GOSPEL CORNER: IT IS TIME TO “AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

20/02/24

***JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES

Lakewood Church: Prayer for Healing & Restoration

Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1, NKJV

***With Healing in Their Wings
We all face times when life is so overwhelming that we feel we’re at the breaking point. We may be hurting from a traumatic event or an ongoing struggle. It’s not that we’re weak or don’t have faith; it’s battle fatigue.

You may be in a dry place right now, and you may be getting weary, unable to see how you can keep going. You didn’t go into that desert by accident. God sees what you’re going through, and He knows when it’s too much. The Scripture says that God is “a very present help in times of trouble.”

In the book of Hebrews, angels are called “ministering spirits,” messengers that God uses to carry out His will and push back forces of darkness. God has already dispatched angels for you with healing in their wings. They are sent to strengthen and encourage you, to lift the load of battle fatigue. You’re not just going to come out of the desert having barely survived. You’re going to come out in the power of the Spirit, ready to fulfill your purpose with fresh vision and renewed strength.

***A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are always present in times of trouble. Thank You that You know just how much I can handle, and You send Your angels to help me with healing in their wings. I declare that as I walk with You, You provide all the strength I need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Perhaps you find yourself under a constant siege of condemnation because you have been wrongly taught that the Holy Spirit convicts believers of their sins. You believe that the condemnation you feel is a result of the Holy Spirit’s conviction when it actually originates from the accuser. Rather than the Holy Spirit being your Helper, convicting you that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, that God will never abandon you even if you have sinned, you are left to struggle with sin, condemnation, and fear.

It is time to “awake to righteousness.” As Pamela in Maryland discovered, when you do, oppression, bondage, and sin cannot maintain their hold in your life. Here is Pamela’s testimony:

Dear Pastor Prince, at fifty-nine years of age, I was recovering from multiple fractures in my right ankle and fibula. In the first month, my mobility was severely limited and my physical condition weakened. During that season of stress, I was oppressed and tormented by strong feelings of fear of abandonment and rejection, experiencing panic attacks almost daily. I was plagued by nightmares and became unable to sleep—due in part to pain medication, but also to the extreme anxiety. Some nights, all I could do was read the Bible until I was exhausted and finally able to sleep.

One day, I came across your television program and was “hooked.” Every day and evening, I watched your program, soaking up the words of life that you were speaking to my soul. I soon ordered one of your books. For the first time in my life, I heard that it was not the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin, but my conscience. As I read through the book, it was like water to my soul. I read it through three times, each time getting more freedom and peace.

Now, at the age of sixty, I am healthier, happier, and freer than I have ever been in my life. I have been delivered from the stronghold of the fear of abandonment, neglect, and rejection that had oppressed me for most of my life. I have been able to forgive those who physically, emotionally, and sexually abused me, and to repent of my disrespect, self-hatred, bitterness, and resentment.

Today, I am confident that my heavenly Papa loves me, not because of anything I have or have not done, but because of what Jesus did for me. I am continuing to learn that I am completely accepted and righteous in His beloved Son, Jesus, who is altogether lovely, trustworthy, and gracious. Now, I spend my days loving Him and being loved by Him, and I am better able to bless and serve others. Thank you!

Beloved, if you are struggling with condemnation, fear, and sin, the power to overcome is found in knowing that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. When the Bible says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not,” it means that the more you realize that you are indeed righteous in Christ, and that you are righteous apart from your works, the more you will be empowered to live righteously.

Let the truth sink in and be set free by the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is your Helper, given by God to convict you of righteousness. You are the righteousness of God in Christ!