ARE WE DILIGENT OR JUST BUMPING ALONG?
Friday – December 27, 2019, Kislev 29, 5780
Greetings dear and precious partners and friends of this Ministry and publication and welcome back to this powerful and empowering Bible Study. Christmas is past and the New Year looms straight ahead. As we are now very near the end of the year we want you all (y’all for the Texas folks) to know that we are thankful for your friendship and partnership. We encourage those of you who have been praying about partnership with this ministry to take the step of faith either in your yearend giving or start fresh in 2020. Remember, anything postmarked by the 31st of December is deductible in the 2019 tax year. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to encourage us and expand the reach of this Ministry. The picture today is of my beautiful and precious wife and myself during a recent trip to Groton Massachusetts (her childhood home).
We also want the faithful to this Ministry to pray about two things as we approach and come into the new year. First, we are in the planning stage of a new arm of the Eastern Gate Ministries International to be called Sabbatical Moments which is designed to reach out to and encourage Pastors and wives (or husbands) who are discouraged. Second, we are also in the planning stages of a Women’s Conference to be conducted in late spring to early summer in partnership with two other ministries. The theme of the Women’s Conference is to be “The Virtuous Woman”. Now let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text in the Book of John and read it aloud.
John 14:21-23 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Jesus tells us over and over that obeying the commandments is love (agape). When we are walking in love God will manifest in our lives, we will walk in the abundance Jesus died to give to all people who will receive Him. Watching and listening to some people you would think that Jesus came, bled, and died so that we could have a miserable struggle and then somehow make it into Heaven one day. That is all a miserable lie of the enemy. As I prepare to move forward, I want to remind us all that everything in the Kingdom of God is accomplished by faith. In fact, we cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). The power of faith is love, if we do not walk in love our faith is inoperative or ineffective for Kingdom purposes.
Galatians 5:6 (KJV)
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Faith is an unwavering belief of the Word of God, an unshakeable confidence in God and in His Word. This combined with love (agape) and there will be nothing but victory in our lives as far as the eye can see. Now, I did not say you wouldn’t encounter troubles, what I did say was that when you do (not if you do) you will be victorious. God is so good my dear friends. Now back to Deuteronomy twenty-eight.
Deuteronomy 28:12-14 (KJV)
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
That pesky “if” word has come up again in verse thirteen. Do you see anything you do not want yet? Remember this is all contingent upon being diligent (hardworking, industrious, meticulous, conscientious, thorough, attentive, careful, painstaking, and persistent) not lazy (the antonym of diligent) concerning the commands, the Word of God. Other gods are anything we substitute or allow to displace the Word of God. Study the encounter Adam and Eve had in the Garden with the Serpent. They allowed the words of the Serpent to supersede, to displace, the Word of God (they had faith in the Serpents words) and look at that mess to this very day. One last verse and I will close for this week.
Deuteronomy 28:15 (KJV)
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
From here for some 53 verses we can read about all kinds of stuff we do not want however we invite by disobedience to the commands of God into our lives every day. I will pick up our study right here on Monday the Lord willing concerning obedience and the manifestations of abundance of God in our lives or disobedience and the manifestations of the curse.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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