Month: October 2013

Romans 8:31
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

In the early years of my ministry, I faced a battle that could have destroyed my ministry. I remember going to a wise man of God to get counsel on how to deal with the situation. This man gave me one of the greatest pieces of advice that I have fallen back on time and time again. He said, “Bro. Domelle, if man set you up in the ministry, then man can take you down. But, if God called you and built your ministry, then only God can take you down.” That one little sentence has been an anchor during the many battles that have come my way.

The verse above poses a question that is truly a statement. God asks, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” This is not a question, but rather a statement to the believer. It is a statement that as a Christian, if God is on your side there is nothing that can take you down. Let me take you through the progression of the teaching of this statement.

First, “If” is not a word of doubting or uncertainty, but it is a certainty and assurance that God is for us. Friend, anytime you do right, you can be assured that God is for you. God is for every believer who does right. Psalm 147:11 says, “The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” God pleasures in helping His children. It does not matter what your status in Christianity may be, if you are saved then God is for you. Psalm 149:4 says, “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people:…” As a Christian, you can rest in the assurance that God is for you.

Second, God is on your side when you do right. Notice it says, “If God be for us,…” In other words, this verse is teaching that when you do right, you are on God’s side. All you need to know is that you are on the right side. If you are obeying the Scriptures, then you are on the right side. If you are doing what God tells you to do, then you are on the right side. This verse even implies that God is pulling for you. When you are on the same team, you cheer for someone to make it. When you do right, you are not only on God’s team, which means He will work with you to help you succeed, but it also means that God is cheering for you to make it. Your enemies may be waiting for you to fall, but God is cheering for you to make it.

The last phrase is a strengthening phrase when it says, “…who can be against us?” When God chooses to be on your side, it doesn’t matter what the enemy throws at you, God is greater than their weapons. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” Look at the words, “No weapon…” If the weapons are words, they will fail because God is for you. If the weapons are undermining your work or credibility, they will fail because God is for you. Whatever the weapon you seem to be fighting against today, you can be assured that God will overcome the weapon.

However, this does not say when the weapons may fail, it just says that God will come through. Friend, the enemy may be making advances right now, but their advances will end one day. You may seem to be losing, but just keep doing right for God will eventually come through.

Whatever you face is no match for God, and that is what you need to remember when people try to take you down. If man set you up, then you have something to fear for they can take you down. But, if God set you up and is on your side, only God can take you down; therefore, you have nothing to fear. All you need to do is keep doing right and wait on the LORD to help defeat those who are trying to destroy you.

Acts 16:23-24
“And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

Paul and Silas found themselves in a very bad situation. They obeyed God and preached the Gospel to the people of Philippi. While preaching, a young lady who was used by her masters to be a soothsayer, heard them preach and got saved. When her masters saw that their source of income had dried up, they got upset with Paul and Silas, and turned the city against them so that they were thrown into prison.

Paul and Silas could have let this bad situation destroy their testimony. They were hated so much by these people that they were chained while in prison. The people of the city did not want Paul and Silas to influence anyone in the city. What they could not stop was the attitude and Spirit that guided these men. While in prison, instead of griping about their situation, they sang the praises of God. While they were singing, an earthquake hit and caused all the prison doors to open. When the guard saw what happened, he almost killed himself had not Paul told him they were all there. This guard and his household got saved because Paul and Silas decided to turn a bad situation into good.

Everybody will at one time or another find themselves in a bad situation. Sometimes these situations are caused by our own actions, and other times we have nothing to do with the cause. Whatever your situation, you can let the bad situation get worse by not doing the right thing, or you can choose to turn your bad situation into good.

If you are going to turn a bad situation into good, you must decide not to let the situation destroy your spirit. Paul and Silas were in prison singing when most people would have been griping. Let me ask you, do you find yourself griping about situations in life? Friend, good never comes from griping. Griping will not change your situation. The only thing griping will do is make your situation worse. Turning a bad situation into good starts with your perspective and spirit.

Moreover, turning a bad situation into good will only happen by keeping your integrity. When the prison doors were opened, Paul and Silas could have walked out, but they stayed because they had integrity. Your integrity is at stake in bad situations. Just because you are in a bad situation does not mean you should let it affect your integrity. Having integrity in bad situations may not help your situation, but it can certainly help you to make good come out of it.

Furthermore, turning a bad situation into good will only happen if you use it to help others. Paul and Silas sang the praises of God and witnessed to the guard. They could have become self-centered and allowed their situation to cause them to focus on themselves, but that wouldn’t have helped them. Your only hope of turning a bad situation into good is to help others. This is a great time to be a witness for Christ. This is a great time to help others going through the situation with you. Take your eyes off yourself and see those whom you can help.

Everyone will face bad situations in life. Don’t let the bad situations change you, but determine that you will change the situation into good. Everything God sends our way is for good, but that good will only happen if you make it good.

Acts 14:15
“And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:”

An interesting story occurred in the verse above. Paul and Barnabas arrived at the city of Lystra to preach the Gospel. While they were preaching, they saw a man who was crippled. This man had not walked from birth. While they preached, this crippled man listened and accepted Christ as his Saviour. It says that Paul perceived “that he had faith to be healed,…” With this perception, he told the man to stand up and walk. At this command, God healed this cripple and he stood up and walked.

The people of Lystra saw this, and with their superstitious beliefs, they believed that Paul and Barnabas were gods. The people immediately wanted to sacrifice oxen and garlands in honor of Paul and Barnabas. When Paul and Barnabas perceived what these people were doing, they immediately stopped them and told them that they were “men of like passions.” In other words, they didn’t want people to worship them or give them glory, because they were simply men, and the only One Who deserves glory is God.

One thing we all must be careful about is how high we lift up man. I recently heard of an assistant pastor who said, “Around here we worship our man of God.” That may sound good, and that may sound like he was being loyal, but that is an erroneous statement. No man of God should be worshipped. Just because a man of God may be a good man whom God has used does not give anyone a right to worship him. No man deserves the credit that God deserves. God is the only One to Whom we should give glory.

Let me make this clear, there is nothing wrong with admiring or honoring a man of God. Romans 13:7 says, “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Yes, we should give credit to men whom God has used, but that credit should never supersede or take away from the credit you give to God.

Moreover, you will find that a good man will not desire the credit. A man who demands you give him credit is a man who has placed himself above God. Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” When a man takes God’s glory, God will remove that man.

Friend, let me encourage you to keep a proper perspective of your leaders. Honor them, love them and admire them, but don’t ever place them above God. If you get upset when someone says not to worship your leader, you have crossed over into an area where you have moved your leader above God. Always remember that every person is a man “of like passions.” Every man is a sinner and is fallible. When men talk more of themselves and what they have done than they do of what God is doing, then beware of them. God deserves all glory, and you must be careful that you don’t steal any of His glory and give it to man.

Acts 6:3
“Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”

The church of Jerusalem grew at a tremendous pace. The growth of the church caused the Apostles to get so busy that they were forsaking the people to whom they ministered. The solution to this problem was to find seven men whom they could appoint to be deacons in this church. These deacons were to help them in the areas that were being neglected. They had qualifications that these seven men were to have before they chose them to be deacons. These qualifications meant that these men were not just qualified, but that they were a better Christian than the average.

What is interesting is that they didn’t come to these men and tell them they must live up to these qualifications so they could be a deacon, but they were to have these qualifications before they were considered to be a deacon. In other words, these men whom they were considering to be a deacon in the church were to already have these qualifications. The qualifications were not a requirement, but an accomplishment.

You may never be a deacon in a church, but you should live your life according to the qualifications of a deacon so if your church needed one they could look to you. One of the common things pastors tell me when I travel is that they have no one qualified to be a deacon in their church. This is sad! These qualifications should not be done so you can be a deacon, but they should be done so you can be a better witness for Christ. Let me show you these qualifications.

First, they were to have an honest report. In other words, it is important what others think about you. The key word in this first qualification is “honest.” The longer I live, the more I find it is harder to find people who are honest. God cannot use you to your fullest potential unless you are honest. In other words, tell the truth all the time. Be honest in all your doings. Don’t be a person who is known as someone who can’t be trusted.

The second qualification is to be full of the Holy Ghost. Christian, you can do God’s work under your own power, or you can do it under the power of the Holy Ghost. I want you to notice that being full of the Holy Ghost is not only for the preacher, but it is for any Christian. Every Christian should be filled with the Holy Ghost. Every Christian is to have God’s power on their life. A person who is not filled with the Holy Ghost should never be considered for church leadership.

The third qualification is to be full of wisdom. You get wisdom by listening to and obeying godly instruction. You don’t have to have a college education to be wise. You simply have to obey godly instruction to be wise. Wisdom is simply doing what God tells you to do. When you hear the godly instruction, being wise is obeying that instruction. If you are wise enough to obey godly instruction, then God knows you can be trusted.

Do you meet these qualifications? If God needed someone to fill a role in your church, are you living up to these qualifications? Remember, the men who were to be considered for the position of deacon were to already have these qualifications on their résumé. In whatever area you lack, work on it so God can use you when the time comes to fill some position.

John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

Fixing a troubled heart is never an easy task, because every troubled heart is not troubled for the same reason. It would seem that you must fix troubled hearts according to the cause, but the Scriptures teach differently. You will find that the Scriptures clearly teach that there is a formula to fixing a troubled heart.

God said, “Let not your heart be troubled:…” You don’t have to have a troubled heart. Life may send curve balls your way, but you can face those curve balls and not be troubled. When death tries to trouble your heart, you can make it through that troubling time without a troubled heart. When society crumbles all about you, you can still face the troubled society without a troubled heart. When finances run away, you can face the troubled financial world and not have a troubled heart. No matter what causes the troubled times, you can face them without a troubled heart. Let me show you what Jesus said will fix a troubled heart.

First, you must believe in God. I know this may seem very obvious, but troubling times tend to shake our belief in God. God is your ultimate hope of getting through troubled times without being troubled. Don’t listen to the voices of the troubled times that try to get you to doubt God. God is still an all-powerful God. He can still help you through whatever troubled times you face. When troubled times come, always remember that God is your answer.

Second, don’t lose hope. Whenever you try to fix a troubled heart, you must give that person hope that there is an end. Jesus says in verse 3, “I will come again…” That means troubling times will end. Maybe you are the one facing a troubled time, remember that it will end. Don’t lose hope in the fact that Jesus is coming again. This is a reminder that troubles will end. Troubles have come and gone in the past, and your current troubled time is going to pass as well.

Third, stay focused on a destination. It is important that people have a destination when they are going during troubled times. Jesus says in verse 2, “I go to prepare a place for you.” When you show people there is a destination to which God is trying to take them, then that will have a way of easing the troubles. Every troubled time is trying to take you to a better place in life. The troubled time may be hard to endure, but if you are willing to hang in there, then you will find your troubles have helped you to a better destination in life.

Finally, get a purpose in troubled times. Purpose will take your mind off the troubles and get you involved in what you’re doing. Jesus reminded Thomas of Heaven to give him a purpose of doing his best to get others there. Friend, have a purpose for living in troubled times. Without a purpose, you will stay focused on your troubles which will discourage and defeat you. Having a purpose for living will help you forget your troubled times.

Everyone will face troubled times. Whether it is you or someone else who is facing the troubled times, you can make it through them without them troubling you. God’s formula will work. If you are the one who is facing troubled times, then take this formula and live it. If it is someone else you are trying to help in their troubled time, then take this formula and use it to help them not to be troubled. This formula will help anyone face troubled times and not be troubled.

John 8:44
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Benedict Arnold is one of the most famous traitors in history. His story is amazing because he started out as a Revolutionary War hero when he led the Connecticut militia to the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. After rising to the rank of general, be became disenchanted and felt that he didn’t get enough credit for his achievements from the Continental Congress. Because he was fed up with how he thought things were going, in 1780 he agreed to give up West Point to the British. Before the plot could be carried out, he was exposed and he later joined the British in fighting against the Americans. There is no doubt that he will always be remembered as a traitor because he aided and abetted the enemy.

