Daily Devotion - The Power of Faith

Monday: The Power of Faith

In Luke 8:40-48, we see a powerful example of faith through the story of the woman with the issue of blood. Despite her circumstances, her faith led her to believe that if she could just touch Jesus' garment, she would be healed. This teaches us that faith requires action & persistence, even when the odds are against us.

Action Steps:
Reflect on an area of your life where you need to act in faith.
Write down one step you can take today to demonstrate your faith in God.

Prayer:
Lord, strengthen my faith today. Help me to trust You fully and take steps of faith even when the path is unclear. Amen.

Ps. Russell & Beverly Hylton
www.russellhylton.com
www.bfwc.net
Leaguership

Daily Devotion - The Ultimate Test of Faith

Wednesday: The Ultimate Test of Faith

Paul’s reminder that "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine" speaks to the trials all believers face. This prophecy compels us to hold even firmer to our convictions & continue the work entrusted to us by God, without wavering in the face of popularity or societal approval.

Today, engage with someone who holds a different viewpoint than you. Listen actively without judgment, then share your perspective with kindness & confidence.

Ps. Russell & Beverly Hylton
www.russellhylton.com
www.bfwc.net
Leaguership

Something To Point To

You know & others know if what you have Is real.

Jesus chose Lazarus to be His EVIDENCE. When the haters came (and they always do), He didn't have to rely on Lazarus' preaching, singing or instagram reels. All he had to do was POINT to Lazarus & all Lazarus had to do was just sit there & BREATHE.

Lazarus was the EVIDENCE of Jesus' power.

What can people point to in your life that proves there is a reality to everything you claim to be real in your life?

Perhaps your faithfulness or fruitfulness? The evidence will be the things that are WORKING in your life.

I believe that I should be my own BEST CUSTOMER!

• You must practice what you preach.
• It must work in your life first.
• You can't ask others to do what you're not willing to do yourself.
I PREACH SALVATION by grace through faith in Jesus because I know it to be true.
I TEACH LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES because they are working for me.
I TEACH TITHES/STEWARDSHIP because it is working for me.
I TEACH FATHER/SON APOSTOLIC COVERING because it is working for me.

If people can get a hold of it & work it and stay with it...IT WILL produce the kind of results that they want!

It is vital to have a spiritual covering! On this side of the resurrection, everything God will do THROUGH you will be EMPOWERED through ALIGNMENT.

Do you have something to point to? Until you have your own evidence, you will need evidence of those who are birthing you into your double portion.

Leaguership
Russell Hylton

Sunday Highlights - "I Got You, Faith!"

Learning To Please God

Bucket List - Sky Diving 9-3-17 #OhYeah

Mark one off of my bucket list! I'll definitely be doing this again! (Who's in?) I believe that throughout the Scriptures, we are encouraged to follow our God birthed dreams & live life to the fullest. I also believe that when you've been through challenges that were UNJUST & survived the UGLY...you can face bigger challenges with confidence that GOD is your defender, vindicator & protector! :) It's a place of CONFIDENCE in God. When you can declare what Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." Job 13:15 - God HAS me in every situation & I will trust His sovereign hand...no matter what! We've all faced intimidating circumstances. However, when you stare your intimidator in the eye & declare that "Greater is He that is you"...you've overcome the fear, control & deception that was designed to take you out! The Apostle Paul said, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13) Friends, it is God who gives us the STRENGTH! When we learn to BE CONTENT in every situation...we have tapped into the SECRET! High or low...God is with us. #YouGotThis

I Am Healed!

THIS IS FOR SOMEONE TODAY! - 4:30 AM / 2-10-17

God is a HEALER! I believe in three types of healing.

1. NATURAL HEALING - God designed your body to heal itself. (i.e., cut your finger & a scab will form & healing with happen naturally.) David praised The Lord for creating his body so wonderfully! (Psalm 139:14)

2. MEDICAL HEALING - I believe God has gifted medical professionals (i.e. doctors, practitioners, etc.) with the innate ability to treat our symptoms & bring about healing in the body. (Jesus spat on the ground, took the clay & placed it on the eyes of the blind.) (John 9:6; Mark 8:23)

3. DIVINE HEALING - This is where the supernatural power of God manifests within us to perform an accelerated healing or a manifested miracle. Everything we need for our healing is already in us. Jesus is our healer & with His stripes we ARE healed. (Isaiah 53:5) (1 Peter 2:24)

Jesus is my SAVIOR & my HEALER. He lives in me. Everything He is...IS IN ME already. The same faith that it takes for me to believe for SALVATION is the same faith I use to receive my healing. Quite honestly, it wasn't difficult for me to BELIEVE for salvation. I simply chose to believe in Jesus & claim Him as my savior. Likewise, it's the same simple faith...when I believe for my HEALING. I receive it freely.

