“I quit.” We may say these words in our roles, our weddings, or our ministry. We infrequently even talk this way toward God and His will for us if we start to assume the demands are too great, the price tag is too high, or the obstacles are too big. We decide in our minds that we have had enough, and as a consequence, we turn away. But what is God’s thinking? “Blessed is a person who persists under trial” (James 1:12). Contemplate a minute.

God is pleased when His children endure and do not give up. Difficulties abound in this sin-wracked world, but God calls us sanctified when we hold up under them. Just think - not only is God pleased, but He also blesses us for our determination to follow His will for our life (Hebrews 10:36). And His will is that we be changed into the person He wants us to be and do the precise purpose He has for every one of us. To fulfill the Lord’s plan, we must hold to the course He has given us. When we consider giving up, we are at risk for achieving a lot less than what God has in mind for us.

But to endure needs a mix of intense desire and willpower. How powerful is your craving to see God’s work accomplished thru you? On whose power have you been drawing in grief - your own or the Holy Spirit’s? Both the need and the power to persist come from God, and he is ready to provide them in adequate supply (2 Peter 13). All that is obligatory is a receptive heart.

Take a few seconds and watch this exciting clip of Rodney Howard Browne

Almost 7 times in the book of Matthew, we see that folks were healed of illness and agony because Jesus touched them. He saw past their symptoms, outside their sickness, and thru their scars. He saw the genuine need: the necessity for touch.

And, that healing touch transformed lives again. This is one need which has not vanished in the two thousand years since Jesus walked the earth. Today, we virtually never see the word “touch” without some reference to scandal, impropriety, or immorality. How did this fantastic word get so maligned? Ministry needs our hands.

We are called by God to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world. Why is it that we think this may only be done with our mouths? Rather, God has empowered each part of us for the task. We touch lives not only by telling other people about Jesus, but also by showing genuine love and compassion to them in their need.

Our hearts, mouths, and hands must be operating in perfect concert to do the sort of world-changing mission to which we have been called. And, when we join together as a body of followers, we must touch lives thru the power of prayer. Furthermore, the unified church presents a mighty tool of teaching, discipleship, and fellowship that calls in the lost and provides the saved. Jesus touched lives.

As His supporters, the Church - and you - must do similarly

In order for a covenant to be established and enforced, a sacrifice must be made. God has already done His part. Man must do his if he wants to reap and continue to reap the blessings of a covenant with our heavenly Father. We have a covenant of grace with God, our Father, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. No other blood needs ever to be shed again; neither will any other blood, shed as an offering, be accepted by the Father (Hebrews 10:8-10). The sacrifice God expects of His children, who are already washed in the blood of the lamb, is the sacrifice of obedience, thanksgiving and praise.

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will not smell a savor or take delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though you offer Me your burnt offerings and your cereal offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I look upon the peace or thank offerings of your fatted beasts. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not listen to the melody of your harps. 24 But let justice run down like waters and righteousness as a mighty and ever-flowing stream.  Amos 5:21-24 AMP

The Lord wants our sacrifice of obedience! God cannot and will not receive offerings or sacrifices from the wicked—those who pretend to serve God, but who are just in it for what they can get from Him! If we are not submitted to God in our heart attitude, our words and our actions, then our sacrifice is a stench in God’s nostrils and our singing and worship sounds so bad to Him, that He can’t stand to hear it.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  
1 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.  
Ephesians 5:1-2 KJV

God requires justice; He requires that we obey Him and walk in His love. He will gladly accept worship and sacrifices from those who honor His word.

I will accept no bull from your house nor he-goat out of your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are. 11 I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine. 13 Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High, 15 And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.  Psalms 50:9-15 AMP

In verse 9, God says, “I will accept no bull from your house, nor he-goat out of your folds.” There is nothing we can offer back to God that He does not already own—all the animals are His—every beast of the forest and the cattle upon a thousand hills. We must bring Him an offering that He chooses—not an offering that we choose!  The Lord wants us to be exclusively dependant on Him and to look to Him for everything—for provision, protection and direction. He expects to have our full trust and devotion. The devil is always trying to separate us from God any way he can. He tries to get us to act independently—convincing us to look to ourselves and not to God—out of arrogance or out of a lack of faith in God’s willingness and ability to provide for us. Never think or act like you are a bother to God! Over and over, God reminds us to trust in Him, rely on Him, and ask Him for what we need.

