Thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We've prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).
Trials and tribulations are certainly with us these days especially for folks who're trying to do something to advance the Kingdom of God. But I'm sure you're aware of that already, most probably from your own experiences. The truth is many Christians have been surprised by the severity of their trials during these last three years or so since the World's financial system collapsed. Yes, I said COLLAPSED and it's not likely it will ever be able to go back to the same ways of doing things as they were before the fourth quarter of 2007. Whenever the "wisdom of men" tries to replace the "wisdom of God," the inevitable result is ALWAYS collapse and failure and the emergence of some new-generation, revised manmade system that's worse than the one before.
The degree to which Christians were surprised by the Great Collapse was in relation to their involvement in and dependence upon the World system: the more involved any of us were the more surprised we tended to be because we hadn't really considered that the World system could ever totally collapse and wipe out all our plans and dreams. Many Believers, maybe MOST were trusting in that system instead of the Lord and we've written about all that in previous newsletters. But now that the system has collapsed, what are we supposed to be doing to overcome the financial mountains we see all around us? How do we deal with this new scenario?
Why We Experience Tribulations
Jesus said that in the World we'll have tribulation but that we should take courage because He's OVERCOME the World and He's telling us this SO WE CAN HAVE PEACE (John 16:33). Now there're a couple of conclusions to draw from this scripture that some folks may've overlooked:
1. The World is the source of ALL tribulation. There're only two possible sources: the World and the Kingdom of God but it's clear that tribulation comes from the World. GOD IS NOT THE SOURCE OF OUR TRIBULATION.
2. Therefore, the PEACE comes from the Kingdom of God and it's available to Believers because Jesus overcame the World. He overcame the World by establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth and by abiding in Him we can overcome the World too and abide in His Kingdom safe from all the tribulations.
3. Because these things happened we're to face our tribulations with COURAGE which can only be done by FAITH.
4. Therefore, the overcoming of our tribulations is in the achieving of PEACE not in the removal of the tribulations.
So many Christians these days want to blame God for their problems but the truth is He had nothing to do with them. He didn't create the financial collapse, the World did. People made the system that collapsed and had tried to kick God out as much as possible. I challenge you to find a scripture in the New Testament that says God puts any tribulations on people. Some folks would answer that challenge by saying that God "allows" tribulations to come into our lives but I also challenge you to find a New Testament scripture that says that. What God DOES do is "allow" us to make our own decisions and choices; He doesn't make them for us. We make our own choices and we're subject to the consequences, good or bad. God wants us to be Spirit-led (Romans 8:14) and make good decisions and choices but He won't stop us from being Flesh-led and making bad ones. How about laying down all the religious tradition out there and just accept the New Testament the way it's written. The truth is that according to the Word, our tribulations have come out of the choices we've made, what we think about ourselves (Proverbs 23:7), the attacks of the Adversary and the words we've spoken over ourselves during our lifetimes. God doesn't "tribulate" anymore.
Now the Bible also says we should NOT love the World nor the things in the World (1 John 2:15). Believers are either going to walk toward the World or toward the Kingdom of God and in the latter place there's always PEACE and no tribulation. But the PEACE of God has to be experienced by FAITH and a lot of church folks aren't up to that yet because they haven't studied the Word very much and because consequently they're only able to actually experience what they can verify with their five physical senses. FAITH is supernatural, a gift from God by His GRACE (Ephesians 2:8).
"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5).
Another thing the Bible says in this very same context is that God will give us whatever we ask for so that our JOY may be made FULL (John 16:24). So how about asking God for insight on how to apprehend His promised PEACE and JOY in the presence of a given tribulation instead of on begging Him to remove it? He already wants to remove it but before He can, we have to give the problem to Christ instead of trying to solve it ourselves. Then we can get some additional GRACE (1 Peter 5:5-10) that will manifest His PEACE and JOY. As we focus on maintaining the presence of these two fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), He'll be able to get about the work of overcoming our tribulations.
The Role of Sacrificial Praise
Now getting the victory over our tribulations, the Adversary and the World WILL be closely connected to praising God. A lot of us are going through such hard times that we forget to praise Him; we lose sight of the tremendous beneficial power that comes from praising Him. What's that beneficial power all about? Well, the Bible says God resides, i.e. His PRESENCE is manifested, in the PRAISES of His people (Psalm 22:3). In the presence of God is the fullness of JOY (Psalm 16:11); that is, wherever God is manifested, there's FULLNESS OF JOY. This is important because the JOY of the Lord is our strength or DEFENSE (Nehemiah 8:10) and we can use it against our trials and tribulations. Friend, nothing and no one has the power to take away your JOY (John 16:22) if you want to keep it. You can have it by FAITH because you're a child of God and Jesus said you could have it. You can also give it away whenever you want to; it's your choice. But you can decide to keep your JOY and if you do and stand on your decision, nothing can separate you from it. In sum, JOY comes from praising God out loud and especially with THANKSGIVING. It's impossible to praise God without doing so out of THANKSGIVING sacrificially without regard for your tribulations and circumstances.
Our Flesh doesn't ever feel like praising God because it's mad at God or discouraged or depressed or defeated, and it's not capacitated to operate in FAITH. So when we praise God anyway because He deserves it and because we want to regenerate our strength, i.e. our DEFENSE, it can then be called a SACRIFICE of praise. When we bring the SACRIFICE of praise into the house of the Lord, great power is released. We praise Him by THANKING Him for all the good things we have in our lives instead of grumbling and complaining about the way fewer bad things. We don't feel like praising, but we choose to do it anyway because it's the right thing to do and because we refuse to allow our Flesh to dictate to us how we ought to live or how we're going to feel.
"Through Him (Jesus) then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15).
Friend, a lot of the time we won't feel like praising God but it's not just for the worship service on Sunday morning. Every time we start to feel a little down about some of the things we're going through, we can stop some place and start praising God and experience the return of the PEACE and the JOY and the rejuvenation of the victory over our tribulations that Christ won for us on the Cross of Calvary. He's working to get us through the tribulation if we let Him work through it instead of trying to solve everything ourselves. His job is to solve things; ours' is to praise Him in FAITH and allow Him to do the work. By FAITH the results will come, praise the Lord!
Thanks for coming by today and taking the time to read through this little newsletter. We hope it blessed you and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on October 1. God bless you and may your JOY abound as you praise the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
About Prosperous Life Newsletter
The publisher of Prosperous Life Newsletter is Make A Way Ministries located in Miami, Florida. The PLN e-letter is in its thirteenth year of publication and Make a Way Ministries just celebrated its 23rd birthday on September 7. The PLN e-letter goes out every third Friday to our e-mail list. Make A Way Ministries is a non-profit Christian ministry specializing in counseling families who're experiencing credit problems. You can call us toll free at 1-800-357-4223 or email us at cfc@creditcounseling.net. And be sure to visit our web site at www.creditcounseling.netwhere you can find a wealth of bible-based financial information most of it free of charge.
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, 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.
Donations
If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, would you consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7)? PLN is a non profit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Simply go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting to the following link. God bless you for your love and generosity.
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Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. God bless you.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx
