Like everyone else, prophetic minister Matt Sorger’s kingdom calling has experienced disruption by the coronavirus pandemic. As someone who preaches God’s Word around the world, Sorger hasn’t been able to spread the gospel from live venues to the masses.

But that hasn’t stopped him from executing God’s mandate on his life. He continues, through media, to deliver the message of glory living he has been charged with. It’s a message, he says, all believers need to embrace to help bring this world to repentance, and to live the life that God intended for them.

“Out of a life of intimacy with God and the fullness of the person of the Holy Spirit, we can all live in the tangible place of God’s presence and glory,” Sorger told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “And from that overflow, experience a life of miracles, a life of freedom, joy, breakthrough, the prophetic—all of the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit—and really just the abundant life that Jesus died to give us.

“We’ve brought all of our road meetings online. I’m doing a lot of livestreaming through all our social media channels. All of our meetings are from my prayer room, teaching, preaching and praying for people. And we’ve been seeing some great things happen online where people are getting healed. We’re not letting anything stop us. You can’t stop what God is doing.

“In fact, I think God can really redesign it and network it from something amazing and for something good. One of the Scriptures that God has really been speaking and ministering to my heart is in Isaiah. It says, ‘forget former things.’ Shake yourself from the dust of what’s been happening and the dust of the past. The Lord says, ‘Behold, I do a new thing. Don’t you perceive it? It springs forth even now.’

“I just believe that we need to say, ‘God, what are You saying? What are You doing? Align our hearts, align our thoughts, align our mouth, our conversations.’ We really need to move forward with God right now so that we can experience all God has for us.”

Listen to Sorger’s podcast, Glory Living with Matt Sorger. And to hear more about how you can experience glory living every day, listen to the entire Greenelines podcast.

Suffering is a hot topic. Many are suffering from the terrible effects of the coronavirus. The tributaries stretch in a thousand directions.

This virus confronts us with sickness, disease, fear, unemployment, financial ruin and stress. All these are in the top 10 of the worst things that can happen.

Both Christians and non-Christians are on the radar.

The virus is not particular about its victims. It includes all races and religions.

Thousands are suffering the loss of loved ones. Our relatives are dying alone and slipping into eternity. This is a new level of suffering for Americans.

Suffering Is Real

God never promised a life without suffering. No one ever promised us a rose garden. Even those close to Jesus experienced severe suffering.

The apostle Paul said, “For these things I suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12).

Paul shared his suffering for the sake of the gospel. His suffering was a part of the calling that God placed on his life.

Paul was a special vessel. He suffered more than anyone in the Scripture. Paul’s suffering was a sign that he was chosen by God.

“But the Lord said to him, ‘Go your way. For this man is a chosen vessel of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake'” (Acts 9:15-16).

Paul shared his suffering throughout the Scriptures. God chose Paul to show us how to live strong in seasons of spiritual weakness.

Suffering Is a Teacher

Paul revealed that his suffering led him to understand God on a higher level. It is in the valley that we find the joy of the mountaintop.

This is why Paul took pleasure in suffering:

“So I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in hardships, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

This is difficult to understand. Paul is saying, “I take pleasure in my trouble.”

Few of us have discovered the value of suffering. Weakness never feels valuable. But spiritual weakness is a strength. Paul realized when his natural man is weak, his spirit was strong.

Paul discovers he cannot count on his human ways to perform God’s work.

Paul sees his physical suffering as spiritual renewal. “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day“ (2 Cor. 4:16).

The Purpose of Suffering

Paul realized he was to live for Christ and not for himself. This is the call to every believer. We are crucified with Christ, but we remain alive. We remain alive to live for Christ.

Paul realized that the outer body dies day by day. He also realized that his spirit man was being renewed every day through his suffering.

Why is Paul known as the suffering servant? Because he suffered for God’s glory. This means Paul’s suffering was a part of showing us how to walk in God’s strength.

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; and always carrying around in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be expressed in our bodies. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that also the life of Jesus might be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then, death works in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:8-12).

Don’t Hide Your Struggle

Paul said, “I am not ashamed.”

