AN EPHESIANS 3:19 MAN OR WOMAN
by
Rev. Peggy Tsangaris
As I was reading Pat Hilton's poem, EVERYTHING, it brought something back to mind that happened to me. In the year 2000, I had spoken to the Lord and told Him that I would never say NO to Him no matter what it was that He asked me to do. During that same time I had discovered Eph 3:19b. In the Amplified Bible, the text reads,"...that you may be filled [through all your being] unto the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of His divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself." So, for the last four years, I have been speaking that over myself often. This blessing is what I want from God, and what I am believing God will do in my life.
My pastor, Kevin Howell, is a very prosperous business man. God has blessed him far above anything he could have asked. There is one thing he tells all new employees. "You must make a decision right now to do all that you are told to do and do it without questioning. If you cannot agree with this, then this is not the workplace for you." The reason is that if people have to decide whether or not to do something every time they are asked, then sooner or later they will disobey. They must purpose in their heart to do what they are told to do. Well it is the same way between God and us. We must purpose in our hearts to obey no matter what the cost. God is not out there trying to hurt us. He loves us and has only good for us. He has said that what He has started, He will finish. You can let Him lead you beside still waters and into green pastures, or you can let Him pull you out of the Valley of the shadow of death with His shepherd's crook. It's your choice.
One day when I entered our church, the anointing was very strong. It felt like a warm cozy blanket in the room. Kevin, my pastor, ministers a lot in the prophetic and word of knowledge during praise and worship. I heard the Lord say, "The song is a seed." Now I do not interrupt services as I don't want to stop or change the flow of the anointing, but I heard it the second time. When I heard it the third time I raised my hand and told him what I had heard and he told me to get up and sing. ( It's not easy to walk in the anointing sometimes!) I stumbled to the front of the church and tried to sing Ray Boltz's song 'Never Lost', but before I sang, Pastor Kevin laid hands on me, which didn't help me at all. By the time I was finished singing, tears were streaming down my face. He came back up and prayed over me again, then sat down. When I tried to set the mike down, I discovered that I could not move. I was literally frozen in place. It felt like I stood there for an hour, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. Pastor Kevin realized what was happening to me and came up and carefully walked me back to my seat where I continued weeping throughout the entire service.
The next day in my time with the Lord, I asked Him what the things that happened the day before meant. The Lord responded by asking me a question. "Do you remember what you are believing me for?" "Yes Lord, to be an Eph 3:19 woman," I replied. "Well I am going to do it in you. I just gave you a taste of what it will be like. You will have no control." Has this changed me. Yes it has. I believed God was in control of my life before, but now I KNOW He is in control.
Does this affect you? Sure it does. God is no respecter of persons, and what He does for one, He will do for anyone who asks of Him, if we will mix our faith with the Word. (Hebrews 4:2) If we do not renew our minds, i.e., get revelation of the Word into our hearts, nothing will happen in us. God saved our spirit. He opened it up so that we can hear and receive the things of God. But we are a three part being, and He did not save our soul/mind or our body. That is our job. The Bible tells us to “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). In other words, bring our souls (mind, will, emotions) into line with God’s desire for us. When Jesus told Paul “My grace is sufficient for thee“ (II Corinthians 12:2), He told Paul he had the authority to deal with the thorn in his flesh using the power Jesus had given him already. “You get rid of it yourself, Paul.”
The progression of sin is: Think: Say: Do. Thinking something becomes a seed to saying it. When we say it, we have decreed it, and it is then established unto us (Job 22:28). We were created in God's image, i.e. God put His imaginatior in us. We can imagine things and then create them with the spoken words of our mouth. It's the way God created everything in Genesis 1. But He also breathed into us and we became a living soul (KJV). The Hebrew says we are a speaking spirit. In other words we have the capacity to create things with our words. God said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I put before you this day life and death so choose (speak) life.”
We are what we say we are. To the youth who say "I'm terrible at taking tests" then you are. Change your confession. To you parents who say your children are driving you nuts, they will. Change your confession. To you seniors who say that you are too old to do that, then you are. Since you can not change your age, change your confession to, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). This is why in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 we are told to take control of our thought life, pulling down those strongholds and bring all thoughts into the obedience of Christ.
Are you having problems with gaining control over your thought life? It is really very simple to do. Just say NO, and it will flee from you. It is that easy. The thoughts will come back again and again, but resist the devil each time and he will flee from you because he is the originator of those thoughts. I tell my thoughts now "I'm not going there" and they are gone. I used to be in torment with my thought life but no more. The devil tries every so often to get into my mind but I just say no, and it goes.
I pray that there is something here in this story that will help those of you who are struggling with things in your lives. Remember this. Jesus set His face to the cross and willed His body to go there, but fought a mind battle in the garden. When He overcame that, He was able to go forth. And because He did, so can we. Revelation 2:7,11,17,26-28 and 3:5,12 and 21 are the promises to the overcomer.
God bless all who read this. I love you all. Pastor Peggy
Everything
by
Patricia Hilton
As I awake to the beginning of a brand new day,
It seemed like waves of trials kept coming my way.
Problem after problem was all I could see,
I cried out, "Lord, what is it You want from me?"
The answer that came from the One Most High,
Was nothing but a very simple reply,
It was one unexpected, but yet rang so true,
It's something He desires from me and from you.
He said, "EVERYTHING."
I want you to know Me as your Savior and Guide,
The One who will always be right there at your side.
I want you to serve Me through the good times and bad,
To sing praises to My Name whether you're happy or sad.
I want your faith to grow stronger as each day goes by,
To trust Me when there's no answers to your questions of "Why?"
To learn of My love and to feel My embrace,
When you're called to endure the hardships you face.
I want no one or nothing to take My place in your heart,
In whatever you should do, I want to take part.
Stand on My promises, let nothing cause you doubt,
In the end you will see that all things will work out.
So you see, My dear child, I want to be your all in all,
To depend on My presence when you stand or when you fall,
When you question, just what is it that I want from thee?
My answer is EVERYTHING, as you are EVERYTHING to Me
