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500 FOOT TALL JESUS |
DON'T LET THE TITLE SCARE YOU. We all know that there is no place in Scripture that tells us that Jesus was 500 feet tall. I just had such a great time with the Lord and our
Brothers and Sisters last night, teaching at our Victorious Overcomers Meeting, that I just wanted to ENCOURAGE and share with some of you, some of what I was teaching on last
night.
The title I have chosen, really has nothing to do with how tall Jesus is, but the title more relates to what our perception of the SIZE of our God is in comparison with our trials and
tribulations, and whatever other circumstances there may be coming against us. In fact, I just want to break the honesty barrier, and let all of you know, that the BIGGEST trial and
tribulation I am facing in my own life, is MY OWN temptations in areas of my life that are not yet completely right with God. I know most, if not all of you, completely have it all
together (humor, sarcasm), but I just wanted to encourage some of you who may be going through something, as Pastors, Elders, ministry leaders, or Saints.
If there's anything I learned from my spiritual father in the Lord, it's that people will respect you more if you are honest about your weaknesses. The Body of Christ doesn't need
PERFECT leadership so much as it needs REAL people in Leadership. In this day and age, the Saints are encouraged to repent and confess their sins, but Pastors or leaders who share
their faults with the Congregation are often looked down upon. But the truth of the
matter is, Leadership needs to be transparent so that the sheep can see what you are really going
through in life so that they can be encouraged by your steadfastness in the Faith.
It seems like some leaders want others to think that they are so spiritual that they don't even have trials any more, and in some cases, they want others to believe that as "LEADERS" they
no longer are tempted by sin. Perhaps once in a while they will admit a little slip up, but they wouldn't dare sharing something to the Congregation that may blemish their reputation as a
MAN or WOMAN of God. They wouldn't dare share with you how they slipped up and cussed out their own wife while they were alone in the car, or the time they got too angry and
overly disciplined their own children, perhaps even left a bruise.
As leaders to the Congregation we owe it to the sheep to take off our masks. Some of us are concerned that if we go to our leadership and share our faults, that we may lose our positions
in the Church, but the Word of God says that we are to confess our faults to one another so that we may be healed. When we hide our weakness from each other, we are not walking in
the truth but rather we are putting up a spiritual front in front of our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. We think we are helping them by acting spiritual, but what a Brother or Sister really
needs is the encouragement of knowing that YOU GO THROUGH THE SAME THINGS TOO!!! They need to know that you go through the same struggles so that they can see you
remain faithful to the Lord no matter what you're going through or what temptation you may face. They need to know that if Brother Randy is struggling with temptation in this particular
area and yet he still continues coming to Church and maintains his responsibilities in the House of God, THEN I CAN TOO!!!
Other up and coming ministers need to see their Pastors be transparent so they can know how many times you felt like quitting and leaving your role as Pastor in the Church. This way
they will not go into their office with unrealistic expectations of what ministry is like, but will know that their will be times that you may feel like giving up, but if you continue to hope in
the Lord and if you continue to remain faithful to His Word, THEN YOU CAN MAKE IT IN JESUS' MIGHTY NAME!!! How can we be real Pastors, how can we be real Leaders, and
how can we be real Saints and benefit one another with who we genuinely are and with what we are genuinely going through if we wear our masks and keep our hard times and our
temptations to ourselves?
Last night, my Brothers and Sisters and I were discussing temptation in various areas of our live. One Sister asked, "How is it that a Christian can be so tempted with the Holy Spirit in
their life?" (paraphrase) And what the Holy Spirit began to lead me to tell her and the others about is that it's not the SIZE of the temptation that is the problem, but rather it is the
smallness of our perception of the SIZE of our God. We perceive things as BIG and sometimes we perceive the delivering POWER OF GOD as either weak or we tell ourselves that
God's too slow in delivering me from this particular trying circumstance. We tell ourselves, "When will it ever end", as if God is never going to answer our prayers and hear our cry for
HELP!
I told the Brothers and Sisters that night to picture Jesus 500 feet tall and standing next to you. Then I asked them, what would you be afraid of? What trial would be too hard for you to
overcome? What temptation would be sooo strong that you couldn't overcome it with a 500 foot tall Jesus fighting on you side? Then I began to tell them that 500 feet tall is TOO
SMALL OF A MEASUREMENT TO MEASURE THE SIZE OF OUR GOD. There are approximately 24,000 miles stretched around this Earth, AND GOD IS BIGGER THAN
THAT!!! Imagine a God sooo BIG that He can't even be measured by the whole measuring distance around the Earth or around the entire universe for that matter. Now imagine that
God standing next to your problem.
FAITH
IN PRAYER, DIVINE HEALING,
& MORE!!!
The Word of God in Ephesians 3:20 says the HE is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK OR COULD EVER IMAGINE
PRAYING FOR. Your wildest imagination of what you would like God to do for you is NOTHING compared to what He is actually ABLE to. The Bible goes on to say that God is able
"according to the power that works in us". In other words, the same ability that God has to do more than we could ever think or imagine is at work IN US. The power and the ability IS
IN YOU to do more than you could ever ask or imagine!!! Not only do we underestimate God's ability or lowly regard His POWER during our temptations, trials, and circumstances, but
we also lowly regard our abilities that He placed in us through the SAME POWER that He has in Himself.
I read a quote one-day, and I don't remember who said it or wrote it, but here it is: "PRAYER IS ABLE TO DO WHATEVER GOD CAN DO."
If God can heal the sick, your prayers in Jesus' mighty name can heal the
sick too! If God can end famine, your prayers can end the famine of financial and other resources in your life as
well. How about the famine of godly character you're experiencing RIGHT NOW!
I know how the human mind works. It calculates all these factors and reasons for why everybody in the Body of Christ doesn't get healed like
when Jesus was alive. We conclude that perhaps we are committing such and such a sin, and that somehow God must not love us enough and that
we're getting the just punishment we deserve. And another BIG reasoning of
the mind and human intellect likes to decide for God that, "He, OF COURSE, is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE, BUT
IS HE 'WILLING'?" They reason as though they have one on those who preach and teach healing by faith.
The Word of God teaches that we are to cast down imaginations, and every
high thing that raises up itself against the knowledge of God and bring into
captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ, Who is also in us. Is God willing to heal ALL WHO are sick, or is it God's will to heal all who
are sick? some may ask. My reply is, how Big is your perception of God compared to the size of ALL SICKNESS or all the sickness in all people in
Covenant relationship with Him in the Body of Christ?
First of all, there are several things to consider.
#1 Not all are saved even though God is not willing that any should perish because not all appropriate the blessing of Salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ. In the same light,
not all appropriate the blessing of Divine Health because not all HAVE ABSOLUTE FAITH that Jesus desires to heal them NOW! The Bible says that NOW Faith is. If you had absolute
faith that Jesus is your Healer NOW, then your healing would manifest NOW. We need to pray for God to help us in our weak faith so that we can be able to receive every blessing that
God has Promised us in His Word in this lifetime as well as the one to come.
#2 We must note that not only can God HEAL EVERY SINGLE SICK MEMBER of the Body of Christ, but it is recorded in Scripture that GOD DID HEAL EVERY
SINGLE SAINT WALKING ON EARTH WHEN MOSES WAS ALIVE (Psalm 105:36-45). Is it impossible for God to repeat the same miracle over and over again? Can we honestly
say that because it is not happening this very moment that it must not be God's will? The more people question Salvation through faith and the reality of Jesus Christ, the less people get
saved. The more people question Divine Healing and Health through faith, the less people get healed. Maybe less people are getting healed today because there are more people
questioning with their reasonings if it is God's will to heal all.
#3 EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO TURNED TO JESUS FOR HEALING GOT HEALED. There is not a single case in the Scripture where Jesus told a person, "It is not my
will to heal you." When Jesus delayed the healing of a person which resulted in death, the end result was that a GREATER MIRACLE OCCURRED!!! That person was raised from the
dead!!! The are many places in the Scripture where the Bible records that ALL WHO WERE SICK AND OPPRESSED OF THE DEVIL WERE HEALED. It is even recorded in the
Book of Acts that ALL WERE healed under the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ in the lives of the Apostles. If we are to continue IN THE SAME serving example of Jesus Christ,
then we had better start believing that God wants TO HEAL ALL!!!
