Topic — Faith Of Our Fathers: Face Life And Win! [Saturday, December 16, 2017]

As I write this piece today, an old hymn/revival song just began to flood my inner soul, like fresh honey from honeycomb. Please meditate on this with me:

Faith of our fathers living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword,
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy,
Whenever we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers! Holy faith!
We will be true with you till death.

I believe you can say an ‘Amen’ to the above. Amen! Hebrew 11:2 describes those that have served this awesome God of Israel before us as elders. Hebrew 11:38 declares that the world was not worthy of them. Then Hebrew 11:36 screams that they had trials of cruel mocking and scourging. Vs. 35 talks about past elders that were tortured. Vs. 34 talks about past elders who quenched the violence of fire, out of meekness they were made strong, waxed valiant in fight (did not run away) and turned to flight the army of the aliens (enemy).

Beloved, there is nowhere in today’s scripture where you read of our past elders of faith celebrating defeat or running from the battles of life. This is God’s message for you today. Strongly desire to like them as this year ends and 2018 begins. It was a faith of fire and sword. It still a faith of violence and the violence take it by force. Don’t run from it. Face life and drop crying! In spite of pain, your fathers of faith did not surrender! They made it and you too will. Will you not someday see them face to face in heaven? Oh! No matter your present pain, keep trusting.

Are they not stars today? You are a star too and will be celebrated if you don’t give up. Refuse to quit! It is demonic. Stand, fight and win. There is someone not yet born who will read of your faith and be encouraged. Stand, stand and be strong! Never, never forget that, there is no gain without pain. Be strong! Be bold! Never quit!

Prayer Points: Take your best worship song now.

1. In your own words, pray about today’s word as led.

2. Lord, turn my heart, my soul and my entire life to the holy, hot and powerful faith of old (Pry it well).

3. I refuse to run from the battles of life in Jesus name.

4. By the grace of God, I will sing the song of victory in Jesus name.

5. Pray about the remaining days of this year. Cancel regret NOW! Pry about today seriously as led.

By Bishop (Dr) Chris E. Kwakpovwe (Cek)
Publisher/Writer Of ODM And

Rev (Mrs) Flora E. Kwakpovwe (Fek)
Co-Publisher/Writer Of ODM.

Topic: The Father’s Plan [Saturday December 16, 2017]

Luke 24:21 “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.”

When the right time came, God sent forth His Son from Heaven in His pre-existent state, into the world. He was born of a woman (virgin birth) and was made subject to the requirements of the law. Jesus was sent at a specific time. The entrance of Jesus into the physical realm was not a random thing occurring at a haphazard time. There were developments that had to take place before Christ could come to earth and redeem man. The Father sent His Son to the earth at the earliest possible time. Anytime prior to the time Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, would have been premature.

His purpose for coming into the world was twofold. First, He came to “redeem them that were under the law.” He did this by perfectly keeping the law, fulfilling it, and paying its curse (Mt. 5:17; Gal. 3:13). Thus, Christ delivered us from the entire system of the law. The Greek word for redeem means “to buy OUT OF the slave market.”

Secondly, Christ gave us the status of sonship with all its privileges. Not only were we redeemed from the bondage of the law, but we were redeemed unto sonship. Many people stop short, only realizing what they were delivered from, not what they inherit. Sure, we need to rejoice that we are redeemed, but we also need to move on, and realize the full benefits of our inheritance.

God created us for Himself but we sold ourselves into slavery to the devil. God bought us back through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. No amount of effort, human works, or man’s own righteousness could bring the divine favor that we needed. It was the actual life of God (Lev. 17:11) that purchased our redemption.

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).

Topic: Why the Righteous Suffer [Saturday December 16, 2017]

God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings . . . — 2 Corinthians 1:7 (TLB)

This question, “Why must the righteous suffer?” is as old as time. There is only one place that we can find an answer, and that is in the Bible. You do not need to study the Scriptures long to learn why sinners meet reverses and anguish. They are apart from God. Their sorrow is the result of their sins. But why do Christians suffer?

Scripture teaches that many Christians suffer so that they may fellowship with others who are in affliction. Only those who have known sorrow and suffering can have fellowship with those in affliction. The Word of God also teaches that Christians suffer in order that they might glorify God in their lives. The Bible further teaches that Christians suffer in order that God might teach them lessons in prayer. Also, Christians suffer in order that God might bring them to repentance.

Prayer for the day: How tender is Your comfort, Lord. How loving Your chastening.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.

Topic: Run Him Out of Town [Saturday December 16, 2017]

Stand therefore…having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. – Ephesians 6:14-15, The Amplified Bible

Preparation. When it comes to fighting spiritual battles, that’s a word you’d do well to remember. Most believers don’t pay much attention to it. They don’t prepare themselves in advance. They fiddle around until the devil makes his move, then they jump up and try to fight him with the Word… and they usually lose.

I used to do the same thing until the Lord taught me differently. I used to wait until my meetings began to pray for their success. As Satan would come against them from one direction, I’d fight him there. Then he’d move around and attack them in another area, and I’d fight him there.

One day the Lord showed me that by waiting until the last minute to take my stand, I was giving Satan time to build up his forces against me. And consequently, I was losing many of my battles. Then the Lord said something to me I’ll never forget. He said, If they had kicked Al Capone out of Chicago when he was just a small-time operator, he wouldn’t have been so hard to handle; but they waited until he became a first-class criminal with his forces built up around him. Then it took an army to bring him down.

When I heard that, I made up my mind never to be caught unprepared again. I started praying about those meetings weeks in advance, getting the stage set spiritually before they ever began. Instead of letting Satan get his forces entrenched, I started throwing him out before he got a single foothold. When I did, I saw more victories than I ever had before.

Don’t let the devil catch you off guard. Be prepared! Start praying and speaking the Word of faith now over your family, your business, your church. Get your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Then if Satan causes trouble, you’ll be well-equipped to run him out of town.

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 17:12-51

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.