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Faith Possesses

  [Faith]
05/14/2012 10:17 pm
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Faith Possesses

 “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Luke 13:11-13 (KJV)

     Have you ever had something you knew rightfully belonged to you, but you had to work to possess it? Just like when you receive a check: the money is yours, but you must first cash the check before you can purchase anything. Did you know this applies to the spiritual realm? The woman who was bent over was legally entitled to healing under the Old Covenant, but she didn’t physically possess healing until Jesus spoke to her and decreed she was set free. When faith came, she rose up and possessed what belonged to her.

     There are certain things God has said belongs to us, making us the owners. Though we legally own these things, like healing, salvation, and forgiveness, we will not necessarily enjoy them except by using our faith to take ownership of them. Confession does lead to possession. Just like when we confess our sins and receive forgiveness, we can use confession to receive anything else that belongs to us. So use your faith, confess what is rightfully yours, and possess all that God has for your life!

 Taken from “Ownership and Possession” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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The Help of the Spirit

  [Prayer]
05/07/2012 9:53 pm
By Miller, Pastor Christine

The Help of the Spirit

“And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water,
and the blood: and these three agree in one.” I John 5:8 (KJV)

     Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The help of the Spirit is like water to the body. Water strengthens and invigorates us. It keeps us from being dehydrated. When one is dehydrated they get dizzy and they can faint. They can get muscle cramps and their blood pressure will drop. Things will cease to function right.

     Can you imagine a runner trying to run a long race without water and trying to win? That would be silly. They wouldn’t make it. Yet so many people try to run their spiritual race without the help of the Spirit.

     Without the help of the Holy Spirit you’ll get dehydrated. You’ll get dizzy and faint when adversity comes. Your vision will become distorted. You won’t see correctly.

     One of the greatest ways the Holy Spirit helps us is by giving us utterances in other tongues. Take advantage of this wonderful help the Spirit offers and live each day invigorated and refreshed by the power of the Spirit by praying in other tongues daily.

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What Will You Do with Jesus?

  [Evangelism]
04/30/2012 9:27 am
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

What Will You Do with Jesus?

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV)

     Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or He is Lord. He claimed He was the only way to heaven and He claimed He would rise from the dead. If you take the resurrection of Jesus Christ out of the Gospel, you have no Gospel. The people who deny the resurrection but say that Jesus was a good moral teacher speak illogically. If Jesus’s claims were false, He either knew they were false and was really a liar or He did not know they were false and He was a lunatic.

      A person could be a lunatic and be an artist, but a person could not be both crazy and a good moral teacher. And if Jesus, as a good moral teacher, taught that no one should lie, yet lied about who He was (saying He was the Son of God if He was not), that does not make Him a good moral teacher.

      If Jesus’s claims were true, and they are, He is Lord! Lunatic, liar, or Lord – there is no other explanation, so what will you do with Jesus? If He is who He said He was, you can either accept Him as Lord or you can just see Him as a “good moral teacher”. It is a surrender of your heart to make Jesus the Lord of your life. No Christian has ever regretted surrendering his or her life to God. Make Jesus the Lord of your life and, if He is Lord of your life already, then make a fresh commitment to Him now.

Taken from “The Claims of Christ” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Trust in the Lord

  [Faith]
04/23/2012 9:27 am
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Trust in the Lord

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
Luke 16:10-11 (KJV)

     The money issue is one of the big testing grounds on whether a person trusts in the Lord or himself. Once someone is saved, one of the first things God will deal with them about is money. When it comes up, a lot of people aren’t interested because their minds aren’t renewed. They see themselves diminishing financially instead of increasing if they give.

      In the natural realm, if you make an investment in something, there is potential for risk. There are safer investments and riskier investments. If we invest in the kingdom of God, and serve God, and then life takes a turn for the worse, that wouldn’t be a way to run the kingdom. Sooner or later no one would want to support the kingdom of God. No, it’s the exact opposite. God is looking for a way to get supernatural increase and favor into our lives. He’s provided it through Jesus, but we have to honor the Lord.

      God has earmarked 10% of everything we produce, all our increase, to be set aside for the kingdom of God. When we’re faithful with that, God is able to give us more. Even if we’re at the lowest level financially, God can bring us out. When you begin to honor God and live for God, you can’t stay at the same level. It’s impossible because the gospel elevates people. Part of the gospel is increase. We need to trust God. We need to trust His Word. God wants us to get where we’re completely trusting and following him. His will is to get us from the limited to the unlimited.

Taken from “Trust in the Lord” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Today Is the Day

  [Spirit-Filled Life]
04/16/2012 8:07 pm
By Miller, Pastor Christine

Today Is the Day
 
“But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring
Christ down from above) or, ‘”Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
‘“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach)”. Romans 10:6-8 (NKJV)

      Your help is right here, right now. Don’t dwell on how good life was in the past and don’t focus on how good life is going to be in the future, or the great things God did and the great things God is going to do. How about talking about what God is doing now? The devil is the one who wants you stuck in the past or focused on the future.

      It’s okay to be excited about what God did in the past and what He will do in the future, but the real key to receiving from God now is getting excited about what He wants to do today! If you don’t get excited about what God is doing today, then nothing is going to happen. Don’t be deceived into thinking you’re waiting on God to make something happen when God is waiting on you to get excited and start making things happen. Make things happen by proclaiming out of your mouth words that line up with His Word and receive now. Today is the day of salvation!

Taken from “Preach the Word” by Pastor Christine Miller

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A Life of Promise

  [Faith]
04/09/2012 3:33 pm
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

A Life of Promise

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
Mark 9:23(KJV)

     One thing we need to know about faith is that everything we need in life has been provided for us by our heavenly Father, and it’s received by faith. Faith obtains. It receives promises from God. We have to know that we are precious to God. We are precious to Him not because of what we do for God, or what we give to the kingdom of God. We’re not precious to Him because we read our Bible, pray, witness or live for God.

     We are precious to God because we are His children. Our child, grandchild or spouse is someone that we love and is precious to us. It’s because of who they are. Having that revelation helps because we’re not trying to talk God into something that he doesn’t want to do. Faith levels the playing field and makes things equal. There are no limits. Education cannot limit us. Family background cannot limit us. Faith is something that God has designed where we can receive what he has provided. With faith, you can enjoy life every step of the way.
Taken from “Contending for the Faith” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Command Your Family

  [Evangelism]
04/02/2012 5:38 pm
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Command Your Family

“Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 (KJV)

     In the Old Testament, Abraham commanded his family and he and his whole household served the Lord. God has a plan for our families. It is God’s plan that our families get saved, but household salvation is not automatic. We have to use our faith and teach our children right. If we didn't train our children the right way when they were young, we should repent and believe God for them to get on the path to serve the Lord.

     We can’t afford to sit back and be passive with our families. If we allow lack and poverty or sickness and disease in our lives, God allows it. The same principle applies to our families: if we permit them to go their own path and go to hell, God permits it. As faith without works is dead, we need to do our part and use our authority. We should break the devil’s power over our loved ones’ lives and pray that laborers be sent to their doorstep, to their neighborhood, to the meeting place of their hobby—wherever they go! Let’s use our authority to bring our whole household into the Kingdom of God!

Taken from “Believing Your Family into God’s Family” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Sing Your Victory

  [Perseverance]
03/20/2012 7:05 pm
By Miller, Pastor Christine

Sing Your Victory

     You can’t just silently think the Word of God when you’re being attacked. You’ve got to speak it. Something else you should do is rejoice. Just start singing! Singing songs will keep you rejoicing and thinking the right thoughts. When you’ve done all you know to do, just sing and rejoice in the Lord. The right songs will help pull you up out of that oppressive spirit.

     The Bible says to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. So when that heaviness and sinking feeling come, start rejoicing and praising God because you won’t stay in the situation very long. Satan doesn’t want to hang around when you’re praising God. He wants to hang around when you’re whining and complaining. The more you complain the worse things will get. Many times people want relief, but they don’t want to do much about getting it. But if you’ll take a step of faith and rejoice, you’ll get relief every time. In the words of a song by Pastor Nancy Dufresne:
It shall come to pass. It shall come to pass.
What the Lord has said to me, it shall surely come to be.
It shall come to pass.