#4 The only places where Jesus could not do "many mighty works" were the places that were plagued with "unbelief". How Big is your sickness? How Big is your perception of
God? Is your God BIG ENOUGH to have a will that wants to heal all TODAY?
What is our perception of the SIZE of our God in comparison to the size of all our trials and tribulations, and even the size of our sin? What kind of Savior is our perception of God
representing to this Lost and Dying World? The Lord says in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
So you see, it doesn't matter what the size or the vastness is of our problems, our sicknesses, or our sins. What matters is the SIZE and the VASTNESS of Jesus Christ, our Savior. What
matters is the vastness of His willingness to heal our bodies, to deliver us OUT OF ALL OUR
troubles, and heal our bodies of its every sickness and disease. What man perceives to be the
problem actually turns out to be the solution of God. Man doesn't doubt God's ability, but we are guilty of doubting His
willingness and His LOVE to actually make these things happen for us IN THIS LIFETIME. It's not His ability that heals us, but rather His willingness because of His Great Love. Jesus didn't die on the Cross because of His ability and because He was
able to endure it, He died on the Cross because of His Great Willingness to see us set free from sin.
"And Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and demand to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt? And GOD SAID, 'CERTAINLY I WILL BE WITH
YOU....'" (Ex. 3:11-12)
Notice how Moses answered God. He was basically telling Him, "God, I know you are able to deliver the Children of Israel, but who am I compared to Pharaoh, his armies, and the whole
nation of Egypt." Moses' first mistake was that instead of considering God First, he considered what was up
against him. We should always consider what we're up against before going
into battle or before making plans to do something, but before we consider our problems or the circumstances, we should always consider the size of our God before considering the size
of our task.
But the wonderful thing is how God answered Moses. The FIRST thing out of God's mouth was, "CERTAINLY." When we ask ourselves if God is willing to heal us in this lifetime, we
should consider this word of God to Moses and how full of love His Word is, "CERTAINLY".
Then notice the second part of what God told Moses, "...I WILL..." If we ask God to save us, His answer is, "CERTAINLY I WILL." If we ask God to help us to minister Salvation to
so great a nation of people as Moses was faced with, God's answer is, "CERTAINLY I WILL..." Not only does God say He will, but emphatically He says HE CERTAINLY WILL!!!
Then notice the third part of the reply God gave Moses in our discussion. Not only is your deliverance out of troubles and sickness and any other form of bondage CERTAIN. Not only
is He WILLING to deliver and heal and save us all, but He intends to be the Personal Agent that affects our
deliverance, our healing, or our liberation from the bondages of sin, as He
tells Moses, "Certainly I will BE WITH YOU." Moses didn't have to rely or depend on himself or anybody else for that matter. Moses was given by
God the direct assurance that the liberation of the children of Israel was certain because not only was God willing and ready to deliver them, but He Himself was going to be with Moses as the very Person backing up
Moses in everything he said and did according to the Lord's commandments.
When it comes to Gospel Issues regarding the deliverance of God's people, God Himself takes personal interest in the welfare of His Children. I close with this:
PSALM 105
(vs. 1-12)
O give thanks to the LORD; call upon His Name
(Jesus, God our Savior, our Deliverer, our
Healer). Publicly declare His works among the people. Sing to Him, SIN PSALMS
TO HIM; tell of all His wondrous works.
Glory in His Holy Name. Let the heart of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Seek the LORD AND HIS STRENGTH: seek His Face
forevermore. Remember the marvelous works He has don; His wonders (miracles) and the justice of the decrees of His mouth.
O you who are the seed of Abraham His servant, you who are the children of Jacob His chosen. He is the LORD our God: His decrees of justice are in all the Earth. He has remembered
His Covenant forever, even the word which He commanded (to produce results)
to a thousand generations. Even the Covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath with Isaac,
which He confirmed to Jacob as a decree, and to Israel (all His Children) for a NEVER ENDING COVENANT.
He declares, "To YOU I will give the land of Canaan (the Promised Land) as the portion of your inheritance
(as sons and daughters of God). I declared it even when there were only a few
men in number, even very few; when you were strangers to the Land (of Covenant
Blessing).
(vs. 23-45)
Israel also came into Egypt (symbolic of bondage); and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And He increased His People GREATLY and made them stronger than their enemies. He
turned their heart to hate His People, to deal subtly with His Servants (in other words, God permitted these things to come upon His People for a
purpose).
He SENT Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen. They showed His signs among them, and wonders
(great works of amazement) in the Land of Ham. He sent darkness,
and made it dark, and they rebelled not against His word. He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their
Kings. He spoke, and various kinds of flies came, and lice (gnats or mosquitoes) swarmed all their coasts. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land....He also struck all the
firstborn in their land, the chief source of all their strength. He brought them out also with silver and gold
(God abundantly provided for them and made Israel a wealthy
nation); and THERE WAS NOT ONE PERSON AMONG THEIR TRIBES WHO WAS INFIRMED WITH SICKNESS OR DISEASE, OR ANY OTHER WEAKNESS
(GOD COMPLETELY HEALED ALL WHO NEEDED HEALING AS A
SIGN OF HIS COVENANT WITH ISRAEL). Egypt became greatly afraid and was glad when the Children of Israel left them.
God spread a cloud for a covering (His Presence protected
them); and fire to give light in the night (His POWER illuminated them; the Gospel is the Light and POWER of God that
brings illumination in the darkness and keeps us from growing spiritually
cold). The people asked, and He brought quails, and He also satisfied them with the Bread of Heaven.
(Their every financial, physical, and nourishment needs were supernaturally met by God.) He opened the Rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. (Jesus' side was pierced when God opened the Rock, and the waters gushed out, and
ran into the dry places of our lives like a river. His Presence floods our spirit, soul, and body through His Word;
providing full salvation for our entire being through the work Jesus accomplished in His death on the Cross.)
HE DID ALL THIS BECAUSE HE REMEMBERED HIS HOLY PROMISE, AND ABRAHAM HIS SERVANT. (My friend and Brother or Sister in the Lord. You may feel like
you've been in Egypt and bondage for hundreds of years, BUT GOD REMEMBERS HIS HOLY PROMISE HE MADE TO YOU. HE REMEMBERS ALL THE SERVICE YOU'VE
DONE FOR HIM. He told you in His Word that your labor is not in vain. Child of God, GOD REMEMBERS YOU AND LOVES YOU VERY MUCH TODAY!!!)
(It gave Him EXTREME PLEASURE to bring His people out of bondage. My friend, Covenant Child of God, God delights in your deliverance. He is saddened by your bondage. Sin,
sickness, and bondage is not the will of God for your life.)
And He brought His people out with JOY, and He delivered His chosen with gladness (God will gladly deliver you child of God, man and
woman of God, whatever you're going through, GOD WILL GLADLY DELIVER
YOU). AND HE GAVE THEM THE LAND THAT BELONGED TO THE HEATHEN; and He caused them to inherit all that the heathen were
working for. He did this so that they would observe His statutes, and keep His Laws. PRAISE THE LORD!
Notice that the Word of God says that He did all these marvelous things for you in order that you would observe to do His statutes and keep His laws. God doesn't use sickness and
disease to humble His obedient children. He used all the trouble and curses he sent on Pharaoh to humble him because he was evil and rebellious to the plans and purposes of God. He
sent the curses to persuade Pharaoh TO LET YOU GO, and not to keep you in your sickness, not to keep you in poverty, not to keep you from owning your own home. The Word of
God says that He didn't use sickness and poverty to humble His people, but rather He delivered them OUT OF
SICKNESS AND POVERTY so that they might be able to worship and serve Him the way that He desired. In Jesus' Mighty Name, to God be all Glory and Honor, ALL-POWER FOREVER,
AMEN.
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