A PLEA FOR PRAYER

I want to start this message by pleading with you to get serious about the business of praying for others.  Each of us who have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ has someone to thank, don’t we?  It may have been praying grandparents or a mother or father.  Possibly it could have been a friend or distant relative, perhaps even an entire church all having lifted us up to God above for the salvation of our soul or even the healing of our body, mind and spirit.  Welcome everyone to your week long, online church service.  Everyone is welcome in this place. 

This past Thursday I received a call from a friend who had submitted a prayer request for a lady in Michigan.  The lady’s name is Nancy Stewart.  I hope that is a familiar name to you because she has been posted on the right side of every message we have presented for the last year.  Nancy has been battling cancer.  Over a year ago she was given approximately six months to live, but I believe because of prayer (the prayer of ours and others) she is still with us.   However, the doctors have now given her as little as three weeks to live. 

My friends, whether a person lives or dies is the soul decision between them and God.  I’m going to tell you something that most preachers who believe and pray for physical healings will not tell you.  I have prayed for people and I have seen instant healings take place.  I am talking about serious and small types of physical problems.  I have also prayed for and believed for physical healings where people recovered in time.  But now, here is the hard part.  I have also prayed for people and they have passed on.   So what should I do?  Stop praying for the sick because of those who did not recover?  The answer to that is No, my friends, a thousand times no.  The Bible teaches us to pray for each other.  Ephesians 6:18 states:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

I have been told that Nancy Stewart is a believer.  As believers we are all made saints of God.  So let’s apply this scripture to Nancy.  It may change your perspective on things.  The apostle Paul is telling us here to not give up, but to always, under all conditions keep the prayers coming no matter what it looks like, or what the doctors say.  He tells us to watch with all perseverance.  In other words be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit desires and do not stop praying.  The end result of our prayer is that God’s will in the situation be done.

Now I realize many preachers teach it is always God’s will to heal.  But, if that were so, no one would ever die, would they?  I believe God has provided us with the power to pray for healings and our prayers will be answered.  But, one thing God will not do is go against the will of the person who is being prayed for.  The truth is folks, there are times where people want to let go and go home to be with the Lord.  We must always be sensitive to that fact. 

My inclination at this time is to pray for a miracle healing for Nancy Stewart.  I ask you to join with me in that prayer.  God is a miracle working God.  But let us not stop there.  You will notice that many of our prayer requests involve cancer.   It is time to come against that spirit of cancer with determination and faith.  I say we join together and in the name of Jesus pray and bind up that deadly spirit.  Proclaim the name of Jesus against it.  Be persistent, church.  Let’s become a wall of protection, in Jesus name.  I believe I John 5:14 will help us to understand the power of prayer and how to apply it in our lives.  I John 5:14 says:

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.”

So with that in mind, clear your hearts and minds and pray, church, pray.  First for Nancy Stewart and her family.  Also, please pray for all the prayer requests that have been sent to the Spirit of Wisdom ministries.  After all, we are an online church family, and families look out for each other, don’t they?   This message has focused on cancer, hasn’t it?  Cancer is just one tool the devil uses to try and destroy us.  However, when God is in the picture that cannot happen.

I am going to read a poem to you titled  “What cancer cannot do.”  Listen and consider carefully to what this poem declares.  If you know anyone with cancer, this would be worth sharing with them.  “What cancer cannot do:  Cancer is so limited…it cannot cripple love.  It cannot shatter hope.  It cannot corrode faith.  It cannot destroy peace.  It cannot kill friendship.  It cannot suppress memories.  It cannot silence courage.  It cannot invade the soul.  It cannot steal eternal life and it cannot conquer the spirit.”

The author of this poem is unknown, so I do not know to whom to give credit.  That being the case, I will give credit and glory to God for putting it into my hands to share with you.  Please notice what Satan through cancer cannot touch or defeat – Love, hope, faith, peace, friendship, memories, courage, the soul, eternal life or the spirit of life that lives in you.  Please note that above are attributes of God and his son Jesus. 

Can you now see, church, why we must always persevere and pray for each other?  God loves you very much.  His will is for you to be healed in every area of your life.  You pray and God will do the rest.





God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

BEHOLD GOD IS MY SALVATION

As I was reading from the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, my thoughts turned to you.  Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.   Everyone is welcome in this place.  I was reading Chapter 12 – a chapter that is calculated to have been written seven-hundred and thirteen years before the birth of Jesus Christ.  It talks about the singing of praises and worship to our Heavenly Father, the God above all gods.  Let me start with Isaiah 12:2.  I believe this Chapter 12 and the verses we are going to explore relates to you and me today just as it did to the people over seven- hundred years ago.  Isaiah 12:2 states:

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid:  For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song;  he also is become my salvation.”