Few reveal their struggles. Paul was transparent because his suffering was for God’s glory and not from God’s judgment.

Many of us hide our struggles because we are afraid of man’s judgment.

In his suffering, Paul became convinced of God’s goodness. Paul turned his suffering into understanding.

He was not ashamed to suffer for God.

As believers, we must find God’s outcomes in the center of our struggle.

The coronavirus is a real struggle and thousands are suffering.

Endure Suffering

Through our suffering, we can land in a good place. The place where we understand that God is trustworthy.

Like Paul, we can know that God is faithful.

Paul knew his suffering was for a purpose.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).

When we realize the purpose of our suffering, we can endure the challenge of the moment.

Fear not.

Suffering is here, but glory is coming. {eoa}

Thomas McDaniels is a pastor/writer and the guy behind thomasmcdaniels.com. He has written for ChurchLeaders.com and currently is a contributing writer for Fox News. He is also the founder of LifeBridge.tv and the Longview Dream Center in Longview, Texas. Thomas can be found on social media, Instagram and Twitter.

For the original article, visit medium.com.

Though his own and his family’s “normal” life has been as affected as most by the coronavirus epidemic, Dr. Nicholas Pearce doesn’t view the situation as a disruption. Instead, he chooses to see it as a defining moment—an opportunity for believers to succeed as a modern ministry or business leader.

A professor at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management—one of the top business schools in the world—and an assistant pastor at Chicago’s historic Apostolic Church of God, Pearce looks at the pandemic as an opportunity for Christ-followers to press in and embrace the challenges the resulting pandemonium has brought. Like everyone else, he hasn’t seen a classroom or a church service in three weeks to a month, but he is teaching online, and he says his expertise is needed now more than ever.

“Right now, I’m being pulled in both directions. The coronavirus has literally rocked the world economically from a public health perspective, and it was literally overnight for many of us,” Pearce told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “Here in the United States, it seems as though we fell off a cliff in mid-March, and I’m not sure we’re going to be returning to the way things used to be.

“This has disrupted families, communities, and it has disrupted the church and disrupted higher education. I don’t think we’re ever going to see the normal we thought we had back in January. This is certainly a moment that’s going to be here for a while, both on the academic side and in the faith space.

“This coronavirus is causing every leader to be more nimble, and for every organization to act like a startup. But what I’m starting to see is that this ‘disruption’ is going to cause some organizations to grow and thrive. …

“Whether you are a pastor in a pulpit, a CEO in a boardroom, a teacher in a classroom or a police chief in a city, you have people who are looking for guidance, who are looking to you for guidance, who are looking to you for leadership—who are within a structure where there are certain tasks to be completed. You’ve got to now find ways to motivate, enable and integrate these individuals together to realize a common goal or aspiration, whether you measure success in spiritual terms, financial terms or both. There’s no opportunity to go back to normal. There is no normal anymore; it’s going to be redefined.”

For more of Pearce’s thoughts on the new normal for leaders, listen to the entire podcast.

Years ago, the Lord gave Kathy DeGraw a prophetic word she says she desperately needed. God told her she needed to root the fear out of her life so that when trials and tribulation came upon her, she would be filled with the faith she needed to ward off the enemy.

And now, as a deliverance minister, DeGraw is teaching the same thing she learned to others experiencing the same emotions. DeGraw and Charisma have teamed to offer a free e-course on How to Conquer Fear, one that will help listeners understand why fear grips them. It exposes fear’s root cause and how it holds them in bondage.

“God said to me, ‘Kathy, you’ve got to root the fear out of your life so you can walk in faith when something happens in this world,'” DeGraw told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “Right now, I’m walking in faith because years ago, the Lord gave me a word of faith. That’s all we have to have. It is the core of our walk. It’s a core of our being.

“For me personally, I had a lot of fear in my life. And just spending that time with the Holy Spirit. getting those instructions and advice has really helped me to live this moment in faith, knowing that God has my back. He’s my rear guard, my side guard; He is everything.

