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John 1:1-14
God Has a Word for You
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John 1:1-14
God Has a Word for You
By Pastor Vince Gerhardy
How do you feel when someone says to you, “I’d like a word with you?” I suppose a lot depends on the tone of voice that the person uses but still it makes you wonder why that person wants to talk to you. You make a time to meet for the following day and for 24 hours you sweat it out, thinking what on earth he will have to say.
Does he have good news or bad?
Will he find fault with something you’ve done?
Will he ask you for a favour that is going to cost you money and effort?
Maybe he wants to give you something – a gift, an invitation to dinner.
If this is happening at work may be he wants to talk about a promotion or tell you that you had better find alternative employment.
You have to wait until the appointed time to find out.
Today, on the day when we are all excited about Christmas presents, visiting relatives and friends, the Christmas dinner and everything else that goes with making Christmas Day an enjoyable and festive occasion, God says to us: I want to have a Word with you.
What on earth does God want to speak to us about? The Word that God wants to have with us is quite different to what the boss might mean he says, “I want to have a word with you”.
The Word that God has for you is not the kind of word that you find in the dictionary;
not the word that can be translated from one language to another; it is a unique Word, and God is offering it to you now.
I refer to Jesus Christ, Son of God from eternity. The Gospel writer calls Jesus “The Word”. Listen to John’s Gospel, “The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). This summarizes what Christmas is all about. It tells us that the Word, Jesus, has chosen to become human.
Let’s grasp the immensity of that for a moment. This may sound ridiculous but it gives us an idea of what it means when we say God became human and made his dwelling among us. Imagine the most powerful and prestigious person in the world, let’s say the president of the United States, of his own free-will becomes a mouse – small, furry, insignificant, and extremely helpless and vulnerable. He chooses to become a mouse because he wants to live among all other mice. He leaves the White House, and the prestige and honour that go with his office. He becomes a mouse in order to help all other mice.
You see, there are mousetraps in kitchens all around the world. The people who own these kitchens are determined to kill every last mouse. And one after another the mice are killed. The President shouts at the mice until he is hoarse to warn them of the danger and shoos them away but the smelly cheese on the deadly mousetraps is just too inviting. And so the most powerful man in the world happily becomes a mouse because he loves all mice and wants to do something to save them.
In a similar way and in a more radical way the all-powerful and eternal God has chosen to plunge himself into the arena of human life as you and I live it, and take on the flesh and bones of our humanity.
Or to put it another way. The Creator of the universe with its countless stars and planets is born in a stable in Bethlehem. As John himself said: From the very beginning the Word (that is, Son of God) was with God. Through him God made all things; … The Word (the Son of God) became a human being and … lived among us.
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This is the special time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem. We enjoy the story about Mary and Joseph, their trip to Bethlehem, the birth in a stable, the visit of the shepherds and wisemen; we enjoy seeing the children present the nativity play and delight in their very simple understanding of the events of Christmas. However, too often we don’t go any further than the simple story. We miss out on the real significance of these events. Christmas is the celebration of God becoming one of us, a fact that we can never fully grasp, and living on this earth with all the pain, the suffering, the human tragedies, the sin and dying. Jesus came into the thick of everything.
The point of this verse, The Word became a human being is that in the midst of our agonies in this life we are not alone.
• In Jesus, God is with us when we are depressed and hurting and sick.
• In Jesus, God is with us when we are hit with bad news.
• In Jesus, God is with us when we feel guilty and ashamed.
• In Jesus, God is with us when we are worried about someone we love.
• In Jesus, God is with us when we are caught up in a chain of events that we are powerless to prevent.
The good news of Christmas is that God hasn’t kept to himself separate from all of troubles and pain but he has come right here into the middle of all of it. He truly is Immanuel – God is with us.
The story about John Rosen is a good illustration of what it means for God “to live among us”. John Rosen was a doctor in a psychiatric hospital. Unlike all the other doctors who were aloof and separate from their patients, he moved into the ward with them. He placed his bed among their beds. He lived the life they must live. Day to day he shared it. He loved them. If they didn’t talk, he didn’t talk either. It’s as if he understood what was happening. He was just there, and that communicated something to the patients that they hadn’t heard in years – somebody understood them. But then he did something else. He put his arms around them and hugged them. This doctor with a string of letters after his name, this highly skilled, highly paid physician, who was like God to the patient, who had control over the lives of his patients, held those unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and loved them back into life. Often, when patients who had been unable to speak said their first words, they were “thank you”.
In plain and simple language, isn’t that what God did through Jesus at Christmas? Jesus has come and lived in our world; he has become part of our life of confused priorities, of aching bodies, torn and bleeding spirits, of heartbreak and loneliness. Christmas tells us God is not aloof and separate from our world. He is in the world with us. He has come to hug us and hold us tight even though sin makes us unattractive and unlovable.
The cross overshadows the whole Christmas event. Jesus was born to show us the heart of God. It is a heart that throbs with love for every one of us. Jesus doesn’t come with vague, abstract descriptions of love. Jesus is love.
Some years ago at a wedding I was introduced to a young man who had been to Thailand and was “ordained” as a Buddhist monk. He told me how he meditated day after day in order to discover inner peace.
• I felt sorry for him. Jesus is love and peace.
• He is truly God.
• He gives himself to us and for us freely – “full of grace and truth” (1:14).
• He is the only way to God the Father and eternal life.
• Jesus is the only source of “inner peace”.
• In this baby of Bethlehem, born to Mary and Joseph, we shall see as much of God as we shall ever hope to see in our earthly life. This baby is God in the flesh.
God does have a special Word for you. This Word is Jesus who came to give his life for us in the shame of the cross, his suffering and dying for the sins of all people. It was for this reason that we have Christmas and continue to celebrate it to this day. The angel made it quite clear to Joseph, “…You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
What difference will this Christmas celebration make in your life? Is it just another Christmas here today and gone tomorrow, that is, gone except for the pain of the credit card? I can’t do much about your credit card but I can tell you this – Jesus can make a huge difference to your life.
• Christmas invites you to trust Jesus.
• Christmas challenges you to take Jesus seriously not just today but every day.
• Christmas reminds you that you have a heavenly Father who loves you so much that he will “become a mouse” – become one of us – so that he can help you in whatever way you need help all the year through.
• Christmas reminds you that just as the baby Jesus was given life in that grubby stable, Jesus wants to make your life new, and refresh your daily existence in the dirtiness of life in this world.
God has a word for you today. God has become a human being because of you and just for you.
Scripture quotations from the World English Bible.
Copyright 2004, Vince Gerhardy. Used by permission.
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From the desk of Steve Shultz:
«Wow and wow!» is what I can say to this article full of God’s miraclulous testimonies…
If you or your loved ones need a healing…you will be highly encouraged in this word by Kyle T. Miller, which he shares from his own family’s journey.
The Lord also showed Kyle that we are in a Psalm 91 season as he shares:
God is saying this is going to be a Psalm 91 season for the Body of Christ… Through us abiding in Him, God will lead us away from satan’s diabolical plans for our lives. We will literally be able to sidestep evil by remaining in His presence. God is saying to us that when we abide in Him, He will build a wall of protection around us. No matter what evil is going on in our nation, or even within our territory of influence, it will not be able to touch us because God will be our refuge!
Yes, God is our refuge always…Let’s believe and receive Psalm 91 over our life today! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
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«God Has a Word for You: Abide in Me, This is a Psalm 91 Season»
Kyle T. Miller, Little Rock, AR
Recently, while at work, my mom called me to tell me that her surgeon wanted to meet with her. My heart dropped. I could hear fear in my mother’s voice. The enemy then attacked me with fear as well. What did the doctor want to discuss with my mom now? I had been standing in faith for my mom’s health after she received a negative doctor’s report at the beginning of the year. Mom had just finished a long bout of treatments that required her to go through various stages of nausea and illnesses. And although, the Lord clearly showed me in a dream that the disease had left her body, I was still a little shaken by my mom’s phone call. It was also obvious that my mother was upset.
I really couldn’t concentrate at work. My mind was preoccupied with my mom. I didn’t want her to be in fear. I kept thinking about everything my mom had already been through during this year. I didn’t want her to suffer anymore. So, at lunch I decided to go visit my mom. It seemed like after talking to her for a few minutes the fear began to lift. We even began to laugh as I talked to her about funny things that had been going on with my business over the past few days. My mom walked me to the door as I got ready to return to work. When I walked outside I caught the glimpse of a bird in the sky.
Confirming Sign: An Eagle in Arkansas
«The only way we will ever be able to annihilate evil is by setting our love upon Christ. God says that when we purposely focus our love on Christ and make Him our main priority, He will deliver us from all evil.«
When I looked up, I realized that the bird flying above us was an eagle! This was very strange to me. In all my years of living in Arkansas, I had never seen an eagle in our part of the state. It was so abnormal that my intellect began to kick in. I thought to myself, «That surely wasn’t an eagle?» As soon as that thought came to me, the bird flew back over my mom and me. I asked mom, «Is that an eagle?» She said, «I believe it is.» I then felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit say, «All will be well with your mother. I will protect those things that concern you, just as I said in Psalm 91.»
