Its a Question of Faith Partner Letter - September 2014 Click here for a version to print & put on your refrigerator. Click here to donate Have a praise report? Need prayer? Email us and let us know! Our gift message of the month, choosen with you in mind. This teaching is not available for purchase anywhere, and is available upon request while supplies last. Limit one. Available on CD or as a digital download when you give online at jdm.org. Click here to find out more the JDM Mobile app. Brought to you by our Broadcast Earth Outreach Click on the image above for more information, or the appropriate image below to download the JDM App right now! Microsoft Store JDM App link Microsoft Store JDM App link Apple iTunes JDM App link Google Play Store JDM App link Featured Product of the Month. Dear Bliss, It is such an honor to call you my Partner. As I’ve said in other letters to you, I’m amazed at how much you do through this ministry to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Working together like this makes such an impact and I just have to say, right here at the beginning of this letter, “Thank You” for your faithful seed and prayers for this ministry. Together, we are really “Reaching People and Changing Lives, One Soul at a Time.” As you know, I’ve been writing to you about Hebrews 11:1-2 all this year. Faith in God is such a vast subject. I believe that we will never get through it all, even in Heaven. Mainly, I’ve been focusing a lot on the words “For by it the elders obtained a good report” from Hebrews 11:2. I’ve been sharing things like, “If you don’t know what IT is, then you won’t have it!” In other words, without faith, it’s impossible not only to please God but also to access Him and have your needs and desires met by Him. So you must believe. Believe what? Believe that He is God and He is ABLE. Your FAITH—It Gives You the Power to Discover GOD It Makes You Ready to Receive God’s Best Faith is so personal. And the reason we need to understand more about it is because our individual faith is the only thing we have that gives us the divine power to discover God. Through our faith we discover Who He is, what He does, and His methods of communicating, educating, and blessing His children—all things we need to know. Faith gives you the ability to touch God Almighty. Now, that’s important! God wants to do so much for you. And He uses your faith to bring all the things He wants to do for you to pass. So, let’s get to my first point in this month’s teaching letter to you: The spirit of faith is the spirit that gets us ready to receive God’s best blessings. Bliss, God doesn’t just want you to be better—He wants you to be the BEST! He is interested in your development the most. So, do you want to discover a little more about Him today? Because I have a story from the Gospel of Matthew about two blind men that I believe just might “open your eyes” too! Your FAITH—It Gives You the Passion to Cry Out It Gives You the Tenacity to Follow-Through The miraculous story of the two blind men is found in Matthew 9:27-31 (NKJV) and it takes place during the earthly ministry of Jesus. You see, reports of His healing power were spreading like wildfire and so, as Jesus was leaving one town, Matthew 9:27 tells us that two blind men followed after Him so that they could be healed, too. These two men not only followed Jesus, but the Scripture says that they also cried out to Him, saying, “…Son of David, have mercy on us!” They were passionate about receiving not only healing, but also mercy. In other words, “Lord, see our plight! Your mercy will save us from what we have become.” Next, the Word says that Jesus stopped and walked into the house and the two men kept following him until they “came to Him” (vs. 28). Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever—He always responds to cries for mercy from those who have the humility to acknowledge who He is. Another point about Jesus to notice is that He stopped walking so they could catch up. He is no respecter of persons and will be faithful to wait for you and me to draw close to Him, too. That brings me to a point about the blind men—they didn’t give up. These two men were passionate in crying out and persistent in following through. They kept moving towards Jesus until they had gone from outside the edge of the city to inside the house—a place where they were positioned in His presence. Faith brings the will to follow-through and a strong desire to get close to the Lord. Your FAITH—It Gives You the Guts to Answer Jesus Honestly He Asks, “Do You Believe That I Am Able to Do This?” Next, Jesus asked the men point-blank and blunt, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (vs. 28). Now, think about that! It is the very first thing Jesus says. And He didn’t move until they answered His question. Jesus never asked, “Do you think I’m willing to do this?” He didn’t just immediately heal them either—even though they had already asked for mercy and recognized His position as the Son of David. So, what was He looking for with this question? He was looking for FAITH. The kind of faith that was eager enough to cry out, follow Him, acknowledge Him, and draw close. The kind of faith that had ears to hear and wouldn’t be offended by the question, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” The kind of faith that would assess itself and answer honestly. The men responded with just two words: “Yes, Lord.” (vs. 28). Simple, total agreement—notice that. We are talking about two men and one Jesus. It’s called the prayer of agreement and it’s a powerful thing! The faith of two and the divinity of One brings what? Manifestation. “Then He touched their eyes…” (vs. 29). The point? What they did, what they believed, and what they said caused Jesus’ hand to reach out. Your FAITH—It Opens Your Eyes to the Miracle of Truth Nothing Happens Unless You Believe Jesus is Able Jesus not only reached out and touched their eyes, but at the exact same moment, He told them exactly HOW the miracle would happen: “According to your faith be it done unto you.” (Matthew 9:29 ASV) That’s right. Jesus refused to take credit for the healing! But He did make sure to do the questioning, the touching, and the simple one-line teaching of TRUTH that brought them to the point of receiving. I want you to notice that those blind eyes did not pop open and see until the men heard those nine words of truth: “According to your faith be it done unto you.” Your FAITH—All of Us Need to “Hear” More of the Word Strengthen Your Faith and Catch Up to Your Ability to Ask One of the great morals of this miraculous story is this: Their faith was tested in the touch of Jesus. All of us will have our faith tested by the Lord. When we ask for something from Jesus, it’s very likely that we’ll have to answer the question, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Jesus would not want us to pretend and lie about it (whatever it might be that we are asking of Him)—but He would want us to stretch ourselves and do what we need to do to strengthen our faith in His ability to “do this.” If you have ever wondered why we sometimes don’t receive what we need or desire from the Lord, I hope you will think and pray about my next point: We each have the ability to ask God to do anything, but sometimes our faith is not ready to receive what we ask for. The truth is that sometimes we just don’t have the strength in our faith to receive it yet—we aren’t convinced that God is able to do “this” for us. Oh, we know He can do it. But the thing we are asking Him for seems so big, so hard-to-do, or so impossible that our mind fills with doubt and worry. The eyes of our heart move from Jesus to the problem, and land squarely on the problem. The promises of God must be larger than the problems you are facing—because what you focus your faith on is what you will have. So, if the problem is what has your attention and all your belief, then that problem will continue being a problem for you. Don’t use your faith for what you already have—that problem! Use your faith for what you want—the mercy of Jesus to help you resolve it at the very root. I believe that God wants all of us to have the honest and childlike faith that changes things, and the bold and open faith that moves mountains! That’s why the Word tells us so plainly how to build our faith: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV). All of us need to “hear” more of the Word! Regardless of what we are facing spiritually, physically, financially, or in any other way, the more we hear, the more we will be able to say from our heart, “Yes, Lord. You are able!” Your FAITH—It’s That Intelligent and Receptive Power In You It Will Bring You Comfort and Open Your Eyes The most important work of our life as Christians is to love God, love others, and to strengthen our faith daily. Faith is never accidental; it is deliberate—and for us, it should be inevitable! You see, faith comes when we hear and develop an implicit trust in God. Do you realize that your faith is actually seeking for its own comfort? Let me give you a hint: True comfort is found when you are in contact with God. Bliss, faith has intelligence. It is actually in you by the work of God and it’s very disciplined—but it doesn’t stack up and it’s nontransferable, so you have to build your own. You see, some people try to live on other people’s faith, but God made faith uniquely personal. Until your faith is developed that “He is able,” you won’t receive the best God has for you. The reason why faith is so essential is because of its receptive power. First things first, those two blind men had settled it in their mind that Jesus was the Son of David—in that revelation, they understood the grandeur of His mission. I love that. Let me say it again: Faith has intelligence! Featured, Broadcast Earth Outreach The Broadcast Earth Outreach is an ongoing project that is helping our broadcast ministry to reach more people around the world. This month our focus is on the television ministry of our Broadcast Earth Outreach: ◦Reaching 2.7 billion potential viewers worldwide ◦Airing in 255 countries ◦JDM via Satellite reaches every inch of planet Earth ◦Reached 6 million more people in 2013 Together, were advancing the Gospel by reaching more people and changing more lives through the Broadcast Earth Outreach. Click here to learn more about our Broadcast Outreach. Your FAITH—It Will Make You Eager to Receive It’s Not Just an Emotion; It’s a Conviction of Understanding I want you to see that faith is not merely an emotion; it’s a conviction of understanding. That’s what made those two men so eager to receive. They couldn’t even see, yet they found Jesus in that house. Partner, is your faith eager to receive? Your eagerness to follow Jesus will develop your faith quicker than you think. It’s the beginning of great things to come. Why? Because being eager to follow Jesus means you’ll pursue “hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Faith is always now. “Now faith is…” (Hebrews 11:1). And, yet, although it is “now,” it also has the power to produce your future. Every day, you are moving towards something—let your faith move you in the right direction. Aim for the Lord. Aim for His promises. You are capable of so much and you owe it to yourself to develop that conviction of understanding. Always aim for the best, knowing that your personal best is always going to be found when you eagerly follow after Jesus. Your FAITH—It Causes You to Show “Kindness to Others” Our Agreement Gets God’s Attention! I believe that just by being my Partner, our futures are linked together. We are doing something great in agreement, and that’s one reason why Cathy and I call you family. It’s also why we are very careful with the seed you sow into this ministry. Your seed is producing a future for eternity in people’s lives. When you sow into our projects, just know that my seed is mixed with yours. I’m a Partner, too—I believe in the work of “Reaching People and Changing Lives,” so I not only work for the Lord, I also give to support the work of the Lord. So, when I ask you to pray in agreement with me, it’s because I know we are in this together. I pray for my Partners every day. And the Bible says that all it takes is two of us agreeing together in the prayer of faith to have what we are agreeing about. I asked the Lord, “Why do You give me so much work to do? Why do You give me so many projects?” He said, “Because you and your Partners agree together for them. Jesse, agreement gets My attention!” I hadn’t thought of it like that before He said it, but isn’t that wonderful? Now, that’s a distinct word from God! Our prayers agree, our seeds agree, and our manifestations will agree. Thank you for being so kind to this ministry with your faithful financial support—I call it “kindness to others” because that’s really what it is. Together we are making the world a better place to be because we are helping people to love God, love others, and live by fearless faith. Well, I have to go now—my faith is eager and ready to get more people into the Kingdom. Every time I go, I know that I’m not alone. You, my Partner, always go with me in FAITH. God is able! Thank you for praying in agreement with me as I “Go ye!” Love You, Jesses SignatureJesse Duplantis P.S. To thank you for your giving this month, Cathy and I would love to send you our gift message, The Ingredients of Our Covenant. It’s another one of our classic messages we’ve chosen exclusively for our Partners that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Please click here to get your free copy. Also, we’re focusing on our Broadcast Earth Outreach this month, which enables us to circle the globe with the Good News of Christ, 24/7, through JDM-TV, jdm.org, social media, and more. To learn more about this amazing outreach and how you can be involved, you can go online to jdm.org or check out our Voice of the Covenant magazine. Click here for monthly giving: Partner Contribution Please send your prayer requests or praise reports to [email protected] For information about meetings, special JDM events, partnership, and new ministry products, please visit us at jdm.org. Log on, browse awhile, and see what’s going on at JDM! If you wish to contact us, please email us at [email protected].
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 04:40:06 +0000
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