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"Owe no man
anything..."
-Romans 13:8
"...the borrower becomes the lender's
slave."
-Proverbs 22:7
"...the
righteous man shall live by faith."
-Romans 1:17
"...without
faith it is impossible to please Him."
-Hebrews 11:6
"No one can
serve two masters..."
-Matthew 6:24
"The Lord
will make you abound in prosperity..."
-Deuteronomy 25:11
"...God
loves a cheerful giver."
-2 Corinthians 9:7
"...the
Lord... is giving you power to make
wealth..."
-Deuteronomy 8:18
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Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!
Thanks be to God who ALWAYS gives us the
OVERWHELMING victory!.
With this issue of Prosperous Life Newsletter we begin a new
series focusing on dealing with the current HARD TIMES the
World system has created for itself. Surely you've heard about
the HARD TIMES we're all supposed to be living in. It's easy to
stay informed IF YOU WANT TO because the media is in a
continuous process of giving us ALL the details. According to
them life is full of a lot of SCARY stuff no one can possibly
deal with and there's only one chance for us to get out of it all
which is to wait and hope (and some say "pray") for the
government to come to the RESCUE and "bail us out" before
it's too late.
Friend, the World is indeed going through some HARD TIMES
but there's really good news the media hasn't reported yet: if
you've received Jesus as your Lord you don't have to depend
on the government's RESCUE plan. The TRUTH is Believers
have ALREADY been rescued (REDEEMED) and we DON'T
have to be a participant in the HARD TIMES unless we choose
to. Apparently though, a lot of Christians either haven't heard
or haven't understood this good news because they're as full of
FEAR and DECREASE and DEFEAT and RETREAT as their
non-believing friends and relatives. Consequently, a lot of us
need to be reminded that we have the authority and the
empowerment to overcome HARD TIMES and live in total
victory and peace even in the midst of RECESSION.
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| Christians Have a Choice |
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The Bible says that Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of
God ON THE EARTH which fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel
2:44 that the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom that
would never be destroyed. Jesus announced the arrival of this
Kingdom by telling His audiences that the "Kingdom of God
(or
Heaven) was at hand," that is, it was nearby, drawing nigh,
arriving, etc. (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7, Luke 21:31 and others).
That arrival process was completed and the new Kingdom thus
established when Jesus RESURRECTED from the grave.
Before Jesus came though, there was on the earth only the
Kingdom of the World. When the New Testament talks
about "the World," it's referring to a system of living life that
works counter to or in disagreement with the Word of God. The
World system was established when Adam relinquished his
authority over the earth to Satan in the Garden of Eden and
Satan then became the "the god (also prince or ruler) of this
world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians
2:2 and 1 John 5:19). Yes friend, your Bible actually DOES say
that Satan is the god of this World!
Therefore, since the Resurrection of Christ Believers have a
choice to make: we can either live in the Kingdom of God or in
the Kingdom of the World. Non-believers can only live in the
World. And, many Believers try to live in both Kingdoms
simultaneously which doesn't work very well because the World
is evil (Galatians 1:4) and corrupted by lust (2 Peter 1:4); it lies
in wickedness (1 John 5:19), is DECEIVED by Satan
(Revelation 12:9) and its wisdom is foolish (1 Corinthians 1:20).
On top of all that the Bible says the World HATES Believers
(John 15:19, 1 John 3:13). But many Believers try anyway to
live part time in the World thereby subjecting themselves to all
the World's negativity including FEAR, DECREASE, DEFEAT
and RETREAT. It definitely isn't a good fit!
Friend, you need to know that there are NO HARD TIMES in
the Kingdom of God. The hard times are in the World.
Therefore, what we have to do is purposefully CHOOSE to live
life INSIDE the Kingdom of God where there are no hard
times. Didn't Jesus say that His Kingdom is not of this World
(John 18:36)? If we accept the Word as Truth, why then are so
many Believers living their lives in DEPENDENCE on the
World system instead of the Kingdom of God?
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| Scriptural Warnings |
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The Bible clearly instructs us not to love the World or the things
of the World (1 John 2:15). Once we're born again the Lord
expects us to come out of the control of the World and begin to
re-establish ourselves in the household (Kingdom) of God
(Ephesians 2:19). But if we continue to walk in the Flesh, if we
continue to allow our carnal nature to control us, we'll wallow
in the frustrations and defeat of the World when we SHOULD
be enjoying the blessings and victory of the Kingdom of God.
So we're WARNED in scripture to avoid the World:
Romans 12:2 = "And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that
you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect."
