Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that Your position in Christ has zip to do with your feelings. It has everything to do with fact. Are you going to trust your feelings or something you could have been taught in the past? Or are you going to trust what the Word of God says? It is like standing ankle-deep in the water on the shore and watching the tide wash past your feet ; your feelings tell you that you are moving, but the reality is you are standing on solid ground. Rodney Howard Browne tells us about our baptism thru Christ.

In Romans six, we learn the foundational truth that when we accepted Christ as Savior we were baptized into Christ Jesus. This is not water baptism, though water baptism is a symbolic portrayal of this fact.

Instead, this states the Holy Spirit baptized us in Christ Jesus. Rodney Howard Browne explains that there actually is no adequate way to elucidate this exchange because our infinite minds can’t fathom the depths of the omniscient mind of God. Yet the first chapter of Ephesians frequently states that we are “in Christ,” or “in Him.” Ephesians 2:4-6 adds the superbly unfathomable clincher : Part of this exchange is that God has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Our eternal destination is secure! We are already signed, sealed, and delivered!

 ¹And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

   ²Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?

   ³And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

   ⁴And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

   ⁵And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

   ⁶Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

   ⁷And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

   ⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

   ⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

   ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

   ¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

   ¹²But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

   ¹³And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

   ¹⁴And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

   ¹⁵And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:

   ¹⁶For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

¹Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

   ²And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

   ³And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

   ⁴And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

   ⁵And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

   ⁶Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

   ⁷And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

   ⁸And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

   ⁹Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

   ¹⁰Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

   ¹¹And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

   ¹²And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

   ¹³And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

   ¹⁴And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

   ¹⁵And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

   ¹⁶Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

   ¹⁷And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

   ¹⁸And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

   ¹⁹And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

   ²⁰And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

   ²¹And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

   ²²But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

   ²Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

   ³Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

   ⁴John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

   ⁵And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

   ⁶And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

   ⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

   ⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

   ⁹I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

   ¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

   ¹¹Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

   ¹²And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

   ¹³And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

   ¹⁴His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

   ¹⁵And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

   ¹⁶And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

   ¹⁷And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

   ¹⁸I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

   ¹⁹Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

   ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Rodney Howard Browne teaches on THE TRUTH

James is an apostle who does not beat around the bush. He feels very strongly about issues of integrity and character and he gives us firm guidelines for conducting our lives in such a way that we can walk in the blessing of God.

But above all [things], my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your yes be [a simple] yes, and your no be [a simple] no, so that you may not sin and fall under condemnation.  James 5:12 AMP

You should not swear by the Lord or try to pull God’s name into your conversation to back up what you are saying. Don’t ever say that “God said” or “God told me” if He really didn’t. James says that you should not try to be something you are not. You should not promise things and then not do it. You should not say things that you do not mean just because you are afraid of people or because you are trying to impress them. Be truthful in your relationships. Say “yes” when you mean “yes” and say “no” when you mean “no”.

 Is anyone among you afflicted (ill-treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise [to God].  James 5:13 AMP

If you are facing a battle, don’t use it as an excuse to behave badly or to have a bad attitude. If Jesus is your Lord, then you can call on Him when you are in trouble or when you have a problem. Don’t be whiney or grumpy or ungrateful – just pray. Talk to the Lord, who can do something about it, not to people, who can’t do anything about it.

If you are happy then praise the Lord. Recognize that everything you have comes from Him. Always maintain a joyful, grateful spirit and you will always walk in His blessing. Even when you go through hard times, you will come out on top because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Is anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders (the spiritual guides). And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. 15 And the prayer [that is] of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart].  James 5:14-16a AMP

The Father intended the Body of Christ to be a blessing to each other – to pray for one another, lift each other up and protect each other. We need to recognize that our fight is with the devil – not each other. We need to be able to come to our fellow Christians for help, for prayer, for support, for restoration. We should love one another in such a way that we cover one another. We should be able to be transparent, to expose our weakness and find mercy, compassion and restoration and not judgment, criticism or rejection.

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. 17 Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours]; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months. 18 And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual].  James 5:16b-18 AMP

God has empowered Christians to pray and receive the answer. Have faith in God, have faith in His Word, and pray in faith, expecting God to hear and to answer your prayers.

