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The day Lot separated from Abraham he was outside the umbrella. In the end, he lost his wife, his whole family except two daughters. He lost all his possessions. He lost all his cattle. He lost all his goods. He got only himself and two daughters left. God didn’t bless Lot because of Lot. God didn’t bless Lot because of his faith. He didn’t show much faith. He was quite a worldly man. He would be a typical example of a Christian who is worldly. God blessed Lot because of Abraham. “

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New Covenant. It’s a familiar phrase to most of us. But do we really know what it means?

If we did, every one of us would be faith giants. Instead of struggling, “trying” to believe the promises of God, we’d be like Abraham. “Strong in faith…fully persuaded that, what God has promised, He is able to perform!” (Rom. 4:20-21).

That’s the kind of confidence that welled up in Abraham when God cut the covenant with him. It was an inferior covenant to ours, made with the blood of animals. Yet it transformed a doubting Abraham into the very father of faith. Why? Because, Abraham understood the significance of it.

He knew that entering into the Covenant of Blood meant you were totally and forever giving yourself away to someone else. Once you did it, nothing would ever be exclusively yours again. All that you were, all that you had or ever would have became the equal property of your covenant partner.

During the covenant ceremony in Abraham’s day, the partners exchanged coats, each one giving their authority to the other. They exchanged weapons as a way of saying, “Your enemies are now my enemies. I’ll fight your fights as if they were my own.” They walked through the blood of slain animals, pronouncing their loyalty to one another, even to the death.

When God made covenant with him, Abraham knew there was no longer any room for doubt. God had proven how intensely He desired to be God to him. He’d given him every thing He had and bound Himself to Abraham in a relationship that could not be dissolved. Abraham comprehended the gravity of a covenant agreement. It convinced him once and for all that God’s promises could be trusted. It became an anchor to his soul.

Do you want to be a faith giant like Father Abraham? Then dig into the covenant you have with God. Study it in the Word. Let the Holy Spirit show you what really happened when Jesus became the sacrifice that ratified your covenant with God. Let Him show you what it meant when He gave you His Name (John 16:23), His authority (Matt. 28:18-20), His armor and weapons (Eph. 6:10-17).

Once you realize what Jesus actually meant when He said, “This is the New Covenant established in My blood,” your life will never be the same again.

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And now, instead of just having a Covenant with our God, we have a greater Covenant with our Father.
stace

I sort of like the ‘method’ type. I like knowing that if I do ‘this’ then ‘that’ happens, but… it is something that I have to get over. I remember a few years ago, while trying to make things black and white, simple and without out effort, I proclaimed that I would do things a certain way. That way, I knew that I had achieved my goal when thing were completed. Like for example, I would rent a mobile home by three steps: give out an application and process it within two days, receive the first and last, and then deliver the keys to the new tenant. This process would give plenty of time to get everything done properly and in order. That was my decision.

Well, within ten minutes of that decision, some people drove up from out of town, needed a place to rent that night, had the money, had clean records, and the next thing I knew, they were in the mobile home for the night. The whole process took less than an hour. And these tenants were the least of trouble for two years or so. I would gladly give them a recommendation for their next dwelling place.

What happened to my ‘method?’
Well, methods may seem simple, but going with the flowing leadership of the Holy Spirit is much more productive than any man made law. May the Lord help us all to catch His moving and follow His leadings.

Be blessed

If you read the four Gospels, you’ll find that Jesus never gave thanks for sickness or death. Instead, when He encountered them, His response was to overcome them by God’s power. So give thanks as Jesus gave thanks–not for Satan’s activities but for the victory God has given you over them.

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Let the World Know

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. …that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me.”
(John 17:20,22-23)

Over the years the Church has come up with all kinds of elaborate ways to evangelize the world. We get together and map out plans and strategies and raise money for it. But through it all, we rarely mention the plan that Jesus gave us.

Most believers don’t even realize that He gave us the key to winning the world, but He did. He prayed about it right before He went to the Cross. He asked the Father to bring us into a place of such oneness with each other and with Him that the world would know that He had been sent from God.

