| Positioning Ourselves To Receive The Blessings Of Christ Thru' The Person & Power Of The Holy Spirit
In our previous studies, we focused on the corporate aspects of positioning ourselves to receive the blessings of Christ. We saw the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit with the rest of the brethren just as the disciples were on the Day of Pentecost. They were of "one heart and one mind". They were committed to "the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and to prayers", Acts 2:42 - 45. The results are in Acts 42:46, 47, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved".
From 29 January to 4 March, we will study how to position ourselves individually to receive the Lord's blessings.
The first is a personal commitment to change.
The change we speak about is a spiritual position which enables God to bless you. It requires your cooperation with the Holy Spirit. For instance, if you are in a place of fear, doubt and unbelief, God cannot bless you. God is ever willing to bless. But His way is the way of faith. He is God and He has declared, "I change not". Therefore we must change. Why? So that the word can take root in our hearts, grow and produce faith and the obedience of faith.
The second requirement is cultivating a daily habit of meditating in the word of God followed by prayer from what you receive. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ", Romans 10:17. This is why we do SOAP. It is a simple yet powerful method by which you can hear God speak to you thru' His word.
With the above in mind, will you join us during this season to do these two things? First, to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to change your heart so you can receive "the implanted word". And secondly, that you will begin a new habit of the daily study and meditation in the word of God.
"COME, HOLY SPIRIT, WE NEED YOU!"
Reading Plan: Week of 20 - 26 February 2012
20 Feb: Gen 24:1 - 25 "And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not"
21 Feb: Gen 24:26 - 61 "Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, 'The thing comes from the LORD . . here is Rebekah . . Take her and let her be your master's son's wife"
22 Feb: Psalm 144:1 - 15 "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!"
23 Feb: Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding"
24 Feb: Isaiah 60:1 - 22 "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you"
25 Feb: Luke 9:1 - 6 "Then He called His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick"
26 Feb: Luke 9:18 - 26 "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me'"
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SOAP – Receiving personal words from God in 2012
To do SOAP, you need to have a bible, a journal, a pen or pencil, a quiet place and about 30 minutes daily.
Begin each study by praying from your heart for God to speak to you from the passage you are studying. You can pray in your own words or something like this, "Come Holy Spirit, I need You. Please speak to me from Your word as I take time to read, to study and meditate on today's passage. In Jesus name, Amen!"
S is for Scripture – Read the assigned passage once or twice to get a feel of the overall thought, theme or event being described. Choose 1 or 2 verses. Write the verse(s) down word for word with the reference.
O is for Observation – Observe carefully the 1 or 2 verses you chose. Every word is important. Observation answers the question, "What does this verse(s) say and mean?".
A is for Application – From your observations, you move on to application. You ask the question, "What does this verse(s) mean to me"?
P is for Prayer – The application from your study becomes the basis of the prayer of faith. The word shows your spiritual condition and where the Lord wants you to be. From this, He can birth prayer to move you from where you are to where you need to be in your walk with Him.
Example of SOAP
Scripture
"Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible", Luke 1:36, 37
Observations
0. The context of these 2 verses is the angel Gabriel announcing to the Mary she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God.
1. In reply to Mary's question how this could be since she did "not know a man", or she was a virgin, the angel replied that the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon her to accomplish this miracle.
2. To help Mary have faith, the angel went on to reveal to her what had happened to her relative, Elizabeth. She was of old age and was known by all to be "barren". Yet she had now conceived and was already six months into her pregnancy, "for with God, nothing will be impossible".
Application
1. We are in a season when God is doing things in and through His people to fulfil His purposes just as in the time of Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary.
2. If we are saved and born-again, we are part of His Church, we are numbered among the people of God. Just as God came upon Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit to conceive the baby Jesus, He will move upon us to birth His divine plans for the Church to become all that He desires.
3. Just as Mary declared that she was blessed because of what God was doing in her and through her, we too will be blessed when we make ourselves available to God to do as He desires in our lives, individually and as His Church.
Prayer:
"Dear Lord, just as Mary prayed, 'Let it be to me according to Your word', so help me to do likewise that whatever You show me You want to do in my life that I will say to You, ' Let it be to Me according to Your word'. In Jesus' name, Amen" |