That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10)
The Lord is aware of the temptations that befall us. He has already passed through the sufferings that we are facing. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:15 and 2:18 that, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."
Jesus Christ knowing that His children have to go through such temptations says, "Let me traverse the same path so that I may help those who backslide, offer them necessary strength to overcome and heal their wounds." He traversed that path to help us out in our temptations.
Many years ago, when my father was in prayer, the Lord showed him the happenings that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a time just before Jesus would have to bear the cross. For three and a half years, He had been speaking to the people who surrounded Him words that were filled with divine love and spent time in healing the sick. He knew that only by giving His life on the cross mankind could have deliverance from sin, sickness, and curse.
But when that hour approached, he found it very difficult to pass through it. Jesus thought, "Not having known death and having full authority over death yet the time has come for Me to face the cross at last" and this thought troubled Him greatly. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." As told in the Scriptures, Jesus Christ was greatly troubled and sorrowful. He looked at His disciples and said, "The hour of darkness is engulfing. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. The will of My Father is that I should face the cross but My mind is unable to completely comply with His purpose. Please pray for Me."
When our Lord Jesus Christ was in such a frame of mind in the Garden of Gethsemane, satan stood beside Him. Satan who saw the sufferings that Jesus Christ went through would have thought, "Surely He will not obey the commandments and teachings of the Almighty but would backslide and say, 'I will not go to the cross.' Therefore He cannot destroy me and I will continue to have the authority that I now enjoy."
An angel descended and tried to comfort the Lord but could not offer any help because the sufferings, temptations and the sorrows that He would have to bear made Him tremble. He fell to the ground. Big drops of blood fell from His face and body. Fear and physical weakness took charge of Him.
In this world, just as our soul is crushed when we face trials, tribulations, go through physical agony, bear sorrows or struggle with temptations our loving Lord passed through a similar path. In order to know the path in which we travel, He gave Himself willingly after being thoroughly crushed to such an extent that big drops of blood came out of His body.
The Scripture says in Hebrews 9:14, that Holy Spirit descended and comforted Him. As it is told in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" when the Holy Spirit comes upon us He grants us His consolation and our power increases. Holy Spirit consoled Jesus Christ saying, "Lord Jesus, if You humble Yourself and become obedient to the point of death and willingly accept the cross then God the Father will exalt and give You the name which is above every name, and at the mention of Your name every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10). Therefore please submit Yourself to His will."
On hearing these words of comfort, Lord Jesus said, "I came here not to fulfill My will but I came into this world just to do the will of My Father. I will follow His commandments and submit to His will." The glory of God descended and strengthened Him. At that time, satan fell to the ground saying, "I am finished. He has accepted to take up the cross and now He will destroy me." With the power that descended upon Him, He had no fear or trembling before people or leaders and boldly took up the cross. As a result, He was exalted and now all confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The Lord says "My dear children, you who are heavy laden come unto Me, I will heal all your wounds and enable you to lead a life which is according to My will. Therefore give your heart to me." The Lord has done this in our life and He is waiting and willing to do the same in your life also.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise and thank You because You swallowed death up in victory. Help me to look up to You always whenever I happen to backslide or if temptation approaches me. Give me the grace to know that I will not be tempted beyond the ability to withstand but also know that You have already paved the way for escape. Heal my wounds and make me whole. I give You all glory, honour and praise.
Amen.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Make Your Money Count!
God is on your side!
The Word of God says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
He is our salvation. He is our strength. He is our Source.
My friend Dr. Kenneth Ulmer joins me this week on This Is Your Day! to remind us how God wants to bless each of us!
It’s a Matter of Choices
In a day of shifting economics, what Dr. Ulmer shares on the program is both timely and crucial.
Whether you have a little money or a lot, it is time that you move into a greater dimension of kingdom blessings, and Kenneth has been anointed especially for this day to show you how to make your money count!
It all comes down to choices.
Your choices are crucial, but God doesn’t make a secret about how He wants you to make those choices. He says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
God wants to pour out great blessings upon you, but just believing in prosperity and financial success is not enough. You must go through a process to achieve biblical prosperity.
What is often called “the gospel of prosperity” is faulty when it ignores the biblical process.
God is a God of order, not chaos. There is an order to achieving what He wants you to have, and it is time that each believer puts this process into financial success.
What is this process?
God Is Your Source
On This Is Your Day! Dr. Ulmer tells us that the words money and riches appear more than 215 times in the Bible. God obviously wants us to know about finances. He wants us to know how to handle money.
The process must start with the knowledge that God is your Source: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“My God” requires a personal relationship with Him, an acknowledgement that He is Savior and Lord.
Then, and only then, will He supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.
Then you can begin following His process into all the blessings He has in store for you.
True Prosperity
The next step in the biblical process is understanding whether God wants believers to have wealth or not.
God says:
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. (Psalm 1:1-3)
The happy, blessed, and prosperous person does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but he chooses to follow the law of the Lord.
What does God Himself have to say about prosperity?
· “He who trusts in the Lord will prosper” (Proverbs 28:25, NIV).
· “Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7).
· “Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper” (Deuteronomy 5:33, NIV).
· “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do” (Deuteronomy 29:9).
· “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive” (Deuteronomy 6:24, NIV).
· “A generous man will prosper” (Proverbs 11:25, NIV).
· “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
I love Dr. Ulmer’s definition of prosperity: “To prosper means to succeed to the point of excellence—to the highest level.”
All we have to do is put His process into play: “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” (Jeremiah 29:11). Another version of this verse tells us that the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV).
True prosperity is simply success God’s way!
We see many examples of people living by this principle throughout the Bible—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, and so many more.
In fact, Jesus talked often about money and finances, offering the parable of the talents: “So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back’” (Luke 19:13, NIV). The master gave the money to his servants with these clear instructions: “Do business until I return.”
This is not a suggestion. He gave money with a command.
The master in the parable was a businessman who earned some of his money by having others invest it on his behalf. He expected his servants to behave the same way with his money.
When the master returned, he rewarded the two who were faithful in business. The one who hid his money set himself up for strict judgment.
The master had commanded action. Nothing less was accepted. Fear of failure was not accepted as an excuse.
And today there is much to be done before our Lord returns. Our job is to conduct business with the resources He gives us until He returns.
More importantly, the goal is not just to work more to make more money. Instead, on This Is Your Day! Dr. Ulmer teaches to make your money work for you, as in the parable of the talents.
God’s Five Blessings of Money
God’s desire is to bless you. He wants to pour out wisdom and power that will allow you to make your money count.
God has a system, a process, to pour out His blessings upon you:
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work… Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. (2 Corinthians 9:8, 10-12)
God has ordained five blessings of money:
1. As seed for the sower
2. To provide bread
3. To multiply the seed that is sown
4. To increase the fruits of our righteousness
5. To give
God’s Principle of Multiplication
The seed that God multiplies is the seed that has already been sown. He doesn’t multiply the seed that you keep. You have to sow it first, then it is multiplied.
You only reap what you sow!
You only reap after you sow!
You always reap more than you sow!
God’s kingdom operates through giving and receiving, as opposed to the world’s system which operates through buying and selling.
In the world you get addition from interest, but in God’s kingdom, interest isn’t just added. It is multiplied!
God gives us seed for our need, but He wants to move us into supernatural abundance that comes through the principle of multiplication.
The Purpose of Abundance
God is not concerned as much about the size of your bank account or the amount of seed that you plant, but He is mostly concerned about the size of your heart!
Doing kingdom business must always point to the spreading of God’s Word.
God does not need your money. He wants your heart, for that is the great indicator of what you treasure.
As you follow God’s process for sowing and reaping, He will pour out abundance. But the purpose of God’s multiplication must always be focused on expanding God’s kingdom and taking the Gospel to the nations.
It is not to be hoarded or hidden.
God’s heart is to bless you. If you will seek His heart and follow His ways, He already has great abundance stored up for you!
Get ready to receive from Him.
Plant into good soil.
Expect a return on the seed that you plant. In fact, plant it with a specific expectation!
God’s goal is not merely to meet your need. His goal for you is abundance so you can shower your overflow onto others.
This Amazing Season
God is moving mightily today. He is shaking the nations. We have a great work to do
At the same time, God wants you to be blessed in every area of your life!
He has promised to supply whatever we need to accomplish all that He has called us to do:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14)
God wants to bless you richly in all that you do for Him in the days to come, for He says: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
This is an amazing season, and I want you to be a part of what God is going to do.
Send your most generous seed today. Be part of what God desires to do in your life.
Your seed-gift, no matter what size, is an act of faith that you place your offering on the altar!
Above all else, plant your seed in faith, acknowledging that God is your Source and that He wants to bless you supernaturally, for it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)…
Preaching the glorious Gospel,
teaching the unchanging Word,
and expecting the mighty and miraculous,
The Word of God says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
He is our salvation. He is our strength. He is our Source.
My friend Dr. Kenneth Ulmer joins me this week on This Is Your Day! to remind us how God wants to bless each of us!
It’s a Matter of Choices
In a day of shifting economics, what Dr. Ulmer shares on the program is both timely and crucial.
Whether you have a little money or a lot, it is time that you move into a greater dimension of kingdom blessings, and Kenneth has been anointed especially for this day to show you how to make your money count!
It all comes down to choices.
Your choices are crucial, but God doesn’t make a secret about how He wants you to make those choices. He says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
God wants to pour out great blessings upon you, but just believing in prosperity and financial success is not enough. You must go through a process to achieve biblical prosperity.
What is often called “the gospel of prosperity” is faulty when it ignores the biblical process.
God is a God of order, not chaos. There is an order to achieving what He wants you to have, and it is time that each believer puts this process into financial success.
What is this process?
God Is Your Source
On This Is Your Day! Dr. Ulmer tells us that the words money and riches appear more than 215 times in the Bible. God obviously wants us to know about finances. He wants us to know how to handle money.
The process must start with the knowledge that God is your Source: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“My God” requires a personal relationship with Him, an acknowledgement that He is Savior and Lord.
Then, and only then, will He supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.
Then you can begin following His process into all the blessings He has in store for you.
True Prosperity
The next step in the biblical process is understanding whether God wants believers to have wealth or not.
God says:
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. (Psalm 1:1-3)
The happy, blessed, and prosperous person does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, but he chooses to follow the law of the Lord.
What does God Himself have to say about prosperity?
· “He who trusts in the Lord will prosper” (Proverbs 28:25, NIV).
· “Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7).
· “Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper” (Deuteronomy 5:33, NIV).
· “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do” (Deuteronomy 29:9).
· “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive” (Deuteronomy 6:24, NIV).
· “A generous man will prosper” (Proverbs 11:25, NIV).
· “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
I love Dr. Ulmer’s definition of prosperity: “To prosper means to succeed to the point of excellence—to the highest level.”
All we have to do is put His process into play: “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” (Jeremiah 29:11). Another version of this verse tells us that the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV).
True prosperity is simply success God’s way!
We see many examples of people living by this principle throughout the Bible—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, and so many more.
In fact, Jesus talked often about money and finances, offering the parable of the talents: “So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back’” (Luke 19:13, NIV). The master gave the money to his servants with these clear instructions: “Do business until I return.”
This is not a suggestion. He gave money with a command.
The master in the parable was a businessman who earned some of his money by having others invest it on his behalf. He expected his servants to behave the same way with his money.
When the master returned, he rewarded the two who were faithful in business. The one who hid his money set himself up for strict judgment.
The master had commanded action. Nothing less was accepted. Fear of failure was not accepted as an excuse.
And today there is much to be done before our Lord returns. Our job is to conduct business with the resources He gives us until He returns.
More importantly, the goal is not just to work more to make more money. Instead, on This Is Your Day! Dr. Ulmer teaches to make your money work for you, as in the parable of the talents.
God’s Five Blessings of Money
God’s desire is to bless you. He wants to pour out wisdom and power that will allow you to make your money count.
God has a system, a process, to pour out His blessings upon you:
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work… Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. (2 Corinthians 9:8, 10-12)
God has ordained five blessings of money:
1. As seed for the sower
2. To provide bread
3. To multiply the seed that is sown
4. To increase the fruits of our righteousness
5. To give
God’s Principle of Multiplication
The seed that God multiplies is the seed that has already been sown. He doesn’t multiply the seed that you keep. You have to sow it first, then it is multiplied.
You only reap what you sow!
You only reap after you sow!
You always reap more than you sow!
God’s kingdom operates through giving and receiving, as opposed to the world’s system which operates through buying and selling.
In the world you get addition from interest, but in God’s kingdom, interest isn’t just added. It is multiplied!
God gives us seed for our need, but He wants to move us into supernatural abundance that comes through the principle of multiplication.
The Purpose of Abundance
God is not concerned as much about the size of your bank account or the amount of seed that you plant, but He is mostly concerned about the size of your heart!
Doing kingdom business must always point to the spreading of God’s Word.
God does not need your money. He wants your heart, for that is the great indicator of what you treasure.
As you follow God’s process for sowing and reaping, He will pour out abundance. But the purpose of God’s multiplication must always be focused on expanding God’s kingdom and taking the Gospel to the nations.
It is not to be hoarded or hidden.
God’s heart is to bless you. If you will seek His heart and follow His ways, He already has great abundance stored up for you!
Get ready to receive from Him.
Plant into good soil.
Expect a return on the seed that you plant. In fact, plant it with a specific expectation!
God’s goal is not merely to meet your need. His goal for you is abundance so you can shower your overflow onto others.
This Amazing Season
God is moving mightily today. He is shaking the nations. We have a great work to do
At the same time, God wants you to be blessed in every area of your life!
He has promised to supply whatever we need to accomplish all that He has called us to do:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14)
God wants to bless you richly in all that you do for Him in the days to come, for He says: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
This is an amazing season, and I want you to be a part of what God is going to do.
Send your most generous seed today. Be part of what God desires to do in your life.
Your seed-gift, no matter what size, is an act of faith that you place your offering on the altar!
Above all else, plant your seed in faith, acknowledging that God is your Source and that He wants to bless you supernaturally, for it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)…
Preaching the glorious Gospel,
teaching the unchanging Word,
and expecting the mighty and miraculous,
These message by Pastor Benny Hinn, for more details you can logon to website - https://www.bennyhinn.org/donate/default.cfm
Friday, February 22, 2008
World renowned evangelist Dr.DGSDhinakaran has entered into glory, the Holy man is no more with us.
Admitted to a private hospital here following heart and kidney ailments, 74-year-old Dhinakaran died around 6.30 am. According to relatives, all his close family members were with him when he passed away.
Chief Minister M Karunandhi was among those who went to Dhinakaran’s house to pay last respects. Professing “deep shock” at the missionary’s death, he recalled how lakhs used to throng to his meetings to hear him speak.
“Today, he has departed leaving all those people in tears,” the Chief Minister said.
When Dhinakaran started the Jesus Calls Ministry, it was a one-man outfit. But it gradually grew and drew followers from across the world, “irrespective of their caste, creed, race or language”.
According to the website, Dhinakaran has “healed” people with illness and revealed the past, present and future of followers.
The mortal remains of the evangelist would be kept for public homage at the Royapettah YMCA grounds in the city and the funeral services would be held on the same premises at 10 am on February 22, said David Emmanuel Raj, press co-ordinator of the Jesus Calls Ministry.
LIFE HISTORY OF BROTHER DGS FOUNDER OF JESUS CALLS WORLDWIDE MINISTRY,PRAYER TOWER,KARUNYA UNIVERSITY,INDIA.
Bro.DGS( Duraisamy Geoffery Samuel Dhinakaran )was born on July 1, 1935, in a village called Surandai of Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu, India. He was an obedient son his parents, and his parents were very fond of him, being their only child.
His father Duraisamy was a school teacher. He loved to wear white at all times. Bro.Dhinakaran fondly remembers those unforgettable days when he would be playing in the soil as his dad returns back from the school after a tiresome day of teaching. He recollects the love with which his father would hug him unmindful of the dirt all over his body and unmindful of his clothes getting spoilt.
His mother Hepsibah was a housewife. She used to take great care of him, though she was an epileptic patient. Bro.Dhinakaran often remembers the agony that she used to undergo as she would be tormented by the fits which left her only at her old age when the Lord graciously touched and healed her with His miraculous hand.In the year 1955, Bro. Dhinakaran's life was heading on to a point of no return. The pressures that were upon him at that point of time was too much for him to handle. He had to provide for a sick mother, find ways through closed doors for an employment opportunity and above all, his studies were heading nowhere. He took a look at his life and decided that these problems have no solution and that there would be no light at the end of the tunnel. Suicide seemed to be the only solution.
On February 11, 1955, after taking a long last loving glimpse of his beloved mother, knowing that he would see her no more, he walked towards the railway track so that the oncoming express train should take away his life and crush him beyond identification.
En-route to the track, he ran into his uncle, a Police Officer, through whom the Lord spoke in a way that would change his very outlook on life. He explained the immeasurable love and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His supreme sacrifice on the cross, and he pointed out to that the Lord Jesus was the only solution there ever was and is, to any problem that a man would be having or would ever have to face in future.
Bro. Dhinakaran asked him three simple questions:
"Can God heal my mother?
Can He help me in my studies?
Can he help me find a job?"
His uncle gave a "Yes" to all of these questions.
Then he sincerely asked him, "what should I do?"
All he said was to kneel and cry out to the Lord Jesus.
He returned home, and quickly entered his room, shut the door, dropped on to his knees and cried out to the Lord. The Lord, in His mercy, descended and revealed to him, as in a movie, the life that he had led for the past 20 years.
Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to cry uncontrollably. Then he begged the Lord for forgiveness and pleaded with Him for a cleansing. He asked Jesus to take charge of his life.
From that moment, his life spun around. Every night, Lord Jesus would come down and sit beside him and help him with his lessons; The Lord Himself would write his exams and gain him success. He granted an employment opportunity with the State Bank of India, India's largest banking network.
Thus, that one encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ had turned his life that was heading on to suicide towards a greatly successful one. Ever since Bro. D.G.S. Dhinakaran surrendered his life to our gracious Lord Jesus on February 11, 1955, he begins each day reading several chapters from the Bible and meditating upon them. Whenever he reads the miracles recorded in the Bible, he prays that he should also be granted the divine power that was manifest in Jesus. He is encouraged in this by the following verse:
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38)
On October 9, 1962, he tarried at the feet of the Lord Jesus in prayer till midnight. He pleaded persistently: "Lord! Hear my prayer and now grant me Your power! Or else, slay me! I don't want to live as a powerless and phony Christian!".
Next day dawned. October 10, 1962!
After exacting work in the bank, he returned home at 9.30 in the night. After supper, he joined the family prayer. There arose in him the usual longing for the blessed vision of Jesus. The very next moment, a divine Presence descended on him! He was thrown into an ecstasy of joy. As he wondered from where this flood of joy was overflowing into him, the Lord opened his spiritual eyes. He saw a divine form standing before him with a radiant face, addressing him with a smile.
"My beloved son, I am Christ! Because you have been seeking Me diligently, I have come seeking you, to bless you."
That day, his seven years of longing was rewarded. He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit by which he set forth to fulfill the divine commission that he received from Christ.
Having received the fire in him, he passes on the fire to all those who wish to do the Lord's work by conducting the Institute of Power Ministry, which was instituted according to the Lord's will for this purpose.
Chief Minister M Karunandhi was among those who went to Dhinakaran’s house to pay last respects. Professing “deep shock” at the missionary’s death, he recalled how lakhs used to throng to his meetings to hear him speak.
“Today, he has departed leaving all those people in tears,” the Chief Minister said.
When Dhinakaran started the Jesus Calls Ministry, it was a one-man outfit. But it gradually grew and drew followers from across the world, “irrespective of their caste, creed, race or language”.
According to the website, Dhinakaran has “healed” people with illness and revealed the past, present and future of followers.
The mortal remains of the evangelist would be kept for public homage at the Royapettah YMCA grounds in the city and the funeral services would be held on the same premises at 10 am on February 22, said David Emmanuel Raj, press co-ordinator of the Jesus Calls Ministry.
LIFE HISTORY OF BROTHER DGS FOUNDER OF JESUS CALLS WORLDWIDE MINISTRY,PRAYER TOWER,KARUNYA UNIVERSITY,INDIA.
Bro.DGS( Duraisamy Geoffery Samuel Dhinakaran )was born on July 1, 1935, in a village called Surandai of Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu, India. He was an obedient son his parents, and his parents were very fond of him, being their only child.
His father Duraisamy was a school teacher. He loved to wear white at all times. Bro.Dhinakaran fondly remembers those unforgettable days when he would be playing in the soil as his dad returns back from the school after a tiresome day of teaching. He recollects the love with which his father would hug him unmindful of the dirt all over his body and unmindful of his clothes getting spoilt.
His mother Hepsibah was a housewife. She used to take great care of him, though she was an epileptic patient. Bro.Dhinakaran often remembers the agony that she used to undergo as she would be tormented by the fits which left her only at her old age when the Lord graciously touched and healed her with His miraculous hand.In the year 1955, Bro. Dhinakaran's life was heading on to a point of no return. The pressures that were upon him at that point of time was too much for him to handle. He had to provide for a sick mother, find ways through closed doors for an employment opportunity and above all, his studies were heading nowhere. He took a look at his life and decided that these problems have no solution and that there would be no light at the end of the tunnel. Suicide seemed to be the only solution.
On February 11, 1955, after taking a long last loving glimpse of his beloved mother, knowing that he would see her no more, he walked towards the railway track so that the oncoming express train should take away his life and crush him beyond identification.
En-route to the track, he ran into his uncle, a Police Officer, through whom the Lord spoke in a way that would change his very outlook on life. He explained the immeasurable love and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His supreme sacrifice on the cross, and he pointed out to that the Lord Jesus was the only solution there ever was and is, to any problem that a man would be having or would ever have to face in future.
Bro. Dhinakaran asked him three simple questions:
"Can God heal my mother?
Can He help me in my studies?
Can he help me find a job?"
His uncle gave a "Yes" to all of these questions.
Then he sincerely asked him, "what should I do?"
All he said was to kneel and cry out to the Lord Jesus.
He returned home, and quickly entered his room, shut the door, dropped on to his knees and cried out to the Lord. The Lord, in His mercy, descended and revealed to him, as in a movie, the life that he had led for the past 20 years.
Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to cry uncontrollably. Then he begged the Lord for forgiveness and pleaded with Him for a cleansing. He asked Jesus to take charge of his life.
From that moment, his life spun around. Every night, Lord Jesus would come down and sit beside him and help him with his lessons; The Lord Himself would write his exams and gain him success. He granted an employment opportunity with the State Bank of India, India's largest banking network.
Thus, that one encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ had turned his life that was heading on to suicide towards a greatly successful one. Ever since Bro. D.G.S. Dhinakaran surrendered his life to our gracious Lord Jesus on February 11, 1955, he begins each day reading several chapters from the Bible and meditating upon them. Whenever he reads the miracles recorded in the Bible, he prays that he should also be granted the divine power that was manifest in Jesus. He is encouraged in this by the following verse:
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38)
On October 9, 1962, he tarried at the feet of the Lord Jesus in prayer till midnight. He pleaded persistently: "Lord! Hear my prayer and now grant me Your power! Or else, slay me! I don't want to live as a powerless and phony Christian!".
Next day dawned. October 10, 1962!
After exacting work in the bank, he returned home at 9.30 in the night. After supper, he joined the family prayer. There arose in him the usual longing for the blessed vision of Jesus. The very next moment, a divine Presence descended on him! He was thrown into an ecstasy of joy. As he wondered from where this flood of joy was overflowing into him, the Lord opened his spiritual eyes. He saw a divine form standing before him with a radiant face, addressing him with a smile.
"My beloved son, I am Christ! Because you have been seeking Me diligently, I have come seeking you, to bless you."
That day, his seven years of longing was rewarded. He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit by which he set forth to fulfill the divine commission that he received from Christ.
Having received the fire in him, he passes on the fire to all those who wish to do the Lord's work by conducting the Institute of Power Ministry, which was instituted according to the Lord's will for this purpose.
Bro. Dhinakaran knows the importance of the anointing and is always filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the secret of the power in his ministry.
Now his JESUS CALLS ministry comforts the heart broken souls everyday,
and his KARUNYA UNIVERSITY plays a vital role in studies but THIS IS THE DAY THAT GOD PLANNED TO REST HIS SOUL WITH EVERLASTING JOY AND PEACE ON THE LAP OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
LETS PRAY THAT GOD COMFORTS HIS WIFE STELLA DHINAKARAN,AND HIS SON PAUL DHINAKARAN AND HIS GRAND CHILDRENS SAMUEL DHINAKARAN,SHARON AND SWEETY.
This is the short version of his life story published by SWEETIE_J in www.prayabout.com
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Who do you say I AM
500 years before Jesus Christ came, Isaiah said of Him,; Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. and also,;
Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
500 Years later, ;Then Matthew concerning Jesus at His birth,; Mt 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."(NKJV)
IS JESUS GOD?
A. WHY DID JESUS NOT OPENLY REVEAL HIS FULL IDENTITY?
Why didn't Jesus ever say clearly, "I am God. Worship Me!"? (He did say it indirectly - John 6:41,42; 8:58; 17:4,5; etc.)
Why didn't He say publicly, "I am Messiah; Believe in Me!"? (Privately he did - John 4:28.) The Jews demanded that Jesus clearly declare whether or not He was the Messiah (Luke 22:67-70).
Why did He very seldom call Himself "the Son of God"? (See John 5:25; 10:36; 11:4) Although by calling God His "Father"He certainly implied it (Matt. 27:43). The Jews still demanded that He say so clearly (Luke 22:70). The term, "Son of God" is used synonymously by Jews to mean Messiah, so this is the same as b. above. (The SON of man?
DANIEL God's prophet said 470 years before the Son of man came,;Da 7:13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.)
Instead, why did He almost always called Himself, "The Son of Man?"
Furthermore, why did He forbid those who knew His true identity to tell anyone?:
A. His disciples: - "'But what about you? Who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!' ... Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ." (Matthew 16:15,16,20; see also Mark 8:29,30)
B. the demons: - "... He also drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was." (Mark 1:34 - see also verses 24,25); "Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him, and cried out, 'You are the Son of God.' But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was." (Mark 3:11,12); "Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ." (Luke 4:41)
C. those He healed: - "... and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was." (Matthew 12:15,16); "Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, 'See that you don't tell anyone ...'" (Matthew 8:3,4); Immediately the (dead) girl stood up and walked around. At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this." (Mark 5:42,43)
Why did He refuse to accept challenges to prove His identity?:
A. by Satan: - "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread ... If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down ..." (Matthew 4:3,6)
B. by the common people: - "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, '... Save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God.'" (Matt. 27:39,40)
by the chief priests, teachers and elders: - "He saved others, but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him ... for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matthew 39:41-43)
Why did He always speak to the people in parables?:
"The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them ... This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving ..."' Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.'" (Matthew 13:10,11,13,14,34,35)
"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." (Jn.1:10)
B. BECAUSE THIS IS A SPIRITUAL TRUTH; NOT A HUMAN ONE:
Because there are two things about Christ a person cannot understand by himself:
Who Jesus really is - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ... "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 16:15-17)
The Atonement Jesus provided - "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing . . . The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14)
Because God's secret wisdom is known only by revelation:
"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." (Deut. 29:29)
"... He brings hidden things to light." (Job 28:11)
"Truly you are a God who hides himself." (Isaiah 45:15)
"From now on, I will teach you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you." (Is.48:6)
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
"He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him." (Daniel 2:22)
"It is written in the prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.'" (John 6:45)
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence of superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified ... My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words . . . not the wisdom of this age . . . we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden . . . " (1 Corinthians 2:1-8)
"... that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ... the mystery of Christ ..." (Colossians 2:2,3; 4:3 - see also 1:26,27)
C. Because a person cannot believe in Jesus unless:
A. he/she is drawn to the Father - "All that the Father gives me will come to me . . . No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him ... This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." (John 6:37,44,65)
B. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to him/her - "' . . . no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit . . . we have . . . received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:9-13)
C. He is revealed through the Scriptures - " . . . these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31) (see also John 5;39,40; Rom.16:25,26; Eph.3:4,5)
D. Because Satan has blinded the minds of people: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:4)
General Observations
This brings to an end our brief survey of these seven crucial passages. Seen as a whole, they prompt some general observations. First, the ascription of the title God to Jesus is found in four New Testament writers - John (three uses), Paul (two), Peter (one), and the author of Hebrews (one). Second, this christologica] use of the title began immediately after the resurrection in 30 (John 20:28), continued during the 50s (Rom. 9:5) and 60s (Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1), and then into the 90s (John 1:1, 18). Third the use of "God" in reference to Jesus was not restricted to Christians who lived in one geographical region or who had a particular theological outlook. It occurs in literature that was written in Asia Minor (John, Titus), Greece (Romans), and possibly Judea (Hebrews), and Rome (2 Peter), and that was addressed to persons living in Asia Minor (John, 2 Peter), Rome (Romans, Hebrews), and Crete (Titus). Also, the use is found in a theological setting that is Jewish Christian (John, Hebrews, Peter) or Gentile Christian (Romans, Titus). Fourth, the three instances in John's Gospel are strategically placed. This Fourth Gospel begins (1:1) as it ends (20:28), and the Prologue to this Gospel begins (1:1) as it ends (1:18), with an unambiguous assertion of the deity of Christ: "The Word was God" (1:1); "the only Son, who is God" (1:18); "my Lord and my God!" (20:28).[18] In his preincarnate state (1:1), in his incarnate state (1:18), and in his postresurrection state (20:28), Jesus is God. For John, recognition of Christ's deity is the hallmark of the Christian.
But, you may ask, why are there so few examples of this usage in the New Testament? If Jesus really is God, why is he not called "God" more often? After all, there are over 1,300 uses of the Greek word theos in the New Testament. Several reasons may be given to explain this apparently strange usage.
First, in all strands of the New Testament the term theos usually refers to the Father. We often find the expression God the Father, which implies that God is the Father.[19] Also, in trinitarian formulas "God" always denotes the Father, never the Son or the Spirit. For example, 2 Corinthians 13:14 reads, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." What is more, in the salutations at the beginning of many New Testament letters, "God" is distinguished from the Lord Jesus Christ." So Paul's letters regularly begin, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." As a result of all this, in the New Testament the term theos in the singular has become virtually a proper name, referring to the trinitarian Father.[20] If Christ were everywhere called "God," so that in reference to him the term was not a title but a proper noun, like "Jesus," linguistic ambiguity would be everywhere present. What would we be able to make of a statement such as "God was in God, reconciling the world to himself," or "the Father was in God, reconciling the world to himself" (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19)?
