LIVING WATERS from Lightbearers

Dear One, last week I introduced you to Bill and Lorna and their healing and evangelism ministry, Light to the Nations. Enjoy these testimonies from their work! You can contact Bill at light2tn@gmail.com

Love you!

ABUNDANCE

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matt 21:22 NKJV

The first time my wife and I prayed for a house we got a literal mansion. We had just been married for a little over a year while living in Buffalo NY and were volunteer pastors over a small community of house churches. We had two families who were professional athletes among our house churches. Shoney, a defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres hockey team had just been traded to Detroit. We prayed together for over a month to move out of our little apartment and into a house.

One time as we prayed, we both got the idea to approach Shoney and see it he would rent us his house while he was in Detroit with his family for the season. He rented it to us for one dollar. His season ending coincided with the time I would leave Buffalo to go back to school. It worked out for both of us! He had his house taken care of and we lived in a literal mansion on five acres with all the amenities. Funny thing was that Shoney and I looked alike (tall, good looking, red hair), so I would be working outside and fans would drive by and shout, Hey Shoney! I would smile and wave…

Romans, Ephesians and Thessalonians make up the three great doctrinal treatises of the Church epistles: Romans with the doctrine of justification by faith, Ephesians with the Church as God’s masterpiece and seated in the heavenlies, and Thessalonians with the doctrine of the hope of Christ’s imminent return. We want to look at two great truths that deal with abundance.

We will look first in Romans…

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Rom 5:17 NKJV

In Romans 5 we see the great contrast between the effects of Adams sin and Christ’s atoning work – the one being totally overwhelmed and annulled by the other, to the end of those receiving Christ being radically changed forever. The born-again ones are positioned to reign in life, to assume authority over territory and to rule with the leading of the Holy Spirit. But it sets two basic criteria for that one who would reign – receiving into manifestation abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.

…much more those who receive abundance of grace…

What does it mean to receive abundance of grace? It can’t mean that it’s a license to ignore every other Christian discipline and just say, ‘grace, grace, grace.’ No. In part it means to receive to yourself such grace, such favor, that you share it abundantly with your brothers and sisters. Whether its giving money, or kind words, or time to bless others, it’s a sharing of grace that you’ve been abundantly filled with. Its also extending grace and favor to those who least deserve it, your enemies. A favorite story of mine will serve to illustrate…

We had travelled all night from Mwanza Tanzania to Busia Kenya so I could speak in an outdoor crusade. The trip was like few I’d ever experienced with flat tires (twice), crossing the border at midnight, sleeping on buses until they moved toward Busia, and finally arriving at 2pm when I would speak at 4. In the shower at the little hotel the Lord told me to speak on Jesus as the Healer of broken hearts. That afternoon in a cow pasture I spoke to about three hundred about the One who healed hearts…

When it came time to give an altar call, no one responded to the call of salvation. ‘Holy Spirit, what do I do? What did you preach about, buddy?’ Oh! Ok, who has a broken heart? The whole crowd stands up! As I led them in forgiving their enemies – sharing grace – Heaven opened and glory came down! A few days later I was invited to a home to hear this couples testimony…

In Kenya in those days it was dangerous to be a political candidate in the opposition party. This man ran for the governor’s chair, only to have his bread factory destroyed the day before the election and, of course, he lost. Then the insurance company in Nairobi refused to pay his claim. This had gone on for months. That night in the crusade he and his wife forgave their enemies, extending grace to them. Then the next day grace came back to them! The insurance company called and offered to pay for all of his claims. The man was totally vindicated!

…and of the gift of righteousness…

A gift is an expression of love, plain and simple. We must learn to receive gifts graciously. Telling someone you don’t deserve it is NOT the point. It’s a gift! They love you so they express it through a gift. The gift of righteousness is yours from Jesus and establishes your perfect standing of worthiness before the Father. Understand this – the reason we don’t receive, the reason we don’t have faith to receive, is that we view ourselves as UNWORTHY of receiving. Those who receive – who clearly take it to themselves with relief, with thankfulness, with love for the Giver – the gift of righteousness are those positioned to rule under the hand of the righteous Father. Receive the gift of righteousness so that you can rule over sickness, rule over poverty, rule over every wicked circumstance, and rule over all your territory!

The second great truth that relates to abundance is found in Ephesians…

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:20-21 NKJV

…to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus…

Wherever you find glory you can always look for the work of the Holy Spirit. He comes to glorify Jesus, and it’s His gifts in us and in the Church that makes the first part of that verse go from theoretical to practical. It glorifies Jesus when Holy Spirit works to overwhelm the circumstances and we see God do something superabundantly. It glorifies Him because that wouldn’t have happened but for His finished work on the cross. Indeed, there wouldn’t be one of us alive or righteous to receive if He hadn’t done His work as the High Priest and as the Lamb of God. All of our claims rest upon Him!

…Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…

The ‘exceedingly abundantly above’ is when you ask for a house and receive a mansion, for one dollar. The Holy Spirit in us is a breakthrough anointing, breaking through, crushing, overwhelming every demonic stronghold and roadblock. Brother Andrew was a guy who broke through the roadblocks to smuggle Bibles into the old Soviet Union. He prayed, Lord You made blind eyes see, now make seeing eyes blind! He always purposefully left a few bibles out in the open so that he wasn’t trusting in his own schemes. He smuggled thousands of bibles into communist countries successfully throughout his whole ministry. The gifts of the Spirit work most effectively, as you will see in Bill and Lorna’s testimonies, in those who are audacious enough to believe for them!

…according to the power that works in us…

How does this power work in us? Are we just passive vessels or do we have a role to play? Timothy was told to stir up the gift of God that was in him through the laying on of Paul’s hands. Paul taught the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing, and he prayed in tongues more than the whole Corinthian church. Stop to think that it is his ministry that has impacted the whole Christian church for two thousand years – that’s impact! That’s ’exceedingly abundantly above!’ We are to seek earnestly the best gifts, so when we need to prophesy, we seek the gift of prophecy. When we need to solve a problem, we seek the word of wisdom. When we need to know what Holy Spirit is doing, we seek discerning of spirits. There is nothing passive about it!

God wants you to have abundance dear one. Scripture after scripture point to the abundant God showering His people with abundance. But you and I have a role to play. One time I was in mansion when I heard the owner say to someone he was witnessing to ‘I have all this because I tithe to my God.’ Knowing how miraculously God had worked in that man’s life, I can say not only his material abundance but his life itself owes to the mercy and abundant grace of God which he learned to access as he gave. Position yourself to receive His abundance by accepting abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and then actively seek His goodness through the leading of the Spirit and His gifts. Receive and share it, dear one. Love you!

Remember dear one, we must be about our Father’s business…