Archive for September 2011
The Power of Jesus’ Resurrection
“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…”
(Philippians 3:10)
Christianity can’t exist without resurrection. The main difference of Christianity and other religions is the reality of resurrection. All other religions have founders who were born, lived and died – only Christianity is worshiping Jesus who was not only born, who not only lived and died, but He rose again from the death.
A well known Easter song says: ” Christ is resurrected from dead, stepping with death over death and giving life to those laying in the tombs”. The apostle Paul says that there is no faith and hope without resurrection.
Our tendency is to put more accent on Christmas, because of the commercial aspect, but you can’t be a Christian without believing and without experiencing the resurrection.
The purpose of Paul was to know Jesus and to personally experience the power of Jesus resurrection.
The power of resurrection brings victory over sin. Is not only about forgiveness of the sins, but it’s about being victorious over the root of the sins, the sin itself. The resurrection is giving us power to be like Jesus, sinless and accepted by God.
Without the existence of the resurrection there is not salvation, because Jesus would have been only a good teacher, a kind man who died unjustly…and this is the end of the story.
Resurrection is showing us that Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted and the New Covenant is now valid.
The power of resurrection brings victory over death. The fear of death is the worst enemy of our happiness. We live our lives under this dark cloud – death and our lives are affected dramatically by the fear of death. But since we know that Jesus was there and is victorious, we are no longer afraid to die with Him, because we know that we will be resurrected with Him.
The power of resurrection is the power to live. “And the life is worth to live, because He lives.” Many people don’t find a good reason to live, but the apostle Paul says he knows and pursue only one purpose and this is enough for him: TO KNOW JESUS.
Knowing Jesus is not the boring Sunday service, is not the boring and long sermon, but is a living relationship, a wonderful daily experience of His character, of His providence and of His love.
Why do you live? Is your life full of power and joy ? If not reconsider your position toward RESURRECTION and start living it’s experience in your life.
The Power of the Name of Jesus – Part 1
All the power and authority of Jesus is in his name. When you ask something to be done in the name of Jesus he will do it. That word ask does not mean prayer it means command. Like when Paul commanded the devil to come out of the women in the name of Jesus.and he came out. Someone may say I’m not Jesus I can’t do that and you would be right it’s not you doing it but Jesus is doing the work through you. And since Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever you can expect the same things to be done when you command things to be done in the name of Jesus that he did.
Notice the power and authority of the name of Jesus that sickness has to go at his name (Acts 3:1-8). But you have to have faith in the name of Jesus. Both the one that speaks it and the one that it is spoken for. Signs and wonders are done by the name of Jesus. And at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. You stand in for Jesus so when you command devils they obey you just as if you were Jesus.
You have authority over all the works of the devil through the name of Jesus. Devils are subject to you through the name of Jesus. At the call of the name of Jesus evil spirits flee. That includes the spirit of fear. Fear is a spirit. And at the name of Jesus that spirit bows (submits). So take the name of Jesus and put the devil on the run. You should be commanding the works of the devil to cease. Understand your authority over the devil and use it. The devil obeys your commands in the name of Jesus.
Reference Scriptures:
John 14:13,14
Acts 16:16-18
Hebrews 13:8
Matthew 17:20
Acts 3:16
Acts 4:29,30
Philipians 2:9,10
Luke 10:17,19
2Timothy 1:7
The Power of the Tongue
There is an old proverb with a lot of wisdom. It says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and whoever loves it will eat its fruit.”
It is so true. What we say has the ability to create situations, emotions, and thoughts in others. A kind word helps people, negative words hurt – sometimes for a very long time.
Most of the time we think of this concept in relation to how we treat others and that is good. In fact, I wrote an article in the last month or so called “The Power of Praising People.” If you missed it, you can get it at the website.
But here I want to talk about this concept in relation to ourselves. How does what we say affect us? Tremendously. There is a simple principle here. Only say things that will create in you positive emotions, thoughts, feelings, and ultimately, actions.
Let me give you a good example. We do not allow the words “I can’t” in our house. Why? Because we CAN! The very minimum is “I’ll try.” We ask our kids to say “I’ll try.” If we allow our kids, or ourselves, to fall into the trap of saying “I can’t,” guess what? We won’t! And that’s not good, is it?
Do you tell yourself negative thoughts during the day? Most of us can fall into that temptation, can’t we? I was working the other day and I was brewing over something bad that had happened and I was just getting bent out of shape. So I stopped, realized I had the power to choose what I was saying to myself and began to think about and tell myself good things. And my day changed for the better.
Have you ever been in your backswing on the golf course and said to yourself, “I am going to shank this one.” What happens? You shank it. This actually happens to me. So what do I do? I stop my backswing, reset myself, and tell myself I am going to hit it straight down the fairway. What happens? About half the time I hit it straight, the other half, I shank it, but increasing your ability is a future article! At the very least I increase my chances of performing better. Bad thoughts almost guarantee my failure, while good thoughts increase my chances for success dramatically.
A salesman may see someone walk through his door and say to himself, “I’m not going to be able to make this sale.” I can’t. I won’t.
Some of us aren’t even aware that we talk negatively to ourselves. Take some time today to think about what you say to yourself. Maybe ask a close friend if you have this habit. If you find yourself doing this, it is time to change!
Now, don’t get me wrong. Self-talk is not a substitute for effort and ability, but it is a strong helping factor. Find some simple phrases that will help you get through the day with more success. Whatever your situation or work is, I am sure there are specific things you can say that will build you up and stick you on the road to success!
The words that you use and the conversations you have with yourself create things in you. They can create positive things or negative things. It is our choice. The tongue has the power of life and death. This is why it is so important to be diligent in using the power of the tongue to create a positive force in our lives.
Remember, your tongue has power. Use it!