Second, another reason why "God" regularly denotes the Father and rarely the Son is that such usage is suited to protect the personal distinction between Son and Father, which is preserved everywhere in the New Testament. Nowhere is this distinction more evident than where the Father is called "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:17) or "his God and Father" (Rev. 1:6), and where Jesus speaks of "my God."[21]
Closely related to this second reason is a third. The New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus is subordinate to God. Although they both possess the divine nature, there is an order in their operation. It is the role of the Father to direct, of the Son to obey. Theologians refer to a functional subordination alongside an essential equality. Consequently, Christ can be said to belong to God (1 Cor. 3:23) and to be subjected to God (1 Cor. 15:28). So, then , by customarily reserving the term theos for the Father, New Testament writers were highlighting the Son's subordination to the Father, but not the Father's subordination to the Son. We often find the expression Son of God where God is the Father, but never Father of God where God is the Son. Fourth, if Jesus had been regularly called "God" by the early Christians, problem would have been created for their evangelistic efforts. Their Jewish friends would have been convinced that Christians had given up monotheism, for there were now two "Gods": Yahweh and Jesus. On the other hand, their Gentile neighbors would have viewed Jesus as simply another deity to be added to their roster of gods.
Finally, the New Testament authors generally reserve the term theos for the Father in order to safeguard the real humanity of Jesus. If "God" had become a personal name for Christ, interchangeable with "Jesus," the humanity of Jesus would tend to be eclipsed; he would seem to be an unreal human being, a divine visitor merely masquerading as a man.
Conclusions
If, then, the word God does not become a personal name for Jesus anywhere in the New Testament, what is the actual significance of the seven uses? As used of Jesus, the term theos is a generic title, a description that indicates the class or category (genus) to which he belongs. Jesus is not only God in revelation, the revealer of God (an official title) - he is God in essence. Not only are the deeds and words of Jesus the deeds and words of God - the nature of Jesus is the nature of God. By nature, as well as by action, Jesus is God. Other New Testament titles of Jesus such as "Son of God" or "Lord" or "Alpha and Omega," imply the divinity of Jesus, but the title God explicitly affirms his deity.
It may help to illustrate the distinction I am making between a proper noun (in this case, a personal name), a generic title, and an official title. Consider these two sentences: Winston Chruchill was a Britisher and a prime minister of the United Kingdom. John Kennedy was an American and a president of the United Sates. In these sentences "Winston Churchill" and "John Kennedy" are proper nouns (personal names); "Britisher" and "American" are generic titles; "prime minister" and "president" are official titles. The parallel sentence relevant to our discussion would be "Jesus is God and the Revealer of God."
Can we, therefore, claim that the New Testament teaches that Jesus is "God"? Yes indeed, provided we constantly bear in mind several factors. First, to say that "Jesus is God" is true to New Testament thought, but it goes beyond actual New Testament diction. The nearest comparable statements are "the Word was God" (John 1:1), "the only Son, who is God" (John 1:18), and "the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever" (Rom. 9:5). So we must remember that the theological proposition "Jesus is God" is an inference from the New Testament evidence - a necessary and true inference, but nonetheless an inference.
Second, if we make the statement "Jesus is God" without qualification, we are in danger of failing to do justice to the whole truth about Jesus - that he was the incarnate Word, a human being, and that in his present existence in heaven he retains his humanity, although now it is in a glorified form. Jesus is not simply "man" nor only "God," but the God-man.
Third, given English usage of the word God, the simple affirmation "Jesus is God" may be easily misinterpreted. In common English usage God is a proper name, identifying a particular person, not a common noun designating a class.[2] For us God is the God of the Judeao-Chrisitan monotheistsic tradition, or God the Father of Jesus and of the Christan, or the trinitarian Godhead. So when we make the equation in English, "Jesus is God," we are in danger of suggesting that these two terms, "Jesus" and "God," are interchangable, that there is a numerical identity between the two. But while Jesus is God, it is not true that God is Jesus.[*] There are others - the Father and the Spirit - of whom the predicate God may be rightfully used. Jesus is all that God is, without being all there is of God. The person of Jesus does not exhaust the category of deity. So then, when we say, "Jesus is God," we must recognize that we are attaching a meaning to the term God - namely, "God in essence" or "God by nature" - that is not its predominant sense in English.
My analysis of the New Testament evidence for the deity of Christ is now complete. The three branches of evidence we have examined all point in the same direction. Whether we consider the status Jesus enjoys, the functions he performs, or the title he bears, there can be no doubt that the early Christians believed in his full divinity as an essential ingredient of their teaching. Consequently, any modern form of Christianity that has surrendered a wholehearted belief in Jesus' deity has drifted from its moorings and is at sea in a vessel that has forfeited its rating as "Christian." On the other hand, when we bow the knee before the risen Jesus and make the confession of Thomas our own, we are securely moored to uniform Christian tradition and, more importantly, to the divine Person who is at the center of that tradition. Can you - will you - address Jesus with the words "My Lord and my God"?
Thanks to my friend Linda Sheets to Provide these great Bible Study.
Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
500 Years later, ;Then Matthew concerning Jesus at His birth,; Mt 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."(NKJV)
IS JESUS GOD?
A. WHY DID JESUS NOT OPENLY REVEAL HIS FULL IDENTITY?
Why didn't Jesus ever say clearly, "I am God. Worship Me!"? (He did say it indirectly - John 6:41,42; 8:58; 17:4,5; etc.)
Why didn't He say publicly, "I am Messiah; Believe in Me!"? (Privately he did - John 4:28.) The Jews demanded that Jesus clearly declare whether or not He was the Messiah (Luke 22:67-70).
Why did He very seldom call Himself "the Son of God"? (See John 5:25; 10:36; 11:4) Although by calling God His "Father"He certainly implied it (Matt. 27:43). The Jews still demanded that He say so clearly (Luke 22:70). The term, "Son of God" is used synonymously by Jews to mean Messiah, so this is the same as b. above. (The SON of man?
DANIEL God's prophet said 470 years before the Son of man came,;Da 7:13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.)
Instead, why did He almost always called Himself, "The Son of Man?"
Furthermore, why did He forbid those who knew His true identity to tell anyone?:
A. His disciples: - "'But what about you? Who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!' ... Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ." (Matthew 16:15,16,20; see also Mark 8:29,30)
B. the demons: - "... He also drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was." (Mark 1:34 - see also verses 24,25); "Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him, and cried out, 'You are the Son of God.' But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was." (Mark 3:11,12); "Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ." (Luke 4:41)
C. those He healed: - "... and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was." (Matthew 12:15,16); "Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, 'See that you don't tell anyone ...'" (Matthew 8:3,4); Immediately the (dead) girl stood up and walked around. At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this." (Mark 5:42,43)
Why did He refuse to accept challenges to prove His identity?:
A. by Satan: - "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread ... If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down ..." (Matthew 4:3,6)
B. by the common people: - "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, '... Save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God.'" (Matt. 27:39,40)
by the chief priests, teachers and elders: - "He saved others, but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him ... for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matthew 39:41-43)
Why did He always speak to the people in parables?:
"The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them ... This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving ..."' Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.'" (Matthew 13:10,11,13,14,34,35)
"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." (Jn.1:10)
B. BECAUSE THIS IS A SPIRITUAL TRUTH; NOT A HUMAN ONE:
Because there are two things about Christ a person cannot understand by himself:
Who Jesus really is - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ... "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven." (Matthew 16:15-17)
The Atonement Jesus provided - "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing . . . The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14)
Because God's secret wisdom is known only by revelation:
"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." (Deut. 29:29)
"... He brings hidden things to light." (Job 28:11)
"Truly you are a God who hides himself." (Isaiah 45:15)
"From now on, I will teach you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you." (Is.48:6)
"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
"He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him." (Daniel 2:22)
"It is written in the prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.'" (John 6:45)
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence of superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified ... My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words . . . not the wisdom of this age . . . we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden . . . " (1 Corinthians 2:1-8)
"... that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ... the mystery of Christ ..." (Colossians 2:2,3; 4:3 - see also 1:26,27)
C. Because a person cannot believe in Jesus unless:
A. he/she is drawn to the Father - "All that the Father gives me will come to me . . . No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him ... This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." (John 6:37,44,65)
B. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to him/her - "' . . . no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit . . . we have . . . received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:9-13)
C. He is revealed through the Scriptures - " . . . these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31) (see also John 5;39,40; Rom.16:25,26; Eph.3:4,5)
D. Because Satan has blinded the minds of people: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:4)
General Observations
This brings to an end our brief survey of these seven crucial passages. Seen as a whole, they prompt some general observations. First, the ascription of the title God to Jesus is found in four New Testament writers - John (three uses), Paul (two), Peter (one), and the author of Hebrews (one). Second, this christologica] use of the title began immediately after the resurrection in 30 (John 20:28), continued during the 50s (Rom. 9:5) and 60s (Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1), and then into the 90s (John 1:1, 18). Third the use of "God" in reference to Jesus was not restricted to Christians who lived in one geographical region or who had a particular theological outlook. It occurs in literature that was written in Asia Minor (John, Titus), Greece (Romans), and possibly Judea (Hebrews), and Rome (2 Peter), and that was addressed to persons living in Asia Minor (John, 2 Peter), Rome (Romans, Hebrews), and Crete (Titus). Also, the use is found in a theological setting that is Jewish Christian (John, Hebrews, Peter) or Gentile Christian (Romans, Titus). Fourth, the three instances in John's Gospel are strategically placed. This Fourth Gospel begins (1:1) as it ends (20:28), and the Prologue to this Gospel begins (1:1) as it ends (1:18), with an unambiguous assertion of the deity of Christ: "The Word was God" (1:1); "the only Son, who is God" (1:18); "my Lord and my God!" (20:28).[18] In his preincarnate state (1:1), in his incarnate state (1:18), and in his postresurrection state (20:28), Jesus is God. For John, recognition of Christ's deity is the hallmark of the Christian.
But, you may ask, why are there so few examples of this usage in the New Testament? If Jesus really is God, why is he not called "God" more often? After all, there are over 1,300 uses of the Greek word theos in the New Testament. Several reasons may be given to explain this apparently strange usage.
First, in all strands of the New Testament the term theos usually refers to the Father. We often find the expression God the Father, which implies that God is the Father.[19] Also, in trinitarian formulas "God" always denotes the Father, never the Son or the Spirit. For example, 2 Corinthians 13:14 reads, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." What is more, in the salutations at the beginning of many New Testament letters, "God" is distinguished from the Lord Jesus Christ." So Paul's letters regularly begin, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." As a result of all this, in the New Testament the term theos in the singular has become virtually a proper name, referring to the trinitarian Father.[20] If Christ were everywhere called "God," so that in reference to him the term was not a title but a proper noun, like "Jesus," linguistic ambiguity would be everywhere present. What would we be able to make of a statement such as "God was in God, reconciling the world to himself," or "the Father was in God, reconciling the world to himself" (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19)?