As bad as this story is, I find that many Christians aid and abet the Devil. The Devil is the chief enemy of God. The Devil’s sole desire is to destroy the cause of God. You would think a Christian would have no part in helping the Devil’s cause, but I find that many Christians unwittingly aid and abet the cause of the Devil.

In the verse above, you find some of the chief works of the Devil. What is interesting is that every time a Christian performs one of these works, whether or not they realize it, they are aiding and abetting the Devil. Let me show you what works aid and abet the cause of the Devil.

First, a love for accolades is aiding and abetting the Devil. Jesus said that these people were willing to do the “lusts of your father.” When Jesus talked about their father, He was alluding to the Devil. The Devil wanted preeminence in Heaven. That was the sin that caused him to be cast out. When all you care about is getting recognition, then you are aiding and abetting the cause of the Devil. There is nothing wrong with recognition, but you should not work to get it.

Second, a disregard for life is aiding and abetting the Devil. God says that the Devil is a murderer. No, you may never go out and kill someone, but have you killed someone in your heart by hating them? Do you allow people to die in their sins without ever telling them how they can get saved? This is aiding and abetting the Devil.

Third, telling lies is aiding and abetting the Devil. The Devil is the father of lies. Anytime you tell a lie, you are aiding and abetting the cause of the Devil. It doesn’t matter what your purpose for telling the lie may be. Lying is of the Devil. Lies will only further the cause of the Devil. Sadly, some lie to supposedly further the cause of Christ, but a lie will never further the cause of Christ. Truth is what furthers the cause of Christ.

Are you aiding and abetting the Devil? The next time you are tempted to tell a lie, remember that you don’t want to be a Benedict Arnold for the cause of Christ. The next time you complain because you didn’t get the recognition, remember that this will aid the cause of the Devil. The next time you avoid telling someone about Christ, remember that is only aiding and abetting the Devil. Don’t help the other side. Tell the truth all the time. Be sure to be a witness for Christ everywhere you go, and always point recognition to Christ.

Luke 17:5
“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”

The Christian life is not as difficult as some make it. One of the common statements I make about the Christian life is that it is simply common sense living. God does not ask you to be strange or to be ignorant. Anything that God asks of a Christian is only for their betterment and makes common sense for every day life.

Of all the things the disciples asked Jesus to teach them, there were only two things they specifically asked. They did not ask Jesus to teach them to preach, though they would have learned from the master communicator. They did not ask Jesus to teach them to raise finances, though He would have been the expert money maker to finance the ministry. They did not ask Jesus how to build a large church, and there is no doubt that He would have been the church growth guru of His day. Two things they asked Jesus to teach them, and these two things are the key elements to living a successful Christian life.

The first thing they asked Jesus to teach them was how to increase their faith. Faith is the first key element to living a successful Christian life. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” You will fail in the Christian life if you don’t learn to live by faith. You can try to please God without faith, but it takes faith to please God.

Faith has had many good definitions that one could quote, but maybe the best I have heard is that faith is stepping out on the unknown believing that God has already come through. It takes faith to succeed in the Christian life. Every part of the Christian life must be lived by faith. If you don’t increase your faith, then your Christian life will fail.

Prayer is the second key element to living a successful Christian life. Luke 11:1 says, “Lord, teach us to pray,…” Prayer is truly where the Christian wins the battle. We often think that we win the battle out serving God, but we don’t. Yes, we should serve God, but you win the battles on your knees in prayer. For instance, soul winning is important, but you will win the battle with souls if you will pray before you go soul winning. Psalm 126:5-6 says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Certainly, souls will never be saved until we go and give out the Gospel, but it is in the closet of prayer that the hearts of men are tenderized before we get there. Don’t ever forget that every Christian battle is won in prayer.

What is interesting about these two key elements is that you can’t have one without the other. They both come in a package deal. Show me a person who has great faith, and I will show you a person who has a great prayer life. On the other hand, show me a person who has a great prayer life, and I will show you a person who has great faith in God. They work together, and together they will help you to live the successful Christian life. Don’t live a day without these two key elements.