DO YOU NEED HEALING IN YOUR LIFE?

““But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.” Malachi‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One of the things that breaks my heart is that there are so many suffering people in the world.  Everywhere you turn there is evidence of suffering.  Whether it be a physical malady or a mental oppression or a financial need - suffering is rampant and many people are in misery as a result.

The saying, "We all have our crosses to bear" is so true.  Every person carries some sort of suffering in their lifetime.

That's the bad news.

Here's the good news: Christ has made provision for us to experience healing and deliverance in this lifetime.

Malachi promises us that Christ (The Sun Of Righteousness) will rise with healing in His wings.  This is indicative of Him rising and coming to me.

Notice this other promise from the Psalms..."Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalms‬ ‭30:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I'm so glad I belong to a church that believes God's Word about healing.  Here's our creedal statement of faith:

“We believe that divine healing is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to heal the sick and the afflicted in answer to believing prayer; that he who is the same yesterday, today and forever has never changed but is still an all-sufficient help in the time of trouble, able to meet the needs of, and quicken into newness of life the body, as well as the soul and spirit in answer to the faith of them who ever pray with submission to His divine and sovereign will.”

Over and over in God's Word is the mention of God's provision over sickness and suffering.  It is God's heart to heal and deliver people who are bound and suffering and sick.

You might ask, "Why is it then that some people are healed and others are not?"  That's a good question and not an easy one to answer.  The truth is this: God is sovereign and it is up to God how and who He heals.

I have been healed plenty of times by God and yet there are things that I have prayed for that God didn't answer in the way that I prayed for the answer.

Someday we'll all be healed and there will no longer be sickness and pain and suffering.

In the meantime I stand on God's Word and claim His promises of healing for every person I pray over.

"...By whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Pet 2:24

"Surely He has borne our griefs (sickness)  and carried our sorrows (pains); yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  Isa 53:4-5 NKJ

“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” 3 John‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Four Ways To Be Healed

1. Asking

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Luke 11:9 NKJ

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ""If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13 NKJ

2. Agreeing

"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.'' Matt 18:19-20 NKJ

3. Anointing

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:14-15 NKJ

4. By believers laying of hands

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.'' Mark 16:17-18 NKJ
 
Do you need healing in your life?  Are you bound by some malady or disease?  Have you not asked God for healing because of an unanswered prayer in the past?

Perhaps this could be your day.  Ask and ask again.  Believe and pray for God to touch and heal you completely because your savior loves to touch and heal all who come to come Him asking.

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR JOY?

“...This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”” Nehemiah‬ ‭8:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I know what it's like to lose your joy. It's not pretty and it hurts to the very core.  You lose interest in life and you really don't want to be around people - especially the joyful ones.

This passage takes place right after the Jews had returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon.

During that time they had limited access to God's Word.  In fact, they had forgotten far more than they remembered about God. They were in sorrow and had lost their joy. Nehemiah then reminds them that The Joy Of The Lord Is Their Strength.

We tend to equate “happiness” with joy but they are two totally different ideas because they each spring from a different source. One comes from the world around me. The other originates directly from the Spirit of the Living God. 

Happiness is conditioned by and often dependent upon what is “happening” to me. If people treat me good, if things are going well in my life, then I’m happy. If my circumstances aren’t favorable, then I’m unhappy – that describes me as I was flying over the back of that dangerous dragon!

Joy, on the other hand, throbs throughout Scripture as a profound, compelling quality of life that transcends the events and disasters which may dog God’s people. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances. 

The Hebrew word means, “to leap or spin around with pleasure.” In the New Testament the word refers to “gladness, bliss and celebration.”

To have the fruit of joy ripen in our lives is to recognize the journey involved in getting there. It takes time, diligence, patience, and hard work to make a grapevine produce grapes. Fruit is not instantaneous because it has to overcome weather, bugs, weeds, poor soil and neglect. 

Likewise, in our journey to joy we’re faced with the waves of apathy, the currents of pessimism, the deluge of doubt and the waterfalls of despair. There is no way we can manufacture this fruit on our own. 

If we want to see this fruit ripen in our lives, we desperately need the Holy Spirit to prune away whatever it is that hinders our joy and then empower us to make some choices that move us closer to a lifestyle of rejoicing. 

