Our daily bread: STRENGTH AND COURAGE
Hear what the Lord says to the weak:
Joshua: Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses…
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1.2-9
When I hear someone say that they were extremely happy because they had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, but that happiness quickly vanished when someone, that is fallen in the faith, sowed doubt and erased their joy, an immense hatred against this disturbing spirit comes over me.
This is what happened with Fernanda, who says:
Hello bishop. How are you?
I have been a member of the UCKG for 2 years, but I’ve only been living in the faith for about 7 months. I’ve been married to a former assistant for 1 year. I had an encounter with God on September 26, 2015, on Wednesday, during the Night of Salvation meeting, held by Bishop Fernando Luis. My experience with God was unexplainable and I was sure the Holy Spirit now dwelled in me. I went home feeling light and had an immeasurable joy, conviction that I found Jesus. Oh, what a day! I didn’t say anything to my husband about the experience I had with God that night. A few weeks later, we were having a conversation about the faith and, though he is not firm, he always wants to appear like he knows more about the things and people of the Church. But, that day he said to me, “After you are born of God and have the Holy Spirit, then you will understand”. Bishop, I allowed those words into my heart and instead of tying them up, I began doubting about my encounter with God. From that moment on, I’ve been battling against this feeling. I’ve been doing this Fast with my body, soul and spirit. And I’m sure that before we go to Mt. Hermon, God will confirm His presence in me and no one, not even the devil or myself, will doubt His presence dwells in me. Thank you Lord Jesus and thank you Bishop for the messages of faith and encouragement that don’t let us give up on what we thirst for: Living Water. The well is deep and I’ll keep digging until my thirst is quenched.
God bless you and your entire family.
Fernanda, I don’t know whether you were or not sealed with the Holy Spirit. Truly, I have no authority to identify who was or wasn’t baptized with the Spirit of God. But, there is one thing that I am absolutely certain of: only the Spirit of God testifies, confirms and gives a clear sign that we were visited by Him. As it is written and determined:
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8.16
Please, Fernanda and any others who find themselves in similar situations, don’t be weak when it comes to the obvious signs of the Spirit of Jesus in you! Test the spirits! Certainly, your husband’s spirit is not good. If it were, he wouldn’t be a former assistant; if it were, he would not be trying to discourage you…
One of the lessons I learned early in life is to be strong by faith, like the Word of God to Joshua:
Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1.6-9
To be strong is to remain firm in the faith you possess. And never let yourself be influenced by what other people think is inside of you!
It was God who commanded Joshua to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS! It was solely up to him to be strong and not swayed by the opinion of others. It was also solely up to him to be brave to make decisions. This was fundamental to conquer Canaan!
Why did the Lord Jesus give us His Spirit? To sing praises?
To speak in tongues? To tell others that we have the Holy Spirit?
No! A thousand times, no!
It was to give us the power to be witnesses of His resurrection with strength and courage!
“…But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…” Acts 1.8
Comments
Caroline Antunes Surcin
Good afternoon, Bishop!
Oh, what a day! You can’t even imagine how much you helped me this morning. My head was filled with so many doubts, because I was listening to discouraging thoughts that kept me from seeking the Holy Spirit. I was being my biggest problem. These past couple of days, I’ve read so many testimonies here on your blog, yet I looked at my life and nothing happened. So I didn’t accept it anymore, and sought help. I spoke to a Pastor online and he opened my eyes by saying, “You have to be sure, because conviction comes from Faith. So believe that you will receive the Holy Spirit by faith and not by merit.”
Today when I heard you on the radio, I felt like it was God speaking with me, because all the questions I was asking myself, you answered them, especially when you explained how we should give ourselves 100% to God and then we would receive 100% of Him. Bishop, the heavens opened for me, I was certain that I was at the Lord Jesus’ feet. There was a joy, gratitude, certainty, a joy in my soul… and all I could do was glorify Him, but I was at a loss for words. I wanted to laugh and cry with joy, all at the same time!! When the prayer ended, I wanted to remain there for hours. I drank from the Water of Life and I’m completely certain that the Holy Spirit dwells in me. I do not live, but Christ lives in me!!!!!
I will certainly persevere, because I want more each day!
Thank you Lord Jesus, and thank you Bishop Macedo!
10/06/2015 Oh, what a day!
Luciana
Oh, what a day Bishop! My name is Luciana and I’ve been an assistant for 10 years. However, during the past 4 months, I had been facing the worst moments of my life. I was being spiritually bombarded, especially in my thoughts. I was almost going crazy. I’d cry almost every day, asking God to remove those feelings from me. The devil would show me my mistakes and weaknesses every day.
When the Fast of Daniel began, I saw it as an opportunity to change this situation, so I told God this would be a spiritual cleanse. I surrendered everything, but what God truly wanted was for me to surrender my will. So that’s what I did. On the first Saturday of the Fast, during the assistant’s meeting, I was prepared and God prepared the meeting for me as well. The pastor’s message was exactly what I needed, and he called forward anyone who wasn’t feeling spiritually well. My flesh hurt, the devil whispered for me not to go because everyone would stare at me, I trembled, but I sacrificed my will and walked straight to the Altar. I cried and I cried. I thought about how ungrateful I had been to my God, because he brought me out of the mud. I felt like the worst person on earth, but I washed away everything that was hurting me.
Then, I remembered something you said on the radio. You said that God is not moved by tears, He wants to see faith. That’s when I dried up my tears and said, “My God I’ve been crying every day, asking You to remove these things from me and nothing has happened, but I’m here before Your Altar, sacrificing my will. So, if what the Bishop said is really true, I want to see a difference right now. From today on, I want to see a complete difference”.
Bishop, that’s when my God poured out His infinite mercy over my life, even when I didn’t deserve it. It’s amazing, Bishop, because I stopped crying with sadness and started crying with joy. I was crying and smiling at the same time. Everything became different from that moment on. I love my God above all things. He is my Husband and I am His wife. He and I are One. I have worked the meetings as if I had just been raised as an assistant yesterday.
Bishop, may God bless you and your family. And may He use you more and more each day.
The Fast of Daniel is directed by God Himself.