If you and I and all the rest of the Body of Christ would get together and start loving each other, we’d evangelize the world so fast it would make your head swim. It’s true. But until recently, we’ve been too busy scrapping with one another and getting our feelings hurt to give it much thought.

But, praise God, it’s beginning to dawn on some folks now that we need to stop that stuff. We need to start treating Jesus’ command that we love one another as a command instead of an alternative. We need to drop our silly arguments and be unified by the Spirit of God.

Do you want to take a step toward evangelizing the world today? Then start praying for oneness. Make up your mind that you’re going to start loving your fellow believers instead of criticizing, complaining, and talking ugly about them.

Start confessing that the Church of God is going to rise up together in faith and love as one glorious Body driven by the power of Jesus Himself. We are, you know. Jesus prayed that it would happen, and the Holy Spirit is already bringing it to pass.

Satan would like to stop it, but he can’t. It’s far more powerful than he is–and it’s going to blast a hole in his operation that’s big enough to drive a train through. It’s going to let the whole world know that Jesus truly is Lord!

Be a Blessing

“Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad, and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

(Psalm 35:27)

If traditional religion has taught you that God wants you poor and oppressed, I have good news for you today. The Bible says, “God takes pleasure” in your prosperity. God wants you to prosper!

Not just in the financial realm but in every area of your life…spirit, soul, and body.

No matter where you are or who you are, God wants to see you delivered from every adverse situation.

Why? Because He loves you and He has a job for you to do. He wants you to help meet the needs of mankind and He’s smart enough to know that you can’t give away what you don’t have. You can’t give to spread the gospel or buy food for the hungry when you’re broke. You can’t go out laying hands on the sick when you’re lying in a hospital bed. You can’t minister joy to others when you’re being held captive by depression. No! You have to be blessed to be a blessing.

If you really want to tap into the riches of God today, make up your mind to be a blessing to others, and before you know it, you’ll be receiving more from God than you ever dreamed.

That’s what happened to me. I decided years ago, first and foremost, to be a giver. I developed a lifestyle of giving. Today, I literally “live to give.” And I don’t mind telling you, God dumps blessings on me by the truckload!

He’ll do the same for you if you’ll become His servant–if you’ll lay down your time and your money and your love for those who need it. Become a giver–and God will take pleasure in prospering you!

The fivefold offices (Ephesians 4:11, 12).

1. Apostles:

These are individuals called and sent by God to a nation, tribe or
race to establish churches. Paul was called to the Gentiles whereas
Peter was called to the Jews (Galatians 2:8). They must exercise the
power gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:19; 2 Corinthians 12:12)
and the revelation gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:5).

2. Prophets:

Prophets complement the ministry of an apostle in establishing a
church (Acts 11:27-30; 15:32). They must exercise the revelation
gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:5) and the vocal gifts of the
Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:31, 32; Acts 15:32). New Testament
prophets, unlike Old Testament prophets, do not direct or guide a
church but rather confirm direction or guidance already received by
the church or individual believer.

3. Evangelists:

Evangelists go to places especially where the gospel has never been
preached to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. They work
together with apostles to establish a church (Acts 8:4-25). They must
exercise the power gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:6; 1 Corinthians
12:28, 29 – workers of miracles).

4. Pastors:

These are the shepherds of the local church. In the New Testament
they are known by the ministries of elders and bishops (Acts 14:23).
Bishops, as defined in the Bible, appear to be the leaders of a group
of elders but the words ‘bishop’ and ‘elder’ are used interchangeably
(Titus 1:5,7; 1 Timothy 3:1,2; 5:7; Acts 20:17,28). They need to
have the ability to administrate (1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Corinthians
12:28; 14:40), be spiritually mature persons (1 Timothy 3:5, 6), be
able to teach (1 Timothy 3:2), and know how to pray the prayer of
faith for the sick (James 5:14). As the vocal gifts are prominent at
grassroot level (1 Corinthians 14:26, 31, 39), they need to be skilful
in the vocal gifts of the Holy Spirit.

5. Teachers:

Teachers are those who stay and teach the whole counsel of God to
believers. Paul and Barnabas taught the Antioch church for one year
(Acts 11:26). Among the fivefold ministries to the church, their
ministry is so important that Paul places them third, after apostles
and prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28).