We need to guard against three common Joy Busters and we need to cultivate some Joy Builders into our lives.

Joy Busters

Before Paul wrote to the church at Galatia about the Fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5, he asked a very penetrating question in Galatians 4:15: “What has happened to all your joy…” 

That question needs to be asked in the church today. What has happened to all my joy? What has happened to all your joy? 

William Barclay has said that “a gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces.” 

Let’s look at three common joy stealers that often give us long faces.

1. Unsatisfied expectations. 

Do you ever feel like you’re just going through some joyless routines in life? If the truth were known some of us are discontent with the way our lives are progressing. It could be that your expectations for your marriage have not been met. Or, maybe your kids aren’t living like they should. Perhaps you don’t have everything you want – a bigger house, a nicer car, and a better job.

I’m convinced that a spirit of discontentment can rob many of us of joy. 

Listen to how Paul discovered the secret of being content with what God had given him in Philippians 4:12: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

2. Unresolved conflict. 

Our joy evaporates when we allow conflict between ourselves and another person to go on. When someone’s offense against us occupies our mental and emotional attention, we have little left over for the Lord. Anger clouds the eyes of our heart and obscures our view of God, draining away our joy.

Hebrews 12:14-15 challenges us to “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

3. Unconfessed sin. 

This third joy buster is perhaps responsible for chasing more joy out of lives than any other. Guilt can gut your joy faster than anything I know. Sin can send joy far away. 

David understood this very well when he attempted to ignore the promptings of the Spirit. 

Take a look at Psalm 32:1-5: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

I love how this Psalm ends. After David owns his sin, his joy returns. Notice verse 11: “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” 

Did you catch that? He was not able to rejoice and experience the joy of the Lord until he confessed his sins! 

That’s very similar to what David wrote in Psalm 51:7-8: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”

Joy Builders

Billy Sunday once said, “The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you’ve got a leak in your religion.” 

God not only wants to restore our lost joy, He also wants us to cultivate those things that will build lasting joy into our lives so that we don’t have any leaks in our religion. The Bible gives us at least six ways to experience this joy.

1. Recognize God as joyful. 

We can be helped greatly in our journey towards joy if we learn to see the Almighty not as a taskmaster, but as the God of the Universe with a smile on His face. 

Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” [Read again]

God delights in you and breaks out into song when He thinks about you! That’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I love how the Living Bible paraphrases this verse: “Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.” 

2. Rehearse God’s attributes in worship. 

God delights in us and finds great joy in His creation – then when we celebrate His attributes in worship we allow our joy to flow back to Him. The Westminster Confession states it well: our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We’ve been designed to respond in worship through both reverence and rejoicing.

Psalm 66:1-4: “Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.’”

Our collective worship of God on Sundays should be the culmination of our individual and private worship during the week. It should usher us into His joy for another week.

3. Reaffirm your commitment to others. 

As I connect with you and you connect with me, our joy will overflow. We need each other. If we’re not attending church on a regular basis, or coming and not interacting with others, we could be jeopardizing the joy of other people. 

When we live in loving relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we’ll be more joyful and we’ll be helping others jack up their joy. 

4. Reignite your passion for evangelism. 

One of the best ways to build joy into your life is by talking to others about Jesus. Philemon 6: “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” 

5. Release your problems to the Lord. 

One of the hallmarks of Christian joy is that it can be experienced in the midst of intense sorrow and loss. Often we define happiness as the absence of something undesirable, such as pain, suffering, or disappointment. But Christian joy is the proper response to the presence of something desirable: God Himself.

Matthew Henry, a Bible scholar from the 1700’s wrote in his diary after some thieves robbed him and took his wallet: “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because, it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

The only way to have an attitude like this is to release our problems to the Lord. Because He’s in charge we can have joy – no matter what happens. 

Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 7:4: “…in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” James 1:2 challenges us to “consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

This takes a conscious decision. We’re commanded to work at it. While we can’t manufacture joy we can give our problems to the Lord by leaning on Him with everything we’ve got.

6. Remain close to Jesus. 

John 15:10-11 puts it this way: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

If we want the kind of joy that is complete, lacking nothing, then we must remain close to Jesus. Apart from Him we can bear no fruit. 

Jesus said it clearly in John 15:4: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

If you have lost your joy - may God grant you His great peace that your joy might also be complete in your life in all that you do.

Original Sermon by Brian Bill

DON'T BLAME GOD FOR YOUR PROBLEMS

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James‬ ‭1:13-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Playwright Oscar Wilde once jokingly remarked, “I can resist everything except temptation.” 

We smile when we read those words because they speak an important truth about the human condition. Temptation pays a visit to each of us every day and most of us struggle to say no.

Temptation is not new in any sense. Temptation is the same for us as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

Satan tempts us today in the same way he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. From the very beginning a battle has raged for the souls of men and women, a battle that touches all of us sooner or later.
  
How can we fight and win the battle against the temptations we face every day? James 1:13-15 gives us God’s answer to that important question. From this passage we discover where temptation begins, how it grows, and where it ends.

1. Where It Begins

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” James‬ ‭1:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It’s always easy to blame God for our problems.

“Lord, you put me in this situation.”
“Lord, you gave me these desires.”
“Lord, you knew I was broke.”
“Lord, you knew I was weak in that area.”

God is never the source of your problems. Never. Don’t even go there.

He doesn't tempt people. He never puts you in a situation where you have to sin. Never.

God will never lead you to a place where you are forced to do evil. You may find yourself in a tough spot and under pressure you may choose to do evil, and in your mind you feel “forced” by the circumstances to do wrong, but even in those cases the choice is yours, not God’s. Said another way, God never sets us up to fail. To do that would contradict both his holiness and his love.

It helps to remember that the same Greek word in James 1 can be translated “trial” or “temptation.” That fact teaches us that any event in your life can be both a trial and a temptation.

God sends the trial and Satan turns it into a temptation.  A trial becomes a temptation when we respond wrongly. What God means for good, Satan means for evil. Satan twists that which God gives us and whispers in our ear, “Go ahead. It’s okay. No one will ever know.”

2. How It Grows

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Notice four things from this verse. 

First, the certainty of temptation: “Each one is tempted.” No one escapes temptation in this life. 

Second, the allure of temptation: “He is drawn away... and enticed.” James uses the image of a fisherman baiting a hook. Just as the fruit looked good to Eve, sin always looks good to us. Sin brings a certain degree of satisfaction. It must, or no one would ever sin. 

There is such a thing as the “pleasures of sin for a season.” In the short run, we can always justify losing our temper, telling a lie, cheating a friend, taking a shortcut, or indulging our fantasies.

Third, the individuality of temptation: “His own desires.” It’s quite true that what tempts you might not bother me at all, and what troubles me might not seem alluring to you. 

Fourth, the result of temptation. “After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” Since James uses the metaphor of birth, let me apply the truth this way. If we do not use some “spiritual birth control” in our thought life, our desires will impregnate our actions and the result will be a whole bunch of little “sin babies” running around. 

That’s a bizarre image, but it’s not stranger than the image James uses. We must not trifle with temptation. We can’t mess with it, play with it, or dabble in it, because temptation leads to desire that leads inevitably to sin in our lives.

3. Where It Ends

“When sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death” (James 1:15b).

Twice in this passage James uses the image of birth:

Evil desire gives birth to sin. Sin gives birth to death.

We prefer not to hear this. What could be happier than the birth of a baby? We decorate and plan and pray and save our money, we take pictures of the sonogram and post it on Facebook. We have baby showers and “gender reveal” parties and we send out elaborate birth announcements.

It’s hard to find anything more wonderful than the birth of a baby. But not all babies are beautiful.

James uses the happy image of childbirth to remind us of an awful reality. Our evil desires grow over time, they take on a life of their own, and one day those desires give birth to sin. And sin once conceived in the heart leads only to death.

 Sin Kills!

That’s what James means when he says that sin gives birth to death.

Sin kills us.
Sin kills every human relationship.
Sin kills our relationship with God.

When sin is full-grown, it gives birth to the monster of death.
There is nothing beautiful about that.

We would all be better off if we stopped to consider the impact of our evil desires. What starts as a passing fancy becomes a settled desire becomes an overpowering impulse that leads us to foolish action that results in personal tragedy, shattered lives, hurting children, ruined careers, and broken marriages.

Worst of all, we end up separated from the God who made us. We are truly lost, and we have only ourselves to blame.
  
