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The believer should not be afraid to say what he or she believes. There is a principle of scripture that proclaims the truth that a believer should declare what He believes to be the will of God. When faith is properly placed in Christ and what He has done for us at Calvary, covenant promises lie waiting to be claimed. The confession principle is proper and spiritually helpful for the kingdom of God, when the Christian is faithful to maintain the practice of denial of self and the object of their faith remains in the Cross of Christ. Salvation does not make man a “little god.” Salvation causes the believer to become a child of God who is always to be subservient to the Father. As God reveals the truth's of covenant provision to us, we as believers are called upon to claim them. Our speech does not provide the provision, the Cross did that. Instead, our proclamation is an exhibition of our faith in what God has provided for us through Christ at Calvary. Do not let the abuse of the confession principle that now exists in the body of Christ, stop you from understanding or participating in saying, claiming, even prophesying what you are daring to believe that God has prepared for you.
Mark 11:23 - For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Proverbs 27:25
The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The hay appears and is removed just as the tender grass which shows itself and quickly is burned away. These things are mentioned in the context of everything that exists on the earth is decaying and soon will not be here. Of the estimated almost 8 billion people who are on the earth, not a one of us were here just 120 years ago, and 120 years from today not a one of us will be there then. It is a rapid turnover, and the only thing that will have mattered will be did we heed the call of God through His Son Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross.
All are being drawn by God’s loving kindness (Jeremiah 31:3) because Jesus said that if He was lifted up, He would draw all men unto Himself (John 12:32), and He was lifted up in the plan of God before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Although all are being drawn, only those who come by the Way of the Cross are brought near to God (Ephesians 2:13). Glory to God and the Lamb forever!!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? (Gal. 4:9).
The Galatians, who had been saved by Grace, were in the act of turning away from Grace to Law, which occasioned Paul to write this letter. Judaizers (Jews who accepted Christ as the Messiah, but claimed that it was still necessary to keep the Law of Moses, which denied the Cross) were making headway in corrupting the Gospel.
The question, “How is it possible that you are turning back again to the weak and beggarly rudimentary things to which you desire to be in bondage again?”. is a rhetorical question, the purpose of which is to show the absurdity of their actions. It also calls the attention of the Galatians to the ineffectiveness and poverty of their old religion system, which actually was paganism, contrasted to the power and richness of the Gospel. Paul is, in effect, dealing with two situations: a perverted form of Judaism to which they were turning, and also to pagan religions. Both were legalistic in character, and were without a dynamic to make actual the realization of ethical principles in the life.
The Apostle puts Judaism and paganism into the same category, even though Judaism was lightyears ahead of paganism. Although the Mosaic Law was originally given by God, still, it was totally and completely fulfilled in Christ. To go to that now, by either Gentiles or Jews, is, in Paul’s thinking, no different than going back into unconverted heathenism.
In fact, in Verses 8 and 10, idolatry (paganism) and ritualism (Judaism) are united and presented as having the same source and operating upon the same principle. Man misuses God’s Gifts and corrupts His Truths. The Law, which taught man that he was a sinner and needed Righteousness, was used by man as an instrument to establish his own righteousness through a carnal observance of its outward requirements. On the other hand, the idolater (Gentile) similarly debased conscience and became the willing slave to gods who only existed in his imagination.
The time of the Law consisted of symbols and examples, i.e., “shadows” used by God to teach His ancient People of the realities which they would find only in Christ, and only thus did these things have any value. He knew how to employ these figures in connection with a Law that tested man in the flesh and that demonstrated man’s inability to serve God. To go back, therefore, to these shadows made for man in the flesh, now that God had proved the impossibility of man by them acquiring merit before Him, and now that the substance of the shadow was come, was to go back to the position of men in the flesh, and, as men in the flesh, to seek a carnal righteousness, which, of course, was, and is, impossible. In fact, it was actually going back to the principles of idolatry. As a result, it greatly perplexed the Apostle that the Galatian Believers should wish to go back to paganism; for that, in effect, would be the import of their action if they went into Judaism under the guidance of these false teachers.
Let the Reader Understand:
The problem presently is identical as that then. Any Believer who tries to live for God by any means other than by simple Faith in Christ and the Cross is doing exactly what some of the Galatians were doing. Such a Believer is accepting something that not only will not bring freedom, but which will thrust one into bondage. There is no “freedom” in anything except Christ and Him Crucified. Let it also be understood:
The “bondage” addressed here refers to bondage to the Sin Nature. That’s the reason we speak so strongly against the “Purpose Driven Life” doctrine, the “Government of Twelve” doctrine, the “Word of Faith” doctrine, etc. These systems do not look exclusively to Christ and the Cross, but rather to legalistic demands formulated by men. The only answer is the Cross of Christ!”
— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
The most difficult people in the world to get along with can be the members of one's family. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. Number one, because we are close to family and because we trust them, we are more likely to operate in the flesh and with less restraint than when we are around fellow workers or even strangers. We are not as concerned about acting the fool in front of some of those who we are close to, because the relationship with them is a secure one. Secondly, when we have had a bad day, when things have not gone our way at work, at school, or even at the house, frustration can cause us to treat loved ones unfairly and unjustly. We feel the need to release our frustration and the closest one at hand often has to bear the brunt of our dissatisfaction. Remember that being hurt by someone you love and trust can often create the deepest wounds. In these moments just described, we need to be aware of our spiritual condition, and cry out to God for grace to help in time of need. With God's help we can learn to treat the ones we love the most with consistent God-like agape love.
John 15:17 - These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Proverbs 27:26
The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
Generation after generation the Lord has been the dwelling place of His people (Psalm 90:1), and He has always been faithful to take care of His people. He has given the lambs for clothing, and the goats for the trade or purchase of fields. Most importantly, the Lord has given us the blood for the atonement of our souls (Leviticus 17:11) upon the altar, which speaks of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Life may only be a vapor here and now (James 4:14), but those of us who are “In Christ” through faith in His death for us on the cross will never die, but will live with Him forever and ever! We are blessed to be able to know God and His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent to save us!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“But as then he who was born after the flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what says the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman (Gal. 4:29-30).
The Law and the Gospel cannot coexist. The Law must disappear before the Gospel. When Paul mentions “Law,” he is speaking not only of the Law of Moses, but any type of law which is conjured up by man, supposedly to help one live for God.
Concerning these things, Lightfoot says, “It is scarcely possible to estimate the strength of conviction and depth of prophetic insight which this declaration given by Paul implies. The Apostle thus confidently sounds the death-knell of Judaism at a time when approximately one-half of Christendom clung to the Mosaic Law with a jealous affection little short of frenzy, and while the Judaic party seemed to be growing in influence, and was strong enough even in the Gentile Churches of Paul’s own founding to undermine his influence and endanger his life.”
What Paul gave was, nevertheless, the Word of God, and ultimately it overcame the Judaism problem; however, the problem of “law” did not abate but, in fact, continued to weaken the true Gospel, even as it does presently. Virtually the entirety of the modern Church, sadly, has presently opted for law instead of Grace; the latter can come only by and through the Cross. Of course, they do not think of such as law, but that’s what it is. As a result, those who are law-followers will persecute those who are of true Faith.
Paul’s statement, “He who was born after the flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit” refers back to Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was a work of the flesh, in other words, the product of Abraham’s and Sarah’s scheming. Isaac was totally a work of the Holy Spirit. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, which proclaims the fact that his birth was miraculous.
The effect of the birth of Isaac was to make manifest the character of Ishmael. Ishmael hated Isaac, and so did Ishmael’s mother Hagar. Prompted by her, he sought to murder Isaac, which is what the word “persecuted” (Vs. 29) means. He and his mother were justly expelled. Both merited the severer sentence of death. Thus, the birth of Isaac, which filled Sarah’s heart with joy, filled Hagar’s with murder.
