Spirit, Soul & Body

Spirit, Soul & Body by Andrew Wommack

This teaching is a foundational truth that is essential for understanding how much God loves you and believing what He says about you in His Word. Each person is made up of three different parts: spirit, soul, and body. Learn how these three parts relate to God and to each other. At salvation your spirit is totally changed, but your soul and body is not yet redeemed. This series will teach you how to release the life that is already in your spirit, into your physical body and emotions.

Here is the link to the audio message which can be listened to or downloaded free of charge. You can also purchase the book, CD or the DVD.

Wallet

One of my friends and his wife was here in the US for a visit in November 2008 and I was their New York City ‘guide’. One evening after we got out of The Metropolitan Museum and while I was on the way to drop them off to a Broadway show, I suddenly realized that I had lost my wallet.

I don’t care if I lost my shoes, but losing the wallet is a hassle. I’ll have to call the debit and credit card companies, have my driver’s license reissued etc etc – it was something that I did not want to go through. Plus, I had a little more than 300 dollars in it. For the first few moments, I let my emotions try to control me. But I quickly said, “No, I will receive my wallet in the Name of Jesus!” I decided that my friends should not change their plans and they took a cab to Broadway before I borrowed some money from them. I went back to the Museum and reported the incident to the Security and after that I retraced my steps in the Museum, but there was no unattended wallet to be found anywhere. I sat at the lobby and spoke to Jesus. I said, “Jesus, it is easy for me to say that You are a miracle-working God, when everything is going okay. But I want to experience Your miracle-working Power now! I refuse to let this happen to me, since I am a carrier of Jesus Christ, the Creator of the Universe. There is NOTHING impossible for my Christ Jesus. I’m calling on your Name, Jesus, to help me for I see no other way. The chances to get a lost wallet back in Manhattan is slim to none, in the natural, but I’m believing in YOUR miracle working power. Thank You Jesus for my wallet”.

And I was led to speak to the wallet. I said, “Wallet, in the Name of Jesus, I command you to come to me.” Followed by, “In the name of Jesus, Angels, I command you to shield the wallet from thieves and bring it to me.”

I was not planning on speaking to the wallet or to the angels. I was merely following the inner promptings. Before leaving the museum, I checked one last time with the Security if they received my wallet. But there was no sign of my wallet yet. They said they will call me if they find my wallet. No matter what, I knew that somehow I will get that wallet back. I knew that my Jesus will never leave me nor forsake me. I met my friends that night after the show. They were very upset for me and they insisted on calling the debit and credit card companies to cancel the current cards and issue a fresh set. I told them, “I have already received my wallet”.

Negative thoughts tried to bother me occasionally, till I slept, but I refused to invite them to my heart. I refused to even address the enemy (Satan), because why should I waste my time talking with someone who is already defeated, disarmed and is under my feet? He was really a non-issue. I slept very peacefully that night.

The very next morning, I got a phone from a total stranger. He said that he is calling from a taxicab and that he has found my wallet in that cab. I went that afternoon to his hotel lobby to pick up my wallet. Everything in it was there as it was before, and not one cent was gone.

To the “intellectual” mind, this might be just a ‘coincidence’, but I know, without a shadow of doubt, that it was the hand of Jesus at work! And I know if I had chose to worry that night over this issue, I would probably have delayed or not have received the answer that I was looking for. I am learning that it is the absolute trust in Jesus that yields results. When we believe in Him, He fills us with the perfect soul rest. My friend said that he was impressed with my faith. But I did not and cannot take credit for “my faith”, because my faith had holes. I was initially perplexed when I realized that I lost my wallet. If I had depended on ‘my faith’, I’m sure I would not have received my wallet back. Instead, I depended on the Author and Finisher of Faith (Hebrews 12:2) who dwells in me. My faith was in Him. I was dependent on His faith – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus is Lord!

My New Birth

Please find below a testimony of my childhood friend Arun Ram, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2007.


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MY NEW BIRTH
by ARUN RAM, Australia - June 19, 2009

After being settled with my family in Bangalore, India, we migrated to Australia in July 2007. It was a decision from out of the blue. We couldn’t find a reason why we made that big move, until now (Hebrews 11:8).

In August 2007, I was diagnosed with Testicular cancer, a month after we moved and I underwent Orchidectomy (removal of testis). My family was shattered with the news of this deadly disease. Why were we moved this to land? Why this suffering the week after we moved? Questions with no clear answers stared at our face. Regardless, I began to run after life to make it secure for the family. We didn’t have the strength to reveal the matter to our parents then. Days became weeks, week became months, the fear of cancer, and the fear of a relapse was always on the back the mind. I lost peace. I started hiding my fears from my wife. I was all alone...

After one year, the cancer relapsed to the lymph nodes and I was asked to undergo chemotherapy. That was the time when I met our church Priest, Boby Philip and a friend Jacob George. Jacob visited me during the first week of my chemotherapy and took my Holy Bible and told me to hold on to it firmly and read daily. I started reading the Bible. It was big relief for me, a new beginning. The Word of God filled me with peace that passed all human understanding (Philippians 4:7). Jacob led me to the scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

My life during chemo was pure turmoil. But I found my companion in Jesus. He showed me the way, the truth, the life. I was becoming closer and closer to Him each day. I was in emergency isolation in hospital with the severe dose of chemo, but “thy rod and thy staff comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4). He was my comfort.

Towards the end of chemo by December 2008, I was so weak and was vomiting badly. I prayed to my Lord to give me the strength to attend the Holy Communion on December 25th of 2008. I had never missed the mass since my childhood. On Dec 23rd, I stopped taking the nausea medicine; I was regaining the strength. It was a miracle! On the 25th of December at 5AM, I drove the car all by myself and attended the Holy Communion! “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? In Presence of all His people, I will take the cup of Salvation, I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalms 116). On December 31st of 2008, I gave my first testimony of His Grace and His blessing.

The chemotherapy was a great success and the 5 cm mass shrunk to 1 cm. The doctor was confident the same to be a dead scar after the chemo. But they wanted it to be removed. The surgery was scheduled on June 3rd. During these 5 months, I was getting closer to Jesus and asked Him why I am being tested in my life. I found my answer in Romans 9:17 - “Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” God will never “teach” anyone by giving him or her a sickness. He loves us so much that He died for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8). But God can take glory by delivering me from my sickness (John 11:4) and use me as His effective channel.

During the recent CT scan, the doctors noticed that the mass has aligned to the centre and updated me before the surgery, about the risk of losing my blood when moving the blood vessels to reach the cancerous mass, which was near my spine. This was the new risk on top of the regular risk associated with the surgery. They made extra arrangements for this blood loss and transfusion.

I underwent the lymph node dissection surgery on June 3rd of 2009. After the surgery, the doctor was really happy that they could reach the spine (with their hands) and not lose the blood vessels. These blood vessels turned to their side and made its way to the bottom, just like the divided Red Sea through which Moses and his people of Israel passed after leaving Egypt. Jesus was leading in the front through the surgery. Matthew 19:26 – “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

After the surgery I was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). After a successful procedure, now it was a testing phase at the ICU. On the first night, I suddenly woke up and saw my image on the TV on the ceiling. It was blurred. The lights were switched off; I could see doctors a little far away in the room in discussion. I was getting uneasy every other minute. While I was looking at the blurred image on the TV, the pain was aggravating. I started commanding: “By His Stripes, I AM healed, in the Name of Jesus”, I was shouting as the pain aggravated. Suddenly the doctors arrived. “Why are you murmuring sir?” and they woke me up. I couldn’t imagine I was asleep. I saw my image on the TV, it was alright. They switched on the light. They were surprised that my epidural (pain medicine) stopped working through the IV (drip through the vein). There seemed to be some air bubble blocking the epidural to reach my body. The block was on the equipment and not on the tube, which was surprising. My temperature shot up to 39.9 and they were running around to get everything in control. In two hours, my temperature became normal and the malfunction was rectified.

The second night at around same time, I started getting the pain. I called the doctor. The Epidural pain management was not getting distributed on all the areas of my abdomen. As a result of this, there was pain and the doctor did not know why it was happening. Finally they found out that the epidural cord which was fixed on my spine, needed to be replaced. They do not have an option but to start over the procedure to insert a new cord. At 2AM they started the procedure. They made me sit on the bed and had me bent forward. The doctor started working on my spine to get the cord right. It took them 2 hours to get it corrected. Due to the 12” incision, sitting in that position was painful. The doctor keeps checking with me regarding my comfort level. I was just smiling. I knew that if the Good Lord had taken care of me during the 6-hour surgery and that these things were minor. The major works were already supervised by Jesus. These were just tricks of Satan, he could only do these silly pain-generating tricks. Why should I be worried? So I wasn’t.