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.  Hebrews 13:15 AMP

The Lord wants our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving! Therefore, when we offer our offerings to Him, it should only ever be in a spirit of deep and genuine humility, with the gratefulness and thankfulness of a people who owe Him everything. When we recognize Him as our Lord and source of life, provision and blessing, then we cannot help but praise Him. Praise springs easily and readily from the heart and lips of a humble, grateful child of God. This you cannot do if you trust in your own strength, ability, and wealth; neither can you do it if you blame God for your problems! You must acknowledge His Lordship and His beneficence!

He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.  Psalms 50:23 AMP

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.  
Psalms 107:21-22 KJV

Oh that men would praise the Lord and glorify Him with their sacrifices of thanksgiving!

 

Rodney Howard Browne shares the Foundation Scripture: Hebrews 8:10 Hebrews 8:10 AMP

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

I.  How to train the human spirit:

• By giving the Word first place in your life
• By meditation in the Word
• By practicing the Word
• By instantly obeying the voice of your spirit
• By praying in the Spirit

II.  Rodney Howard Browne instructs us to give the Word first place in your life

• First place means first place. First place means that you exalt the Word of God above all the words of man.
• First place means that when you have a choice, you believe the Word of God and not your circumstances, your feelings or what your head tells you.
• Proverbs 4:20-22 AMP - My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
• Proverbs 7:1-3 NKJV - My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.
• The only way you can make the Word of God first place in your life is if you know it—if it is in your heart and mind—if it abides in you and you abide in it.
• This is how you make the Word part of who you are:

III. Meditate on the Word

• The Word of God will not work for you if you just mentally assent to it (agree with it). It will only be effective if it becomes part of you—if every thought you have, every word you say and every action you take is governed and regulated by the Word that is in your heart.  
• Joshua 1:8 AMP - This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
• Meditate means to reflect on, contemplate, or ponder something.
• The Hebrew word for “meditate” means “to murmur. It is also translated in the KJV as “mutter”; “imagine”; “roar”; “speak”; “study”; “talk”; “utter”.
• Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV - Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
• This man is truly blessed—because he fully embraces God’s life-giving Word!
• Because you delight in the Lord, you drink deeply from His Word and you meditate on His Word day and night; the result is that you bring forth fruit in season, your leaf doesn’t wither, and whatever you do prospers!

VI.  Practice the Word

• James 1:21-22 AMP - So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].
• If you refuse to be led, directed and changed by God’s written Word, how in the world do you think that you will recognize or obey the voice of His Spirit?
• 1 John 5:8 NKJV - And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
• Water is symbolic of the Word. The Spirit and the Word will never contradict each other.
• Matthew 7:21 AMP - Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
• Romans 6:17 AMP - But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.

V.  Instantly obey the voice of your spirit

• Proverbs 20:27 NKJV - The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
• The Lord will lead and guide you through your heart—not your head.
• You can trust your heart when it is trained in the Word of God and submitted to God and His Word.
• Romans 9:1 AMP - I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying; my conscience [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me.
• Your spirit and your conscience are one and the same.
• Hebrews 5:14 AMP - But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
• When you spend a lot of time in the Word of God, even your senses become trained to know what is right and wrong.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV - (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
• Do not allow your carnal mind to rule you. Submit your thoughts completely to God’s Word.

VI. Pray in the Spirit

• Praying in tongues helps you develop a sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit and your own spirit.
• 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 NKJV - For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
• When you pray in tongues, your spirit man rises up, even as your mind grows quieter.
• 1 Corinthians 14:2 NKJV - For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
• Jude 20 NKJV - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
• Praying in the Holy Spirit builds you up in your faith, drawing you closer to God and His will for you.

 

Rodney Howard Browne teaches from: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-23

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].  Isaiah 7:14 AMP

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:20-23 NKJV

I.  Emmanuel means “God with us”

• Rodney Howard Browne shows us that Jesus came as one of us; to live with us; to die for us; so He could dwell and abide in us; so we could live eternally in His presence!
• Hebrews 8:10-12 NKJV - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
• The Father sent Jesus to die for us and pay the price for our sins so that each one of us could personally, intimately know the Father.
• Emmanuel—God IN us—not just a God far out in the heavens.
• Jesus came to show us the Father’s heart and to introduce us to Him.
• We can have our own relationship and fellowship with the Father through Jesus—we don’t need to go through another human.

II.  Jesus came to save “whosoever”

• John 3:16-18 NKJV - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
• Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that Jesus came to save the world—not to reject, to condemn, or to pass sentence on the world (John 3:17 AMP).
• Romans 10:11-13 NKJV - For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”  12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
• Whosoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.
• Galatians 3:8-9 NKJV - And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”  9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
• Jesus died for every person in every nation. There is no one, who comes to God in faith, whom He would ever reject.
• The Lord is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).

III.  Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and set the captives free

• 1 John 3:7-9 NKJV - Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
• For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Jesus came to destroy sin and everything that is a fruit of sin.  
• Acts 10:38 NKJV - How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
• Sin, sickness, disease and death are a product of sin. Jesus came to “do good” and to save us and to completely deliver us from the devil and all his evil works.
• Luke 4:18-19 KJV - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
• Jesus came to preach good news and to do good works.
• Luke 19:10 AMP - For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
• The Greek word for “save” is sozo (sode’-zo), which means to save; to deliver; to protect; to heal; to preserve, to do well, to make or be made whole.
• Luke 9:56a KJV - For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.

IV.  Rodney Howard Browne shows us that Jesus came to give us abundant life

• John 10:10 NKJV - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
• The Amplified Bible says: The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). 

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Ephesians 3:14-15 KJV

1. For the Believer there are two kinds of family: the Natural family – the one you are born into in the flesh – and the Spiritual – the one you are born into in the Spirit.

The Natural – with a father and a mother. We all had our beginning with the union of a male and a female, coming together in intimacy, producing life.

This was – and still is – God’s plan.

The Spiritual – the new birth. A sinner comes to Jesus, and by confession of his/her need of a Savior, he/she acknowledges the Cross, the Blood and his/her need for redemption. By the seed of the Word of God and intimacy with God, through the Holy Spirit, he/she is born again into the family of God! They are now sons and daughters of the Father.

Christian life and family guidelines – Colossians 3:5-25

2. They say that blood is thicker than water – but natural families often have many problems.

Families – joined by blood – are often divided. Many won’t even talk to each other and it may be for very petty reasons.

Eg. Cain and Abel; Jacob and Esau

People who pledged to commit – get divorced. They cannot or will not get along and so they claim incompatibility.

This division spills over into other relationships outside of blood families – even into the family of God.

3. The number one reason for the breakdown of relationships is that people have no understanding of covenant.

What does covenant mean?

It is a commitment not based on feelings or circumstances, but on a conscious decision.

This covenant springs out of the agape love of God.

Covenant is this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us – that’s commitment!

John 3:16-17 NKJV - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

4. There are 5 kinds of love:

Agape – self-sacrificial love

Storge – affection

Phileo – friendship

Eros – romance; sexual intimacy

Epithumia – desire; attraction; lust

5. A covenant based on anything other than agape – unselfish love - cannot stand Affections fail – friendships fail – romance fails – physical love fails – attraction fails

The agape love of God never fails!

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NKJV

Jesus said, Go, and sin no more. He released her from her

sin, and He is still releasing people from their sin today. He does

not condone sin, but He has compassion on and forgives sinners.

He releases people from their guilt and condemnation.

 

But religion does not release you from guilt and condemnation.

