Happiness Power (#PowerandPurpose)

Are you living the kind of life that guarantees true joy and happiness? Maybe there are one or more areas of your life that need work today. If so, then now is the time to come to Jesus and get it settled. Why live anything less than a happy, fulfilling Christian life? You don’t have to live that way, therefore why would you? The secret of true happiness in the Christian life lies in humility before God and men, holiness in your walk before God and acceptance of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you in salvation. Are there areas that need work? If so, bring them to Him tonight and He will make them right!

The Power and Purpose of Lack (#PowerandPurpose)

READ:  Luke 19:1-10


There are people who seem to possess everything this world holds in value and esteem. These people are looked upon by others as being successful. Perhaps you have even been jealous of someone who you thought had more than you did. Zacchaeus is one of those people who had it all. He was a rich man, v. 2, and he was a man of position and power, v. 2. I am sure there were many in Jericho and the surrounding area who would have gladly traded places with Zacchaeus. Yet, there was more to Zacchaeus than met the eye. Sure he was successful by the world's standards, but you should never judge a book by its cover. It was what Zaccheaus lacked that made the difference in his life. But, when this little man met a great big God, he got his need met completely.

Release the Fear (#PowerandPurpose)

Regardless of the fears you may have today, they are little when they are placed next to the Lord. If He can create the universe out of nothing; surely He can meet your need! If He can keep Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego through the fiery furnace, He can take care of you! If He can secure Daniel in the lion’s den, He can take care of you! If He can feed three million Jews in the desert for forty years, He can take care of you! If He can defeat sin, death, Hell, the grave and Satan using an old rugged cross and an empty tomb, He can take care of you! If He can save you from your sins, He can take care of you!

Whatever you fear today, bring it to Him, and leave it in His hand. He is more than able to take care of you, Eph. 3:20. (Ill. Jesus is the Lord of the little, even little fears!)

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Handling What's Handling Your (#PowerandPurpose)

Sometimes God is like that stagecoach driver. He will allow things to enter our lives that nearly devastate us. But, He does it to grow us and teach us more about Him. Now, we all know that trouble and trials are part and parcel of the human life. After all, Job said it, Job 14:1; Job 5:7. And so did Jesus, John 16:33. Burdens, troubles, trials and difficulties are going to come our way! That is a given.






TRUST YOUR BURDENS TO THE RIGHT PROVISIONS


There are times when the Lord changes your situation in an instant, removing your burden.
There are times when the Lord will leave the burden on your shoulders, but He will lighten the burden a little bit. He did this for Ruth when He allowed her path to cross that of Boaz, Ruth 2-3!

This is the most common aid we receive from Him. He gives us grace to carry the load we have been assigned, 2 Cor. 12:9. (Ill. The glory of Him changing us in our situation instead of Him just changing our situation.)

What’s handling you? Why don’t you just bring it to Him? He knows how to handle what’s handling you!  

The Power of the Promise of Prosperity (#PowerandPurpose)

Now the Lord says that if you will seek His kingdom and His righteousness, "all these things shall be added unto you." Now what "things" was the Lord referring to? He was talking about all the things that people worry about. In v.19 we are told that people worry about finances. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal."


You don't need everything you want. I wish I had all the money back that I had spent in my life on things that I wanted that I didn't really need.


You don't want everything you need. I never wanted one whipping that I ever got, but I needed everyone of them.


God doesn't give us everything we want. I, for one, am so glad that He doesn't. You know, one of the greatest blessings of God is found in those things that He doesn't give us. I read one time the confession of an unknown confederate soldier that tremendously blessed me. Listen to it.

Power to Prioritize (#PowerandPurpose)

If your priorities are not in order, your life will not be in order. If your priorities are not right, you won't be right. You don't have to pray about what your number one priority in life ought to be. You don't have to think about it. You don't have to discuss it. You don't have to look for it.  You just have to do it. Because Jesus has already told us what our first priority ought to be, "seek ye first the kingdom of God."   The word seek means to "actively pursue" or "to go after." It's in the present tense. It means continuously. Every day of your life you ought to seek first the kingdom of God.




But it is not enough to seek the Lord. You must seek Him first. Jesus said, "seek first the kingdom of God." First things first means putting the Father first. There are three words I want you to circle in this passage. In v.30 circle the word faith. In v.32 circle the word Father. In v.33 circle the word first. You know the Bible says in Heb. 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please him."  Do you know what faith is? Faith is putting the Father first. Let me tell you something. Jesus does not want a place in your life. Jesus does not even want prominence in your life. Jesus wants preeminence in your life.

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The Power and Purpose of the Future (#PowerandPurpose)

GOD’S PLAN INCLUDES GIVING US A HOPE AND A FUTURE!

Hope is defined as "confident trust with the expectation of fullfillment."  God wants us to hope & trust in him for a brighter tommorrow! Our ultimate hope rests in eternity with God!  Along with hope comes peace!  God has given us a sense of hope & peace that we can trust in him no matter what we’re going through that there will be a brighter tommorrow!

He wants us to prosper!  Prosperity means to succeed or thrive.  God didn’t mean money or material things nessecarily, or just them alone!  He was also talking about being prospered with intangible things, (I.e, peace, joy, love, hope, happiness.)  The material things will come, but that should not and cannot become the central focus.

God has a plan of prosperity for your life!

The Power of Provision (#PowerandPurpose)

God stands ready to bless you, He wants to bless you.  He loves to bless His Children, it gives Him great pleasure!

Jesus, has already done everything that could be done, for us to receive His Fathers blessing.

He’s already paid our ransom for our sins with His blood, and He’s already provided for our healing with His body.  He is willing to give us access to everything He has and has done for us!  The rest is up to us, we are the most blessed people on earth because of it.

That’s why God’s word says, we can be the head and not the tail!

There is nothing that we will ever come up against in this life that He has not provided for!
He has abundantly provided, He is a God of more than enough, not a God of barely enough.

When you stop and think about it, He could not have made it any easier for us.

The solutions to all of lives problems, have always been there waiting, just waiting for us to step into them and use them.

S.T.R.I.D.E. in Your Purpose (#PowerandPurpose)

Spiritual gifts are special abilities given to every Christian, by the grace of God, through the Holy Spirit, to be used to serve and strengthen one another and to glorify God. No two persons are exactly alike. We have different abilities, dreams, and preferences. God has created us with a specific purpose in mind, giving each of us a unique S.T.R.I.D.E. on our faith journey -- Spiritual gifts, Talents, Resources, Individual styles, Dreams, and Experiences.



Jeremiah 29:11: For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.


God has blessed you so that you can go forth and bless your world. Don’t almost give – BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE! Go and fulfill your divine purpose.

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The Flow of God's Power in Your Purpose (#PowerandPurpose)

If we would see the power we must secure the presence of Jesus.

Mary & Martha knew that. When their brother Lazarus died they called for Jesus. They knew that if He was present God’s power would flow. But Jesus arrived late, and Lazarus had already died. Remember what Martha said? "If only You had been here..." SHE KNEW THAT WHERE JESUS IS THERE IS POWER. (Her problem was that she saw Jesus as the God of YESTERDAY - "if only You had been here". Jesus said that Lazarus would live again. Martha replied - "Oh, I know he will live again in the resurrection." To her Jesus was the God of yesterday and of the dim distant future! But Jesus said to her: "I AM the resurrection and the life, he that believes on Me though he be dead yet shall he live." Friends, Jesus is THE GOD OF TODAY!

If we can but secure His presence. GOD’S POWER FLOWS WHEREVER HE IS PRESENT.

 

Expectancy of Power and Purpose (#PowerandPurpose)

The word "expectancy" here means: "TO WAIT FOR SOMETHING IN SUSPENSE". How many know that God does "exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think"?! The problem is that so often we come to God not expecting anything at all!


Whether it be at home in your private devotional or when you worship at the house of God WE MUST COME TO GOD WITH EXPECTANCY! "They that come to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."


A. God wants us to come to Him with expectancy.
B. We have every Reason to come to Him with expectancy, because God always answers His people.
C. God doesn’t always answer the way we are anticipating.
When it’s not His will, God says "NO!"
When it’s not His time, God says "SLOW!"
But when it’s His will, and the time is right, God says "GO!"

The Power of Adversity & Change (#PowerandPurpose)

David was a man of many conditions. He was much tried yet much favored. The circumstances of the psalm from which our text is taken refer to the tragic era in his life when he found himself betrayed by his counselors, and his confidence was good and shook. But his trials drove him nearer to God. He knew only too well that uninterrupted prosperity was apt to cause neglect of higher things.


When a train of troubles attends us and we look at our afflictions, losses, and crosses, and cry out, "All these changes are against me!"  Let us take comfort in reading,"It is good for me that I have been afflicted." (Ps.119:71)


The paradox of faith however, is that we are built up by being broken down. God does by undoing; He makes as He breaks. Reverse and changes are tools for the shaping of character. Change is a phase of divine ministry. God takes us back to move us forward. The waves go out and returns with fuller force.

#PowerandPurpose #Prayer Blast

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Keeping Guard of Your Mind of Purpose, #PowerandPurpose

"You must stay focused on your purpose.  The only way to do so is to keep your mind free of distractions.  This is accomplished through the study of God's word.  Filling your mind with foolish and ungodly thoughts will cause major distractions.  The Apostle Paul admonishes us to think positive, Godly thoughts."

Affirmation No. 5 of "Order My Steps" by Rev. Cheryl Merchant








Visit Rev. Cheryl at www.CherylMerchant.com