[My] brethren, if anyone among you strays from the Truth and falls into error and another [person] brings him back [to God], 20 Let the [latter] one be sure that whoever turns a sinner from his evil course will save [that one’s] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins [procure the pardon of the many sins committed by the convert].  James 5:19-20 AMP

So many times, when a Christian makes a mistake, other Christians condemn them, criticize them and gossip about them. However, God expects us to love one another, cover one another and protect one another. When we humble our heart to pray for a fallen brother or sister and speak the truth to them, and we help them find their way, through repentance, back into the will of God, then we will save their soul from death and we will please the Father. The only thing we can take with us is the souls of men. It is not only important to lead people to Jesus, but also to support them as they run their race and to help them to finish their race and cross the finish line.

Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one). 2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 AMP

When you have faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, you are justified, acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God. As a sinner, you may have done some very bad things, but from the moment you acknowledged your need of a Savior, repented for your sins, asked the Lord to forgive you and received Jesus as your Lord, God forgave you. Your sins are forgiven and washed away as if they never existed. God wants you to grasp the fact that you have been reconciled to Him and to enjoy the peace you have with Him. Father God has forgiven and forgotten your past and He expects you to forget your past as well and to leave it behind you. You need to become unconscious toward your former unrighteousness and become conscious of your new righteousness through Jesus Christ. You need to walk like a righteous person, talk like a righteous person, and act like a righteous person. Through faith in Jesus Christ you are introduced to God’s grace and you have access to His favor. This is not a flimsy or a temporary grace, but a grace in which you firmly and safely stand. Because of this grace, you have a hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. You have a reason to rejoice!

7 But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ’s sake. 8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed one), 9 And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed one), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.  Philippians 3:7-9 AMP

Our prayer, “Lord, burn out every bit of religion and tradition out of us. We only want that which is of You and of Your Word and of Your Spirit.” There is nothing that any of us can do, in our own strength or power or goodness to save ourselves or help ourselves. We all need Jesus – we all need the Spirit of God. The sooner you realize how much you need the Lord – the better off you will be. Growing in grace, growing in the Lord has more to do with you realizing how much you need Him and coming to know His heart than it has to do with you acquiring mere knowledge about Him.

We are here to lift up the Name of Jesus. He is our first love. We are here to give Him all the glory and the praise. We are here to preach His Word boldly and without apology. We are here to enjoy our relationship and fellowship with the Lord for Jesus is the joy of our salvation. We are here to preach faith in God and not works. We are here to demonstrate His power and to meet the needs of the people. We are here to bring people into a relationship and fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are here to do the Spirit’s bidding and we are here to be a Church where the Spirit of God has His own way and where He is allowed free rein. Let us not allow religion or tradition to dilute our enthusiasm, but let us – by the Spirit – maintain the zeal of our salvation and remember that Jesus is Lord!

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”   2 Corinthians 9:6-9 NIV

There are many people that want to reap a harvest of blessing in their lives and yet they have not sown one seed for it! They have never learnt the principle of sowing and reaping. It is absolutely impossible to reap a harvest where there has never been a seed planted in the ground. It is physically impossible and spiritually impossible. God set certain unchanging laws into motion in the earth – one of them being the law of seedtime and harvest.

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.  Genesis 8:22 KJV

As long as the earth remains there will be a night and a day every day; there will be seasons every year – summer, winter, spring and fall; there will be cold and heat; and there will be a seedtime and a harvest time. The law of seedtime and harvest allows you to sow a seed and to reap a harvest much larger than the seed you sowed. However, you cannot expect a harvest when you have never sown a seed! The size and quality of the seed determine the size and quality of the harvest.

Many people get upset with the preacher when he teaches these things saying, “Well, he just wants my money!”  But as Paul states in Philippians 4:15-19, “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

But it’s not about money, it’s about your heart and it’s about your seed. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul says that it is the size of your seed as well as the attitude of your heart that counts. The seed you sow might be a money seed, but it could also involve your time, your resources or your talents. Whatever you sow – sow it graciously and liberally, without regret and without holding back. It’s about a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. The principle is this – whatever you sow is exactly what you are going to reap.

Do not be deceived and deluded and misled: God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.  Galatians 6:7 AMP

The law of seedtime and harvest is both a natural law and a supernatural law. The law of seedtime and harvest means that everything produces after its own kind. Each species brings forth progeny that look and function just like the parents. They cannot bring forth something utterly different from themselves. Fish cannot produce baby birds. Lions cannot give birth to baby lizards. Some people have sown a bad seed, but they want to harvest a good crop. Whatever you have sown – that and that only is what you will you reap.

I pray that you grab a hold of this truth and let it burn in your heart. If you are not happy with what you are reaping then have a good, honest look at what you are sowing and begin to change your seed and your attitude from something you don’t want into something you do want so that God can bless and enlarge you in every way. God wants to bless you so that you have no excuse for not being generous!

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV