Friday, March 13, 2009

You Have It, So Say It!

You Have It, So Say It!

Matthew 25:29
29
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.


Have you come across people who have little, yet even that little is taken away from them? On the other hand, there are those who already have much, yet they receive even more.

Jesus said, “To everyone who has, more will be given. From him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t go on to say what it is we have. He simply says, “But to everyone who has.”

Jesus is talking about a firm belief in God’s Word that gives one the courage to say, “I have it!” If you say that you have it, you have it, and more will be given to you. But if you say that you don’t have it, when you actually do because God has freely given us all things (Romans 8:32), then even what you have will be taken away — not by God but by the devil! The devil does not want you to walk in God’s blessings. So when you say that you don’t have it, he can rob you of your blessings because he has your agreement!

When you need something, God says that you are to ask of Him. And when you ask, believe that you receive it. (Mark 11:24) Say you already have it even if you don’t see it in the physical realm yet, and one day, you will see it!

God is not saying, “Oh come on, pretend that you see it. And if you pretend long enough, you will have it.” This is not a game! God is telling us to call forth those things which don’t exist as though they do. (Romans 4:17)

Today, we are talking about the haves and have-nots in the church. If you believe that it is yours, you will have it. You will see yourself possessing it and enjoying it, and more will be given to you. But if you say, “Well, I don’t feel it and I’m not sure if it will come,” in essence, you are saying that you don’t have it when you actually do. Then, even what you have will be taken away. So say you have it today!



Thursday, March 12, 2009

How Do You See God?

How Do You See God?

Luke 7:9
9
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”


The way you see Jesus, the revelation that you have of Him, will not affect God’s acceptance of you. But it will affect your acceptance of what God has for you. It will affect how you receive from Him.

Consider the Roman centurion who told Jesus, “You don’t have to come to my house. Just speak the word and my servant at home will be healed.” (Luke 7:6–7) Compare him with Jairus, the ruler of a synagogue, who told Jesus, “My daughter is dying. Please come to my house and lay Your hands on her, and she shall live.” (Mark 5:22–23)

Do you know that Jesus does not have to go to your house to heal you? So why did Jesus follow Jairus to his house? Jesus had to come down to Jairus’ level of faith. Jairus believed that his daughter could be healed, but only if Jesus came and laid His hands on her.

The centurion was different. He said, “Lord, You don’t have to come to my house. I know who You are.” This centurion believed that Jesus did not have to come to his house for his servant to be healed. He believed that Jesus only needed to speak the word. He said to Jesus, “Just speak the word and my servant at home will be healed.”

Do you know who Jesus is? The centurion had a greater understanding of who Jesus is than Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and he wasn’t even a Jew!

Jesus asked his disciples, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40) He even remarked, “O you of little faith.” (Matthew 6:30) But to the woman whose daughter was demon-possessed, He said, “O woman, great is your faith!” (Matthew 15:28) And to the centurion, He declared, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

My desire is for you to have an accurate understanding of who Jesus is because when your revelation of Jesus is big, you will know what has been freely given to you. And when you know what is yours in Christ Jesus, you will be rich in all things!



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

You Have The Victory!

You Have The Victory!

Romans 8:37
37
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.


If God’s Word says that we are more than conquerors through Christ, then we are. We are not going to become, we already are. We may be experiencing some failures or setbacks in life right now, but only good will come out of our situations because God says that “in all these things we are more than conquerors”. We have the victory!

You see, God has placed us in Christ, whom He has exalted to the highest place in the universe. We are not trying to get to victory ground. We are already on victory ground. We don’t confess God’s Word to get victory. We confess His Word because we already have the victory. We don’t fight for victory. We fight from victory.

The devil will try to steal our victory. He will come against us with lies and fears, and cause us to be conscious of our failures, weaknesses and symptoms in areas such as our health. But we are not trying to be healed. We are already healed because God’s Word declares that “by His stripes we are healed”. (Isaiah 53:5)

A sister in our church was seeing two psychiatrists. She had been under psychiatric care and medication for panic attacks for the most part of her life. She said that when she started coming to church and learning about Jesus, the truth of God’s Word began to dawn on her.

She started believing that victory over her condition was already hers and began confessing it. From then on, all her fears were removed and her panic attacks ceased. Today, she has a sound mind, is free from all medication and knows that her life is greatly blessed through Jesus who loves her.

My friend, the moment you accept Jesus as your Savior, you are born again and the new person inside you is more than a conqueror. You are already on victory ground and you have victory over every challenging situation in your life!



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

They Gave From Their Hearts

They Gave From Their Hearts

Tue, Mar 10, 2009
My Paper

By Joy Fang

THEY came, they listened and they contributed.

The 22,000-strong congregation rallied when their senior pastor, Pastor
Joseph Prince, 45, asked them for help in funding the construction of
their premises in the Integrated Hub, during a special service held on
Feb 15.

Located at Vista Xchange at one-north in Buona Vista, the hub is
scheduled for completion by mid-2012.

The nine-storey civic and cultural plaza in the complex, developed by
Rock Productions - the commercial-development arm of New Creation Church
- will house a 5,000-seat auditorium.

Members of New Creation Church told my paper that there was "no coercion
involved", and it was "entirely up to individual members" to give.

"The money was collected through an invitation to anyone who wanted to
give," said Mr Dylan Loh, 24, an undergraduate from National University
of Singapore.

