God Is My Rock, Part 1

Psalm 92:15.

…He is my Rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

That word Rock in this passage means figuratively, refuge.  It means Mighty God or Mighty One.

God is our refuge, a God of Might and Power.  We can depend on Him to keep us in His Righteousness and Power.  We must look to Him to keep us in these unpredictable and disturbing times.  He alone is our steadfast, immovable Source.  We must have confidence in Him and His care for us as His children.

God alone is our Rock.

For our study on God our Rock, let’s define Rock as it appears in the Old Testament and New Testament and in the dictionary.

In the Old Testament there are two words for God our Rock.  One Hebrew word means Refuge, Mighty God, Mighty One.  The other Hebrew word means Lofty, Fortress or Stronghold.  In the New Testament, the word means rock, something solid and stable and immovable.  In the 1828 Webster Dictionary, the scriptural meaning of rock is defense, means of safety, protection, strength, asylum, firmness, a firm or immovable foundation.

Keep these definitions in mind as we study each scripture.

Psalm 18:2

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

This scripture is self-explanatory and a good one to confess today.  Why don’t we all make this our confession today!

Confession:

The Lord is my Rock, my Lofty One.  He is my Fortress, my place of safety.  He is my deliverer and my God.  He is my strength.  God is the One in Whom I will trust.  He is my buckler, my protective shield.  He is the horn or power of my salvation or deliverance and safety.  He is my High Tower, the place where I am seated with Him far above all principalities and powers.

FULLNESS, PART 3

In Jesus Christ is the fullness of God.  In you is the fullness of God if Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord.  In Ephesians 1:22,23, Amplified Bible, we read that He is the Head of the church which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all for in His body (that’s us) lives the fullness of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself.  Isn’t that good news!  You are full of God!  That’s the way God set it all up.  His man is to be the image of Him, exactly like Father.  True humility is not saying we are unworthy.  That is a slap in the face of God.  True humility says that we are so honored to be like our heavenly Father and to act like His child.  That brings great glory and pleasure to Him.

Today we will make a personal confession from scriptures concerning Christ in us Who is our hope (our earnest, white-hot expectation) of glory (His presence manifested on this earth) (Colossians 1:27).

Colossians 2:3,6,7,10;  Romans 6:18; 1 Corinthians 2:18; Colossians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 3:23

In You Jesus Christ all the treasures of divine wisdom – comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God – and all the riches of spiritual knowledge are stored up and lie hidden.

I have received You as my Lord.

I walk, regulate my life and conduct myself in union with and conformity to You.

I conform to Your divine will, Lord, in thought purpose and action.

I have Your mind, Christ, and do hold the thoughts, feelings and purposes of Your heart.

I have the roots of my being firmly and deeply planted in You.

I am fixed and founded in You.

I am being continually built up in You.

I am becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith.

I am abounding and overflowing in faith with thanksgiving.

I am complete (having no deficiency, full) in You, Who are the Head of all principality and power, Whom You disarmed, stripped of their authority (Colossians 2:15).

I stand perfect and complete, filled in all Your will, God.

All things are mine.  I am Christ’s and Christ is God’s.

Because of Jesus Christ, you and I are full of the nature, the essence of God, His very being.  Isn’t it wonderful that God loves us so much that He has provided everything we need to live Godly, victorious lives while we are here on this earth!  What we have to do is learn how to access His provisions for us in order to live victoriously.  He has given us a manual (our Bible, His Word) to learn how to live consistently and precisely in His Kingdom.  We have a teacher, the Holy Spirit, to show us how “to do it.”  God’s fullness is in us.

FULLNESS, PART 2

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift (John 1:16, Amplified Bible).

What a powerful passage of scripture this is from the Amplified Bible.  Jesus said in John 10:10:  “I have come that you might have and enjoy life, have it in abundance, to the full, until it overflows.”  This fullness of life is all inclusive of everything God is.  It is everything of His grace.  It is everything of His blessing.  It is everything of His favor.  It is everything of His gifts to us.

Full means full.  It means that there is no room for any more.  But you know what is really awesome about God and His Kingdom; there is always room for more, because He is never-ending, always expanding and increasing forever.  Try to wrap your mind around that.  God Almighty, the Great Creator of the universe and of you, is in you as a born-again believer, with everything He is.  As you and I spend this day and the days to come thinking on fullness, we will become more and more aware of Who lives in us and what He has for us.

You are FULL of all that God is!  Access that fullness by thinking on it and talking about it.  You were designed by the mighty God to become what you think and what you talk.  As a man thinks in His heart, so is He!  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!  Think on what is pure and lovely and true and honest and just and of a good report!  That in a few words is:  THE WORD OF GOD!  The Word of God is made alive by the Holy Spirit, Who has come to make His home in you.  THE WORD!  THE HOLY SPIRIT!  THE GRACE OF GOD!  THE BLESSING OF GOD!  THE FAVOR OF GOD!  Think on these things!

FULLNESS, PART 1

In Colossians 1:16, 17 and 2:9 we read that all things were created by Him (Jesus Christ) and for Him and exist through Him.  In Him all things are held together.  All the divine fullness, the sum total of the divine perfection, powers and attributes dwell in Him permanently.  In Him all the fullness of the Godhead continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of the divine nature.

Do you see this?  In Jesus Christ is everything.  Fullness means complete, whole, nothing missing, nothing broken, nothing out of order, everything in its place properly.  Who is in you and me?  Jesus Christ with all His fullness.  Fullness of what?  Health and healing, prosperity, wisdom, righteousness, peace, rest, security, safety, deliverance, stability, and on and on.  Whatever you and I need can be found in Him Who is in us.  He is all we need because in Him is all we need.  Isn’t that good news!  That is the good news of the gospel.  In Christ Jesus we have all we will ever need to live a victorious and successful life in this earth.  That is good news for me.

In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead!  He is in you with all the fullness of the Godhead!  Think on that the rest of the day and when the night comes, you will be confident of victory in your life.

GOD’S HEART OF LOVE

There is a direct connection between the state of our soul (mind, will, emotions) and our body.  In 3 John 2 we read that we will prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers.  Our health is parallel to the way we think and react to situations in life.  Sometimes we wonder why our body is not feeling well.  It can be because we have been bitter or ugly or resentful or angry with someone or upset with the way things seem to be going in our lives.  I see now why Love is a command of God.  It is for our own personal well-being and a healthy body and lifestyle.  God Love is a way of life which brings the power of God to work on our behalf, regardless of what we are facing, whether it is in our body or our relationships or our finances or our job situation, actually anything relating to our life.  Always yielding to love brings God on the scene every time on our behalf.

I would like to give you a few scriptures to meditate on today for the health and well-being of your life.  The Lord gave them to me to ponder and I pass them on to you.  They are for the time in which we are living right this very moment.

3 John 2

Beloved, I wish (or pray) above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

Proverbs 12:18, Amplified Bible

. . . the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 4:22 (Personalized)

God’s Word is life to me who finds it.  It is health and healing, medicine to ALL my flesh.

Proverbs 15:4, Amplified Bible

A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life. . . .

Proverbs 17:22, KJV and Amplified Bible

A merry heart or a happy heart does good or is good like a medicine and a cheerful mind works healing. . . .

Proverbs 14:30, Amplified Bible

A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body. . . .

It is God’s desire that each of us yield to Him Who is Love and He Who is Love will take care of us.  His power will be released on our behalf.  We do not have to fight our battles.  What we do is stand our ground in Love and let God do what He does best:  Win for us.  The battle is not ours but the Lord’s.  Love never fails, fades out or becomes obsolete.  It is strong and powerful and victorious always.

Release the Love of God in your situation and refuse to operate any other way.

AUTHORITY AND POWER, PART 11

Today we wrap up our teaching on God’s authority and power in us.

Ephesians 1:17-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21 tell us about the dunamis, resurrection power we have dwelling in us, the love power of God.  Therein is the dwelling place of our authority and power.  God’s divine love is the greatest power in the universe.  Out of that love pours forth the dunamis, explosive, resurrection power of God.  Because of that power, there is authority brought forth.  God is Almighty, and He is dwelling in us with all of His might.  He gives us His authority and tells us it is ours to use as His children.

We see in 1 John 4:17 that our love (God’s Love in us) is made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world.  How is He?  He is all-powerful.  He is Love.  He is all power and all authority.  There is none higher than He is.  There is none above Him.  He is in charge.  As He is—-Love—-so are we in this world.

Finally, according to Ephesians 6:10, we are strong in the Lord.  We are empowered through our union with Him.  We draw our strength from Him, that strength which His boundless might provides.

Through our union with the Lord Jesus Christ we have been given the power of God to exercise His authority over all the earth.  Just as God spoke to Adam in Genesis 1, we have been given dominion over the earth.  Let’s exercise that authority under the authority of God Almighty and at His direction.  It is all about being led of the Spirit of God and not by our own human desires.  It is He alone Who knows how to “run things.”  Yield to Him and use the authority He has given you.

AUTHORITY AND POWER, PART 10

Isaiah 54:17, Amplified Bible

But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong.  This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord…. . . .

Even in the Old Testament God assured His people that they had authority over that which rose up against them in judgment, against them in opposition.  As they were told, the battle was not theirs, but the Lord’s.  He does protect His own.  Now He has given us His authority and His power to defeat any weapon formed against us.  No weapon formed against us shall prosper or succeed.  Why?  When someone or something comes against you, he or she comes against God.  He is our defender and our vindicator.

Look at the next statement in that verse.  We have a heritage.  What does God’s authority and power give us?  It gives us peace, which is shalom, which means that all is well, that we are whole, and that nothing is missing or broken in our lives.  It gives us righteousness; we have been made right with God because of the blood of Jesus Christ.  He has given us the rights that are ours as God’s children.  It gives us security.  We are secure in Christ Jesus.  We know that He takes care of us.  It gives us triumph over opposition.  What is it that is opposing you today?  Is it sickness and disease?  Is it poverty?  Is it fear?  Is it unbelief?  Is it a temptation you can’t seem to overcome?  Is it lack in some area of your life?  Whatever it is that opposes you, God has given you His authority to overcome.  You are an overcomer in this life by Christ Jesus.

Know who you are in Christ Jesus.  Nothing that opposes you will be successful.  Let that reality sink down deep into you and give you confidence.  Remember 1 John 4:4.  We are of God.  We are His children.  We belong to Him.  As His children, we have already defeated and overcome the agents of antichrist because greater, mightier is He Who is in us than he that is in the world.

AUTHORITY AND POWER, PART 9

We know our authority over the kingdom of satan because Christ has set us free from the curse of the law.  He has given us total freedom from the curse.  What is the curse?  If we look in Deuteronomy 28 we have a list of the things that come from the curse.  They can be summed up in three words:  sin, sickness, and poverty.  Each of these bring death.  Death is separation from something.  Sin is separation from the righteousness of God.  Sickness is separation from the health of God.  Poverty is separation from the prosperity of God.  God’s original intent was for us to be blessed with His Blessing.  That is still true today.  Jesus opened up the way for The Blessing of God to be available to us again.  We as God’s children should expect to walk in that Blessing.

Galatians 3:13,14,16,29

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:  that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.  He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.  And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Our inheritance, our right, is to have The Blessing of God, which is The Blessing of Righteousness, The Blessing of Health and Healing, and The Blessing of Prosperity operating in our lives all the time.  When that is not the case, we have God’s command to take authority over anything that is robbing us of our blessing or blocking our blessing.  We must be open to His instruction, because sometimes the blocking of the blessing is on our part because we are ignorant of our inheritance or we are afraid it won’t work for us or we feel like we are not worthy of it.  Of course we are not worthy of it.  BUT, JESUS CHRIST MADE US WORTHY!  It is because of Him that we have these benefits of the Kingdom of God.

What part of The Blessing do you need to be operating in your life today?  Take authority over the devil who is trying to keep it from you.  You have been set free from the curse that the blessing may be upon you.  Enjoy your Blessing!

AUTHORITY AND POWER, PART 8

Let’s review what we have learned so far:  Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  He rendered satan entirely useless, and the principalities and powers have been stripped of their authority.  The handwriting of the note (the law of sin and death) has been cancelled.  That is enough right there to take care of our lives.

Today we look at our deliverance from the control of darkness.  God is Light.  In Him is no darkness at all, not one little tidbit.  He is all Light.  That is the way creation happened.  God stepped out where there was darkness and said:  Light in Me be!  And Light was!  By the way, the same thing happened to you when you were born again.  When you said yes to Jesus, God basically was saying to you:  Light in Me, be in you!  Now we are called the light of the world as God (Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit) is called the light of the world, because He Who is Light is in us.

Colossians 1:13,14, KJV and Amplified Bible

The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us, translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love, in Whom we have and enjoy our redemption, our release is secured, our sins are forgiven through His blood.

It gives our dear Heavenly Father, who loves us intensely, great pleasure to see us delivered out of the control, the dominion of darkness.  Darkness no longer has any control over us.  Why?  Because we have been delivered from darkness.  Not only have we been delivered from darkness but we have been transferred into another Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, where Love is King and joy and peace reign.  God’s Kingdom is a kingdom of light and love and life.  Where He is, life is.

In Jesus, the Son of God’s Love, we have redemption.  We have been redeemed from the power of the enemy, the adversary, the one who is in opposition to us, the devil.  We have been released from his clutches forever.  Our sins are forgiven forever.  We are a free people.  It’s all because of the blood of Jesus.  When His blood was spilled on this earth, it sealed the covenant between God and man forever.  We are forever free.  When Jesus purchased our freedom, it was a permanent work.  Nothing can change it.  We come through His blood to stand pure and spotless in the eyes of our heavenly Father.  Jesus’ blood is on the mercy seat of heaven forever declaring Life.

Celebrate your freedom today!

AUTHORITY AND POWER, PART 7

So far we have learned that Jesus came and destroyed the works of the devil for us and he rendered satan entirely useless.  Today we will see what he did to the principalities and powers and the law of sin and death.

Colossians 2:14,15, Amplified Bible

Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us).  This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.

[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it, [the cross].

God through Jesus personally cancelled the handwriting of the note that was written against us.  He completely blotted it out and wiped it away.  It was a legal demand which had been decreed against us.  It was in place and stood against us, condemning us and accusing us.  It was hostile to us.  What was that note?  It was the law of sin and death that had been instituted by Adam’s yielding to satan.  Satan has only one thing—-death, which results from sin and fear because he is fear personified.  We see in Romans 8:2 that the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.  Jesus nailed that note to the cross when he was nailed to the cross because He Who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus—-that we may be made right with God and enjoy His rights bestowed on us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Then, in addition to dealing with the law of sin and death, God through Jesus dealt a blow to satan’s kingdom by spoiling or disarming and stripping every one of satan’s demonic forces of their authority over us as God’s children.  He triumphed over them in the cross.  The cross is where the tide was turned for you and me.  We are on the other side of the cross.  We are on the victory side.  Since Jesus came to this earth and completed His assignment, we are forever free from all the dominion of the satanic realm.  We must exercise the authority we have been given over this realm in order to walk free ourselves.

We are free people!  Believe it and receive it!  Take hold of the truth of who you are in Christ Jesus!