PRESENCE POWER PROVISION AND PROTECTION
BREAD
17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:18-20 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 (NIV)
27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 (NIV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, 3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:1-6 (NIV)
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
BUTTER
“God’s will will never put us where His presence will not sustain us.” Robert J. Morgan
“Few delights can equal the mere presence of One whom we fully trust.” George McDonald
“Let me carefully mark the inward workings of thy grace, and the outward tokens of thy providence, so as daily to have a true sense of thy gracious presence in every thing, more or less important; and thereby to be ever strengthened in faith, and kept in a composed state of mind; considering that nothing happens by mere chance, but all is wisely ordered by thy providential care to our good; firmly believing, if anything goes contrary to expectation, that something better will follow in its stead, if we only can be quiet, and wait the time.” K.H. Von Bogatzky
“Considering Mary, how did she “walk by the Spirit” and glorify Christ when God gave her an impossible circumstance? She believed God for the impossible—“How will this be, for I am a virgin?” And she lived a life of repentance— “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said” What does a life of repentance look like? It is a daily recognition that you are not your own, for you have been bought with a price. What is your life response to the impossible issues you are facing? How must you walk by the Spirit, in the way of repentance and faith, like Mary? I must believe God that I am an adopted son or daughter. That I am loved unconditionally; that I am forgiven and really free from sin in my life. I must believe I have the Holy Spirit’s seal of approval…I must believe God can and will do miraculous things in my life….in the lives of others around me…. “I must stop living life by and for myself… I must repent of my self saving ways…. My idols of comfort, security and approval. And I can because Jesus has already done all for me. Not just some of what I need, but all of what I needed and need, on the cross and He continues to do, by the active Presence and Power of His Holy Spirit.” Tom Wood
“The one who gives the power gets the glory.” John Piper
“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” William Booth
“Jesus is the One who shows us the paradoxical route to meaning in a chaotic and hostile world. It’s the paradox of the gospel: Strength is found in weakness. Control is found in dependency. Power is found in surrender…. God uses the frustrations of this life and the hurt of relationships to compel us to look beyond what we can control to the God who controls all things in order to woo us to himself. As we move from control to surrender, we move from chasing the wind under the sun to embracing God above it.” Dan Allender
“The true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 5:6) It is well for all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives). A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit.” C H Macintosh
“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a multitude.” St. Patrick
HEART SAVOR
• God is my refuge and my fortress – my ever-present help.
• The Lord is on my side – who can stand against me?
• The One Who gives the power gets the glory – always.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 