons of sickness, rejection and from the control of demons.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

• Matthew 6:9-12 (NKJV) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come...

• YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

• In Heaven there is no sickness and no poverty, so we must resist these things as our enemies.

• In heaven there are no denominations, so we must embrace ALL believers here as our brothers, demonstrating actual fellowship and practical love.

The Promises of Jesus

You can always trust Jesus.

• You can trust Jesus when you are sick.

That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 

This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”  Matthew 8:16-17 (ESV)       

  

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. 

Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT)   

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb13:8 (NKJV)   

• You can trust Jesus when you are guilty.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:8-9 (ESV)  

• You can trust Jesus when you feel rejected.

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. John 6:37 (NLT)   

 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. John 6:37 (NKJV)  

• You can trust Jesus when you don’t know if God accepts you.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)   

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. 

He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)   

...for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth: 1 Tim 2:4 (TLB)

• You can trust Jesus when you feel pressurised, tired and overwhelmed.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (NLT)   

• You can trust Jesus when you feel empty and unsatisfied.

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35 (NKJV)   

 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. 

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (NKJV)  

 

• You can trust Jesus when you feel alone.

    "But I will send you the Comforter—the Holy Spirit, the source of all truth. 

He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me. John 15:26 (TLB)

  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. 

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (NLT)  

• You can trust Jesus to speak to you. 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 (NKJV)   

• You can trust Jesus when you are grieving over the loss of what was precious to you.

 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10 (NKJV)  

• You can trust Jesus to care for your children.

 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; 

He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. Isaiah 40:11 (NKJV)  

• You can trust Jesus when you are afraid to die. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 (NIV)   

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 

Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. John 11:25-26 (NLT) 

YOU CAN TRUST HIM WHEN YOU ARE DOWN

This life is often difficult. We have such high hopes and lovely dreams until reality hits us, people come against us or routine grinds us down. 

• We can easily lose sight of our dreams and lower our expectations of life.

• But if we read the Bible, God tells us to keep on believing more and more, not less and less.

When our earthly bodies grow weary, He calls us to Himself and reminds us we not only have a home in heaven but we will live in heavenly bodies like Jesus Himself after He returned from the grave.

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 2 Cor 5:1-2 (NLT)

But we don’t have to live out our earthly days in mediocrity and weakness. On the contrary, in our weakness we can turn to God and He will demonstrate His power on our behalf.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor 12:9 (NKJV)  

This text is sometimes used to prove that the Apostle Paul suffered from a chronic illness and Jesus refused to heal him. It is used to teach that we should not confidently expect Jesus to heal us when we are sick.

A closer look at Paul’s story quickly shows this argument is quite wrong.

Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes. 

Three times I was beaten with rods. 

Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day. 2 Cor 11:24-25 (TLB) 

 ... They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 

But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Acts 14:18-20 (NIV)

Paul could not have continued his mission without repeated experiences of miraculous healing.

What should you do when you feel weak and burdened?

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Mt 11:28-30 (NKJV)

• Our life experiences are often far from easy and our burdens are often heavy but Jesus will add His strength to your strength. 

• A problem may be far too heavy for you to bear alone but when Jesus carries your burdens, you can actually move forwards instead of being paralysed.           

How can you turn to God?

• Have you put your whole life in His hands?

• Have you committed your life to following Jesus Christ? Have you believed and trusted that Jesus bore all your griefs and sorrows on the cross and your pains and sicknesses as well?

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NKJV)   

Jesus willingly carried all our burdens to the cross, our sin and guilt, our failures and disappointments, our sickness and infirmities, our weakness and death.

He died so that you and I could live.

Jesus is the miracle worker. He can turn your darkness into light, a tragic defeat into an incredible turnaround. 

He can turn a mentally ill person into someone who changes lives with love and power and peace. I have seen it. I have experienced it.

If you are in darkness, call out to Him.

'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)