Taken from “Overcoming Trials By Faith” by Pastor Christine Miller

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Money Is Not Your Answer

  [The Word]
03/13/2012 2:06 pm
By Miller, Pastor Christine

Money Is Not Your Answer

“And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word; then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.”   -- Mark 4:18-19 (AMP)

     Riches will never satisfy. No matter how much you have, your flesh always wants more. It is a trap that getting more money is the answer. That’s called the deceitfulness of riches, and it comes to choke out the Word of God from your heart. Don’t go out and chase riches; don’t go out and chase blessings. As an heir of Abraham you’re already blessed! When you get the revelation that you’re already blessed, the manifestation will come. But money is not your answer. The Word of God is your answer.

     You cannot really begin to live in freedom as long as you’re determined to hold on to your money or be fearful about losing it. There’s nothing more freeing to your life than just living by faith and trusting God. True freedom is when you have the faith to let go of what you have, be content, and trust that you will always have a full supply because there’s more where that came from. Don’t be deceived into thinking that riches are your source of security. Faith in the Word of God is your security!

Taken from “Take Heed What You Hear” by Pastor Christine Miller

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Redeemed from the Past

  [Forgiveness]
03/06/2012 12:52 pm
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Redeemed From The Past
    
     The Words that we say are vitally important. Some of us grew up hearing negative things like, “You can’t do anything right.” There’s a saying that goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Words can actually do more damage. There are some people who are in prison because of words that were spoken 40 years ago. We are redeemed from that! I don’t care if you had the worst parents in the world who said all kinds of terrible things, you are redeemed from that.

     When you get saved, you are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. We are a new person in Christ. If we renew our thinking, we don’t go back into those thought patterns. We have to basically eradicate those thoughts from our memory bank because when we repent, God forgives us and cleanses us. It’s like it never happened. Some people think of the bad things they did in the past. But if we repent, we’re cleansed. Even when we’re saved, we can disobey God. But if we repent, God forgives us and He forgets it every time.

Taken from “No More Double Talk” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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The Worry Cure

  [Perseverance]
02/29/2012 11:28 am
By Miller, Pastor Christine

The Worry Cure

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor about your body, what you will put on… But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.“ Matthew 6:25, 33 (NKJV)

     In Matthew 6:25, Jesus commands us not to worry about our lives. When was the last time worry solved our problems? Did we add more to our bank accounts? Did we happen to add extra years to our lives? Actually, worry can take away years. Even doctors agree worry will kill people faster than anything else.

     Entertaining negative scenarios in our minds is worry. Negative thoughts come from the devil. They may seem silly at first, but he’ll keep coming back with those thoughts and if we entertain them, he will wear us down and we’ll begin thinking it is a legitimate scenario. We will begin to worry. But we are more valuable than the things about which we worry!

     We need to answer all the negative thoughts with the Word of God. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says to seek God’s Kingdom first and all these things about which you’re tempted to worry are going to come to you. God’s Word will solve our problems. God’s Word will bring about financial breakthroughs. God’s Word will add years to our lives. Actually, God’s Word promises long life.

Taken from “No More Worries” by Pastor Christine Miller

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Acting on the Word

  [The Word]
02/16/2012 9:34 am
By Miller, Pastor Christine

Acting on the Word

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 NKJV
 
     The mind of every believer must be renewed by the Word of God. How do you know when your mind is actually renewed in a particular area? When you’re actually doing what the Word says in that area! You can study the Word of God for years, but until you start to act on what it says by doing it, your mind is not yet renewed. If you find you’re not doing what the Word says after hearing it, don’t get discouraged. That’s not going to help. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Just keep meditating in the Word on that subject until you find it is overflowing from you.