Second, another reason why "God" regularly denotes the Father and rarely the Son is that such usage is suited to protect the personal distinction between Son and Father, which is preserved everywhere in the New Testament. Nowhere is this distinction more evident than where the Father is called "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:17) or "his God and Father" (Rev. 1:6), and where Jesus speaks of "my God."[21]
Closely related to this second reason is a third. The New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus is subordinate to God. Although they both possess the divine nature, there is an order in their operation. It is the role of the Father to direct, of the Son to obey. Theologians refer to a functional subordination alongside an essential equality. Consequently, Christ can be said to belong to God (1 Cor. 3:23) and to be subjected to God (1 Cor. 15:28). So, then , by customarily reserving the term theos for the Father, New Testament writers were highlighting the Son's subordination to the Father, but not the Father's subordination to the Son. We often find the expression Son of God where God is the Father, but never Father of God where God is the Son. Fourth, if Jesus had been regularly called "God" by the early Christians, problem would have been created for their evangelistic efforts. Their Jewish friends would have been convinced that Christians had given up monotheism, for there were now two "Gods": Yahweh and Jesus. On the other hand, their Gentile neighbors would have viewed Jesus as simply another deity to be added to their roster of gods.
Finally, the New Testament authors generally reserve the term theos for the Father in order to safeguard the real humanity of Jesus. If "God" had become a personal name for Christ, interchangeable with "Jesus," the humanity of Jesus would tend to be eclipsed; he would seem to be an unreal human being, a divine visitor merely masquerading as a man.
Conclusions
If, then, the word God does not become a personal name for Jesus anywhere in the New Testament, what is the actual significance of the seven uses? As used of Jesus, the term theos is a generic title, a description that indicates the class or category (genus) to which he belongs. Jesus is not only God in revelation, the revealer of God (an official title) - he is God in essence. Not only are the deeds and words of Jesus the deeds and words of God - the nature of Jesus is the nature of God. By nature, as well as by action, Jesus is God. Other New Testament titles of Jesus such as "Son of God" or "Lord" or "Alpha and Omega," imply the divinity of Jesus, but the title God explicitly affirms his deity.
It may help to illustrate the distinction I am making between a proper noun (in this case, a personal name), a generic title, and an official title. Consider these two sentences: Winston Chruchill was a Britisher and a prime minister of the United Kingdom. John Kennedy was an American and a president of the United Sates. In these sentences "Winston Churchill" and "John Kennedy" are proper nouns (personal names); "Britisher" and "American" are generic titles; "prime minister" and "president" are official titles. The parallel sentence relevant to our discussion would be "Jesus is God and the Revealer of God."
Can we, therefore, claim that the New Testament teaches that Jesus is "God"? Yes indeed, provided we constantly bear in mind several factors. First, to say that "Jesus is God" is true to New Testament thought, but it goes beyond actual New Testament diction. The nearest comparable statements are "the Word was God" (John 1:1), "the only Son, who is God" (John 1:18), and "the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever" (Rom. 9:5). So we must remember that the theological proposition "Jesus is God" is an inference from the New Testament evidence - a necessary and true inference, but nonetheless an inference.
Second, if we make the statement "Jesus is God" without qualification, we are in danger of failing to do justice to the whole truth about Jesus - that he was the incarnate Word, a human being, and that in his present existence in heaven he retains his humanity, although now it is in a glorified form. Jesus is not simply "man" nor only "God," but the God-man.
Third, given English usage of the word God, the simple affirmation "Jesus is God" may be easily misinterpreted. In common English usage God is a proper name, identifying a particular person, not a common noun designating a class.[2] For us God is the God of the Judeao-Chrisitan monotheistsic tradition, or God the Father of Jesus and of the Christan, or the trinitarian Godhead. So when we make the equation in English, "Jesus is God," we are in danger of suggesting that these two terms, "Jesus" and "God," are interchangable, that there is a numerical identity between the two. But while Jesus is God, it is not true that God is Jesus.[*] There are others - the Father and the Spirit - of whom the predicate God may be rightfully used. Jesus is all that God is, without being all there is of God. The person of Jesus does not exhaust the category of deity. So then, when we say, "Jesus is God," we must recognize that we are attaching a meaning to the term God - namely, "God in essence" or "God by nature" - that is not its predominant sense in English.
My analysis of the New Testament evidence for the deity of Christ is now complete. The three branches of evidence we have examined all point in the same direction. Whether we consider the status Jesus enjoys, the functions he performs, or the title he bears, there can be no doubt that the early Christians believed in his full divinity as an essential ingredient of their teaching. Consequently, any modern form of Christianity that has surrendered a wholehearted belief in Jesus' deity has drifted from its moorings and is at sea in a vessel that has forfeited its rating as "Christian." On the other hand, when we bow the knee before the risen Jesus and make the confession of Thomas our own, we are securely moored to uniform Christian tradition and, more importantly, to the divine Person who is at the center of that tradition. Can you - will you - address Jesus with the words "My Lord and my God"?
Thanks to my friend Linda Sheets to Provide these great Bible Study.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Wonderful Lord
O Lord my God, Many are Your wonderful works Which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered(Psalm 40:5)
Dear friend, Jesus Christ was born in this world and manifested His great love for mankind by giving His life on the cross. One of the names given for Jesus Christ is Wonderful. The Almighty God came down to this earth as a baby boy called “Wonderful”. The Bible says Prophet Isaiah saw this divine Child that was to be born on this earth in a vision and prophesied, “His name will be called Wonderful!”
Prophet Ezekiel who saw visions of God described Him as, “…In appearance like a sapphire stone…the appearance of fire with brightness all around” (Ezekiel 1:26,27).
St. John too described Him as, “He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Revelation 4:3).
The Almighty God so glorious in appearance was born in this world as a child to manifest His love for humanity. His birth brought great joy to the people. All the days of His life, He did good to the people and gave His life on the cross to redeem us from sin. Even today He is alive and does good to everybody.
Many years ago an old mother was living alone in a village. She suddenly took ill and had no one to look after her. Her health was getting weaker everyday and she was drifting to death. One day, suddenly the door of her room opened and a doctor walked in. He gave her the necessary treatment and saved her life. The lady asked him, “Doctor! How did you know I was struggling with death?” He replied that her son had come and asked him to treat her! The astonished mother said, “Sir, my son died a month ago and I fell ill because I was languishing in sorrow over his death.” But the doctor insisted it was her son who had brought him there pointing to his shirt. The old mother realized it was Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God Who had done the timely help. She praised the Wonderful Jesus for His love and care.
Dear friend, have you lost hope in life? Are you languishing in sorrow? Are you frustrated with life? Do not be disheartened! Jesus the Wonderful came down to earth to wipe away the tears caused by problems in life. He has the solution to your problems. The Lord Who came down to earth to manifest His love will surely do a miracle and wipe away your tears.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise and thank You that You came down to earth to manifest Your love for me. The Bible says Your name is wonderful and You are wonderful in counsel. Take away the problems in life and guide me in life. Fill me with Your wisdom and counsel. I praise You that You are there for me and love me. I give You all glory honour and praise.
Amen.
Dear friend, Jesus Christ was born in this world and manifested His great love for mankind by giving His life on the cross. One of the names given for Jesus Christ is Wonderful. The Almighty God came down to this earth as a baby boy called “Wonderful”. The Bible says Prophet Isaiah saw this divine Child that was to be born on this earth in a vision and prophesied, “His name will be called Wonderful!”
Prophet Ezekiel who saw visions of God described Him as, “…In appearance like a sapphire stone…the appearance of fire with brightness all around” (Ezekiel 1:26,27).
St. John too described Him as, “He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” (Revelation 4:3).
The Almighty God so glorious in appearance was born in this world as a child to manifest His love for humanity. His birth brought great joy to the people. All the days of His life, He did good to the people and gave His life on the cross to redeem us from sin. Even today He is alive and does good to everybody.
Many years ago an old mother was living alone in a village. She suddenly took ill and had no one to look after her. Her health was getting weaker everyday and she was drifting to death. One day, suddenly the door of her room opened and a doctor walked in. He gave her the necessary treatment and saved her life. The lady asked him, “Doctor! How did you know I was struggling with death?” He replied that her son had come and asked him to treat her! The astonished mother said, “Sir, my son died a month ago and I fell ill because I was languishing in sorrow over his death.” But the doctor insisted it was her son who had brought him there pointing to his shirt. The old mother realized it was Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God Who had done the timely help. She praised the Wonderful Jesus for His love and care.
Dear friend, have you lost hope in life? Are you languishing in sorrow? Are you frustrated with life? Do not be disheartened! Jesus the Wonderful came down to earth to wipe away the tears caused by problems in life. He has the solution to your problems. The Lord Who came down to earth to manifest His love will surely do a miracle and wipe away your tears.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise and thank You that You came down to earth to manifest Your love for me. The Bible says Your name is wonderful and You are wonderful in counsel. Take away the problems in life and guide me in life. Fill me with Your wisdom and counsel. I praise You that You are there for me and love me. I give You all glory honour and praise.
Amen.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
G.R.A.C.E.
G.R.A.C.E. means God's Richest At Christ's Expense
Message from www.christianblog.com
In a devotion I received the other day I read something that has had me thinking all weekend about the Cross.
Can any of us truly understand what Jesus did that day?
He gave us GRACE through His death.
G - God's
R - Riches
A - At
C - Christ's
E - Expense
He chose His death. He chose the pain and suffering of His death. He chose the humiliation and torture of His death.So that we may have eternal life.
The Cross served His purposes for the most painful, humiliating and tortuous method of death available to Him.
Do you know that He chose the Cross?
Sin had to die the day He died.
He knew that the monster of sin would be defeated only with a weapon of destruction - only with the Cross.
Once again, what evil men would have for evil purposes, God used for good.
The Cross, the symbol of the most humiliating method death of Christ's time, stands victorious over death.
Praise the Father for the Son, and for the Comforter Who has come!
Message from www.christianblog.com
In a devotion I received the other day I read something that has had me thinking all weekend about the Cross.
Can any of us truly understand what Jesus did that day?
He gave us GRACE through His death.
G - God's
R - Riches
A - At
C - Christ's
E - Expense
He chose His death. He chose the pain and suffering of His death. He chose the humiliation and torture of His death.So that we may have eternal life.
The Cross served His purposes for the most painful, humiliating and tortuous method of death available to Him.
Do you know that He chose the Cross?
Sin had to die the day He died.
He knew that the monster of sin would be defeated only with a weapon of destruction - only with the Cross.
Once again, what evil men would have for evil purposes, God used for good.
The Cross, the symbol of the most humiliating method death of Christ's time, stands victorious over death.
Praise the Father for the Son, and for the Comforter Who has come!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Is the BIBLE Important ?
The Bible is probably the most maligned Book that ever has been written. It has been attacked as no other book has ever been attacked. Yet it has ministered and does minister to literally millions of people around the globe, and it has been doing this now for several thousand years. A Book of this nature and with this tremendous impact upon the human family certainly deserves the intelligent consideration of men and women.
Sir Walter Scott, on his deathbed, asked Lockhart to read to him. Puzzled, as he scanned the shelf of books that Walter Scott had written, he asked, “What book shall I read?” And Sir Walter replied, “Why do you ask that question? There is but one book; bring the Bible.” There is only one Book for any man who is dying, but it is also the Book for any man who is living. A great many folk do not get interested in the Bible until they get to the end of their lives or until they get into a great deal of difficulty. While it is wonderful to have a Book in which you can find comfort in a time like that, it is also a Book for you to live—in the full vigor of life. It is a Book to face life with today, and it’s the Book which furnishes the only sure route through this world and on into the next world. It is the only Book that can enable us to meet the emergencies and cushion the shocks that come to us in life. The Bible is different from any other book.
That this Book has influenced great men who, in turn, have influenced the world is evident. Let me share with you some quotations.
There was an African prince who came to England and was presented to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. This prince asked a very significant question, “What is the secret of England’s greatness?” The queen got a beautifully bound copy of the Bible and presented it to the prince with this statement, “This is the secret of England’s greatness.” I wonder, friend, if England’s decline to a second-rate and then third-rate nation may be tied up in the fact that England has gotten away from the Word of God.
Gladstone, statesman, prime minister, probably one of the greatest legal minds Britain ever produced, said, “Talk about the questions of the day! There is but one question, and that is the Gospel. That can and will correct everything. I am glad to say that about all the men at the top in Great Britain are Christians.” That was way back in the 1800s. Gladstone continued, “I have been in public position fifty-eight years, all but eleven of them in the Cabinet of the British Government, and during those forty-seven years have been associated with sixty of the master minds of the century, and all but five of the sixty were Christians.” I personally think that part of the problems we are having in the world today is that we have too few Christians at the top, too few who are acquainted with the Word of God.
Michael Faraday, perhaps the greatest scientific experimenter back in the 1800s, said, “But why will people go astray, when they have this blessed book of God to guide them?” Sir Isaac Newton, a scientist in the preceding century, said, “If the Bible is true, the time is coming when men shall travel at fifty miles an hour.” And Voltaire, the French skeptic, commented, “Poor Isaac. He was in his dotage when he made that prophecy. It only shows what Bible study will do to an otherwise scientific mind.”
It might be interesting to note what some of our early Presidents had to say about the Bible. John Adams, our second President, said, “I have examined all [that is, all of Scripture] as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life will allow me, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more of my little philosophy than all the libraries I have seen, and such parts of it I cannot reconcile to my little philosophy I postpone for future investigation.” Then President John Quincy Adams said, “I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you: search the Scriptures. The Bible is the book above all other to be read at all ages and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice through and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions every day.” And the Presidents back in those days, who made our nation great, did not get us into foreign wars and were able to solve the problems of the streets. Someone may counter, “But the problems weren’t as complicated then as they are now.” They were for that day, friend. Not only England but also the United States has gotten away from the Word of God. And the farther we get, the more complicated our problems become. Right now there are men in positions of authority in this land who are saying that there is no solution to our problems. That is the reason I am teaching the Word of God in its entirety— I believe it is the only solution. And, frankly, friend, we had better get back to it.
Another President, Thomas Jefferson, said this about the Bible, “I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better husbands, and better fathers.” This is something to think over today when our citizens are burning down the cities in which they live and when divorce is running rife.
It was Daniel Webster who made this statement, “If there be anything in my style or thoughts to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents for instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures.” What about you today, Christian parent? Are you making a Daniel Webster in your home or a little rebel? Webster also made this statement, “I have read it [the Bible] through many times. I now make a practice of going through it once a year. It is the Book of all others for lawyers as well as divines. I pity the man who cannot find in it a rich supply of thought and rules for conduct.”
THE BOOK OF BOOKS
Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet, and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is a servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is a son of God. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort for the time of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear of the lonely. The wicked and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and the penitent it has a mother’s voice. The wilderness and the solitary place have been made glad by it, and the fire on the hearth has lit the reading of its well-worn pages. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that love, friendship, sympathy and devotion, memory and hope put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech, breathing of frankincense and myrrh. —Henry van Dyke
These message from Trans world Radio India site www.radio882.com
Sir Walter Scott, on his deathbed, asked Lockhart to read to him. Puzzled, as he scanned the shelf of books that Walter Scott had written, he asked, “What book shall I read?” And Sir Walter replied, “Why do you ask that question? There is but one book; bring the Bible.” There is only one Book for any man who is dying, but it is also the Book for any man who is living. A great many folk do not get interested in the Bible until they get to the end of their lives or until they get into a great deal of difficulty. While it is wonderful to have a Book in which you can find comfort in a time like that, it is also a Book for you to live—in the full vigor of life. It is a Book to face life with today, and it’s the Book which furnishes the only sure route through this world and on into the next world. It is the only Book that can enable us to meet the emergencies and cushion the shocks that come to us in life. The Bible is different from any other book.
That this Book has influenced great men who, in turn, have influenced the world is evident. Let me share with you some quotations.
There was an African prince who came to England and was presented to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. This prince asked a very significant question, “What is the secret of England’s greatness?” The queen got a beautifully bound copy of the Bible and presented it to the prince with this statement, “This is the secret of England’s greatness.” I wonder, friend, if England’s decline to a second-rate and then third-rate nation may be tied up in the fact that England has gotten away from the Word of God.
Gladstone, statesman, prime minister, probably one of the greatest legal minds Britain ever produced, said, “Talk about the questions of the day! There is but one question, and that is the Gospel. That can and will correct everything. I am glad to say that about all the men at the top in Great Britain are Christians.” That was way back in the 1800s. Gladstone continued, “I have been in public position fifty-eight years, all but eleven of them in the Cabinet of the British Government, and during those forty-seven years have been associated with sixty of the master minds of the century, and all but five of the sixty were Christians.” I personally think that part of the problems we are having in the world today is that we have too few Christians at the top, too few who are acquainted with the Word of God.
Michael Faraday, perhaps the greatest scientific experimenter back in the 1800s, said, “But why will people go astray, when they have this blessed book of God to guide them?” Sir Isaac Newton, a scientist in the preceding century, said, “If the Bible is true, the time is coming when men shall travel at fifty miles an hour.” And Voltaire, the French skeptic, commented, “Poor Isaac. He was in his dotage when he made that prophecy. It only shows what Bible study will do to an otherwise scientific mind.”
It might be interesting to note what some of our early Presidents had to say about the Bible. John Adams, our second President, said, “I have examined all [that is, all of Scripture] as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life will allow me, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more of my little philosophy than all the libraries I have seen, and such parts of it I cannot reconcile to my little philosophy I postpone for future investigation.” Then President John Quincy Adams said, “I speak as a man of the world to men of the world; and I say to you: search the Scriptures. The Bible is the book above all other to be read at all ages and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice through and then laid aside, but to be read in small portions every day.” And the Presidents back in those days, who made our nation great, did not get us into foreign wars and were able to solve the problems of the streets. Someone may counter, “But the problems weren’t as complicated then as they are now.” They were for that day, friend. Not only England but also the United States has gotten away from the Word of God. And the farther we get, the more complicated our problems become. Right now there are men in positions of authority in this land who are saying that there is no solution to our problems. That is the reason I am teaching the Word of God in its entirety— I believe it is the only solution. And, frankly, friend, we had better get back to it.
Another President, Thomas Jefferson, said this about the Bible, “I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better husbands, and better fathers.” This is something to think over today when our citizens are burning down the cities in which they live and when divorce is running rife.
It was Daniel Webster who made this statement, “If there be anything in my style or thoughts to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents for instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures.” What about you today, Christian parent? Are you making a Daniel Webster in your home or a little rebel? Webster also made this statement, “I have read it [the Bible] through many times. I now make a practice of going through it once a year. It is the Book of all others for lawyers as well as divines. I pity the man who cannot find in it a rich supply of thought and rules for conduct.”
THE BOOK OF BOOKS
Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet, and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is a servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is a son of God. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort for the time of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear of the lonely. The wicked and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and the penitent it has a mother’s voice. The wilderness and the solitary place have been made glad by it, and the fire on the hearth has lit the reading of its well-worn pages. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that love, friendship, sympathy and devotion, memory and hope put on the beautiful garments of its treasured speech, breathing of frankincense and myrrh. —Henry van Dyke
These message from Trans world Radio India site www.radio882.com
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Victory On The Cross - By Dr. Paul Dhinakaran
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.(Romans 8:37)
Dear friend, do you want victory over the problems in life? There is victory in the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, God has ordained victory through the blood of Jesus Christ. When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, you become His child.
Every person born in this world will go through trials and tribulations in some stage or the other in their life. But not all are victorious during such times. But when you trust the Lord, you will certainly be victorious during such times.
“In the world you (my children) will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” says Lord Jesus (John 16:33).
Many years ago, there was a rich man who generously supported the Lord’s ministry with his finances. Unfortunately, he met with an accident and was admitted to a hospital for fractures in his neck and in his hands. He was tormented by physical pain and agony. He lamented, “Why should I suffer when I gave to the Lord wholeheartedly? His heart was filled with gloom. One day, the Holy Spirit descended on Him. The Holy Spirit opened his eyes and showed him the suffering of Christ Jesus on the cross. No words could describe the suffering and the sorrow that Jesus Christ went through. The body of Jesus Christ was brutally broken. The rich man who had been lamenting realised that his sufferings were nothing when compared to the sufferings of Jesus Christ. He said, “Lord, You have wounds all over Your body. Your hands and feet have been pierced by nails. You have suffered for my sake. Lord, I thank You for Your infinite compassion and mercy. Thank You for sacrificing Yourself on the cross for mankind.” That very moment a divine peace filled his heart. The rich man started forgetting his pain. Very soon he was healed of his wounds in a most miraculous manner and he began to love the Lord all the more. God exalted him and made him wealthier than he had ever been before!“
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Dear friend, when battered by trials and tribulations, you could get close to losing your faith in the Lord. Circumstances may seem that the Lord has forsaken you but it is during such times that the blood of Jesus Christ pleads for you saying, “Father, my son/daughter cannot bear any more of these sufferings. Please put an end to his/her agony.” His blood intercedes to give you victory over the trials and tribulations in your life.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I fall prostrate before You for Your love for me. I praise and thank You for the victory through Your blood that You have ordained for me on the cross. Strengthen me and help me to look up to You always during hard times. Lord, be with me and guide me in my life. Fill my life with Your grace. I give You all glory, honour and praise.
Amen.
Dear friend, do you want victory over the problems in life? There is victory in the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, God has ordained victory through the blood of Jesus Christ. When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, you become His child.
Every person born in this world will go through trials and tribulations in some stage or the other in their life. But not all are victorious during such times. But when you trust the Lord, you will certainly be victorious during such times.
“In the world you (my children) will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” says Lord Jesus (John 16:33).
Many years ago, there was a rich man who generously supported the Lord’s ministry with his finances. Unfortunately, he met with an accident and was admitted to a hospital for fractures in his neck and in his hands. He was tormented by physical pain and agony. He lamented, “Why should I suffer when I gave to the Lord wholeheartedly? His heart was filled with gloom. One day, the Holy Spirit descended on Him. The Holy Spirit opened his eyes and showed him the suffering of Christ Jesus on the cross. No words could describe the suffering and the sorrow that Jesus Christ went through. The body of Jesus Christ was brutally broken. The rich man who had been lamenting realised that his sufferings were nothing when compared to the sufferings of Jesus Christ. He said, “Lord, You have wounds all over Your body. Your hands and feet have been pierced by nails. You have suffered for my sake. Lord, I thank You for Your infinite compassion and mercy. Thank You for sacrificing Yourself on the cross for mankind.” That very moment a divine peace filled his heart. The rich man started forgetting his pain. Very soon he was healed of his wounds in a most miraculous manner and he began to love the Lord all the more. God exalted him and made him wealthier than he had ever been before!“
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Dear friend, when battered by trials and tribulations, you could get close to losing your faith in the Lord. Circumstances may seem that the Lord has forsaken you but it is during such times that the blood of Jesus Christ pleads for you saying, “Father, my son/daughter cannot bear any more of these sufferings. Please put an end to his/her agony.” His blood intercedes to give you victory over the trials and tribulations in your life.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I fall prostrate before You for Your love for me. I praise and thank You for the victory through Your blood that You have ordained for me on the cross. Strengthen me and help me to look up to You always during hard times. Lord, be with me and guide me in my life. Fill my life with Your grace. I give You all glory, honour and praise.
Amen.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Evangelism
Scripture ref: Matthew 4:19
SUBJECT: Evangelism
TITLE: How to Be Evangelistic
PROPOSITION: In this lesson we will study four ways in which every single person can be evangelistic.
OBJECTIVES: Each hearer should be able to take these four points and go out and use them to evangelize this community.
AIM: I want to encourage each member to get out and be evangelistic.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read: Matthew 4:19 “And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
2. About the Text:
1) The expression “fishers of men” is indelibly etched upon our minds to refer to personal evangelism.
2) Jesus called those men who would become personal evangelists, preachers, apostles, teachers.
3) There was nothing special about them when they were called.
a. Peter and John were fishermen.
b. Matthew was a tax collector.
c. At least one was active in politics of the day.
d. The group of men Jesus called was a representative sampling of the people of the day.
4) Yet, Jesus took their humble occupation and transformed it into something special.
5) There was no magic formula to take regular “joes” off the street and make them into evangelists.
6) Jesus used some very basic principles and then encouraged these men to be doers.
7) We can use these same basic principles today.
8) How can we follow after Jesus so that we can be fisher’s of men?
3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.
DISCUSSION: We can follow after Jesus by . . .
I. Letting People See Our Life
1. Jesus lived an open public life and was available to anyone who wanted to come see Him.
1) Relatively few times in the scriptures do we find Jesus withdrawing from people.
2) His life was open both to his friends and enemies.
3) Mark 12:37 “And the common people heard him gladly.”
4) Sixteen times Matthew refers to the multitudes following him.
5) Paul said to King Agrippa, “For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.” (Acts 26:26).
2. Jesus preached that we should have an open life for all to see.
1) Matthew 5:14-16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
2) Matthew 10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
3) Matthew 25:34-45 — the people who Jesus blessed and said to inherit the kingdom were people who lived their lives before others.
3. How do we let people see our lives?
1) Get into the public.
2) Join the community center.
3) Talk to your neighbors.
4) Volunteer at the schools or in the community somewhere.
5) Visit the nursing homes.
6) Visit the hospitals.
7) Visit the prisons.
8) Someone once said, “I would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.” In order for this to happen, someone MUST SEE YOU!
4. There is something here that everyone can do! We must resolve to do it!
II. Talk to People About The Church
1. Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God–talking about the church!
1) Matthew 3:2 John preached “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
2) Matthew 4:17 Jesus preached “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3) Jesus told His disciples to preach, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7).
4) The kingdom is the church.
5) Do we talk about the church to others?
2. We see the early disciples preaching about the church.
1) Matthew speaks of the kingdom 50 times in his gospel account.
2) Mark 22 times.
3) Luke 40 times.
4) Phillip preached the kingdom of God to those at Samaria–Acts 8:12
5) Paul said that to the Ephesian elders that he made it his business to preach the kingdom of God–Acts 20:25.
3. But what do I say?
1) Talk about the activities of the church.
a. Gospel meetings.
b. Special Sundays like Friends and Family day, Back to School Sunday
c. Our potlucks.
d. Men’s breakfasts.
e. Special Saturday outings.
f. Tell others about our missionary efforts in Costa Rica.
g. Rusty tries to have something special happening every month.
h. These are things that we can talk about to our friends.
2) Tell them about the pattern for the church.
a. Her worship
b. Her organization
c. Her mission.
4. Here is something that everyone can do. We must be doers in this regard.
III. Inviting People to Come Hear the Gospel
1. Jesus extended invitations to everyone to come hear Him teach and preach.
1) Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2) John 7:37 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
2. We don’t have to preach a full sermon, but we can invite!!!
1) John 1:46 “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”
2) Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
3. How do we do this?
1) We have regularly scheduled services every week. Give someone a schedule.
2) Hand out a bulletin to someone and ask him or her to come visit.
3) Hand out a flyer for one of our special events.
4) When you are visiting with your neighbor say, “Would you come worship with me Sunday?”
4. Everyone can do this.
IV. Pray
1. Jesus prayed.
1) He told us to pray for more laborers. “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37, 38.
2) He told us to pray for our enemies. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew5:44).
3) He prayed for those who would believe on His word. John 17:20 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;”
2. We find the early church praying as well.
1) Acts 2:42–continued in prayers.
2) Philippians4:6 “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
3) 2 Thessalonians3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:”
4) 1 Tim.2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”
3. How can we do this?
1) Ask God to open doors for you and us to teach the gospel.
2) Pray that each of us will have the courage to tell others about the gospel.
3) Pray for the individuals that each of us meet in the community.
4. This is something that everyone can do.
CONCLUSION:
1. Are we really seeking God’s kingdom first in our lives? (Matthew 6:33).
2. These are things that each and everyone of us can do. Will we do it?
3. Jesus was able to take a ragtag bunch of fishermen and social cast outs and change them into apostles.
4. Do you doubt he can do the same with you today? If you do, then you have already lost the battle.
5. Resolve in your mind now that you are going to do each of these things at least once a week.
1) Let someone see your life by getting into the public and participating in social activities.
2) Talk to someone about some of the church’s activities.
3) Invite someone to attend services or give them a bulletin or something with our schedule in it.
4) Say a prayer each day for the growth of the church and for someone in your life who needs Jesus.
6. Invitation
1) If you are a Christian but have fallen away
a. Perhaps you have not been seeking the kingdom first.
b. You can start doing this right now.
2) If you are not a Christian . . .
a. We are evangelistic because of you.
b. We want you to know God’s plan for man’s salvation.
a) Hear the word; Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing . . .”
b) Believe with all your heart; Hebrews 11:6 “For without faith it is impossible . . . .”
c) Repent of your sins (Acts 17:30).
d) Confess Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 16:16).
e) Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Mark 16:15,16).
Date written: September 12, 2002
Jehovah-NissiThe Lord my Banner - by William Cowper The Olney Hymns
By whom was David taught,
To aim the dreadful blow,
When he Goliath fought,
And laid the Gittite low?
No sword nor spear the stripling took,
But chose a pebble from the brook.
'Twas Israel's God and king,
Who sent him to the fight;
Who gave him strength to fling,
And skill to aim aright.
Ye feeble saints your strength endures,
Because young David's God is yours.
Who ordered Gideon forth,
To storm th' invaders' camp,
With arms of little worth,
A pitcher and a lamp?
The trumpets made his coming known,
And all the host was overthrown.
Oh! I have seen the day,
When with a single word,
God helping me to say,
My trust is in the Lord;
My soul has quelled a thousand foes,
Fearless of all that could oppose.
But unbelief, self-will,
Self-righteousness and pride,
How often do they steal
My weapon from my side?
Yet David's Lord and Gideon's friend,
Will help his servant to the end
Do Not Fear - By Sis. Stella Dhinakaran
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.(Psalm 121:2)
Beloved! In this fast and uncertain world worry and anxiety grip the hearts of people. As a result fear rules the people. But those who trust in the Lord shall not fear, for the Lord will cause every good thing to come to pass in your life. When you give your heart to the Lord, you shall live without any fear and every good thing will come to pass in your life at the right time.
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good things” (Psalm 34:10).
When I was a young girl, I did not know how to cook. My mother was concerned about me when I did not show any interest in cooking. She would urge me saying, “Very soon, you will get married, so better learn to cook!” But I would say, “Somehow I will learn cooking when I get married.” Soon, I got married to Bro. Dhinakaran, a servant of God. I sought the Lord for everything. I would pray, “Lord, grant me wisdom to run my family, to cook, to keep my husband in good cheer and to be hospitable to those who visit our home.” Within a month the Lord taught me the skills of cooking and I started cooking various dishes. When my mother visited me, she was amazed as how I could cook well and run my home perfectly. She was all praise for me! Yes, I sought the Lord in prayer and did not allow fear to rule me when I did not know how to cook.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills; from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1,2).