The next day, the doctor informed me that I have pneumonia. The plan was to have me observed for 4 days in ICU and then 10 days in the ward. But miraculously, I moved to the ward on the Day 2 of the surgery. I was transferred to a beautiful room where I could see a church from my bed. It was calm and I was happy to be in this state. Most importantly, I had plenty of time to read my Bible. There was absolutely no tension; I did not have to run around for earthly things, I could be myself with my Heavenly Father. During this time, I had a lot of God-loving friends visiting me, praying and praising the Lord for His Grace. The doctor never came back on the latest finding on pneumonia. It was cast down in the Name of Jesus. By God’s grace, I was recovering fast; I was able to walk from Day 4. Praise the Lord, on Day 7, I was back home! I was not having any pain. The wound healed in 3 days and I could walk from day 4! The biopsy result was out and the doctor confirmed that the residue mass was in fact a dead scar and it was not cancerous. By His Grace, I am cancer free. Jesus saved my family, my wife and my son. My Jesus touched me. I prayed, I believed I felt and then I experienced my healing! (Mark 11: 24).

Now I know the truth; the truth why we moved into this land. Through this ordeal, I set my trust in Jesus. All my life, I knew about Jesus, but I did not personally know Him. Now I have experientially known the truth that our Jesus will never leave nor forsake us, no matter how severe the circumstances around us are. Now I have experienced the truth that healing is the divine birthright of a child of God - My Jesus bore the stripes on His back for our healing (1 Peter 2:24). His plan is to give us Hope and Future.

God Bless!!
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The Root Cause Of Your Problem Is Condemnation

Messages on YouTube by Joseph Prince

1. The Root Cause Of Your Problem Is Condemnation
2. Grace Flows In Worry-Free Areas Of Your Life

Book: Destined to Reign

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." - Romans 8:1-2

Still Standing

by Israel Houghton

LYRICS:

Verse One: You gave me courage to believe that all your goodness I will see and if it had not been for you standing on my side where would I be

Chorus: If not for your goodness if not for your grace I don't know where I would be today if not for your kindness I never could say I'm still standing if not for your mercy if not for your love I most likely would have given up if not for your favor I never could say I'm still standing but by the grace of God

Verse Two: To you I lift my offering and set my heart on higher things for if it had not been for you standing on my side where would I be

I'm still standing I'm standing I'm still standing but by the grace of God.

Self-Righteousness Or His Righteousness?

Religious people often come to the conclusion that, since they have not done big sins, they are good. And they happily condemn and judge the so-called big sinners. But the call is to seek His righteousness (right-standing with God), not ours.

Let us see how the Scripture views sin:

1. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” - James 2:10-11 NKJV

Some may scoff at this verse, saying that they have neither committed adultery nor murdered anyone. But Jesus said, “You have heard…You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matt 5:28). Jesus' definition of adultery is different from ours. And He was making this point to the self-righteous religious crowd who heavily gave weight to the external actions, when sin originates from within.

2. Jesus warned, “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,” (Matt 5:22). John says, “He who hates his brother is a murderer,” (1 John 3:15). As per the Scripture,  hatred in the heart is same as murder. It does not matter how justified we are in our sight.

3. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” - James 4:17

When was the last time we saw a broken down car on the highway and passed by them without offering a helping hand when we know that we should help them?

4. “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23

What is my point here?

This is not a post of condemnation for there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. The goal of this post is merely to pop the self-righteous bubble that we sometimes love to walk around in, while judging and condemning others. Not one of us are righteous by our own merits. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

In God’s eyes, there is no big or small sin. Sin is sin, even if it is a “white” lie or a cold-blooded murder. To be perfect in God’s eyes, we have to score 100 out of 100. There is no silver star for 99.999 out of 100. The truth is, not one of us can achieve this with our own effort, no matter how sincere we are in our effort. This is precisely the reason why we needed a Savior. His name is Jesus.

If the perfection that God requires of us to be in His right-standing could be achieved by our good works and by keeping the Law, Jesus did not have to go through the gruesome torture and crucifixion (see Gal 2:21). Since it is humanly impossible to reach God’s righteousness with our effort, Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and while we were sinners, Christ demonstrated the height of His love for us by paying the penalty for our sins with His own precious and sinless blood.

In the past, people sacrificed animals to temporarily cover their sins, but Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the Cross wiped away the sin - once and for all. We won't be able to experience this awesome grace for us in Christ Jesus, if we think we can earn and keep our salvation by our feeble efforts to keep the law.

Praise God for His gift that we cannot earn with our works. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 NKJV).

We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So let us  wholeheartedly stand each day in His righteousness. In Him, we are now made righteous.

Related post:

A Tale of Two White Shirts 

Bibles Unbound

In many countries, we have the luxury to debate on the different versions of the Bible, but that is not the case everywhere.

