Life Class Day 36

Something similar happens in our relationship with God.

Just as the experience of love is unique, our devotional experience is also unparalleled; only those who spend time with God can truly understand it.

In the Bible, we find the example of a man who demonstrated that his devotional life was his greatest priority; there was nothing that could highjack his time with God.

Daniel was unfazed by the edict King Darius had decreed, which prohibited him from praying to the Lord. Instead, he continued to pray as before.

*Daniel 6:10

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Because of his devotion, he was thrown into the lion's den.

*Daniel 6:16

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"

But the Lord delivered him & brought about a great victory.

*Daniel 6:20-22

When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" Daniel answered, "May the king live forever! 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."

Has love ever motivated you enough to fight against the circumstances, as Daniel did?

Why do you think he ignored the law & continued to pray every day as he had always done, even though it meant putting his life at risk?

Speaking to God should never be something boring, because every moment He allows us to be in His presence becomes the most wonderful experience - so much so that it is almost indescribable.

We do not want the time to end because there is nothing more important than being with Him.

He makes us feel important, He demonstrates His love to us, He reveals His will to us, He protects in His shade & He supplies all our needs.

*1 Kings 8:27

"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!"

Even though He is so great & we are so small, He longs to spend time with us.

*Song of Solomon 2:14

My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

It is amazing that God longs to hear us!

Have you ever shown love without it being reciprocated?

God, who has shown us His love in so many ways, sees that some of His children still keep their distance in an attitude of indifference.

Did you know that God loves you?

Think for a moment about how God has demonstrated His great love for you in your life.

Do you intend to love Him back or ignore His love? The decision is yours.

Ask him/her about his/her personal life & experiences.

Let yourself be acquainted to him/her every day.

Lend your ears to him/her when speaking.

We can speak to God through our prayers.

We listens to Him through reading the Bible & through fresh revelations every day.

Praise & worship Him.

REMEMBER:

GOD LONGS TO PERSONALLY RELATE TO EACH OF HIS CHILDREN.

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Life Class Day 35

*John 16:13

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

It is impossible to speak about having a new beginning without the help of the Holy Spirit, regardless of how good our intentions, how excellent our plans or how motivated we might be to do things.

We cannot truly start over without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus knew that the tools the first disciples had were not resilient enough to do the work He was assigning them.

He knew that the work would be incredibly hard & the disciples would find it impossible to do in their own strength.

Jesus knows that our hearts as humans have been hardened & that a divine diamond blade is needed to be able to break through into people's lives.

*Luke 24:49

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

That was why He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them.

How many times have we thought that doing the work of God simply means filling our minds with information & working tirelessly?

We think that we will achieve our goals if we do things in our own strength.

The Lord Jesus sets us an example. For 30 years, He did not make any public appearances or form any disciples; He was waiting for the right time to start His ministry - the time when the Holy Spirit would come upon Him.

*Matthew 3:17

And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

That was when He received God's seal of approval.

Many leaders have ended up collapsing along the way because they have not given the Holy Spirit the place He deserves.

The Lord Jesus sets us an example: only when the Holy Spirit came did He start to do the work of God.

When He went into the synagogue, He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

*Luke 4:18-19,21

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

What a great team! The Word & the Spirit are working together to enlarge the kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit is a person & we have come to understand that He is very real, although many have never really understood how He works.

*John 14:16-18

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

We know that the name "Counselor" refers to someone who comes alongside us to encourage us.

The Holy Spirit is the greatest encourager of all.

He did not come to condemn but to encourage. He did not come to shame us but to honor us.

He comes to cheer on His children & help them in every challenge they may be facing in their lives.

That is why it is so important that we learn to cultivate our friendship with Him.

Father God, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Thank You also that, for without the Holy Spirit, our life will be useless. We continue to pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to fill in into our lives & to continue to teach us what to do. In Jesus name, Amen.

REMEMBER:

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS CULTIVATING A FRIENDSHIP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

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Life Class Day 34

*Matthew 9:37-38

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

God has a desire in His heart: He wants people to be reconciled to Him. This is His greatest desire.

So great is His heart for us that He was willing to live as a man & allow others to beat, insult, humiliate & then nail Him to a cross.

Jesus endured all these things because He knew that His sacrifice would give humanity the opportunity to be reconciled to Him.

Jesus helps us understand that the harvest is plentiful & the work of bringing it in is incredibly important.

Think for a second about how many people you know who live far from God in your neighborhood, in the place where you study or work, on your lists of contacts on social media, so on.

You will soon realize that the large majority of them still need to be reconciled to God.

As we help to bring them back to their heavenly Father, we will be gathering the harvest Jesus spoke about.

The Lord sees each person as a worker, or minister for Him.

Jesus compares His Church to a body - a living organism.

Is there any part of your body that sleeps while you get on with your day? No! Every cell in your body has a specific job to do.

Some organs have more attractive functions than others, but no part of our bodies is useless.

Is there any member of the Body of Christ that can afford to stay asleep? No! We all have a role to play in the plan of God.

We can all help people be reconciled to God.

That is why the Lord helped us understand that every member of the church can & should become a leader, because the church is a living organism.

*Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

He has already done His part - remember that the work of the cross is perfect & complete.

Now it is up to us to do our part. We need to continue what He has started.

We should "...go & make disciples of all nations".

Evangelizing any nation is genuinely very simple - God has helped us see it that way. It is not something complicated; it is not about having to go out & stand on street corners to shout like madman, nor it is about standing up on buses to try & convince people.

As a church, God has given us a strategy to win the nations: the G12 Vision.

We focus on helping each person take up the responsibility of discipling 12 others, & doing it well.

Imagine that each of those 12 also do the same & take responsibility for taking care of 12 more.

The 1st generation would be 12 people; the 2nd, 144; the 3rd, 1728; the 4th, 20736; the 5th, over 200 thousand; the 6th, more than 2 million & the 7th, more than 35 million.

How can we transform a nation with the gospel? By focusing on 12.

When we say that we should disciple 12, & we should do it well, we are referring to the fact that it is not simply about gathering people together.

It is about bringing people together so that their lives can be changed by the gospel.

When the gospel reaches thieves, they stopped stealing; when the gospel reaches murderers, they stop killing; when it reaches liars, they start telling the truth& when it reaches unwise parents, families are restored.

We have the Vision to change lives, but just having it is not enough - we also have to put it in practice.

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.

-Joel Barker

What is your role in the important task of bringing harvest? How can you begin?

Tell someone about what Jesus has done for you.

Invite someone to come with you to the cell group you attend.

Invite someone to come to church with you.

REMEMBER:

OUR MISSION IS TO RECONCILE THE WORLD TO GOD & WE ALL HAVE A PART TO PLAY.

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Life Class Day 33

*Luke 11:24-26

"When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first."

When the impure spirits leave a person, they intend to return; they will do all they can to regain power over the life they have left.

They are not satisfied as long as they are out, so they insist, "I'll be back."

& they do not return alone - they bring reinforcements because they want success no matter what.

During the Encounter, you were set free from the impure spirits that were controlling in your life, but you need to be aware that they will do everything they can to try & return.

Jesus taught us that if an impure spirit is not inside a body, it does not find rest & so it does all it can to return.

Jesus also gave us a warning we cannot ignore; if we allow them to re-enter, we will end up in a condition worse than the one we were in before we received deliverance.

*Mark 3:27

In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man's house.

Before you knew Jesus, your life was defenseless; there was no one to defend your house. Therefore, impure spirits could easily enter to destroy your life.

Jesus teaches that if somebody wants to occupy a house, they must first bind the one who lives there.

The most effective way to defend your life is by ensuring that the person who is strongest of all lives in your heart - & His name is Jesus.

If He lives in the house, it makes no difference whether an impure spirit returns with 7, 70 or even 700 other spirits worse than itself. Jesus has all power & all authority & He has already defeated the powers of evil with an overwhelming victory.

*Colossians 2:15

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

If He defends your house, nothing & no one will ever be able to harm you.

He also taught us what we need to do so that He can live in us:

*John 14:23

Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

If we want Him to live in us, there is 1 condition we need to meet: we must obey His Word.

He is not some kind of supporting actor; He is the King of kings & the Lord of lords.

If the King gives an order, He expects immediate obedience. It is important that you are ready to relinquish the throne of your life.

This means that you are no longer the one who makes the decisions.

If you would rather not give the throne of your life to Jesus, you will be the one who will have to defend yourself against the counterattacks of those impure spirits.

But remember that you were defeated once before, & the one who defeated you will now bring with it reinforcements stronger than itself.

Derek Prince teaches us 7 steps that will help us live in the blessing of God:

1. Confess your faith in Christ & His sacrifice on your behalf.

*Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

2. Repent of all your rebellion & your sins.

*Mark 1:15

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"

3. Claim forgiveness of all sins.

*1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

4. Forgive all other people who have ever harmed you or wronged you.

*Mark 11:25

"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

5. Renounce all contact with anything occult or satanic.

*2 Corinthians 6:14-15

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

6. Pray to be released from any curse.

*Mark 11:24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

7. Believe that you have received what you have asked & go on in God's blessing.

*Ephesians 3:20

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

REMEMBER:

THE WAY TO STAY FREE IS BY GIVING THE THRONE OF MY LIFE TO JESUS.

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Life Class Day 32

*Matthew 18:23-35

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Is there anything that has made you lose your joy? Some people have such difficult problems that they have no longer smile - unexpected challenges, the loss of a loved one, financial setbacks, the betrayal of someone they loved, etc.

We have lived through all of those situations & we have lost count of the number of times we have been stabbed in the back.

Lord, never allow me to lose the blessing there is in believing in people; I apply the blood of Jesus & declare that I am healed from every hurt. I choose to see the betrayal I experienced as if it were experienced by somebody else. I resolve to continue believing in people, giving them new opportunities & praying for them.

After praying, we refused to allow anything to steal our joy - although we did lose it once.

A lack of forgiveness not only causes bitterness in us - it also hinders us from receiving divine mercy, just as Jesus taught in the parable of the 2 debtors.

To forgive means to have mercy on someone who does not deserve it.

It means renouncing our rights to condemn someone although we could legitimately do so.

We had the right to demand justice from those who had tried to murder us; the wicked servant in the parable did not invent the debt of his fellow servant, nor was he acting against the law when he sent him to prison.

However, the king handed him over to the jailers to be tortured because he did not show the same mercy he had received.

Just as God forgave our sins, although we did not deserve it, to such an extent that He sees us as if we had never sinned, we should also forgive those who harm us, even though they may not deserve our forgiveness.

We know that we have forgiven someone when we are able to see them as if they had never done anything against us.

Forgive them sincerely in prayer, remembering what forgiveness means.

It includes family, friends, high school & college classmates, co-workers & yourself.

REMEMBER:

FORGIVENESS IS THE MEDICINE THAT KEEPS HEARTS HEALTHY.

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Life Class Day 31

What Jesus did on the cross was sufficient for all people throughout the ages.

*Hebrews 10:14

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

We do not need to add anything to the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross; it is complete, sufficient & perfect.

All those things now legally belong to us. However it would seem to appear that some Christians are still unable to enjoy some of them.

Victorious warriors win first & then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first & then seek to win.

-Sun Tzu

God had promised Abraham that He would give the land he was living in to his descendants forever.

Legally, the land belonged to the descendants of Abraham.

*Joshua: 1:3

I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

He said, "I have given you", meaning that the legitimate owners of that land were the Israelites, although the reality they saw seemed to say something very different.

The Canaanites had been living in the land for over 400 years, sowing & reaping & building houses & fortified cities.

The people of Israel had to move from simply having the legal right to experiencing the reality of the promise.

They crossed the River Jordan as owners of the land, but they had to fight to take hold of what was theirs.

They already had the victory (because God had given it to them), but they had to march into battle so that they could take possession of the land.

Jesus had made us creditors of everything He conquered on the cross.

All those things are now legally ours but we need to take hold of them so that we can see them reflected in our lives & we can enjoy the reality of them.

We are marching into a battle in which our victory is already secure.

When the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, they were setting us an example that we might understand how to move from simply having the legal right to something, to experiencing the reality of the promise.

40 years earlier, under the leadership of Moses, they had chosen 12 spies to go & explore the land & Joshua was among them. When the spies returned, they were clearly impressed at how fertile the land of Canaan was.

They had cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took 2 of them to carry it on a pole between them.

However, 10 of the spies focuses their attention on other issues - they focused on the size of the people living there, their fortified cities, & the fact that the Canaanites had more military experience than they.

*Numbers 13:28

But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.

As a result, they stopped believing in the promise God had given them.

God had told them that He Himself would give them the land & that they had no need to worry about the enemy armies or their fortified cities as He would deal with them personally.

It was not their job to figure out how they would defeat the Canaanites - that was God's responsibility.

Sadly, they did not believe God & they were unable to to enter because of their unbelief.

*Hebrews 3:19

So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Although the land was the same & their enemies had not changed, the Israelites were different from the previous generation that had failed.

This generation really did believe that God was going to fulfill His promise; full of faith, they went forth & conquered.

It was because of their faith that they were successful in conquest & saw many miracles: the River Jordan parted & they passed through on dry land, the walls of Jericho crumbled before their very eyes & the sun delayed going down about a full day so that they could fight without being interrupted by the darkness of the night.

& so, with inferior military strength & without the appropriate weapons, the Israelites took hold of a promise from God & entered the land that already belonged to them.

They moved from simply having a legal right to receiving an experiential victory.

If we are to obtain all the blessings that Jesus placed within our reach through His sacrifice, we should follow in the footsteps of the people of Israel.

We should have faith in the promise of God & act in accordance with that faith.

Having faith means being completely convinced of something.

*Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Specifically, it means being 100% convinced that all that Jesus conquered on the cross for you is yours, even if what you are living through at the moment seems to be the complete opposite & you do not know how the miracle is going to happen.

When you are sure that God will do what He says, you will begin to see change taking place in your life.

Do not worry about the how - leave that in God's hands - that is His responsibility & He never fails!

Remember that if you do not have faith; there is a way to obtain it:

*Romans 10:17

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

As you fill your mind with the Word of God, you will receive the faith you need to live your life in abundance that is already yours, Jesus won it for you on the cross of Calvary.

*Joshua 1:8

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Forgiveness:

*Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Healing:

*Isaiah 58:8

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Righteousness:

*Deuteronomy 6:25

"And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

Life:

*Joshua 1:5

No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Blessing:

*Deuteronomy 11:27

The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.

Abundance:

*Matthew 13:12

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Glory:

*1 Chronicles 16:10

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Acceptance:

*1 Timothy 1:15

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Spiritual nature:

*Romans 12:11

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

REMEMBER:

JESUS CONQUERED ALL I COULD EVER NEED ON THE CROSS. I CAN TAKE HOLD OF EVERY VICTORY THROUGH FAITH.

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