You know, church, Moses sang this song as recorded in Exodus 15:2.  He sang this praise on the shores of the Red Sea after Israel’s great deliverance from Pharaoh and the Egyptian Empire.  But, just as Moses could mouth these praises and just as Isaiah did, we can also.  Why do I say that?  Because the very same God Jehovah that set the Israelites free has set us free from the bondage of sin.  He did that by sending his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, seven-hundred years after Isaiah spoke those words to pay the price for our sin.  A price that we could never in our own selves pay.  Yet, through the acceptance of Jesus Christ in our hearts, we can plainly and loudly proclaim, as did Moses and Isaiah -  Behold God is my salvation.   This promise of salvation is not only available to us but to our children and grandchildren as well.  What a great God we serve.  Isaiah 12:3 goes on to say:

“Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

That is my desire for you, my friends.  When Isaiah speaks of the wells of salvation here, he is speaking of a constant, flowing, never ending source.  An unending source of unfailing assurance that you are saved and will have eternal life with God and his son Jesus.  An unending source of consolation, hope and victory – all in this life and the hereafter.  Can you now see why I was thinking of you?

The salvation message we have been preaching to you since the beginning of the year was no mistake.  God loves you and the same desire he has for you, we do also.  If you are a nonbeliever and think this message is for believers only, you would be mistaken.  My friends, God created you and he wants the best for you.  I am talking to everyone reading or listening to this message – God Loves You!!  Once you have received Jesus into your heart there is much to proclaim about the goodness of God, isn’t there?  So let’s continue on to verse 4.  Isaiah 12:4 states:

“And in that day shall you say, praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.”

This scripture starts out “In that day,”  Well, what day is he referring to?  God has shown me that day for us is the day we got saved.  No wonder from that day forward we can and should say Praise the Lord.  Listen church, God did not save you from sin and give you eternal life just to shut you up.  No – he is telling us here to tell others to call upon the Lord.  It is very important to tell others what God has done for you.  So many people are just waiting to hear your testimony.  The reason is because it will spark something in them.  That if God has done such great things in your life, maybe, just maybe, he will do the same for them.

In other words, we will be planting seeds of hope into them.  Am I making any sense at all to you, church?  Let people know that the name of Jesus is the name above all names.  Jesus is the name above all sickness and disease.  His name is above poverty and above every other evil thing that Satan and this world can throw at you.  This is a clarion call to believers to stir yourselves up and begin to share the love of Jesus with others.

The time to sit quietly in your closet and keep the goodness of God to yourselves, never was.  So, what do you say, church?  Are you hearing me?  Time is shorter than you think.   We are not promised a long length of time on this earth, are we?  Just this past week the noted songstress, Whitney Houston, passed on at only forty-eight-years of age.  Please pray for her family, church.  Yet, know this.  She is an example of how death can come upon you in an instant.  Proclaim the Word of God loudly, church.  It is the only message on earth that must be heard by all.  Isaiah 12:5-6 sums up what I have been saying to you pretty clearly.  So let’s read them together.

“Sing unto the Lord, for he has done excellent things:  This is known in all the earth.  Cry out and shout, you inhabitants of Zion:  For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you.”

My friends, there will be a day when Jesus returns to this earth to rule and reign.  Israel will have fully repented of their rejection of their one true Messiah, and they will be forgiven and take their rightful place in the Kingdom of God.  The thing I take away from this scripture is this:  God is always in our midst.  He is always available to us.  The above scripture says “The Lord is known in all the earth.”  Well, guess what folks?  That means he is known in Palestine as well as Israel.  He is known in Europe and Asia as well as the United States of America.  All he wants is for us as true believers to declare his doings and do not discriminate.  Tell everyone of the Lord and Savior of your life – Jesus Christ the true Messiah and God of us all.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob

SEEK THE LORD

For the past two and a half years the Spirit of Wisdom Ministries mission has been to bring each of you closer to God and his son, Jesus Christ.  My daily prayer is that everyone who reads or listens to our weekly messages would be drawn to the Son of God In a saving way.   Along with salvation, would come healing of your body and mind and deliverance from evil spirits sent to destroy you and yours.  Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.  No one is excluded from this place.

