God will rejoice over His people with joyful songs

Today’s Bible reading is from Deuteronomy 29-30. What is the relevance for today’s Christians? I asked the Lord. Here are some of what I received based on what Jesus had done.

EYE WITNESS: Here is an account of a multitude of eye witnesses of God’s mighty awesome deeds: signs and wonders. A whole nation of Israel. No one disputed the facts. Jesus (and later, His disciples) too, did lots and lots of miracles, signs and wonders in front of many eye witnesses -the multitudes. In fact, the whole nation of Israel knew and many saw. Some foreigners heard and came to Jesus to see for themselves and seek help too. (John 20:30-31; Acts 4:30-33)

MIRACLES that display GOD’S POWER superseding all natural elements and physical laws: Aside from the spectacular signs and wonders God did in Egypt, God continued to display his POWER superseding the natural elements for two million people in the harsh conditions of the wilderness for forty years, not just one day or several occasions. Forty years of daily miracles: food from heaven, water from rock, clothes and sandals lasted forty years. Jesus had displayed the same POWER: He multiplied a few fishes and loaves of bread into colossal amount of food and fed five thousands and four thousand men plus women and children respectively in two separate records. Jesus walked on water, commanded raging waves and wind to cease, cast out countless demons, healed the sick and made whole the body of many handicapped people, even resurrected the dead. (All the Gospels and Acts)

The WORDS of God can be kept by a whole nation and followed in action. Otherwise Moses would have been telling lies and deceptions. God promised that when they did as God had spoken through Moses, they would prosper and live long. Jesus also said that He came to bring abundant life. He gave His words and the Holy Spirit to His believers. And the authority to use His name. He required the same allegiance to love God only and obey His commandments. (John 10:10; the whole chapter of John 14, 15, 16)

The WORDS of God are binding, good for His people, and just as effective for the future generations. The worlds were framed by the word of God, Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away. (John 1:1-4; Luke 21:33; 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-3, 4:12, 11:3; Revelation 19:11-16)

There are serious CONSEQUENCES for breaking this covenant. Both the persons/nation and their land will be left desolate. They will be uprooted from their homeland and cast into a foreign land. Jesus has warned of the desolation. (Luke 21; Matthew 23, 24)

When they REMEMBER and TURN BACK to the Lord and His words, they will be accepted back into the covenant, delivered from bondage and return to their promised homeland, to multiply and prosper. God sent Jesus to establish a new covenant in His blood. Under the new covenant, God has given us the Holy Spirit, blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, and the privileged status as sons of God. In Christ we have obtained an inheritance. (Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1; Romans 8:15-17; 1 John 1:9)

The Lord will TRANSFORM His people’s HEART TO LOVE GOD only. Jesus said we are to love God with our total being. The mighty power of God works in us who believe in Jesus. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. He will enable us to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We are not to copy the custom and behavior of the world but let God transform us by changing the way we think. (Ephesians 1-3; Romans 8:1,14, 37; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

LOVING GOD IS THE WILL OF GOD and ONLY WAY to ensure their continuous survival. There is no option as those who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ is accursed. Christians are specifically urged not to love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of God is not in him. He who does the will of God abides forever. (Mark 12:30; 1 Corinthians 16:22; 1 John 2:15-17)

ENEMIES will continue to hate and persecute God’s people. But they will suffer the terrible consequences for their evil for hating the children of God (followers of Jesus), thereby hating Jesus and hating God. (Luke 21:12-19; John 15:18-23; 16:33; 17:14; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8)

GOD WILL REJOICE OVER HIS PEOPLE. He likes to prosper them. (Zeph. 3:17)

BIBLE VERSES: Deuteronomy 29-30 (quoted in parts)

29:1 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel… “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders…5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God…9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do…14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today…18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 20 “The Lord would not spare him…23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, 28 the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

30:1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you… 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

7 “Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

John 14:23 (NKJV)

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Today is the day of decision: effortless change

Today is the day of decision. Change. A humble spirit to submit to God and resist the devil. Here are resources which can help every individual (Christian or non-Christian) to walk the victorious way. These entirely Bible-based teachings are short, thirty minutes each. Many have been blessed through these nuggets. Please watch.

Quoted from Andrew Wommack's Effortless Change:
"Kneeling beside my bed one day in 1968, I began to pray, “Lord, what do I have to do to get from where I am to where You want me to be?” I opened my eyes, and as I saw my Bible laying on the bed in front of me, I heard the Lord say, “Just put My Word in your heart, and it will do the rest.”
"Although the Lord spoke that to me in prayer, it was important for me to see it in the Word. He revealed and confirmed it to me through a parable in Mark 4:26-29. It says,
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; [27] And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. [28] For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. [29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
"In this parable, Jesus compared the Word of God to a seed (Mark 4:14). Today, since so few of us are farmers, it might take a little explanation for us to fully grasp these truths.
"First, He taught that God’s Word has to be planted like a seed in our hearts. Just as a seed doesn’t release its life until it is planted into the ground, God’s Word will not set us free until we get it in our hearts. Having the Bible on our tables, in our hands, or in our heads is not sufficient; we have to let God’s Word penetrate our hearts...." (Continue reading at http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/effortless_change)

