WHO IS FOR ME, WHO IS AGAINST ME?

Chapter 36

WHO IS FOR ME, WHO IS AGAINST ME?

Luke 11:14-28

Have you ever had someone who you thought was a friend turn against you? It is a painful experience. It usually takes after the fact before we analyze all the signs that led up to it. Sometime we are just too gullible, too nice, we think more highly of others than we ought. We don't want to be judgmental so we ignore our concerns. God has given us discernment, it is not thinking negative towards someone, it is just the ability to know the thoughts and intents of another. We can judge in this manner, so we can know what we should say and how we should act around different individuals. This is not pronouncing judgement on someone, but having understanding, so we can pray effectively and walk alongside someone in the rightful manner.

Jesus had many followers but as we see here in Luke 11:14-28, not all of them were for Him. Some people stick around leaders because of jealousy with the hope to take their place, looking for any opportunity to discredit them. We must be cautious who follows us, because if not exposed they can destroy God's work. Those who do such are usually not even fully aware, they are hurting individuals who need healing and deliverance. We are not to oppose them physically as merely flesh and blood but spiritually with God's authority putting the true source Satan in his place.

We need to recognize as Jesus did those whom follow us who tear what we do down, who try to put their own demands on us. For if their words spread things will divide, civil war will follow, and all will fall apart. People are prone to listen to negativity, for Satan has ruled the airwaves with such device which spreads fear, bringing chaos and disorder. (This is how the civil war where hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered in Rwanda in 1994 started.) 

Jesus spoke to Peter "get behind me Satan", we can not be afraid to offend, we must be alert, ready to put the enemy in his place when necessary.

It would make no sense to allow a thief in one's house and not confront them, just hoping that they won't steal anything, for a thief is a thief. We must not allow Satan to dwell amongst us because of fear, we are the stronger one, and have the power and authority to put him in his place. As it says in verse 23 "anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me." 

This does not mean we are to go around and ex-communicate everyone who seems to be negatively influencing the church, it means that we need to bring deliverance to anyone who is being influenced by Satan. We then must now diligently replace what once was filled with evil spirits with the Holy Spirit. Or as it says in verse 24-26 the evil spirit will return with seven other spirits and things will be even far worse. So we don't want to run people out when we confront them for that will just breed even greater demonic oppression, rather we want to run them to God and develop a closer relationship where accountability can transpire.

As it says in verse 28 "but even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice," if we can put this to practice we will be united rather than divided and the power of God will be able to manifest and drive the enemy not just out of our churches but out of our communities and transform the world.

Lord Teach Me How To Pray?

Chapter 35
(Luke 11:1-13)

I do not do well meeting new people for I am not good at small chat, so I can seem unfriendly or pompous to those whom don't know me well.  I want others to see the love of God in my actions and these characteristics do not reflect it, so I have been observing my wife who is very friendly to all and trying to follow in her footsteps.  

A wise man is one who seeks to be taught by those who have achieved more success in an area than themselves.  The disciples here in Luke 11:1 realize that prayer is Jesus power source and want better results so they say Lord teach us how to pray.  Jesus now gives them an outline on how to communicate with God effectively.  

First He addresses God as Father, making it personal.  Prayer is not just the method of getting God to do things for us, it is how we build our relationship with Him.  He created us for fellowship and as His partners to rule the universe with.  It is a mutual relationship of two hearts being shared together as one.

Secondly in Jesus outline on how to pray, "may your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  It is not about our will, but His will, which is Heaven on Earth, the restoration of all things.  So as we draw near to the Father we can expect Him to lay on our hearts the things on His heart He wants us to speak forth into the Earth.  This is called intercession where we stand in the gap for others partnering with God to advance His kingdom.  

The bible says if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all things will be added unto us, so thirdly we now pray "give us this day our daily bread."

This is praying the all things that we need for our family and ourselves.  The bible promises we shall not be in want so if we believe that we receive when we ask for it we shall have it as long as our motive is right.  

The fourth area in the Lord's prayer is forgiveness.  The forgiveness of our sins through the shed blood of Jesus is what has removed the wall of separation between us and God, un-forgiveness brings back that wall, so our prayers are not heard.  We therefore must be forgiven daily by confessing our sins and forgiving those who have sinned against us.  We should pray for the Lord to keep us from temptation so we won't even have a reason to be separated from God.  For it is only by His grace that we walk victoriously.  

Jesus now gives an example to help us better understand prayer.  The main point of the example is persistance.  We see with Daniel there was a delay in his prayer being answered because of spiritual warfare.  So we must understand prayers will not always be answered instantly, there is a process, and the enemy will try to bring resistance.  Persistant prayer is when we keep on believing, which takes walking by faith and not by sight, for the promise is "for everyone who asks, receives, who seeks, finds, and to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

The Holy Spirit is our supply source to all that is in Heaven, the more we pray the more the Spirit comes alive in our life.  So our main prayer daily needs to be Father give me more of your Spirit.

One Thing (Luke 10:38-42)

Chapter 34

ONE THING

(Luke 10:38-42)

As we grow older and more responsibilities come it is easy to move from being relation oriented to work oriented, we tend to put work first and then relationships second. Problem is we are never ahead according to what we think needs to be done therefore are relationships get neglected.  We tend to be more like Mary in our early Christian years and more like Martha in our latter.

We have to always remind ourselves what is the One Thing that is most important?  Well we see God first created mankind for fellowship and then He gave them work to do.  So our work is to come forth from our relationship.  We are to sit at Jesus feet and enjoy His presence and then as He moves we move.

When I put works first I am easily irritated, anxious, worried and upset over what I want to get done.  When my relationship with God is first I am patient, kind, considerate, and at peace knowing that God's will is being done.  The difference between the two is love.  When we put God first His love moves us to act, when we put works first it is our self moving us to act and therefore our attitude rather than His character is reflected.

Our marriage is a reflection of our relationship with God so whenever there is a lack of intimate time alone together and we are busy just taking care of responsibilities, hearts grow cold, and distance sets in. See we live in a works performance society and though we long for relationship they are predominantly surface (Facebook) level in reality.

So let's ask ourselves how much time do we sit at God's feet compared to the time we spend doing everything?  

The bible says what good is it to gain the whole world and lose our soul.  Our soul is made up of our mind, will, and emotions so if we are work oriented  then our mind is filled with self accomplishment and if our will is not being done our emotions are frustration, animosity, anger, etc.  When we live apart from our divine purpose frustration will set in and it will only grow until we put relationship with God first for we can never accomplish what we were created to do without God.  It is in and through Him that we have our being.  So in being with Him all that needs to be done transpires through His grace.   Our doing must come from our being!  

The difficulty we face as adults especially those who are married is what if one spouse must overextend themselves because of the lack of support from the other?  Some things just must get done, so spending time at the Lord's feet though desired doesn't seem possible and makes it easy to excuse. 

A lot of people pray as they go.  The thing is their is something about stopping everything and giving undivided attention to God that things are just made so much more clear and divine wisdom, strength, and courage for whatever obstacles we are facing is imparted.

We have to switch our mentality and realize we are too busy not to pray.  As responsibilities increase prayer increases not decreases.  We are not to be a Mary or Martha, we are to be Mary then Martha, the two combined.  Praying privately and then praying as we work publicly to accomplish His will.

Serving Everywhere (Lk. 10:30-37)

Chapter 33

SERVING EVERYWHERE

(Luke 10:30-37) 

The question I want us to ask ourselves is who are we passing by?  There are people all around us who are living in shame, beat up, half dead, lying around without help.  Are we like the priest and the temple worker who do whatever we can do to avoid helping others out.  We might not like to admit it, but like myself I believe many of us are too preoccupied with our own personal agenda to even recognize those around us who need help.

We may feel we are helping enough, we give our hard-earned money and time to the church.  See a church service is not for us to really serve God it is time that God serves us.  The Holy Spirit has bestowed gifts, the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.  So, our primary involvement with church is for the purpose of being equipped to greater serve our world which is the true ministry of the Lord.  For He came not to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many.

A churches impact in a community will be determined by it's ability to meet it's natural and spiritual needs.  So how well are we doing?  We see the Samaritan saw the need, had compassion, and truly helped the individual in need.  Are we praying for people, asking them to come to church, yet having the means to help them practically and refusing to do so?  Are we so heavenly minded we are no earthly good? It is so easy to be so called spiritual, but practical comes with a price, our life - time, money, energy.

The community we live in is marked with violence.  I am part of a committee called Stop the Violence made up of many different distinguished individuals, including Mayors, Police Chief's, Atlantic Care, United Way, the Clergy, etc.  Being part of this has really opened my eyes how little I myself know when it comes to really making a difference, and yet those with the education don't have the answers either.  Hopefully joined together we will be able to make a difference.  I myself am going to educate myself more in the area of Human Services/Community Development, so I can use my spirituality in practical means to help people better.

So let's ask ourselves how can we be a good Samaritan? Are we offering the best service we can with our lives? How can we approve on it?  What need's in our community can we meet?  How can we use our gifts, talents, education, and experiences to meet those needs?  It maybe just an hour a week, but our churches need to become community centers.  Man's natural programs need to be meet with God's supernatural power to really see transformation take place.