Monthly Archives: April 2018

Resurrection Life

Foundation Scriptures:

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.  Matthew 28:1-10 KJV
1. The Power of God was displayed at the Resurrection.

a. The stone was rolled away.

b. The keepers of the tomb passed out – fell as dead men.

c. Romans 8:11 KJV – “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

d. The Spirit of God in you quickens – makes alive; brings life to – your body.

e. Jesus is the source of eternal life.

f. 1 John 5:11-13 KJV – “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

g. The life of God comes into us at the new birth.

h. He who has the Son has life.

i. John 10:10 KJV – “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

j. Jesus gives abundant life.

2. The Well and the River.

a. The well:

b. John 4:10-14 KJV – “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

c. The river:

d. John 7:37-39 KJV – “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”

3. Resurrection Power Working in You.

a. Jesus prepared the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

b.  John 14:16-19

c. John 14:26

d. John 15:26

e. John 16:7-14

f. Then He told them to go and tarry at Jerusalem.

g. Acts 1:8 KJV – “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

h. You shall receive power – virtue – dunamis.

i. Acts 2:1-4 KJV – “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

j. Mark 5:25-34

k. The woman with the issue of blood touched His garment and virtue flowed out of Him – He felt it; she felt it.

l. John G. Lake – bubonic plague had no effect on him.

m. Romans 8:2 KJV – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

4. This Resurrection Life is for Everyday Life.

a. We need to learn about, and receive from, this anointing.

b. This anointing works for your home, marriage, work, and even play.

c. You will live the high life when you make the decision to live in the anointing on a daily basis.

The Blessing of Godly Offspring

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28 NKJV

Of the five commands God gave man before the fall – a) be fruitful; b) multiply; c) replenish the earth; d) exercise dominion and do not give it to another; e) do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil – the first three all have to do with reproducing and bearing children. God is the One who instituted marriage and a stable, healthy marriage creates the best environment for raising children. It has been said that the best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother, because if a man makes a real commitment to his wife and his marriage, at the same time, he is also making a commitment to his children. This is a God-given responsibility that we should take very seriously.

And this you do with double guilt; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives], and with [your own] weeping and crying out because the Lord does not regard your offering any more or accept it with favor at your hand. 14 Yet you ask, Why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows]. 15 And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth. 16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce and marital separation and him who covers his garment [his wife] with violence. Therefore keep a watch upon your spirit [that it may be controlled by My Spirit], that you deal not treacherously and faithlessly [with your marriage mate]. Malachi 2:13-16 AMP

In this passage, God again puts the responsibility on the husbands to treat their wives honorably and not to abandon them for other women. It is not acceptable before God, for a man to selfishly use women for his own sexual gratification – whether before marriage or during his marriage. It is not acceptable for a husband to cheat on his wife. It is not acceptable for a husband to dump one wife for another, simply because he isn’t getting what he wants – or because a better model comes along. Wives are not like cars or houses – you don’t get rid of the one you have so you can have another better, younger, prettier model! It is the man’s responsibility to please his wife and spend his life doing that. If men took this commitment seriously, I’m sure they would be much more careful, and prayerful in their selection of a marriage mate!

Marriage is not just a formality sealed with a signature on a piece of paper. It is not a disposable institution. Marriage is a covenant promise witnessed by God, Himself. Right here, God tells us why He made the two – husband and wife – one flesh. He did it because He sought godly offspring from their union! For the sake of our future offspring, we should count the cost before we say, “I do”, and when we do say, “I do”, we need to commit to the marriage and also commit to live a godly life, so that we can raise godly offspring, according to the purpose and plan of God for our lives. The rewards of fidelity are a strong marriage and healthy, happy children!

Drink waters out of your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship], and fresh running waters out of your own well. 16 Should your offspring be dispersed abroad as water brooks in the streets? 17 [Confine yourself to your own wife] let your children be for you alone, and not the children of strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth. Proverbs 5:15-18 AMP

God has a plan for good – for hope and a future for you. The devil also has a plan – to destroy lives – and many people sadly find themselves experiencing much less than God’s best in their marriage and family. Many homes are broken and split apart and can’t be repaired, and it is the children who suffer the most. Because most people today do not exercise sexual restraint, there are many children who are born into single parent households. This makes them more vulnerable to poverty, neglect and abuse than children from intact families, living with their own biological parents. Some children are disadvantaged because a parent has died, but so many more are vulnerable because of poor or selfish choices their parents have made. Children are born into single parent homes for many reasons – by a planned or an unplanned pregnancy, or because the father is irresponsible, abusive or neglectful, or simply because people are having sexual relations with people whom they don’t love or who don’t love or care about them. The ones who suffer are the children. It’s time to stop all selfish behavior and for parents – or potential parents – to think about the consequences of their actions and to make responsible, unselfish choices. We are not evolved animals who follow their animal instincts – we are made in the image of God and are fully capable of conquering our fleshly desires and walking a pure, godly life!

God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. Psalms 68:6 AMP

There is good news! No matter what our situation or how we got there, thank God, He has promised to be both Husband and Father to us and to meet every need we might have. If we humble ourselves and look to Him and trust in Him, He will restore us and protect and provide for us and bless our families.