Deliverance

Promises of God in Jesus

Ken

“For all the promises of God in Him are yea [Greek, nai, yes, verily, truly, surely], and in Him Amen [Greek, amēn, so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled], unto the glory of God by us” (2Corinthians 1:20 KJV). What greater confidence than the name of Jesus attached to a promise! Is this only youthful enthusiasm? What greater accomplishment than the promises of Jesus fulfilled in our lives, and in those around us? He who is the Word accomplishes every jot and tittle of His promises because He is the essence of faithfulness and will not let one promise fall to the ground. 

The very placement of the words in the text of Scripture are not accidental. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth to preach the first sermon of His messianic career, He read Isaiah 62:1-2, but completed His reading at the end of the comma — “to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,” (Isaiah 61:2). He did not complete Isaiah’s sentence with “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn” (61:2) because that would only be fulfilled later. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). Just as Jesus fulfilled His Word in atoning for our sins on the Cross, so He will keep the prophecy of fulfilling His promise of vengeance during the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:26), then Israel will finally turn to Him at His Second Coming. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 

Father, You will keep all Your Word through Christ Jesus in the salvation of Israel, since all Your promises in Him are yea and amen. Magnify Your name. Keep Your Word. Save Israel. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen.

Angelic Deliverance

Ken

“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7 KJV). The OT Angel of the LORD is the Lord Jesus Christ, for Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and the Angel of the LORD ceased to appear in the NT. We are told, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Guardian angels are not a difficulty for the LORD, since He has appointed them “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). However the LORD chooses to deliver us is not the point; but, that He is willing to do so, is the issue. “Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob” (Psalm 44:4). Are we trusting God for whatever we will face, since we are certainly in conflict with the Devil and his demonic horde? Father, give us the faith to trust You as the flames draw closer to swallow us. May we be unwilling to bow to Bel, even if You chose not to deliver. But, may You be magnified, as we ask for grace to help in our time of need. Lord Jesus, return quickly and deliver us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

First Coming Is Incomplete Without The Second Coming

Ken

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28 KJV). Our salvation is complete, when we shall come into His presence at His Second Coming, for we shall lose our present corrupted bodies of flesh and become like Him. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2). We are saved from the penalty of sin (eternal death), the effects of sin (physical suffering), and the power of sinning (necessity to commit sin). 

All will confess to being saved from eternal death, since the “gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). 

According to our faith, some will lay hold of physical healing in the atonement, i.e., “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 cp. Matthew 8:16-17). 

But, possibly the most overlooked benefit in the Atonement is the Gift Within the Gift — the giving of the Holy Spirit. We are saved from the necessity to sin by the inspiration of the Indwelling Holy Spirit to cause us to obey Him. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27 cp. Acts 2:38). 

We certainly will have all of these fulfilled by the time we stand in His presence at His Second Coming. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Father, only You can give us full deliverance, but as always, it is according to our faith. You saved us not just to deliver us from eternal pain or physical suffering, but to gain for Yourself a people devoted to Your obedience by Your Spirit. May we embrace this truth and overcome the wicked one by faith. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Dealing With the Rapture (Part 1)

Ken

The Rapture is only one aspect of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which must take place prior to the New Heavens and New Earth, which was also promised to Israel and the Church. Everyone will have to deal with the miraculous, supernatural Rapture. Jesus will return, as the angels promised, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11 KJV). His Second Coming will happen for the entire world to witness. “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7 KJV). His Second Coming requires a catching up of living saints to accompany the resurrected saints, who will then both accompany the returning Christ. “15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō, to snatch out or away] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:15-17). LORD, thank You for sharing future events with us. Though we know not when, return quickly, Lord Jesus, and deliver us. Amen. 

I Know Where You Live

Ken

God’s words, not mine. Depends on who you are. It is a threat against you, if you are like the Assyrian King Sennacherib, ranting against Yahweh (701 BC) in the Levant, besieging Jerusalem. “I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against Me” (Isaiah 37:28 NET). Biblical and secular histories differ, where the siege against King Hezekiah at Jerusalem ended with an angel killing “185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp” (37:26), Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, and was slain by his own sons (37:38; 681 BC). Assyrian annals left out the part where the Lord’s angel killed 185,000 troops, instead they recorded: “Hezekiah was overwhelmed by fear of [Sennacherib’s] ‘Lordly brilliance’ and submitted to paying a large tribute of soldiers, hostages, gold and silver, weapons, and other valuables to be delivered to Nineveh.” Revisionist history or fake news, since 2Kings 19 gives an authentic account of the supernatural annihilation and humiliation received by Sennacherib. May the LORD’s words, “I know where you live,” be received as encouragement for the godly that He knows how to deal with the ungodly, and even inspire the afflicted, as later for the New Covenant Church of Pergamum. “I know where you live – where Satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to cling to My name and you have not denied your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was killed in your city where Satan lives” (Revelation 2:13). LORD, come quickly and deliver Your people. Amen. 