"In fact, Pastor Prince mentioned that if we didn't feel the need or
desire to give, we shouldn't give, and it would have been perfectly
fine," he added.

Explaining how the church managed to raise $19 million in one day, civil
servant Goh Ying Ying, 26, said: "People...gave out of the abundance of
their hearts because they believed they will get something back."

Mr Loh agreed, saying: "It was based purely on the generosity of the
congregation and their own willingness to give."

Marketing manager Flora Lim, 23, who was not from the church, said:
"Considering we're in the midst of a recession, they are still willing
to give so much. (But) it's their church and the people are willing to
give their own money, so I don't see any problems with it."

‘I Will Be Your God’

‘I Will Be Your God’

Hebrews 8:10
10
… and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.


When God says, “I will be your God,” that is a declaration that He will work miracles in your life. So if it is a miracle you need, it is a miracle you will get!

If there is a huge sea blocking the way to your blessing and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that He will open the sea for you so that you can receive your blessing.

If you are poor and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that you will be well-provided for. Since God fed nearly three million Israelites in the wilderness every single day for 40 years, you can be sure that God will provide for you too.

If you are sick and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that He is going to be “the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26), and you will be healthy.

If you have incurred a huge debt and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that He will bring about a supernatural cancellation of your debt.

But not only did God say, “I will be their God,” He also said, “they shall be My people”.

To be God’s people means to be the protected ones. Not all on earth are God’s people — only we who are redeemed by the blood of Christ. During times of uncertainties, God says to you, “You shall be My people.” This means that you are protected from all pestilences, plagues, attacks and destruction.

Even when you hear people say that the economic crisis is coming, God says to you, “You shall be My people.” This means that you don’t have to worry or be anxious. The crisis will not affect you. Regardless of the situation in the world, you are protected and you will walk in the blessings of God.

God’s power comes into every challenge you face when He says to you, “I will be your God and you shall be My people.” You will experience the supernatural life. Your part is to believe what He declares and act like it is so!



Monday, March 9, 2009

The Clause That Makes It All Happen

The Clause That Makes It All Happen

Hebrews 8:12
12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”


We are no longer under the old covenant. We are now under the new covenant. And in this new covenant, God says that He will do three things for us:

Lead us — “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts.” (Hebrews 8:10) These are the laws of faith, love and liberty to guide you in everything you do. It is a spontaneous, dynamic, active and intimate way to be led by God.

Work miracles for us — “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Hebrews 8:10) The phrase “I will be their God” denotes a miracle-working God. So if you are sick and God says, “I will be your God,” get ready for healing! If you are poor and God says, “I will be your God,” get ready for prosperity!

Cause us to know Him effortlessly — “… all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” (Hebrews 8:11) The Greek word for “know” here is eido. It means to know intuitively without effort. This means that you will know God easily.

Do you want to experience all these blessings in your life today?
“Of course, Pastor Prince, I want to be led by God. I want Him to work miracles in my life. I want to know Him intimately without straining or striving.”

Then, you need to know the clause that makes it all happen: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” The words “no more” in the Greek carry a strong double-negative sense. So God is saying, “I will never, by no means, remember your sins!”

Beloved, the more you believe this in your heart, the more you will see those blessings fulfilled in your life. When you realize how much God has forgiven you and remembers your sins no more, you will know Him, His ways and His will for you intimately and intuitively without effort.

So believe in your heart today the clause on which all these blessings hinge, and get ready for miracles and hopes fulfilled in the days ahead!



Sunday, March 8, 2009

Come As You Are And Receive

Come As You Are And Receive

Matthew 15:27
27
And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”


Come as you are to the Lord with your need, and lean on His unfailing and unconditional love for you. You don’t have to pretend to be more than what you are to receive the blessing you need from God. You don’t have to pretend to be someone else to appear more deserving to receive from God.

A Canaanite woman desperately seeking healing for her demon-possessed daughter came to Jesus. (Matthew 15:22–28) Knowing that He healed and did miracles among the Jews, she pretended to be a Jew, calling out, “O Lord, Son of David!” (Only the Jews addressed Jesus as the “Son of David”.) Jesus did not answer her. His silence made her drop her pretense and cry out, “Lord, help me!”

Only when her pretenses had melted away did she see the grace of God extended to her. Jesus made a way for her to receive her miracle even though it was not yet time for the Gentiles to receive His blessings. He told her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

Many people might be offended at being called a “dog”. Actually, the Greek word used here by Jesus means “puppy”, and is thus an affectionate rather than offensive term. So this woman was not offended. In fact, she knew then that she could receive healing for her daughter because even puppies get to eat what falls from their masters’ table.

She saw that the crumbs under the Master’s table were enough for a Gentile, a “little dog”, like herself. You must understand that the Jews then considered Gentiles dogs. But what Jesus was trying to say was that He was called to the Jews first, not the Gentiles. Yet, He loved this Gentile woman and her daughter enough to provide a “loophole” for them to receive their miracle.

So when the Canaanite woman took her place by dropping the title “Son of David” and just leaned on Jesus’ compassion for her, her daughter was healed from that very hour.

If God was willing to extend His grace to a Gentile, how much more you, His beloved child! You do not need to depend on pretensions to receive a miracle from Him. Come as you are and lean on His grace. If He has delivered Jesus up for us, “how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things”? (Romans 8:32)