Phase 12: This chapter talks about how we are constantly being transfigured into the Lord"s image. How? By continuing to behold Him. The word BEHOLD is to gaze upon. Joyce states, "We need to stare at Jesus and glance at our problems, not stare at our problems and glance at Jesus occassionally". He took our place, took the punishment we deserved. He became our substitute and these are the things we should meditate on. We have to understand the "principle of continuing". It requires a long-term commitment; not to give up. "We must continue to study His Word and worship Him.
Phase 13: God is a big God; nothing is impossible with Him and He is on our side. None of our enemies are as great as God. He is in us and he said He will never leave or forsake us; of who, then should we be afraid? "If God be for me, who can be against me".
Phase 14: God will provide. Most people are concerned about provision. Worship wins the battle. Scriptures says that God gives food and provision to those who reverently fear and worship Him. whatever your situation God can provide. Worship is wisdom: the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the geginning of wisdom. This is found in Psalms 111:10. Knowledge is good, but it is better to have wisdom. Without wisdom a person can become puffed up. There is no lack in worship. God is everything, and He is worthy of our praise and worship.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Worship, Prayer and Change
Phase 8: Worship should be something we do before we ever ask the Lord to do anything for us; bfore we pray and then start seeing changes in our life and circumstances. "Change comes after we worship God, not before." The author speaks about worship and faith. The story of the canaanite woman seeking to get her daughter healed is a good example in Matthew 15:22-23. The woman came out with a loud cry and begged have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. The woman's miracle came when she established that she had faith and that she was going to worship God. God sees our heart, and sincerity of heart is the most important thing to him. Our worship has to be real and comes out of a heart of genuine thankgiving and praise. We must fix our minds and heart on the Lord when worshiping Him. (John 4:23, 24). Joyce states, "We all must be open to growth, which always means change. Knowledge and revelation is progressive; if a thing is not moving, then it is dying." The confession of our mouth is a powerful weapon. The power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
Phase 9: Change from worshiping; when you bow down and worship God, using King David's method, you will begin to see some marvelous things happen and deliverance from bondages. In John chapter 6, the people asked "What must we do to please God?" Jesus answered and said, "Believe." We are to believe the word of God and then see the manifestation. We are to believe and enter God's rest, knowing that He is working on our behalf. "When we praise God before we see change, we are saying with our actions that we believe and start declaring that we already have the victory. The battle belongs to the Lord.
Phase 10: Worship God with a pure conscience--True worship has to come from the heart. It is not a learned behavior. Paul spoke of the importance of keeping our conscience clear or clean. This is one of the main functions of the Holy Spirit; to teach and lead us into all truth and convict us of sin in our lives and convince us of righteousness (John 16: 8,13). Paul worshiped with a clear conscience. This opens the door to repentence, if we confess our sins then God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then we can live before Him with a clear conscience.
Phase 11: Transformation and Transfiguration--"Do not be conformed to this world (present age) but be transformed (Changed) by the renewing of your mind' (Romans 12: 2). This is a Greek word metamorphoo, meaning "to change into another form." We must die to self to live for Christ. The example is the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians 2:20, crucified with Christ. We must die to ungodly attitudes, patterns, ways of acting and speaking, our own plans and desires. No pain, no gain.
Phase 9: Change from worshiping; when you bow down and worship God, using King David's method, you will begin to see some marvelous things happen and deliverance from bondages. In John chapter 6, the people asked "What must we do to please God?" Jesus answered and said, "Believe." We are to believe the word of God and then see the manifestation. We are to believe and enter God's rest, knowing that He is working on our behalf. "When we praise God before we see change, we are saying with our actions that we believe and start declaring that we already have the victory. The battle belongs to the Lord.
Phase 10: Worship God with a pure conscience--True worship has to come from the heart. It is not a learned behavior. Paul spoke of the importance of keeping our conscience clear or clean. This is one of the main functions of the Holy Spirit; to teach and lead us into all truth and convict us of sin in our lives and convince us of righteousness (John 16: 8,13). Paul worshiped with a clear conscience. This opens the door to repentence, if we confess our sins then God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then we can live before Him with a clear conscience.
Phase 11: Transformation and Transfiguration--"Do not be conformed to this world (present age) but be transformed (Changed) by the renewing of your mind' (Romans 12: 2). This is a Greek word metamorphoo, meaning "to change into another form." We must die to self to live for Christ. The example is the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians 2:20, crucified with Christ. We must die to ungodly attitudes, patterns, ways of acting and speaking, our own plans and desires. No pain, no gain.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Don't wrestle--worship
This is a continuance of Joyce's "The Battle Belongs to the Lord" part II entitled "Transformed through Worship". (Phase 5) Here she talks about Elijah (1 Kings 17:1) the prophet of the Lord. During this time he was sent to the wicked king Ahab to warn him of a coming drought although, God took care of Elijah by sending him to a poor widow woman. This 3 year drought and famine was on the land to show Ahab God's power. After three years God sent Elijah again to tell Ahab it was about to rain again. Now Elijah heard this in his spirit by faith. This made Ahab angry, because he did not want him to be right or in control. Elijah was listening to God and he believed what He said and began to act on it before he saw the manifestation. The point is just like Elijah announce to Ahab it was going to rain, we need to announce outloud what is going to happen in our life according to the word of God. So, hold your battle position. Elijah down on his knees got in the position of worship and it kept him strong. "When you worship God, He will send a Holy Ghost rain and drown out the Ahabs.
(Phase 6) Don't wrestle-worship: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Our war is not with the people around us, nor with ourselves. Our greatest battle is with ourselves, struggling with where we are and where we see that we need to be. We must remember that only God can fight our battles and give us the victory. Salvation is our most valued blessing. We can be changed as we worship God and not look to ourselves or counting our flaws-but as we look to Him. We can not do it on our own and have been given the Holy Spirit to aid us in our endeavors and to be like Christ. "Don't spend life trying to collect what is due you from someone that can never pay you back. God is our vindicator, reward and recompense. We release God to work on our behalf as we release our faith. As we worship God, we are released from frustration. When we worship His attributes, they are released in our lives. Such as: His loyalty, kindness, love, peace, faithfulness and more will be released in our own character.
(Phase 7) Be Transfigured: The scriptures speak about the transfiguration on Mt. Carmel of Jesus. As he was praying, the appearance of His countenance changed and His garments became a dazzling white. Being in His presence transforms us. We are in a battle, be ready to use our weapons of prayer, worship, praise and the Word of God. "When the world looks at us they need to see something different about us." The countenance on our face counts. In prayer, the first thing we normally talk about is our need or desire, but we need to enter His gates with praises and thanksgiving first. Worshiping Him should come before our asking. "More praise than petition." Magnify the Lord and with uplifted hands; there is power in worship and God is worthy. Water baptisim demonstrates what we believe is our through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Worship is a powerful force that shakes heaven, earth, and hell it gets God attention.
(Phase 6) Don't wrestle-worship: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Our war is not with the people around us, nor with ourselves. Our greatest battle is with ourselves, struggling with where we are and where we see that we need to be. We must remember that only God can fight our battles and give us the victory. Salvation is our most valued blessing. We can be changed as we worship God and not look to ourselves or counting our flaws-but as we look to Him. We can not do it on our own and have been given the Holy Spirit to aid us in our endeavors and to be like Christ. "Don't spend life trying to collect what is due you from someone that can never pay you back. God is our vindicator, reward and recompense. We release God to work on our behalf as we release our faith. As we worship God, we are released from frustration. When we worship His attributes, they are released in our lives. Such as: His loyalty, kindness, love, peace, faithfulness and more will be released in our own character.
(Phase 7) Be Transfigured: The scriptures speak about the transfiguration on Mt. Carmel of Jesus. As he was praying, the appearance of His countenance changed and His garments became a dazzling white. Being in His presence transforms us. We are in a battle, be ready to use our weapons of prayer, worship, praise and the Word of God. "When the world looks at us they need to see something different about us." The countenance on our face counts. In prayer, the first thing we normally talk about is our need or desire, but we need to enter His gates with praises and thanksgiving first. Worshiping Him should come before our asking. "More praise than petition." Magnify the Lord and with uplifted hands; there is power in worship and God is worthy. Water baptisim demonstrates what we believe is our through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Worship is a powerful force that shakes heaven, earth, and hell it gets God attention.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Take Your Position
This is a continuance of Overcoming Struggles Through Worship by Joyce Meyer. In phase 3, she talks about Jehoshaphat's position when inquiring of the Lord. "On our knees is a battle position--the reverent position of face bowed to the ground is a battle position. Kneeling with uplifted hands is a battle position also." She defines praise and worship in the Old and New Testament and making know that our weapons are not natural or carnal. Praise is another position that we can take to get the victory over our battles in life. Therefore, we take a battle postion in the spiritual realm of standing our ground and worshiping the Lord. See (Ephesians 6: 13,14). The three main ideas in taking position is 1. The posture of Worship; 2. Stand up and Praise God; 3. Believe and Remain Steadfast. So, Jehoshaphat was obedient and obtained the victory in the battle. Worship transforms us and creates an atmosphere where God can work, and we can recieve.
In Phase 4, The author discusses deliverance. The people of Judah took their position and stood still worshiping and praising God. Jehoshaphat appointed singers and the Lord defeated their enemies by confusing them to the point they slaughtered each other. Phase four shares another battle victory in the book of Judges with Gideon in facing a battle. In another passage Joyce talks about resisting entanglements because they get us off course, and that we must not get out of balance. The overall messages in these two passages is let the Lord fight your battles by faith.
In Phase 4, The author discusses deliverance. The people of Judah took their position and stood still worshiping and praising God. Jehoshaphat appointed singers and the Lord defeated their enemies by confusing them to the point they slaughtered each other. Phase four shares another battle victory in the book of Judges with Gideon in facing a battle. In another passage Joyce talks about resisting entanglements because they get us off course, and that we must not get out of balance. The overall messages in these two passages is let the Lord fight your battles by faith.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Overcoming Struggles Through Worship
I like to read uplifting and inspiring literature. I think that it builds character and renews our strengths in the inner being. Although, I normally read the scriptures; I will occassionally read best sellers and books written for ministry. This keeps me encouraged in life's endeavors. Occassionally, as I feel the need; I will re-read them again.
The book that I have just started (9/30/11) is entitled "The Battle Belongs to the Lord: Overcoming life's Struggle Through Worship" by Joyce Meyer (2002). I like Joyce because she teaches us about self-awareness and renewing the inner man. We need this to help us grow from dependency to independency, and most of all interdependency to cope ourselves and others.
In Part 1, Joyce talks about fear and being fearful. Phase 1--"Hear Directly from God". He wants us to live free from fear and feel confident doing what He tells us to do. When we understand His Will for us and unconditional love knowing that He always takes care of us and our needs, we can relax. God moves when we focus and call upon Him instead of our circumstances and fears. We must also worship Him for who He is with gratitude for the things He has done, doing, and going to do. (See: 2 Timothy 1:7)
The example given was the story of Jehoshaphat going into battle with 3 other tribes and was fearful. (2 Chronicles 20:1). Jehoshaphat needed direction and to hear from God. He began to pray, worship, and magnify Him that He would fight this battle. For the battle belongs to the Lord and ours is to have faith. Phase 2--"Admit your Dependence on God". This entails letting God do for us what we cannot do and waiting for the answer. Phase3--"Take Your Position". Kneeling with uplifted hands and face bowed down is one of the battle positions. This did Jehoshaphat. Phase 4--"The Lord Brings Deliverance".
I enjoy this kind of reading because I feel it is a kind of worship within itself. I will continue with Part 2 next week. Once you get something that is interesting, you have to finish it.
The book that I have just started (9/30/11) is entitled "The Battle Belongs to the Lord: Overcoming life's Struggle Through Worship" by Joyce Meyer (2002). I like Joyce because she teaches us about self-awareness and renewing the inner man. We need this to help us grow from dependency to independency, and most of all interdependency to cope ourselves and others.
In Part 1, Joyce talks about fear and being fearful. Phase 1--"Hear Directly from God". He wants us to live free from fear and feel confident doing what He tells us to do. When we understand His Will for us and unconditional love knowing that He always takes care of us and our needs, we can relax. God moves when we focus and call upon Him instead of our circumstances and fears. We must also worship Him for who He is with gratitude for the things He has done, doing, and going to do. (See: 2 Timothy 1:7)
The example given was the story of Jehoshaphat going into battle with 3 other tribes and was fearful. (2 Chronicles 20:1). Jehoshaphat needed direction and to hear from God. He began to pray, worship, and magnify Him that He would fight this battle. For the battle belongs to the Lord and ours is to have faith. Phase 2--"Admit your Dependence on God". This entails letting God do for us what we cannot do and waiting for the answer. Phase3--"Take Your Position". Kneeling with uplifted hands and face bowed down is one of the battle positions. This did Jehoshaphat. Phase 4--"The Lord Brings Deliverance".
I enjoy this kind of reading because I feel it is a kind of worship within itself. I will continue with Part 2 next week. Once you get something that is interesting, you have to finish it.
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