Temptation is the common experience of the people of God. We will never escape it as long as we live in a fallen world. But God has given us everything we need to win the battle every time.

Stand and fight, child of God. The Lord is on your side.

Sermon originally from Ray Pritchard

ARE YOU IN A PIT TODAY?

“Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon. Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.”Zechariah‬ ‭9:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Israel was a mess.  Because of its rejection of God and their rebellion toward His ways, they were now trapped like prisoners in a waterless dungeon - a place of misery and bondage and hopelessness.

Yet, in the midst of their trouble God reminds them that He hasn't given up on them and there was a hope for the future - their future!

These verses promise them a victory both now and it also hints of a victory that is coming that will be "sealed with blood" (about when Jesus would come to earth).

Does this resonate with you?  Are you feeling trapped and in bondage and you can't find the freedom that you are looking for?  Are you in some kind of pit today and don't know if there is a way of escape?  Have you bought into the fact that there is no hope for your life?

If that is the case - this promise is for you.  We are all prisoners of hope.  We hope in a better day filled with victory and deliverance and freedom from our dungeons and pits.

Jesus has been and still is the answer:

1. He is a righteous ruler; all his acts of government will be exactly according to the rules of equity, for he is just.

2. He is a powerful protector to all those that bear faith and true allegiance to him, for he has salvation; he has it in his power; he has it to bestow upon all his subjects. 

3. He is the God of salvation; treasures of salvation are in him. He died and rose again out of the grave by his own power and so qualifying himself to be our Saviour.

4. He is a meek, humble, and lowly; he is poor and afflicted.  He emptied Himself and came to earth to identify with us.  He was despised and rejected by man.

God is the deliverer of pits in our lives.  Bad habits, bad decisions, bad marriages, etc.

When I think of pits I think about Joseph and Jeremiah and Paul who also were thrown into a pit.  Like us, they felt hopeless and discouraged and wondered if they would ever get out.

Yet, God came through for them and he will come through for you.  Look up.  Reach out.  God is with you now and He will be with you later as He promises that He will never leave or forsake us.  

Your pit could be poor health, the loss of your job, former friends that turned against you, an unfaithful mate, rebellious children, or any other overwhelming problem. You may be responsible for being in your pit, or you may be a victim of the sins of others. 


 “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” ‭Psalms‬ ‭40:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

May God free us all from our pits today.  Amen.

YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD

““Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” Daniel‬ ‭10:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We live in an era of very low self esteem.  Many people struggle with the true worth that God has set forth for them. We are self judging and critical and don't really see how God views us.

As God spoke these words over Daniel, I believe that God is also speaking them over many of us today - "You are precious to God."

God reward Daniel's faithfulness with one of the greatest blessings possible - a blessing from God Himself that Daniel was precious and special to God.

John Trent and Gary Smalley wrote a book that radically changed my life called "The Blessing."

The thesis of this book is that many people did not receive "The Blessing" from their earthly father's, and as a result, they spend their whole life looking for it, often in the wrong places.

We've have drifted away from understanding the importance of "The Blessing" in people's lives.

In ancient Hebrew culture the father would place his hands upon his children before they left for school each day.  He would then place upon them "The Blessing."

For many today, "The Blessing" is missing in your life.  You looked for it and sought after it only to be ignored and turned away.

But here's an important piece of information for all of us - Even if you didn't receive the blessing of your earthly father, you can and have received the blessing of your spiritual father!

Many in Daniel’s day were looking for prestige in man’s eyes, but not Daniel. Daniel focused his attention on God. He served God in total obedience to His Word. 

He didn't look to man to find favor and blessing, he looked to God.

I was blessed as a child growing up to have "The Blessing" placed upon me daily from my parents and my grandparents.  I was often told that God had a plan for my life and that God wanted to bless me with to touch the world for God.

On the other hand, I've talked to many people who never received any encouragement or blessing from their families.  In fact, many have told me that they were always put down and always told that they were worth nothing and that they were no good.

That is so sad.

When I read these words to Daniel today - "You are precious to God" - they went deep into my spirit this morning.  "I am God's kid. I am special.  God has a great plan for my life."

Perhaps you have been down on yourself and perhaps you have been put down by others over and over again.  Perhaps your self-esteem is very low and you don't feel very worthwhile today.  

