Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.  Deuteronomy 5:33

A pastor once told me how God called him to Louisville, Kentucky, a number of years ago.  After receiving the call, he contacted one of the most spiritually gifted men in our nation at that time, who told him not to go because, “That place is simply overpowered with darkness —the worst place in the United States to go.  It is a graveyard for preachers.”

The pastor returned to the Lord and prayed, “Lord, here is a man of God saying not to go.”  And the Lord said, “But I’m telling you to go.” So, the man went.  He was a pastor in that city for 10 years, but didn’t seem to accomplish anything; the church was not doing well.  So, he went to Chicago to apply for another church.  While he was in Chicago, the Lord spoke to him and said, “What are you doing here?  I called you to Louisville.”

The pastor answered, “God, I’m failing in Louisville!  I’m tired of Louisville.  I’ve tried everything for 10 years, and nothing works.”  God said, “You’ll be out of My will.” And the pastor said, “I must not be in Your will as it is!” Then God said, “You’re in My will, but you need to call your church to fasting and prayer.” So, this man began a tremendous prayer program and within two years, his church grew from 200 people to 2,000.

What made the difference?  Obedience to God in prayer and fasting had broken the power of darkness over that city.  The powers of darkness were there from the beginning, but in 10 years, the pastor had done nothing necessary to break the force of those powers.

Sometimes we must fast and pray to break the powers of darkness and see unbelief turned into the revival of belief.

Jesus, I declare that You are mightier than the powers of darkness!

You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out.  Deuteronomy 7:19a

I would love for your do something very special today:  write down the good things you have seen Jesus do in your life.  “Well, there’s so many.” I know! Isn’t God wonderful?  Since seven is the number of completions, let’s write down seven of the good things that He has done.

What has He done in your life?  And does He have a future and a destiny for you?  Will He fail you?  No.  Will you fail Him?  Yes.  Will He leave you when you fail?  No!  He will stay with you, because He wants you to be successful.

After you write down seven good things He has already done in your life, I want you to write down three things that you’re going to believe Him for, that you want to see Him do in the next year.  Maybe it has to do with the salvation of a loved one, healing in your body, or prosperity.  Whatever it is, write it down.

You can write them in the margins of this book or on a separate sheet of paper.  But put them down on paper so you can go back and see them, praise God for them, and watch Him work in your life!

As you reflect on the good, He has already done and the good you are believing Him to do in your life, look at the signs and wonders in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.  The Jesus in the Pentateuch is the same Jesus Who lives in you and Who will perform the miraculous signs and wonders in your life!

Lord, I declare that You are the God of signs and wonders!  Thank You for all that You have done and will do in my life!

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.  Leviticus 26:12

A sacrifice is the basis of all true worship.  It is what cleanses us, and frees us from the guilt and punishment we deserve.  In Leviticus, we see five sacrifices:  the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.  The first three offerings were voluntary; they were expressions of thanksgiving and celebration.  But the last two—the sin and trespass offerings—were required.

What is sin?  It means to miss the mark.  What about trespass?  Trespass means to intrude on someone else’s property or to cause someone else harm.  So, Leviticus is telling us that when someone made a mistake or hut another person, it was mandatory that they make amends through an offering.

Do we still make the same mistakes today?  Yes!  Do we still make offerings?  Have you ever sacrificed a ram after trespassing?  No!  Why not?  Because Jesus is our offering.

Jesus, the burnt offering, consecrated Himself.  He said to the Father, “Thy will be done.”  Jesus, the meal offering, took our poverty so He could meet all of our needs.  Jesus, the peace offering, gave His peace (see John 14:27).

Jesus, the sin offering, took our sin, our missing the mark: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And the same Jesus is our trespass offering.  He took the trespass that we make on others and trespass others make against us so that we can forgive in His blood, He forgave us.

Jesus, I declare that I am the righteousness of God in Christ, set free from the bonds of sin because You made the ultimate sacrifice for me!

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.  (Philippians 3:10 NKJV)

For years I did not understand the part of this verse that speaks of “the fellowship of His sufferings.”  What does it mean to “fellowship” in His sufferings?  I could better understand the “power of His resurrection” than the “fellowship of His sufferings.”

Then I began to ask, “Why DID Jesus suffer?” I realized that He suffered for the lost.  Jesus suffered to the point that He was willing to die.  When we enter into the fellowship of His suffering, we feel the way Jesus felt toward lost souls, and we become willing to die too.

Moses was willing to die so that his people might enter the Promised Land.  He said to God, ‘If You’re going to erase their names from the book, then You might as well erase mine, too’ (see Exodus 32:32).  Paul felt it, too, when he said, ‘I wish I could carry this curse and be cut off from Christ for the sake of my people’ (see Romans 9:3).

What were these men feeling?  The fellowship of the Lord’s suffering!  I believe that the Holy Spirit will let us enter into that fellowship of suffering for the lost

Dear heavenly Father, help us to remember that Jesus suffered to save the lost.  Never let us think that we are too “spiritual” to have a burden for the lost.  Thank You for helping us, by Your Spirit, to enter the fellowship of the Lord’s suffering.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.