     Once you are overflowing with the Word, you will act like it. The mindset of trying hard to do something is not enough. What does acting on the Word look like? If a financial crisis arises, the first thing out of your mouth will line up with the Word of God because it’s in the overflow of your spirit. It won’t discourage you because you’ll automatically respond saying, “All the money I need shall come!” When your mind in renewed in an area, the Word of God works! If it’s not working, it means you just need to get your mind renewed. The Word will work for you! God is not a respecter of persons. God’s Word, which was from the beginning, is for you! Spend some extra time in the Word meditating and renew your mind!

Taken from “The Word Made Flesh” by Pastor Christine Miller

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Ordained Vessels of Ministry

  [Your Purpose]
02/02/2012 11:56 am
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Ordained Vessels of Ministry

     God rewards faithfulness. If someone has been faithful in the cleaning ministry and another person faithful in the teaching ministry, they will get the same reward. Due to wrong thinking, we can have issues with God. We can question God’s motive in placing us in a certain situation. We can allow our life to be frustrated. There are a lot of people who live their life and yet they never really live their life. They’re just existing because they’re frustrated. They’ve allowed the devil to compare them to other people who are called to different things.
 
    Acts 9:15 says we are God’s workmanship created unto good works which God has ordained. That is what God will use to judge and reward us. We are all ordained vessels of the ministry. God has something for all of us to do. The potter made each of us a certain way for a certain purpose, and we have to see the value in that. God will promote you and bless you in whatever you’re called to do. Be content with what God has called you to do. Don’t become frustrated and weary. Things will never go quite the way you think it should. Don’t give up! Determine to serve God from the heart, and be thankful. Follow God to the best of your ability and leave the results with him. 
 Taken from “Ordained Vessels of the Ministry” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Worry vs. the Renewed Mind

  [The Word]
01/26/2012 12:52 pm
By Miller, Pastor Jeff

Worry Versus the Renewed Mind

“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”   - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

     When you get saved, your mind is still the same. You must renew your mind. God is so awesome: He can take what you have and turbo charge it where it’s beyond what you could believe. Look at the Apostle Peter. He left everything to follow Jesus and came to the point where he didn’t know how he was going to pay his taxes. Because he went to follow Jesus, there was a supply for him. When Peter went to Jesus, Jesus told him to go fishing and he would find a fish with a coin in its mouth. That fish would pay not only Peter’s taxes, but also Jesus’ taxes. God used something he could do, but it was beyond the normal. Even though it was within his abilities, there was a supernatural element that was involved.

     Is there something you are believing God for? Are you struggling to receive it? The battle is in your mind! As Jesus did with Peter, God can tell you to do things that make no sense. It’s so easy to get in the natural realm to try and figure everything out, but worrying about your answer will destroy your faith. Your answer is in the Word! If you see something in the Word and you’re struggling with it, it’s because there’s a stronghold in your mind. Until you dismantle it with the Word of God, you will never get through it. The only way to tear down that stronghold is with the Word of God.

Taken from “Pulling Down Strongholds” by Pastor Jeff Miller

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Keeping Your Faith Tank Full

  [Faith]
01/19/2012 3:03 pm
By Miller, Pastor Christine

 
Keeping Your Faith Tank Full

     Have you ever been in a place where you’ve released faith for something, but it is slow to show up? You might begin to wonder where it is. If you don’t see or feel any changes, that is exactly the situation that faith is for! Don’t get discouraged. Faith is for what you don’t see because faith is the evidence of what you cannot see.

     Some people start out releasing their faith for healing. They turn on their faith engine and rev it up. It runs for a time, but then it sputters and stalls. What happened? Somewhere along the line, they got weary waiting for the manifestation in the natural realm, and stopped saying the right thing. They started thinking more about the symptoms than what the Word of God says. Their faith engine eventually stalls because they have let their spiritual tank get empty. Reading the Bible and praying every day is important. But saying what God says about your situation is equally important in order for faith to work.

     One of the greatest enemies of faith is the failure to hold fast to your confession of faith. You may start out without much faith. Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, the more you speak the Word, the stronger faith becomes in your heart. Eventually your heart will be so full of faith that when you speak the Word, it comes into manifestation. Don’t allow yourself to run out of faith fuel before you get to your destination. Tank up on the Word of God every day!

Taken from “Hold Fast to Your Faith Confession” by Pastor Christine Miller

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