Isaac and Ishmael symbolize the new and the old nature in the Believer. Hagar and Sarah typify the two Covenants of works and Grace, of bondage and Liberty. The birth of the new nature demands the expulsion of the old. It is impossible to improve the old nature. The “bondwoman and her son” must go!
In the Eighth Chapter of Romans, the Holy Spirit says that “it is enmity against God, that is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.” If, therefore, it (we continue to speak of the old nature) cannot be subject to the Law of God, how can it be improved? How foolish, therefore, appears the doctrine of moral evolution! The Divine way of Holiness is to “put off the old man,” just as Abraham “put off Ishmael.” Man’s way of holiness is to improve the “old man,” that is, to improve Ishmael. The effort is both foolish and hopeless. Of course, the casting out of Ishmael was “very grievous in Abraham’s sight,” because it always foments a struggle to cast out these elements of bondage, that is, salvation by works. For legalism is dear to the heart, just as Ishmael was to Abraham the fair fruit of his own energy and planning.
Paul states to the Galatians that Hagar, the bondwoman, represents the Covenant of the Law, and that her son represents all who are of “works of law,” that is, all who seek Righteousness on the principle of works of righteousness. But the bondwoman cannot bring forth the free man!
The Son Alone makes free, and He makes free indeed! Sarah, the free woman, symbolizes the Covenant of Grace and Liberty. And so the Apostle says, “We are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Gal. 4:31).
This means that no vestige of law can be left in the heart and life of the Believer. Everything must be in Christ and His Cross. The object of faith must be transferred from all works of the law, from all efforts of the law, even from everything which only hints toward law, and placed exclusively in Christ and what He did at the Cross (Gal. 6:14).”
— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a “whosoever will” gospel. God has not chosen some people for salvation and other people for eternal destruction. So “whosoever will” can be saved. As well, God has opened the door wide for every born-again believer to be conformed into the image of Christ. Some approach this privilege and responsibility with a great desire to be changed. They learn the process of keeping their faith in Christ and Him Crucified in order to receive the grace that transforms them into His image. Other believers do not count the opportunity to be changed as a priority and their dedication, consecration, and lack of sanctification is evidenced to those who know them. Experiencing sanctification also belongs to “whosoever will.” Some people falter and stumble during a test or a trial. The difficulty causes them to release their faith and they allow their trust in Christ to crumble. But there are others who will fight the good fight of faith through every circumstance and trial of life. God's grace is able to equip us in every situation. All that He asks is that “whosoever will” might learn to trust Him in every circumstance, whether it be in salvation, sanctification, or through a fiery trial.
Revelation 22:17 - And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Proverbs 27:27
And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
Again, in the context of these scripture verses, we see God’s faithfulness even though our lives are very short. We are told in verse 23 to tend to those things God has given us and to tend to them well. If we take care of, with integrity, those things the Lord has given us to be good stewards of, He will bring the increase. He will supply the goats’ milk and it will be enough.
We can always trust the Lord, as He is the only One who can truly be trusted to come through when no one else will. It is He who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), and says that all the beasts of the forest are His. Let us trust the Lord today as we look to Calvary where He manifest His love toward us (1 John 4:9-10), and His grace became more than enough!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1).
The teaching that Paul gives in this Verse is that Christ died on the Cross to give us the advantage of having Spiritual Liberty and freedom. This Liberty consists of freedom from law of any type. Under law (law of any type), the individual who subscribes to such has no more liberty than a child under a guardian. The child has no freedom of action, no right of self-determination. He must move within a set of rules prescribed by his guardian. He is not old enough to act alone. He must always act under the restrictions of his guardian.
So it is with a person under the Law.
Here were these Galatian Christians, free from the Law, having been placed in the family of God as adult sons, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Who would enable them to act out in their experience that maturity of Christian Life in which they were now placed, now putting on the straightjacket of the Law, cramping their experience, stultifying their actions, therefore, depriving themselves of the Power of the Holy Spirit. They were like adults putting themselves under rules made for children.