2014 TV Broadcasts

http://www.awmi.net/tv/2014

Week 1a	Dec	30:		The War Is Over
Week 1b	Jan	3:		Effortless Change
Week 2	Jan	6:		Effortless Change
Week 3	Jan	13:		Effortless Change
Week 4	Jan	20:		Effortless Change
Week 5	Jan	27:		Effortless Change
Week 6	Feb	3:		How To Become A Water Walker
Week 7	Feb	10:		CBC Changed Lives
Week 8	Feb	17:		God Wants You Well
Week 9	Feb	24:		God Wants You Well
Week 10	Mar	3:		God Wants You Well
Week 11	Mar	10:		God Wants You Well
Week 12	Mar	17:		God Wants You Well
Week 13	Mar	24:		God Wants You Well
Week 14	Mar	31:		God Wants You Well
Week 15	Apr	7:		Lessons From David
Week 16	Apr	14:		Lessons From David
Week 17	Apr	21:		Lessons From David
Week 18	Apr	28:		Lessons From David
Week 19	May	5:		You've Already Got It!
Week 20	May	12:		You've Already Got It!
Week 21	May	19:		You've Already Got It!
Week 22	May	26:		You've Already Got It!
Week 23	Jun	2:		You've Already Got It!
Week 24	Jun	9:		You've Already Got It!
Week 25	Jun	16:		Discipleship Evangelism
Week 26	Jun	23:		Discipleship Evangelism
Week 27	Jun	30:		Discipleship Evangelism

5 am lesson: Key to walking in courage and power

Jesus the Son of God had demonstrated to His disciples (and all believers who want to be His disciples) how to walk in the mighty power of God. Jesus told us plainly that no one had seen God except Him. When one sees Jesus one sees God. So His mission on earth was to show us how God is like. God is Almighty. He walks in supreme power. Jesus also walked in supreme majesty and power. Power came out of Him when patients touched Him (His clothes) by faith and they became healed immediately. Demons submitted themselves to Jesus voluntarily.

Jesus told His disciples that all who believe will do the same things that He did and even greater things. To Jesus being like Him (in word and deed) is a natural thing. Those born of God's Spirit are spirit and have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness. All that God has given to Jesus He has given to those who believe in Jesus. Like Father like Son (and sons). So why are we not seeing this supernatural and transformational change in many of us? The distinct manifestation of the Son of God in us?

Today's message for the 5am class is: the key to living and walking in His power. The key is in Jesus. Thus we are on the right track when we continue to read the word of God revealing Jesus to us.

Jesus has revealed two of His secrets to success:

Success Key one: Walking in the Light.

He announced that He was the true Light that gives light to every man in the world. (John 1:9) He commanded His disciples to take heed that the light which is in them is not darkness. (Luke 11:33-36) He warned them of the dark forces behind the hypocrites -namely Pharisees, scribes and lawyers (symbol of religiosity in appearances and not in truth and motives; in flesh and not in spirit) of that generation which He called evil and perverse. (Luke 11:37-54; Matt.15:1-20; 16:1-6)

What is the spirit behind the hypocrites? The spirit of the world. They were blinded and dull and hardened with worldly philosophy (which runs on natural laws). They just could not see or understand the supernatural laws that Jesus had demonstrated in reality. God is supernatural. No man can possibly understand the matters of God without Jesus. But their jealousies and covetousness (which is idolatry) had hardened them further, even to the point they were willing to perish forever.

Jesus summed up their depraved condition: “Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. But everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)

Jesus Himself was undeterred by such dark hatred and opposition. He continued to walk and operate in the Light of God. He manifested God's Light.

“But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in Go.” (John 3:21) Only those who do the truth can come in the Light of God and the deeds are done in God! Nothing can be more powerful than deeds done in God! This is the success key of Jesus -doing everything in God's Light, that is, in God. God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

What does this mean to those who want to have this success key? The answer is in 1 John 1:6-10. (Read the whole passage and meditate and pray)

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Success Key two: Walking in understanding of the matters of God.

One thing that Jesus repeatedly told off His disciples was their not understanding what He told them about the matters of God, that is, the Kingdom of God.

He demonstrated how the Son of God has the power over natural matters: walking on water, calming the wind and sea, multiplying (without limit) food stuff out of the unseen resources in heaven, making demons (evil spirits) tremble and submit to Him, commanding (by mere words) physical things to happen (healing, deliverance, giving life back to the dead etc.). Power was evident in Him. Even King Harod admitted. Sick people touched the hem of His garment and were made well.

Why did the disciples not use this power when they were alone? They just could not understand the supernatural matters, the matters of God's Kingdom then. The key word is 'understanding'.

That is why Jesus spent a lot of time teaching them and all who followed Him at that time about the Kingdom of God and how it operates. Jesus was very clear about the way it functions. He is from above and He has seen how it operates in the supernatural realm. He knows it is real.

When Jesus sent out his disciples two by two to preach the Gospel, calling for repentance, healing the sick, casting out demons, saying the Kingdom of God was near, He gave them the power of God through His word. He instructed them by word and His word came to pass. They merely obeyed and witnessed that indeed what Jesus had spoken came true.

After Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples continued to obey and waited for the power from above, the Holy Spirit. Indeed the power came as told. After they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit their spiritual eyes were opened and they had spiritual understanding of the whole Kingdom of God message. They were transformed from a bunch of fearful humans to overcomers (as in Revelation 12:11).

Today, how do believers receive such supernatural understanding of the kingdom of God?

GUIDE ONE: ASK! (Luke 11:9-13)

11:9 Ask, seek, knock

11:13 how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

GUIDE TWO: PRAY! (Ephesians 1:17-23)

17 pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God

18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened

19 know the greatness of His power toward those who believe

20-23 know the power in Christ. He is our head. We are His body! We can be filled with His fullness！