Religion has to make you feel guilty in order to survive,

because religion is a parasite that thrives on your guilt. As long

as you’re guilty, you’re caught in religion’s trap. You’ll go

through all the rituals and try to keep all the laws, and when you

can’t do it, you’ll be even more guilty and condemned. It’s a

vicious cycle that only Jesus can break.

 

When you’re released from your guilt and sin by receiving

Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’re free from religion’s control.

The power of God is not only working on the inside of you, but

works through you. You can cast out devils, heal the sick, and

raise the dead just like Jesus did! Religion does not want you to

do that.

 

That’s why Jesus was a total oddity to the religious world.

He came in total opposition to the religious system of the day and

wreaked havoc. The religious people were the ones who put Him

on the cross. They were the ones who said, “We’ve got to get rid

of Him.” Jesus had a power they did not understand — the power

of unconditional love which sets men and women free and allows

them to know God personally, for themselves. But religion says,

“Do what we say and we’ll tell you what God says.”

 

The history of Jesus is greater than any James Bond 007

movie. Jesus the God/Man came to the earth and took on human

flesh for the purpose of paying the price and becoming the eternal

sacrifice for man’s sin. God-and-man-in-one did it, so that all we

have to do is say, “I believe!” and salvation becomes ours.

 

Jesus speaks to me. His body speaks to me of the fact that

He is a human being and understands everything I’m going

through. (See Hebrews 2:17,18.) The beatings He endured speak

to me that by His stripes He bore my sicknesses and carried my

diseases. His blood shed on the cross speaks to me that He washed

away my sin. (See Isaiah 53:5.) And His resurrection speaks to me

that because He lives, I can also live — really live! I’m talking

about eternal life! I’m talking about everlasting life! (See

Galatians 2:20.)

 

We know that Jesus could have walked away at any time.

Even on the cross, He could have called thousands of angels to

help Him. (See Matthew 26:53.) But He gladly laid His life

down for us. Heaven’s court of justice was waiting to be satisfied,

the price for sin had to be paid, and Jesus did it — for you and me.

Who is Jesus?

 

He is the God/Man who paid the price for our sin so that

we could know God and be set free from sin and all religious

bondage. Hallelujah!

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee,

wherein thy great strength lieth and wherewith thou

mightest be bound to afflict thee.

 

And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven

green withs that were never dried, then shall I be

weak, and be as another man.

Judges 16:6, 7

 

He knew that they could bind him with whatever

they wanted to and they weren’t going to hold him down.

But in the back of his mind he’s thinking, The last time

they bound me, I snapped those cords and took a jawbone

of a donkey and killed a thousand of them. Let’s just play

around with this. They can tie me up again. I’ll just tease

these people a little while, mock them. They think they’re

going to play with me. I’m the great Samson. I’m

indestructible.

 

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her

seven green withs which had not been dried, and she

bound him with them.

 

Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with

her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The

Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs,

as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So

his strength was not known.

 

And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast

mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee,

wherewith thou mightest be bound.

Judges 16:8-10

 

The devil will come at you constantly and he will

try to find the key to the anointing on your life. Now

remember, twice before, Delilah’s plan had failed.

 

Playing on the Cliff of Your Life

 

But Samson is going to play again. He’s going to

make up some funny story and mock them again. You’d

think he would be wise and say, “No, I’m on the edge of

the cliff about to fall off. I need to be cautious here. I

need to leave this woman. I need to leave this company

and go and do what God has called me to do and stop

messing around here in the camp of the world.”

 

But it seemed good to him to have fun. You see,

people have this idea that they can carry on in the world.

They think they can carry on with ungodly relationships

and ungodly acquaintances and it’s fine. They say, “It’s

not having an affect in my life.”

 

It might not have an affect on you now. But two

or three years from today what type of person are you

going to be? It might not show an affect in your life right

now. But five years from now, where will you be?

 

Will you be more on fire for God five years from

now? If you are less on fire for God than you were five

years ago, then you need to change what you’ve been

doing for the last five years and get to the place where

you can stay on fire for God, full of the Holy Ghost, and

walking in the Spirit.

