RICHES IN GLORY (T.D. JAKES)

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

     God says you are worthy to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has prayed for you to receive the Comforter. Is it based on your merit? Of course not. You never have and never will live up to the expectations of a holy God. Jesus, who "ever liveth to make intercession," prays confidently because He died in your stead (see Heb. 7:25 KJV).

     Many have made the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit-filled life so difficult when actually it is quite simple. Many have taught that if you wait long enough, if you pray hard enough, if you lift your hands, sell out, hold on or hold out, then you will receive the Holy Spirit. While their intentions may be good, their approach is not scriptual.

     We can conclude three things regarding the Holy Spirit: 

1.  Jesus is praying for you to receive.  
2.  You must experience a Passover before you can receive.
3.  If you have had a Passover, you're a worthy candidate to receive the power of Pentecost.  

     If you have these three things working for you--the prayers of Jesus, the pleading of the blood in His Passover, and anticipation for the power of Pentecost--you are a worthy candidate. 

YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER (T.D. JAKES)

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit

has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me

in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to

the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

     Believers must understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit so they can carry out the will of God for their lives.

     We aren't alone when we lie down at night or go through the storms of life. When we go through a valley or through a trial, the Holy Spirit is there to defend us. God will never leave us nor forsake us (see Heb. 13:5). Jesus is with us to the end of this age (see Matt. 28:20). When we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we receive an eternal Friend. Jesus is praying that you have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.

     Many friends stay with us until we mess up or until we disagree with them. They quickly leave as if they never knew us. But the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, stays with us forever.

     The Holy Spirit does not come and go based upon the circumstances of our lives. He is there when we do well; He is there when we fail. When we are on top of things, He is there. When things are on top of us, He is there. No matter what the situation, The Holy Spirit is always there to help us.

     In the same way that Jesus helped the disciples, the Holy Spirit now helps you.

CHRIST IS FORMED IN YOU (T.D. JAKES)

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19).

     Thank God that He understands the hidden part within each of us. He understands the child in us, and He speaks to our blanket-clutching, thumb-sucking, infantile need. In spite of our growth, income, education, or notoriety, He still speaks to the childhood issues of the aging heart. This is the ministry that only a Father can give.

     Have you ever noticed that you are never a grown-up to the ones who birthed you? They completely disregard the gray hairs, crowfeet, and bulging, blossoming waistlines of abundant life. No matter how many children call you "Dad" or "Mom," to your parents you are still just a child yourself.

     They seem to think you have slipped into the closet to put on grown-up clothes and are really just playing a game. They must believe that somewhere beneath the receding hairline there is still a child, hiding in the darkness of adulthood. The worst part about it is (keep this quiet) I think they are right!

     The Lord looks beyond our facade and sees the trembling places in our lives. He knows our innermost needs. No matter how spiritually mature we try to appear, He is still aware that lurking in the shadows is a discarded candy wrapper from the childish desire we just prayed off last night--the lingering evidence of some little temper or temptation that only the Father can see hiding within His supposedly "all grown-up" little child.

     It is He alone whom we must trust to see the very worst in us, yet still think the very best of us. It is simply the love of a Father.

BE TRANSFORMED (T.D. JAKES)

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God

(Romans 12:2).

     Many individuals in the Body of Christ are persevering without progressing. They wrestle with areas that have been conformed to the world instead of transformed. This is particularly true of us Pentecostals who often emphasize the gifts of the Spirit and exciting services. It is imperative that, while we keep our mode of expression, we understand that transformation doesn't come from inspiration. Many times preachers sit down after ministering a very inspiring sermon feeling that they accomplished more than they actually did. Transformation takes place in the mind. 

     The Bible teaches that we are to be renewed by the transforming of our minds (see Eph. 4:23). Only the Holy Spirit knows how to renew the mind. The struggle we have inside us is with self-perception. Generally our perception of ourselves is affected by those around us. Our early opinion of ourselves is deeply affected by the opinions of the authoritative figures in our formative years. If our parents tended to neglect or ignore us, it tears at our self-worth. Eventually, though, we mature to the degree where we can walk in the light of our own self-image, without it being diluted by the contributions of others.

     The Lord wants to help you realize who you are and what you are graced to do. When you understand that He is the only One who really knows you, then you pursue Him with fierceness and determination. Pursue Him!

STRENGTH FOR EVERY MOMENT (T.D. JAKES)

THE FIRST TRANSFORMER

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).

     I realized that God had made the first transformer. He created man from dust. He created him in such a way that, if need be, He could pull a woman out of him without ever having to reach back into the dust. Out of one creative act God transformed the man into a marriage. Then He transformed the marriage into a family, the family into a society, et cetera.

     God never had to reach into the ground again, because the power to transform was intrinsically placed into man. All types of potential were locked into our spirits before birth. For the Christian, transformation at its optimum is the outworking of the internal. God placed certain things in us that must come out. We house the prophetic power of God. Every word of our personal prophetic destiny is inside us. He has ordained us to be.

     Only when we are weary from trying to unlock our own resources do we come to the Lord, receive Him, and allow Him to release in us the power to become whatever we need to be. Actually, isn't that what we want to know--our purpose? Then we can use the power to become who we really are. Life has chiseled many of us into mere fragments of who we were meant to be. To all who receive Him, Christ gives the power to slip out of who they were forced into being so they can transform into the individual they each were created to be.

STRENGTH FOR EVERY MOMENT (T.D. JAKES)

BELIEVE IN HIS NAME

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12).

I pray that we as Christians never lose our conviction that God does change lives. We must protect this message. Our God enables us to make the radical changes necessary for fulfilling our purposes and responsibilities. Like the caterpillar that eats and sleeps its way into change, the process occurs gradually but nonetheless powerfully. Many people who will rock this world are sleeping in the cocoon of obscurity, waiting for their change to come. The Scriptures declare, "...it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11 KJV).

     A memory of my own sons playing on the floor when they were children tailors the continuity of this text for me. They were playing with a truck, contributing all the sounds of grinding gears and roaring engines. I didn't pay much attention as I began unwinding from the day's stresses and challenges. Distractedly, I glanced down at the floor and noticed that the boys were now running an airplane down an imaginary runway. I asked, "What happened to the truck you were playing with?"

     They explained, "Daddy, this is a transformer!"

     I then inquired, "What is a transformer?"

     Their answer brought me into the Presence of the Lord. They said, "It can be transformed from what it was before into whatever we want it to be!"

     Are you being transformed through believing in His name?

STRENGTH FOR EVERY MOMENT (T.D. JAKES)

ALL THE DOORS WERE OPENED

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed (Acts 16:25-26).

As you read this, you may feel that life is passing you by. You often experience success in one area and gross defeats in others. You need a burning desire for the future, the kind of desire that overcomes past fear and inhibitions. You will remain chained to your past and all the secrets therein until you decide: enough is enough! I am telling you that when your desire for the future peaks, you can break out of prison. I challenge you to sit down and write 30 things you would like to do with your life and scratch them off, one by one, as you accomplish them. There is no way you can plan for the future and dwell in the past at the same time. I feel an earthquake coming into your prison! It is midnight--the turning point of days! It is your time for a change. Praise God and escape out of the dungeons of your past.

     Don't allow the enemy tp plug into you and violate you through his subtle seductions. He is a giver and he is looking for a receiver. You must discern his influence if you are going to rebuke him. Anything that comes, any mood that is not in agreement with God's Word, is satan trying to plug into the earthly realm through your life. He wants you to believe you cannot change. He loves prisons and chains! Statements like, "This is just the way I am" or "I am in a terrible mood today" come from lips that accept what they ought to reject. Never allow yourself to settle for anything less than the attitude God wants you to have in your heart. Don't let satan have your day, your spouse, or your home. Adam and Eve could have put the devil out!

STRENGTH FOR EVERY MOMENT (T.D. JAKES)

POWER TO THE WEAK

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength (Isaiah 40:29).

The Bible says that God "gives power to the weak [faint], and to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isa. 40:29). He is saying, "I won't kill you because you fainted or are weak. I give power to the weak."

     When you start losing the strength you once had, you are fainting. When you can hardly stand up and you begin to stagger in the throes of sin, lust, envy, and strife. God declares, "I give power to you!"

     If you have looked inside yourself and cannot muster the strength to get up, God says, "I will increase your strength."

     God will not only raise you up, but He'll give you enough power to pull yourself up if you stumble again. He won't help you so you can be handicapped the rest of your life. No. He gives power to the faint, and to those who are weak He gives strength.

     Are you weak with no willpower, no strength, no ability within yourself to resist the enemy? When your body gets tired, remember God and His strength. When satan begins to attack you, remember the power of God residing within your innermost being. Remember that God does not faint or grow weary. In fact, the Holy One does not even sleep.

STRENGTH FOR EVERY MOMENT (T.D. JAKES)

STRENGTH TO STAND

Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand (Romans 14:4).

     Do you believe God is able to pick you up and make you stand? Until you know that God is able, you will never cry out for help.

     God wants us to understand that there is no lack of strength in Him. You may not have much of a prayer life, but God says, "Has thou not known?" In other words, you should have known that He would take care of you.

     The Word says that the everlasting God, Creator of the universe, is all-powerful. He has brought you through many problems, so don't let satan deceive you into thinking that it was just luck or coincidence that delivered you.
     Remember what God has done for you. If you can't seem to remember anything He has done for you personally, then look around at others who have been delivered out of situations worse than yours. See what God did for them and tell yourself, "If He can do it for them, I know He can do it for me." God's divine love and power brought them through, and He will do the same for you.
     God says, "I have the strength that is necessary to escalate and motivate and move you up and out of your circumstances.
     If you want to be victorious in all your endeavors, then don't lean on your own understanding or to your own devices or innovations. Instead, in all your ways acknowledge the Lord, and He will direct your path.