Posted by David A. Pierre, Senior Pastor Of Spirit-Filled International Church
CAN YOUR PRAISE OUTLAST YOUR MOST DIFFICULT MOMENTS?
Simply put, life as a result of sin is hard. Adversities, trials and tests come our way unexpectedly. Even without unexpected moments, life’s hard. When you add things like losing a job, a family member or news like the Haiti earthquake, life gets even harder. What do you do when life gets hard? Do you get in a funk and fall under the spirit of depression? The question is: can your praise outlast your most difficult moments?
In John 10:10, the Bible says “The thief (satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy....” So we understand who the initiator of our most difficult moments is. His intention is to kill, steal and destroy everything good in your life. His idea is to keep us in a depressive state.
The biblical name for depression is “Spirit of Heaviness”. Number one, realize that depression is a spirit. It is a dark shadow and burden which envelopes the soul and swallows happiness. Those under the attack of this spirit feel: depressed × low × weak × faint × confused × hopeless. Depression darkens our countenance: our hearts are down cast. It dims our vision, robs our hope, and as a result quenches our faith. It causes us to isolate ourselves. It definitely skews our perspective.
Most will at one point or another fall under its grip. As long as it is temporary, the danger can be minimized; but, there is GRAVE danger in remaining within its grip for a long time. Even a mighty man of God like Elijah had fallen under its control. I Kings 19:1-6 state: “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again". Elijah prayed that God would kill him because he was so depressed and had no hope or faith for a better tomorrow. At that point he had more faith in the words of Jezebel: she would kill him, than the power of God to protect him. So you can see that even the best of us can fall under the prey of the spirit of depression.
Yet the Bible, out of Isaiah 61:3, has given us the remedy for the spirit of heaviness: “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness...” PRAISE and WORSHIP is at the heart of overcoming this spirit. There is something about praising God that takes away depression. The spirit of heaviness seeks to destroy our praise and worship; that is why we must praise by faith, even when we don’t feel like it. We’ve got to command our mouths, hands and bodies to praise especially at times when we don’t feel like it.
On days when we let the difficult moment block our views of God’s greatness, on days when life’s trials make us not want to get out of the bed, we’ve got to physically “put on our garment of praise”. We also have to force ourselves to remember His goodness in the past and the assurance that He would do the same in the future. Our praise has got to outlast our most difficult moments.
Can your praise outlast your most difficult moments? Please post your questions and comments on this topic.
Verses are from the New King James Version
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
SALVATION
Posted by David A. Pierre, Senior Pastor Of Spirit-Filled International Church
WHY DO WE NEED SALVATION?
Understand this, when God created Adam, He created him in a perfect state. Adam was perfect and righteous. When Adam disobeyed God, he lost his perfection and righteousness; and as a result, he was separated from God for the first time and was in need on salvation.
I’ve heard many say, I understand why Adam needed salvation, but what did his disobedience have to do with me?
Adam was the first created man and as such was the perfect prototype of all mankind. In Adam the will of all humanity was revealed and manifested. When he made the choice to disobey God, all humanity made the same choice. When Adam sinned, every man sin. The biblical term for this is IMPUTATION, which is “to enter in the account of all the work of one”. Romans 5:12-13 says: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. God, the righteous Judge, imputed the sin of Adam to all knowing that standing in the same shoe as Adam every man would have made the same choice.
When God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree, He said:"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17. One of the primary byproducts of our disobedience was and still is eternal separation from God. Romans 3: 23 states: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “Falling short of the glory of God” happened with the fall of men. Furthermore, the first part of Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death...
Henceforth, we need salvation because we have disobeyed God and are separated from Him forever. SALVATION is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. The term is used to identify the redemptive changes taking place in a Christian, when by faith he’s received the benefit of the death and resurrection of Jesus-Christ. The term implies deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation, in short, means that a Christian is delivered from the power and penalty of sin.
What is salvation to you? Can you share your salvation? Please leave your comments, thoughts, or questions on this topic.
Verses are from the New King James Version
WHY DO WE NEED SALVATION?
Understand this, when God created Adam, He created him in a perfect state. Adam was perfect and righteous. When Adam disobeyed God, he lost his perfection and righteousness; and as a result, he was separated from God for the first time and was in need on salvation.
I’ve heard many say, I understand why Adam needed salvation, but what did his disobedience have to do with me?
Adam was the first created man and as such was the perfect prototype of all mankind. In Adam the will of all humanity was revealed and manifested. When he made the choice to disobey God, all humanity made the same choice. When Adam sinned, every man sin. The biblical term for this is IMPUTATION, which is “to enter in the account of all the work of one”. Romans 5:12-13 says: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. God, the righteous Judge, imputed the sin of Adam to all knowing that standing in the same shoe as Adam every man would have made the same choice.
When God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree, He said:"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17. One of the primary byproducts of our disobedience was and still is eternal separation from God. Romans 3: 23 states: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “Falling short of the glory of God” happened with the fall of men. Furthermore, the first part of Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death...
Henceforth, we need salvation because we have disobeyed God and are separated from Him forever. SALVATION is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. The term is used to identify the redemptive changes taking place in a Christian, when by faith he’s received the benefit of the death and resurrection of Jesus-Christ. The term implies deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation, in short, means that a Christian is delivered from the power and penalty of sin.
What is salvation to you? Can you share your salvation? Please leave your comments, thoughts, or questions on this topic.
Verses are from the New King James Version
Monday, January 4, 2010
REBUKE OR CORRECTION
Posted by David A. Pierre, Senior Pastor Of Spirit-Filled International Church
ARE YOU OPEN TO REBUKE OR CORRECTION?
Most people see rebuke or correction as a bad thing, hence the absence of corrective parenting in this society. Even in the Church, many Christians are adverse to correction. As soon as a Christian is rebuked in a church, he’s ready to leave that church. This should not be the case as rebuke or correction is an empowering tool.
The bible says that every Christian comes into the kingdom as a child, which means that he needs to acquire kingdom’s knowledge and understanding. Knowledge is not only imparted through instructions and intimacy, but also through rebuke and correction. God the father uses human authority to correct his children. Resisting correction is resisting God’s fatherly role in our lives. It’s saying that we have no father, we’re bastards. Hebrews 12:8 says: But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate (KJV uses Bastards for Illigitimate) and not sons. The Kingdom of God is only open to sons who are all partakers of chastening. Bastards will not make it.
Correction is the primary means by which God reveals both His character to us and our own character to ourselves. Like a human father corrects his wayward child in order to develop responsible character within the child, so does the Lord correct His children in order to form His character within them. See what Solomon says in Proverbs 29:15 "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother". Wow, the rod and rebuke give wisdom. Resisting correction is resisting knowledge. A Christian who is open to, and accepts correction will be empowered by it as it is the ultimate character building tool.
What are your thoughts on correction? Are you open to it? Do you get upset when you are rebuked? I invite you to share your thoughts and comments with me.
Verses are from the New King James Version
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