I rarely ever get a headache. Last night, I struggled with the symptoms of one that was so painful it was nauseating. I prayed for healing as I laid down to sleep. I woke up this morning with no headache & feel very refreshed.

Eighteen years ago, my hands were covered in warts. I had suffered for a long time with them. They were painful. I had been to the Doctor, tried every kind of medicine & even tried to file them down & clip them off myself. I was so embarrassed by them. I attended one of our Monday night prayer meetings & asked to be anointed in prayer. I felt no different. I didn't hear thunder, see lightning or feel goosebumps. However, a few days later, while I was in the shower, I looked at my hands & there were no more warts! No scars! They were completely gone. I wept before The Lord & thanked Him for touching my body!

Friends, Jesus is your HEALER! He remains the HEALER. Even if He elected not to heal you in the way you desire...HE WILL ALWAYS BE A HEALER!

Trust the finished work of Jesus. On the cross, He said, "It is finished." Not only was He sealing the door of one dispensation, as He opened up another, He was providing a COMPLETED (atoned) work for you and I! The bill has been paid! The demand has been met! He bore the stripes on His body for your healing.

I speak LIFE over you today! I call for the HEALER to rise within you!

Change your confession! SPEAK LIFE! Do what King Hezekiah did, after he had received bad news concerning his health...he turned his face toward the wall & cried out to God! God granted him 15 more years! (2 Kings 20)

Hezekiah didn't wait for his health to turn around before he gave God praise! He didn't wait till he felt better to start talking as though he was going to live!

FAITH SAYS YOU HAVE TO 

BELIEVE IT & THEN YOU'LL SEE IT!

Even though you may feel weak right now...the God of HEALING lives within you!

I believe God has a FRESH START for you! Click here to listen to a message I ministered on Sunday, January 1, 2017 - YOUR YEAR OF FREEDOM! http://bfwcindy.sermon.net/main/main/20834451

Faith cometh by hearing & hearing by the Word! (Romans 10:17)

It Is Well!

In 2 Kings 4, there was a Shunammite woman, who was called in the Bible a "GREAT WOMAN!"

• She recognized Elisha as a man of God and wanted to bless him.
• She spoke to her husband and convinced him to build a room on their house for Elisha to use whenever he passed by. (2 Kings 4:8-10)
• Elisha, of course, appreciated this gesture and asked his servant, Gehazi, what he could do to bless the woman.
• Gehazi noticed that she didn't have a son and told Elisha so.
• This gave Elisha the opportunity to bless the woman and he told her that she would have a son. (2 Kings 4:14-16)
• Of course, she had the son as the prophet said but later on that same son died. (2 Kings 4:18-20)

The Shunammite woman could have cried, wailed and complained...but she didn't! She knew the importance of her words and maintained a positive confession of faith even after her son died.  She told her husband, "It shall be well." She rode to see the prophet Elisha at Mount Carmel.  When Elisha saw her, he sent his servant Gehazi to meet her and ask her three questions:

1. Is it well with thee?
2. Is it well with your husband?
3. Is is it well with your son?

The Shunammite woman answered...IT IS WELL!

Even though the reality of the situation was not well, her son had died, she told both her husband and Elisha's servant that all was well!

• She didn't even share with her husband that there was a problem!
• It was his son as well, but she didn't tell her husband...it wasn't until she spoke to Elisha that she gave any indication that there was something wrong.
• Even then, she didn't wail and lament, she didn't even say that her son was dead.
• All she said was, "Did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, do not deceive me? (2 Kings 4:28)

This was enough for the prophet to understand that there was a problem with the woman's son.

• He didn't need the details, he just needed to know that there was a problem.
• Friends, all too often we concentrate on the details of the problem, instead of the solution.
• It doesn't matter what the problem is, the important part is the solution!
• Jesus is the solution...we need to concentrate on Him!

Had the Shunammite woman concentrated on the problem, she wouldn't have spoken in FAITH, she wouldn't have gone to see the prophet and she wouldn't have received her son back to life!

• Instead of focusing on the problem...she maintained a good confession of FAITH and went to seek the answer to her FAITH!

You're Next In Line For A Miracle!

I speak healing over you in the name of Jesus!  Yesterday, a young man in our church, Duke Lovins, testified that the doctors told him he would be in a wheelchair before age nineteen. Today, he's twenty four and still walking!  Walking hasn't always been easy, but in the past ten weeks he's been pain free and actually walking for exercise with his mother!  

GOD IS YOUR HEALER!

http://bfwcindy.sermon.tv/9305615 

Luke 17:17 "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?"

Jesus healed the lepers and provided us with some important lessons:

1.They seized the moment!  Luke 17:13 says, "They lifted up their voices and said...Have mercy on us!"  DESPERATE people do DESPERATE things!  Who cares about appearances when you're dying? Jesus was passing by!  The most frightening thing that can happen to any of us is for Jesus to pass us by.  That's why they seized the moment, and cried out to Him.  You see, nobody can hear you like Jesus!

2. They had to "walk it out."  Their healing was not immediate - it was a PROCESS.  Luke 17:14 says, "As they went, they were cleansed."  Often, that's how it works!  It's not simply one step, but a relentless plowing through obstacles and insecurities until you get to your miracle!  But you appreciate it more when you have to "walk it out" day by day, depending on God!

3. Only one returned to give thanks.  That's why Jesus asked, "Where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17).  Were they too busy?  Too self-absorbed? Or just plain forgetful?  He said to the one who came back, "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (Luke 17:19).  You see, healing can be found in many places, but you can only become whole when you spend time daily with Jesus!

You want to know what a miracle is?  

Look in the mirror!  Go down to Wishard Hospital or take a trip to skid row and you'll realize how BLESSED you are!

Life isn't always fair, polite, kind or courteous...but The LORD is the LIFTER of your head and your HELP in the time of need!  

Instead of complaining about how life is treating you, how the church is treating you, how your family is treating you, how your pastors are treating you, how your job is treating you or how the government is treating you...REMEMBER how GOOD GOD HAS BEEN TO YOU!

Send up a PRAISE and allow the PROCESS to PERFECT you!

As we listened to Duke share his testimony - he POINTED us to JESUS!  He didn't share all the details of his PAIN, he shared the details of his PRAISE!

We become like the nine lepers, who didn't come back to say "thank you!" to Jesus, when we remain absorbed in our own lives, drama, hurts and feelings.  Start PRAISING the Lord for what He's already done in your life and you'll get a new sense of appreciation for the MIRACLES He's getting ready to do!

Stop Hugging The Trunk

We first read about Elijah in 1 Kings 17 - he's referred to as one of the greatest prophets in the Bible.  One thing for sure...we know he was BOLD!

• There's no evidence of him coming from a family of prophets...
• There's no indication that he had special connections with the "higher up's"...

And yet, he marches into the king and pronounces a TOTAL DROUGHT in Israel for many years!  WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?  What kind of guy is he that he possess such AUTHORITY, CONFIDENCE and BOLDNESS?

Here's why...HE HAD A WORD FROM GOD!

All you need is a WORD from the Lord!  One WORD from God will put you in a place of AUTHORITY!  That's what gave Elijah the courage to step into the supernatural because he had heard from God and believed what God told him!

Friend...if you are a believer...then you've already received a certain amount of REVELATION from God!

• We've received the TRUTH about SALVATION and believed it!
• When we share that TRUTH with others we witness the miracle of the NEW BIRTH in the lives of people around us!

Elijah prophesied the drought before it came to pass.  

God was the AUTHOR and Elijah was the INSTRUMENT.  

Elijah's willingness to risk everything for what God had shown him was one of the key elements that PROPELLED him into LEADERSHIP!

LEADERSHIP IS COSTLY!  The faint hearted never become anyone's hero.  It's risky to do what God lays on your heart!

• God knew that Elijah's obedience to Him put Elijah's life in jeopardy.
• God provided a hiding place for Elijah by the brook Cherith where God commanded ravens to feed him!
• Can you imagine being fed by the birds?  I guess Elijah could have said at that moment, "this is for the birds!"

Being OBEDIENT to God puts us in a position to receive SUPERNATURAL SUPPLY!  I believe when we obey the Lord, regardless of the cost to us personally, God is compelled to SUPPLY our needs!

There is no need for God to SUPPLY our needs when we aren't doing ANYTHING that requires more than what we can PRODUCE!

We don't experience divine intervention until we get out on a limb!  Stop hugging the trunk and go where the fruit is...out on the limb!  Sometimes the wind will make the limb sway...do not be alarmed...to be fruitful, we have to let go of our security blankets and take a leap of faith!

More to come...