Partnership

On September 12, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 115: 16

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of mankind.

This is the first verse I should have used in the healing verse series because if we do not understand this verse and the premise it holds, then we shall fail in our partnership with the Lord.

Consider this verse, “I can do nothing on My own,” (John 5: 30). These are the words of Jesus. And yet, we know that Jesus did perform. He was successful in life and ministry. So, how do we reconcile this dilemma?

If you search the Ivey Ministries website under the Daily Devotional tab for the word “Partnership” you will find the search returns no less than 7 pages of Words of the Day that dealt with the concept of partnering with God. In fact, I have written before that the story of Hezekiah reveals God’s desire to partner with us as an Old Testament model for a modern world (Praying the Will of God, August 4, 2014). Since that time, I have continuously taught that God’s will is to work hand in hand with us. Indeed, this concept of partnership was a central theme to Jesus’ message. He came teaching that the Father would come to live in us, with us, and that together nothing would be impossible to us.

None the less, we have difficulty grasping this truth. The reason is that most of us have not been taught this reality. We have been taught trivialities and cliches which have failed us and the world. Words like, “Well, if it’s God’s will, I guess He’ll heal me.” By now we know God’s will is to heal so that is not the issue. In fact, the Bible reveals God’s will in all things. We don’t have to guess, and we don’t need trite statements to throw to the wind.

The truth is, that it is easier for us to pretend we have put a problem in God’s hands and left it there, but there are two problems with this. First, I don’t see that most people leave their problems with God. They make a prayerful show of it but then as soon as possible, they take the problem back by worrying, fretting and generally getting all mixed up in the minutiae of the problem. The second problem with this is that God never said for us to sit on the sidelines and cheer or whine while He fixes the problem. You know this verse, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” (Philippians 4: 13). Who can do all things? You can, but only through He who strengthens you. Jesus said even he could do nothing on his own, but in his Father, he made the blind to see, the lame to walk and much, much more. He could do all things in partnership with his Father but nothing on his own.

We have relegated our responsibility in the partnership to empty phrases. We pray one time, not seeking God’s wisdom or instruction, but rather whining and begging for Him to do something. What did God answer Moses? “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward,” (Exodus 14: 15). God wanted Moses to get up and do his part.
God has a part to play, and we have a part to play. This is true in healing, finances, and everything we do. He will guide us and give us His wisdom. We have failed so often because we don’t do our part. Then we blame God because we didn’t get the result we wanted. Some people even fall away from God. We give a bad example to the world. They are watching us to see our God in action, but we are failing to listen to Him and work with Him. We want to have Him fix all our problems by saying one prayer. Well, occasionally one prayer will work, but more often than not, God has a bigger plan for us, and it involves us getting our hands dirty. We may have to pray every day. We may have to meditate daily over the scriptures. We may even have to read our Bibles.

I am telling you this today because I see too many Christians led astray by wrong teaching. I do not understand how people can read the scriptures and then teach the crazy things they do. Maybe they get their sermons from a book rather than from the Holy Spirit. I don’t know but it worries me. If you are sick or have any other big challenge, you need to know that God is for you and wants to help you. However, you also need to know that He is working in you, with you and through you. It’s work I tell you. It’s life. God doesn’t work through magic. He works through faith!

God has given the earth to us. It was His to give. He expects us to rule in this earth. In fact, He has limited Himself in the earth by giving us authority and power. It is important for us to understand that everything with God is in partnership. The good news is that He is the senior partner and has all the answers. All we have to do is plug into Him. We must model Jesus who, though he could do nothing on his own, was supremely powerful when he followed the Father.

Please, if you do not understand the divine partnership of which I write today, reach out to me. You can also run the same search on my website that I did and find many writings on the subject. If you need an answer to prayer, if you need God’s help then seek because I can promise you that if you seek, you shall find.

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Faith Calls

On May 2, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 18: 40

Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him.

A funny thing happened on the way from the showers . . .. I was at a bicycle weekend recently. My friends and I were walking back to our campsite after leaving the shower truck and walking by some lovely old homes in Edenton, NC. As we walked past one particular house, there were people sitting on the porch and somehow we began speaking with them. I noticed a crutch leaning against the house and asked to whom it belonged. A woman there said it was hers and without a moment’s hesitation I asked if I could pray for her. I didn’t know her from Adam and didn’t know what her ailment was. I just felt compelled to pray for her, so I did.

As I mounted the porch, she arose telling me she had scoliosis. Well, given one more minute I would have surmised as much for she was bent over. I prayed for her and as I prayed, I felt the Spirit moving. The woman began to pray along with me. I know something happened that day though when I left, she was not standing upright like when Jesus prayed for the woman in Luke 13: 13.

Days later I was thinking about this incident, and something struck me. The two ladies I was walking with each had a need. One has MS and the other has Celiac Disease. I did not have a compulsion to pray for them even though I camped with them all weekend, but I was compelled to pray for a woman I literally was walking by and didn’t know at all. Isn’t that interesting? What was the difference?

Faith calls. Faith pulls. Faith demands. It turns out that the woman with scoliosis, Connie, is a person of faith. In fact, she is the worship leader at her church. The spirit in her sensed the spirit in me and pulled on that anointing whereas the two women with me have no faith for healing.

This was astounding to me. As I pondered this event, I recalled James 5: 14 – 15. It reads, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” The person who is sick is to call for the elders and the prayer offered in faith shall restore the one who is sick. My friends had no faith, but Connie did. Her faith reached right out to me and stopped me in my tracks the way Jesus was often arrested by faith. Isn’t that amazing?

I think too about the woman with the hemorrhage. She, literally, went and pulled on Jesus. There is a lesson here. Your faith heals. Jesus felt power go out of him. He told the woman, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well,” (Matthew 9: 22). That statement causes me to pause. We know God is the healer, but our faith must connect with that healing power and that is when the miracle happens. Even though Jesus didn’t know the woman was there, her faith reached out and took a miracle. Bless God!

Did you know that Jesus couldn’t always work miracles? Mark 6: 5 reads, “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them,” (NLV). As crazy as this first sounds, it does make sense when you recall Revelation 12: 11, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.” We would think that the blood of the Lamb is sufficient to overcome all obstacles, but we would be wrong and unbiblical. This scripture is very clear in teaching that overcoming is the product of the blood and the “word of their testimony” or, in other words, the words of our mouth. This reality makes us uncomfortable for two reasons. First, it places responsibility on our shoulders when we just want Jesus to make everything alright for us. Second, it defies our theology. We have been taught God is omnipotent and we took that to mean that He acts independently of us. That just isn’t Biblically sound. There is nothing in the Bible that says that. In fact, it says just the opposite. Psalm 115: 16 says, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” God gave us freewill, and He gave us authority and He will not usurp either.

Well, this devotional might speak to a number of different things for you today. One take away for me is that you never know when God is going to move or when and how He is going to teach you something. I would have never guessed that the blessing of the Lord would manifest while I was walking from a shower truck to my tent with a towel slung over my shoulder, but there He was. Ready to bless someone. Oh, but this touches my spirit. Paul told Timothy to be ready in season and out (2 Timothy 4: 2) and brother, I am glad I was ready. We were also taught to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). That means even when you are not at church and not dressed up.  Be ready to pray at all times.

You can see the implications for an entire message in each of those scriptures as it relates to this experience. So, be ready at any time to minister but also, stir up your faith for whatever you need. Pull on the anointing in your spiritual leaders. If you aren’t calling me or writing me, you are missing an opportunity for God to minister to your need. Be filled and overflowing in Jesus’ name.

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Legionnaires

On April 22, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 26:53

Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Boy, there is a revelation in that scripture. A legion is 6000 and it refers, specifically, to troops, soldiers. Jesus said if he asked the Father, God would put at his disposal more than 72,000 angelic soldiers. Let that one sink in for a moment. Now, what is the power of prayer?

One of my friends and colleagues received a question regarding covid-19 and angels. The writer wanted to know what the angels are doing during this crisis. I can tell you what they are doing. They are fighting. You see, there are two revelations, at least, in that one sentence from Jesus. First, we see that Father has a lot of angels he is willing to put at our disposal. Second, they are warriors. Look at the references in your own Bible if you don’t believe me. A legion referred to the organization of Roman soldiers. So, angels are not fat little cherubs who float around in heaven playing harps. They are warring spirits trained in the art of warfare.

You may be thinking, “Well, that’s good enough for Jesus but I don’t have that kind of power.” Oh, contraire mon frère. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father,” (John 14: 12). You have all the authority of Jesus. You have his own authority because he gave it to you. Whatsmore, he did not inhabit the earth as the second person in the trinity. He came as a human being (1 Timothy 3: 16) and was the role model for us. He wouldn’t have made a very good role model if he walked the earth as a divine deity. He had to come and live as a person so he could show us the way. He said God would put more than twelve legions at his disposal so from that we can infer that God will put legions of angels at our disposal as well.

Remember, God has given the earth to us to run and manage (Psalm 115: 16). He has also given us the Holy Spirit and He has given us angels who minister to our needs. The angels are standing by right now, ready to receive their marching orders. Through prayer and speaking the words the Holy Spirit gives us (Matthew 10: 20) we authorize angelic intervention and action. You have the authority to ask the angels to work in the earth to eradicate the corona virus. Pray and arm them. Although there are angels waging war right now, there are still thousands of angels waiting to get into the fight. There are legions at our disposal. Ask the father and He will give you even more. Then send them out to fight for us.

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Flip the Switch

On July 14, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 1: 8

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.

Like yesterday, we are talking about being witnesses to the whole world. Our lives become the testimony of God’s greatness and His absolute devotion to His people.  How, though, do we let Jesus’ victory shine through our lives?  We have seen verses over the last couple of weeks that indicate that we must be agents of God’s power in the earth.  In today’s verse Jesus tells us, rather plainly, that God’s power comes to us through the Holy Spirit.  He is the power of God.  It is not a difficult proposition to believe because we have seen the truth of it since Genesis chapter one.  The challenge has been embracing our role in God’s moves in the earth.

Last week we saw Moses parting the Red Sea.  How did he do it? Miracles are performed through a partnership with God.  He provides the power but we are His hands, feet and mouth in the earth.  Here is some key language from the Bible which helps us to understand this partnership, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Psalm 115: 16). God has given us authority in the earth. He will not violate our authority. Jesus told the disciples to feed the multitude.  He expected them to perform the miracle but we are powerless in ourselves.  Jesus knew how to perform miracles, he did it all of the time.  So, how do we perform miracles when we haven’t any power ourselves? I can show you how.

Do you have electricity in your house?  Where does the power come from to power your lights and appliances?  You don’t produce it, do you?  There is probably a power company nearby that has run lines from their power source to your house.  The effect is that you have electric power though you did nothing to produce it.  Okay, so go home tonight and do not flip on any switches.  You can sit in your living room and pray to God to turn on the light.  You can pray to the power company to turn on the lights.  My guess is that neither is going to accomplish much.  Alternatively, you can flip the switch on yourself and take advantage of the power that has already been delivered to your house.

That is exactly how it works with God.  He has given us the power but it is we who must flip the switch.  What good does it do to have electricity wired into our homes if we never plug into it or turn on the switches? We will end up sitting in the dark all night. In just the same way, God has given us His power. Our prayer should be, “Father, how do I flip on the switch in this situation?” That is what we do when we inquire of the Lord in every situation.  It’s not about getting Him to do something.  It is about receiving instruction from Him as to what we should do.  He has already given us everything we need to live the victorious life.  He has given us miracle working power.  We just need to plug into it and flip on the switch.

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Land Lord

On April 9, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 115: 16

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the sons of men.

Luke 4: 5 – 6

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”

Here is the chain of title of the earth. God created it and it belonged to Him. Then He gave it to the sons of men. When Jesus came along the devil offered all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory to him. Apparently title had shifted to the devil. Notice Jesus did not debate the devil’s assertion of ownership and control. So how did it go from belonging to people to being in Satan’s possession? The devil tells us in verse 6 that it was handed over to him. By whom then? Well, it wasn’t God because He gave it to humanity.

In the Garden of Eden God gave authority over the earth and everything in it to the people He created. He gave them the responsibility for the earth and its well-being. The earth was created for humanity. It was created to be a home for us but Satan deceived God’s children and they fell. They listened to the word of Satan instead of the Word of God. When they did, the earth became a place of conflict. Their capitulation to the devil gave him authority in the earth.

But then good news came. His name is Jesus. He crushed sin, broke the chains of slavery and destroyed the works of the devil. He went into the pit itself and conquered death, hell and the grave and when he came out he had the keys. In Revelation 1: 18 Jesus revealed that he had the keys of death and Hades but that wasn’t all he won. He redeemed us, restoring us back to our proper place in the Lord. He won back our kingdom and our domain. We are now joint heirs with him but there is a caveat. We must claim our inheritance and enforce our rights. There are squatters on the land thanks to the time that it spent in wrongful hands. In addition, the devil is a deceiver. If you don’t run him off he won’t go and if you listen to him he will trick you, deceive you into believing a pack of lies. When you do that, you forsake your ancestral heritage. You effectively surrender yourself again to the yoke of slavery where Satan is your master.

Your only defense is the Word of God. Only when you know your legal rights and stand on them will the enemy, the undeserving squatters, leave your property. Look, you are royalty if you want to know the whole truth but if you go about wearing rags and acting like a peasant then all you will have is a peasant’s life. Our birthright, our binding contract and our weapon of enforcement are all encompassed humbly but powerfully in the camouflage of a book. But it isn’t only what is between the bindings that is so significant. It is the word who is alive, He that went to hell, defeated Satan and handed you the keys of victory. He is the living word. He was, is and always will be. You find him between the covers of the Bible and then he leaps off of the page in power and glory when you believe what you read there and trust him to be your king and lord.

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Let it be Me

On September 26, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ezekiel 22: 30

“And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Many times people ask, “Why did this bad thing happen” or “Why did God allow this bad thing to happen?” Now you have the answer. God didn’t allow it, we did. God saw the inevitability of seeds that were sown and looked around for someone to stand in the gap for that family, nation or person but when He looked He found no one. God would have intervened in the affairs of man many times but He couldn’t find anyone who would pray.

Psalm 115: 16 reads, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” You see God has given the earth to us. Recall that in Genesis 1: 28 God gave authority to rule the earth to mankind. While we know that God is sovereign we also should recognize that a sovereign has the right to give his authority to another. Once done, the sovereign must follow the rule of law that he has established. All of this is to say that god can no longer move freely in every context in the earth. He cannot make you accept Him as Lord because He gave you authority over your life and choices. We call that free will. This very principle bars God from intervening at times when He would like to. We have been given the authority in the earth so we must invite God to participate and we do so through our prayers. You can personally keep God out of your life or invite Him to participate with you. You really are the master.

In the same way, He cannot just step in any time He would like. Even when you see something like the tragedy of 9/11 you have to recognize that God wasn’t the one who was asleep at the wheel. He tells us in today’s verse that He looked around for a man to stand in the gap for the land but could find no one. Perhaps He tapped me on the shoulder that morning and asked me to pray for the land. Maybe He had been saying to many of us for months to pray for our nation but we were so full of our own lives that we never heard Him.  

There are two points I believe in this message. First, let us stop blaming God for our failures and secondly, we need to make our hearts and ears more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that God can speak to us and in speaking to us, commission us to pray. He wants to spread salvation but He must have someone who will pray. Let it be me.

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