Great Awakening Tour City #20 North Miami Beach, Florida

A guy got saved and then healed. The man with crutches said, “I feel like something good is going to happen to me today.” It was the first time in his lif ethat he had to walk without crutches.

Dear Rodney, Thank you for praying for the 3 prayer cloths Tuesday in FWB. Pete who has had several back surgeries and still is in severe pain and limited movement received one handkerchief. Jean received one she has a broken rod in her back and is recovering from severe shingles head scalp with dizziness. Jim her husband received the last he just had lung removed from lung cancer. The 19 he goes to get further tests. Thank you. Wednesday my brother Stewart who is an elder at his church asked me to pray for Steve and his Wife Tammy she tried to kill herself and is bi polar. Tammy will not let anyone come in and pray for her. I shared with him how you prayed over handkerchiefs and they were received by the 3. He had t-shirt with the business logo on them and agreed to have them prayed over for them and taken to Tammy and Steve,I read Acts 19:11-12 …and the diseases departed from them , and the evil spirits went out of them.

I gave him Radio Sermon 10 of John G. Lake where it lists several incidents of healing from cloths. I also shared of Jon Colyer (from England) praying over pajama’s and mailing to a little boy and he was completely healed he wore the pj’s. Thank you for praying over these. Thank you for coming to FWB. I know the ground was hard to plow and it was out of order sometimes. Father In the name of Jesus I ask you for Order for all the meetings Rodney has in the future I bind confusion and distractions and dishonor in the services and loose honor. Honor come forth in Rodneys life and ministry.Order come forth in Rodney’s life and ministry in Jesus name amen. I will share of the glory as it unfolds thank you. Be Blessed, Becky

Kathlene C
N/A Florida United States

We have explored the three basic truths every believer must accept in order to trust God. The one we tend to doubt the most is His love for us. Satan attacks our faith in the Father’s care often and in many situations. But we have three proofs to rely on when our certainty wavers.

         

Character love—The nature of God is love. (1 John 4:8) The Bible also says that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. (1 John 1:5) In other words, there is nothing sinful or imperfect in His character. If the Father is perfect and loving, He will never mistreat one of His children.

         

Calvarylove—Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for our sins provides irrefutable evidence of God’s love. The Father’s heart for His human children was revealed when He gave His Son to die in our place. Jesus’ salvation is available to all, but He would have made the same choice if there had been just one of us.

         

Covenant love—God is committed to making us heirs. (Hebrews 8:10) We know that when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior we become children of God. Our immaturity is the reason He is patient and kind to us. God sees us as we are—little ones learning to navigate in our short-term home on Earth.

         

As growing believers, we cannot trust God if we doubt His devotion. Thankfully, we possess these amazing proofs. It is the Father’s nature to love, which He demonstrated at the cross and continues to prove through His adoption of us as sons and daughters.

¹Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

²The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

⁴Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

⁵The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

⁶Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

⁷And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

⁸And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

¹⁰Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

¹²Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

¹³Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

¹⁴The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

¹⁵Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

¹⁶Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

¹⁷Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.

¹⁸The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

¹⁹For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

²⁰And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

²¹And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

²²So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

²³And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

²⁴And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

²⁵And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

²⁶And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

²⁷And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

I am blessed and happy, and fortunate, because I reverently fear and worship the Lord and because I find great delight in His commandments.

My children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth, riches, prosperity and welfare are in my house and my righteousness endures forever.

Light arises in the darkness for me, because I am upright, gracious, compassionate and just, and I am in right standing with my Father, God.

A good person deals graciously and lends.

Good is coming to me, because I am generous and I lend freely.

It is well with me because I guide and conduct my affairs with discretion and justice.

Surely I will never be shaken. Surely I will not be moved forever.

A righteous person will be remembered forever.

I will not be afraid of bad news or evil tidings.

My heart is steadfast – firmly fixed – trusting, leaning on and being confident in the Lord. My heart is secure, established and steady.

I will not be afraid – I will wait to see my desire established upon my adversaries – in the end I will look in triumph on my foes.

I have freely distributed gifts to the poor and needy, my righteousness endures forever and my horn will be exalted and lifted high in honor.

The wicked will see it and be grieved and angered; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; he will disappear in despair. The desire and longings of the wicked shall perish and come to nothing.

 

Psalms 112:1-10 Paraphrased from the AMP, NIV and NKJV

 

 

Romans 4:17 says that, “God gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did,” (NKJV) “God gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were,” (NIV) and “God gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.” (AMP)

 

God speaks into existence those things that He plans and desires. They do not exist until He speaks them into existence. People of faith have learned to do exactly what their Father God does. He created the universe – He knows how to get the best results. The Lord has made you many exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4), but they will only be yours when you do what He tells you to do.

