Power of Humility

Dearest Saints, 

          While we need to be humble to allow the power of God to work mightily through us, we also need to have that courageous and bold confidence in the Lord.  Being bold in the Lord in an arrogant way is seeking to have His power to benefit with yourself in mind.  Having that true spirit of being courageous and bold in the right way is delighting to see the power of His goodness work through you to represent Him favorably and to be a blessing to others.  When a person believes they are being selfish by being confident in the Lord and knowing how much He favors us, this is false humility which is a form of pride.  False humility is the same as pride because people are trusting in their own judgment and opinions rather than simply believing and receiving the truth of what He tells us to believe.  So when we fail to be bold in Him, we have that form of false humility which is having a proud spirit, because we believe otherwise when He tells us to be bold, courageous and to fear not.  It seems contradictory that God tells us to be humble, yet at the same time, to be bold.  We need to be bold by having that fearless and courageous confidence in the Lord simply because we highly trust Him alone to help us in every endeavour because He wants us to rely on Him for everything.  When we put our confidence in Him, we can trust Him personally to help us make every decision to lead us down the right path when we acknowledge Him (Prov 3:5,6).  We are righteous before Him when we have confidence of His divine protection, even when we may be threatened by life's challenges.  We are told to put no confidence in the flesh (ourselves or relying solely on other people, Governments, etc), so that we allow Him to be our Refuge, which He encourages us to do so.  When it comes down to it, we always have confidence in something, in someone or another.  When we have true confidence in Christ alone, that means we should never have any place by having confidence in anything or anyone else.  Just like the Bible talks about God and mammon.  You either love one or love the other.  You cannot love both, nor can you love neither.  The Bible tells us that we either love one or the other.  The same thing holds true, that we either put our confidence in flesh (ourselves, our jobs, our status, our material possessions, etc) or we put our confidence in God.  You cannot have confidence in both or neither (read Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). 

          Here is a test to determine this; when we are more afraid of losing our jobs, etc., we are actually putting our confidence in our workplace, employers or organizations to support us more than relying on the One whom we should look to as our Provider.  When we fret about being lonely and thinking we may never marry (for those who are single), we end up putting confidence in someone else to satisfy our needs rather than trusting God who is truly the only One who is able to satisfy our need, having that inner joy and peace that the world can never give.  When we fret about losing our identity when we think of work or no longer being a part of a social group, or losing our status, we tend to identify more about who we are by what we accomplish, what we do or what groups or organizations we belong to instead of simply knowing our true identity in Christ.  It all comes down to finding out if we are more fretful or worried about certain areas of our lives or having that rich inner peace by being confident in Him.  We need to continue to build our confidence in the One who loves us more than anyone or anything else could ever do (John 3:16). 

          We are justified when we have that bold confidence in Him, because He tells us that the Righteous are as bold as a lion (Prov 28:1).  Being righteous is being in right standing with God because we choose to believe what He tells us, regardless of what we think.  The works Jesus tells His Disciples is simply to believe in the One whom the Father has sent (John 6:29).  He also tells us in Heb 4:16 that we need to approach His Throne of Grace boldly (having confidence in Him) so we can receive His much needed Grace and Mercy which we desperately need at all times whether we realize it or not.  Having that bold confidence starts with knowing how much He loves you because of what He Himself willingly went through for you and me personally.  I like the song that reminds me if I should forget His love for me, just remember what He went through the Garden of Gethsemane and willingly went all the way to Calvary for me.  I find it important that we need to speak boldly that Jesus loves me because He went to the Cross and laid down His life for me!!  He loves me with an everlasting love.  He loves me like no other friend.  When we speak these words and other promises of His loving Word to ourselves, it is important to speak them audibly with confidence to yourself because I find that we believe more of what we say about ourselves than anyone else.  By our words, we are either justified and acquitted, or we are condemned and sentenced (Matt 12:37).  When we receive Him (who is that perfection of love) for us personally, we can walk boldly and confidently in Him because it is receiving that perfect love (that Only He has perfected) is able to cast out every fear (1 John 4:18).  For perfect love casts out all fears.  Walking in true humility (knowing our inabilities without the Lord) while having that bold confidence of knowing Him, knowing who we are as His Children, His inheritors and receiving the fullness of His love for us, we will be ever so strong in the Lord which He encourages us to be (Eph 6:10).  Walking in the power of His Spirit always lives under the rule of love for Him and for one another.  Just like operating in the gifts of the Spirit (prophesying, speaking in unknown tongues, gift of miracles, gift of discernment of spirits, etc (read 1 Cor 12:4-12) everything is to be under the rule of love.  As an example, I always say that love is not the exception to anything, but is always the RULE for everything.  Therefore, whatever we learn about the Word and how we can have more of Him in our lives, love is always the rule for everything in order for His power to work effectively through us. 

          When we walk in true humility, having the true characteristics of being strong in the Lord, having bold confidence in Christ and allow the rulership of His love to work through us, the power of God is able to do exceedingly beyond our expectations because we simply believe His promises that He truly does love me (insert your name).



Be blessed to browse my updated blog and both websites.  God bless.
In the Matchless Name of Jesus
Richard
Associate Director
Answers2Prayer
http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife  http://www.answers2prayer.org/

Power Through Humility

Dearest Saints
     I realize more and more that if we want the power of God to be evident in our lives, we need two essential ingredients. First, we need to be humble before God. It seems as though when we talk about humility, I believe alot of us get the wrong impression of humility as though it is a negative emotion to pursue, by thinking lowly about ourselves and just accepting every negative comment anyone may say of us. There is a big difference between humiliation and humility. Humiliation is receiving everything negative about our character, ability which brings about discouragement. Anytime we become discouraged by any form of humiliation is always from the enemy and has nothing to do with true humility that God talks about. On the other hand, true humility which God tells us to develop is having that grace and peace of being honest about our weakness before God while at the same time that allows His power to work supernaturally through us in ways beyond what we normally could ever do in our own strength. When a person is not truly humble before God, they are simply deceived. Because the Bible tells us that without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). And the Bible only speaks genuine truth to us. We just need to have the wisdom to be humble enough to receive it. When we come humbly to declare the truth about ourselves with a humble spirit, we open the door for His power to work mightily through us simply because we do not allow our own natural strength or natural ability to get in the way of His supernatural strength and ability that works effectively in our lives. True humility confesses this promise: that without God , we can do nothing. But like Paul himself says: That I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). Having this spirit of humility allows us to always appreciate God, knowing who He is, knowing how God richly loves us, is able to always help us in our time of need and care for us in ways we could never do in every detail of our lives. When we are humiliated (which only comes from the enemy), as a Child of God, we DO NOT have to accept any lies from any man or devil who speaks contrary to the Word of God. Humility does not accept any words spoken from lying lips, but with wisdom, a humble Christian accepts His instrucations and uses the authority He has given to each of us by rebuking the lies of the enemy who tries to bring us down with his lies. By confidently believing His Word is having humility before God because we believe the authority of His Word no matter what. True humility comes by only accepting and speaking the power of Gods encouraging Word over us and being submissive (being humble) to receive His loving Words and instructions for our lives. True humility the way God intended for us to have never be allowed to ever hang your head low, but holds our head high that allows to shine His light through us without allowing us to have any arrogance. True humility always considers His way regardless if it makes sense to us or not. We become proud when we think our way is better than Gods way because it may not make sense to us. That is why we are to become as a Child because a Child believes his father no matter what. A child does not have to always try to figure things out when his/her father says something. When we stop to consider how God orchestrates the universe, creates every living thing, sustains every life and all things are held together by the power of His Word, who are we to question God? That is why being proud and arrogant is becoming as a fool (if I may use that term). Another aspect of true humilty is to consider the advice of others and stop ever thinking our opinions are the only ones that matter. Humility values the advice of others. Just like when God tells us to forgive others, we need to do just that instead justifying ourselves, especially when we know is contrary to His Word. Humility is willingly accepting His instructions, even though our flesh would like to think otherwise. One of the greatest characteristics of humility is being thankful to Him in all ways, even in tough times. Also being thankful to others. True humility also regards others greater than us in a balanced way. I say that in a "balanced way" because I know I can have the habit of taking things to the extreme. Therefore, when we think more highly of others, true humility does not put ourselves down because of it. If we expect to have the confidence of Christ within us like He tells us to be, we need to demonstrate that by walking with confidence and having that positive attitude knowing that He loves and cares for me and He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Again, its always a matter of having balance. For differing weights are an abomination to Him, when we take everything to the extreme (Prov 16:11; Prov 20:10 and Prov 20:23). Being humble allows the power of God to work within us. When we are not honest before God about being humble and our total inability, we are simply deceived. Being humble in a balanced way allows us to invite His Spirit to enable us to do far greater works. The reason why there are many people who seem to have more of the power of God working in their lives than others is because they humbly confess their inability and invite His Spirit to enable them. Thats why Paul mentions that when he is weak (by admitting his inadequacies), he is then strong (which allows the power of God to do much greater work through us) 2 Cor 12:10. Being proud is a roadblock to allow the power of God to work on our behalf. It's also the same that when we confess our faults one to another, our land (lives) will be healed rather than trying to hide your weakness to pretend to be "holier than thou". However, I find it important when we share our faults one with another, that we share only with those whom we can trust and are mature in the Lord. Without having true humility before God, you can never expect the wonderful working power of Gods Spirit to work mightily through you. If you want the power of God to work through you, we need to simply be honest and make our confession known to God that we can do nothing without His help and invite Him to lead us and direct us in every area of our lives because He is far greater than any of us and He knows best about everything! People are never strong in the Lord because they themselves have a strong character, but because they express their need of Him that invites His Spirit to work mightily through them. Another key ingredient I find absolutely necessary along with humility is having that bold confidence in Him which I will continue on next. Be blessed to browse my updated blog and both websites. God bless. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/

