The Lord is faithful to strengthen you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thes 3:3). Rest in His promise for you!
Joseph Prince
Joseph Prince
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Who do we want to please?
Sometimes we need to do something before it happens. The reward is the bonus. Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Be perfect as God is perfect…reaching a maturity level. Why are we serving? Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. When you do a righteous act for God; not man. Otherwise, that’s your reward. God’s reward is eternal. There are 10 different crowns we can get as Christians. Everything we do is FOR Jesus. We will lay down our crowns at His feet in Heaven. 2012 is going to be a year of ‘Service’. Recommendation: Find someone in the next 2 weeks that you can help, but that person will never know you did it. Bless someone, but don’t get any recognition from man. We have to do the right thing for the right reason. In Matthew 5, 6, and 7 Jesus gets to the heart of these things. Man has taught the wrong thing: In the Old Testament it says to love your neighbor. But the religious people added, ‘Hate your enemy’. This is a tradition of man. Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Do and say it through Him. Example: You have to be a representative of the company your work for. Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Your righteousness must EXCEED the Pharisees. The Pharisees did it all, BUT for ALL the wrong reasons. We as Christian Americans say, ‘I have a right to stand up for my rights.’ We have a reason but NOT a right to. Jesus rebuked the religious people the most. There’s a time to say something. Are we doing it because it’s the right thing to do? Or, are we doing it for us to be SEEN? When people are critical, they are usually doing it themselves. Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be glad if someone persecutes you for righteousness. > Too many people think church is a ritual. > And for others it is just a habit. Do something this week to bless someone secretly. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) Humility is bring yourself down in your own eyes:
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, God favours the humble. Humble yourself before God: James 4:5-7 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Humber yourself as a little child: Matthew 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Humbling yourself ► exalted: Matthew 23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. He lifts you up when you humble yourself (repenting): James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Jesus did not treat sinners like dirt. Christians can sometimes be the most proud: 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, BUT HOW?: The more you know the Word, the MORE Jesus you have in you: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease. To remain humble: 1) Be Thankful 2) Be a Servant 3) Be a Giver BY SERVING: Put on an apron of humility: 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” It’s an attitude. Jesus washed the feet…showed us we are servants. We need to solve problems to help others: Luke 22:21-27 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. John 13:13-17 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Nobleness ► being humble to those below us. Sometimes when we start doing the right thing, the devil comes in and tries to make you prideful, ‘Look at me!’ We should just be the channel from God to the person. When we bless/lift someone else up, we are just a delivery person. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) We need to give ALL glory to God. What is in your heart? The more you start growing in Christ, the
more responsible you are supposed to be. We have to be careful of praise people give you. The more you are promoted by God, the spotlight increases. But if you can’t handle the human praise, then He will not promote you. Smith Wigglesworth [often referred to as ‘the Apostle of Faith] yielded to the Holy Spirit so much that all you saw was the Holy Spirit. It’s not about you! It is human nature to want all the glory, but it belongs ALL to Him! In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 it talks about the Blessing. God has set into motion things that will occur. But a lot of times we don’t think we are to blame. Then, in Deuteronomy 28:15 it talks about curses. If bad things are happening in your life, then you need to get in the Word and see what it says you should be doing. We need to absorb the blame; not reflect it. When things go wrong, we need to look at ourselves. God has given YOU the authority over the devil, but it’s your choice to use that authority. The devil uses PRIDE when you start being Christ-like. The devil tried to use pride when testing Jesus. We need to do 2 things: 1) Reflect Glory 2) Absorb Responsibility Proverbs 10:4 Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth. Proverbs 22:29 (AMP) Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. That you be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Faith and Patience needed. Diligence needed. God wants to promote you, but we need to be able to handle that. Take what God’s given you and share it with others. Rely on Him! Praise from God is what we should want: ‘Well done, My good and faithful servant.’ Do everything for God’s glory! Even when we get crowns in Heaven, we will take those off and place them at the feet of Jesus. Take the responsibility, not the glory and watch God do great things for you. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) Who are we looking to for praise? We are just the instrument that God chose to use.
