LAZARUS

by Jesse-John Jabore

Have you experienced the amazing saving grace of God similar to Lazarus being raised from the dead?

Beware...... the religious spirit of this age that resides in the ‘powers that think they be’ is prowling like a hungry lion. Its intent is to devour not only the ‘Son of God’ in you, but the testimony of His miracle working power......that is YOU!

John Chapter 12 v 9 – 11 ‘Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because ON ACCOUNT OF HIM many went away and believed in Jesus’.

When the reality of Jesus’ power is displayed, the recoil effect upon the doctrine of people under the control of a religious spirit is massive. There is false doctrine and true doctrine. In this instance true/correct doctrine is that Jesus is the Son of God, with the miracle Lazarus being raised from the dead. False doctrine finds its origins in unbelief. As Barnes once said “unbelief stops at no crime”.........’but the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also’. So, the weapon may be formed but it won’t prosper. Be encouraged. You will not die you will live......He’s a GREAT God!

GOD SPEAKS - REACT OR RESPOND

by Glenice Mills

It is interesting as you read the Word of God to see how different people react when God reveals Himself and speaks to them. There are many and varied reactions that we can learn from. I love the way God speaks to the potential, when the very opposite is happening. That is how He is with us. We can, however learn some things from the wrong reactions.

Gideon: In Judges 6:12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

We then see Gideon’s reaction in the following verse: Judges 6:13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles that our fathers told us about, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?” But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

Just like Gideon our unbelief and the bowing to our circumstances going on around and about us override what the Lord has just spoken.
Gideon did not react like a man of valor but rather a frightened, overwhelmed man who did not show any leadership skills. As we see further in Scripture Gideon did become a man of valor with a few tests a long the way.

God speaks to us, and we then quickly become overwhelmed by the circumstances we find ourselves in. We negate what God has just spoken.
Like Gideon we are no different!

Another example is Moses who after God had shown him many miraculous signs he still doubted that he could lead the children of Israel to the Promised land.

Exodus 4:10,11 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?’

We see Moses still contended with God about his ability to speak and was not happy until God gave him Aaron to speak for him.
How often after the Lord has spoken to us and asked us to do something for Him do we then look at our inadequacies, making excuses for all the things we are not, rather all that we are?

Like Moses, we are no different!

Another interesting example is when Elisha stayed with Elijah until he ascended to heaven. The sons of the prophets saw this, yet they still had to go and search for three days to see if they could find Elijah, even after seeing the miracle.

Again it is easy to fall into the trap of ‘maybe just maybe what I had will come back.’ It is easy to want to go back to what we had, what we knew, and therefore resist the new that has come. We don’t see and appreciate the ‘now moment’.

We have to be very careful as even experiencing miracles does not necessarily increase our faith. There are many seeking the signs, wanting to feel and know ‘the glory’ but again change doesn’t necessarily come. People search out the next feel good occasion, the next conference to get the ‘high’, but things don’t change in people’s lives, they still go on with the same bad attitudes and habits. The high is not sustained, life is maintained, but growth is not evident.

The exciting thing is that Moses and Gideon grew as men of God and became all that He said they would become. The reality is the negative reactions also caused ongoing problems for them. Aaron, Moses brother who Moses asked to speak his words for him, also became a problem to him.

We have to be constantly flexible to what the Lord is saying and doing or we will miss a very strategic opportunity.

It is interesting to see what happened when Jesus called His disciples.

Matthew 4:18-20
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers; Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

The same happened with the other disciples. Jesus called them and they immediately stopped what they were doing and followed Jesus.

So what made these men instantly obey? They all had to give up something they knew, a job, and a lifestyle to follow Jesus. God had prepared these men’s hearts so when Jesus came to them, they without hesitation followed Him.

The Lord is requiring it of His people right now – one’s that He has earmarked for a specific job to do to advance His Kingdom in this hour. God’s heart cry remains – ‘FOLLOW ME!” It will mean giving up some things, there will be a personal cost, and there will be persecution. Let’s not fall into the trap of one’s who react but rather respond with “Yes Lord I choose to follow You no matter what.” The choice is mine the choice is yours. We have free will. Let’s not hesitate, time is short, there is a work to be done!