“I really believe what we need to be doing is relying on Him, trusting Him. Faith and trust are intertwined. We need to get in our Word, knowing the protection offered in Psalm 91, continuing to seek our own deliverance, and being in a place of prayer and worship.

In the e-course, DeGraw will assist listeners through the deliverance process by giving them word choices, prayers and declarations to break agreement with fear.

For more about how to be delivered from fear, listen to the entire podcast.

Faced with the stark reality of an empty sanctuary on the most important Sunday of the year, Calvary Orlando church leaders felt Holy Spirit conviction to spread the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection in a unique and unfamiliar way.

On April 12, Easter, Calvary Orlando, with the help of Convoy of Hope, will distribute 100,000 meals to local residents. The church’s parking lot and sanctuary will serve as a distribution center for food for those in need while it broadcasts its livestream message of Jesus’ glorious Resurrection. Approximately 200 volunteers, as well as some members of the Orlando Police Department, will distribute groceries to cars in a drive-thru service.

The majority of churches around the country will hold Easter services online only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Calvary Orlando Senior Pastor Ed Garvin says the enemy will fail in trying to prevent God and His children from being a light to the lost and wayward in the community.

“We certainly knew that Easter would look different this year. But still, it is a moment each year to pause and truly reflect on the wonder of the indescribable gift that God has given us,” Garvin says. “We knew that we couldn’t let Easter pass without marking this truly remarkable moment for God in a truly remarkable way.

“On Sunday morning, we will broadcast a message of hope and joy. We will turn our worship center into a distribution center. Since the beginning of COVID-19, we have been reaching tens of thousands of people in our meetings through livestream, much more exponentially than we have with our regular services. But we wanted to get the community to have a tangible understanding of how much God loves people, so we decided that we would provide 100,000 meals to people on Sunday to show them just that.”

Convoy of Hope’s trucks rolled into Orlando from its headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, on Wednesday to bring food for the Sunday distribution. On Resurrection Sunday, cars will roll through Calvary Orlando’s parking lot, and, with the blessing of and adhering to the guidelines set down by local officials, volunteers will ask those coming through whether they would like their four bags of groceries placed in either the back seat or the trunk of their vehicles.

Calvary Orlando shares an ongoing partnership with Convoy of Hope. The two combined for a huge community outing at Orlando’s Tinker Field in July 2019, where several tons of food were distributed to the needy and other community activities were held.

Sunday’s event at Calvary is only part of Convoy of Hope’s initiative provide 10 million meals to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

For the last two weeks, Calvary Orlando has also been part of a program to distribute 11,000 meals daily to those families who attend Orange County schools. That program will last for a month.

“Obviously, none of us have been in a moment like we are in today,” Garvin says. “What we know is this. The mission of the church does not shift based on circumstances. As long as we stay true to the mission of the church, God will consistently show up. Our ministry may look different, but this is the opportunity that we have to really bring value to people’s lives and show the wonder of Jesus.

“This crisis has really helped to open doors. We are seeing new groups form at our church, new people getting involved in ministry. We’re having great conversations with people that are connecting with us—not just in Orlando, but around the world. While this COVID-19 pandemic was not something that was designed by God, it is something God is using to work all things together for His good.

“No, we’re not going to have regular church on Easter Sunday, but we are going to reach the community in a way that only God could orchestrate. Everything we’re doing is for His glory.”

For more information about Calvary Orlando’s 100,000-meal initiative on Easter, visit calvaryorlando.org.

This week, I was with a great group of friends who love Jesus and are part of Firestorm United, a group dedicated to power evangelism stemming from the fiery presence of God and hosting events for the Virginia Beach area. We met at a local hospital to pray and seek God’s face.

The first person we saw was sitting in his truck, but he rolled down his window and shared his heart. His wife is a physician but has symptoms of COVID-19. So as a team, we asked if we could pray for him, and he said yes. We spoke peace, destiny and God’s love over him and prophesied to him.

We prayed through the parking lot and stood six feet apart facing the emergency room, with the temporary tent/shelter processing COVID-19 patients and others. As we sang and prayed in the Spirit, my prayer language shifted into a warfare tongue. As ambulances drove by, no one stopped us as we decreed into the heavens.