Example: If someone gets blessed through us, the devil comes and says, ‘Look at how great you are!’ You have to watch your thoughts. Don’t forget Who did this for you…God! You have to be careful about not elevating yourself around others and thinking you are the best and doing everything you think is correct and TELLING God all the wonderful things you’ve done. This is not correct to do. PRIDE can take you down the wrong road. As Christians, the moment you think you have it, then you’ve lost it. Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. This does not mean we need to act like a Jew. God is looking for a change of heart. Do not seek the praise of man. Watch your heart. Do not be proud. But we need to encourage others. But do not do things for men to see you. Give God ALL the praise. The devil was thrown out of Heaven because of…PRIDE!!!!! Ephesians 2:7-9 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast Do NOT BOAST; otherwise you take away you were saved by grace. It is a continual process to continue in faith for our soul and mind and body. 2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, “boasters, unthankful, unholy’….end times James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! “tongue…boast great things”….lights fires. The tongue can be used to encourage OR boasting about our lives which create “fires”. We have to watch that with ourselves. Carelessness with our tongue, boasting can ruin what we have done. You need to balance your words. Keep your MOTIVES in check. We need to be careful about how we think of what the Lord has done for you. Don’t go around thinking you are ‘special,’ but rather be an encouragement to others. Luke 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets. When everybody is ONLY saying good things about you, then check yourself. Because you are probably just pleasing others and not doing what is right. Don’t go with the flow. This was a warning from Jesus. (Matthew 6 – Beatitudes) John 5:30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not see k My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. Jesus said He did everything of the Father. He was where He was because of God. Take what you have (that God’s given you), and share it with others. Do something instead of nothing. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) The Greek word ‘charis’ means grace = favour = mercy = pardon. We get the word, ‘charismatic’ from
this. Favour is giving attention to. In God’s terms, grace doesn’t mean He lets it slide (example: test score) – ‘for by grace you are saved.’ The first man to see grace was Noah: Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Jesus was full of grace and truth. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus: John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We do not have a license to sin; you are now FREE (pardoned) from it: Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Jesus had to come by grace because of what Adam did. Sin. We don’t have to understand why God loves us so much, but He does! I know because what the Bible says that I can believe it: Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. We are NO longer under the law (curse). Now, we don’t have to sin. It is a choice IF you sin: Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. God has not only saved us, but so much more He wants to show us…for eternity. We are people created by Someone (God) that loves us so much. We will never understand it. God had a plan for us before the world was even planned. Our words need to reflect God: Ephesians 2:1-2, 4-8, 10 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, For we are His workmanship [In Greek the word ‘workmanship’ means ‘poem’], created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Our words need to be good – grace to the hearers. We need to bless those that curse us: Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Let your speech be filled with grace. Watch your words. As a mature Christian, you need to be able to watch your words: Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. We need to take the grace of God and then take the next step and pass it on. It’s not just for me, but for others. When our minds try to understand grace, our minds can’t comprehend it. Don’t ask why. Just accept it. When it comes to God, we will never understand it. Just believe it. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) 1 Corinthians 2:11-13 (NKJV)
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. When you are walking in the Spirit and don’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh, it is our spirit and the Spirit of God in us that reveals to us. From the beginning, we need to be praying and asking God where He is leading me. We have to trust when we hear Him. 1 Corinthians 2:16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. Paul said, ‘Now by His Spirit, we have the mind of Christ.’ When you get a hold of God, He can increase your knowledge. We need to know God’s thoughts/mysteries for us. God has a path for us, but we can change our course and live the life we were not called to live. But we need to live the life HE has planned for us. The thoughts God has for us are tremendous. Jesus is the Word – He is our COUNSELOR. We need to ASK the Holy Spirit. In Matthew chapter 13 starting at verse 10, it talks about the purpose of parables and the explanation of the parable of the sower. In verse 14 and 15 we see: ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes-- so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ WE have a choice if we are permitted to understanding the secrets of Heaven. How many times in church we physically all hear the same thing… but what do you hear spiritually? You have to be active Christians and not just sit on our behinds. You have to APPLY what you hear from God. It can change your life or not. You can hear, but you cannot understand it (apply it). “closed their eyes… ears.. and cannot heal them” Why? They don’t listen (mind/spirit) to Him and turned their back on Him. A lot of Christians say, ‘I’ve heard that before.’ Jesus spoke PURPOSELY so they could understand Him. Matthew 13:16-17 says, “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. They didn’t have the Spirit of God, but we DO. We can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us (mysteries). Philippians 4:6-10 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will GUARD your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. “guard” = The Peace of God can be your umpire. We pray to God, apply it and we will experience Peace. We can have that peace because we are following the path He has placed us on. The Holy Spirit is our GUIDE on the path we are to be on. While it is our part to get wisdom and understanding, we must trust the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit will talk to our Spirit. By God’s Spirit we are living our lives. We need to do this daily. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) Some people try or think they have more wisdom than God. Others, usually Christians, put everything on
the Lord and say it is a mystery. The more we study, the more we hear of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2 (NLT) 1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” > A lot of preachers stop there. But let’s continue on… 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. Yes, the ways of God are mysteries. Non-church people think we are crazy. We are bashed while other groups call for tolerance. We sound crazy when we start seeing what the Bible says – by Faith: > “I believe God created the world in 7 days.” > “I believe my sins are forgiven. We have to have faith by God. But we should not cave in to what others think. I’d rather be a foolish man in God than a smart man in the world. In Isaiah we see the Old Testament way of looking at God. Holy Spirit would come upon them, but not in them because we had sin in us. Holy Spirit couldn’t come in us until Jesus died on the Cross. We now have the Spirit of God. I don’t care how much you study in the natural, you won’t know what those mysteries will be. What is our purpose in our lives? To the world what else is there? God can already see everything: from beginning to the end. God has a plan for us, but how do we know what that is? We need to study the Bible. All this wisdom/understanding is nothing without the Spirit. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) Knowledge is the WHAT Understanding is the HOW Wisdom is the WHY It is helpful to know WHY we worship God the way we do. When we discover why we do things, we gain wisdom. As Christians, we need to be experts in the areas God has called us to do. UNDERSTANDING ★ Leads to Favour. Proverbs 13:15 (NKJV) Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard. ★ Leads to Peace, not Anger. Proverbs 14:29 He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly. We get understanding by gathering knowledge. The Bible is the manual for our life. Understanding can be done by a lot of experience or you can go straight to the Bible. Christians tend to wait for the experience which tends to bring pain and hardship. We need to go to the manual first – the Bible. Being able to see the facts and make a decision. We need to take these facts and make a good decision for our life based on what the Bible says. When you don’t know, seek God. ★ Leads to the Right Thing To Say. Proverbs 17:27-28 He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. Words you say cannot be undone. Be careful with your words. ★ Leads to Taking Correction Proverbs 15:32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. If we’re a wise man, we can take correction. We need to continually read the Bible. GIVEN BY GOD Exodus 31:2-4 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, He was appointed with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. We can look at this and apply to our lives. Psalm 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. Psalm 119:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. We need to mediate on these scriptures and pray to God. KEEPS YOU Proverbs 2:10-11 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, Understanding helps you understand when you don’t know what’s going on. Keep --> Protect. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING Proverbs 24:30-34 I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man. Poverty/lack comes if you’re not doing what you should be. Get Knowledge. Understanding puts you in a positive [position] versus a negative one. Psalm 32:9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you. As adult Christians, we don’t need to be corrected as children. Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; This is about knowing what to do when we need it using the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from God. Ask God for help. Let go of what you think you know and hear from God what HE is saying. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church)  Today's blog post is a message given by my husband, Joshua. He taught on understanding this past Sunday and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you are encouraged by this message as much as I am!
Tomorrow we will return to Gloria Copeland's, Live Long Live Strong book! Also, in a few weeks our new release of the Healing Scriptures CD will be available. This release will include my testimony and encouraging words on the fold-out cover. Stay tuned for more information! Have a Blessed day, Heather Healed of Cancer In the book of Mark, chapter 4, it talks about the heart. You stand up for what is right; what is of God.
Then, you will reap this harvest and God will stand up for you. Psalm 1: 1-6 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his FRUIT in his SEASON; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” When we meditate in the Word of God, then we’re going to bring forth our fruit in the perfect season. Seeds are in seasons. We have to have patience and faith for the seed to come forth… in the right season. In the book of Hebrew, chapter 6, and in the book of Mark, chapter 4, we see that we don’t know how that little seed grows, but we KNOW that it works. We have seen it work. Putting in hard work, reading the Word, we can withstand when difficult times come. Hearing the Word really gets into your spirit. Our LIFE is in God. He is OUR source. We can stand firm in the Lord, like a tree, and when a storm comes, we stand firm. When a hard time comes, a scripture should immediately come to mind. You ALREADY have the Word in you. You need to come to church, to build your faith. 2 Timothy 4:2-5 “Preach the word; be instant in SEASON, out of SEASON; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” We need to hear ALL of the Word. Not just the “feel good” stuff. Be ready to share the Gospel, not just in church, but EVERYWHERE. Giving your testimony is a testament of what God has done in your life. Encourage someone else and this will help you too. Leviticus 26:3-5 “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their FRUIT. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.” If you keep His Word, you will have all His Blessings. As a Christian, there are a lot of things/blessings/promises for us, but there are things we have to do. We have to be steady and stay on the Word. Sometimes the cares of this life, can get you off track and weigh us down. Let’s cultivate our ground. Let’s make an effort to read some extra Word this week. Find a scripture, such as Ephesians 5, and SAY/speak it out loud. What you hear, what you say... you will start seeing the harvest of your seed. Joshua Boyd (Young Adult Fellowship Teacher, Tremont Church) |
Shield of Faith Blog
AuthorBorn in South Carolina, Heather is happily married, and has three standard poodles and one shih tzu. Having travelled to over 14 countries, she has a great appreciation for living in the USA. She has a calling on her life to tell others about her healing and what Jesus has done for her. She is alive and well because of Him. 
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