Showing posts with label Affliction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Affliction. Show all posts

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Weaknesses VS The Spirit Of God

Well….what I know is that I have many weaknesses and have been praying to the Lord in order to overcome them by the power of the Holy Spirit. But something I have been experiencing in the years I have been walking with God: In my weakness His power is manifested and His strength is perfected in me and even in the midst of my weaknesses I feel strong in the Lord’s power which is manifested in me and I can always see that He gives me strength to overcome my weaknesses through His Holy Spirit that operates inside my vessel! Praise the Name of Jesus!

But is there anybody else who has weaknesses in the Scriptures and could overcome them? And How did they do that? Let us see together:

Paul pleaded with the Lord about his weaknesses and the Lord talked to him

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Here we see how we must rely on the grace of God and His strength in order to keep ourselves strong, we cannot keep ourselves standing up for righteousness by our own flesh, by our own human efforts, we need His grace and strength.

Many men and women who overcame their weaknesses by faith

Hebrews 11:32-35

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, escaped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the mouths of the sword, acquired power from weakness (*769), became strong in war, made armies of foreigners to yield. 35 Women received their dead by ressurection.

Here we see that FAITH is the key to deliver us from many things for it is impossible to please God without faith, that is why it is so important to HEAR the word of God and obey it, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Take a quiet time every single day to get out of the busy and noisy life you live and and separate yourself and pray to Him with all your heart and in sincerity, knowing that if you rest in Him and trust He is in control, you will be able to be strong in difficult situations and see His mighty hands and tremendous power.

Paul is saying He was with those brothers and sisters in weakness

1 Corinthians 2:2-5

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness (*769), in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human[b] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Here we see that strength is not in what a man can know, in men’s wisdom or speech, but in the Holy Spirit, He is the One who has the power and all wisdom to teach us how to walk as true disciples of Jesus Christ and be filled with faith to be strong in every situation always, no matter how hard and impossible it might be for the human eyes.

Jesus was crucified in weaknesses and we are weak in Him too

2 Corinthians 13:4

For though He was crucified in weakness (*769), yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

Here it shows that many saw Jesus as a weak and helpless man in His crucifixion, but His resurrection showed that He holds life and death in His hands and that death could not hold Him at all for He even has the keys of death and Hades Himself. Many people can see us (followers of Jesus Christ) today as weak and helpless people, but the power of God is the one that keeps us protected and joyful and that CHRIST in us is the power that does everything! We are to display to the world the light and power of God which is in us through the Holy Spirit.

(*769) weakness = 769. astheneia as-then'-i-ah from 772; feebleness (of mind or body); by implication, malady; morally, frailty:--disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.

But I praise God that He left us the Comforter who helps us in our weaknesses as:

Romans 8:26 says:

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[b] with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Here we see that God knows that we do not know how to pray and what to ask many times, and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us to the Father in the correct way in order for us to have an answer to our needs. But it is necessary that you pray every day to the Father though.

I hope this message can encourage you to be on your knees every single day and pray to the Father and tell Him all your weaknesses and how much you need Him for everything and the Holy Spirit will take your prayers to the Father interceding for you. If you are not a born again Christian yet, repent and confess your sins to the Father, be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, so you can also be helped by Him in your weaknesses. Keep faithful and trust the word of God always!

Much love in Christ,
Cynthia R. Palmer

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Expounding A Word I Received From The Lord

By: Cynthia R. Palmer

Last year(2009) on a Friday morning, I was going to work and I was praying in the spirit inside my car and I saw a red light and I heard in my conscious these words in Portuguese ( my native language ):

“NEM TODOS ENTRARAO” which means in English: “ NOT ALL WILL ENTER”

I meditated in these words and I was inspired to expound them through:

Matthew 7:13- Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

These are many kinds of gates that we can find in this world , but for God there are just 2 gates: the strait gate and the wide gate. The strait gate is the one that we can choose to enter to have eternal life and live with Him forever IF we do what He says we must do to enter into it. And the wide gate is the gate which leads to hell, to destruction IF you practice evil works and unrighteousness. Those who choose to enter this gate will never ever have rest.

I will put here the explanation of the strait and the wide gates from the dictionary to help you understand what they are, even though I am talking about something spiritual, not a physical gate:

STRAIT GATE – 1archaic : STRICT , RIGOROUS2archaic a: NARROW b: limited in space or time c: closely fitting : CONSTRICTED , TIGHT3 a: causing distress : DIFFICULT b: limited as to means or resources

WIDE GATE - 1 a: having great extent : VAST b: extending over a vast area : EXTENSIVE c: extending throughout a specified area or scope —usually used in combination d: COMPREHENSIVE , INCLUSIVE 2 a: having a specified extension from side to side <3 feet wide> b: having much extent between the sides : BROAD (spacious, full, liberal, tolerant) c: fully opened d: LAX 43 a: extending or fluctuating considerably between limits.

So, what to do to enter the narrow gate? Here are some examples we find in Scriptures to follow:

DO GOD’S WILL - Matthew 7:21- Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father( Jesus’s Father = GOD) which is in heaven. What is the will of God? It is Sanctification and the mortification of the flesh and all human will in order to be free to do God’s will. (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

HEAR GOD’S SAYINGS AND PRACTICE THEM - Matthew 7: 24 - Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

LABOUR FAITHFULLY AND BELIEVEHebrews 4:11 - Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTSRevelation 4:22 - Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

BE CONVERTED AND BECOME AS CHILDREN TO GOD – Matthew 18:3 - And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

PASS THROUGH MUCH TRIBULATION IN CHRIST – Acts 14:22 - Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

I hope and pray that this expounding can help anyone who is reading and still did not decide to do God’s will to run to HIM and obey His words and practice all works of righteousness and receive His Holy Spirit and the sanctification that comes with the gift of God. And to those who are walking with the Lord and obeying His commands, I hope these words can inspire you to keep faithful and persevere until the end to receive your crown of life.

God bless You so much!
Cynthia R. Palmer