While praying, I looked up, and I saw COVID-19 as a dark and sinister entity. I have seen principalities and demonic powers before, and this reminded me of those, but I am unsure if this was a demonic entity or metaphor correlating the virus with demonic spirits.

But that was not the focus of my spiritual eyes, even though it was angry and enraged. I saw COVID19 reeling from the prayers of the saints as I sensed prayers from around the world striking it. And I focused on Jesus.

As I looked at COVID-19, which I believe was manufactured from the pits of hell, and I started decreeing, “You will bow to Jesus! You will bow to Jesus! You will bow in Jesus’ name! You will bow in Jesus’ name!” Courage and boldness overwhelmed me. Soon we had doctors peeking out of the tent saying, “Please pray for me. My name is Chris.” We had nurses coming up to us, starting with a group of two women, receiving prayer and prophecy.

Another woman came out, saying, “Please pray for me! I suffer from anxiety!” And as my friends prayed over her, we commanded all trauma and anxiety to go in Jesus’ name and declared her set free in Jesus’ name.

Then a friend of hers came over and was grateful for us, asking us to come back and through a specific word of knowledge that she writes poems to God, she felt the power of God flow through her, thanking me. She asked, “How did you know?” And I said, “That’s the Holy Spirit speaking to me, glorifying Jesus who loves you so much. He smiles over you and will give you more creativity and more rhythm and rhyme, as He loves the time you spend with Him.”

Everyone who received prayer appreciated it and asked us to come back to pray and bring more friends.

You can do this, too. If God leads you, take your friends and pray over the hospitals, declare and decree COVID-19 will bow down to Jesus. Pray over the first responders, nurses, doctors and others who will receive prayer, but use wisdom and discerning of spirits. God will lead you. {eoa}

Jared Laskey, M.Div., M.A. Christian ministry, is the founder of Fireborn Ministries and host of the Adventures in the Spirit podcast. He lives to see Jesus awaken this generation to the power of the Holy Spirit. Jared loves teaching people how to hear God. He has recently published the Spirit- Empowered Journal, available on Amazon, and a mini e-course, Fellowship with the Holy Spirit. His testimony of how God supernaturally healed him of PTSD is in Joan Hunter’s new book, Miracles for Veterans.

Today, we are concluding our four-part series about the biblical belief in the immortality of the soul and the body—in a glorified, resurrected form.

Christians reaffirm this unique doctrine of the Resurrection every Easter season. This short series is drawn from the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians.

Implications of No Resurrection (15:29-34)

Before Paul explores the nature of the resurrected body, he spends a few verses pointing out some implications which must be faced if there were no resurrection. He said that life after death is widely believed as a general hope among the culture. Some people even baptized others for those who had already died. It is a puzzling verse since Paul does not seem to commend or condemn the practice; he merely observed it, which affirmed a secular hope of life after death.

If we do not have confidence in a coming resurrection, then we might as well “party all night, for tomorrow we die,” as the Passion paraphrase puts it in verse 32.

Then Paul challenged them with words that sound like modern-day infectious disease experts. He bluntly told them to stop fooling themselves with any deception concerning the certainty of death and the promise of our future resurrection. Earthly companions can “infect” us with negativity and moral evils that will corrupt our qualifying character and commendable living (v. 33).

Basically, we must “self-isolate” and “socially distance” ourselves from what and who are wrong and corrupt in our society and genuinely repent of any sinful ways (v. 34). Instead, professing believers in Christ must exhibit a faith that evidences a transformed mindset and obedient lifestyle (Rom. 12:1-2), living with our glorious hope of resurrection and eternity in view!

The Nature of the Resurrected Body (15:35-58)

A study of resurrection realities would be incomplete if we did not answer some very reasonable and practical questions about the nature of the resurrected body, which God has planned and promised to those who are faithful to the end.

What kind of body will this resurrected and transformed heavenly body be? Will it be similar or distinct from our earthly body? Will we be able to recognize loved ones in their resurrected form? Will we look young or old? Will I be bald or have a full head of hair?

