Believe and Apply God's Word by Daniel Kolenda

Believe and Apply God's Word

John 21:25, Luke 13:10-13, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, John 10:10


 Someone once said, “Christianity should not be an explanation void of an experience but rather an experience that demands an explanation!” Paul was speaking of this same truth when he said, “And my speech and my preaching were not with the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in THE POWER OF GOD” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an artillery canon with two large barrels. From one barrel proceeds the dunamis power of the written Word of God. From the second barrel proceeds the dunamis power of the tangible presence of the Spirit of God! We MUST have both.

Whenever Jesus ministered in the earth, He fired both barrels simultaneously. One account that illustrates this truth is found in Luke 13:10-13. Jesus had met a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath whose body had been twisted and bent over for 18 years because of a spirit of infirmity. The power of Jesus’ word instantly pierced the demonic bondage that had plagued this woman setting her free from the power of darkness. But then something else happened. Verse 13 says that Jesus then laid His hands on her, and immediately “SHE WAS MADE STRAIGHT AND GLORIFIED GOD.” (Verse 13) She received both the WORD and the TOUCH of God.

When Jesus laid His hands upon this woman, the power of the Holy Spirit surged into every fiber of her twisted bent over body, and she was made STRAIGHT. Her bones, muscles, tendons, and vertebrae began to vibrate and move back into the right alignment just as God had originally intended for them to be. No longer was she bowed over in pain and not able to live her life. She had been set free by the Word of Jesus and made STRAIGHT by the power of the Holy Spirit!

I believe this story gives us a picture of many people today. Their disability may not be manifested physically as was the case with this woman. But their lives have been twisted and bowed down because of Satan’s strategies. It might be the aftermath of the crippling power of drugs or alcohol. It might be debilitating depression and discouragement. It may be rejection or loneliness. It might be fear or torment in their thoughts. It could be the painful results of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. It may even be the twisting power of the curses of the occult. Whatever its source, their only hope is freedom from the enemy’s grasp by the living Word of Jesus. But once that spiritual bondage of sin and darkness has been broken, many people are still in need of healing from the damage to their lives the devil has wrought that has resulted in their brokenness. The hand of the devil upon their life resulted in their lives being distorted and has left them handicapped. People must experience the hand of Jesus from which flows the power of God releasing blessing which will ultimately produce a changed life!

I have come to believe that even though Satan hates it when a person hears the Word of God, believes it, and receives salvation, that is not his biggest concern. He is not concerned if a person is born again and goes to Heaven when they die as long as he can keep them twisted, powerless, and bowed down while they live their lives in this world! As long as people are broken, they are powerless and therefore not a threat to his kingdom while they live upon the earth. His worst nightmare is when his spiritual power over a person is broken and that person is able to stand up STRAIGHT by the power of the Holy Spirit and be strong and live in the fullness of the victory that Jesus purchased on the cross!

We MUST preach the glorious Gospel of the Word of God that destroys Satan’s bondage. AND we MUST also proclaim a Gospel that includes the supernatural power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit that is capable of making people STRAIGHT, whole, changed, and blessed. This is the only Gospel that brings great glory and honor to God! Jesus never came to just destroy the past power of the devil in people and then just help them learn to cope with the lingering effects that Satan had left behind in a twisted, bowed down, and defeated manner. He said, “I am come that you might have life and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus wants for those that He sets free to arise, stand up tall and STRAIGHT, and bring great glory to God!
Coming October 29 - Part 3: “Our Daily Regime: Seek His Face and Purpose”



PRAISE GOD
BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD