
Friday, January 17, 2024
Apostle Billey
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Why are Christians so fearless?
Because God is our Rock and we rely on Him forever.
God is a permanent refuge for us.
When the earth is shaken, Christians must not panic, but trust in God.
Even when television, radio and social networks give bad or contradictory news, Christians must continue to follow the news from heaven. In other words, what did God say to you 1 year ago, 6 months ago, a week ago, this morning…?
So God will say to you: “Did I not tell you that I am The Rock, and that not even death can go against My church, cannot prevail over you? I have prepared you for this time, and My grace and mercy are upon you. When the world is turned upside down, times are hard, you must be serene and even you prosper…”
Psalm 46
4 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
5 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
The Lord always is A Rock.
God’s presence brings joy to the church, his people.
Beloved, we must destroy fear in our lives.
Remember when Peter thought his love was at its best?
Matthew 26.33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
But the Lord said to him, before the rooster crows, you will have denied me three times.
Matthew 26.
34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
Peter didn’t believe what the Lord Jesus told him because of the love he had for Him. He was sure of himself.
But the situation in front of him pushed him over the edge, and made him deny God. And this situation dominated him.
In the end, he effectively denied Jesus three times.
This experience helped Pierre to understand his weaknesses. Before this situation, he didn’t know what it could do to him.
Beloved, victory doesn’t come from the mouth, but from the character you develop within yourself.
It’s in your heart, developing your feelings, your character, your perception, your will so that it’s strong inside. By putting ourselves in every scenario.
What made Peter deny Jesus?
The fear of being arrested and crucified like his master Jesus.
Fear had not yet been removed from within him. There’s the self-denial hadn’t been done.
But Jesus said that whoever wants to follow me must renounce himself.
So the fear should have been removed first. As well as the “me”, all that is pride should have been removed.
Beloved, when we pray, the Word we must receive in the heart. The character of the personality, i.e. in perception and will.
How do you go about it?
I imagine myself in a complicated situation. And I can see how I feel and then I can already correct.
It’s also the way to develop character. As soon as the Word enters and you see that, you imagine that. For example, Psalm 46, if there’s an earthquake, how do I really feel? Then you can see the fear at first. But it’s easy to remove now.
Brethren, the word can be practiced first in spirit before practicing it physically.
Beloved, you must say to yourself, it’s true, the earth will tremble, but I won’t be afraid, because God, my Rock, is with me.
God told Joshua not to be afraid. This means there will be things to scare him.
Serenity must be acquired beforehand.
Consider this, there has been a case of rape. And the author was charged. When arrested, the man denied the facts. But the police had palpable evidence, and photos.
Despite seeing this, he continued to deny it.
So the sentence was severe, lasting several years, over 100 years.
What prompted this gentleman to deny it?
This means that he imagined that by lying, by refusing to confess, he would be freed.
But if he had done the opposite and imagined that by telling the truth, as a Christian, even if I’m put in prison, I bless the Lord. Because I know it’s good to tell the truth.
By living the scene, in the truth, this gentleman would conquer his fear.
In Peter’s case, he would have had to go inside himself and see himself, project himself in front of the people threatening him.
He was going to know how he’d feel: uncomfortable, peaceless, hypocritical…
Then all those scenes he sensed before the day, will help him win the temptation or the test.
That’s how you develop character.
The same Peter wanted to walk on water to find Jesus. He started out in faith, but then began to sink, and Jesus said to him “… Why did you doubt? Matthew 14:25-31.
Similarly, before getting out of the boat, Pierre had to know that you can sink in water. So he must have thought that if I take my eyes off Jesus, I might sink, so I go looking at Jesus. I’ll forget the fact that it’s water but come in the name of Jesus because Jesus said come. So that’s two different things, walking on water and coming in Jesus’ name.
So the Word he has received must be in him, and then he walks in the name of Jesus. That’s how he wins.
The experience, Pierre’s failure that day, teaches us lessons and lets us know how things work.
Brethren, God is our refuge and our support, a help that never fails in times of trouble.
So it is now that I must make the Lord my Refuge and my Support. This Word must penetrate my spirit.
Everything is won in advance.
We are spirits. The body may be there, but the spirit may be thousands of miles away.
Ezekiel 37
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
Ezekiel saw in the spirit. God doesn’t speak to the body.
When we listen to God, we must do so in spirit. If you train yourself to do this, you’ll redeem the time you’ve lost. This is what we call “going fast, at the speed of the spirit”.
You have to be aware that when the spirit isn’t nourished, I’m not fortified, so I’m easily panicked in the face of difficult situations.
We mustn’t be discouraged by problems. Let’s keep and practice God’s word. God is a Rock for those who lean on Him.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, Let Us Pray… →
Lord Jesus, You are my Rock.
In difficult times, You are my Rock.
In moments of joy, You are my Rock.
When the earth is troubled, You remain my Rock for all eternity.
My Redeemer, I bless you for Your word.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.