A Psalm 91 Season
One major way that He speaks to me about the Body of Christ is by allowing me to experience things before He releases a word to the Body of Christ. I knew from my eagle experience that God is saying this is going to be a Psalm 91 season for the Body of Christ.
«I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day…» (Psalm 91:2-6)
In this passage, God is saying that when we abide in Him, He will make sure that we are under His canopy of protection. This is so critical in this season. The Lord showed me in August of 2017 that from then, until the end of the year, there would be many catastrophes going on in the world. However, those of us who were connected to prophets and prophetic people would be protected. Psalm 91 is a pattern of this prophetic word the Lord gave me.
God promises us that we have no need to fear the demonic entities that will be in operation during this season because He will deliver us from the «…snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence» (Psalm 91:3). The snare of the fowler is a symbol for demonic ambushes and traps that the enemy will try to set up against us. Noisome pestilence is symbolic of things that come into our life to try and drain our resources—just like pestilences come to destroy a farmer’s crops. Yet, when we dwell in God’s secret place, God will make sure that what He has blessed us with will not be devoured. (Photo via Unsplash)
Dwelling in His Secret Place
«He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.» (Psalm 91:1-2)
The key to us receiving God’s blessings in this season will be for us to continue to dwell in His secret place. It is in our personal time with God that He will give us divine strategies and speak to us about what is to come. This is so critical! We have to have our spiritual ears and eyes open to hear what God is saying to us in this season.
Through us abiding in Him, God will lead us away from satan’s diabolical plans for our lives. We will literally be able to sidestep evil by remaining in His presence. God is saying to us that when we abide in Him, He will build a wall of protection around us. No matter what evil is going on in our nation, or even within our territory of influence, it will not be able to touch us because God will be our refuge!
God Will Protect Us from Sickness During This Season
«Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.» (Psalm 91:9-10)
«Yet, when we dwell in God’s secret place, God will make sure that what He has blessed us with will not be devoured.«
God wants to comfort us by letting us know that He is going to protect us from sickness and disease. Cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, etc., are all plagues. God’s desire is to heal us. Just as I saw that eagle fly over my mother, God was saying to me, «Kyle, I have already provided and brought healing to your mother through My Word. Fear not.» God was encouraging me, and wants to encourage you that no matter what sickness or disease that you have been attacked with—He wants to bring healing to you.
Love Will Bring Us into Mass Deliverance
«Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver Him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.» (Psalm 91:14)
The only way we will ever be able to annihilate evil is by setting our love upon Christ. God says that when we purposely focus our love on Christ and make Him our main priority, He will deliver us from all evil. This not only means that God will remove evil from us, but He will also make sure that evil never comes near us. Isn’t that so awesome to know that if we concentrate on loving Jesus and demonstrating His character among those we come in contact with, evil strategies and plans that satan has for us (i.e. sickness, disease, failure, trauma, job terminations, etc.) will never even occur? God will literally shut down the enemy’s plans before they even come our way. Hallelujah! (Photo via Wikipedia)
A Prayer For You
If you would like to experience the promises of Psalm 91 in this season, pray this prayer outloud:
Heavenly Father,
I thank You that You have provided protection, healing, deliverance and blessings in Your Word, according to Psalm 91. I confess that all the promises of Psalm 91 are now activated in my life. I thank You, that I abide in the shadow of Your wings and nothing from satan can touch me because I abide in You. Lord, teach me Your secrets; speak to me, and show me those things to come. Download Your divine strategies for my life. And please give me the grace to hear Your voice in every situation. I believe I receive this prayer request. In Jesus’ name. Amen! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
(An update on my Mom: My Mom is doing much better. The doctors have confirmed that Mom is getting a progressive miracle. Please agree with me as we look forward to her complete healing as God has promised me.)
Kyle T. Miller
Prophet Kyle — Personal Prophecy
Email: kyle@prophetkyle.com
Website: www.prophetkyle.com
Kyle T. Miller, a licensed and ordained prophet, has been called to the marketplace as a musician, play producer, and educator. A native of Arkansas, Kyle has been prophesying and interpreting dreams for almost 15 years. Kyle is also a scholar, obtaining a Masters of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Kyle’s theatre production company, Positive Images in Christ, has directed and produced over a dozen shows since it was founded in 2004. Kyle is extremely passionate about speaking into people’s lives so that they can grow and blossom into their God-given calling. Besides prophesying and giving words of knowledge, the Lord also uses Kyle in the ministry of deliverance.
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A beautiful and simple story from the Old Testament is given in the First Book of Samuel (3:3-10, 19). A young boy apprenticing with an old priest, Eli, is awakened by a voice, perhaps a voice he heard in a dream. He thinks Eli is calling him. Eli is wise. Thinking it to be an illusion he tells the boy to go back to sleep. After the third time Eli begins to realize that perhaps God is really calling the boy and so tells him “If you are called again reply “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Once again we see that God takes the initiative. This is the first and most fundamental realization we all must have. God offers, we respond. We may not understand the why’s, but we must always be open to God’s initiatives. God’s initiatives come in unexpected ways to unexpected people. For even though young Samuel was just a kid, a kid who was “not familiar with the Lord”, who was not particularly “religious”, he became God’s first Old Testament prophet, the first in a long line of prophets.
So, too, with Peter. He wasn’t particularly religious. He was brash, presumptuous, and unreliable, and yet became the chief among the Twelve Apostles, not by his choice and certainly not by theirs. He became the “Rock” who turned out to be so because of God’s choice.
For Eli, Samuel, and Peter the critical thing was in the fact of their response and in the quality of their response. They were open to the belief that God acts in human history and that God acts in human lives.
One of the great inspirations resulting from the Second Vatican Council was set forth for us in a wonderful document the bishops entitled Gaudium et Spes, (Joy and Hope) an awareness that God works, profoundly works, in our own humanity, no matter how faulted our humanity it may be. Said the bishops of Vatican II:
“With the eyes of faith we can see history, especially after the coming of Jesus Christ, as totally enveloped and penetrated by the presence of God’s Spirit. It is easy to understand why, today more than ever, the Church feels called to discern the signs of this presence in human history, with which she–in imitation of her Lord–“cherishes a feeling of deep solidarity”
“… the Church recognizes that only the Holy Spirit, by impressing on the hearts of believers the living image of the Son of God made man, can enable them to search history and to discern in it the signs of God’s presence and action.”
How then, we ask, does God speak to us? The Church knows of many ways. Certainly God speaks to all of us, both collectively and individually. For as St. John tells us in the Prologue to his gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him… He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name…And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1,1ff)
The big issue for us is not whether God has a word for us, whether God speaks to us. It is rather seeing the hand of God and the presence of God in people and in events. He uses them as His means of reaching us. The most critical issue for us is whether and how we respond. It’s the question of our willingness to respond.
How often to you hear yourself saying to your spouse or your children or your friends: “DON’T BOTHER ME NOW… “I’LL GET TO IT LATER!” “CAN’T YOU SEE I’M BUSY?” “WELL, SO WHAT? WHAT’S THAT GOT TO DO WITH ME?”
No attitude of openness there! Do we have that attitude when we consider developing our spirituality, when we consider developing our awareness of God?
God has a Word for you… He has something to say to you. God has something in mind for you – personally and individually. Are you willing to listen up and pay attention to Him? Willing to take a good look at what He’s trying to say to you… or trying to ask you to do?
There are hurdles we face, hindrances and attitudes that we simply must overcome. Have we heard ourselves say: “Why would God have anything to say to little me? In the great scheme of things, I’m nobody.” “I just don’t have the time right now. Maybe later.” “When I’m living in retirement I’ll have time to really pray.”
Allow me to offer you now with some practical suggestions.
1. Believe that God has something to say to you; Believe that God loves you close up and personal.
2. Beware of False Humility—thinking that you’re such a bad person that God wouldn’t want to have anything to do with you. Remember that Jesus Christ has died for you. He makes you worthy of God’s love. You don’t make yourself worthy. If you think you’re so unworthy of God’s loving presence to you then spend some time gazing upon Christ hanging on His cross. That will tell you your value and how much God thinks you are worth in His eyes. That will tell you how far He has gone to let you know how much He loves you.
3. Recognize that false humility is really just another form of denial, or of pride. It makes you think you’re really someone special, one of the world’s greatest sinners, or something like that. This just isn’t true; it’s just another excuse for not letting yourself get near God’s love.
4. Take time to reflect and pray, paying attention to events as well as things people say to you.
5. Be open to see and hear things. God, after all, is trying to get in touch with you… maybe in them.
God has a Word for you. He has something He wants to say to you. Begin your next time of prayer with these words: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
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На основании Вашего запроса эти примеры могут содержать разговорную лексику.
God has a word especially for you!
God has a Word for you and me.
Look at your neighbor and tell them «God Has a Word For You!»
Обнимите своего соседа, скажите: «Бог реален!
But God has a different word for you.
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