The word “liberty,” as used here by Paul, does not refer to the kind of life a person lives, neither does it have reference to his words and actions, but it has to do with the method by which he lives that life. The subscribers to law must live their lives by dependence upon self effort in an attempt to obey the law. As such, they come under bondage.
The word “entangled” is from the Greek “enecho,” which means “to be held within, to be ensnared.” It is like a net thrown over someone, and them unable to free themselves. The Galatian Christians, having escaped from the slavery of heathenism, were in danger of becoming entangled in the meshes of legalistic Judaism. And so it is with modern Believers who have been brought out of the system of the world, which definitely imprisons an individual, who are trading the liberty they have in Christ for laws of religion. Such will never lead to victory, as such cannot lead to victory. Freedom is found only in Christ and what He did at the Cross. Tragically, most modern Believers don’t know that, so they formulate laws in their efforts to live for God, which are works of the flesh, which can never be accepted by the Lord (Rom. 8:8).”
— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
For the believer, there is one relationship that determines the health and longevity of every other relationship. If the believer’s relationship with Christ is secure, ongoing, and growing, then it is fairly reasonable to assume that the relationship with others will be strong. The reason behind this is simple. When we as individuals are drawing life from our relationship with Christ, then we are being equipped by the Holy Spirit with the love, grace, and the patience that is needed to successfully build and maintain any other relationship. When we try to gain happiness simply through a relationship with another human being, we will wind up with an emptiness in our soul. It will not be long before instead of giving life to the one we love, we will be drawing life, until that other person has nothing left to give. Frustration, anger, and confusion are the end result. That person that we counted on to bring us life cannot supply it, nor we to them. When our relationship with Christ is the source from which we draw life, we will be filled with grace. We will have everything we need to share with someone else. Give priority to your relationship with Christ and your relationships with others will have the foundation to succeed.
Luke 10:27 - And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
The wicked have to live with a paranoia even when no one is pursuing them because condemnation constantly produces guilt in the heart of man. They do not realize what it is but guilt chases lost men without ceasing until they reach the place of faith in Christ and His atoning work at Calvary. The condemnation and guilt upon trusting in Christ flee from the believer, and they no more have to flee because of fear.
The righteous are as confident as a lion, or I should say, the righteous have the opportunity to be as bold and confident as a lion. It is the confidence which our great Lion of the tribe of Judah had that we now have. If our faith remains in Christ and His work at the cross for us, confidence will be our experience. I’m thankful that fear no longer drives and controls me, but all fear has been cast out by the Lord’s perfect love (1 John 4:18) which is seen when we look to the cross of Christ (1 John 4:9-10).
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be Circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing (Gal. 5:2).
When Paul uses here the term, “Christ shall profit you nothing,” he is speaking to Believers. He is not speaking here of their “standing in Grace” as justified Believers. He is speaking of the method of living the Christian Life and of growth in that Life. Thus, if the Galatians submit to Circumcision (this word “circumcision” is a catch-all phrase for any type of law), they are putting themselves under law, and are depriving themselves of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, which Christ made possible through His Death and Resurrection, a Ministry which was not provided for under Law.
In the Old Testament dispensation, the Spirit came upon Believers, sometimes even in Believers, in order that they might perform a certain service for God, and then left them when that service was accomplished. He did not indwell them for purposes of Sanctification. Because of the Cross and what was effected there by Christ, the Holy Spirit now lives permanently in the hearts and lives of all Believers; however, for the Holy Spirit to accomplish in us His desired Purpose, which is to bring us to Christlikeness and victory over all dominion of sin, He requires of us that our Faith be placed in Christ and the Cross, and maintained in Christ and the Cross (Rom. 8:1-2, 11; I Cor. 1:17-18, 23; 2:2).
The statement given here by the Apostle is blunt and to the point. He minces no words. If the Believer subscribes to laws in any capacity, whether the laws are made up by his Church, his Denomination, Preachers, or even himself, what Christ did at the Cross will be of no profit for such an individual. Although the Holy Spirit continues to reside in the Believer, He simply will not help him.
The reason?
Such a Believer is committing “spiritual adultery” (Rom. 7:1-4). The Holy Spirit is certainly not going to help a person commit spiritual adultery. So such a Believer, which characterizes almost all of the modern Church, simply cannot successfully live for the Lord. He can be saved, but the joy of serving Christ is lost on such a person, and for all the obvious, Scriptural reasons.
Tragically, most modern Believers do not think of what they are doing as “law,” because it is all so very religious. However, I remind the Reader that everything Satan does in this capacity is religious, just as it was in Paul’s day.
The only way that one can successfully live the Christian Life, with all of its attendant joy, i.e., “more abundant life,” is by placing his Faith absolutely and completely in Christ and the Finished Work of Christ, which, of course, is the Cross. Then the Holy Spirit will work mightily on behalf of such a one, bringing about His desired effect of Sanctification.”
— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
Justification is God's legal declaration of the believer’s innocence. Whenever a believing sinner accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, the legal work of justification is instantly applied to their life. The reason that God chose to make our salvation a legal work is simple. No man could ever be justified by their works. God established justification so that faith in His Son, expressed by whosoever will, would allow that individual to be declared legally innocent. What many Christians fail to realize is that justification is not lost when we stumble or fail. The reason that justification exists as the foundation stone of our relationship with Christ is that, when we fail, God will not have to eliminate us from His Kingdom. Every one of us are continually falling short of the glory or perfection of God. His standard of righteousness demands perfection. When I fail, the doctrine of justification does not excuse my sin. However, its being present allows me to get back up from my stumbling with the assurance that God will not throw me away. Justification is not an excuse to live in sin, it serves as a guarantee that I will have an opportunity to learn how to rise above sin after I fall. Thank God for His never ending grace!
Romans 3:24 - Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Proverbs 28:2
For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
There will be many rulers when the land is full of transgression, but by “A man” of understanding and knowledge the state of the land will be prolonged. Understanding is defined in God’s Word as the knowledge of the Holy (Proverbs 9:10), and the exclusive avenue of the knowledge of the Holy is the power of Christ and His sacrificial work at Calvary, for there is no other avenue to know God and His righteousness and holiness.
This EXPERIENTIAL understanding and knowledge of the Lord allows Him to prolong the state of any land, and this includes our personal lives and all that is included in them. When our faith remains in the work of Christ at the cross, His understanding and knowledge can fill our hearts with the fruit of His will.
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; you are fallen from Grace (Gal. 5:4).
The idea of this Verse is that the Galatian Christians, by putting themselves under Law, have put themselves in a place where they have ceased to be in that relation to Christ where they could derive the spiritual benefits from Him which would enable them to live a life pleasing to Him, namely, through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. In depriving themselves of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the living of the Christian Life, they have “fallen from Grace.”
To “fall from Grace” refers to the Believer placing his faith in something other than Christ and the Cross. It really doesn’t matter what the “other” is. The person has placed himself in a position where the Holy Spirit cannot work satisfactorily in their life; therefore, the flow of Grace stops.
Grace is the Goodness of God extended to undeserving Believers. It is superintended by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who makes all of these good things possible in our hearts and lives, but the Source is Christ and the means is the Cross.
Most Christians think that “falling from Grace” refers to one committing a great sin. That is correct, but not as they think! It is a great sin for any Believer to forsake Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross, thereby placing his faith in something else. Considering the price that Jesus paid at the Cross, one certainly can realize what an insult such action is.
I once heard two Preachers on Television discussing another person who had grievously failed the Lord by committing an appalling sin of the flesh. They concluded that the commission of this grievous sin constituted “falling from Grace.”
No! It didn’t. No! It doesn’t.
While sin is a most horrible and terrible thing, and will always have dire consequences, the person who does such is the one who desperately needs the Grace of God, and, if proper Faith in Christ and the Cross is evidenced, he will always be the beneficiary of such Grace (I Jn. 1:9). Those two Preachers, actually, were the ones who had “fallen from Grace,” because neither one of them pointed to the Cross of Christ as the Object of Faith, but rather to works of many and varied kinds. Tragically, due to the fact that the Cross has been so little preached in the last several decades, most in the modern Church belong to the same category.
Every single Believer on the face of the Earth must have a continued, uninterrupted flow of the Grace of God, i.e., “the Goodness of God,” in order to live a victorious life. Without it, it simply cannot be done. To have that uninterrupted flow, all one has to do is to simply place his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross (Rom. 6:1-14). This will not guarantee that such a Believer will never again fail, but it does guarantee that such a Believer is on the right path, and will ultimately come out to a total and complete place and position in Christ to where sin no longer has dominion over such a person (Rom. 6:14).”
— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. Psalm 84:5-6
THE WORD BACA means both "a garbage dump," and a "place of tears; a valley of weeping."
We have to admit that the world in which we live has become a garbage dump. The more that we grow in the Lord, the more we see how reprobate this world is-where truth becomes a lie, and a lie becomes truth; where immorality reigns, and morality is constantly called into question. And it's not getting any better.
As for the weeping, I think I can say without fear of contradiction that every child of God has gone through, or is going through, a valley of weeping. Situations such as a financial failure, a broken relationship, or a loved one dying can leave us stranded in the valley of Baca-a place of weeping.
When we find ourselves in the valley, surrounded by garbage and weeping from life's hurts, we have a choice: we can either blame God for our trials, or we can make it a well.
Many choose to blame God, become bitter, and damage their faith. They question why He would allow such things to happen and when their accusatory prayers go unanswered, they grow angrier at God. Bitterness creeps in, and they lash out-not only at those who offer help, but also to God.
But those who choose to make Baca a well, know who they are in Christ. They realize that though they hurt now, soon those who have been bought with the shed blood of the Lamp will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come back, change this present world system, and restore the earth to what God intended it to be from the beginning.
As children of God, we are not immune to the forces of darkness. The fiery darts of the enemy will come our way. In fact, Peter said, "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13). If we are truly following the Lord Jesus Christ, attacks will come our way. However, it is not the intention of the Holy Spirit that we remain in that place.
Since we are only passing through the valley of weeping, we don't have to grow bitter and angry. We can make it a well!
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Luke 11:5-8
SITUATIONS WILL TAKE place in our lives where we find ourselves unable to cope. The man in theses verses could not provide for his friend and had to venture outside his home for help. He approached the door of his friend's house. It was midnight-not the best time to bother people. But what choice did the man have? he had a need.
He lifted a hand to knock on his neighbor's door, hoping for his need to be met. He knocked once, and his friend who was already in bed yelled, "Troble me not!"
The first refusal.
But the man in need was determined, so he knocked again. "This time he heard, "The door is now shut!"
The second refusal.
The man, still determined, knocked on the locked door again. The answer this time was, "I cannot rise and give thee."
Denial number three.
The neighbor's responses were not encouraging, but the response of the man in need was absolutely correct- he kept knocking.
Had he given up, he would have left empty handed. (God never answers doubt and unbelief). But because of his persistence, his friend got up out of bed, unlocked the door, and gave the man all that he needed.
So, if this man's persistence moved his friend to provide for him even when he didn't want to, how much more can we expect from a God who is very willing to provide for His children?
Yes, there will be times when we ask the Lord for things and find ourselves facing a shut door.
And it may seem that He is ignoring our pleas for help. But that's when we need to keep asking Him, keep seeking Him, and keep knocking. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Keep knocking on that door. God will eventually answer because He always answers faith.
