Just Another Night in Bethlehem

By Greg Laurie

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things! —Joel 2:21

On the first Christmas Eve, there were no brightly colored lights on anyone's homes. There were no stockings that had been hung with care or any visions of sugarplums dancing in children's heads. It was just another night in Bethlehem. The census had gone out—that command by Caesar that everyone was to be taxed. But history was about to change in Bethlehem.

All of Israel was living in a very frightening time historically. They lived under the tyrant King Herod who would execute people at will. In addition, the Jews were living in occupied territory. The Romans had taken control of their country. They were no longer free to do what they wanted and live as they wanted. They wondered if Rome would ever leave. Would the violent rule ever cease? Would their world ever change?

Then suddenly angels appeared to the shepherds and told them not to be afraid; the Messiah had been born.

There is a lot to be afraid of in our unstable, volatile world today. It seems that at every turn, we hear about another horrific tragedy happening in our world. It can cause us to be terrified.

Then there are the personal fears: What if I lose my health? What if I lose a member of my family? What if this happens? What if that happens? A lot of things run through our minds.

Here is the message of the first Christmas—and the message for us this Christmas: Don't be afraid. . . . I bring you good tidings of great joy.

Ray Stedman wrote, "The chief mark of the Christian ought to be the absence of fear and the presence of joy."

Does that describe you? Fear is what Christmas came to remove—and now we can have joy in its place.

What Jesus Wants for Christmas

by Billy Graham

This Christmas season you can be assured that Jesus Christ is here. He is here to give us hope, to forgive our sins, to give us a new song, to impart faith and to heal our spiritual wounds—if only we will let Him.

The Christmas message has not changed in more than 2,000 years. Christmas still reminds us that God is with us.

In spite of all the pessimism and cynicism, in spite of all the headlines about murders, assassinations, riots, demonstrations and war, Jesus Christ is alive. He is alive to conquer despair, to impart hope, to forgive sins and to take away our loneliness. He is alive to reconcile us to God.

This Christmas, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Give Him the gift that He wants—your heart, your soul, your life.

(Adapted from Billy Graham's article, "Christmas—a Time of Renewed Hope")

A Thermometer or a Thermostat?

By Greg Laurie

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. —Luke 1:26

It's interesting how cities are known for certain things. Rome is known as the Eternal City. Paris is called the City of Lights. New York is the City that Never Sleeps. And Las Vegas has been nicknamed Sin City.

Nazareth, too, could have been called Sin City in the first century. Overrun by Roman soldiers, it was one of those places you went through on the way to another place. Nazareth also was known for its sin. One commentator described it as a hotbed of corruption. This is why, when Nathanael heard that Jesus was from Nazareth, he asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46).

Imagine if Jesus were born today. We might expect Him to be born in Jerusalem, or maybe in Rome, London, or Paris. But what if He were born in Las Vegas? The Savior has arrived: Jesus of Las Vegas. That's what it would have been like to use the term Jesus of Nazareth.

In that wicked city, however, lived a young woman of royal blood. Living in an impure world, Mary was pure. She showed it is possible to live a holy life in an unholy place. We often blame our wicked culture for the way we are, but the fact is that it's our job as followers of Jesus to permeate and affect our culture.

Here's a question to ask yourself: Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? A thermometer is affected by its surroundings. Depending on the temperature, it goes up or down. In contrast, a thermostat affects its surroundings. Unlike the thermometer, it controls the environment around it.

Do you merely react to what is happening around you, or do you have some kind of impact on it? Are you changing the culture, or is the culture changing you?

Just in Time

By Greg Laurie

"But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope."  —Romans 5:3–4

Perhaps the hardships of today are preparing you for great opportunities tomorrow.

Warren Wiersbe quotes a professor of history who said, "If Columbus had turned back, nobody would have blamed him, but nobody would have remembered him either." Wiersbe concludes, "If you want to be memorable, sometimes you have to be miserable."

We all know the story of Job. I don't know of many people who suffered more than him, with the loss of his possessions, health and, worst of all, his children. Yet his faith remained intact and even grew stronger.

You might say, "I could never handle the things Job faced! In fact, I can't handle suffering at all." Don't worry; God will give you what you need when you need it.

Not before. Never after. When you need it.

Corrie Ten Boom used to tell a story:

"When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, 'Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.'"

"Tell me," said Father, "When we take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?"

"No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train."

"That is right," my father said, "and so it is with God's strength. Our Father in heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need—just in time. . ."

We may not be called to be martyrs, but we will all suffer in life. God will give us what we need when we need it. Not before. Never after.

Just in time.

LIBERTY FROM ANXIETY

LIBERTY FROM ANXIETY

November 25, 2015 by thetbjoshuafanclub

The kingdom of darkness was in total shambles on Sunday November 22, 2015 as God’s power descended mightily in the service at The SCOAN. In a message titled, LIBERTY FROM ANXIETY, Evangelist Bolaji captured the sad reality staring the Christian race in the face. Many have allowed the worries and cares of this transient world to weaken their faith in God and His promise of eternal glory. She defined anxiety as an enemy of progress in a Christian’s life as it tends to pitch him or her against their belief in God.