Colossians 3:1-2 = "Therefore if you have been raised
up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God (Ephesians 1;20). Set your
MIND on the things above, not on the things that are on
earth "(emphasis by PLN).
Titus 2:11-12 = "For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny
ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,
righteously and godly in the present age"
James 4:4 = "do you not know that friendship with
the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to
be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
1 John 2:15-17 = "Do not love the world nor the things
in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from
the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away,
and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives
forever."
The Word of God is clear and direct in warning Believers about
the World. But despite all the warnings, the World continues to
seduce many of us into its activities and values and systems; in
fact, most Christians don't even think about it. We live in the
World and we do things day after day the way the World does
them. We say the things they say even though those words
produce death; and we manifest the same worries and
concerns and fears. In short, the World robs us of our peace and
victory and most of us are not even aware that we're walking
around in the wrong place.
The Truth is though we should be looking at the World through
the understanding that we're engaged in a literal WAR against
an enemy who's eager to kill us. Our enemy is Satan, the god
of this World, who comes ONLY to kill and steal and destroy
(John 10:10). The devil uses the World to destroy our faith and
our testimony before God. Many of us are totally dependent on
the World's financial and employment systems instead of
looking to the Father as our Source. Others look to the World's
medical system for their healing instead of the Healer who has
already redeemed us from the Curse of the Law. And still
others are praying for a secular government to take care of
them during HARD TIMES instead of looking to the King of
kings. Friend, if the World is Satan's domain, why do so many
of us look there for solutions to our problems?
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| How to Successfully Resist the World |
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The bottom line is this: IF YOU TRULY WANT TO
EXPERIENCE THE VICTORY THAT CHRIST DIED FOR YOU
TO HAVE, YOU MUST ACTIVELY AND AGRESSIVELY
RESIST THE WORLD. The victorious, overcoming Believer
can't be passive about it or ignore it so we have listed for your
consideration today some of the main
PRACTICAL/USEFUL/ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL requirements
for RESISTING and OVERCOMING the World:
- Seriously and honestly acknowledge that the World poses a
threat to your victory as a Believer.
- Accept that you have a RESPONSIBILITY to actively resist
being Worldly (too close to the World).
- Ask the Lord to help you OVERCOME the World in every
area of your life.
- STUDY and meditate on the Word of God DAILY to
increase and strengthen your faith (Romans 10:17).
- Focus on living life by FAITH and not by sight (the carnal
senses).
- Implement for yourself and your family ALL the principles
of life you find revealed in the Word of God.
- Actively resist the World by SPEAKING the authority you
have received by faith in Christ.
- Look within the Kingdom of God to DISCOVER HIS
ALTERNATIVES for the World's ways of doing things.
Friend, complacency about the World WILL cost you the
victorious life Jesus died for you to have. There's not anything
the World has that the Kingdom of God doesn't have a much,
much better version of. So, RESIST the World, seek first the
Kingdom of God and your victory in Christ is assured not only
for the age to come but also for this one NOW, even during the
HARD TIMES you are facing NOW.
The TRUTH is, living in the Kingdom of God or the World is a
DECISION to be made by each Believer. If you want to live in
the Kingdom of God you make the decision to and THEN LIVE
THERE BY FAITH. The World requires that you live by the
Flesh limited to your physical senses. But the VICTORY that
overcomes the World is our faith (1 John 5:4-5) because Jesus
has already overcome it for us (John 16:33). He has already
rescued us "from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4 KJV)
and we are able to OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER any hard
times through Christ by faith (Romans 8:35-37). Believe it, say
it and you can have it (Mark 11:23-24).
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| Some Final Thoughts |
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Most Christians believe that resisting the World is not all that
important. Consequently they live in FEAR, DECREASE,
DEFEAT and RETREAT. So, if you're serious about living in
victory in HARD TIMES, then many of us will need to go
through an attitude adjustment and acknowledge that the
World really is a dangerous place. Avoid the danger! The Word
of God would not warn us to RESIST the World if it weren't
important or if we wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it.
Friend, RESISTING the World is the prerequisite requirement
for finding victory in HARD TIMES.
Thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We pray
it's been a blessing and we'll be looking for you again in three
weeks on March 13. May God bless you and lead you to your
VICTORY.
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| Sinners' Prayer |
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If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can
do so today by saying the following simple prayer:
Jesus I believe in you and I believe that God raised you
from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to
come into my life today. I receive you as my Lord and
Savior.
If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into
your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species
recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good
faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped
to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
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© Make A Way Ministries, Inc.
10621 North Kendall Drive - Suite 120
Miami, Florida 33176
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