 

You must live a godly life and practice what you believe. You must know what God’s Word says about what He has promised you and you must do what God does – you must speak out His promises. You must call those things that are not as though they were. You might be financially strapped – call yourself blessed in Jesus’ Name. You might be sick – call yourself healed in Jesus’ Name. You might be depressed – call yourself filled with joy in Jesus’ Name. You might be childless – call yourself a joyful mother of children in Jesus’ Name. Your relationships might be full of strife – speak God’s peace over them in Jesus’ Name. You might have suffered loss – speak restoration over your situation in Jesus’ Name.

 

Whatever it is that you need – don’t waste your time speaking about the problem – rather speak the answer. You might not feel blessed, healed, joyful, or peaceful, but you can become blessed, healed, joyful, and peaceful, as you speak life and blessing, from God’s Word, out over your life, family and situation.  

 

¹And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

²And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

³And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

⁴And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

⁵And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

⁶And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

⁷And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

⁸And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

⁹And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

¹⁰And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

¹¹And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

¹²One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

¹⁵And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

¹⁶And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

¹⁸By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

¹⁹For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

²⁰And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

²¹Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

¹And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

²And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

³And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

⁵And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

⁶And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

⁸And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

⁹And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

¹⁰And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

¹¹And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Rodney Howard Browne teaches on THE ANOINTING

When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”  10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.   Luke 7:1-10 NIV

Matthew 8:10-12 NIV says that, “When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The centurion’s great faith was a shock to Jesus! This centurion was a Gentile, a Roman officer, and not a son of Abraham! And yet even among the Israelites, the “sons of Abraham,” Jesus had not yet seen such great faith.

The centurion asked Jesus to come to his house to minister to his servant and Jesus consented, but while Jesus was still on His way, he sent word to Jesus that He did not have to come to the house itself, because he did not feel worthy to receive a personal visit from Him. He let Jesus know that all he expected Him to do was to speak a healing word over his servant, because he was convinced that that was all it would take for his servant to be healed. He fully expected his servant to be healed simply by one word from Jesus!  

As a military man, the centurion had an understanding of the power and the ability and also the limitations of a man in authority. He had experience being under authority and he had experience being in authority. He must have known what good could be achieved by godly authority. By his faith in Jesus and the authority of His word, this man showed greater respect toward Jesus than those of His own nation – Israel. He was not blinded by religion nor was he confident in his own worthiness before God, but he recognized the anointing upon Jesus and also His power and authority over sickness, disease, demons and anything else hell has to offer. This “heathen” man had no foundation of godliness in his life that we know of and he was not in covenant with God through heritage, yet he came to Jesus completely by faith and dependent on His grace and that is why he got what he asked for!

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”  58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.  Matthew 13:54-58 NIV

You cannot receive from an anointing that you do not respect. If you respect an anointing, then it is not hard to receive from that anointing. If you honor the anointing, you will be blessed by that anointing. If you judge and condemn that anointing, how can you receive anything from it? Many times respect has very little to do with the respectability of the person being judged and disrespected as it does with the prejudices of the person doing the judging. Receiving requires humility. Until you humble yourself before the Lord and believe that He is willing and able to help you, you will not receive the things you need from Him. As long as you judge and disrespect those whom God anoints, you will not be able to receive anything from their anointing or their ministry.   

The centurion had complete faith in the authority of Jesus over sickness and infirmity. In contrast, Jesus’ own home-town folks had no respect for Him whatsoever. In Nazareth He could do “no mighty works,” but because of the centurion’s respect for Jesus’ authority and for the authority of His word, his faith activated the power of the anointing on Jesus and his servant was immediately healed!    

26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. 27 And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.  Romans 8:26-27 AMP

When Jesus left earth to go and sit at the right hand of the Father, He did not leave us helpless, as orphans – He left the Holy Spirit behind to be our Comforter. He is our Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby. The Holy Spirit comes to our aid, bearing us up in our weakness – He makes up for the things we lack. The Spirit intercedes and pleads before God in behalf of the saints, according to and in harmony with God’s will. An intercessor is almost like an attorney. An attorney speaks to the judge on the person’s behalf. He knows the law and the right words to say even when the person has no idea of his rights or is unable or unwilling to make his own case. The Spirit is your attorney in the courts of heaven.

 

14 And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

1 John 5:14-15 AMP

If we pray according to God’s will He always hears us and He always answers, but without the Holy Spirit, we do not know what prayer to pray, or how to pray according to His will. The Holy Spirit prays through us a worthy prayer. He pleads on our behalf and makes supplication for us through our own mouth as we pray in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit in an invaluable ally of the believer – the devil is helpless to prevent the will of God in your life when you pray in the Spirit.

This is why he has tried so hard to make Christians either afraid or ashamed of the Holy Spirit. He has deceived them into thinking that being baptized in the Holy Ghost is something bad or wrong or not for today. But when you get the revelation of the power of God that lives in you by the Holy Spirit – you will be unstoppable and the devil will wake up feeling like he just got run over by a steamroller!  

28 We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren. 30 And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being].   Romans 8:28-30 AMP

As we work with God and He works with us, everything works together, fitting into a plan for good for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose. God has a wonderful plan for every one born on the earth. We can submit to His will and have His plan for our lives or we can rebel and have the devil’s plan for our lives. Father God gives us the choice. 

According to Hebrews 7:22-25, Jesus is our eternal High Priest, able also to save to the uttermost – completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity – those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.

As well as the Holy Spirit, we have another intercessor, Who sits at the right hand of God, always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for us – Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. He is the perfect High Priest, Whose office will exist forever – He will never die and never cease to intercede on our behalf. If we could realize how much we have going for us – Jesus and the Holy Spirit on our side – we would rise up and take our place as the son and daughter of God that we are, shake off the bondage of sin and stand boldly in the presence of God. It is time for us to realize what God has called us to and for us to work with Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do our personal part to see the will of God done in the earth.

Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.  Psalms 36:11 NKJV

In life, we are faced with two kinds of enemies – those from within and those from without. Pride comes from within and the wicked man comes from without. The way that this particular verse of scripture is rendered in certain other translations of the Bible, is to the effect that the foot of pride – or arrogance – belongs to another person coming from without. However, pride and arrogance will seek to claim your life whether coming from the inside or the outside – whether it is in your heart or your enemy’s heart. Most of the time – the outside influences are less potent against us than inside influences. Because God has promised to protect us from without – and He always does a good job – but we are responsible to guard our own heart and unfortunately we don’t always do such a good job.

And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”  Mark 7:20-23 NKJV

Pride is an evil thing that comes from the heart of man, defiling him.  It is as evil, in God’s eyes, as any other sin that man can commit. Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD.” Proverbs 6:16-17 says, that of the seven things that are an abomination to the LORD and that He hates, one of them is a proud look. Psalms 101:5 says, “The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.”  Proverbs 28:25-26 says, “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” 

When you trust in yourself you are proud and you are foolish. The Lord will not tolerate pride in your heart or in your look or in your actions. Pride is destructive. Pride will destroy your own life. Pride causes division between man and man – and man and God. Pride will separate you from the presence of God. The pride in your life will not allow God’s grace to reach you and without God’s grace, you are lost. If you wish to please God and preserve your soul, you must walk in humility.  

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.  Proverbs 16:17-19 NKJV

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.  Proverbs 8:13 NKJV

If you have any fear or respect for God – you will deal with any prideful attitude that you have. You will treat pride like the sin that it is and you will humble your own heart before the Lord. You must lose your life – lay down your pride and your selfishness – to honor the Lord in your life.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  1 Peter 5:5-9  NKJV

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  James 4:4-10 NKJV

The Living God

 

But about the resurrection of the dead-have you not read what God said to you, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.  Matthew 22:31-32 NIV

God is the God of the living – not the dead. But whom is He talking about? Who are the living and who are the dead? There are those whose bodies are dead, yet their spirits live on eternally. There are those whose bodies are alive and yet on the inside they are dead.

 

The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.  1 Timothy 5:5-6 NIV

If we are dead to God and alive to sin, then we are dead even while we live. If we put selfish, worldly lusts and desires above and before God, then we are dead on the inside – even though our bodies are alive on this earth. Death is a state of being where a person is cut off from God. However, if we are dead to sin and alive unto Him, then we live – both now and eternally.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  1 John 5:11-12 NIV

If we have the Son, we have life. We will live eternally – alive unto God – even after our bodies fail us and pass away. The Bible tells us that God will give us a new body one day – a glorified body – free from sin and death. We will eventually return to live in God’s presence on the earth – in the New Jerusalem! However, if we do not have the Son and our body dies – our spirits will continue to exist, but death will reign in us and will hold us captive in hell. At that point we will experience physical, spiritual and eternal death – we are cut off from God for eternity.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11:25-26 NIV

If we believe in Jesus, we will live even though our body dies. If we believe in Jesus we will never truly experience death. We will just pass from one life into another. The flame of our existence will never be extinguished.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  John 3:14-18 NIV

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”  John 3:36 NIV

Until you believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior, you live in a state of condemnation before God. You are alienated from the presence of God. If you die physically in that state – the Bible says that you go straight to hell. Some people think that God would not send people to hell because He is a God of love. Yes, He is a God of love – that is why He sent Jesus to die in our place. After that, it is our choice to make. We must choose Jesus if we want to live in peace and love and joy eternally. We must choose Jesus if we want to live at all.

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.  John 5:24-26 NIV

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  John 20:30-31 NIV

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  Romans 8:10 NIV