Jesus Wants You Well

Ken

C.S. Lovett, a retired USAF chaplain, wrote, “I do not mean to imply that God doesn’t use sickness… But the point is — He [God] doesn’t SEND sickness,” in his classic book, Jesus Wants You Well (1973). Growing up in the early 1970’s in evangelical, fundamental, Bible preaching churches, I remember being introduced to the writings of Dr. Lovett’s Personal Christianity by a blessed, fervent church friend. Lovett got it right, and he disagreed with conventional wisdom on 2Corinthians 12:7-10 about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. The devil wants us sick, since the “thorn in the flesh” (2Corinthians 12:7 KJV) was a “messenger [Greek, aggelos, angel] of Satan [Greek, satan, adversary]” (12:7) sent by God to “buffet” (12:7) Paul — and us. An evil angel of Satan was allowed to torment Paul, like Jesus was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The Father no more wanted Jesus to be tempted to make Jesus sin, any more than He wanted Paul to be buffeted to make him perpetually ill. Sure, we are to “glory in [our] infirmities” (12:9) for “when I am weak, then am I strong” (12:10) in the mean time; but, it is the devil buffeting with the sickness. Jesus came to heal and deliver us from the sickness, unless we have hidden issues allowing the adversary to successfully accuse us to prevent our healing. “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:16-17; compare Isaiah 53:4-5). Our response to being buffeted is to glory in our infirmities, thus strengthening us spiritually, but not simply to give in to sickness. Brothers and sisters, Jesus wants us well. Let the Holy Spirit persuade you what you should believe.

Angels: Third Person Syndrome

Ken

“Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). God’s unseen realm touches us for good so much more than the minions of the wicked one for evil, if we are numbered among those who are “saved by hope” (Romans 8:24). It is embarrassing that the world notices this help, when the godly more insistently cling to their failed narratives of unanswered prayer. I ran across this account. “[#9] I was taking a shortcut across a frozen reservoir on the way to a friend’s house. Suddenly, the ice cracked, and I started to fall through. I felt two hands slam into my back, and I skidded across the ice. I was soaking wet when I arrived at my friend’s house, cold and shivering. I told him the story as I changed into some of his clothes so we could throw mine into the dryer. My friend turned white, and his eyes were bugging out of his head. He guided me to the bathroom so I could look in the mirror, and I saw what disturbed him. There were two hand-shaped bruises forming on my back. 40+ years later, I still get chills thinking about it.”

How God Talks to Ordinary People

Ken

In 2006, Bruce Van Natta was saved by two angels (23:21) from being cut in half by a logging truck, which fell off its temporary supporting jack. Surviving surgery and the loss of the majority of his intestines — only to be restored by prayer — Bruce believes in miracles (Kindle book). More significantly, Bruce believes God talks to ordinary people like you and me, but we don’t realize it because we are not listening. His book particularly discusses how God talks to us — and, not just through Scripture. “God, who at sundry times and in divers [many] manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2 KJV).

Behavior: Ten Minute Rule

Ken

I knew a person who overcame a lifelong smoking addiction after committing their life to Christ. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13 KJV). I read a story of another individual, who was told by his doctor he would probably die, if he didn’t quit smoking. He was instructed to commit himself to not smoking for only ten minutes, and occupy himself with something else during those ten minutes. Repeat the process until a habit formed, likely a month or two later. The man surprised the doctor exactly a year later with a smile and mission accomplished! How much more any behavior can be conquered through Christ!

Prayer and Fasting

Ken

Diogenes looked for an honest man, but can one be found without the baggage of past sins? Jesus diagnosed His disciples’ failure to cast out a demon. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 KJV). Forgotten wrongs by family members, church members, community members, or members of a nation, must be acknowledged, confessed, repented of, forgiveness given (if being withheld), and restitution made (where possible), before God can bless. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 KJV).