Visit BiblesUnbound.com, a ministry of Voice of the Martyrs, and see how you can can send a Bible to someone who desperately wants one!

FAQs

. If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?
. How can you Christians say that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
. Don't all religions teach the same thing?
. How can a God of love send someone to hell?
. The reason I'm not a Christian is because there are so many hypocrites in the church.
. I tried church before, but it didn't work for me.

These frequently asked questions are addressed here.

God Is Here

God Is Here by Lara Martin

LYRICS:

In your presence, there is fullness of life
And healing flowing, for body soul and mind
God of miracles, God of the impossible is here
God is here

God is here
Let the broken hearted rejoice (lift up your head)
God is here
Let the sick say I am well (all sufficient One)
God is here
Let the weak say I am strong (let the weak say I am strong!)
God is here
His wonders to perform

In your presence, there is perfect peace
In the stillness, I behold your deity
God of wonders, God of power is here
God is here

[Chorus]

O His wonders, yes His wonders
His wonders to perform

Preach The Solution, Not The Problem

Article by Alexander Thomas, Word of Harvest Ministries

Romans 6:6-7

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. ⁷For he that is dead is freed from sin

When Jesus died on the cross, He did more than just die for your sins. He took your old man (your old self) or sin nature along with Him. Your old man or sin nature was dead and buried with Jesus. Your old man was dead and buried with Jesus 2000 years ago. That means your old man was dead even before you were physically born on the earth! This truth is not limited to you alone; it is applicable to every person who lived after the cross of Jesus. We may not be able to figure out this truth with our peanut brain. This is like trying to understand the verse “The Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8) with our mind. This is the spiritual reality, but it is hardly preached even after 2000 years.

In the beginning, God called light to remove the darkness, He did not talk about the darkness, He just called forth light. JESUS is the Light of the world and Gospel is about the Light and we are the carriers of that Light. Proclaim JESUS, the darkness will leave. The remedy for all kinds of sin and destruction is revealing JESUS to the world.

JESUS, His Cross, and the Resurrection are the most important subjects in the Bible. The greatest event that took place in the history of humanity is the crucifixion of Jesus and the greatest person ever lived in the history of humanity is Jesus. The whole Bible is a type and shadow of this great event and this great person Jesus. As human beings, our success in life is directly proportional to our knowledge about this great event, and relationship to this great person Jesus. Preaching of the Gospel is the proclamation of this great event and great person to the world. How can we preach a message without touching this great event and the great person, Oh, it is all about JESUS!

After the first century church era, layers of tradition and religion crept into christendom and buried the revelation of Cross and Jesus, and we are now engaged in revealing human wisdom. Preaching human wisdom such as 10 steps to prosperity, 11 steps to healing, 12 steps to peace, and 13 steps to build your faith backed with Bible verses excites people and is profitable. In reality, after the cross there is only ONE step to all your problems; which is, getting grafted with the true vine "JESUS". Believers are well-versed with all the Kingdom principles and techniques, but have absolutely no revelation knowledge about King Jesus. Books and tapes are sold in millions, and the preachers are building kingdoms for themselves. I am not against human wisdom or prosperity, but I am against anything that takes away the importance of Jesus. When are we going to realize that we have fallen from Grace and are separated from Jesus? Wake up!

Our sins are forgiven even before we ever committed them; if this is the truth, do you think sin is an issue for God? The sin issue is taken care of on the cross by HIS SON, once and for all. The world does not know about this great truth and the church rarely preach this truth. The church is still debating on the eternal redemption, not sure whether all sins are forgiven or part of the sin is forgiven. All your sins [Past, Present and Future] are forgiven forever. All your sins were in the future tense when Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago. If Jesus cannot forgive your future sins, you cannot get saved and your eternity is in the hell fire and damnation.

The church is still focusing on the sin problem; rather focusing on the solution "JESUS". The world has a Son problem, preaching the true gospel to the world is the solution to the son problem. The sin separates you from God, not God from you, and you may not be able to enjoy the abundance in Jesus.

Now if your question to me is, if the old man or the sin nature of the whole world was dead and buried 2000 years ago, why are we still seeing all kinds of sins in the earth? This is because, the new creation happened in the spirit realm and the physical realm has yet to experience this reality. This spiritual reality will be experienced individually when a person believes these spiritual truths. Those who believe these spiritual truths experiences it and those who do not believe it will never experience it. The preaching of the Gospel is to reveal this truth to the world. Shame to the preachers who are still preaching the sin issue without giving the solution to sin, which is JESUS.

Preach the Solution "JESUS", not the problem.