Recorded September 15, 2024, with Rhonda Harrison.

It's time for the Champions in Christ broadcast

with Rhonda Harrison on 1017 Bay FM. Good morning

and welcome to Champions in Christ. We're so

glad that you're listening with us today is the

day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice

and be glad in it. This morning we're going to

talk about the power of God and the power of

God works through men and women today by the

power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it works

through faith. Faith without works is dead, so

you gotta have some action. So there's some things

we're gonna filter through today. But again,

God loves you today, and the reason he wants

us learning his word is to know how to cooperate

with him. Before creation, it says that the Holy

Spirit just stayed and dwelt over the waters

and waited. for God to speak. And when God spoke,

light was. When God spoke, firmament was formed.

When God spoke, the oceans became. When God spoke,

you know the Holy Spirit and the Father worked

together. And Jesus as well, he was there. They

all three were there. And then when Jesus came

on the earth, the Holy Spirit came upon him.

Like we see in his baptism, came upon him as

in the form of a dove and worked with him on

the earth. And then before Jesus left and ascended,

he talked about how he was going to send us the

Comforter, the Paraclete, as the original says,

one called alongside to help. And that's the

Holy Spirit. Now, this time the Holy Spirit came

to indwell us. Because when when we receive Christ

we become a new creation all things are passed

away So the Holy Spirit comes in and creates

you brand new on the inside. We still have the

physical body. We still have our mind. That's

why We have to follow God's Word to be able to

get the most out of this life from him for him

Because it's all ultimately to him Because Hebrews

11 .1 says, now faith is a substance or the assurance

of things hoped for, the evidence of things not

seen. Romans 10 .17 says, we acquire faith. Faith

comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. Now

we can hear the Word many ways, through the Word

of God, reading it on your own, through great

preaching and teaching, and also through the

Holy Spirit speaking to you himself and when

the Holy Spirit speaks to you, it's going to

line up with the word of God always. Always.

God always agrees with his word and the word

of God is Jesus Christ. It's another word for

him. You know, John 1 1 through 3 tells us that

in the beginning was the word. The word was God

and the word was with God. So we know that Jesus

is the word of God. So Hebrews 412, for the word

of God is living, powerful, sharper than any

two -edged sword, piercing to the dividing between

the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow,

and is unable to discern the thoughts and the

intents of the heart. That's why when you start

reading the word, The Lord through the Holy Spirit

may convict your heart of something you're doing

wrong. You may read it and go, wow, he's talking

about me. And that's a good place. You know,

the wonderful thing about God is everything he

does for us is for our benefit. The word of God

is for our benefit. Every time we apply the word

to our life, it's for our benefit. You know,

faith without works is dead. Yes. And did you

know it's impossible to please God without it?

without faith because it's in Hebrews 11 six

and we'll turn there and it says but without

faith it's impossible to please him for he that

comes to god must believe that he is and that

he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek

him praise god now once you've sought him and

you've read the word and you've grabbed a hold

of a promise you have to loose your faith faith

and there's the ways we do that. First of all,

Hebrews 12 to says, don't be conformed to this

world, but be transformed by the renewing of

our mind through the word of God that we may

demonstrate what is good, acceptable and the

perfect will of God. Philippians four, eight,

and nine says, finally, my brother, whatsoever

things are true, honest, pure, lovely, and of

a good report, if there be any virtue, if there

be any praise, think on these things. We have

to have the mind of God and we get that by getting

the word of God in us. And the more we renew

our mind, the more we wash our mind with the

washing of the water of the word of God, the

more our faith is increased, the more we'll step

out in those places. And knowing all of it, it

works by love. God's faith works by love. Why?

