(James 4:7)
Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have been absent from writing this column for a few months now. I normally write what the Lord gives me about marriage and relationships but this month I feel the Lord is leading me to share with you a personal experience I have been living. For the last few months, I have been constantly encountering the devil’s attacks. I pray you will be blessed by my story. And I pray that as you read this, if you are going through anything right now in your ministry or your life, that you will receive deliverance from that thing that has you bound. Here then is my testimony:
I am so grateful to God for what He has done in my life! I have had a very challenging year so far in 2010. In January my favorite uncle passed away from cancer. He had been sick for some time and was living down south with his daughter. As far back as I can remember my uncle has always been a source of inspiration for me. And little did I know how many lives he affected until I went to his funeral. Then in February, my father-in-law (the only man whom I ever called pops) passed away from cancer also. He was very dear to me and I loved him very much. I remember as he fought for several years with the fact that he was legally blind and in deteriorating health, he always had a good word of encouragement for my wife and I when we stopped by. He always said, “I love you and I’m proud of you son”. This meant so much to me. Ever since I first started going to church after accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in my adult years, I can remember him standing and holding open that front door as I walked in. “God bless you”, he’d always say. I didn’t know that he would one day become my father-in-law. Then in March 2010 my father went into the hospital diagnosed with cancer and was there for a month in and out of the ICU four times before he passed on to be with the Lord on April 2, 2010. He also had cancer attacking his body. My father was my rock and the prime example of how a man should be. He wasn't a "go to church every Sunday" type of man but he read the bible cover to cover many times and he definitely believed in the Lord. He provided a good home for his wife of 53 years (my mother) and my brother and me as we grew into men. My mom passed away on November 5, 2004 from complications from a stroke she suffered a few months before.
I am so grateful for the life I had with my earthly parents. They were a constant example of what it meant to be successful at marriage. I have been blessed to have two loving parents who adopted my twin brother and myself at 8 months old and loved us our whole lives as if my mom gave birth to us herself. But this last 5 months have been especially trying on my heart and soul with the loss of 3 of the most important men in my life. Throughout the process I allowed the devil to come in and try to damage my ability to write. For a few months I couldn't write anything and I temporarily stopped writing for this magazine, which I write for every month. I allowed the devil to come in but I wasn't going to allow him to steal what God has given me. And I prayed to God for an answer to this turmoil I was going through. Why couldn’t I hear His voice the way I had before? Why was I struggling to allow God to write through me all of a sudden when before He spoke so freely? Then I heard God say, “You need to be refilled my child”. After all of the attack my heart took I didn’t realize that it had drained me of my faith to hear from the Lord. I was drained of energy, faith, and perserverance. The devil was trying to take the very gift that God had given me to do His work. I couldn’t allow this. Then, in the midst of this struggle, our church made the announcement that they were going to be hosting an “Area Wide Pentecostal Rally” and I knew I had to be there. The answer to what I was going through was going to be at that meeting. So I made sure my wife and I were there. We didn’t know what God was going to do, but we knew it was going to be something big.
So on May 23rd of this year, we went to the Pentecostal rally and it was during this rally that the Holy Spirit truly moved. I was singing praise and worship earlier that day I heard the Lord say, "Stay faithful, I'm refilling you." That night at the rally the pastor delivering the message about gifts of the Holy Spirit called people up, and as a deacon in the church I was called to help pray with someone who wanted to receive the Holy Spirit. We prayed with them and they did receive it! What a wonderful time in Christ and a moment for celebration!! Many people received the Holy Spirit during that service. After that I thought I was done and the pastor who spoke that night called up me and my wife. He grabbed our hands together and pushed down very slightly and said "take it!" We both went down under the power of God and the Holy Spirit truly ministered to us during that time. By the grace of God, He refilled us!! I have been writing ever since.
I am sharing this to let you know that the devil moves during our grief and it is during those times of human weakness that we must be careful to stay prayerful because he will try to steal, and kill, and destroy what God has for us (John 10:10). If the devil can't get to you because of your faith, he will try to get to you through your family members. The thing that I understand now is that even though these mighty men suffered tremendously during their last days here on earth, as they transitioned to be with the Lord God healed them and they will remain healed for an eternity with the Lord!!! When praying for healing for loved ones, trust God without fail that He knows what He is doing. You may not see the manifestation of healing in them but believe me, if they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior then God WILL heal them, in this life or the next.
Some of you reading this now may be going through some major storms and trials in your life with ailing family members and loved ones passing away. But there are two scriptures I want you to remember. In John 16:33, Jesus was comforting the disciples after he just told them He would be leaving them. He says to them, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This is a firm reminder from Jesus that even though we experience hard times while we’re hear on earth, Jesus is always with us and He is the great overcomer. He came to this earth to die for our sins so that we may be free from the bondage of death once and for all. 1 John 5: 1-5 reminds us that we are overcomers because of our faith in Jesus. It says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”. No matter what you’re going through, just remind yourself of who you are in God by meditating on 1 John 5:1-5. Regardless of what you may go through, because of Jesus, you’ve already overcome it.
Glory to God in the highest for He is worthy to be praised!!
Robert T Sells
http://www.robertsellsonline.com/
Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have been absent from writing this column for a few months now. I normally write what the Lord gives me about marriage and relationships but this month I feel the Lord is leading me to share with you a personal experience I have been living. For the last few months, I have been constantly encountering the devil’s attacks. I pray you will be blessed by my story. And I pray that as you read this, if you are going through anything right now in your ministry or your life, that you will receive deliverance from that thing that has you bound. Here then is my testimony:
I am so grateful to God for what He has done in my life! I have had a very challenging year so far in 2010. In January my favorite uncle passed away from cancer. He had been sick for some time and was living down south with his daughter. As far back as I can remember my uncle has always been a source of inspiration for me. And little did I know how many lives he affected until I went to his funeral. Then in February, my father-in-law (the only man whom I ever called pops) passed away from cancer also. He was very dear to me and I loved him very much. I remember as he fought for several years with the fact that he was legally blind and in deteriorating health, he always had a good word of encouragement for my wife and I when we stopped by. He always said, “I love you and I’m proud of you son”. This meant so much to me. Ever since I first started going to church after accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in my adult years, I can remember him standing and holding open that front door as I walked in. “God bless you”, he’d always say. I didn’t know that he would one day become my father-in-law. Then in March 2010 my father went into the hospital diagnosed with cancer and was there for a month in and out of the ICU four times before he passed on to be with the Lord on April 2, 2010. He also had cancer attacking his body. My father was my rock and the prime example of how a man should be. He wasn't a "go to church every Sunday" type of man but he read the bible cover to cover many times and he definitely believed in the Lord. He provided a good home for his wife of 53 years (my mother) and my brother and me as we grew into men. My mom passed away on November 5, 2004 from complications from a stroke she suffered a few months before.
I am so grateful for the life I had with my earthly parents. They were a constant example of what it meant to be successful at marriage. I have been blessed to have two loving parents who adopted my twin brother and myself at 8 months old and loved us our whole lives as if my mom gave birth to us herself. But this last 5 months have been especially trying on my heart and soul with the loss of 3 of the most important men in my life. Throughout the process I allowed the devil to come in and try to damage my ability to write. For a few months I couldn't write anything and I temporarily stopped writing for this magazine, which I write for every month. I allowed the devil to come in but I wasn't going to allow him to steal what God has given me. And I prayed to God for an answer to this turmoil I was going through. Why couldn’t I hear His voice the way I had before? Why was I struggling to allow God to write through me all of a sudden when before He spoke so freely? Then I heard God say, “You need to be refilled my child”. After all of the attack my heart took I didn’t realize that it had drained me of my faith to hear from the Lord. I was drained of energy, faith, and perserverance. The devil was trying to take the very gift that God had given me to do His work. I couldn’t allow this. Then, in the midst of this struggle, our church made the announcement that they were going to be hosting an “Area Wide Pentecostal Rally” and I knew I had to be there. The answer to what I was going through was going to be at that meeting. So I made sure my wife and I were there. We didn’t know what God was going to do, but we knew it was going to be something big.
So on May 23rd of this year, we went to the Pentecostal rally and it was during this rally that the Holy Spirit truly moved. I was singing praise and worship earlier that day I heard the Lord say, "Stay faithful, I'm refilling you." That night at the rally the pastor delivering the message about gifts of the Holy Spirit called people up, and as a deacon in the church I was called to help pray with someone who wanted to receive the Holy Spirit. We prayed with them and they did receive it! What a wonderful time in Christ and a moment for celebration!! Many people received the Holy Spirit during that service. After that I thought I was done and the pastor who spoke that night called up me and my wife. He grabbed our hands together and pushed down very slightly and said "take it!" We both went down under the power of God and the Holy Spirit truly ministered to us during that time. By the grace of God, He refilled us!! I have been writing ever since.
I am sharing this to let you know that the devil moves during our grief and it is during those times of human weakness that we must be careful to stay prayerful because he will try to steal, and kill, and destroy what God has for us (John 10:10). If the devil can't get to you because of your faith, he will try to get to you through your family members. The thing that I understand now is that even though these mighty men suffered tremendously during their last days here on earth, as they transitioned to be with the Lord God healed them and they will remain healed for an eternity with the Lord!!! When praying for healing for loved ones, trust God without fail that He knows what He is doing. You may not see the manifestation of healing in them but believe me, if they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior then God WILL heal them, in this life or the next.
Some of you reading this now may be going through some major storms and trials in your life with ailing family members and loved ones passing away. But there are two scriptures I want you to remember. In John 16:33, Jesus was comforting the disciples after he just told them He would be leaving them. He says to them, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This is a firm reminder from Jesus that even though we experience hard times while we’re hear on earth, Jesus is always with us and He is the great overcomer. He came to this earth to die for our sins so that we may be free from the bondage of death once and for all. 1 John 5: 1-5 reminds us that we are overcomers because of our faith in Jesus. It says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”. No matter what you’re going through, just remind yourself of who you are in God by meditating on 1 John 5:1-5. Regardless of what you may go through, because of Jesus, you’ve already overcome it.
Glory to God in the highest for He is worthy to be praised!!
Robert T Sells
http://www.robertsellsonline.com/
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