 

And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with a

new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak,

and be as another man.

 

Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him

therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon

thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in

the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like

a thread.

Judges 16:11,12

It is interesting to note that Jesus spent thirty years

of His life preparing for three and a half years of

ministry. Today people go to Bible seminaries and

prepare three years for thirty years of ministry. There

must come preparation.

 

You are always in continuous preparation for the

next phase of what God has for your life. I know in my

own life that even after the encounter I had with the Lord

in July of 1979 until the present, I am still in preparation

for what God has for my life and ministry. I am not

satisfied with what we are doing and I know that there is

more that is available. I want to push higher and deeper

into the things of God.

 

Smith Wigglesworth said that the only thing that

he was satisfied about was the fact that he was

dissatisfied. We don’t ever want to get to the place of

lethargy and complacency, satisfied with where we are.

Otherwise we will never press in to what God has for our

life and ministry.

 

Dissatisfaction with where you are now will cause

you to arise and press in to what God has told you to do.

It is time to get off your blessed assurance and start acting

upon the Word of God. Start doing whatever your hands

find to do and then the anointing will increase.

 

Different Kinds of Anointings

 

We see that in the Word of God there are different

kinds or types of anointings given to man. Ephesians 4:7

says, “But unto every one of us is given grace according

to the measure of the gift of Christ.” The word grace

means enablement, ability, or anointing. We have already

seen in chapter one that the anointing is the supernatural

equipment to get the job done.

 

In Luke 4:18, 19 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the

Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach

the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

to preach deliverance to the captives, and

recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that

are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

There Is an Anointing to Preach

 

Any preacher will tell you that the anointing to

preach is like a fire shut up in your bones. You can’t get

rid of it. When the message burns deep in your heart, it

has to come out and it does so with great power.

I think the greatest characteristic about preaching

is the unction by which the message is delivered. Some

think that shouting is preaching. Well, you might get

excited and shout when God’s power fails on you ¾ I

know that I do ¾ but it really has to do with the unction

to preach. God anoints your tongue and makes it as “the

pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1). You begin to speak

as an oracle of God.

 

The scripture also says, “Is not my word like as a

fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the

rock into pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). God’s Word, when

preached under an anointing, will bring conviction and

bring a change in the lives of the hearers. Sermons are not

meant to be enjoyed; they am meant to be adhered to.

 

Reprove, Rebuke, and Exhort

 

The Apostle Paul, in speaking to Timothy, said,

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;

reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and

doctrine” (Second Timothy 4:2). I want you to notice he

says, reprove - which means to admonish or to advise.

Then he says, rebuke - which means to reprimand; and

then, exhort ( which means to encourage, to urge.

 

Two-thirds of preaching is reproving and

rebuking and one-third is exhorting. One of the problems

we have in the Church today is that many preachers

would rather preach around an issue than address the

issue. The Bible says in the last days, men would “heap to

themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall

turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned

unto fables” (Second Timothy 4:3, 4).

 

The Art of Persuasion

 

If we study the ministry of Charles Grandison

Finney, we find that he was not only criticized because of

the manifestations in his meetings, but also because of his

method of preaching. When he spoke about sinners,

instead of saying, “they,” he would say, “you.” He would

speak about hell in such a way that people would be

shaken in their seats. In every message he forced a

decision.

 

The art of preaching is not so much homiletics

(three points and a poem), but rather the ability to bring

people to the point of a decision. King Agrippa said to

Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian”

(Acts 26:28).

 

Charles Finney was a lawyer prior to entering the

ministry. When he entered the ministry, he used his

ability to take a subject and present it as a legal case. He

would preach as though he were standing in front of a

jury and needed to convince them. At the end, he would

demand a decision from them.

 

This was his success in the ministry during an age

when there was no radio, television, or amplifiers and

microphones. He won about five hundred thousand

people to Jesus. It is said of his converts that about 85

percent stayed true in their faith. In comparison to

modern-day evangelism, we find this figure is extremely

high.