Envy

Envy:
1.The following scriptures show that envy tried to destroy Joseph but God used the situation to deliver him to his destiny.
Acts 7:9-15
9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
(KJV)
If Joseph had known the outcome of all his afflictions was going to be
Deliverance for his father and brothers he would have endured them with
Much more hope.

Look at how envy affected Apostle Paul
Acts 13:45
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
(KJV)
Had those people who treated him so known the eternal outcome of the destiny of their souls possibly they would have not just decided to live for
The moment and give into envy but would have heeded the message he had come to share.
Look at what other things envy is in the same category as:
Rom 1:28-32
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

(KJV)
Next in the scripture text we read how the Apostle Paul instructed Brother Timothy in wisdom:

Titus 3:1-7
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(KJV)

Envy,Jealousy…..revealed
James 4:5-17
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
(KJV)
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
Let us look inside ourselves and reflect on what our intentions are twords others.Is our flesh ruling us or are we being spirit led?
Luke 17:3-4
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
(KJV)

Lets pray with the attitude the Lord Jesus asked that the disciples pray when he told them what manner to pray like.His attitude is what we want to have anyway.A christlike attitude twords everyone even if they are envious and say all manner of evil against us.And in doing so release our own selves from the trap Satan has set for us.God bless.

Luke 11:4
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
(KJV)

Gods' Benefit Package

Psalm 68:19
Blessed [be] the Lord, [who] daily loadeth us [with benefits, even] the God of our salvation. Selah.
A.Blessed meaning to kneel before and reverance as in prayer and worship of our God.
Be the Lord…only used for God.
Who daily loadeth …loadeth like a burrow is loaded with supplies for a journey.
The God of our Salvation
El………..The strong one.The mighty one.
Salvation….deliverance.
B.Selah here is used as a pause or reflective period but may be considered
From our point of view as being so overwhelmed in worship and praise that
You cannot help but stop and totally focus on the awesomeness of God.

Psa 103:1
[[[A Psalm] of David.]] Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.

Psa 103:2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psa 103:3
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Psa 103:4
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Psa 103:5
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psa 103:6
The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

Psa 103:7
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Psa 103:8
The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Psa 103:9
He will not always chide: neither will he keep [his anger] for ever.

Psa 103:10
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Psa 103:11
For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psa 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Psa 103:13
Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

Psa 103:14
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.

Psa 103:15
[As for] man, his days [are] as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

Psa 103:16
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Psa 103:17
But the mercy of the LORD [is] from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

Psa 103:18
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

Psa 103:19
The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Psa 103:20
Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Psa 103:21
Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts; [ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

Psa 103:22
Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

C.Let us begin to look at what King David described as Gods list of benefits.This is in no way even touching the surface of what is included in Gods care plan of us:
1.Forgiveness for all our iniquities.
2.Healing for all our diseases.
3.Redemption from destruction.
4.Crowneth us with loving kindness and tender mercies.
This crowneth means to surround and protect us.
5.Satisifieth thy mouth with good things so thy youth is renewed like the eagles.

Lets look at what the word says about eagles:

Deu 32:11
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
That is not only ultimate protection and care but also rest and guidance.

6.The execution of righteousness for all that are oppressed.You can’t argue over a free lawyer who is also the judge.

7.He makes his ways known and acts unto His people.God does not keep us in the dark but explains Himself and reveals Himself.He is the ultimate good communicator.

8.Merciful and gracious.Slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.
The word plenteous means exceedingly merciful ,abundantly merciful.The eleventh verse says His mercy is unmeasurable.

9.He doesn’t stay mad at us.The word says He will not always chide.
When you ask the Lord for forgiveness its what you get.He does not do like man and hold resentment.That is a human failing not an attribute of God.

10.He does not give us the punishment we truly deserved because of the blood of Jesus.That beautiful precious blood that flowed on Calvarys cross covered a multitude of sins.The word says Love covereth a multitude of sins.

11.Removal of transgressions from as far as the East is from the West.As we know the
East and West will never meet.So it’s a continual removing.

12.He tenderly loves and has compassion upon us.(pittieth)

13.He remembers that we are but dust.He knows our minds,our intellects or human limitations.

14.There is no end to God.He has no human limitations.We are here on earth for a season
and our productivity here is for a season.He however will always be and always was.There is no end to His policy and procedure manual.The mercy He extends to us will
extend also to our grandchildren.The bible says unto thy childrens children.Now how is that for insurance coverage?That is if you are a partaker of the New Covenant and are walking in obedience.Coverage is only negated by a failure to follow the book.

The scripture goes to prove once again that a life lived for God is much more beneficial
And much more abundant than a life lived for self.

. Psa 116:12
What shall I render unto the LORD [for] all his benefits toward me?
D..What service can we give the Lord for all the benefits He has provided?
We can give Him praise and thanks and worship.We can fellowship with Him.
But we can never repay Him for all He does watching over us.

E.In Conclusion:
God’s benefit plan outweighs all the corporate benefit plans of this world.No company provides twenty-four hour insurance coverage that goes out to even your grandchildren.Nor does it promise that the Angel of the Lord would encamp about you.Nor does it promise healing for your body or salvation for your soul.Now that’s a benefit package out of this world!

Dana Cooper  

Dana Cooper 

When I am Weak

When I am Weak.
By Sister Dana Cooper

When you think of weakness what comes to mind?
The feeble old lady who cannot cross the street without a helping hand seems weak in the eyes of the world. Yet the world does not see the days when she bore children and cared for her family. They only see what is before them as weak and frail and wrinkled. Not visible is the strength within that wiped a fevered brow in the middle of the night or took in extra work to pay for college for a promising child.Maybe the elderly man who cannot lift the heavy load of boxes by
himself comes to mind.No longer is he muscle bound and leading the team to the finish line.
Not visible is his early rising for years to work to provide for a family that he
loved more than his own flesh.
Many things come to mind when defining weakness such
as the dieter who cannot resist yet one more piece of candy
or alcoholic who cannot resist another glass of wine and yet both feel such hopelessness.
There is the Christian who keeps committing the same sin over and over again to yet stumble one more time.The world around us sees certain things as signs of weakness such as
the man who cries and is labeled too emotional or the woman who cannot make it on her own
financially.
Yet for the Christian who is on their knees praying and hoping for change and committed
to whatever it takes to receive it the Apostle Paul said something that gives hope in 2 Cr 12:9.
And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And he goes on in the next verse to describe what in the eyes of the world looks like weakness
But in the Kingdom of God is in reality great strength.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
The word weakness that Paul is describing here is the word
astheneia.
This word is defined as) want of strength, weakness, infirmity
1) Of the body
1) Its native weakness and frailty
2) Feebleness of health or sickness
b) Of the soul
1) Want of strength and capacity requisite
a) To understand a thing
b) To do things great and glorious
c) To restrain corrupt desires
d) To bare trials and troubles

This same word astheneia defines the state Jesus was in on the cross of Calvary. Though it may
Have appeared to be a sign of weakness this apparent weakness was necessary for our salvation and was a great victory.
The bible says these beautiful words,
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
So the next time you are feeling weak and unable to bear up under the load of life’s stresses do what the word of God instructs us to do.

1Pe 5:7
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

1Pe 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1Pe 5:9
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

1Pe 5:10
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].

1Pe 5:11
To him [be] glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2Cr 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

For what you feel is your greatest weakness may just prove to be an area that the Lord will show Himself strong and the grace of Calvary’s Cross will have a chance to shine in your life.