GOSPEL CORNER : YOUR PART IS TO COMMIT YOUR WAYS TO HIM EVERY MORNING AND SAY, “LORD, LET YOUR WILL BE DONE AND NOT MINE. 

15/03/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you.…And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
Exodus 7:3–5, NIV⁰

RIGHT DESIRES
When God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go free, He also caused Pharoah to harden his heart to say no. God put the desire in him to be stubborn. Why? So that He would receive great glory at Pharaoh’s expense. God went on to perform great miracles so the Egyptian people knew He was the true God. It was a part of His plan so the Israelites could fulfill their purpose.

How much more will God put desires in you so you can fulfill your destiny? You don’t have to fear the future or worry about whether you will be making the right choices. Just keep honoring God. Your part is to commit your ways to Him every morning and say, “Lord, let Your will be done and not mine. I put You first place.” God’s part is to put the right desires in you that are strong enough to where you step into His will. This is how He will lead you into the best plan that He’s already laid out.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You are the Almighty God who is working in all things for my good. Thank You that as I put You first, You are putting desires in my heart that will lead me to fulfill my purpose. I will walk in peace, knowing You are taking me down the best path for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

When I was studying the Emmaus story, I asked the Lord why He chose to restrain the eyes of the two disciples such that they couldn’t recognize Him (Luke 24:13–35). I asked Him, “Wouldn’t it have been better for them to see You with Your nail-pierced hands?” Wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus had walked down the busiest streets of Jerusalem, lifted up His hands, and hollered, “Yo! Everyone, check this out!”

But Jesus knew that doing that would not produce true faith. He revealed to me that it was more important for the disciples to see Him in the Word than to see Him in person.

Wow, those words brought so much hope and encouragement to my heart. If the faith of the disciples was based on them seeing Jesus physically in the flesh, then what hope do we have today?

Jesus purposefully restrained their eyes so that they would see Him first in the Scriptures. That places you and me on equal ground and with equal opportunity as the two disciples. Jesus wants us all to see Him in the Word.

God’s Word tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 NASB). This means that the more you hear Jesus unveiled, expounded upon, and pointed to in the Scriptures, the more faith will be imparted to your heart to believe everything God’s Word says about you.

Could it be that the reason many believers are still living in defeat today is that Jesus has not been unveiled in the Scriptures to them?

The gospel is all about Jesus. It’s not about right doing. It’s all about right believing about Jesus that makes a difference in people’s lives.

The apostle Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith'” (Rom. 1:16–17).

That’s the gospel that I am not ashamed of. I pray that you will experience your own Emmaus Road journey as you open up the Scriptures and allow His Word to bathe your heart in the warmth of His loving grace and tender mercies. It’s truly all about Jesus!