For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich

 

Abundance:

 

            We through His poverty might become rich:

 

2 Corinthians 8:9

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

 

            Most of us would be willing to give up our rags for riches, but what about going the other way? Jesus was willing to give up everything to come to earth as a man and then to die for us. That was kind of like riches to rags. Yet, because He was willing to give up all, He gained more than we can conceive … for Himself and for us. We became rich; not as the world counts riches, but as God counts riches. Sure it would be nice to have a lot of money, but why do you want it? Too many Christians would spend it on themselves. Oh, they would claim to want it to help the Kingdom, but when it came down to it, would they really spend it to further God’s Kingdom or to establish their own? Yes, God does want us to be blessed financially. But He wants us to be blessed spiritually first. Then we will be better able to make good use of the riches He has in store for us.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are rich, My children; not as the world counts riches, but as I count them. The riches of this world will soon decay and disappear; but the riches I give will last for eternity. You cannot succeed in this world no matter how hard you try or how many riches you obtain. They will all flee away at the last trumpet. You cannot take them with you when you die, so don’t long for them. I will supply all your needs as you trust Me. You cannot get impatient waiting for Me to meet your needs. I will do it in My time. Abraham did not see all the riches I had for him when I promised them to him. He had to wait until the correct time. Then he saw them in abundance. There is no lack in Me. If you follow My Word, you will succeed in life; not as the world counts success, but as I count it. You can succeed in Me, even though the world thinks you have failed. It’s not that you will be defeated in this life; for I want My people to be successful in this life also; but it is more important to be successful in My Kingdom than to be successful in this world. You will more than succeed if you trust in Me. You will be more than conquerors in Me. You will make others desire to come into My Kingdom as they see your success in Me.”

 

            57. Jesus became poor for me so that I through His poverty might become rich.

But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel

 

Dead or Alive:

 

            Abolished death by tasting death for everyone:

 

2 Timothy 1:10

10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

 

Acts 2:24

24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

 

Hebrews 2:9

9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

 

            When I was growing up, there was a brief time that I was afraid of dying. We as Christians should have no fear of death. It has no power over the real person. Our spirit man will live forever. That doesn’t mean that we desire death. We simply do not fear it … no fear. Not only do we no longer fear death; we look forward to true life here and now and forever. Hundreds of years ago Ponce DeLeon searched for the Fountain of Youth in order to live forever. People today keep trying new things to keep from growing old and dying. We’re not searching for that Fountain of Youth. We’ve found it in Jesus. We can have confidence in the abolishment of death and the immortality of life because the Gospel has shed light upon them to us.

            By Jesus being raised from the dead, He showed that death no longer had power over Him. Thus, it has no power over us. We may die, but death can’t keep us in the ground. We will also rise again like He did. There will also not be any agony while we are there.  We will be anticipating our soon coming resurrection.

            Jesus tasted death for each one of us so that we don’t have to. Do not fear death any longer, but rejoice in the Lord that He has taken away its pain and sorrow.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is no fear in death, My children. There is nothing that can harm you as you walk in My will. I have longed to see you and it shall not be long. Those that long for Me will not be disappointed. They will see Me as I am. I am not far from you, and it will not be long till you see Me. In Me you have life and that life is abundant. You shall never fear as long as you walk in Me. There is no fear in the future when you trust in Me. In Me you have peace; a peace that the world cannot understand nor experience. You shall know My peace in all circumstances. There is nothing that can come upon you of which I am not aware. There is nothing that can come upon you to harm you as you trust in My care. My Spirit is ever with you to bring you safely into My Kingdom and to be with Me. There is no other place to be than with Me. In Me you have eternal life and eternal rest.”

 

            56. I need not fear death any longer because it has no power over me. I know that because it had no power over Jesus. I will only have life and immortality though Him. I can believe that because the Gospel, His Word, says that it’s so.

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified

Word builds you up and gives you the inheritance:

 

Acts 20:32

32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

 

            See what the Word is supposed to do? It is supposed to build us up. It can’t, if we don’t have the Word in us. A word meaning to build up is to edify. Some people tear down others with their words. The Word of God is meant to build up; to raise us up as an edifice to stand against the storms of life and the enemy. It is also able to give us our inheritance among fellow believers. It can’t if we don’t read, study, and meditate upon it. You could inherit a million dollars, but if you never knew it was yours, you would never enjoy the benefits. You cannot enjoy the benefits of your inheritance until you understand what is your destiny in the Word of God.

           

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My Word is what will build you up, and It is what will make you stand in this wicked cruel world. The world cannot know Me; just as it cannot know you; for you are not of this world; as I was not of this world. The world longs to place you into its mold. But you must resist firmly in your faith; for it is faith in My Word that will bring about My Kingdom in this world. The world loves its own and hates those of My Kingdom. You are of My Kingdom if you walk in My Word. It is what will make you what you ought to be.”

 

            54. The Word of His grace will build me up and give me my inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

 

            Thus we see that our destiny depends upon us knowing what is in the Word of God concerning it and upon us allowing the Holy Spirit to activate it in our lives. We cannot go until we know … what the Word says we are.

And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

                                                                         Chapter 5

The Word of God

 

             How is our destiny intertwined with the Word of God? Without it, we won’t know what our destiny is - how we are supposed to be living. We need to read the Bible daily to see how our lives are supposed to be. It isn’t called the Word of God for nothing. It is God speaking to us … into our very lives. In the last chapter, we looked at the Holy Spirit intervening in our lives. He needs something to activate His power in us. That something is the Word. Without it we have no direction; no GPS to guide us. The Spirit uses the Word to keep us on the right path and to show us what our destiny is.      

            Speak the Word with boldness:           

Acts 4:31

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

 

            The Holy Spirit combines with the Word to bring about boldness in Christians’ lives. It’s like sticking the fire of the Spirit to the gun powder of the Word. When you do, there is an explosion. This explosion caries us into the world to preach the Gospel to unbelievers and unbelieving believers (they are born again, but they don’t believe in what the Word says). They gathered together; they prayed; the place was shaken; they were filled; they spoke the Word with boldness. This is what we should be doing today. If you look at the places where it says someone was filled with the Spirit, afterwards words came out of their mouths. Normally it’s only the first two things that happen in churches. People gather together and they pray. The people in Acts couldn’t have spoken the Word with boldness if they hadn’t know what the Word said.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You believe in Me; believe also in My Word. My Word is what will make you an overcomer in this world. The world does not care what happens to you. It is only interested in itself. You are what has to make My Word active in this world; for it will never come to know Me apart from you. You are to activate it in this world for the world to know Me. You are to speak forth what I tell you to speak. Then you will see many great miracles happen in your life as you activate My Word. It is like many of the products you buy. It is not good by Itself. You must activate it for It to operate the way It is supposed to. Trust in My Word as you activate It in your lives. Then you will see My power operating in your lives and in My Kingdom.”

 

            53. I will be filled continually with the Spirit and will know and speak the Word of God with boldness wherever I go.