¹And God spake all these words, saying,

   ²I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

   ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

   ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

   ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

   ⁶And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

   ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

   ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

   ⁹Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

   ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

   ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

   ¹²Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

   ¹³Thou shalt not kill.

   ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery.

   ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal.

   ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

   ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

   ¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

   ¹⁹And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

   ²⁰And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

   ²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

   ²²And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

   ²³Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

   ²⁴An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

   ²⁵And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

   ²⁶Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

 ¹And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

   ²And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

   ³And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

   ⁴And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

   ⁵And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

   ⁶And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

   ⁷Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

   ⁸And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

   ⁹Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

   ¹⁰And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

   ¹¹Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

   ¹²So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

   ¹³And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

   ¹⁴And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

   ¹⁵Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

   ¹⁶There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

   ¹⁷But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

   ¹⁸Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

   ¹⁹And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

   ²⁰And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

   ²¹And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

   ²²And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

   ²³For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

 

¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

   ²And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

   ³And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

   ⁴And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

   ⁵And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

   ⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

   ⁷And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

   ⁸And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

   ⁹And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

   ¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

   ¹¹And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

   ¹²And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

   ¹³And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

   ¹⁴And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

   ¹⁵And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

   ¹⁶And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

   ¹⁷For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Rodney Howard Browne teaches on THE PEACEABLE FRUIT

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, 2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Just think of Him Who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds. 4 You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.  Hebrews 12:1-4 AMP

 

In today’s world, we have so many wonderful conveniences – clean water, an abundance of fresh foods, mechanized transportation, electricity, refrigeration, computers, state of the art medical care, electronic communication and many other things that make our life very much easier than that of our ancestors. The danger is that we can, and have, become soft, lazy, dependant, and spoiled. We are in danger of becoming selfish, self-centered and unwilling to make even small necessary sacrifices. We want to have our cake and we want to eat it too. We refuse to endure anything that doesn’t feel good – even if it is good for us. We insist on our own rights and our own way – even at the expense of others.

 

Jesus, in contrast, made the ultimate sacrifice without reservation. He withstood enormous pressure to not follow through with the suffering that lay before Him – the rejection, the verbal abuse, the physical abuse, the incredibly painful death and on top of that, the weight of the world’s sin and His own Father laying the judgment and sentence of a sinner upon Him, Who was sinless and undeserving. He went forward to face His destiny, no matter what He had to endure, for the joy that was set before Him. We are His joy – He endured it all for the joy of seeing you and me transformed by the power of God – delivered from darkness and translated into the light – gloriously adopted into the family of God.

 

And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him; 6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. 7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? 8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all]. Hebrews 12:5-8 AMP

 

Children need a lot of love and a lot of discipline. Parents, who love their children, will do their best to prepare them to function in the world as mentally, physically, sociologically, and physiologically healthy adults. A parent who does not love and discipline their child has abdicated their divine responsibility. Discipline is not only necessary, but it is essential to healthy growth and development. A parent, who loves their children will take the time and make the effort to train their child. Training includes teaching them the right things to do and correcting them when they do the wrong thing. A child without love and discipline is like an illegitimate child – no one has claimed them and no one cares enough about him/her to help them to grow up to become a healthy adult.

 

The Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves and He punishes every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. The way that God teaches us is through His Word. The way He disciplines us is by His Spirit. The way He “spanks” us is through His Word and by His Spirit. When you mess up and you feel how grieved the Holy Spirit is, you would almost rather have a real spanking. When you love God, you want to do the right thing to please Him, because you love Him and He loves you, not just because you fear the consequences of disobedience.

 

We need to submit to the discipline of the Lord, even though it might be unpleasant and uncomfortable at the moment, as we focus on the joy that is set before us – the joy of godliness, the joy of being free from the control of the devil, free from the bondage of sin, and free from the limitations of the flesh!

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16b AMP

Rodney Howard Browne teaches us to pray sincerely. When a righteous man prays a continued, earnest, heartfelt, prayer, there is a tremendous power that is released – a dynamic active power that effectively goes to work – producing the desired result. If you want your prayers to be answered, there are a few things that you must do to ensure the desired result – you must walk righteously before the Lord, you must pray sincerely and fervently and you must pray according to God’s will.

12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.  Mark 11:12-14 NKJV

Jesus spoke to the fig tree in the presence of His disciples. He cursed it and walked away.

