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April 23rd, 2013 
Peter Nolan
A Daily Word from the Word for Tuesday, April 23, 2013
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6
Tired of unsuccessfully trying to beat down that door of opportunity, prosperity, and greener pastures, my brother? Has your will power powered you out, my sister? Well then Praise the Lord! I hear some of you saying “Have you lost your mind, Brother Matt?” No, family, I haven’t. But I did trade my mind in for a greater mind, the mind of Christ, a long time ago.
Many times, we have to come to the end of ourselves, so God can finally do what we have asked him to do; which is to take over. I think God just waits and watches, with a pained look on His face, as we wrestle for the steering wheel of our lives. But here’s the catch: we are wrestling with ourselves. Then, when we work ourselves up into a lather, finally wear ourselves out, and go sit in a corner, God says “Are you done now, so that I can begin?” And we respond with a defeated tone “Yes Lord, I’m done.” I can feel our Most Patient and Capable Father smiling back, as He gently whispers “Good. That’s a perfect place to start.”
The phrase “let go and let God” has been around for as long as I can remember. And like many Christians, I have said it without really thinking about what it means. Many times, the wrestle is in both the letting go and letting God. This is a two-step process; both of which require God’s Holy Spirit to conquer. When we try to let go in and of our own might and power, we end up getting in a tug-of-war with ourselves; rather than calling upon the Spirit of the Living God to help us conquer ourselves: our soul (mind, will, emotions) and our flesh. Once we let go, we need to let God; again, by His Spirit.
The Hebrew word for “might,” as used in this verse, is chayil (pr. khah-yil) which means “force, whether by man, means or other resources.” Power, kowach (pr. ko-akh), is “to be firm, vigor, capacity, means, wealth” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). No amount of brute force or money is going to accomplish what only God can do through you and for you, my brother. Are you standing firm, my sister? That very stance is the very thing that is keeping God from moving for you on your behalf.
I won’t go anywhere unless God has already gone before me (Exodus 33:15). Do you know what happens when you allow God to go before you, saints? Stuff gets done! That’s right, my brothers and sisters: doors get opened, seas get parted, mountains get moved, hearts get changed, ways are made out of no way, rivers show up through the desert, and life springs forth out of death—all because God went first.
Do you know what happens when you go before God? Aw, come on now. Don’t act like you don’t know, like you never did that before :-). You know what happens by experience. And what happens is a big fat nothing! See, still smiling :-).
God’s Spirit is His Ruwach (pr. Roo-akh), His Breath of Life. No one but God can breathe on a person, situation, circumstance, hindrance, or obstacle, and accomplish, by breath, what needs to be accomplished. Only God’s breath contains life. That is how we move and breathe, by the Breath of the Living God.
I love what my New Spirit-Filled Life Bible testifies about God’s Spirit: “The greatest displays of God’s power are not necessarily shows of force, mighty acts, or creative splendor. Rather, the supremacy of God’s power is seen in ways He accomplishes His purpose through mere vessels of clay made mighty because He has infused them with His life” (© 2002.; Thomas Nelson Bibles). Now that’s something to shout about!
Are you ready to get things moving in the right direction for you and in your life, son and daughter of the Most Mighty God? Then step back.
Father, thank You for Your Holy Spirit Who dwells within each of us—your sons and daughters. Help us to forsake our might and power, which accomplishes nothing, and rely on Your Spirit. When we are weak, then we are strong, because Your strength is perfected in and through our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10, 12:19). In Jesus Name, we thank You that we always wait on You to go before us. Amen and Amen.
Take action! Challenge your thinking! Choose to put aside your might and power, and rely solely on the Spirit of the Living God. Choose to decree, declare, and thank your Father daily that your steps are ordered by Him, and that your Most Willing and Able Creator keeps you in the steps He has ordered for you. And continue to fight the good fight of always letting your Daddy go first; for God, your Mover and Shaker, has already given you the victory!
If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do it today, right now, by saying this prayer out loud: “Jesus, forgive me for my sins. I am sorry. I truly desire to be saved and reconciled back to God, my Father, through You. I receive Your sinless Blood as payment in full for my sins—past, present, and future. I now call You my Lord and Savior, and invite You to live within my heart, and to permanently live within me. I make You Lord over me and over my life from this moment on. Amen.” Congratulations! You are now a child of God, made whole and made new, by the Blood of Jesus Christ!
God tells us that we are blessed to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2). Be a blessing to someone by sending them this word of encouragement. If God did not already put someone in your spirit and on your heart that needs to read this uplifting message from above, simply ask your Heavenly Father who to bless on today. Forward this message right now by email, facebook, or twitter.
Jesus is coming soon!
May God Bless you and keep you always.
With warmest regards,
And, in service of The Most High King,
Matthew
© 2013.
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Matthew is founder of HMD Ministries, and sits under the leadership of Apostle Dr. Don Lyon of Faith Center Ministries International in Rockford, Illinois, where he serves as an associate pastor.
All references to Hebrew and Greek words and meanings, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance © 1990 by Thomas Nelson Publishing. All dictionary references are taken from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary © 2013, unless otherwise noted.
Source Article from http://www.examiner.com/article/we-conquer-by-god-s-holy-spirit?cid=rss
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