If that is the case, ponder these words over and over - "You are precious to God."  May God lift you up and minister to your soul and you come to understand how much God really love you.

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING

Does life seem overwhelming to you?  Do you feel like throwing in the towel?  Are you discouraged about putting in much effort only to get a trickle of results? Are you tired of being misunderstood and do you feel like your fighting an uphill battle?

I think we all do.

In Habakkuk 1-2 we see a lot of bad news.  Life was hopeless and bleak with little hope for the future.

But Habakkuk 3 is different.  It's full of good news.  It ends on a note of hope and praise.

How did the prophet move from hopelessness and despair to a place of confidence, joy and praise?  How did he get there when nothing around him has changed? 

The people are still mocking God, violence still fills the streets, and the Babylonians are still coming to Jerusalem. 

Outwardly everything is just as messed up as it was in the beginning.
 


Yet Habakkuk the man has changed on the inside. How did that happen? This chapter gives us the answer.
 


Kay Warren suggests that Habakkuk 3 is broken up into 3 parts: 1. Prayer  2. Vision, and 3. Testimony.  Let's look at these 3 things...

1. Notice his prayer

“I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.” Habakkuk‬ ‭3:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 
In the face of impending calamity, the prophet prays for a full manifestation of God’s power and for mercy in the midst of judgment. 

It’s as if he is saying, “Lord, I know bad times are coming. I accept that. I’m not fighting against your plan. But oh Lord, if hard times must come, don’t let the Babylonians wipe us out. Remember mercy or we will perish!”
 


That’s a perfectly biblical prayer. It’s honest. It’s desperate. It’s the kind of prayer God will answer.
 
Notice that he asks God to do again in his day what he has done in the past.

Twice he says, “Do it now, Lord, in our day, in our time.” 

There are troubles everywhere.  The world is in disarray.  We live in dangerous times.  We need God's help - now!

There is an old Chinese prayer that goes like this: “O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray thee, with me.” 

There is also an old gospel song that went like this...


“It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standing in the need of prayer.”
 


My greatest challenge is the man in the mirror. Ask God to work in you.  It is only then that He can began to work on that which is outside of you.


2. Notice His Vision
 


After his prayer Habakkuk has a vision of God. 

God revealed himself to Habakkuk in something like a dream or a vision. 

The prophet recorded his experience in verses 3-15. These verses are highly poetic, which is what you would expect when a man has a vision of God. 

But the point is very clear. Knowing that his nation faces imminent judgment, Habakkuk prays, “Lord, do something!” 

This vision is God’s answer. It’s as if God says, “Habakkuk, you’ve forgotten who I am. You’re talking as if I can’t hear you. As if I don’t have any power. Let me show you who I am because if you understand who I am, you’ll be able to sleep at night.”
 


In these verses Habakkuk recounts God’s activity in the past. He especially focuses on the Exodus, the time in the wilderness, and the crossing of the Jordan River. 

That was a period in which God repeatedly worked spectacular miracles. By recounting all of this, God is saying, “Have you forgotten what I did for you in the past?”



If he did it before, he can do it again.
 
Sometimes we read the Bible and secretly wonder if God can do it again in the 21st-century. 

Here is the answer. He’s God! He can intervene any time he wants.
 
We can get a flavor of this theophany in verses 13-15 which focus on the defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea:
 

You came out to deliver your people,
   to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
   you stripped him from head to foot.
With his own spear you pierced his head
   when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
    the wretched who were in hiding.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
    churning the great waters.
 

Look at the verbs:  You came out . . . You crushed . . . You stripped . . . You pierced . . . You trampled. 

This is what God did. He gets all the credit.

3. Look At His Testimony
 


Now we come to the end of the book. We can see two things very clearly here:



First there is acceptance.

 “I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us” (v. 16).


This is Habakkuk’s way of saying, “I get it, Lord. The Babylonians will attack us and then you will judge them. I will wait for that day to come.” 

As it turns out, Habakkuk most likely didn’t live long enough because Babylon would not fall for almost 70 years. It doesn’t matter. Habakkuk’s words mean, “Message received.”
 


Second, there is commitment. 

Verses 17-18 show us what faith looks like when life tumbles in around us:
 

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls.
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.


The word “rejoice” literally means to jump for joy. We might even say it means to dance for joy.
 


But how is this possible?



Habakkuk has described a total economic meltdown. Ancient Israel was an agricultural society. If you ran out of figs, olives, grapes, grain, sheep, and cattle, you were in big trouble. 

This isn’t just a random list.

This is a portfolio!

 What do you do when you are wiped out?
 What if your investments disappear?
 What if life begins to unravel? What if sickness overtakes you.

How do you face that?
 


What if you lose your job?
 What if the safety net fails?
 What if you run out of food?
 What if you can’t pay your bills?
 What if your children end up in jail? 
What if your loved ones never come to Christ?
 What if the doctor says, “It’s terminal”?
 What if your spouse has a heart attack and you are left alone?
 What if America falls to a foreign power?
 What if you lose your job because you are a Christian?
 What if you end up in jail for your faith?
 
What then?
 


Too many Christians have a God of the good times. They serve God and love him and praise him when all is going well. But what will you do when hard times come? 

If all you have is a God of the good times, you don’t have the God of the Bible.
 
Sometimes the fig tree does not bud.


Sometimes there are no grapes on the vine.
 Sometimes the olive crop fails.
  Sometimes the fields produce no food.
Sometimes there are no sheep in the pen.
 Sometimes there are no cattle in the stalls.



What do you do then? You can get angry with God or you can give up on God altogether.

 Or you can choose to believe in God anyway. 

Often we mistake faith and our feelings. Faith isn't about my feelings, much less about my circumstances. Faith chooses to believe when it would be easier to stop believing. 

Habakkuk said, "I will wait patiently" and "I will rejoice." He found new strength in the midst of desolation.
 


The last verse of Habakkuk is often overlooked:
 

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights”(v. 19).


The phrase “my feet” speaks of our journey through life. 

If you have ever traveled to the Holy Land, then you probably saw deer scampering on the barren hills near the west side of the Dead Sea. 

The deer are sure-footed where the rest of us would slip and slide and eventually fall. 

If you know the Lord, he will give you stability in the slippery moments of life. He will give you grace to stand when otherwise you would fall apart. 

It reminds me of Ephesians 6:13 which says that when we put on the armor of God and “having done all,” we will stand safe and secure when the battle is over.
 


That’s where the book ends, and that’s where we will end our journey.
 


Let me repeat once again the single most important observation from Habakkuk. As the book ends, nothing has changed on the outside. The people of Judah have still forgotten God. Violence still reigns in Jerusalem. The wicked still oppress the righteous. And the Babylonians are still God’s appointed instrument for judgment. Hard times are coming and there is nothing anyone can do about it.
 
Nothing has changed!


Except this.
Habakkuk has changed on the inside.
 


We all come from different situations.
Some are happy, some are sad.
Some are healthy, some are sick.
Some are excited about the future, some face dark clouds of uncertainty.
 


But if we know the Lord, if God is our Savior, we can still have feet to tread on the heights in the worst moments of life. We can stand when others fall around us.
 


When V. Raymond Edman was president of Wheaton College, he used to tell the students, “It’s always too soon to quit.” That’s a good motto for all of us today.

Everyone reading my words is in one of three places:
 
1-You’re coming out of confusing times.
 2-You’re in confusing times.
 3- Or you’re about to go into confusing times and you just don’t know it yet.
 
So take this article and put it in your back pocket. If you don’t need it today, you’ll need it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
 


I leave you with one final thought.
..

You’ll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.
And when Jesus is you have, then and only then will you discover that Jesus is all you need.
 


That’s the real message of the little book of Habakkuk.

ARE YOU FACING AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION?

“He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean.” Ezekiel‬ ‭47:6-10‬ NLT

I am very privileged to take groups of people to Israel on a fairly frequent basis.  I'm in love with the land, the people and what God's Word promises to this little country near the Mediterranean Ocean.

One of the most interesting places I take people is the Dead Sea just east of Jerusalem.

This sea is 1407 feet below sea level and is the lowest elevation on earth. It has a 34% saline content (That's 9x's saltier than the ocean) and goes to a depth of 900 feet.

It is dead, dead, dead.  There are no fish, there are no trees, there is no life.  And... it is extremely hot. (I've been there when the temperature was around 115 degrees)

That's why I find this passage so interesting.  Someday, God promises, that there is going to be a river of life that will flow from Jerusalem and the waters will heal this dead sea and life will begin to flourish like never before.

