Showing posts with label
Courage through the Holy Spirit.
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Showing posts with label
Courage through the Holy Spirit.
Show all posts
For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live] (Ephesians 2:10 AMP).
God prepared and planned your life beforehand for His glory. He didn’t create you for defeat, weakness, sadness or failure. He planned a wonderful life for you—a life of excellence. The challenge is that most people are yet to understand God’s good plan for them. In Jeremiah 29:11, He said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
God’s expected end for you is success, victory, honour, and abundance. He prearranged a good life of blessings for you to walk in. It brings to mind what He did before He created Adam. He first created a beautiful garden where everything Adam would require was made available. He then created Adam and placed him in the ready-made Garden of Eden, “…to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15), not to toil or cultivate the ground afresh.
God knew you’d be born at this time and planned ahead for you like every caring father would. That means there’s no need for you to go through life suffering, begging or seeking blessings, because you stepped into God’s destiny for you the moment you were born again. Therefore, enjoy your life, and enjoy all that He’s made available to you.
2 Peter 1:3 says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” He’s called you to glory and virtue; that means to a life of excellence. Never think failure, because God has never made a failure. You’re His dream come true; you’re the best of everything that He created: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).
The words of Jesus above are just so comforting! He makes it clear that under no circumstances should you allow your heart be troubled, because He has filled your life with His peace. The Greek word translated “peace” is “eirēnē,”which is akin to the Hebrew word “shalom.” Jesus wasn’t just referring to the peace of being quiet from disturbance, but peace without agitation, full of rest and prosperity. Notice He didn’t say “…my peace I will give unto you…,” no! “He said, “… my peace I give unto you….” You have His peace now.
When you study Christ in the Word, you’d observe that His life, while He walked the earth, was a demonstration of dominion and rest! He was never perturbed or ruffled by anything! When the people needed more wine at the wedding in Cana, He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). When boisterous winds billowed against the ship while on a journey with His disciples, He hushed the tempest in an instant, saying, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:35-40). When He needed to cross the sea to Bethsaida, with no ship in sight, He didn’t panic. He simply stepped on the water and walked on it as though it were dry ground (Mark 6:45-52).
Anywhere, any day, and in all circumstances, He was always at peace and in charge.
This is how He expects you to live today; with the boldness and confident assurance that the greater One lives in you, therefore you’ve overcome the evil one, the world and its systems. You’re more than a conqueror. He said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” In Him, you have peace— not fleeting peace—but eternal peace with prosperity.
Not only did He give you His peace, He also brought you into peace with God: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). He has brought us into oneness with God; there is, therefore, no more enmity between us and God. “For he is our peace, who hath…broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances…” (Ephesians 2:14-15).
Is your life full of trouble and you don’t know what to do? Then take what I’m about to share with you very seriously. The Holy Spirit is the answer to the nagging situation in your life! When the earth was a shapeless and chaotic mass, it was the Spirit of God, acting on the command of Almighty God that brought order into the universe.
When persecution rose up against the early Church, they lifted their voices in one accord and prayed to the Lord. The content of their prayer in Acts 4:24-30 revealed that they wanted a sign from heaven. But what was God’s answer to their request?: “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts4:31).
God responded by filling them with the Holy Ghost! Reading further, you will discover that God didn’t come down to Jerusalem, stretching forth to heal the sick as they prayed. They were the ones that did all that after being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the reason Paul charged us to be filled with the Spirit always (Ephesians 5:18).
A man that’s full of the Spirit is unstoppable; he is indomitable. When the Holy Spirit is in you in His fullness, He’ll strengthen you and be wisdom to you, when you don’t know what to do; He’ll give you dominion over every situation of life. Recognize Him, and you will never be the same again
Something wonderful happens when you receive the Holy Spirit; He makes you bold and courageous! If you look through the Bible, you’ll find this trend in the lives of all those who had an encounter with Him. Even if they were timid and unstable at the beginning, the moment the Holy Spirit came into their lives, they became bold and courageous! To be courageous means to be willing to undertake or seek out new and daring enterprises. It means to step out of your “comfort zone” and do the things the Lord wants you to do.
After the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, all the disciples were quietly assembled in an upper room in fear (Acts 1:13). But when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they threw the doors open. Peter, who had been calm and quiet, and out of fear denied Jesus before a young girl, preached boldly and led about 3000 souls to Christ in one meeting. From that point on, they became bold and adventurous with the gospel, healing the sick, casting out devils and shaking up the whole land with the power of God.
There’s one thing I know for sure: if you’ve received the Holy Spirit and you’re not bold, courageous and adventurous for Him, chances are you’re not listening to Him! He doesn’t come into your life to reside there quietly till you go to heaven; He makes you reach out and go beyond the limits! He makes you an agent of change; He makes you venture out to win for Jesus!
So reject timidity and fear in your life; step out boldly and trust Him to do something new and exciting with your life!