We may not have specific answers on all these natural questions, but in 1 Corinthians 15:39-41, Paul suggests the new spiritual body is superior to the old natural body. Both are wonderfully made by our Creator-God, but the inference is that the heavenly bodies far outweigh the earthly bodies in grandeur. Our new heavenly bodies and their abilities will be super amazing if compared to our earthly bodies.

Although our Lord ate with His disciples after His resurrection, our spiritual bodies are thought to be without the need of natural nourishment; not subject to decay, not liable to sickness, pain or death. 1 Peter 1:4 indicates our inheritance in heaven is immortal; it cannot perish nor spoil or fade away.

Dr. Jack Hayford has noted that “Christ’s resurrected body may reveal something of what kind of bodies we may anticipate. During the 40 days of post-resurrection appearances, Jesus could pass for an ordinary man. He still had nail prints and He ate food, yet He could also materialize at will and pass through locked doors (see John 20, Luke 24). He had complete command over creation, as evidenced by His dominion over the fish (John 21:6-11).” [Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), page 1745, note on 1 Corinthians 15:45-49.]

Millions of living believers will someday reach heaven without dying.

The final focus of this last section of Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is on the promise, the purpose and the power of the Lord’s Resurrection and final victory.

Verses 50-53 reveal the mystery of the promised rapture of the church. The bodies of these living believers will be miraculously transformed into glorified ones as they are instantly transferred from earth to the presence of the Lord (see 1 Thess. 4:16-18). This was a divine secret (“mystery,” v. 51) previously unrevealed to God’s people.

The purpose of this Resurrection is given in verses 53-57. The Law was given to weak and sinful people. Their failure to keep their moral values entrenched the principle of sin even more. However, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings “victory” for each believer, because being “in Him” we can now experience victory over sin, the Law and death itself!

The power of the Resurrection is its practical equipping of believers for service in the “work of the Lord” (v. 58). As we eagerly await our Lord’s return, we can now see beyond the limitations of this world and death to the realities of heaven and eternal life. Our “labor is not in vain in the Lord” (v. 58). It produces personal fulfillment in the present and eternal rewards for the future.

He Has Risen!

Yes, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the cornerstone of Christianity. By this miracle, we can receive forgiveness for our sins, a purpose for living and power for service to others.

Christian believers celebrate this mysterious Resurrection reality again next Sunday—Resurrection Sunday—and humbly share this Good News with others: He has risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! {eoa}

Ordained to the ministry in 1969, Gary Curtis is a graduate of LIFE Bible College at Los Angeles (soon to become Life Pacific University at San Dimas, California). He has taken graduate courses at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois, and Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Gary served as part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys, California, for 27 years (1988-2015); and served for the last 13 years as the vice president of Life on The Way Communications Inc., the church’s not-for-profit media outreach. Now retired, Gary and his wife have been married for 50 years and live in Southern California. They have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

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James Merritt, the senior pastor of Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Georgia, says the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected millions worldwide over the past few months, has been a true character test for God’s children.

“Simply put, if Scripture is true, this has been a perfect test,” Merritt told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “According to Romans Chapter three, verses three through five, it says adversity, trouble, trial and tribulation, all of those are tests and grow and toughen and strengthen our character.

“God is not concerned about what this virus is doing. He is concerned about how we’re going to respond to it.”

And as a pastor, Merritt knows he must walk in integrity and put on Christlike character every day. As an influencer of people, he says, it’s not an option.

But then, he says, all believers have that obligation to God. For Merritt, it all starts with a specific prayer every morning to keep him pure.

“In my prayer time every day, I always ask God three things every day: search me, sanctify me and strengthen me,” Merritt said.

“When I ask Him to search me, I know that I can just be quiet. God has a perfect memory. He reminds me of something every day that I forgot to confess. Then I say, “sanctify me,” and I know that I will be cleansed from top to bottom. And then “strengthen me,” where I know that I will not get led into places of temptation. It’s like taking a spiritual shower, and we do it every day. …

“I think we’re living in a culture today where everybody is focused on their reputation and not their character. The difference is really strong. Character is what you and God know you are. Reputation is what people think you are. You can fool people into a false reputation. You’ve got to look at your character in the morning when you look in the mirror. You can’t run away from it.”