Beloved! Are you worried about your future? Is fear ruling your life? Seek the Lord and He shall remove the fear that ruins your life. He will fill your life with blessings and you shall not lack any good thing.
Prayer:
Loving Heavenly Father,
I give my life into Your hands. Help me to seek You more in prayer. Father, I thank You that You care for me when the world is gripped with fear and anxiety and that You will answer me when I call to You. You will cause every good thing in my life to come to pass at the right time. Fill my life with blessings. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Beloved! In this fast and uncertain world worry and anxiety grip the hearts of people. As a result fear rules the people. But those who trust in the Lord shall not fear, for the Lord will cause every good thing to come to pass in your life. When you give your heart to the Lord, you shall live without any fear and every good thing will come to pass in your life at the right time.
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good things” (Psalm 34:10).
When I was a young girl, I did not know how to cook. My mother was concerned about me when I did not show any interest in cooking. She would urge me saying, “Very soon, you will get married, so better learn to cook!” But I would say, “Somehow I will learn cooking when I get married.” Soon, I got married to Bro. Dhinakaran, a servant of God. I sought the Lord for everything. I would pray, “Lord, grant me wisdom to run my family, to cook, to keep my husband in good cheer and to be hospitable to those who visit our home.” Within a month the Lord taught me the skills of cooking and I started cooking various dishes. When my mother visited me, she was amazed as how I could cook well and run my home perfectly. She was all praise for me! Yes, I sought the Lord in prayer and did not allow fear to rule me when I did not know how to cook.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills; from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1,2).
Beloved! Are you worried about your future? Is fear ruling your life? Seek the Lord and He shall remove the fear that ruins your life. He will fill your life with blessings and you shall not lack any good thing.
Prayer:
Loving Heavenly Father,
I give my life into Your hands. Help me to seek You more in prayer. Father, I thank You that You care for me when the world is gripped with fear and anxiety and that You will answer me when I call to You. You will cause every good thing in my life to come to pass at the right time. Fill my life with blessings. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Lord Will Lift You Up - By Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran
He blesses the home of the just.(Proverbs 3:33)
Beloved! The world may despise you or look down upon you but do you know that you are very precious in the eyes of Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ came down to the earth to lift you up in life.
When Jesus Christ was in this world, He sought the poor people in adversity and helped them. One such person was Zacchaeus who was the chief collector and a rich man. The people called him a sinner. He had heard of Jesus and longed to see Him. His desire was soon fulfilled and Jesus Christ even spent a day with him in his house. He believed in Jesus Christ and was transformed into a righteous man (Luke 19:1-10).
“Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22,23).
Yes, beloved! Every man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Whoever believes in Lord Jesus Christ, he/she shall be made righteous.
There is a church called Lakewood church in Houston, U.S.A. Once, a church member brought an alcoholic to the church who gave his heart to the Lord and soon his life was transformed. Days later, the redeemed man gave a prayer request to the pastor’s wife. The prayer request read, “Madam, I lived my life like beastly brute, boozing and brawling all the time. My wife left me with our child in disgust. But the Lord has changed my life and I long for them, so please pray their return.”
The pastor’s wife read this note to the congregation and solicited their prayers. Within moments, a woman with her child came running to the pulpit. It was none other than the man’s wife! This unanticipated miraculous re-union touched the hearts of the whole congregation. As the man, in ecstatic joy, embraced his wife and child, the whole church praised the Lord in joy.
Beloved! Jesus Christ bore our grief and sorrows and became a curse for us on the cross. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). He tasted death for everyone on the cross.
Beloved! The Lord shall bless the home of the just (Proverbs 3:33). He will lift you up before the world. He will bless your family with peace and harmony reigning in your home.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise You that I am precious in Your eyes. You sacrificed Yourself on the cross to give me life. Lord, the world may despise me but You are able to lift me up in life before the world. Let Your blessings abound in my life. Let the world know that You delight in my happiness and well being. Let them all confounded by the blessings in my life. Let peace and joy reign my home. I give You all glory honour and praise.
Amen.
Beloved! The world may despise you or look down upon you but do you know that you are very precious in the eyes of Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ came down to the earth to lift you up in life.
When Jesus Christ was in this world, He sought the poor people in adversity and helped them. One such person was Zacchaeus who was the chief collector and a rich man. The people called him a sinner. He had heard of Jesus and longed to see Him. His desire was soon fulfilled and Jesus Christ even spent a day with him in his house. He believed in Jesus Christ and was transformed into a righteous man (Luke 19:1-10).
“Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22,23).
Yes, beloved! Every man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Whoever believes in Lord Jesus Christ, he/she shall be made righteous.
There is a church called Lakewood church in Houston, U.S.A. Once, a church member brought an alcoholic to the church who gave his heart to the Lord and soon his life was transformed. Days later, the redeemed man gave a prayer request to the pastor’s wife. The prayer request read, “Madam, I lived my life like beastly brute, boozing and brawling all the time. My wife left me with our child in disgust. But the Lord has changed my life and I long for them, so please pray their return.”
The pastor’s wife read this note to the congregation and solicited their prayers. Within moments, a woman with her child came running to the pulpit. It was none other than the man’s wife! This unanticipated miraculous re-union touched the hearts of the whole congregation. As the man, in ecstatic joy, embraced his wife and child, the whole church praised the Lord in joy.
Beloved! Jesus Christ bore our grief and sorrows and became a curse for us on the cross. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). He tasted death for everyone on the cross.
Beloved! The Lord shall bless the home of the just (Proverbs 3:33). He will lift you up before the world. He will bless your family with peace and harmony reigning in your home.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise You that I am precious in Your eyes. You sacrificed Yourself on the cross to give me life. Lord, the world may despise me but You are able to lift me up in life before the world. Let Your blessings abound in my life. Let the world know that You delight in my happiness and well being. Let them all confounded by the blessings in my life. Let peace and joy reign my home. I give You all glory honour and praise.
Amen.
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Lord of Miracles
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.(John 10:10) By. Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran
Beloved! Our Lord Jesus Christ was a miracle worker when He lived in this world. He healed the sick, delivered the demon possessed, raised the dead and did many other miracles. The Bible says that the books of the world would not be enough to record the miracles of Jesus Christ which He performed during His three and half years of glorious ministry on the earth.
In Luke 5:1-10, we see that Jesus Christ was preaching to the crowd sitting in the boat of Simon Peter. Peter and few of the fishermen were washing their nets disappointed at having caught nothing. Jesus Christ saw their anguish and said, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). When Peter obeyed His word and did as He had said, he caught a great number of fish that the nets were at the point of breaking! Simon Peter was awestruck by the miracle!
Years ago, a Servant of God celebrated his daughter’s wedding in a grand manner. I attended the wedding with my family. Later, he shared with me the miracle that the Lord did at the wedding. The Servant of God said that he had invited around 1,000 guests for the wedding and expected around 1,500 guests to turn up for the wedding. The wedding feast was prepared for 1,500. But around 2,000 had turned up. After felicitating the couple, the guests took part in the wedding feast. He was quiet puzzled of how to tackle the situation. But to his amazement, all of them were able to enjoy the wedding feast. The Lord did a miracle in his daughter’s wedding and did not put him to embarrassment by shortage of the food in the feast.
When Jesus Christ lived in this world, He performed His first miracle at a wedding feast in Cana. When there was a shortage of the wine, He turned the water into wine and manifested His glory (John 2:11). The Bible says that Jesus Christ came into this world to give you life and set you free from the thief who would come to steal and destroy (John 10:10). The good news is that Jesus Christ is alive and death has no power over Him. He presented Himself alive to the Apostles and spoke to them things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). The Risen Lord Who performed miracles through the Apostles to show that He was alive will also do miracles when you are in distress. So, do not be disheartened! The Risen Lord is with you and will never leave you nor forsake you. He will do miracles in your life to show that He loves you.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise You for conquering death and that You are alive forever. You did miracles to people when they cried out to You in distress. Lord, do a miracle when I cry out to You. Let the world know that You are alive and let them be awestruck by Your power. I give You all glory, honour and praise to You alone.
Amen.
Beloved! Our Lord Jesus Christ was a miracle worker when He lived in this world. He healed the sick, delivered the demon possessed, raised the dead and did many other miracles. The Bible says that the books of the world would not be enough to record the miracles of Jesus Christ which He performed during His three and half years of glorious ministry on the earth.
In Luke 5:1-10, we see that Jesus Christ was preaching to the crowd sitting in the boat of Simon Peter. Peter and few of the fishermen were washing their nets disappointed at having caught nothing. Jesus Christ saw their anguish and said, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (Luke 5:4). When Peter obeyed His word and did as He had said, he caught a great number of fish that the nets were at the point of breaking! Simon Peter was awestruck by the miracle!
Years ago, a Servant of God celebrated his daughter’s wedding in a grand manner. I attended the wedding with my family. Later, he shared with me the miracle that the Lord did at the wedding. The Servant of God said that he had invited around 1,000 guests for the wedding and expected around 1,500 guests to turn up for the wedding. The wedding feast was prepared for 1,500. But around 2,000 had turned up. After felicitating the couple, the guests took part in the wedding feast. He was quiet puzzled of how to tackle the situation. But to his amazement, all of them were able to enjoy the wedding feast. The Lord did a miracle in his daughter’s wedding and did not put him to embarrassment by shortage of the food in the feast.
When Jesus Christ lived in this world, He performed His first miracle at a wedding feast in Cana. When there was a shortage of the wine, He turned the water into wine and manifested His glory (John 2:11). The Bible says that Jesus Christ came into this world to give you life and set you free from the thief who would come to steal and destroy (John 10:10). The good news is that Jesus Christ is alive and death has no power over Him. He presented Himself alive to the Apostles and spoke to them things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). The Risen Lord Who performed miracles through the Apostles to show that He was alive will also do miracles when you are in distress. So, do not be disheartened! The Risen Lord is with you and will never leave you nor forsake you. He will do miracles in your life to show that He loves you.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
I praise You for conquering death and that You are alive forever. You did miracles to people when they cried out to You in distress. Lord, do a miracle when I cry out to You. Let the world know that You are alive and let them be awestruck by Your power. I give You all glory, honour and praise to You alone.
Amen.
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