20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” Mark 11:20-21 NKJV

The next morning, Jesus passed the fig tree without a second glance. The disciples on the other hand, noticed that it was dried up from the roots and they were shocked and surprised. Jesus was not surprised. Jesus did not even stop to see if anything had happened to the fig tree since He spoke to it. As far as He was concerned – He had spoken and He had faith in the fact that whatever He said came to pass. He had not one doubt about it at all. He did not have to look at the fig tree to see if His faith was working – as far as He was concerned if He spoke it, it was done!

11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 NKJV

God’s Word always accomplishes what He pleases and prospers in the thing for which He sent it. God’s Word always comes to pass no matter what! Believe His Word, speak His Word, stand on His Word, and receive the fulfillment of His promise in your life.

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:22-24 NKJV

1. Before you pray – have faith in God. Believe that His Word is true.
2. Believe your word – that what YOU say will come to pass.
3. Speak to the mountain.
4. Don’t doubt.
5. When you pray – believe that you have received the answer right then. You are not waiting for it – you have it already.
6. Continue to thank God for the answered prayer.

God’s Word says that if you speak to your situation and command it to change and you do not doubt in your heart, but you believe that what you say will come to pass – then, and only then, will you have whatever you say.

25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25-26 NKJV

Rodney Howard Browne teaches us to forgive freely. If you want all your prayers to be answered then, when you are praying, don’t forget to deal with your own attitude. You don’t want anything to stand in the way of your faith. Remember to forgive anyone who has offended you, so that God can also freely forgive you and answer your prayers.

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:1-4 NIV

 

The apostle Paul went to the province of Galatia to minister to the Galatians, to preach to them the Good News. He came to help them to leave the old life of sin and bondage behind them and to live their new life in the liberty of the Holy Spirit. He suffered many persecutions to bring them the Gospel and he also invested many precious hours praying for them and teaching them and helping them. He felt responsible for them and protective of them as if they were his very own children – which they were, in the Lord.

 

There were a group of Christians, converted from Judaism, who had not left the law and self-efforts and work-programs behind them. They preached that circumcision was necessary for salvation – even for the gentile converts -and they sowed confusion and bondage wherever they went. This made Paul very angry, because the Galatians were saved and free in Jesus, but now these Judaizers were trying to place a yoke of bondage back on them. Paul writes a letter to the Galatians to try to provoke and compel them to come back from law and bondage to grace and faith.

 

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.  Galatians 2:15-16 NIV

 

Those who were Jews by birth were descendants of the Jewish nation and of Jewish parents. The Galatians were the “Gentile sinners.”  When Paul refers to them as “sinners,” he is not questioning their morality, but rather he is referring to their non-observance of the law. They were brought up worshipping idols, without any knowledge of God or of the law. The Christian Jews knew that there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles as far as their salvation is concerned – it is all by faith, not by inheritance or works. Because it is by faith, they are all on equal ground with God.

 

17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. Galatians 2:17-18 NIV

 

If we acknowledge that we must be justified by faith in Christ, but we find that we also need to be circumcised, then what we are really saying is that what Christ did is not good enough – it was not a complete work. We are saying that we are not really saved after all and we make ourselves to be sinners again. How can Christ’s redemptive work make us a sinner again? And yet that is what you say when you say that something other than the blood of Jesus is essential for salvation.

 

This line of human reasoning stems from the belief that God is not pleased with us unless we DO something to earn our salvation, when all along God is telling us that the only thing that pleases Him about us, is our FAITH. The law has been abolished by the death of Christ. If someone acts like a Jew and imposes the observance of the law – which has been abolished – on the Gentiles, then they are building again the things that they destroyed and, in this way, they make themselves transgressors once again, undoing their justification by faith in Christ.

 

Christ does not promote sin in releasing us from bondage only to bring us back under a legalistic system. We become the transgressor when we revert from Christ back to legalism. The law makes us conscious of sin, but the law gives us no power to overcome sin. The law cannot make us acceptable to God, therefore we must turn from the law altogether.

 

19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:19-20 NIV

 

I was in Christ when the law executed Him in my place. In Christ, I died to the law and paid the penalty of the broken law and in so doing, died to the law – the law has no further claim on me. When Christ arose, I arose with Him, and now I might live unto God. I was crucified with Him and I live with Him. It is not really my life – it is His life that I am a partaker of. I have died to the old life and have risen to a new life. My new life is a life of faith in Christ. Galatians 3:11 says, “The righteous will live by faith.” I will place my trust in Him alone, not my own efforts, for it is His grace and His mercy and His blood that has saved my soul and my life.