For more of James Merritt’s thoughts on character, listen to the entire podcast.

This is indeed a time in our history that we have never seen before. These are interesting and challenging days, and it is a time where it seems everyone on the planet is affected.

These are also times that Jesus said would come to pass in the last days. 1 Timothy 3:1-2a, 14a, MSG) declares, “Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches … don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed.”

I know the Holy Spirit has instruction and revelation knowledge to give us as we lean into Him and hear His voice.

In this article, I want to tell you what not to do in this time.

There are plenty of things that we are automatically drawn to because of fallen humanity. However, let me admonish you in the Lord about some things not to give into.

1. Do not panic. Even though this chaos is due to a pandemic, which is a “widespread epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large population,” we as the people of God cannot give into the panic that even this word depicts.

I love what The Message Bible says in Isaiah 41:10: “Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear, for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.”

We are not to be as the world. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27, MEV). So don’t panic—but praise instead!

2. Do not give in to drama. One of the things we know about the devil is that “he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44c). He has been lying from the beginning, and he will continue to lie.

There are so many unbiblical theories floating around all over kingdom come. We have the choice to take all these theories in, or to send them all back to hell where they belong.

The enemy is a deceiver. He masquerades as an angel of light to make you think that everything you see, hear, or think is the absolute truth. However, the opposite is actually true.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NLT), “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see NOW will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

What’s your takeaway? Simply this: don’t focus on the drama. Focus on the divine, instead!

3. Do not change your confession of faith. Hebrews 10:23 (MEV) admonishes us to “firmly hold the profession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Why? Because it matters what we say. It matters what we think. It matters what we confess.

The power of life and death is in our tongue, and whoever loves it will eat its fruit (see Prov. 18:21). This means that whatever comes out of your mouth is the fruit you will see and bear.

I want to see the great things of God, so I am declaring the good confession of faith as Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12: “Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

You will be tempted many times to change your confession of faith while people are listening, but don’t give into temptation. Hold onto your good confession! Be determined that you are going to be a light in this darkness, and you will lead many into the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hold fast to your confession of faith. Don’t change it; proclaim it!

4. Do not fear or worry. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25a (NIV), “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.” When He said this, it wasn’t a mere good idea or suggestion. It was a command: Do not worry!

Here’s the explanation: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matt. 6:26).

In reality, Jesus is saying, “It really doesn’t make any sense to do these things because I have you in the palm of My hand. If I care for some insignificant bird, surely, I can take care of you” (my paraphrase).

It is useless and pointless to worry!

Let me propose something for a second. Just think with me for a moment:

What if we said, “You know what, I’m going to take 24 hours and worry about _____.” (Pick anything and fill in the blank.) After the 24 hours, if you knew that you knew that the thing would be resolved simply because you took a 24-hour period out of your life to worry and fret over it, would it be worth it?

Many of us would probably answer yes to that question, but the problem is that, in real life, it wouldn’t work, and it doesn’t work. It seems far-fetched because it is. Worry doesn’t help anything, and taking 24 hours to worry wouldn’t do one bit of good—so why do it? Jesus said, “Don’t!”

Then there is this thing called “fear.” The Word is our final authority, and the Word says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear” (2 Tim. 1:7a). That implies that if we have a spirit of fear, it came from someone else—namely, the devil.

God has given you power, love and a sound mind. Now is the time to receive that power—God’s dunamis—over all the power of the enemy.

Remember also that, to us, God’s power is always coupled with love. His perfect love casts out fear. Glory be to God!

The truth is that

—We are of a sound mind.

—We have the mind of Christ.

—We hold Jesus’ heart, thoughts and feelings.

—So therefore, we shall not be moved.

We know in whom we have believed, and we are fully persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed to Him against that day (see 2 Tim. 1:12). So don’t fear it; faith it. Don’t worry; be joyful instead!

5. Do not stop planting seed and paying God’s tithe. Without a doubt, now is not the time to stop giving to the kingdom of God. If anything, try and find creative ways so you can always have seed in the ground.

