Published by admin on 30 Apr 2010 at 03:02 pm
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE WORD OF GOD
Everyone wants to get the most value they can out of whatever they have, and that’s just wisdom. After all, you wouldn’t buy a new computer and put it on your desk to only serve as a paperweight, would you? No, you’d plug it in and put it to work doing the tasks it was created to perform. But yet we have the mightiest tool in the universe available to help us, God’s Word, and we don’t use it to do what it was created to do. Why is that?
Day after day I get calls and letters from people needing prayer or advice, and that’s fine, because that’s what I’m here for. But it only takes a few minutes of listening to observe that most of the problems are the results of them failing to use what they already have access to. Someone asks for prayer to be healed, for example. Of course, I always ask, Is Christ Jesus your Lord and Savior? Why? Well, first off, I want them to have the most important of all of God’s blessings, and that is salvation. Secondly, I want to know if they are aware of the benefits the Lord is offering them. Now, the Lord Jesus NEVER asked anyone if they had repented of their sins as a condition for healing, or if they had paid their tithes, or forgiven those who had sinned against them. But that’s another teaching. However, I ask because it’s impossible to use something you don’t know you have. It’s written in Psalm 103:2-3, Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. We all love benefits, don’t we? But you’d be amazed at how many people are “wasting their benefits”.
Many say they know healing belongs to them, but….. I say, “But what?” But the doctor says I have “___________” (you fill in the blank). Here’s where it the rubber meets the road. Imagine you’ve just bought a brand new car. You drive it home, and in a couple days something goes wrong with it. What are you going to do? Well, if you have a brain in your head you will call the dealer and say My new car has a problem. The dealer will say, No problem, you have a warranty, right? We will fix it for you. Wasn’t that easy? Now, let’s say you are “born again” or “saved” as some call it. Your body has a problem, are you going to run to the doctor? That’s what the rest of the world does, who do not have access to the “benefits”. But me? I’m going to use my warranty, folks. The Lord Jesus paid a terribly high price for my benefits, and I’m not about to waste what He bought for me with His own blood, sweat, and tears.
It is my sincere desire that all of God’s children study the Bible and learn their benefits, and use them, but you know not many will, and therefore the devil will be able to deceive them greatly. When afflictions come, and they will come, we find who knows what belongs to them, and who doesn’t. It is written in Psalms 34:19, Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. You see, most people focus only on the first part. Oh yes, we have many afflictions, but if we always have one more delivery from afflictions than we have afflictions, guess what? We win! God never promised us a life without afflictions, or as the popular saying goes, we are not promised roses without thorns.
Life is not always easy or fair, but the Lord didn’t promise us easy, or fair. However, He promised He would never leave or forsake us. And if God be with us, who can prevail against us? If you go through life with that truth firmly imbedded in your spirit, you can overcome absolutely anything.
If you had a lifetime warranty on your car, wouldn’t you rest easier? Sure you would. Although I don’t have a lifetime warranty on my car, I do have one on my body, in that the Lord Jesus bore all my diseases. I know it’s true because the Bible says so, and I’ve been living sickness and disease free ever since I was saved. The problem is, most people want to see it before they believe it. For those, I say, OK, you want to see your warranty spelled out in black and white? Read Psalms 103:2-3, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24 and you can see it right there. Now, believe it, settle it in your heart forever, right here, right now, and never look back. Of course, you know what will happen next, the devil will test you to make sure you got your “benefits” down. And if you don’t, well, you’ll be running to the medicine cabinet instead of to the Word of God. There is a verse in scripture that is near and dear to me, and that is Jude 3, which says, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Don’t think for a minute that I have not had to “contend for the faith”. Indeed, the contending for the faith has made me even more confident in God’s Word. Yes, the devil has made whisperings and downright threats to me, but I’m confident in my “benefits”, and as a result, have never seen God fail to keep His word, keeping me safe and healthy.
You always have the “naysayers”, unfortunately they are mostly well-meaning Christians, saying “BUT WHAT IF?” To that I say, My God is bigger than WHAT IF. I don’t deal with “what if” anymore, and if you’re smart, you won’t either. God and I settled that long ago, and He’s not about to break His Word for me, or anyone else. And when the “other” trials have come, you know, the money kind or whatever, the unshakeable confidence I have in His promises has brought us through in victory every single time. If there’s ever a problem, it won’t be on God’s end, it will be on mine, so I have to be diligent to keep up my end. I believe in the “hereafter”, and I’m here after all the benefits God will give me. Knowing I can’t use what I don’t know about, I spend plenty of “face time” in God’s Word and suggest you do likewise.
Between people and the devil, you will have lots of opportunity to doubt God’s promises, but let me save you some heartache: don’t go there, for the promises are only good for those who believe. There is an account in Mark 9:23 of a man who brought his devil-possessed son to Jesus to be healed. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Well, he believed, and he received what he was seeking. If all things are possible to him that believes, then all things are NOT possible to them who believe not, that just stands to reason. If you want to get the most out of the Word of God, then you must not only know the benefits that are available to you, but you must also believe and act on His Word. Those are powerful allies that will enable you to live long and strong upon the earth, overcoming every obstacle the devil puts before you. The road of life is paved with potholes, which the devil so generously shovels out of the back of his dump truck. But they need not ruin your journey. And hey, if you do happen to hit a pothole, well, you have a warranty. Use it!
John Foster on 30 Apr 2010 at 6:39 pm #
I totally agree Brother Jerry! Well stated.
Darryl on 12 May 2010 at 8:57 pm #
Hi, I am in the midst of standing on the scriptures for my healing. I have no doubt that it is Gods will for me. He cannot lie. My biggest issue, because it is a serious subject and I want to get it right, is am I doing enough? Do I believe enough? I need to be fully convinced that when satan tries to convince me otherwise, that I am not doubting or wavering. How do we get to that fully convinced level?