Whom to Put Our Hope

Dearest Saints With so many pressures and cutbacks that the Government is creating, great pressures are being put on people everywhere. Those that are most affected by these pressures are those who put their trust in the wrong resources, whether it includes other people, workers, our career or Government, etc. This reminds me where God tells us that worldly sorrow brings forth death (2 Cor 7:10) because it negatively affects people more when we put our hopes in anyone or anything else other than God. When people put their hopes and trust in a commodity, organization, Government or resource other than God, sooner or later, every one of these resources and agencies are going to fail each of us. When they do, people become angry, discouraged and distraught because they put their hope and expectations in someone or something that is anything but stable. Also, when people put too much expectations on other people or organizations to provide their needs, they are the ones who tend to become more angry because their level of expectation is far greater when those whom they put their expectations on are not able to meet their high expectations. Just like the term that I once heard about "Cognitive Dissenence". This term is based on the level of how much a person expects and the actual outcome of that agenda. This may be related to couples in marriage or our careers or anything else one may put high hopes and expectations towards. The level of Cognitive Dissenence reflects the outcome of a persons attitude. When Cognitive dissenence is greater, people tend to become more upset because their level of expectations were much too high to the level of the actual outcome they encounter. People who put their trust in someone or somethings modestly will not become as intolerable as those who always demand higher results from others all the time. When a person accepts other people and realizes and accepts the faults of others, they have a calmness of understanding by being realistic when others are quick to point the fault of others. What we need to do is to put our hopes and expectations in the One who will never fail us, which is Christ Jesus and Him alone. I know there are alot of people who would question this, but I want to ask this: Who/what are you putting your hope and expectations in? Are we truly humbling ourselves before God, or our we blaming God or others from the events happening in our lives? If we are, we need to face ourselves in the mirror and point the finger at ourselves by always asking the question, what can I do to improve the situation? I realize more and more that there will never be a time or place in our lives when we think we know anyone enough to be able to judge them, because we never know the deep truths of why people act the way they do. That is why only God is able to be the Judge who always judges righteously. It has often happened in my past where I was critical of someone when I soon found out afterwards why people are the way they are, and when I realized I was judging them harshly, I felt sorrow for them instead and often felt bad for mis-judging them. It reminds me when we judge critically, we always mis-judge because we can never be in a place where we can rightfully judge, which is why God is displeased when we judge and we will be judged equally by the One who is the Righteous Judge. However, we are called to judge circumstances, not people because God does tell us that we are to judge all things (1 Cor 2:15). When we stop allowing ourselves to be offended and realize that our oppressors are the real victims and pray for them, it is a liberation of following the awesome wisdom of God who is the One who knows all things and what is the best medicine for our very soul. Following His awesome wisdom, loving instructions and having a high value for His Word will always inherit peace that surpasses all understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory. His Word will give you beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning a garment of praise instead of heaviness (Isa 61:3). We may not understand why things happen the way they do, but that's OK. When we are told to be like a Child, a Child doesn't always understand his/her father, but they always trust and believe their father cares and loves them and a Child always believes their father knows what is best for them regardless. By putting our hopes in the One who truly does love and care for us, in the end, will never disappoint without ever having any regret. Regret always comes later to those who choose to do things their way when it contravenes the loving wisdom of His instructions. Be blessed to browse my updated blog and both websites. God bless. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Associate Director Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/