Remember, everything belongs to God—but He is so good that He allows us to keep 90% of what we receive. He says, “Just give Me my 10%!”

The tithe belongs to God and not to us. When we hold back from God what belongs to Him, Malachi 3:9a says, “You are cursed with a curse.” I would rather have 90% of what belongs to me be blessed than to have 100% of it cursed.

Look at the Scripture in Genesis 26:12 (MEV). The Bible says, “Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; the Lord blessed him.” Now is the time to prove God. Prove Him and see that He will open up the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing so big that you will not even have room for all of it.

I believe we are getting ready to see a great transfer of wealth that we have never experienced in the church. I’m not sure whom God is going to use or what He will use to do it, but I just know my knower that something is coming, and it is big!

Therefore: Don’t stop sowing and tithing. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasure!

Despite the chaos around us, I want to encourage you in the Lord right now:

—Do not panic.

—Do not give in to drama.

—Do not change your confession of faith.

—Do not fear or worry.

—Do not stop planting seed or paying God’s tithe.

Keep on keeping on in power, love and a sound mind. Keep trusting Jesus and holding fast to your good confession of faith. Stay calm and trust God! Speak His Word, for His Word is our final authority. Keep sowing seed so God can prosper you, just as He prospered Isaac in Genesis 26.

If you will do these five positive things and not do the five negative things, you will see God work miracles because of your faith. {eoa)

Judy Jacobs is internationally known for her declarative worship and powerful message of the gospel. She has ministered personally in over 50 countries and has also ministered through several TV networks such as TBN, TBN Salsa, Inspiration Network, Daystar and through guest appearances with Sid Roth, Marcus and Joni Lamb, Dr. Jason Renville and many others. Pastor Judy serves as the co-pastor of Dwelling Place Church International. She is also the director of the international institute of mentoring and has published five books and eight solo albums. She is married to Pastor Jamie Tuttle, and together they have two daughters, Kaylee and Erica. Sign up for her free “How to Receive Miracles from God” email mini-course at her website, JudyJacobs.com.

If there is one thing she has discovered about her prayer life, Mary Colbert says it’s that sin in our own lives can be a huge roadblock between us and God.

Colbert, the wife of Dr. Don Colbert and founder of Nation Builders, a popular and successful national prayer line, says it’s a scriptural principle that you cannot expect God to hear you if you try to bring the enemy into God’s presence.

“One thing that God impressed upon me as to why people’s prayers are not heard is that you cannot come into the throne room and bring Satan with you,” Colbert told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “What I mean by that is that, in your heart, if you have hatred against someone, if you have shame, blame, guilt … if you have any of these spiritual blocks, [God] cannot hear you.

“It literally is a spiritual principle that you have a wall between Him and His ability to even hear your prayers. He says that when you come to the altar, if you have anything against a brother, go and make it right. If you’ve done some harm or wrong … you’ve cheated, you’ve lied, you’ve slandered or maybe had been lied against or slandered or stolen from you—make it right with your brother and then come back.

“One thing Holy Spirit showed me—and this is so powerful—one day in prayer I heard Holy Spirit say to me, ‘Mary, they’ve got this all wrong. The binding and loosing.’ I asked Him, ‘Lord, what is it we’ve got wrong? Teach me what it is.’ He says when the Scripture says, ‘Whatsoever is bound on earth is bound in heaven, and whosoever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven,’ what He is talking about is concerning you. Whatever is bound in your heart binds heaven to be able to act on your behalf. And whatever you have loosed on earth, you loose heaven to work on your behalf. If there is a situation or people or wrongs that have happened in your life, and your heart is bound with unforgiveness, you bind heaven’s ability to work on your behalf. God wants to work on your behalf in these situations that people have wrong you or cheated you or not done right by you.

“These are God’s kingdom principles. They’re not an option. This is a requirement of a kingdom principle. If you want the kingdom to work on your behalf, you’re going to have to operate according to its principles.”

For more of Mary Colbert’s thoughts on principles to guide your prayer life, listen to the entire podcast.