One thing I can tell you for sure, ladies and gentlemen, God is not now nor will he ever force himself upon you.  The choice to know God in a personal way is by your own free will.  God wants and desires you to have eternal life with him.  However, he leaves it strictly up to you.  Even believers once saved have a choice in how close they want to become with God.  That being said, we can conclude this message is for believers and nonbelievers alike.  Let’s take a look at choice and what God desires for us.  In the Book of Deuteronomy God lays it all out for us.  Please turn with me to Deuteronomy 30:19.  This is what God is saying to us all.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:  Therefore, choose life that thou and thy seed may live.”

Well, there you go, folks.  Notice God did not say “I force you to choose life.”  The very suggestion is if you choose life and blessing it would be very good, not only for you but for your children and grandchildren as well.  God is saying here that he in all his goodness, mercy and love sets before you options.   The important thing is he leaves it up to you to freely make your choice. 

The first option or choice is this:   You may choose eternal life with him by receiving his son, Jesus Christ into your heart, or you may choose eternal death and separation from God by rejecting his son and the gift of salvation he acquired for you by his death, burial and resurrection.  Yes, church, Jesus did all of that just for you and for me.  This scripture goes on to tell us our choice of life brings blessings.  But, our choice of death brings  cursing.  Now, how much does God love us?  He loves us so much he gives us the correct answers to these options.  He says clearly here – choose life so that you and your children will have eternal life with him.

The point I am making here is this:  All through the Word of God, which is the Bible, there are instructions for our benefit, but we will only benefit from these instructions if we choose to follow them.  I have titled this message “Seek The Lord” for a reason, church.  Our often stated desire is for you to draw closer to God this day.

I have often told you that God is a present time God, yet so many church goers do not seem to know or understand this fact (an understandable position for nonbelievers to have.)  But certainly not from believers who have been redeemed from sin.  I have to admit part of the blame goes to churches who preach and teach that God and Jesus are just historical figures that we could imitate.  I am here to tell you this, church, that teaching is false doctrine.  My advice to you as a man of God is this:  Seek God in every area of your life and you will find he is just as available to you today as he was with the saints in the Old Testament.   Let’s turn to the Word of God for confirmation of this statement. Deuteronomy 4:29 states:

“But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

The very clear message here is this:  If you sincerely seek God he will show himself to you.  That does not sound like history to me, my friends.  No, it sounds more like God saying “Seek me and you will find me.”  When?  When you seek him, even if that is today.  Your Heavenly Father is clearly available to you this very day.  I would suggest you go on and read Verse 30 also.  God tells us there, no matter what you are going through, no matter what the situation, if you seek him he is here to help you.  Go ahead, read if for yourself. 

You know, church, one of the greatest things that God has shown me is that he is available to me at all times.  He has saved me from my sins, and even today he is available to save me out of every situation or obstacle I find myself bogged down in.  But, one thing I have found out – very rarely does God intrude himself into my life.  However, I can’t even count the number of times I have called on him and know that he has heard me and answered my prayers.  Psalms 55:16-17 sums up the way I feel about it.  It states:

“As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.  Evening and morning, and at noon will I pray and cry aloud: And he shall hear my voice.”

I told you last week God loves the sound of your voice.  Even when I pray and cry aloud to God on your behalf he hears me.  I do that, you know.   I pray for your salvation.  I pray for God to heal your bodies, and I pray that you be delivered of every attack against you.  In other words, church, I follow the same advice I am giving you:  I seek the Lord.  That is the way you will find out for yourself that God is a present time God.

Listen to me, church, I know there are times when we look at our lives in the natural and just cannot believe God is there to help us.  But, that is a lie straight from the lips of Satan to your natural ear.  That is when we can choose to believe and exercise our faith in God’s goodness to us.  We have talked about making choices in this very message, haven’t we?  Let’s make the right choice.   Let’s show God we have faith in him and desire to please him.  Hebrews 11:6 gives us some interesting information in this regard.  So let’s read it together

“But without faith, it is impossible to please him:  For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

So the question is this:  Do you want to know for sure that God is a present time God or not?  If you choose to find out, have faith.  Believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.  He will reward you by clearly revealing himself to you.  Now what better reward is there than that?  So once again my advice to you is this:  Seek the Lord, my friends and then claim your reward.


God Bless You,
Bro. Bob

THE QUESTION IS, ONCE A BELIEVER, WHAT THEN?

I believe it’s time to present a message designed just for believers.  We have talked a lot recently about salvation.  The question is, once a believer, what then?  So many different people and preachers who mean well, give you direction and advice, don’t they?  The problem is, oftentimes their counsel is exactly opposite from each other.  I know this has happened to many of you.  This week we will address life after your salvation decision.  Welcome everyone to your 24/7, week long, online church service.   Everyone is welcome in this place.  My friends, I am not going to give you a seven step message on living life as a believer.   In fact, no preacher has the right to dictate your steps or life as a believer.  My mission is to help you become the best, most joyful, effective witness for Jesus you can be.

The first thing I will say to you is this:  God loves you and he desires that you return his love back to him with your own love and will.  Psalms 31:23-24 explains why I say this to you.  Let’s read it together.

“O love the Lord, all ye his saints:   For the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.   Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”

There is much to talk about in just these two verses of scripture, aren’t there?  The Word of God here is giving you Godly instruction.   First it says to you the saved, born again believer – Love the Lord.  There are many rules and regulations laid down by many churches that really are just man made laws.  But in this scripture the instruction is pure.  Love the Lord with all your heart and soul.  Why?  So that no matter what obstacle or problem you face in the present or future – God says he will preserve you.  Yes folks, God is always with you and will bring you through to victory in him.

The scripture went on the say – Be of good courage.  In other words, stay strong in faith.  Face life fully knowing that God is with you.  This scripture tells us if you do that, He will strengthen your heart.  Now, let me ask you, friends, does your heart need strengthening?  I know there are times when mine does.  We live in a time of trouble and with affliction all around us.  Heartaches, relationship problems, sickness and even the death of our loved ones.  The weak of heart can be taken advantage of, can’t they?  Love the Lord, be strengthened and continue your blessed day by day journey with the Lord.  If you start out and continue this way Psalms 27:7 will apply to you.  It says:

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped:  Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

Now you know why we say to you – Love the Lord.  My believing brothers and sisters, never stop loving God.  Certainly and for sure he never stops loving you.  The next thing I would say to you is this:  Be and remain confident in the love and faithfulness of God and his son, your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   Sometimes with all the whirlwinds of life attempting to toss us to and fro, we must keep our confidence in our heavenly Father.  The apostle Paul told the believers at the church of Phillipi this very thing.  But let me stress to you what is truth for the believers in Phllipi is the very same truth for us today.  Please turn with me to Phillipians 1:6, which states:

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Now listen to me, believer.  Is there even one of you who received Jesus Christ in your heart that doesn’t believe a good work was started in you?  That would be a good check for you, my friend.  You may have uttered the sinners prayer or went to the altar due to pressure from well meaning friends or relatives.  But the truth is, that is not receiving salvation, that is just uttering words to no effect. 

A person who comes to God in true brokenness and asks Jesus into his heart will definitely know a good work has been started in themselves.  Do you understand what I am saying to you church?  Man’s rules and regulations mean nothing unless based only on the Word of God, adding or subtracting nothing.  Let me put it to you this way:  Trust God to lead and direct you.  If someone tells you something is the gospel and you have doubt in your spirit, feel free to go to God with your doubt.  You know what?   God loves to hear your voice.  Also, check the scripture for yourself.

I have often told you to even check out my words.  My friends, God desires you to walk with him in peace and comfort.  My desire is for you to walk in faith and love.  I do not want you to be torn regarding different opinions or doctrines.  The divide between denominations is not of God.  No my friends, God desires we follow him as he leads us by his Spirit and by the Word of God.

I suggest you find a good local Bible believing church.  Truth be known, you may or may not attend that church for a long period of time.  The Lord will direct your steps in that regard.  That is the reason that I say, stay in tune with God.  Take any doubts or questions to your pastor.  He may be correct in what he is teaching you.  If not, I guarantee you will get a check in your spirit.  Truth be known, I would like more of you to comment or email me with your doubts and questions.  Believe me folks, I can answer your questions regarding any message I put forth.   The reason is because I back everything with scripture.

Let me sum this message up this way:  Relax believer, relax.  Just walk in God’s mercy and grace.  You may fall, but keep your trust in God and you will be back up.  There is so much more we could  get into, but let me conclude this way:   Please turn with me to the Book of Jude and follow these instructions.  Jude 20:21 states.

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

I pray this message helps somebody.  The above scripture tells us to build ourselves up by our holy faith in our creator.  It also says to keep yourselves in the love of God.  That will guarantee you mercy and grace.

God Bless You,

Bro. Bob