Good Morning Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
It seems everywhere we turn today we’re receiving bad news, evil tidings, and we’re seeing great strife, division, and deathly animosity of man toward man for terrible and sometimes trivial reasons. It seems the whole world, especially this country, has gone mad. We’re watching an evil, greedy, power-hungry man destroy another country – its men, women, and children for no apparent reason. We’re watching another evil, greedy, power-hungry man and woman try and destroy this country. Can it get any worse we ask ourselves? Let me answer it for you. Yes, it is going to get worse.
I have good and wonderful news for you. It doesn’t matter what is happening in the world, you’re not of it. As a Believer, you are a Heavenly spirit having an earthly experience. You are not a man or woman having a spiritual experience. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and King, your identity and citizenship changed immediately in the spiritual realm. Your name was immediately entered into The Lamb’s Book of Life. All entered into this book are citizens of Heaven with all the rights and privileges accorded to ANYONE of Heaven. Your identity changed from a child of disobedience, whose father was Satan, to a child and heir of the Most High God, Creator of Heaven and earth, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15-17). The Spirit in you is your identity. The Spirit in you is the fullness of God – God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:9). Your identity is now as an Ambassador for the King Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 5:20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Where is an ambassador from in this earth? From the land he/she represents. We are from Heaven. You need to understand and grasp this with your spiritual ears, eyes, and heart. Until you understand who you truly are, you will be defeated over and over. This has been Satan’s deceptive tactic since his fall. Satan wants to convince you, once saved, that you have NO power in this earth, only when you reach Heaven. This is a bold face lie. We have ALL the power Jesus had on this earth. Read God’s Word for yourself. Don’t let someone from a television or pulpit lead you astray with a word delivered in error. Check out what the Holy Spirit says through me as I type and see if it’sTruth. If you can prove me wrong according to God’s Word, then by all means follow God’s Word (I John 4:1).
As an Ambassador of Jesus Christ, the King of all creation, do you think Jesus will have you project a state of sickness, poverty, addiction, struggles, strife, contention, lack, need, fear, failure, doubt, death, the curse, or unbelief to the world? Of course not. This DOES NOT exist in Jesus or in Heaven. If it doesn’t exist in Jesus or in Heaven, then WHY are we representing these states in our lives? All of the states just mentioned are of the curse and of death – which is Satan. Satan, through the world’s wisdom, has programmed our minds and hearts to think this way. When we represent these states in our lives, we are doing disservice to our King and Lord. Now, please don’t be condemned by what I’ve written to you. I’m also speaking to myself as well. This word is meant to edify and encourage us to know who we are, who we represent, and where we are from – the authority and power given us – and to take great love, joy, and peace in this. In order to take great love, joy, and peace in this, we must receive God’s Word in faith. If we can’t convince our hearts of this Truth, we will not be able to enjoy the fruit of love, joy, and peace. When I’m eating the fruit of love, joy, and peace, through faith in God’s Word, His promises, I have no room for the fruit of Satan – anger, hate, resentment, jealousy, bitterness, contention, strife, financial struggles, sickness, disease, infirmity, addiction, lying, stealing, fear, doubt, and unbelief. One cannot exist with the other. As Jesus said, paraphrased in my words, you either love one and hate the other or love the other and hate the one. You can’t love both.
In the book of Genesis, Chapter 26, Isaac, the son of Abraham, has to make a decision in the time of a severe famine throughout the land. The decision was to look to the world to solve his problem or to trust God’s Word. Famine represents either a physical famine of water, crops, and livestock and/or an economic downtown. We’re seeing both right now in this country and world. What was God’s Word to Isaac about the situation he was facing?
Genesis 26:2-4
2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Notice the bolded print. In simplest terms, God is telling Isaac to listen to and follow His Word, and He will bless Isaac. What did Isaac decide to do: listen to the world or trust in God’s Word?
Genesis 26:12-14
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Every time I read this I laugh. Can you imagine the strange looks, heckling, and jeering Isaac endured while planting seed in the dry, dusty, parched ground? No water anywhere, no rain for months, even years. Can you imagine the surprise on the Phillistine’s faces when they saw growth from the ground? Can you imagine the greater surprise when the crops were full grown and full of fruit – a hundredfold return on EVERY SEED Isaac planted? Praise God!!!! This same result belongs to you my Sisters and Brothers in Christ. All God needs from you is belief in His Word. Isaac showed his belief, his faith, by planting the seed. God took care of the rest. It works EXACTLY the same for us today.
Now, I can see your body language and looks in my mind’s eye. I’ve seen it over and over again when I first teach this to different churches, groups, and individuals. The crossed arms, rolling of the eyes, angry looks, confused looks, doctrinal arguments, etc. Larry, this was just God dealing with Isaac at that time. God chooses to help someone in this way, and He chooses who He’ll help. Lies, lies, and more lies. Don’t be fooled by these lies you’ve been taught. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). This means what God does for ONE BELIEVER, He’ll do for EVERY BELIEVER. God is not fickle, variable, and unpredictable (James 1:17). God is entirely predictable, and He changes not (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He has been, and will be, the same for all eternity past, present, and future.
In closing, let’s look at what God has to say about famines and Believers in Psalm 37.
Psalm 37:17-19
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
I get so excited every single time I read this passage. I believe it with all my heart. The wicked men and woman I spoke of in the start of this message will be broken by God. You can rest assured of this. You don’t need to say anything about them. Keep your tongue. But, for you and me, if WE BELIEVE God’s Word, we can have what it says. We will NOT be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ NOR will we suffer the afflictions the world is suffering during this evil time. By afflictions I mean we/you don’t have to suffer the effects of all that is happening like the unbelievers do. Notice the colon in verse 19. What comes after the colon is giving an example or amplification of what was said prior to the colon. In the days of economic downturn in the US and in the world, YOU SHALL BE SATISFIED! I pray to The Father that you will ask for His wisdom to understand the beautiful and wondrous Truth of these verses. If you do suffer affliction of any kind during this time, it is due to your words and unbelief. God has made it PERFECTLY CLEAR what your status should be in these days. Be “fully persuaded” what God says, He can and will do for you if only you will believe.
Blessings to all in Christ Jesus,
Larry