God loves you and I so very much. He did all

of this so that you and I could be a champion

in Christ here on the earth. And so Philippians

4 8 says, I'm sorry Romans 8 5 says for they

that are after the flesh mind the things of the

flesh but they that are after the spirit mind

the things of the spirit for to be carnally minded

is death but to be spiritually minded is life

and peace so the more we fill up our spirit to

overflow The more we will be walking in the spirit

and the Bible says that if we walk after the

spirit will not fulfill the lust of the flesh

so our Man when when we came to live in Jesus

Christ when he came to live in us the indwelling,

the Holy Spirit of God came. The Holy Spirit

brings everything to life. The Holy Spirit is

the power of healing, the power of strength,

the power of victory, the power to provide whatever

you need. God has given us everything to be victorious

in this life. If we just grab a hold of it and

realize that it's because of His love, it's because

of His grace, it's because of His mercy that

He has for us. And so we have to believe that

he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek

him. So as you seek him, know that he's got a

reward for you. Know that it's there and prepared

waiting for us to connect by faith through love.

You know, Hebrews 4, 2, and 3 says, for unto

us was the gospel preached as well as unto them.

But the word preach did not profit them not being

mixed with faith in them that heard it. So even

though you might hear the Word of God, if your

mind's somewhere else and you're not focused

and you're just doing it as a ritual, it's not

going to benefit you. As we just read right here,

if we don't mix that word with faith, if we don't

mix that word, if we don't go into God's Word

or into church or into a place where we hear

the Word of God with a heart to receive, with

a heart excited to spend time with Him, That's

what he wants the most is your time. He wants

to spend time with you the same way you want

to spend time with your family because we are

in God's family. God is our Heavenly Father and

he wants to spend time with us. The Holy Spirit

is waiting. He's so gentle and so kind yet so

powerful as in the book of Acts and chapter 1

when he came in like a rushing mighty wind and

in chapter 2 verse 1 He came like a mighty wind,

but he also comes like a gentle whisper You know

God will speak to you in the quiet as well. You

know, there's a scripture that says be still

and know that I am God You know the other thing

that has to line up and as we fill up our heart

with the word What's going to come out of our

mouth is what's in our heart because the word

of God says out of the abundance of the heart

man speaks So mark 11 22 and 23 says and the

just answering said unto him have faith in God

For verily I say unto you that whosoever shall

say to this mountain be thou removed and cast

in the sea and will not doubt in his heart but

will believe those things which he says shall

come to pass he shall have whatsoever he says

so when our heart gets full of the word and our

mouth begins to speak in faith the faith of god

will fill up will speak forth and you can speak

to that mountain that issue in your life and

command it in the sea that's what the word says

i'm reading his word clearly to you And then

he says, if you believe what you're saying and

you don't doubt, it'll happen. That's pretty

exciting. That's the provision of our God. He

gives us access. So Matthew 18, 18 says, truly

I say to you whatsoever you bind on earth bound

in heaven, whatsoever you loose on earth can

be loosed in heaven. And where two or three are

gathered in my name, together there I am in the

midst of them. Praise God. Praise God, where

two or three are gathered in His name, He's right

there, ready to answer prayer, ready to pour

His love, His mercy, His grace over you, ready

to give you all that you need for the strength

of that day. He is such a glorious God, but guess

what? The Holy Spirit is wonderfully welcomed

by your heart when you start magnifying Jesus.

You know, the Lord can't help, the presence of

God can't help but come when we lift the name

of Jesus. Why? Because the love begins to flow

for us who love Him. We worship and we praise

out of a heart of love to the Lord, not out of

duty, not out of ritual, not out of habit, but

out of relationship. God wants relationship with

you. It's not about religion. It's about relationship.

Proverbs 18 21 says, Life and death are in the

power of the tongue and they that love it will

eat the fruit thereof. So as you speak forth

the word of God in faith You will reap you will

eat the fruit of that prayer or that word you

spoke If it's done through love in faith and

you act on it The Proverbs 420 and 23 says, attend

to my words, incline your ear to my sayings.

So that's listening and reading and taking it

in. Let it not depart from you. Your eyes keep

it in the midst of your heart for they are life

to those who find them and health to all their

flesh. Yes, you can be healed through the word

of God, trusting that his word is true and that

by those stripes you were healed. Keep your heart

with all diligence for out of it are the issues

of life. What does keep your heart mean? It means

keep it clean. You know, don't allow other things

in the eye gate and in the ear gate that will

make the waters murky. You know, when you have

a clean pure heart before God, that's a heart

he can work in. That's a heart that can birth

forth the faith. and the action needed. You know,

there are things God tells us to do. He says

to be strong and courageous and observe all that

he's told us to do. Don't look left, don't look

right. He tells us in James, submit ourselves

to God, resist the devil and he must flee. If

he's harassing you today through fear, doubt,

unbelief, or anything else, you submit yourself

to God, God, I submit to you. Resist the devil,

say Satan, I resist you in Jesus' name. and he

has to flee. That's a promise, James 4 -7, hallelujah.