An impossible situation turned possible.

There will be plenty of water, and plenty of fish and fishermen.  It will be filled with life.

This is a great message to any of us who are facing impossible situations and perhaps dry and dying dreams in our life.

Someday.

Someday God.

Someday God will.

Someday God will come.

Someday God will come through.

He can take that situation that has no hope and no possibility of life and turn it around and make it to become something new and vital and refreshing.

God is still the God of power  and can send a miracle your way anytime He wishes.  He can bring that healing that you are praying for and He can bring provide those funds that are in short supply. He can bring that restoration of relationships.

God can.  God will.  Just ask.

“Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” Mark‬ ‭11:22-23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.” Revelation‬ ‭22:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”” John‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”” John‬ ‭7:37-38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I am a candidate for the miraculous in my life.  I am thirsty for more of God in my life.  I face obstacles that seem insurmountable and I believe that the same God that bring life to the Dead Sea is waiting to bring life to me and to you if we just come to Him in faith and believe that He can and that He will.

MARKS OF A TRUE INTERCESSOR

““I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.” Ezekiel‬ ‭22:30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This verse is both challenging and sad to me.  It challenging to me because I know that God has called me to be an intercessor.  It is sad to me because there are so few true intercessors today. People want to be entertained, fed and occupied but few people want to gut it out in prayer and intercession with the Lord.

I pray that this blog today would stir up intercession within the body of Christ and especially at New Life Chapel.

In Genesis 18, we see Abraham interceding for Sodom which was due for destruction because of her sins. Because of Abraham’s intercession, God was willing to spare Sodom if Abraham could find 10 righteous people there.

From this passage, you will find 6 marks of an intercessor.

1. INTERCESSORS ARE THE FIRST TO GET THE NEWS

Genesis 18:17 And God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing ?”

God did not want to destroy Sodom without letting Abraham know about it first. We find this to be a Biblical pattern. God often informs the people seeking Him what he intends to do.

Psalm 25:14 The secrets of the Lord are with those who fear Him.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals the secrets to his servants the prophets.

It is comforting to know that God will reveal His plans or judgements to those seeking Him. This give intercessors a chance to plead for God’s mercy on behalf of the people.

SOME PEOPLE MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. SOME SEE THINGS HAPPEN. OTHERS ARE STILL ASKING “WHAT HAPPENED ?”

2. INTERCESSORS STAND IN THE GAP BEFORE GOD 

Genesis 18:22b …but Abraham still stood before God.

God is looking for people to stand before Him and intercede for the sins of nation. In Eze 22, we see God specifically looking for intercessors.

Ezekiel 22:30 “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it. But I found none”

Ezekiel 22 has a sad ending. God was searching for an intercessor to stand before Him but found none. So God’s judgement was poured out because there was no intercessor. An intercessor has the ability to delay or stop the judgement of God when he stands in the gap.

PRAYERS CAN’T BE ANSWERED UNLESS THEY ARE OFFERED!

3. INTERCESSORS CONTINUE TO STAND IN THE GAP EVEN AFTER JUDGEMENT IS PASSED

Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

The angels were already heading towards Sodom to destroy it. But Abraham still stood before the Lord. He lived in hope that God’s mercy would spare the people. He persevered. Intercessors persevere even after judgement is passed.

THERE ARE 4 STEPS TO ACCOMPLISHMENT. PLAN PURPOSEFULLY. PREPARE PRAYERFULLY. PROCEED POSITIVELY AND PURSUE PERSISTENTLY.

4. INTERCESSORS UNDERSTAND GOD’S CHARACTER

If you were an intercessor and wanted God to spare the city, what angle would you approach God from ? Abraham was a smart man. He knew God’s character. God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked

Genesis 18:23 Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?”

Genesis 18:25 “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right”

Abraham understood that God was a righteous God and will do right. He approached God from this angle.

5. INTERCESSORS UNDERSTAND GOD’S ABOUNDING GRACE

Abraham looks in every way like a good business man. He negotiates for God’s mercy. Below, we see the number of people he must find for God to spare the city.

V24 – 50 people
V28 – 45 people
V29 – 40 people
V30 – 30 people
V31 – 20 people
V32 – 10 people

It looks like God gave him a big discount for the number of righteous people. He got a 99.99999 % discount from God. How many of us will even think of asking God to spare the whole city if there were only 10 people righteous ? But Abraham did and God agreed. HE was a great negotiator because he understood God’s character.

Abraham knew that God was a merciful and gracious God and dared to ask.

6. INTERCESSORS KNOW THE LIMIT OF GOD’S PATIENCE

Genesis 18:33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finish speaking with Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.

We see God went His way as soon as He had finished speaking. This means that Abraham’s request had reached the limit. If God continued to speak to Abraham, Abraham may have asked for God to spare Sodom for 5 people. But the Lord went away.

There comes a time when the mercy of God ceases and He has to release the judgement. There is limit to God’s mercy and intercessors know this limit. Abraham returned to his own place.

What an example of intercession we can see in Abraham ‘s life. It is a good model for us to follow.

Will you be an intercessor and stand before God over your family, your church, our city, and our nation?

Original outline by Pastor Wah Lok NG

WHO ARE YOU BLAMING IN LIFE?

“Then another message came to me from the LORD: “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.

“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭18:1-4, 30-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jay Robison shares a story about a outgoing President who met with his successor in the Oval Office as He was transition in.  As the new President was about to leave the former president gave him three envelopes when great difficulties arose.

After new President's honeymoon period ended - the United States experienced an economic downturn.  He opened the 1st envelope. Inside a card read: “Blame me.”

The President thus began to blame the former President and his administration.

Then social upheaval brought about a critical domestic crisis. The President opened the 2nd envelope. Inside card “Blame my party.”

He then began to blame the opposite party for all the problems going on in the United States.

A year later, when foreign policy resulted in serious problems, at end of rope, the President opened the third envelope.

Inside, the card read: “Prepare three envelopes.”

You can only blame other people and circumstances  so long until you have to take responsibility.  It is true, our society wants to avoid responsibility as long as we can.

So it was in Ezekiel's day when people were blaming everyone but themselves.

They were saying, “The way of the Lord is not right. What’s going on in our suffering is not our fault."  They refused to own up to their sins and responsibilities.

Consider the following two things in regard to blaming others about the problems in your life.

1.  Stop Playing The Blame Game

We are all touched by the hand of the past, no one is the master of his or her fate.  You didn’t ask to be born to who you were born to. We come into world under circumstances we did not create.

“...The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?” Ezekiel‬ ‭18:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They were blaming their parents for their problems but the fact was this - they were responsible for their own sins.

Who do you blame for your life?

• GENETICS, "I can’t do this or that because of genes."
• FAMILY, "I grew up in dysfunctional family can’t do better."
• GOVERNMENT, "My life is hard because of the government."
• SCHOOLS, "The Teacher didn’t teach me."
• Or GOD, "He could have made things different.

V. 19 tells us that "the person who sins is the one who will die."

Consider the costs of BLAMING.  It pushes people away.  It harms marriages.  It breeds arrogance, etc.

No matter how much fault we find with another, regardless of how much we blame someone, it will not change us.

2.  Accept Responsibility For Your Own Life

Each person is a part of society and each person stands alone.

• V. 3 tells us that we can't blame others.
• Vv. 5-9 tells us that those who act morally right and with integrity will live.
• Vv. 10-13 tells us that the righteousness of parents will not save their children.
• Vv. 14-18 tells us that a child is not responsible for their parents sin.

 “...And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.” Ezekiel‬ ‭18:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We must:

• Accept blame when we are responsible
• Address the root of the problem.
• Do what is right, whether it works out or not.

Here's the truth: Everyone is accountable for their own actions.

You cannot determine the hand you were dealt in life, but you can decide how the hand is played.

Ezekiel called people to humbly approach to God.

Listen to how Vs 31-32...

“Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!” Ezekiel‬ ‭18:31-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

My life is not YOUR FAULT.  It’s my OPPORTUNITY.  No one in all of human history is exactly like you. You are one of a kind.  You are not recycled.

I must accept personal responsibility for my life.  It is not my parents fault or society’s fault. I can't blame my parents or my circumstances or even God.  I have to blame myself.

It's time to take responsibility for ourselves.  It is then that God will draw close to you.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” James‬ ‭4:8-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