PRESENCE
POWER PROVISION AND PROTECTION
BREAD
17 “The LORD
your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he
will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
(NIV)
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be
content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never
will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is
my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
18 I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before
long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live,
you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you
are in me, and I am in you. John
14:18-20 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have
overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 1 John 4:4 (NIV)
27 “My sheep listen to
my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,
is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 (NIV)
30 I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 (NIV)
1 The LORD is my
shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He
makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, 3 He restores
my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your
staff, they comfort me. 5 You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely
goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:1-6
(NIV)
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD
will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD
will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for
us, who can be against us? 32 He
who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not
also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those
whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that,
who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for
us. 35 Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As
it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as
sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans
8:31-39 (NIV)
BUTTER
“God’s
will will never put us where His presence will not sustain us.” Robert
J. Morgan
“Few
delights can equal the mere presence of One whom we fully trust.” George
McDonald
“Considering
Mary, how did she “walk by the Spirit” and glorify Christ when God gave her an
impossible circumstance? She believed
God for the impossible---“How will this be, for I am a virgin?” And she lived a
life of repentance— “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said”
What does a life of repentance look like?
It is a daily recognition that you are not your own, for you have been
bought with a price. What is your life
response to the impossible issues you are facing? How must you walk by the Spirit, in the way
of repentance and faith, like Mary? I
must believe God that I am an adopted son or daughter. That I am loved unconditionally; that I am
forgiven and really free from sin in my life. I must believe I have the Holy
Spirit’s seal of approval…I must believe God can and will do miraculous things
in my life….in the lives of others around me…. “I must stop living life by and
for myself… I must repent of my self saving ways…. My idols of comfort,
security and approval. And I can because
Jesus has already done all for me. Not
just some of what I need, but all of what I needed and need, on the cross and
He continues to do, by the active Presence and Power of His Holy Spirit.” Tom Wood
“The one who gives the power gets the
glory.” John Piper
“The
greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” William
Booth
“Jesus is the One who shows us the
paradoxical route to meaning in a chaotic and hostile world. It’s the paradox of the gospel: Strength is
found in weakness. Control is found in dependency. Power is found in surrender….
God uses the frustrations of this life and the hurt of relationships to compel
us to look beyond what we can control to the God who controls all things in
order to woo us to himself. As we move from control to surrender, we move from
chasing the wind under the sun to embracing God above it.” Dan
Allender
“The
true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or
man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God
of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts (Zechariah 5:6) It is well for
all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the
heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives). A ministry which flows from abiding
dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on
his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be,
or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the
Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later,
lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who
minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on
the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it.
But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and
partly on the Spirit.” C H Macintosh
“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to
guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to
speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield
to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations
of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a
multitude.” St. Patrick
HEART SAVOR
- · God is my refuge and my fortress – my ever-present help.
- · The Lord is on my side – who can stand against me?
- · The One Who gives the power gets the glory – always.