You know there are other ways Deuteronomy 12

28 says observe and hear all the words which

I command you that it may be well with you and

your children after you forever when you do that

which is good and right in the sight of God.

Hallelujah. James 2 17 even so if it has if it

has not works as dead being alone many say you

have faith and I have works but show me your

faith without works. will show you my faith by

my works because faith without works is dead.

I want to read you one quick story and it's in

Acts chapter 28. and it starts it's about paul

Acts 28 · chapter mention

paul was a religious man in the beginning and

all he knew was the word and he was structured

and he he really took the old testament to heart

that's what they had back then and he was just

killing Christians and he thought that it was

heresy until he met up with the Lord himself

on the road to Damascus, and we won't get into

that today. I'm running out of time a little

bit early today, but I wanted to just let you

know because of that meeting with Christ and

he began to realize that God loved him, the power

of God was through love, he began to humble himself,

seek the word, and as he did, God moved in him

mightily. He wrote two -thirds of the New Testament.

He was mightily used of God and it would enrich

anyone to seek out and watch Paul's life and

read about it. But the story goes on in this

particular one. He's in a place. And when Paul,

let's see, 28 starting in verse 3, and when Paul

had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them

on the fire, there came a viper or snake out

of the heat and bit his hand. And when the barbarians

saw this venomous snake hanging on his hand,

they said among themselves, oh, no doubt this

man's a murderer and has escaped the sea. Vengeance

will suffer him not to live. In other words,

they thought he would die because the snake was

venomous. And he shook the beast off. of the

viper out of the fire and fell no harm. He was

no harm, no harm, but because of that what ends

up happening. is that they looked on him, it

was swollen, the snake had fallen dead, and to

them, they thought he was a god. These barbarians

thought, oh my gosh, this guy is a god because

that snake didn't kill him. But what it was was

the Holy Spirit lived in it and Paul understood

the power of God that worked in him and knew

that snake could not touch him because God said

in his word, he's given us power over all the

works of the devil. We're going to break away

to a couple songs. We're going to come back in

just a moment. And will you set me a table in

the presence of my enemies? I shall not walk.

I shall not walk. Oh, my soul's got a shepherd

in the valley, and I shall not walk. I shall

not walk. I shall not walk. Because my car's

running over running. And I shall not walk And

I will lift my eyes To where my help comes from

When this life is over I'm gonna live again I'm

gonna trade this cross for a crown No this is

not I shall not walk when He's on my side I shall

not walk I'll be home in His presence forever

I shall not walk for the Lord is my shepherd

in the valley for the Lord For the Lord is my

shepherd It's nothing short of a miracle I'm

here I've got some blessings that I don't deserve

I've got some scars but that's how you learn

It's nothing short of a Get over it doesn't I

know it comes from above I've got me The time

on my table. Because I'm miracle Count your nearly

one, one, two, three, four You know we shall

not want miracles and miracles every day God's

moving on the earth just like with what happened

with Paul people are standing up they're learning

the word they're knowing Jesus they're building

that relationship and just like in those songs

you'll see miracles and miracles every day so

if you've never received Jesus or if you haven't

been with him lately pray this prayer with me

Father God Forgive me of my sins cleanse me wash

me. I acknowledge you as Lord and Savior I thank

you for receiving me as your child and I receive

you as my Savior in Jesus name Amen, if you prayed

that prayer today and You got right with the

Lord or your brand -new in Christ and you want

a Bible? We'd love to send you one you can contact

us at champions in Christ 3 at gmail .com champions

in Christ 3 at gmail .com Go out and make it

a great day. Always know that God loves you,

we love you, and you are a champion in Christ.