Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!

 

In our last newsletter we began an examination of an important relationship between finding victory in HARD TIMES and living one's life by the commandments of Christ. As we continue tonight to explore this subject, one of the things to keep in mind is that Jesus didn't leave very many commandments behind. People were used to trying to obey more than six hundred of them under the Old Covenant; but one day Jesus reduced all that to just two basic commandments. And when He spoke them out He made it clear that they were COMMANDMENTS. We've summarized them here from Matthew 22:37-40 and Mark 12:28-31:  

 

1.  LOVE the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind (and strength).  

2.  LOVE your neighbor (your fellow man) as yourself. 

 

 

For this reason, the New Covenant is often referred to as the "Covenant of Love." Indeed, LOVE is the essence of Christianity. Because God LOVED us, He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) and He made His GRACE (undeserved favor) available to ALL people (Titus 2:11). By our LOVE for Him and for our fellow humans, we can abide with Him in His LOVE (John 15:10). In fact, the scripture says that we HAVE to abide with Him if we expect to "bear fruit," which is to say that "in order to be victorious in life" we must ABIDE with Christ. If we abide with Him in love, whatever we ask will be done for us. But apart from Him, i.e. when we DON'T keep His commandments, when aren't abiding with Him in LOVE, we'll accomplish NOTHING (John 15:4-7).

 

Friend it's impossible to experience victory during HARD TIMES or during any other times if we overlook, ignore or disobey the commandments of Christ. Everything works by LOVE. Even our FAITH won't function properly if it doesn't come out of LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:2). And, if our FAITH isn't working right, then we can't please God (Hebrews 11:6); and if we feel like we're not pleasing God then we'll live in FEAR which is the exact opposite of FAITH. The truth is it's not possible to live in FEAR and VICTORY at the same time. But by our LOVE the New Covenant produces the PEACE that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) even when we're dealing with trials and persecution and even in the midst of HARD TIMES. Is this not indeed the VICTORY we're all seeking?

 

We Routinely Disobey the Love Commandments

 

We need to consider though that most of us pretty much ignore the commandments of Jesus. We're so busy with all those "important" things we're doing in the world, so pressed down by the related pressures and distractions that we frequently don't give attention to the most important things of life that ought to come first. At the risk of being repetitive, let's look again from the previous Newsletter at some examples of normal conduct in most of our lives where we fail to manifest love:

 

Failure to spend time daily with the Lord and His Word

Grumbling and complaining

Selfishness

Compulsive competitiveness

Impatience

Gossiping and slander

Pride

Anger and strife

Resentment and bitterness

Revengefulness and unforgiveness

 

One of the reasons most of us fall so easily into these loveless acts is that we've tended to view the commandments of Christ as beyond our ability to accomplish. So, we've allowed our Flesh and the devil to convince us that we don't need to be overly concerned with requirements in the Word of God that seem "impossible" to keep. But friend, these commandments are QUITE possible to keep or Jesus wouldn't have given them. He would surely have called them something other than COMMANDMENTS because out of love He would never set us up to fail by leaving behind COMMANDMENTS we aren't able to keep.

 

As we mentioned last time, if any of these areas have been hindering your VICTORY, you don't have to continue in the same way. If you're a Believer, by the Holy Spirit and by FAITH God has given you power over your Flesh and you don't have to continue walking in defeat. Jesus ALREADY won the VICTORY for you at the Cross of Calvary over the exact HARD TIMES we're living through right now and He wants you to possess and enjoy it.

 

How to Fulfill the Love Commandments

 

To be sure, it doesn't say anywhere it's always easy to manifest LOVE. The Flesh always contends against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17) and fights to maintain its territory. You have to want to change enough to make the effort, to engage your enemies the devil and your Flesh in battle. But if you'll sow your attention and effort, it's guaranteed that the harvest of VICTORY will follow.

 

Here's a process you might consider to set things right and start on a new course for manifesting LOVE instead of selfishness out of your Flesh:

 

1.  Ask God for help - The first step is to admit you're unable to obey the commandments of Christ in your own strength. Repent (purpose to go in the opposite direction) and ask God to cause His Holy Spirit to help you. Then open yourself to receive His ministry and teaching.

 

2.  Spend time with the Lord and His Word - You'll never be able to enjoy victory over your HARD TIMES from a position of ignorance or disobedience of His Word. Accept that this is true and get busy studying and increasing your knowledge.

 

3.  Release your faith based on the promises in the Word - The Word of God says you can have what you ask for (Matthew 18:19, Mark 11:23-24, John 15:7, 1 John 3:22). Therefore, ask God for the ability to LOVE Him and to love your fellow man; and then believe from that moment forward that He's already granted what you've asked for.

 

4.  Confess your agreement with the Word - Those same scriptures tell us that we can have whatever we SAY without doubting. Therefore, confess with your mouth what the Word of God SAYS (that you have received what you asked for) and it will be granted to you. Say out loud that you LOVE God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and that you LOVE all people even the ones that have been mean to you. Pray for the people that have offended you and ask God to release His blessing and favor over their lives no matter what they've done. You only hurt yourself by holding on to unforgiveness and withholding your LOVE.

 

5.  Resist the devil when He comes to try to convince you that you can't do it - The enemy will surely come to put you off your program. How do you RESIST Satan? The same way Jesus did when He was in the wilderness: with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11). Give the devil a strong dose of the Word and He will leave you (James 4:7) the same way he left Jesus. Do you want to get the devil out of your life? Speak the Word of God to him until he leaves you alone!

 

6.  Rest in the belief that what you've requested is happening - Then rest in the assurance and confidence that this promise from His Word has been given to you. Don't worry about it; just believe and receive it. At first, you may not feel more loving but the truth is God will have already given you what you asked for. Wait in faith for the things you believe and say to manifest.

 

7.  Practice being a loving person - Don't miss a day telling God how much you love Him and how much you appreciate that your prayers are ALWAYS answered. Forgive someone. Stop arguing with your spouse. Be nice to telemarketers. Stop being impatient in traffic. Stop speaking badly about other people, ALL other people. Give love offerings to those in need. The more seriously you practice loving the more quickly love will flow in your life. And after a season, your loving should cease to be a special effort and become automatic, the dominant part of who you are.

 

8. Be quick to repent when you mess up - In the past you might have ignored the occasions when you weren't very loving. Now you'll want to take notice of those occasions when your corrupted Flesh has temporarily taken control and acknowledge that it represented conduct you desire to change. Repent means to take off going in the opposite direction from where you were. You don't have to ask God to forgive you for your sins; He doesn't take note of them because Jesus already paid for them and you're ALREADY forgiven. He's not the One you have to talk to about sin. It's you that has to acknowledge to yourself when you've disobeyed a commandment or committed an act that disagreed with the Word.

If you'll faithfully seek the Lord for the purpose of obeying His LOVE commandments, it's certain you'll find Him (Jeremiah 29:12-14). He'll bless you for trying; He'll reward you for your faithfulness with increasing victory even during HARD TIMES. Friend, the Bible says LOVE NEVER FAILS (1 Corinthians 13:8). Believe it, say it and expect the VICTORY to show up.

 

Some Final Thoughts

 

The Bible also says that God IS LOVE (1 John 4:8, 16). Understanding and embracing this will elevate your faith and help you trust Him. The Truth is those who live by LOVE abide in Him and He abides in them. In this manner LOVE is perfected in us and perfected LOVE casts out FEAR (1 John 4:16-18). Friend, the COMMANDMENTS of Christ are real and the one who can live without FEAR is the one who lives in victory during HARD TIMES. Let God perfect your LOVE walk and you WILL come into His victory no matter what the TIMES are. Jesus has ALREADY paid for our victory but we have to pursue it and we have to do what's necessary to make it work. God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and that includes you!

 

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on October 26. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), compelling you to PROSPER in every area of life!

 

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 acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven 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.

 

And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:

 

Romans 10:9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8

 

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. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx 

 

Donations

 

If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1 

 

About Prosperous Life Newsletter

 

PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries and has been published continuously since January 1998. It's an e-publication about life in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of MINISTRY MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you to the list.

 

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