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DO YOU WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT?
Only The Hungry Are Fed
Matthew 5:6, 'Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.'
MATTHEW 5:1-9
In the natural world, people eat even when they aren't hungry. Many of us can prove that by turning sideways and looking at ourselves in the mirror. But in the spiritual realm, only those who are hungry can get fed. One of the worst things that can happen to us is spiritual complacency.
Being hungry for the things of God is one of the best things that can happen to us. Most people don't feel that way. They would rather have the feeling of being full. But Jesus promised us that fullness would follow hunger. No hunger, no fullness.
Therefore, what many people hate is actually a...
At Thy Word
Luke 5:5, 'And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.'
LUKE 5:1-11
Peter and his companions had been working hard all night. Their efforts had not produced even one fish. They had given up and were headed home. But Jesus told them to try it just one more time.
It would have been easy for Peter to reject Jesus' command. After all, Peter had been a fisherman all his life. Jesus was just a preacher. What did He know about fishing? Yet something, or rather someone, caused Peter to try just once more.
Many people are like Simon Peter and his partners. They have done all that they know to do and yet they've come up...
FAITH IS REAL
BY DAVID MCMILLEN
Drawn By His Power
Mark 1:37, 'And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.'
MK. 1:35-39; LK. 4:42-44
This is an amazing statement. Jesus' ministry was only a few months old and the masses of people were already seeking him out.
This is even more astonishing when you realize that Jesus had not used any of the conventional methods of publicity. In fact, Jesus had already rejected publicity during His first ministry in Jerusalem (Jn. 2:24-25). There was no natural explanation for Jesus' success.
God is the one who promoted Jesus. And He used supernatural means to do it. It was not the slick techniques of Madison Avenue that brought the crowds--it was the awesome manifestation of God's power.
...Ministry In Action
Mk. 1:31, 'And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.'
MT. 8:14-17; MK. 1:29-34; LK. 4:38-41
How did Peter's mother-in-law minister unto Jesus and His disciples? Did she sit them down and preach to them? Certainly not. Yet sometimes people think the only way we can minister to another is to admonish them with the scriptures.
Peter's mother-in-law apparently ministered to them by serving them. The word translated 'minister' is the same word that was translated 'deacon' twice in the New Testament, and 'serve, served or serveth' eight times.
We can minister for the Lord by doing some of the menial tasks that many consider to be...
Demons In Church
Mark 1:23, 'And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out;....'
MK. 1:21-28; LK. 4:33-37
Many people don't associate demon-possessed people with places of worship. Yet most of the demons that Jesus cast out were encountered in the church. Why would demon-possessed people be in church?
In some cases, the people were there because they were seeking help. The church, like a hospital, offers people the cure and therefore, attracts those who are sick.
In other cases, the devil sows these types of people in the church to spread spiritual disease. A church that is teaching the true Word of God should either try to evangelize these individuals or make them so convicted that they...