Rabboni....I Have Seen HIM!

 Rabboni....I Have Seen HIM! 

John 20

Have you seen HIM? Have you seen the risen Lord?  Has HE spoken to you? Has HE taught you nothing?  Are you currently in a real relationship with HIM?  Does HE call you by your name? Have you gone seeking for HIM? Have you gone alone? Have you waited earnestly?

After HIS crucifixion, after HIS burial in the tomb, after three days - Jesus rose from the dead.  HIS death on the cross released every believer from every power of sin and death; and also reconciled us back to the Almighty God our Father. 2 Corinthians 5 HIS resurrection means that we too have power over every sin and dead situation in our lives.  These situations include relationships that we think are irredeemable, dreams that we think are unattainable, miracles we believe are impossible, prayers we think are neglected, sins that we think are unforgiveable, maladies, careers, ministries, marriages, children, mistakes, losses, etc...  Our human experiences are very limited, and our exposure to 'smear' often limits our imagination.  Though we have the capacity, we are like birds in a recently opened cage.   We've been caged for so long, we are afraid to fly through the open window set before us.  Jesus's resurrection is about trusting HIS word and ability to set us free. But we do not always believe. 

2 Peter 1: 1 - 3 

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

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Mary went to HIS tomb to see about HIM.  She was one of HIS close followers. HE had become her teacher.  Jesus had previously delivered her from an enslaved lifestyle.  Are you limited:

• Sometimes we have habits in our lives that we would love to change but feel powerless to do so.  For though we might have attempted to do it on multiple occasions, we often always fall back feeling trapped and overwhelmed.  
• Sometimes it our 'little' secret.  The thing that contaminates us, that we keep hidden.  
• Or maybe that 'big elephant in the room' that we can't escape.  Something so unforgettable or unforgivably wrong that was done to us that keeps us docile. 
• Sometimes it's what others have done to us or hammered in our heads by their compounded negative actions and / words.  We've somehow come to accept it as gospel.

HE came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10. As HIS sheep, we are familiar with HIS voice, HIS presence.  If you feel far away from HIM, praise HIM!  Don't forget, HE inhabits the praises of HIS people. Psalm 22. We are fully equipped to live as victors rather than victims. If we still continue to live a life of bondage and defeat, then that makes Jesus' work on earth for our sake futile.  What's the sense in having the keys if we never use them? 

Matthew 16: 19

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Trust Jesus.  Believe HIS word. John 1 HIS incomprehensible sacrifice is incomparable.  Romans 5.  Jesus died for strangers, technically that's what we are, right? We have to go all in or not at all. That's what Jesus did for us.  HE went all in. In Gethsemane HIS sweat became blood.  HE walked through Jerusalem carrying a cross, humiliated for you and me. We need to seek HIM with all of our hearts.  We need to recognize that we need HIM daily. Let us not mock God.

Galatians 6: 7 - 8

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

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We are victors! There is absolutely no circumstance that exist today that Jesus hasn't already provided a solution for us. 1 Corinthians 10 Nothing should be holding us captive.  And if it exists, then we like Mary should go in search of HIM.  HE really does love us and is interested in our good.  Jesus suffered so we wouldn't have to.  Life is to be enjoyed.  It is a gift.  It was God's intention.  It still is.  We do not have to settle.  HE gives us HIS peace as a seal of HIS signet ring.  When we walk in step with HIM, we understand that there are seasons. Seasons are a part of the process. But all seasons change!  Ask HIM for wisdom. 

Romans 8:32

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Jesus brought grace and truth to us.  HE brought revelation.  Truth for obedience and grace for capacity and empowerment. God resolved our issue once and for all through Jesus' death. The Father wants a relationship, not a puppet. HE wants to commune with us as he did with Adam and Eve. The veil in the temple was torn in two by God from the top to the bottom.  We all have access. Jesus is our only High Priest, since then, our bodies have become the temple of God.  Jesus is our Emmanuel. 

1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

Life - It begins and ends with God. HE is the only one who can satisfy us completely because HE made us. HE knows and understands us, and HE wants us to live fulfilled lives. From the very outset HE told us to dominate. Genesis 1. But we are called to do it together. Sheep is both plural and singular simultaneously for a reason. God wants us to have an individual relationship with HIM, but to also do it in community. Romans 12.  Jesus did what HE expects us to do. HE completed HIS purpose. HE finished HIS race well. We need to honor God with our lifestyle.  Then we will fulfill Jesus' request to the Father, that we will be one and bring honor to God. John 17.  It is always about God's honor; we should never forget that!  

If we say we have seen HIM, then we ought to live in HIS resurrection power today! And if we haven't, then let us come away from all the noise and allow HIM to be our shepherd. Seek HIS truth and grace. Let go and let God renew your faith in HIM. Whatever we consider dead and buried, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. What is dead in your life is not too deeply buried for God. As with Lazarus, allow HIM to change your situation and command it to come forth. Roll away your stone of doubt and unbelief. Because HE lives, you can live too!  HE invites you to do so.  Seek HIM! Call HIM! Trust HIM!

TESTIMONY: Synagogue cantor finds what she was missing in Yeshua | I Met Messiah

WORSHIP: Charity Gayle - I Speak Jesus (feat. Steven Musso) [Live]

Trust Jesus again!

When The Lion Roars...

 When The Lion Roars...

Daniel 6

When the lion roars, he can be heard from 5 miles away.  He struts like a king who dominates the area.  His roar is to claim territory and strike fear into all.  Size is not a deterrent. His prowl is calculated.  He is wise and selective. He is fierce and fearless. He can jump over 35 feet high and he's extremely strong. He has a posse, and he's out for blood. He's known as the king of the jungle.  He hunts everything.  No one dares to silence him, except God!

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

In the lion's den, Daniel was not afraid because he understood man's limit.  He had seen God do too much for him, to doubt God's ability to do even more.  He feared God more than man. He was innocent. He knew too well that obedience to God was better than sacrifice.

• He had been captured as a teenager and brought to a foreign land. Yet promoted.
• His gang remained healthy on just a leafy diet.
• His friends escaped the fiery furnace uncinched.
• He had seen a most powerful king eat grass.
• He ruled foreigners in their country, in their government.
• He was right when he interpreted the king's dream.
• He was right when he interpreted the writing on the wall.
• He walked in favor with God and with man.
• He had a real relationship with his God.

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Like David, he'd seen Goliath. But he'd also seen God.  He knew that God was able to do far more than any man on this earth could.  After all, God created man.

Isaiah 55:9 

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

If you are walking in the will of God for your life, you will have enemies.  Ask Jesus, or Paul.  The men decided to go without food until Paul was dead.  Acts 23 The Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus because HE was too popular. John 11 Herod's wife asked for John's head on a charger. Matthew 14 Jesus told HIS disciples to take up their cross. It's a decision we all have to make.  We have to be prepared for earthly "unfair" judgement when we decide to stand for God's laws.  We make ourselves unpopular when we chose to declare our faith in the face of adversity.  But faith can only come from a place of a true relationship with God.  There's no way around it. Faith is about jumping in and knowing your Father God will catch you.  You have to become like a child when it comes to The Almighty God. You have to step out of your boat into the water and walk towards Jesus like Peter. You have to keep your eyes on Jesus all the way, or you will sink. Are you innocent in God's eyes? Are your eyes focused on Jesus?  Are you committed to God? You have to have your own story of what you've seen God do in your own life.  David saw God rescue him from bears and other wild animals when he was with his sheep. He wasn't afraid of Goliath.  Goliath was just another beast. Goliath was just a pea brain in comparison to God. David understood that God made Goliath as well. He understood that God was in charge. God is always in charge! What have you seen God do? What have you trusted HIM to do? Only God is all powerful!

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God is supreme!  There is no situation that you can ever encounter that is not subject to God's authority. It doesn't matter where you are.  It doesn't matter who or what you are facing. God is always in control of everything. As long as you focus on God, HE will work it out.  Just remember that your most powerful weapon is prayer.  The disciples didn't ask God to show them how to do miracles.  They asked HIM to teach them how to pray. They observed the source of HIS strength. Prayer is the work. Jesus always resorted to prayer. Queen Esther told her people to pray. Esther 4. Daniel prayed three times daily. He went into his house, turned to the window facing Jerusalem and prayed when he realized that they had plotted for his death.  You have to believe that God will work it out.  HE is your help.  Like a shower, you need prayer every day.  It is what it is. When you're not sure what to do - remind HIM of HIS word.  Psalm 121.  The great news is - because of Jesus' finished work on the cross; every power in the earth is now subject to us as believers.  Like a lion, we should be fierce and fearless in our communities knowing that God has given us power to overpower any and every adversary. Know that when we feel weak, that's when we are most strong, because then HE fights for us.  God is our posse. HE is our pride. Greater is HE that is in us than he that is in the world.  The same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is alive in us today.

Luke 10:19

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Faith in God's ability is the ingredient to overcome all fears.  Just imagine the growls of the lions before Daniel was thrown into the den.  Just imagine spending an entire night with multiple lions walking around you.  Just imagine the sight of all the dead bones in the den from prior people. Imagine the awful smells.  Plus, they shut him in with a stone. Yet he survived.  What den have you been thrown into?  Do you have others scheming and plotting, even lying or spreading rumors about you?  Are you surrounded by lions, situations and or systems and people that seem more powerful than you? Remind HIM of HIS word. Psalm 91. Remember, it is always about HIS Glory.  God works it out to draw men unto himself.  In the end, not just Daniel, but a whole nation that needed 120 satraps to lead them, now bowed to the Almighty God.  Daniel did not complain. Instead, he gave thanks. His relationship with God was more important than what others thought of him. We do not always understand God's agenda, but we ought always to give thanks. When you don't know what to do PRAISE GOD.  Like Paul and Silas in prison, praise God.  Your faith, your commitment and obedience to HIM is what matters. HE will open your oppressive gates and give HIMSELF the glory.

Daniel is the only prophet who lived through four different regimes (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus). God did that! HE is sovereign over all. Daniel's enemies and their families were crushed in the lions den.  God caused that. All wisdom and power come from God. Daniel was a 'big deal' in a foreign government. He had seen man's power in comparison to God's.  Proverbs 21.  Inspite of his position, he remained humble and faithful to God. He understood that God could handle any terrorizing situation, by HIMSELF anytime. He understood that God could shut the mouths of any and every enemy power. He understood that all the glory belongs to God. Therefore, God revealed many things to him in dreams and visions.  Ask. Talk to God. Pray continually. Jeremiah 33. If you seek revelation, stay humble.  If you seek justice, turn to God. Draw near to God and HE will draw near to you. At exactly the right time, God will work it out.  God is forever sovereign.  HE will ALWAYS be the last one standing. Nothing and no one is as powerful!  Do not compromise your faith. Never trade obedience to God! It's not worth it!

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TESTIMONY: They Stabbed Me for My Faith but Yeshua Healed My Heart – Pod for Israel

WORSHIP: God Will Work It Out (feat. Naomi Raine & Israel Houghton) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL

When you don't know what to do ROAR GOD'S PRAISE!