CCAP Harare Synod
We Are A Living Church Serving God To His Glory
Your Final Authority
I am the Lord, I change not.
– Malachi 3:6
The world's order of things is unsure and indefinite. Desperate words of uncertainty are crying out daily from radio, television, and newspapers. Everything around us seems to be in turmoil.
But, praise God, if you're a believer you have something you can depend on: the unchanging Word of God!
God has no double standard. He doesn't say one thing today and something else tomorrow. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If you will make the Word the final authority in your life, it will give you stability when everything else around you gives way. If you'll let what God says settle the issues of life, you'll be confident when others are confused, peaceful when others are under pressure. You'll be overcoming when others are being overcome!
What does it mean to make God's Word the final authority? It means believing what He says instead of believing what people say. It means believing what He says instead of what Satan says. It means believing what He says instead of what the circumstances say.
Determine in your heart to do that today. Make up your mind to live by faith, not by sight. Fearlessly commit yourself to the authority of God's Word and there won't be anything in this unstable world that can steal your security from you.
Scripture
--
"The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself, but the ends you serve that are for all in common will take you into eternity."
--Unknown
Hit Him With the Rock
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
– Psalm 23:1-2
Have you ever thought about David and wondered how a shepherd boy could become a man after God's own heart? A man so strong in spirit that God chose him to be king of
In fact, I asked God about it, and He showed me that revelation was what turned David into such a spiritual powerhouse--revelation that came to him through hours of thinking about the things of God. I imagine the day he wrote Psalm 23 he was just sitting and singing praises to God and meditating on His goodness. Just fellowshipping with Him when suddenly the anointing of the Lord came upon him and he said, "The Lord is my Shepherd!"
Suddenly he thought about the sheep he watched over as a boy, I faced death for those sheep. I led them where pastures were green and waters were cool, clean, deep, and peaceful. He kept on meditating on that until it started to thrill him. When the lion and the bear came, didn't He prepare a table before me in the presence of those enemies? He gave me victory. "My God! My God will fight for me. The Lord is my Shepherd! I shall not want!"
That revelation welled up in David so strong that the devil couldn't beat it out of him. So when Goliath tried to make a fool out of
Is the devil out to destroy you? Do what David did. Meditate on God and His Word. Sing praises to your King. Fellowship with Him until the revelation of who He is in you starts to thrill your soul. Then tell the devil, "You're not going to kill me. The Lord is my Shepherd!" Hit him with the rock of revelation knowledge, and you'll knock him flat every time.
Scripture
--
"The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself, but the ends you serve that are for all in common will take you into eternity."
--Unknown
Christ in You!
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
– Colossians 1:27
Some years back, I was praying and walking the floor of our little house in
It hit me like somebody walked up and slapped me with a wet rag. It just shook me awake. I started to stomp grandly around that old house. All of a sudden, I wasn't just a poor preacher living in a shack anymore! I was the dwelling place of the Most High God! That changed my thinking about so many things. I looked at my hands and it hit me. His fingers are in my fingers! I looked at my legs. His legs are in my legs. His feet are in my feet! If I walk into danger, He walks into danger.
Now, when I hear people say, "Brother Copeland, my prayers aren't getting any higher than the ceiling," I want to say, "Higher than the ceiling? They don't need to get any higher than your nose! He's inside you! The Author of your prayers, the Author of your faith, Jesus of Nazareth has taken residency inside you. Hallelujah!"
Some people think you don't get filled with the Spirit until you receive the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. But that's not so. The Holy Spirit came into you when you made Jesus Lord of your life. He came into you when you were born again. Getting baptized in the Holy Spirit is another thing. It's when the power of the Holy Ghost comes upon you to empower you for service (Acts 1:8).
That means even if you've just been born again two seconds, Jesus is in you! He's living there, and He will be from now on. Can you fathom that? If you'll spend some time thinking about it and meditating on it, you can receive revelation of it just like I did. It will start growing in your spirit and eventually change your whole life.
"As God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Cor. 6:16). Jesus is in you. That's the most glorious truth in the Word of God. Let that truth come alive in you today.
Scripture
Copeland Ministries
--
"The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself, but the ends you serve that are for all in common will take you into eternity."
--Unknown
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
Dec 31, 2009 new year's eve people everywhere gathered together to celebrate the first bright moments of the New Year.
Yet, for thousands of others, it was the toughest 24 hours of their lives. For those people, New Year's served only as a dim reminder of loneliness and loss. It simply marked the beginning of another year of failure.
What about you? What's this year really going to be like for you?
You may appear to be happy enough. You may be passing out seasonal smiles and holiday greetings just like everybody else. But inside, you may hurt. You may be disappointed. You may even feel like you can't go on.
If so, I want you to know something. All of that can change in an instant. You can start your life over right now and make this new year the most joyful year of your life!
How many times have you said to yourself, "If I could just start over, I'd do it all differently"? That doesn't have to be simply an idle wish. Jesus Christ has actually made it possible. That's His Christmas present to you. He paid the price for all your sins. He paid the penalty for all your mistakes.
That's the reason He came to earth. That's the reason He was born--so you could start over!
You may look at your life and say, "But I've made some terrible mistakes. I've done some despicable things." That doesn't matter. Jesus paid the price for them all!
How can you make a new start? Romans 10:9 says that "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It's as easy as saying, "Jesus, I'm turning my life over to You. From this day forward I'm Yours."
What better time to turn your life around than right now for the new year. Right now, wherever you are, just give your life to Jesus. Then jump up and down and holler, "Praise God, I'm starting all over!" And find out what it really means to have a Happy New Year!
It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession.
"For Unto Us A Child Is Born"
Isaiah 9:6
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his Shem (Name) shall be called: Pele (Incomprehensible or Wonderful), Ya'ats (Counselor or Transformer), El Gibbor, (Mighty G-d or Chief G-d Man), Av Eternal (Everlasting Father), Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace)." AGI
As we remember this Holy day may the love of Christ be born in you and may the windows of heaven be open in 2010 and may you receive His blessings that you will be left with no room to store them. May your years be enlarged, your illness be healed, your land and labor blessed and rewarded fully respectively, may you serve Him fully to His glory and finally may the call in Matthew 28 be yours to share.
Have a blessed Christmas and Prosperous 2010. I love you all and could not write to you individually this time. I send you the white Christmas blessings we are having to those in the hot and sunny climates. In all things let us remember to be thankful.
19th Century, Church of England minister, J.C. Ryle, writes, "I know well that asking God is one thing, and praising God is another. But I see so close a connection between prayer and praise in the Bible, that I dare not call true prayer that in which thankfulness has no part."
The apostle Paul, after the exhorting the Philippians to be "anxious for nothing", tells them, "By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."(Phil. 4:6).
And when Paul encourages the Colossians to be devoted to prayer, he also instructs them to "keep alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving"(Col. 4:2).
We should not be surprised to read that Paul instructs us to pray "with thanksgiving". We should not be surprised because earlier in his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes, "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father"(Col. 3:17). And to the Ephesians, Paul writes, "always give thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father"(Eph. 5:20).
The disposition of being thankful is to be the constant companion of a child of God. When we serve Christ, we are to do so with an attitude of thanksgiving. When we sing, we do so with thanksgiving. When we pray, we do so with thanksgiving. In "whatever" we do, we must do it with thanksgiving.
This is not simply helpful advice that Paul is giving us here. Paul is telling us what appropriate prayer looks like. He is telling us the correct way to serve Christ. And what is implied in this instruction is that there is a way to serve Christ, there is a way to pray to God, which is dishonouring to Him.
Make His Word the Last Word
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)
Jesus is the beginning and the ending. He is the Almighty. When He told us that in the Book of Revelation, He wasn't just giving us a general piece of information about Himself. He was giving us a powerful truth we can apply now, today!
Let me show you how. He said He is the beginning. So no matter what challenge or situation you may be facing right now, you need to start with Him. John 1:1 says Jesus is the Word. That means, if you're going to start with Jesus, you're going to start with the Word. Don't do anything until you find out what the Word has to say about it.
Then, stay on the Word. As Colossians 1:23 says, "Continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard."
Continue in the faith. The only way the devil can defeat you is to pressure you into throwing away the Word. Everything he does, every challenge he brings you is intended to make you doubt the Word of God. So don't let go of the Word, no matter what may happen. Settle it with God in prayer and stay with it forever. It is written!
Then end with the Word. Jesus said He was the first and the last. That means the word of your doctor is not the last word. Even the word of your pastor is not the last word. The Word of Jesus is the last Word!
Remember this: You are now what the Word says you are. You can do what the Word says you can do. And you can have what the Word says you can have. Begin to believe that. Begin to say it out loud in faith.
Now shout the victory. Yes, now! You don't have to wait to see the outcome to celebrate. You have Jesus' Word on the matter, so you know beyond any doubt that your breakthrough is coming. Once you've settled yourself on Him, you can be assured that He will have the last word!
Scripture Study: Proverbs 1:1-9
============================== ============================== ==
"Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."
Praise Preceds Victory
Victorious Praise "When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!" (2 Chronicles 20:21)
Praise precedes victory!
You can see a graphic example of that in 2 Chronicles 20. There, the Bible tells us that a multitude of forces were marching against
Do you know what they did in response to that word? They put together a praise choir! That's right. They appointed singers and praisers and sent them out in front of the army! And when that choir began to sing, the Word tells us that "the Lord set ambushments against the men...who had come against
When it was all over, not one Israelite had fallen--and not one of their enemies had escaped. What's more, when they came to take the spoil, they found so many cattle, goods, garments and other precious things, it took them three whole days to haul it all home.
Now, that's victory! And it all began with praise.
Are you looking for that kind of victory today? Then stand up and shout, "Glory!" After all, you're in the same situation those Israelites were in. You have an army marching against you, but Jesus has already defeated it. He won that battle for you on Resurrection Morning.
All that's left for you to do is trust Him and begin to praise. Sound out those praises today. Speak them, sing them, declare them in the face of your enemy. Once he hears them, he'll know he doesn't even stand a chance.
Scripture Study: 2 Chronicles 20:1-22
================================================================================
"A God all mercy is a God unjust."
Author:Edward Young
Courtesy of Shawna Williams friend and colleague in Christ
Upcoming Events
Recent Videos