“Our personal cares for the present, future, family and others are capable of changing our focus from running the straight race with God, especially when they arise from unbelief and distrust. Therefore, don’t be agitated and thrown into confusion. Worries about tomorrow do not advance our cause at all; they are absolutely useless. Remember that anxiety distracts one’s mind and hinders our interest in the service of God”.

The faith-destroying tendencies of anxiety notwithstanding, Evangelist Bolaji provided a Spirit-inspired recipe for all Christians to remain focused on God and His everlasting promises.

“Free yourself in the Word of God. When your spirit is free, it becomes sensitive to the Spirit of God. Do you want a free spirit? Keep your heart from cares. He who bore the burdens of our sorrows, worries, fears, cares and anxieties desires us to leave it entirely for Him because He alone knows what it takes to give us rest. Why don’t we trust Him and let Him prove Himself? After all, He is the Governor of our future – He owns the future”.

SCOAN Evangelists, sent by Prophet T.B. Joshua, led the congregants in yet another round of Mass Prayer that was massive in every sense of the word. Stubborn spirits, yokes, curses and sundry afflictions were broken by the power in the name of Jesus. Age-long demonic entanglements were disentangled as the atmosphere of prayer grew in intensity. Those who had been poisoned spiritually received deliverance as they vomited all evil deposits in their systems to the glory of God.

With all the songs of reverence to the Almighty God emanating from the choir, the testimonies that followed were indeed a reflection of one fact – GOD’S WORD WILL NEVER RETURN TO HIM VOID WITHOUT ACCOMPLISHING THAT WHICH IT HAS BEEN SENT TO ACHIEVE IN THE LIVES OF HIS CHILDREN.

Source

https://thetbjoshuafanclub.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/liberty-from-anxiety/

Benny Hinn - Practicing the Presence of the Lord

Benny Hinn - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Part 1

Acts 2:38 declares, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The wonderful Gift of the precious Holy Spirit, as well as the nine gifts of the Spirit, are too often neglected in today's fast-paced world. It is crucial for believers today to understand and receive all that God has provided! Pastor Benny's anointed teaching on these gifts is highlighted on this powerful broadcast.

Why Does the World Hate Jesus?

by Franklin Graham

Why is there so much hatred for Christians? Why are followers of Christ who seek to serve the poor, care for the sick, feed the hungry, and emulate the Savior so denigrated and disparaged around the world?

Ultimately, it is because men hate the Name of Jesus Christ. They love darkness rather than light. They love their sin rather than the only One who can forgive their sin. They refuse to let go of their pride and self-sufficiency and admit there is only one way for sinful men to be reconciled to a holy God.

Jesus Himself said that “if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you … A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18, 20).

Jesus demands that we come to Him on His non-negotiable terms. He tells us that we are vile sinners in need of a Savior. To receive the gift of salvation, we must strip ourselves of any claim to merit before God, and come to Jesus in genuine repentance and faith. Only then can the bad news of our sinful state be washed away in the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life.

The Victory Shout

By Greg Laurie

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.  —Hebrews 2:14

Some people think it's a joke to play with Ouija boards or read their horoscopes. They think it's only fun and games to play around with demonic forces and ideas. But it's no joke. Occultism and astrology are doorways to darkness, and people really push it when they start dabbling in the Devil's world.

Nonbelievers have no defense against the Devil, who can pretty much do whatever he wants to do in their lives. However, he can do nothing in the life of a Christian without God's permission. The only thing he fears is the power of Jesus Christ.

A classic example of this is the story of Job. Interestingly, the Lord allowed Satan a certain leeway, which resulted in many horrible afflictions on God's servant, including the loss of his health, the loss of his property, and, worst of all, the loss of his children. There were limitations to what the Devil was allowed to do, but Job was tested severely. He came through it all, and God blessed him in the end.

You may think you can't make it through a hardship of some kind, but if God is letting you go through it, He has a reason. God knows how much you can take. He will never give you more than you can handle.

The Devil was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary. Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out" (John 12:31). As believers, we share in the victory of Jesus Christ. He dealt a decisive blow against the Devil and his minions at the cross. When Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" it reverberated through the corridors of Heaven and the hallways of hell. It was a victory shout.

THE FAVOR OF THE LORD!

The Lord shall shower His favor upon you and exalt you! The Bible says that Jesus Christ increased in favor with God and men (Luke 2:51). Likewise, you shall increase in favor with God and men.

“In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Acceptable time is the time of God’s favor. His kindness, mercy and grace will be upon His people. God’s hand will lift you before the people who are against you and they shall come seeking your favor!

The Bible speaks about Joseph, a young man who feared the Lord and shunned evil. He was falsely accused by his master’s wife and was thrown in prison. But, he sought the Lord diligently and was faithful to Him in all his ways. The Lord was pleased with him and His favor rested upon him mightily. God exalted him to be a ruler(Genesis 39:21, 41:40-46).

The favor of the Lord will not only exalt you but will help you to receive favor from your enemies. The Israelites were in bondage and were exploited by the Egyptians cruelly. But God gave them favor in sight of their enemies. The Bible says that the Israelites fled Egypt with a lot of gold and silver (Exodus 3:21).

Germany was an economically ruined nation after the World War. At that time, the Chancellor Adenauer came to power in Germany. He was a hard working man. He used to work till 2.00 a.m and would be in the presence of God at 5.00 a.m. He diligently sought the Lord before resuming his work. This aroused curiosity among the people who asked him why he had to work so hard. He replied “I must build up this country. The future of Germany is in my hands. I cannot do anything without the grace of God. He leads me everyday in my life to do greater things for His glory".

The Chancellor came up with new plans and executed them. He paved the way for economic revolution. That is why Germany is an affluent nation today. One man sought the presence of the Lord and His favor, and the country was blessed.

Friend, when you diligently seek the Lord, He will shower His favor upon you. You will receive spiritual blessings and material blessings. Yes, God will exalt you in due time and the whole world will be in awe of you!

Strength in hard times!

 Stella Dhinakaran

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. (Isaiah 40:29)

Beloved, when problems assail us, even the mightiest man on earth will become weak and crumble. The spirit of man becomes lean and he succumbs to the pressures of problems he faces. The key to receive strength in your spirit is to wait on the Lord and act in His time.

The Bible says, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).

The Bible speaks about Job, a devout man of God who was the greatest person of the East (Job 1:1-3). The Lord tested him and he lost all his possessions and ten children in a day. He refused to turn against God when such a catastrophe befell him but said, “I will trust Him” (Job 13:15). When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). The Lord found him to be faithful and He turned the captivity of Job restoring his losses and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:1).

In another instance from the Bible David and his men were away from the city of Ziklag, when their enemy, the Amalekites, took away the women and children as captive and set the city on fire. When David and his men returned, they were shocked to see how the Amalekites ruined their city and their families. They wept until they thad no strength to weep. David became greatly distressed when he heard his men speaking of stoning him. Nevertheless, David strengthened himself in the Lord and God told him to pursue the Amalekites. David obeyed the Lord and he with his men recovered all that he had lost-nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them (1 Samuel 30:1-20).

In my life, my husband was affected with a lung disease and was bedridden in 1969. The doctor, who tested him said, "He would die within a month; yet the Lord whom you serve will not let you down.” I was encouraged a little by these words. I ran to the presence of the Lord and began to pray fervently. He heard my prayer and did a miracle. Apart from healing my husband, He also made the “Jesus Calls” Gospel Ministry to spread worldwide.

Yes, I strengthened myself in the Lord in my hard times and the Lord gave me victory over the crisis. The Lord who gave strength to those who waited on Him and gave them victory, will also do the same to you and reward you with blessings in the end.

WHO NEEDS FORGIVENESS? - Sermon by TB Joshua

The Problem with Self

By Greg Laurie

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 2 Timothy  3:1-4

We are living in a culture that is completely self-absorbed. Consider these stats:

• The Incidence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their twenties as for the generation that's now 65 or older.

• 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.

• 40% of Millennials believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.

In the 1970s, people wanted to improve their kids' chances, so the "self-esteem" movement was born. We were told that all of the social ills of the day were due to low self-esteem, and that we all needed to learn to love ourselves more.

As one expert said, "The problem is that when people tried to boost self-esteem, they boosted narcissism instead. All that self-esteem leads them to be disappointed when the world refuses to affirm how great they know they are."

So, we enter into our marriages saying things like: "What's in it for me?" and "What about my needs?" This leads to such inane statements as "I'm no longer happy in this marriage," and "I need to find myself!"

Where does this selfishness come from? "Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves" (James 4:1–2 MSG).

This is something the Bible says would be a sign of the end times: "You should know this, that in the last days, there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves . . ." (2 Timothy 3:1–2 NLT).

So, what is the antidote to selfishness? It is selflessness!

Philippians 2:2–8 tells us³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (NKJV)

THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING!

By Stella Dhinakaran

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you    (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Once, a man of God from England had gone to Africa to do ministry. He proclaimed about the Lord to the people who absolutely had no knowledge of the Lord and turned many towards the Lord. Observing this, the village headman was greatly annoyed due to jealousy and planned to kill the man of God.

He cunningly invited him home and gave him a feast, mixing poison in the food. But the Pastor, after praying over the food saying, “Lord, bless this food; sanctify it and strengthen me as I eat it” started eating it. The Lord, who heard the prayer, completely nullified the toxic effect of the poison in that food. So no harm befell him. The village headman’s heart was broken seeing this and he realized that the pastor was truly a man of God. After that he too accepted the Lord as his personal Saviour and made it possible for the Pastor to spread the Gospel throughout the village.

My dear beloved, do not worry saying, “Alas, I have this terrible disease; I am unable to bear this”. The Lord is still alive to give you perfect healing. His strength will be made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“He (the Lord) will bless your bread and your water…..” (Exodus 23:25).

According to the scripture, pray before you have your food saying, “Lord, thank You for this food which You have given; bless it and sanctify it” and then consume the food, you need to be aware that the Lord sanctifies it by His Word and prayer. Yes my beloved! if you are thankful to God in everything as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” God will certainly give you what you have thanked Him for!